From: "Buckley, Lawrence D. Jr. (DO) (FBI)"

From: "Buckley, Lawrence D. Jr. (DO) (FBI)" To: "Smith, James H. (INSD) (FBI)" <O>. Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Wednesday, August 05, 2020 Date: Wed, 05 Aug 2020 13:50:09 +0000 Importance: Normal From: Bulletin Intelligence <FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 5, 2020 6:27 AM To: FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Wednesday, August 05, 2020 Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbl.bulletInIntelligence.aun. FBI News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 6:30 AM EDT TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • FBI Has Opened 300 Domestic Terror Investigations Since Floyd's Death. PROTESTS • Suspect In Salt Lake City Protest Arson Case Remains Jailed. • Tennessee Woman Is_S_econd To Face Protest Arson Charge% • Trump Touts His Efforts To Stop Portland Protests. • pence Sys Administration Will Increase Law Enforcement Funding, • Husband Of Los Angeles DA Charged With Pulling Gun On BLM Protesters. • Norton Demands Information From Secret Service After Mothers Held At Gunpoint. • PlYTimes Analysis: Crime Data Do Not Support De Blasio's Claims About Violenrecs • Minneapolis Records 42nd Homicide Of The Year. • Colorado Police Apologize For Detaining Innocent Black Family. • Baltimore Parks Employees Remove BLM Murals, Sparking Investigation. • Trump: People "Not Happy" With Athletes That Kneel During Anthem. • Illinois Lawmaker Calls For SoispenthjagAgaClesses, • WSJournal Urges Seattle To Condemn Protests Outside Police Chief's Home. • Ornithologists Call For Renaming Birds That Represent Racism And Inequality. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Prospect Of Second Boston Marathon Bombing Trial Brings Anguish. • aumpadys "Bomb Of Some Kind" Responsible For Deadly Beirut Blast • O'Brien Warns Against Foreign Military Involvement In Libya. • Analysts: PandPmir Other Issues Appear To Be Making Hezbollah More Crime-Reliant COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Inimp_Says Durham's Findings Will Be "Breathtaking " • Tensions Grow Over Republicans' Biden Investigation. EFTA00160705 • Russian Bankers Seek Christopher Steele's Testimony About His Dossier Sourreagor Danchenko. • Yates To Testify Before Senate Panel About Crossfire Hurricane Wednesday. • SSCI Approves Final Russia Report. • MauLthy Slow To Fill Opening On House Intelligpnre Committee Months After Ratcliffe Confirmation • Federal Program Offers New Cybersecurity Tool For Elections As Officials Warn Of Foreign Interferenre • ODNI Offers Recommendations To Address Lax Vetting Of Foreign Employees At US Agency For Global Media. • Qp-Ed: Telework Deployment For Secure Workfarces Should Still Be A Priority, • US Embassy In Moscow Says It Has No Information On Whelan's Whereabouts. • Abrams Tells Senators US Will Continue To Recognize Guaid6 As Venezuela's Interim President. • Marco Rubio Introduces The "Air America Act" To Provide Benefits To Air America Emplane& • The US Is At Risk Of Attacks In Space. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • FBI Meets With Activists To Discuss Breonna Taylor Probe. • juggeQaeEsdrieLkterjaarayeryQalleeing Idaho Children's Bodies, • FBI Assisting Chicago Police In Probe Of Fatal Shooting Attack. • Trump Raised Possibility That Epstein Was Killed In Custody. • Man Who Killed Somali Student At Kansas City Mosque Sentenced To Prison • FBI, Police Conduct Raids In Indianapolis. • FBI Continues Probe Of 2019 Dayton, Ohio Mass Shooting. • Texas Developer Facing Bribery Charges Is Placed On House Arrest. • Virginia Gang Member Pleads Guilty To Racketeering, Murder Conspiracy. • continuing Coverage: Michigan Man Indicted In Conned-ion To Death Of Susie Zhao • FBI Searching For Family Of Lost Toddler. • Pennsylvania Individuals Indicted In Connection To Prison Smuggling. • Continuing Coverage' Connertidit Man Aroused Of Killing Minor • Virginia Man Indicted For Threatening Schools. • FBI Investigating Fatal Stabbing In Oklahoma. • Minnesota Man Charged In Connection To Armed Robberies. • 20-Year Manhunt For Michigan Sex Offender Ends In California. • Michigan I awmaker Files For Dismissal Of Charge& • North Dakota Native American Official Charged With Bribery. • Four Floridians Charged In Connection To Gas Station Skimming Scheme. • More Than 370 Pounds Of Illegal Drugs Seized In "Massive" Bust. • Drug Investigation Leads To 17 Arrests. • Daialling Involvement Leads To Federal Prison Sentences For Two Defendants. • Two Arrested In Connection With Meth Trafficking Probe. • Heroin Trafficking Case Defendant Gets 30-Month Prison Sentence. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • FBI Raids Cleveland, Miami Offices "Tied To Ukrainian Oligarch." • Former Proove Biosrienres Fxerutives Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Pay_Enysirians Kirkbacks • SEC Reportedly Investigating Announcement Of Loan To Kodak To Make Medicine In Factories. • ExLaep. Collins Seeks Another Delay In Reporting To Prison CYBER DIVISION • Florida Teen Charged In Twitter Hark Pleads Not Guilty, • Trump Makes "Unprecedented" Demand For US Slice Of A TikTok Deal. • US Charges California Man In Cyberstalking Case. • NSA Warns Celiphone Location Data Could Pose National-SecurityThreat • DHS Report Says Chinese Behind Malware Used In Attacks On US During Past Decade. • CISA, FBI And DOD Issue Alert On TAIDOOR - A New Chinese Malware Variant. • Federal IT Leaders At DHS NSA Highlight Election Security Efforts. • CISA Putting Skills Over Experience As It Rethinks Cyber Hiring Approach. • FBI Bulletin Sys Soria' Media And Search Platforms Linking Consumers To Fraudulent Sites. • Survey Finds Financial Firms' Cybersecurity Spending Jumps 15% This Year. • Qyber Chiefs Worry Staff Vulnerable To Burnout As Pandemic Rolls On. • Industrial Robots Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks. • Russian Hackers Stole Leaked Documents From UK Trade Secretary's Personal Email Account. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES EFTA00160706 • Administration To Award More Than VISM In Grants To Organizations Supporting Trafficking Victims, OTHER FBI NEWS • Audit Finds Only Minor FBI Errors In FISA Agoliration% • FBI Warns Of Online Shopping Scams. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Trump Says Administration Has Done "Incredible" Job On Coronavirus. • Azar Sa.y.sTherapeutics And Vaccines Are "Just Months Away." • Hahn Says Hydroxychloroquine Use Up To Physician And Patient. • Novavax Reports Positive Results For Vaccine Candidate. • Jul, Fli Lily Seeking Volunteers For Antibody Drug Trials., • State AGs Want US To Break Gilead Patent On Remdesivir. • Research On Plasma Infusions To Treat COVID Hampered By Demand, Government Program. • NYU Doctors Say Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Could Be Effective COVID Treatment. • Poll Finds 59% Of Americans Support Mandatory National Shelter-At-Home Order. • poll Shows 65% Believe US Handling Coronavirus Worse Than Other Countries. • COVID Case Counts Rising In Midwest And South. • Six States Form Compact To Purchase Rapid-Detection Tests. • California Has First Weekly COVID Case Derline In 12 Weeks • NYC Health Commissioner Resigns, Citing "Deep Disappointment" With De Blasio. • White House Expresses Frustration Over Relief Measure But Negotiators See Progress. • Trump Says Economy Will Not Shut Down Again. • For-Profit Nursing Home Providers With Dubious Records Received "No Strings Attached" Relief Aid. • COVID Patient Billed Nearly $j .9M For 44-Day Hospital Stave • Rutgers Football Team Case Count Hits 28. • Trump Calls For Schools To Open, Says Young People Are "Virtually Immune" From Coronavirus. • Sanders: "Masks For All" Proposal Is Important Step In Addressing Pandemir, • Trump Signs Great American Outdoors Act Into Law. • Trump Says Border Wall Will Be 500 Miles Long By Year's End. • Appeals Court Blocks Means Test For Immigrants In New York, Connecticut, Vermont. • Census Bureau Will End 2020 Data Collection One Month Early. • eliden Plan Would Reverse Much Of Trump's Immigration Policy, • WPost: ICE Detention Centers Are "Petri Dishes Of Contagion." • CDC Warns Of Potential Spike In "Polio-Like Condition" That Mostly Affects Children. • millions Left Without Power As Isaias Moves Up Northeast Spawning Tornadoes • Trump Withdraws O'Rielly Nomination For Term On FCC. • Dlumenthal Threatens To Oppose Military Nominations Unless Tata Is Removed From Post. • O'Brien Returns To White House After Mild Case Of Coronavirus. • NYTimes Analysis: At DHS, Wolf Is Helping Trump Advance His Political Ambitions. • State Department Rejects IG Report On Appointees' Handling Of "Workplace Violence" Claims. • Actions Of Trump's "Politically Connected" Ambassadors Drawing Scrutiny. • Trump: Housing Rule Was Destroying Families, "American Dream." • Tillalp2i2eeply Saddened" By Deadly Marine Training Accident In California • White House Sued Over Lack Of Sign Language Interpreters. • Iiiinpaays Florida Voting_System "Has Been Cleaned Up,alrges Backers To Vote By Mail. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • Iiimnp_Says US-China Relationship Has Been "Badly Hurt" By Pandemir • NYTimes Analysis: Lockdowns More Confusing, Contentious As Pandemic Wears On. • Analysis: Democrats "Gutted" Anti-Hezbollah Legislation Days Before Attack On Israel. • Israel I aunrhes Counteroffensive AgainstElarnas_ In Southern Sys Gaza • Family: Iran Abducted California Man While Visiting Dubai. • a( m ric pgaLv iAifflt i8wa gu ncLcasiumaysigi. • Trump: More Troops Will Leave Afghanistan Before US Election. • Pakistani Hindus Accept Islam To Avoid Persecution. • Azar To Lead First High-Level Delegation To Taiwan In 41 Years„ • Abrams Tells Senators US Will Continue To Recognize Guaid6 As Venezuela's Interim President. • WSJournal Al: Saudis Expand Nuclear Program With Chinese Assistance. • Unclear Where Juan Carlos Went After Leaving Spain. • Former US Diplomat: Trump Not Cause Of US-German Strains. THE BIG PICTURE EFTA00160707 • Headlines From Today's Front Page, WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington, LEADING THE NEWS FBI Has Opened 300 Domestic Terror Investigations Since Floyd's Death. Fox News (8/4, Schultz, 27.59M) reports on its website that the FBI has opened "more than 300 domestic terrorism investigations since George Floyd's death in Minneapolis kicked off nationwide unrest and riots, a federal attorney revealed Tuesday in a hearing on Capitol Hill." Erin Nealy Cox, a US Attorney tapped by Attorney General Barr "to lead a task force on violent anti-government extremists, said the feds have opened hundreds of federal criminal investigations surrounding the violence and rioting since May 28." Cox testified before a Senate panel, "They have since May 28 [opened] over 300 domestic terrorist investigations. That does not include any potential civil rights investigations or violent crime associated with the riots." The Voice of America (8/5, Farivar, 48K) reports, "The task force, co-headed by Craig Carpenito, the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey and composed of prosecutors and FBI agents, is charged with developing 'detailed information about violent antigovernment extremist individuals, networks and movements. "Any group, regardless of their name, if they're violent and antigovernment, we will be looking at them,' Cox said during the hearing. 'If it is a white supremacist that is engaging in gang or drug activity, that would not fall under the purview of our task force." Federal Prosecutors Have Not Charged Antifa In Portland Protests. Reuters (8/4, Hosenball) reports that federal prosecutors "have produced no evidence linking dozens of people arrested in anti-racism protests in Portland, Oregon, to the antifa or anarchist movements, despite President Donald Trump's assertions they are fueling the unrest." Reuters adds, "A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland confirmed this in an email to Reuters on Tuesday. 'We have not alleged defendant affiliation with any specific groups or ideologies in our cases stemming from recent Portland protests,' said Kevin Sonoff, the spokesman. 'Our cases focus purely on the criminal conduct alleged." According to Reuters, "Trump and officials in his administration have applied the labels to the Portland protesters, who set fires around, and threw objects at, officers around a federal courthouse during long-running confrontations. 'I think there are anarchists and far-left groups involved in the violence in Portland,' Attorney General William Barr said in testimony before Congress last week. 'I think antifa is involved in Portland." PROTESTS Suspect In Salt Lake City Protest Arson Case Remains Jailed. KTVX-TV Salt Lake City (8/4) reports from Salt Lake City, "One of the three suspects federally indicted in the torching of a Salt Lake City Police vehicle will remain in jail, for now." KTVX-TV adds, "Photographic evidence against Christopher Isidro Rojas was presented in court Tuesday by federal prosecutors in an attempt to keep Rojas, who has been incarcerated since his arrest on July 17, behind bars during the trial. The photos show Rojas holding a white sheet and a lighter. Another photo shows the same man then lighting the sheet while another man with him is seen throwing it on the vehicle. FBI agents also showed the same suspect damaging the vehicle while wearing a pair of black and white shoes that are later photographed on Rojas at a local bar." US Magistrate Judge Jared C. Bennett "issued an order allowing Rojas a pretrial release with conditions but the government was quick to appeal and requested another review, halting Rojas from being released for the time being." KJZZ-TV Salt Lake City (8/4, Stauffer) also reports. Tennessee Woman Is Second To Face Protest Arson Charges. The Tennessean (8/4, Alund, 458K) reports, "A Nashville woman is now the second person facing federal arson charges in connection with a Nashville Historic Courthouse fire set during a May 30th EFTA00160708 protest and riot, prosecutors announced Tuesday." Shelby Ligons, 22, "is charged with malicious destruction of property using fire or explosives, according to U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. A peaceful 'I Will Breathe' rally to protest police brutality in Nashville that night erupted into pockets of violence and vandalism as marchers moved through downtown. By 8:15 p.m. flames could be seen shooting from a first-floor window of the historic courthouse and city hall. Multiple arrests were made in connection with the rioting." Wesley Somers, 25, of Hendersonville "was also charged on June 3 in connection the fire set there." Trump Touts His Efforts To Stop Portland Protests. President Trump said in an interview on Fox Business' Lou Dobbs Tonight (8/4, 49K), "You look at what's been going on in Portland. ... I sent a whole group of very tough, very talented people to protect, can you believe it, a courthouse, a major federal courthouse from being burned to the ground, torn down, decimated. And we've saved that very easily, frankly, and we've helped them beyond that. We could solve that problem totally very quickly and easily, but we're not doing that as of yet. It's been a big victory in Portland. It has been a big victory in Seattle." Trump tweeted, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 'Trump Wins in Portland"Something big has changed in Portland, Ore. After weeks of chaos and flames outside the city's federal courthouse, the past few days have seen the violence subside dramatically. What happened?' William McGurn @WSJ" Violent Protests Continue. The Washington Times (8/4, Dinan, 492K) reports federal agents have "curtailed their presence in Portland but violent protests have continued," with police declaring "a riot Monday night after demonstrators invaded the perimeter of a city office building." Rioters "punched and struck officers with batons, and used lasers and strobe lights to try to blind officers, who in turn used tear gas to try to disperse the unruly crowd." While it marked "the second time violence has erupted near the Penumbra Kelly Building," marches near the federal courthouse "have calmed down." Portland Man Arrested For Injuring US Marshal During Protest. Townhall (8/4, Pavlich, 177K) reports that a Portland man "who used a bomb to gain unlawful entry to the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse has been arrested." Eighteen-year-old Isaiah Jason Maza Jr. "injured a U.S. Marshal after detonating an explosive device and has been charged accordingly with a series of federal crimes." Trump Said Antifa, Not Law Enforcement, Causing Problems In Cities. In continuing coverage of Trump's interview with Axios on HBO, the Washington Times (8/4, Sherfinski, 492K) reports that Trump said "that the anti-fascist group Antifa, not law enforcement, should be investigated over the recent clashes in cities like Portland, Oregon." Trump said, "It's Antifa and anarchists that are causing the problems - not law enforcement." Pence Says Administration Will Increase Law Enforcement Funding. Breitbart (8/4, Kraychik, 673K) reports Vice President Pence said in an interview with SiriusXM's Breitbart News Daily that the Administration "will increase funding for law enforcement," rejecting calls to "defund the police." Asked about violent protests in large cities, Pence said, "We've seen violence being quelled in that city, and the President has said no federal law enforcement officials are leaving until we know the courthouse is secure and the streets are secure. That's what leadership looks like." Husband Of Los Angeles DA Charged With Pulling Gun On BLM Protesters. The AE (8/4) reports that the husband of the Los Angeles district attorney "has been charged with pointing a gun at Black Lives Matter members who demonstrated outside the couple's home the day before the primary election in March." The attorney general filed "three misdemeanor charges Monday against David Lacey for assault with a firearm for the March 2 incident." District Attorney Jackie Lacey "offered a tearful apology at the time, saying she and her husband were awoken by the protest and were frightened." The CBS Evening NewsVi (8/4, story 10, 0:20, O'Donnell, EFTA00160709 4.14M) too said in a brief report that "Lacey apologized at the time and says her husband was just trying to protect her." Politico (8/4, Marinucci, 4.29M) reports the charges come as Lacey, "the county's first Black district attorney, faces a tough fight with George Gascon, a Latino who previously served as San Francisco DA, to retain her seat." Norton Demands Information From Secret Service After Mothers Held At Gunpoint. The Washington Post (8/4, Mettler, 14.2M) reports Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) "sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service on Tuesday demanding information about an incident that played out last week near the Mall, where two mothers say uniformed federal officers held them at gunpoint and detained them without explanation." In a statement, Norton said, "Such an incident must not be tolerated anywhere - but it will not be tolerated in our nation's capital." NYTimes Analysis: Crime Data Do Not Support De Blasio's Claims About Violence. The New York Times (8/4, Feuer, 18.61M) reports in recent weeks, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea "have blamed the steep rise in shootings in New York City on a breakdown in the criminal justice system that they contend has allowed criminals back out on the streets." The two "have cited a range of causes that they have portrayed as outside their control: the pandemic and the George Floyd protests, as well as measures approved by the State Legislature, including one that eliminated cash bail for many defendants." However, a "confidential analysis of police data, conducted by city officials but not released to the public, offers little if any evidence to back up their claims." In fact, the analysis "suggests the state's new bail law and the mass release of inmates from city jails in recent months because of the coronavirus outbreak played almost no role in the spike in shootings." Minneapolis Records 42nd Homicide Of The Year. The Minneapolis Star Tribune (8/4, 1.04M) reports that a man was "fatally shot in Minneapolis Tuesday night, bringing the city's death toll to 42." The shooting comes "amid a violent trend in the city since the police killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day, with homicides doubling the pace of a year ago." Colorado Police Apologize For Detaining Innocent Black Family. ABC World News TonightVi (8/4, story 9, 0:15, Muir, 7.19M) reported briefly that police in Aurora, Colorado "are now apologizing to an innocent family of five that was detained, ordered to the ground. The family is Black. Even their children were on the ground. Police say they later realized they had mistaken their vehicle for a stolen motorcycle from another state." Joe Fryer reported on NBC Nightly NewsVi (8/4, story 9, 1:55, Holt, 6.1M) that a "viral video recorded by a witness shows four children crying, face down on the pavement, two of them in handcuffs being detained by police. The youngest is six years old." The Aurora Police Department "is already under scrutiny for its treatment of Black people following the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, which is under investigation." The Washington Post (8/4, Armus, 14.2M) reports Aurora's police chief "apologized on Monday night and launched an internal investigation after video of the incident quickly went viral." Baltimore Parks Employees Remove BLM Murals, Sparking Investigation. The Washington Post (8/4, Owens, 14.2M) reports, "City employees removed artwork aimed at spotlighting the Black Lives Matter movement in Baltimore, even though the community mural project received official approval for public display." Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks officials are "investigating the removals after two city park rangers took down several" murals in Patterson Park. Lester Davis, a spokesman for Mayor Bernard "Jack" Young, "confirmed to The Washington Post that the Recreation and Parks department has begun an investigation." EFTA00160710 Trump: People "Not Happy" With Athletes That Kneel During Anthem. President Trump on Tuesday tweeted "People are not happy that players are not standing for our National Anthem!" Illinois Lawmaker Calls For Suspending History Classes. The Washington Times (8/4, Chasmar, 492K) reports Illinois state Rep. La Shawn Ford (D) "on Sunday called on the state's Board of Education to temporarily suspend all history teaching in schools until a new curriculum can be developed that doesn't contribute to systemic racism and white privilege." At a press conference, Ford "said the current school curriculum in Illinois is 'miseducating' children and overlooks the contributions to society by women and people of color." Ford said, "Today, I'm calling for the abolishment of history classes in Illinois. ... We're concerned that current school history teachings lead to white privilege and a racist society." WSJournal Urges Seattle To Condemn Protests Outside Police Chief's Home. The Wall Street Journal (8/4, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) editorializes that last weekend, a group of what Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best characterized as "aggressive protesters" gathered outside her home. The Journal calls on Mayor Durkan to distinguish between upholding people's First Amendment rights and putting officials' families at risk. Ornithologists Call For Renaming Birds That Represent Racism And Inequality. Ornithologists Gabriel Foley and Jordan Rutter write in a Washington Post (8/4, 14.2M) op-ed, "When we name an animal species after the person who first made it known to science, we are effectively honoring that person's contribution. ... Yet these honorific names - known as eponyms - also cast long, dark shadows over our beloved birds and represent colonialism, racism and inequality. It is long overdue that we acknowledge the problem of such names, and it is long overdue that we should change them." COUNTER-TERRORISM Prospect Of Second Boston Marathon Bombing Trial Brings Anguish. The AP (8/4, Richer) reports from Boston, "After Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted in 2015, the family of the youngest victim urged prosecutors to abandon their bid for the death penalty, warning that years of appeals would only keep him in the spotlight and prolong their unthinkable suffering. Five years later, the prospect of a new trial to decide whether Tsarnaev should be executed after an appeals court tossed the 27-year-old's death sentence has brought anger and anguish to a community in many ways still healing from the April 15, 2013, attack." The AP adds, "Federal prosecutors will likely appeal Friday's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. But if the decision stands, prosecutors will face the difficult decision of asking victims to recount their trauma at another trial - where jurors could decide this time to reject the death penalty - or angering some by dropping their pursuit for capital punishment and agreeing to life in prison." Boston (8/4, Gartsbeyn, 586K) reports, "Several survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing have expressed shock and anger at a federal appeals court decision last week to toss the death sentence issued against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the two brothers behind the attack." Boston adds, "Among the most outspoken is Rebekah Gregory, who lost a leg in the bombing. She spoke with CNN's Brianna Keilar Monday afternoon after making impassioned statements on social media. 'We're having to relive this nightmare over again,' Gregory said. She pointed out that many victims of the bombing, like Bill and Denise Richard, didn't even want to seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev. The Richards' 8-year-old son Martin was killed in the bombing. 'This is exactly what they were afraid of, that it was going to be this ongoing process that we were never going to be able to end,' Gregory said." Trump Says "Bomb Of Some Kind" Responsible For Deadly Beirut Blast. EFTA00160711 ABC World News TonigntVi (8/4, story 4, 2:05, Muir, 7.19M) reported on Tuesday's "massive and deadly explosion" in Beirut that killed "at least 60 dead" and injured "more than 3,000. ... President Trump said this looked like a 'terrible attack,' in his words." ABC's Ian Pannell added that Lebanese officials, however, are "not suggesting that it was an attack. It's now pointing towards being just a tragic, terrible accident. The country's Interior Minister saying that highly explosive material may have been stored on the site, even pointing towards ammonium nitrate, which is highly combustible, often used in bombs and in sufficient quantities, capable of causing this level of massive destruction." USA Today (8/4, Woodyard, 10.31M) reports that "though the cause of the explosion has yet to be officially determined...Trump called it a 'terrible attack' based on the suspicions of U.S. generals he did not name." Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, "It would seem like it based on the explosion. I've met with some of our great generals and they just feel it was. ... It was a bomb of some kind." The CBS Evening NewsVi (8/4, story 3, 1:20, O'Donnell, 4.14M) reported, "Trump said it was a bomb of some kind, without giving details," and the Washington Post (8/4, Dadouch, Loveluck, 14.2M) reports that while the President attributed his statement to "generals," US military officials "said they had yet to make a solid assessment of the explosion." NBC Nightly NewsVi (8/4, story 4, 0:15, Hoit, 6.1M) also briefly reported Trump's comments. The New York Post (8/4, Steinbuch, Fitz-Gibbon, 4.57M) reports the blast occurred "just days before a United Nations verdict is due on four alleged Hezbollah members accused of killing former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005." Reuters (8/4, Nakhoul, Nader) reports that by Tuesday night, the death toll had risen to 78, with "nearly 4,000" injured, and "officials said they expected the death toll to rise further." Addressing the cause of the blast, Lebanese President Michel Aoun "said that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures," calling it "unacceptable." Prime Minister Hassan Diab "told the nation there would be accountability for the deadly blast" at what he called a "dangerous warehouse." The Washington Examiner (8/4, Halaschak, 448K) says Diab "also appealed to the international community for assistance in dealing with the thousands of people hurt in the blast." The 8I2 (8/4, Mroue) reports Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi "told a local TV station that it appeared the blast was caused by" the ammonium nitrate "that had been stored in a warehouse at the dock ever since it was confiscated from a cargo ship in 2014." However, "what caused the detonation was not immediately clear." NBC Nightly NewsVi (8/4, story 3, 1:55, Holt, 6.1M) reported officials say the "warehouse has for years been filled with dangerous explosive chemicals. Warnings about the dangers, they say, ignored. Beirut, so often a battleground in war, resembling a war zone tonight. This is a national disaster for Lebanon. Tomorrow, a day of national mourning, and of many questions: If this was a warehouse for dangerous chemicals, were the explosions accidental or sabotage?" O'Brien Warns Against Foreign Military Involvement In Libya. Reuters (8/4, Shalal) reports the on Tuesday "condemned all foreign military involvement in Libya, including the use of mercenaries and private military contractors, and said Libyans themselves must rebuild a unified country." In a statement, National Security Adviser O'Brien said President Trump had spoken with several world leaders about Libya in recent weeks, and it was clear there was "no winning side." He did not name the leaders. Analysts: Pandemic, Other Issues Appear To Be Making Hezbollah More Crime-Reliant. The Washington Post (8/4, Warrick, Mekhennet, 14.2M) reports, "Facing extreme financial pressures because of US sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic and Lebanon's economic collapse, Hezbollah appears to be growing increasingly reliant on criminal enterprises, including drug smuggling, to finance its operations," according to some US and Middle Eastern analysts. John Fernandez, "head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration's Counter-Narcoterrorism Operations EFTA00160712 Center, said in a recent briefing on Hezbollah" that it does not "care about sectarian differences or religious differences" when it comes to making money. Fernandez, who was speaking at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, added, "We've seen them working with Sunni criminals, Christian criminals — and even with Jewish crime syndicates." Op-Ed: Hezbollah A Key Factor In Lebanon's Economic Trouble. Foundation for Defense of Democracies Chief Executive Officer Mark Dubowitz and Jonathan Schanzer, that organization's senior vice president for research, argue in a Newsweek (8/4, 1.53M) op-ed that Lebanon has serious economic problems, partly due to "Hezbollah's political control." Because of that, according to the op-ed, "Lebanon's financial system is rife with corruption, money laundering, drug smuggling and other illicit finance." Acknowledging the difficultly in finding a long-term solution to this economic trouble, Dubowitz and Schanzer argue that the "United States, with the support of Israel, can offer a short-term bailout for Lebanon—but only on the condition that Hezbollah agrees to remove its arsenal of precision-guided missiles from the country." COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Trump Says Durham's Findings Will Be "Breathtaking." President Trump was asked in an interview on Fox Business' Lou Dobbs Tonight (8/4, 49K) if he thinks US Attorney John Durham's investigation will result in charges before the election. Trump said, "So, we caught President Obama and Biden spying on the campaign. Biden was even saying using the Logan Act which is exactly what they used on Flynn. ... I caught them and we caught them spying, using the intelligence apparatus of our country to spy on an opponent or the opposing party's campaign both before and after the election. ... We caught them spying, now it's up to our Attorney General. ... I do hear it's breathtaking, what they've found. That's all I can say, breathtaking. And hopefully, it'll come out soon. But it's beyond what anybody ever thought even possible, how bad it is. How bad it is and how corrupt it is." Tensions Grow Over Republicans' Biden Investigation. The Hill (8/4, Carney, 2.98M) reports there are growing tensions over a Republican probe "into the Obama administration that focuses, in part," on Joe Biden's son, Hunter. Democrats, the Biden campaign, and outside groups "are increasingly going public with their concerns over the investigation, which they worry could spread Russian disinformation. They are targeting" Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who has been "spearheading the effort." While Johnson "has said repeatedly his investigation is not centered on the Bidens and is not being driven by the election," The Hill says "some of his requests for information have centered on Hunter Biden's travel records, contacts between Joe Biden and Ukraine and Hunter Biden's business associates." Judicial Watch Sues DHS For Hunter Biden Travel Records. The Washington TiMPc (8/4, Swoyer, 492K) reports that Judicial Watch has sued DHS "to obtain travel records for Hunter Biden while he had a Secret Service detail." The suit, filed on Friday in federal court in Washington, "calls for disclosure of the dates and locations of both domestic and international for former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter, who had a secret service detail for a time period. The conservative legal group has sought records dating back to 2001." Russian Bankers Seek Christopher Steele's Testimony About His Dossier Source, Igor Danchenko. The Daily Caller (8/4, 716K) reports lawyers for a group of Russian bankers "suing over the dossier want Christopher Steele to testify in a US court about his primary source, Igor Danchenko." The lawyers, who represent the owners of Alfa Bank, "say that Danchenko can provide information regarding the 'reliability' of the dossier." Danchenko "undermined several aspects of the dossier during interviews with the FBI in 2017." Lawyers for the bankers "said in the court filing that information from Steele regarding Danchenko is 'relevant to the reliability' of the dossier." It could also "show whether Fusion GPS knew that Danchenko was Steele's source, and EFTA00160713 whether information in the dossier regarding Alfa Bank was inaccurate before they shared it with journalists in 2016." Yates To Testify Before Senate Panel About Crossfire Hurricane Wednesday. The Washington Times (8/4, Mordock, 492K) reports former Deputy Attorney General will testify Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee "investigation into the origins of Crossfire Hurricane, the code name for the FBI's search for collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin's plans to interfere in the 2016 presidential election." The Times says Yates "will be in a tight spot...forced to square her 2017 testimony that Michael Flynn could be blackmailed by Russia with new revelations that the probe was an FBI setup targeting the Trump White House." SSCI Approves Final Russia Report. The Hill (8/4, Miller, 2.98M) reports the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday "voted to adopt its fifth and final report on Russia's election interference efforts in 2016, with committee leaders vowing to keep working towards releasing a declassified version of the report to the public." The fifth report "covers counterintelligence findings, and was recently returned to the committee following a declassification review by the ODNI." Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) said in a joint statement Tuesday, "Today, the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to adopt the classified version of the final volume of the Committee's bipartisan Russia investigation. In the coming days, the Committee will work to incorporate any additional views, as well as work with the IC to formalize a properly redacted, declassified, publicly releasable version of the Volume 5 report. We want to thank the Committee's Russia investigative staff for their years of diligent, hard work on this critical matter." McCarthy Slow To Fill Opening On House Intelligence Committee Months After Ratcliffe Confirmation. Politico (8/4, Matishak, Zanona, 4.29M) reports House Republicans "aren't rushing to fill an empty seat on the high-profile House Intelligence Committee that has remained vacant for months, even as Congress grapples with potential foreign interference in the upcoming elections." House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is "taking his time deciding who should replace former Rep. John Ratcliffe - now DNI - on the prestigious panel." McCarthy's selection will surely "create some sore feelings in the conference as dozens of House Republicans are vying for a spot on the panel." And McCarthy's choice "could signal whether he wants to reverse the partisanship that's wracked the panel in the era of Trump or continue down a more similar path." Democrats "contend that leaving the slot open this long is another symptom of the disregard Republicans have displayed for intelligence matters." Federal Program Offers New Cybersecurity Tool For Elections As Officials Warn Of Foreign Interference. The AP (8/4, Cassidy) reports state and local officials are "receiving additional tools from the federal government to help defend the nation's election systems from cyberthreats ahead of the November vote, as intelligence officials continue to warn about foreign efforts to interfere in the US election." Under a $2.2 million pilot program that began in March, DHS' cybersecurity agency "in partnership with the Center for Internet Security has been deploying software to election offices." Just a few weeks ago, Bill Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, "released a statement noting foreign adversaries are seeking to compromise election infrastructure along with campaigns, candidates and other political targets." He "said the government continues to 'monitor malicious cyber actors trying to gain access to US state and federal networks, including those responsible for managing elections." ODNI Offers Recommendations To Address Lax Vetting Of Foreign Employees At US Agency For Global Media. EFTA00160714 The Washington TiMPi (8/4, Gertz, 492K) reports that, according to officials and internal documents from the US Agency for Global Media, foreign nationals from countries "such as China and Iran were granted security clearances by the US government agency in charge of broadcasting, jeopardizing national security." A senior USAGM official, speaking on background, said, "US national security is jeopardized any time there is even a single security violation. In this case, an entire agency with daily global reach was permitted to fully inculcate lax, or nonexistent, security procedures." The security lapses were "identified in an internal report last month from OPM, which found that the agency failed to take corrective action on 19 of 37 recommendations regarding personnel security shortcomings." The report described the "suggested security fixes, identified jointly by the ODNI, as 'critical recommendations' requiring 'immediate corrective action." Op-Ed: Telework Deployment For Secure Workforces Should Still Be A Priority. In a commentary in the Federal Times (8/4, 118K), Eric Jung, the CSfC program manager for Perspecta Labs, writes, "In what seemed like the blink of an eye, millions of federal employees across intelligence, defense and civilian agencies shifted to remote working environments because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal agencies aren't typically known for expansive telework policies, so the transition was quite dramatic, as well as intimidating for the IT teams facing this enormous challenge. NSA's Commercial Solutions for Classified program established stringent security requirements for end-user devices - laptops, tablets and smartphones - to connect to secure networks." He contends, "The CSfC security constructs are undoubtedly necessary to facilitating secure telework environments, but getting there can also be a complex process." He concludes, "Even as agencies begin bringing employees back to the office, with the threat of a second wave of coronavirus, IT leaders can't rest on achieving some telework successes." US Embassy In Moscow Says It Has No Information On Whelan's Whereabouts. The AP (8/4) reports the US Embassy in Moscow "said Tuesday it had no information on the whereabouts of" Paul Whelan, "an American convicted in June of espionage, despite reports that he is being transferred to a prison colony in central Russia." In a tweet Tuesday, Whelan's brother, David, said that he "appears to now be in Mordovia, on his way to prison camp IK-17." However, US Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Ross tweeted, "We have not received official notification from Russian authorities of any such move, despite our repeated recent attempts to gain consular access to Paul." Abrams Tells Senators US Will Continue To Recognize Guaid6 As Venezuela's Interim President. The AP (8/4, Smith) reports that om testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, the US's special representative to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, "said...that the Trump Administration will continue recognizing lawmaker Juan Guaido as the nation's interim president even if President Nicolas Maduro's government ousts the opposition from control of congress - its last major stronghold." Abrams told the panel, "He will not change the legal status for many countries around the world - and especially for us. ... In our view the constitutional president of Venezuela today and after Jan. 5, 2021 is Juan Guaido." Reuters (8/4, Zengerle, Spetalnick) reports that Abrams "insisted the US 'will not recognize this fraudulent election' and said it was in discussions with the roughly 60 countries that have backed Guaido and they would stick with him." They withdrew recognition "for Maduro after his 2018 re-election, which they regarded as a sham." Abrams "said US deportations of Venezuelans have halted but court decisions have led to 'some reluctance' to grant 'temporary protected status." Some lawmakers have "called for giving them asylum." Marco Rubio Introduces The "Air America Act" To Provide Benefits To Air America Employees. EFTA00160715 Florida Daily. (8/4, Derby) reports Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) "unveiled a proposal to have Air America employees who served during the Cold War have federal benefits." Rubio introduced the 'Air America Act' "with more than a dozen cosponsors." Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) "is the main cosponsor." Rubio said, "The brave men and women employed by Air America who conducted covert operations during the Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War were critical to US efforts. I'm proud to partner with Senator Warner, and our colleagues, to ensure that these Americans receive the long-overdue honor and recognition they deserve." Warner said, "I am proud to cosponsor this bill with Senator Rubio that will provide long-overdue recognition and retirement benefits to the brave men and women who flew for Air America." The US Is At Risk Of Attacks In Space. Axios (8/4, Kramer, 521K), reports other nations are "catching up to US capabilities in space, potentially putting American assets in orbit at risk." From GPS to imagery satellites and others "that can peer through clouds, space data is integral to American national security". Those same assets make "for appealing targets by bad actors, and experts are concerned weapons testing in orbit could lead to US satellites being attacked in the future." The US government has "taken notice of technological advances by commercial companies that could aid in national security." One possibility is that DOD "may host their own payloads on private spacecraft in order to distribute instruments more widely, making them harder to target." The newly established Space Force branch of the military "is tasked with helping to shore up national security interests in space, but experts aren't yet sure how it will accomplish that broad mandate." Op-Ed: US Becoming Sitting Target In Space For Russia's Anti-satellite Weapons. In an op-ed in The Hill (8/4, 2.98M), Gen. David A. Deptula (ret.), dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, writes, "With Russia, China and other countries moving to weaponize it, space is now a warfighting domain. The US must ensure the organizations it recently stood up to deter and, if necessary, to defeat an adversary's hostile use of space - the US Space Force and USSPACECOM - have the necessary resources to fulfill their vital missions." He contends, "Unfortunately, as the space domain has grown increasingly contested, the US national security space enterprise has not kept pace. Many of the systems in use have designs dating to the Cold War, when requirements were driven by performance rather than resilience, resulting in systems that became increasingly complex, integrated and expensive." He concludes, "Action is required now. The adverse cost of waiting until Russia and China take offensive actions in space would prove utterly crippling to military and civilian interests." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS FBI Meets With Activists To Discuss Breonna Taylor Probe. The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal (8/4, Aulbach, 368K) reports, "The FBI Louisville branch is tight-lipped and guarded, but Christopher 2X and three others got a peek behind the curtain Tuesday morning as the agency continues to conduct its investigation into the police shooting of Breonna Taylor." The Courier-Journal adds, "After an hourlong meeting at the FBI Louisville Field Office, 2X told reporters that while it may take time to finish the investigation, the commitment agency officials locally and nationally have shown to the case is encouraging. 'What they reassured us today is that they're taking this as serious as they can take it as far as putting the top agents on this particular investigation,' the local anti-violence activist said. The FBI announced in May, about a week before protests erupted in Louisville and across the nation, that it would conduct its own investigation into the shooting, independent of the Louisville Metro Police Department's internal investigation." WHAS-TV Louisville, KY (8/4, 99K) reports, "A second round of conversations were held Tuesday between the FBI and a local activist group as the federal investigation into Breonna Taylor's death continues." WHAS-TV adds, "Christopher 2X and members of his Game Changers organization met with members of the FBI. He said the FBI investigation is looking into possible civil rights investigations, adding investigators are vowing a thorough investigation. 'This is not EFTA00160716 comfortable for them to investigate a law enforcement body. However, they told us unequivocally, and they told us to tell you all, that doesn't mean anything to them. This is a serious issue, and the chips are going to fall where they may as it relates to the Breonna Taylor shooting,' 2X said." Spectrum News 1 Louisville (KY) (8/4) reports, "The FBI's Louisville office, as explained to the delegation, is primarily focused on investigating any potential civil rights violations committed by Louisville Metro Police officers in acquiring and executing the now banned no-knock warrant on March 13." Christopher 2X, "a long-standing Louisville civil rights and anti-violence advocate, is representing Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer. 2X said he has never before seen federal agents get involved in a Kentucky police shooting, and that he is confident the FBI is handling the case with sincerity and honesty after meeting for more than an hour. 'They said they don't wanna be a show horse in front of anybody about this situation,' he said to reporters in the parking lot of the FBI's Louisville headquarters. 'They wanna be the plow horse, to show the community; a plow horse to show the community that they are serious about civil rights being violated:" WLKY-TV Louisville, KY (8/4, 79K) reports, "Christopher 2x led the conversation - the second round - with the FBI at its Louisville field office. He said he wants to make sure they are taking the Civil Rights investigation into Taylor's death seriously. He said Tuesday after walking away from the meeting that he believes they are." WDRB-TV Louisville, KY (8/4, 179K) reports, "2X and his organization, Game Changers, along with local law students met with the FBI on Tuesday morning on Palmer's behalf for a second time to get an update on the status of the Taylor investigation, including the investigation into possible civil rights violations, and to address questions and concerns about the investigation." WDRB-TV adds, "One of those concerns, 2X said, was about the postal worker who shared the information that lead to the 'no-knock' warrant being issued and executed on Taylor's apartment. 'The broad report, as it relates to the postal inspector talking in the media almost close to two months ago, and him saying in the media, to the general public, that no strange packages ever went to Breonna Taylor's apartment, based on what the postal inspectors observed and investigate - that goes directly into the warrant issue,' he said." WHAS-TV Louisville, KY (8/4, 99K) also reports. Experts See Challenges To Charging Police In Taylor Case. The AP (8/4, Lovan) reports, "Despite mounting public pressure to file criminal charges nearly five months after Breonna Taylor's death, prosecutors may face significant obstacles to bringing homicide-related charges against police officers who were shot at when sent to her house with a warrant, legal experts said." According to the AP, "Tensions have swelled in her home town and spread far afield as activists, professional athletes and social media stars push for action while investigators plead for more patience. The warrant also has been called into question and, with federal officials looking into potential civil rights abuses, the case could reach beyond the officers on the scene that night. Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville emergency medical tech studying to become a nurse, was shot multiple times March 13 after being roused from sleep by police at her door. The warrant was approved as part of a narcotics investigation into a suspect who lived across town, and no drugs were found at her home." Judge Orders Trial After Discovery Of Missing Idaho Children's Bodies. The AP (8/4, Ridler) reports from Boise, Idaho, "A judge ruled Tuesday there's enough evidence for a man to go to trial after the bodies of his new wife's two children were found buried on his Idaho property. The bizarre case involving doomsday beliefs and the deaths of several people linked to the couple has attracted national headlines." Chad Daybell, 52, "has pleaded not guilty to charges related to hiding the remains of 7-year-old Joshua '33' Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan. Investigators found their bodies during a search in June, months after they were last seen in September. Daybell last year married Lori Vallow Daybell, who has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to help him keep the bodies of her children hidden. Authorities have yet to file charges related to the deaths of the children." East Idaho News (8/4) reports, "The case against Chad Daybell has been bound over to District Court and he is scheduled to go before Judge Steven Boyce for an arraignment on Friday, EFTA00160717 Aug. 21. After a two-day preliminary hearing in Fremont County, Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins determined there is sufficient cause that Daybell likely committed two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, and two felony counts of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence." Gephardt Daily (UT). (8/4) reports, "A phone call between Melanie Gibb and former friends Chad Vallow and Lori Vallow Daybell was played in the Idaho courtroom where Chad Daybell is having his preliminary hearing." The Daily adds, "Gibb, who has said she recorded the phone call on Dec. 8, 2019, questioned Lori Vallow Daybell, asking Lori why she lied to police in saying missing 7-year-old son Joshua 'J.]; Vallow was with Gibb." Chad Vallow "is charged with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, and two felony counts of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence. He was arrested June 9 after the remains of J.J. and Lori's daughter, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, were found buried on Chad's property on June 8 of this year." The New York Post (8/4, Rosenberg, 4.57M) reports, "An FBI agent described in an Idaho court Tuesday the grisly excavation of the charred and decomposing remains of 'Doomsday' dad Chad Daybell's stepchildren on a pet cemetery at the edge of his property. 'When I cut through the white plastic that's when the possible human hair began coming out onto my hands and that's when we determined it was human remains,' said FBI Special Agent Steve Daniels of finding the body of Joshua 'JJ' Vallow on June 9, 2019, in front of a dog statue. Daniels' testimony was part of a preliminary hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse to determine whether Daybell's case will remain in state court." The New York Post (8/4, Rosenberg, 4.57M) reports, "The day after 'Doomsday' dad Chad Daybell's stepdaughter was last seen alive, he sent his then-wife an 'unusual' text about shooting a raccoon and burying it in a pet cemetery, an FBI agent testified Tuesday." The Post adds, "Special Agent Benjamin Dean, an intelligence analyst, was assigned to examine an LG cellphone with a clear case decorated with purple glitter and hearts, he said on the stand at a preliminary hearing to determine if Daybell's case is removed from state court. 'Well, I've had an interesting morning! I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms,' Chad Daybell wrote his then-wife Tammy Daybell, at 11:53 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2019. 'While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!' he continued, according to the text Dean read during his testimony at the Fremont County Courthouse." The Daily Beast (8/4, Melendez, 1.39M) also reports. FBI Assisting Chicago Police In Probe Of Fatal Shooting Attack. The Chicago Tribune (8/4, Rosenberg-Douglas, 2.65M) reports, "Chicago police Tuesday released a video in hopes of identifying a gunman involved in a shooting that killed a 14-year-old Chicago boy July Fourth and also left three other people dead and four wounded." According to the Tribune, "Chicago detectives are working with the FBI to solve the crime and have announced a reward of as much as $25,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the gunman. Vernado Jones Jr., 14, was one of eight people who were shot at a Fourth of July gathering in Englewood. He was one of four people shot who died and one of three children shot in the 6100 block of South Carpenter Street, according to police. Also wounded were an 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy." The Tribune adds, "Authorities originally said there may be as many as four people who walked up to the gathering about 11:30 p.m. that night and opened fire." Trump Raised Possibility That Epstein Was Killed In Custody. In continuing coverage of President Trump's interview with Axios on HBO, the Washington Times (8/4, Sherfinski, 492K) reports that Trump "raised the prospect that alleged sex trafficker and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein might have been killed while in federal custody." Trump said, "[Epstein) was either killed or committed suicide in jail." Trump said, regarding Ghislaine Maxwell, "Her boyfriend died in jail and people are still trying to figure out, how did it happen?" and added, EFTA00160718 "Was it suicide? Was he killed?" The Times also reports that Attorney General Barr "has dismissed such talk and said Epstein did kill himself." Former Formula One Driver Says He Saw Bill Clinton At Epstein Party. The New York Post (8/4, Eustachewich, 4.57M) reports, "Bill Clinton once partied with Eddie Irvine at a shindig thrown by Jeffrey Epstein, the former Formula One racer said in a new report." Irvine told the Belfast Telegraph, "I remember him being around. I saw all these people around." Irvine didn't give "further details about Clinton, who was named in newly released court papers as having jetted to Epstein's private island - where young women and girls were sexually abused by the pedophile." Man Who Killed Somali Student At Kansas City Mosque Sentenced To Prison. The Kansas City _(MO,) Star (8/4, Spoerre, 549K) reports, "A 40-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday in the killing of a 15-year-old outside a Kansas City mosque in 2014." Ahmed Aden "has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder of Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein, a Somali student, who was in his sophomore year at Staley High School, according to a news release from the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office. Abdisamad was leaving the Somali Center of Kansas City at Admiral Boulevard and Lydia Avenue on Dec. 4, 2014, when he was struck by an SUV driven by Aden, police said at the time." Aden "entered an Alford plea in December, conceding without admitting guilt that prosecutors had enough to convict him of second-degree murder and armed criminal action." The Star notes that the FBI "had investigated the crash as a possible hate crime. Aden was 'outwardly anti-Muslim,' prosecutors have argued." FBI, Police Conduct Raids In Indianapolis. Fox News (8/4, McQuaid, 27.59M) reports FBI SWAT teams, backed by "Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) detectives and agents from multiple federal agencies, armed with more than a dozen arrest warrants, conducted several raids at dawn Monday across Indianapolis." A source "said the raids were a result of a wiretap investigation by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force which includes IMPD officers and likely targeted individuals and criminal enterprises dealing in drugs, cash and weapons." One source told FOX59 two men "were taken into custody at a house and car storage yard in the 5300 block of Massachusetts Avenue where investigators discovered guns and ammunition." The Indianapolis Star (8/4, Kemp, 633K) reports eight people were indicted "on federal drug charges Tuesday after federal and local law enforcement agencies conducted a series of raids in Indianapolis, U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler's office announced." In the Monday morning raids, "officers seized 31 firearms, 41/2 pounds of methamphetamine, ih kilogram of cocaine, 1 kilogram of fentanyl and more than $270,000 in cash, according to a news release." In all, 16 search warrants and "federal arrest warrants were served by FBI agents and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers, according to the release." FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Kennan said, "Even during the COVID shutdown, the FBI and our law enforcement partners were still engaged in investigations to reduce violent crime," adding, "What you saw Monday was the result of the dedicated work of multiple agencies with one shared goal - to make the community safer for residents who shouldn't have to live in fear." The FBI, IRS, "DEA Indianapolis District Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IMPD were all involved in the investigation." WXIN-TV Indianapolis (8/4, 434K) reports seven Indianapolis residents "and a Muncie resident were indicted on federal drug charges for their alleged roles in a drug trafficking operation." Minkler said, "I commend the hard work of the FBI, the IRS and the IMPD who combined their limited law enforcement resources in order to remove a criminal organization that sought to financially profit by infesting our city's streets with more guns, more drugs and more blood money." WXIN-TV Indianapolis (8/4, 434K) reports central Indiana police are "searching for two suspects following Monday's FBI raids in Indianapolis." A source "said the raids were a result of a wiretap investigation by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force which includes IMPD officers and likely EFTA00160719 targeted individuals and criminal enterprises dealing in drugs, cash and weapons. More than a dozen arrest warrants were served." WISH-TV Indianapolis (8/4, 33K) also reports. FBI Continues Probe Of 2019 Dayton, Ohio Mass Shooting. WHIO-TV Dayton, OH (8/4, Bedell, 109K) reports from Dayton, Ohio, "Six months after the FBI said it was wrapping up its investigation into the mass shooting at the Oregon District, the case remains open and the motive still not announced." WHIO-TV adds, "News Center 7's I -Team asked federal officials this week why the FBI's investigation still isn't finished after Chris Hoffman, the Special Agent in Charge of the bureau's Cincinnati field office, told reporters on February 16, 'We're very close to wrapping it up,' when he was asked about the probe into Connor Betts' motive. Even though Hoffman said he could not give a set time frame back in February, he did say then he expected the federal investigation to wrap up soon. The FBI declined to say why the investigation was still open at this point when contacted by News Center 7 this week." Texas Developer Facing Bribery Charges Is Placed On House Arrest. The AP (8/4) reports from Dallas, Texas, "A Dallas real estate developer has been put on house arrest after two federal judges found that he violated conditions of his release by contacting a potential government witness in his pending bribery trial." Ruel Hamilton "was recorded in January telling a former employee that she doesn't have to talk with investigators and that his company would cover the cost of a lawyer for her, according to court records unsealed Tuesday. Hamilton was charged with two counts of bribery in a corruption probe that has shaken local government in Dallas. He pleaded not guilty and was released ahead of his trial." Prosecutors "argued Hamilton was trying keep his former employee quiet despite 'carefully framed' statements that she was free to talk to the FBI." Virginia Gang Member Pleads Guilty To Racketeering, Murder Conspiracy. The Augusta (VA) Free Press (8/4) reports Rollin' 30s Crips gang member Trayvone Kasey, who "was federally indicted in 2018," has "pleaded guilty today to federal racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death, interference with commerce by robbery, and discharging a firearm and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death." The case was investigated as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods operation. Continuing Coverage: Michigan Man Indicted In Connection To Death Of Susie Zhao. WDIV-TV Detroit (8/4, Ley, Clarke, 460K) reports Jeffery Morris "was arrested and formally charged on Tuesday" in connection to the death of Susie Zhao, who "was found dead last month at the Pontiac Lake Recreation Center." White Lake Township police and an FBI task force "tracked Morris and arrested him last Friday." FBI Searching For Family Of Lost Toddler. Yahoo! News (8/4, Ghisolfi, 12.82M) reports that the FBI is continuing to search for the mother of a two-year-old toddler named Kamdyn, who was "found alone in Miramar last week." The child's extended family has filed a lawsuit to obtain custody of the boy, who "was taken into the care of the Broward Sheriff's Office Child Protective Investigations Section last weekend, and by last Monday had been assigned to foster parents." Pennsylvania Individuals Indicted In Connection To Prison Smuggling. WPMT-TV Harrisburg, PA (8/4, 93K) reports that six individuals "have been indicted by grand juries in U.S. Middle District Court for smuggling contraband items into" the Dauphin County Prison. Two suspects are former staff members, while the remaining suspects "are a man who was an inmate in the prison at the time, his mother, the paramour of another inmate, and - in a separate case - EFTA00160720 the sister of an inmate." The cases "were all investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of Dauphin County Prison and the Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division." The York (PA) Dispatch (8/4, 37K) reports that the charges could result in a maximum sentence of five years. Continuing Coverage: Connecticut Man Accused Of Killing Minor. WHBQ-TV Memphis, TN (8/4, Bonvillian, 23K) reports Diante Willoughby "has been charged with murder after authorities say he lured a 14-year-old boy he had befriended on Snapchat out of the house and strangled him before dumping his body in a wooded area." The report says that he "confessed to luring Jose Nunez from his Bridgeport home, driving him more than 20 miles away to Oxford and killing him." The FBI is supporting the investigation. Virginia Man Indicted For Threatening Schools. The Charlottesville (VA) Daily Progress (8/4, 94K) reports Lucas Isaiah Newton-Grant is "accused of threatening to blow up Charlottesville city school buildings," was "arrested after making continued threatening Facebook posts despite being warned by others that the threats were illegal." The original threats "were made July 7 as the city school system was considering how and when to reopen schools this fall and whether to open up in person or online." FBI Investigating Fatal Stabbing In Oklahoma. KOKI-TV Tulsa, OK (8/4, Jane, 11K) reports that the Tulsa Police Department "said someone was stabbed to death near 71st and Mingo early Tuesday morning," and the FBI is leading the investigation because the victim "was Native American." Minnesota Man Charged In Connection To Armed Robberies. The Minneapolis Star Tribune (8/4, 1.04M) reports Derrick Lee Spillman "made a first appearance in U.S. District Court in St. Paul Tuesday, charged with going on a nine-hour armed robbery spree last Friday, holding up three service stations and a Subway restaurant." He "is being charged under the Hobbs Act," which "allows federal prosecutors to charge individuals who commit armed robberies of businesses engaged in interstate commerce." 20-Year Manhunt For Michigan Sex Offender Ends In California. The Detroit News (8/4, 825K) reports James Meece, who "was convicted in 1991 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and sentenced to three to 15 years in prison," has "been arrested in California" by the U.S. Marshals Service. He disappeared in 1999, but the authorities located him through his 2001 marriage to an unidentified woman living in California. Michigan Lawmaker Files For Dismissal Of Charges. The Traverse City (MI) Record-Eagle (8/4, Quealy, 65K) reports Michigan State Rep. Larry Inman, who "was found not guilty of lying to federal agents about an illegal quid pro quo" in 2020, has filed for the dismissal of the remaining charges, which the jury could not decide a final verdict on at the time. Defense attorney Christopher Cooke "submitted a 10-page brief Friday claiming the prosecution, led by Christopher O'Connor and Ronald Stella, provided insufficient evidence at the trial and that its case will 'not get any stronger' upon retrial." WWTV-TV Cadillac, MI (8/4, 25K) reports that federal prosecutors "have wanted to retry the case but Inman's lawyer, Chris Cooke, expresses the same worries the judge has that prosecutors will not be able to prove him guilty after not being able to the first time." They "have until August 21 to establish their argument for a retrial." North Dakota Native American Official Charged With Bribery. EFTA00160721 Native News Online (8/4) reports that three officials connected to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation have been charged in connection to a bribery scheme that "span(ned] 2013 through 2020 and involve[d] at least $1.9 million combined in bribes and kickbacks paid by a construction contractor." The FBI "determined MHA Nation paid the contractor more than $17.25 million overall from January 2012 to January 2020, of which nearly $7.5 million came from the West Segment economic development corporation (EDC) from February 2014 to October 2019." Four Floridians Charged In Connection To Gas Station Skimming Scheme. WETM-TV Elmira, NY (8/4) reports that four Floridians "were arrested in Florida and Pennsylvania on Tuesday in connection to a nationwide scheme to steal credit and debit card numbers of gas station customers across the country--including in Albany, Broome, and Montgomery Counties." The individuals "are charged with building skimming devices and installing them at gas pumps from April 2016 through around December 2018." The case "is being investigated by the FBI in Albany, Miami, and Pittsburgh, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Field Office in Boston and Miami, and the Secret Service in Miami." More Than 370 Pounds Of Illegal Drugs Seized In "Massive" Bust. In online coverage, WSB-TV Atlanta (8/4, 105K) reports, "Federal, state and local authorities say a massive heroin bust is likely one the biggest in" Georgia. The article says the bust involved the seizure of "roughly 170 kilos, or 374 pounds, of heroin or heroin cut with other substances near our area's biggest open-air drug markets - The Bluff." Commenting on the case was DEA Special Agent in Charge Robert Murphy, who "said this may be the first time DEA has been able to track the heroin route from The Bluff back to a specific cartel based in Mexico." Murphy also said the FBI was involved with the investigation of this case, according to the WSB-TV report, which is highlighted in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution (8/4, Hansen, 895K) article. Drug Investigation Leads To 17 Arrests. The Ventura County (CA) Star (8/4, Rode, 174K) reports an investigation conducted by the DEA, the FBI and several other law enforcement organizations led to the arrests of 17 suspected "members of an alleged" drug trafficking organization. The suspects "are accused of importing methamphetamine from Mexico and distributing it in Ventura County." The KEYT-TV Santa Barbara, CA (8/4, 3K) website also covers this story. Drug Ring Involvement Leads To Federal Prison Sentences For Two Defendants. Running the same coverage, the New Haven (CT) Register (8/4, 225K) and the Norwalk (a) Hour (8/4, 46K) report that Connecticut residents Jamaine Jackson and Theodore Smith "were sentenced to federal prison on Monday for their involvement in a New Haven-based drug trafficking organization." The sentences will last 77 and 42 months for Jackson and Smith, respectively, according to US Attorney John Durham, who "said the ring was uncovered during an investigation headed by the FBI's New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force" and the New Haven Police Department. Two Arrested In Connection With Meth Trafficking Probe. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls (IA) Courier (8/4, Reinitz, 172K) reports Jorge Luis Martinez-Garcia and Jason John Evans "have been arrested in connection with a series of raids in July." The raids were "part of a large-scale meth trafficking investigation," according to the Courier article, which highlights the FBI's involvement with that probe. Heroin Trafficking Case Defendant Gets 30-Month Prison Sentence. The Lehighton (PA) Times News (8/4, 33K) reports a federal judge recently sentenced Pennsylvania resident Carlos Correa to 30 months in prison for participating "in a heroin trafficking EFTA00160722 conspiracy in Schuylkill and Luzerne counties." The Correa case "was investigated by the FBI, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Shenandoah Police." FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS FBI Raids Cleveland, Miami Offices "Tied To Ukrainian Oligarch." CBS News (8/4, 3.68M) reports agents from the FBI and the IRS "on Tuesday raided two offices belonging to Optima Management Group, a company with ties to a Ukrainian oligarch, CBS News has learned." The federal agents conducted the "raid of Optima Management's offices in Miami and Cleveland as part of an investigation out of the U.S. Attorney' Office for the Northern District of Ohio, which has been ongoing for more than a year, a law enforcement source said." Agents are believed to "have seized items including computers and laptops." Optima Management is a real estate "company that has ties to Ihor Kolomoisky, a Ukrainian oligarch with an estimated net worth of $1 billion, according to Forbes." The Daily Beast reported "last year that the FBI was investigating Kolomoisky for possible financial crimes, including money laundering." Bloomberg (8/4, Baker, Farrell, 4.73M) reports Optima, which "has been accused of participating in an international fraud scheme was raided by the FBI in two locations on Tuesday." Agents conducted "law enforcement activity" in Cleveland and "Miami at addresses that correspond with the offices of Optima Management Group, according to FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson." A grand jury in Cleveland "is investigating Kolomoisky's suspected role in the scheme, BuzzFeed News reported." WEWS-TV Cleveland (8/4, Buduson) reports FBI agents "converged on One Cleveland Center in Downtown Cleveland on Tuesday morning." The FBI agents "emerged from the Cleveland Optima office after several hours with more than a dozen boxes and several computers and servers." FBI Cleveland Special Agent Vicki Anderson confirmed, "We do have law enforcement activity here at One Cleveland Center this morning, everything is under seal so I'm not at liberty to go into details," adding, "We do have activity also as you know in Miami this morning concerning the same investigation but again, I'm not at liberty to go into details about that." The Cleveland Plain Dealer (8/4, Heisig, 895K) reports federal authorities in Cleveland "have been conducting a wide-ranging probe involving Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky that has been ongoing for quite some time." Separately, The Cleveland Plain Dealer (8/4, Heisig, 895K) reports the searches are the "first time agents were seen in public working on a years-long investigation. The Daily Beast first reported on the investigation in 2019, and cleveland.com did shortly after." WPLG-TV Miami (8/4, Ramos, Torres, 223K) reports from Miami, "FBI agents raided a 55th- floor office overlooking Biscayne Bay on Tuesday in downtown Miami. The search for evidence is part of a money-laundering investigation related to alleged bank fraud in Ukraine, a source with the FBI said." WPLG-TV adds, "The case related to the raid is under seal. Federal agents were at the Southeast Financial Center tower office that two Miami businessmen, Mordechai 'Motti' Korf and Uriel 'Uri' Laber, use to run several companies. They haven't been charged with any crimes, and the FBI spokesperson did not confirm they were the subject of the investigation." According to WPLG-TV, "FBI Cleveland Special Agent Vicki Anderson told Cleveland's ABC News affiliate the raid in Miami was connected to a raid at the offices of The Optima Management Group, a commercial real estate management and investment firm based in Cleveland, Ohio." WEWS-TV Cleveland (8/4, Regan) reports the FBI "has not commented on today's raid, but no one has been convicted of a crime involving Optima Management or its associated entities." Crain's Cleveland Business (8/4, Bullard, Jarboe, 61K), The Cleveland Plain Dealer (8/4, Cain, 895K), WKYC-TV Cleveland (8/4, 223K), WKYC-TV Cleveland (8/4, 223K), and WOIO-TV Cleveland (8/4, Anderson, 68K) also report. Former Proove Biosciences Executives Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Pay Physicians Kickbacks. The San Diego Union-Tribune (8/4, Davis, 755K) reports former Proove Biosciences vice president of market development Donald Joseph Matthews "pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to pay EFTA00160723 physicians kickbacks to order genetic tests for Medicare patients - a scheme that earned the business some $21 million in unlawful government reimbursements, authorities said." According to the plea agreement, Proove "paid physicians across the country, including in San Diego, at least $3.5 million so they would order DNA tests designed to [assess] a patient's risk of abusing opioid prescription painkillers." The company also "billed Medicare about $45 million for the tests, receiving about half of that from the government." SEC Reportedly Investigating Announcement Of Loan To Kodak To Make Medicine In Factories. The Wall Street Journal (8/4, Al, Michaels, Francis, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the circumstances of Eastman Kodak's announcement that it has received a $765 million loan from the US government to manufacture medicine at its factories in the US. Last week, the company's shares spiked on the news, possibly enriching company executives who were granted stock-option grants on July 27, the day before the loan became public. Ex-Rep. Collins Seeks Another Delay In Reporting To Prison. The Buffalo (NY) News (8/4, Besecker, 391K) reports, "Attorneys for Chris Collins are again asking for a roughly two-month delay in when the former congressman must report to federal prison," and "Collins' lawyers are again pointing to the Covid-19 pandemic as their rationale." According to the News, "Collins' attorneys on Tuesday filed a request with U.S. District Court Judge Vernon S. Broderick to put off the start of his 26-month sentence for insider trading. Collins, who was sentenced Jan. 17, is scheduled to begin serving his sentence Aug. 18. His attorneys are asking the judge to push the start to Oct. 13." Collins, 70, "has twice received a reprieve due to the coronavirus outbreak - in April and May, the latter of which delayed what had been a June surrender date." CYBER DIVISION Florida Teen Charged In Twitter Hack Pleads Not Guilty. The AP (8/4) reports from Tampa, Florida, "A Florida teen identified as the mastermind of a scheme that gained control of Twitter accounts of prominent politicians, celebrities and technology moguls pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to multiple counts of fraud." Graham Ivan Clark, 17, "is accused of using the hijacked Twitter accounts to scam people around the world out of more than $100,000 in Bitcoin. He is charged with 17 counts of communications fraud, 11 counts of fraudulent use of personal information, and one count each of organized fraud of more than $5,000 and accessing computers or electronic devices without authority." Clark "is scheduled for a bond hearing on Wednesday." The Tampa Flay (a) Timej (8/4, Solomon, 742K) reports, "Obscure social media platforms, a hacked database and drivers license photos. These are the crumbs that led federal agents to the illegal sale of celebrities' Twitter accounts - Joe Biden, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Kanye West among them - and the arrest of a Tampa teen investigators call the 'mastermind' of the operation, according to new court documents obtained by the Tampa Bay Times." Clark, 17, I"s accused of gaining access to the Twitter accounts and sending tweets soliciting others to send in payments of Bitcoin, the hard-to-track cryptocurrency that stores transaction data on the blockchain - a decentralized public ledger. Prosecutors say Clark promised any Bitcoin sent in would be returned doubled. In all, Clark reaped $117,000 over about three hours, prosecutors said. Two other suspects face related charges in a California federal court — Nima Fazeli, 22, of Orlando, and Mason Sheppard, 19, of the United Kingdom." The Wall Street Journal (8/4, McMillan, Choi, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the Florida teenager allegedly behind the July 15 hack of Twitter was able to gain access to social media accounts by convincing a Twitter employee that he was a fellow worker, according to EFTA00160724 prosecutors. The Journal provides an in-depth overview of Graham Ivan Clark's tactics and how it was honed by years of online mischief. Trump Makes "Unprecedented" Demand For US Slice Of A TikTok Deal. The AP (8/4, Arbel) reports President Trump's "demand that the U.S. government get a cut from a potential Microsoft purchase of TikTok is the latest unprecedented scenario in an unprecedented situation." White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany "sidestepped a question Tuesday about what authority the federal government had to collect a portion of proceeds from the potential sale of TikTok, saying 'I'm not going to get ahead of the president on any official action." The Treasury Department "did not reply to questions about what legal precedent Trump is relying on to get a payment for the TikTok deal." Reuters (8/4, Shalal, Shepardson) reports, "White House officials on Tuesday could not say how the U.S. government would receive a portion of the proceeds from any sale of TikTok's U.S. operations, one day after President Donald Trump called for a cut of the money." NEC Director Kudlow was asked on Fox Business' Varney & Co. (8/4, 64K) about Trump's comment that the US should get a piece of the sale of TikTok. Kudlow said, "There's no specific blueprint here. The big thing is in 45 days, if [Microsoft] and TikTok can come up with the right plan, which allows for all the necessary software, information, personal security, the President is inclined to go with it. That's the key point." Kudlow added, "I don't know if that's a key stipulation. It may be that the President was thinking because the Treasury has had to do so much work on this, a lot of options here. ... Right now, the key point is the transaction can go ahead in 45 days if all of the concerns are met. ... I think on the whole it is a very good idea, it is a very promising idea if it meets all of our security concerns." In an analysis titled "Trump's Long-Shot Bid For Cut Of TikTok Sale Echoes His Border Wall Pledge," Bloomberg (8/4, Sink, 4.73M) reports Trump has "frequently depicted himself as standing up for the taxpayer by strong-arming those looking to do business with the U.S. - whether or not his promises materialize." His "tough-guy proclamations often are muddied by the real-world machinations of finance and diplomacy." According to Bloomberg, "in the end, the president's demand of a TikTok buyer might prove similar to the 15-second videos that make up the platform: surprising and engaging, but ultimately fleeting." The Washington Post (8/4, Dou, 14.2M) reports the success of TikTok shows that "China's Internet industry for the first time has attained the triple threat of engineering know-how, marketing sheen and multicultural sensibility to deliver not just a domestic but an international hit." Therefore, "the battle" over the app is "not about its current reach to American teens, but the potential reach of this catchy communication format from China." TikTok is "the latest in a line of new communication technologies that began with simpler intentions but were drawn into politics once they reached a critical mass," and even without heightened trade tensions, the Post says, "there would still be a reckoning at some point for TikTok, as there was in turn for Twitter, Facebook, television, radio, the telephone, the telegraph and the carrier pigeon." The Wall Street Journal (8/4, Tilley, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Microsoft's pursuit of TikTok has put the tech titan at the center of US-China tensions. Microsoft over the years has cultivated good relations with officials in both Washington and Beijing, but buying TikTok could open it to retribution in China, where news of the talks have been met with derision. In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal (8/4, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says President Trump's demand for a finder's fee could derail Microsoft's plans to acquire a valuable asset, which would hurt competition in the tech space, and sends the wrong message about the prevalence of the rule of law in America and its openness to foreign investment. Insisting on a fee could also torpedo a deal that would further America's strategic interests, since it would limit the Chinese Communist government's influence in other markets around the world. US Charges California Man In Cyberstalking Case. KTLA-TV Los Angeles (8/4, Salahieh, 766K) reports, "A Pasadena man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with making detailed threats to hurt, rape and kill 10 people he EFTA00160725 met in various settings, officials announced Tuesday." Samuel Trelawney Hughes, 31, "and a citizen of the United Kingdom, faces seven counts of stalking, nine counts of making online threats, three counts of mailing threatening communications and seven counts of witness tampering, according to the United States Attorney's Office in the Central District of California. Hughes allegedly sent victims messages in which he expressed hope they would die or made specific threats to hurt them." KTLA-TV adds, "FBI officials began investigating Hughes in May 2019 after a victim filed a complaint with the Internet Crimes Complaint Center." NSA Warns Cellphone Location Data Could Pose National-Security Threat. The Wall Street Journal (8/4, Tau, Volz, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports NSA released new information Tuesday for military and IC workers, warning about the threats to cellphone location tracking from apps, wireless networks and Bluetooth technology. The warning from NSA is an acknowledgment that the tech industry's custom of obtaining and selling cellphone location information may be a serious national-security risk. The Hill (8/4, Miller, 2.98M) reports NSA Tuesday" rolled out guidance warning that location data from mobile and other internet-connected devices could pose a security threat for users if it were accessed by adversaries." The guidance was "rolled out as a warning for DOD personnel and others with access to sensitive federal systems, but the NSA noted that it could be 'useful to a wide range of users.- NSA warned in the guidance, "Using a mobile device - even powering it on - exposes location data. Mobile devices inherently trust cellular networks and providers, and the cellular provider receives real-time location information for a mobile device every time it connects to the network." C4ISR & Networks (8/4, Eversden) reports the guidance "offered several steps users can implement to limit the exposure of their location." NSA warned that turning off cellular services "aren't enough to ensure security because adversaries can still determine location if Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are still enabled due to wireless sniffers that can determine location based on the strength of a device's signal - even if the device is not in use." NSA "suggested users disable location services, turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if those services aren't needed, and place devices in airplane mode when not in use." It also recommended "giving mobile applications minimal permissions and suggested avoiding apps that rely on location services." The New York Post (8/4, Barone, 4.57M) reports NSA "recommends giving apps as few permissions as possible and limiting web browsing on phones." The advisory also "extended to fitness-tracking gear; other internet-connected tech like smartwatches and the computers found in modern automobiles." DHS Report Says Chinese Behind Malware Used In Attacks On US During Past Decade. The Washington Examiner (8/4, Giaritelli, 448K) reports that, according to a new DI-IS report, malware "used frequently in cyberattacks against the US during the past decade has been linked to the Chinese government." DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency "alerted business owners and government officials this week that much of the malware, or software designed to damage a computer or network, planted in attacks on digital networks and devices was used by authorities in China." CISA "said its counterparts at the Pentagon and the FBI contributed to the discovery of who was involved in the attacks, though it did not reveal the number or identities of US victims." CISA said in a statement, "FBI has high confidence that Chinese government actors are using malware variants in conjunction with proxy servers to maintain a presence on victim networks and to further network exploitation." CISA, FBI And DOD Issue Alert On TAIDOOR — A New Chinese Malware Variant. Security Magazine (8/4) reports the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI, and DOD have "identified a malware variant - referred as TAIDOOR - used by the Chinese government." In addition, US Cyber Command has "released the malware sample to the malware aggregation tool and repository, VirusTotal." Matt Walmsley, EMEA Director at Vectra, a provider of technology which applies AI to detect and hunt for cyber attackers, said, "Remote Access Trojans (RATs) are an insidious set of attacker tools that invade our systems, data and privacy. With so much legitimate remote access happening across our networks and hosts, there's plenty of EFTA00160726 opportunity for RATs to operate undiscovered for extended periods as they hide in plain sight." CISA "encourages users and administrators to review Malware Analysis Report MAR-10292089- 1.v1, US Cyber Command's VirusTotal pag, and CISA's Chinese Malicious Cyber Activity page for more information." Cyber Wire (8/4) reports CISA has published "a Malware Analysis Report on 'Taidoor,' a remote access Trojan that Chinese intelligence services have deployed against collection targets since 2008." The FBI and DOD "concurred in the analysis, and US Cyber Command has uploaded samples of Taidoor's code to VirusTotal." It's been used "against government agencies, corporations, and think tanks, mostly ones with an interest in Taiwan." Both FireEye and CrowdStrike have "tracked Taidoor for some time; the news in this Report is the formal attribution to the Chinese government and the urgency which the US Government attaches to defense against Taidoor." Federal IT Leaders At DHS, NSA Highlight Election Security Efforts. FedTech (8/4) reports Rob Joyce, senior NSA adviser for cybersecurity strategy, recently "retweeted comments from the NSA director, Gen. Paul M. Naksone, who noted that NSA and US Cyber Command are squarely focused on ensuring 'safe, secure and legitimate 2020 elections." CISA Director Chris Krebs recently "echoed that sentiment by highlighting his agency's work with the EAC, NSA, FBI, ODNI, National Association of State Election Directors and National Association of Secretaries of State." Krebs tweeted, "#Protect2020 means ensuring American voters decide American elections." Krebs's tweet "promoted a statement from William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, in which he noted that election security remains a 'top priority' for the IC, which is supporting DHS and the FBI." Evanina's statement "noted that it is imperative to 'share insights with the American public about foreign threats to our election and offer steps to citizens across the country to build resilience and help mitigate these threats." CISA Putting Skills Over Experience As It Rethinks Cyber Hiring Approach. federal News Network (8/4, Heckman, 220) reports the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is thinking "beyond the General Schedule approach to hiring in the federal government, which prioritizes experience in a professional setting, as well as degrees and certifications." Instead, CISA Director Chris Krebs "said the agency is focusing on a younger demographic but with the hands-on experience needed in cybersecurity." Prospective hires include "recent college graduates and those in post-graduate programs with a few years of experience under their belts, as well as younger applicants that are digital natives." Krebs said, "I'm getting 17 (and) 18 year- olds that apply for jobs that have six years of practical, operational experience in security research because they've been online white-hat hackers since they could turn on a computer." CISA's reframing of cybersecurity hiring "comes a few months after OPM urged agencies to make skill assessment more of a priority in hiring cyber talent." FBI Bulletin Says Social Media And Search Platforms Linking Consumers To Fraudulent Sites. Chain Store Age (8/4, Berthiaume) reports fraudsters are pulling off "e-commerce scams using popular social media platforms and search engines." According to a new bulletin from the FBI, "an increasing number of consumers have not received items they purchased from websites offering low prices on items such as gym equipment, small appliances, tools and furniture." Victims reported they were "led to these websites via ads on social media platforms or while searching for specific items on online search engines' shopping pages." Consumers "said they purchased items from these websites because prices were consistently lower than those offered by other online retail stores." The retail websites provided "valid but unassociated US addresses and telephone numbers under a 'Contact Us' link, misleading victims to believe the retailer was located within the US." Many of the websites "used content copied from legitimate sites." Survey Finds Financial Firms' Cybersecurity Spending Jumps 150/0 This Year. EFTA00160727 Dloomberg (8/4, Onaran, 4.73M) reports a survey found that "big banks and other financial firms are spending 15% more this year to defend computer networks from cyber criminals, and the pandemic and work-from-home arrangements are probably spurring further increases." According to the poll conducted by Deloitte & Touche LLP and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, an industry group known as FS-ISAC, "average spending per employee was budgeted at $2,691, up from $2,337 in 2019." Some firms have budgeted "as much as $3,322 per employee for cybersecurity, up from the $3,000 maximum last year." That would translate to "about $850 million annually for WMorgan Chase & Co. and almost $900 million for Wells Fargo & Co., based on their June headcount figures, as the biggest banks spend more than smaller rivals on protecting their networks." Spending on the problem "has been growing for at least four years as the sector remains the top target of cyber criminals." Cyber Chiefs Worry Staff Vulnerable To Burnout As Pandemic Rolls On. The Wall Street Journal (8/4, Rundle, Nash, Stupp, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports lengthy work days, working remotely, the pandemic, and rising cyberattacks have security chiefs worried their employees are absorbing too much stress. Bryson Koehler, chief technology officer at Equifax Inc., remembers that his team worked day and night for seven days a week attempting to make sure employees had the tools required to work remotely. Industrial Robots Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks. Bloomberg (8/4, Lepido, 4.73M) reports industrial robots are now being "used to assemble everything from airplanes to smartphones, using human-like arms to mechanically repeat the same processes over and over, thousands of times a day with nanometric precision." But according to a new report entitled 'Rogue Automation,' "some robots have flaws that could make them vulnerable to advanced hackers, who could steal data or alter a robot's movements remotely, like a scene out of science fiction." According to Federico Maggi, a researcher at Trend Micro Inc., and Marcello Pogliani, an information security researcher at Politecnico di Milano, in a research report, "Attacks on industrial environments in these sectors could have serious consequences, including operational failure, physical damage, environmental harm and injury or loss of life." Russian Hackers Stole Leaked Documents From UK Trade Secretary's Personal Email Account. The Telegraph (UK) (8/4, Rayner, 956K) reports Russian hackers "stole the contents of a former Cabinet minister's personal email account, it has emerged, as Whitehall departments admitted that ministers received only 'informal' training in data security." Classified documents relating to "US-UK trade talks were taken from a private email account belonging to Liam Fox, the former International Trade Secretary." The Government does not "explicitly ban the use of private email accounts for official business, but says all information must be handled in accordance with the law, including the Official Secrets Act." Dr Fox's account, hosted online, "was accessed multiple times by the hackers between July 12 and October 21 last year." Documents obtained under Freedom of Information requests "show that ministers are offered briefings on data security but do not have to demonstrate that they have understood that advice." LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES Administration To Award More Than $35M In Grants To Organizations Supporting Trafficking Victims. The Federalist (8/4, Osburn, 126K) reports, "Ivanka Trump and the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs announced Tuesday the Trump administration will award over $35 million in grants to 73 organizations across 33 states to provide housing and support for victims of human trafficking." The funds will "help cover costs of short-term housing, security deposits, utilities, and other related expenses, the White House said." White House adviser Ivanka Trump said, "In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, combating human trafficking in the US and abroad is critical EFTA00160728 work. DOD's grant recipients are on the frontlines of this fight, ensuring that survivors across our country are afforded safe and stable housing and empowered with the support and resources they need to rebuild their lives." OTHER FBI NEWS Audit Finds Only Minor FBI Errors In FISA Applications. The Hilt (8/4, Johnson, 2.98M) reports, "An internal audit of 29 warrant applications submitted by the FBI to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court found only minor clerical errors in a process that has come under heavy political scrutiny in recent years." According to The Hill, "The findings were revealed in a court filing Wednesday and stem from an independent review of the FBI's application process for surveillance warrants by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. The DO) watchdog concluded in a report earlier this year that the FBI had made over a dozen errors in its applications to look into Carter Page,