Defense secretary Pete Hegseth alleges Confucius Institutes operating in disguise on US university campuses

The ⁠US defense department has designated Chinese-funded cultural centers on university campuses ⁠known as Confucius ⁠Institutes ​as a threat to US national security, defense secretary Pete ⁠Hegseth said on Friday.

Washington has long accused Confucius Institutes of being Chinese propaganda ⁠tools and has taken steps to ​crack down on them.

Ex-Trump adviser and former top aide for homeland security alleged to have profited off government role

Corey Lewandowski, a former political adviser to Donald Trump and ⁠top aide at the Department ⁠of Homeland Security, ​is under criminal investigation over allegations he profited off his role in the US government, three US officials and a fourth person familiar with the matter told Reuters ⁠on Thursday.

The investigation began with a criminal referral to the justice department from the internal watchdog at the DHS, according to the four people. The DHS inspector general’s office has been investigating ⁠Lewandowski’s involvement in the handling of certain government contracts, according to one of the people, a DHS official.

Millions of customers’ genetic and personal information exposed in 2023, including more than 855,000 Californians

California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, on Monday announced the state will receive a $6m settlement payment in 23andMe’s bankruptcy, resolving California’s legal claims related to a 2023 data breach that exposed 6.9 million customers’ ⁠genetic and other ⁠personal information.

California had ​unsuccessfully tried to block the $305m sale of 23andMe assets to TTAM Research Institute, a non-profit controlled by the 23andMe ⁠co-founder Anne Wojcicki. The state had argued that the bankruptcy sale violated California’s Genetic Information Privacy Act, and it had said ⁠consumers did not give express consent to the sale.

Trump-boosting billionaire was sued over promise to give away $1m per day to random signatories of petition

Elon Musk and his ⁠America Pac political action committee said recently that they agreed to settle two ⁠proposed class ⁠actions ​alleging the billionaire entrepreneur defrauded residents in closely contested states before the ⁠2024 US election by promising voters a lottery-style daily $1m giveaway.

The plaintiffs, Musk and America Pac ​told the ‌judge overseeing the two ‌related lawsuits in federal court in Austin, Texas, ‌on Thursday that they have reached settlements subject to court approval.

Prosecution did not act in fair and impartial way in grand jury proceedings, judge rules, after West Wing actor charged with groping young boy on TV set

A state court ⁠judge in New Mexico has dismissed charges of child sexual abuse against West Wing actor and director Timothy Busfield, saying the prosecution did not act in a ⁠fair and impartial manner during grand jury proceedings.

Judge Joseph Montano said prosecutors could pursue new charges against Busfield.

• Former QB says he is looking ‘for next landing spot’

• Aikman and Buck said to have argued over contracts

Longtime Monday Night Football announcer Troy Aikman said he is looking for his “next landing spot” with ⁠his ESPN contract set to expire after February’s Super Bowl.

“I’ll broadcast through this season, and I’ll be ⁠a free agent ⁠at ​the end of the year and kind of see what happens,” Aikman said in a radio interview ⁠with KTCK of Dallas on Thursday morning.

Authorities say suspect, 19, was allegedly planning a mass shooting and had shared a white supremacist manifesto

A man arrested in a Chicago suburb had shared a ⁠document expressing white supremacist views and outlined an alleged plan to carry out a mass shooting, potentially targeting a Hindu place of worship, police ⁠said on Wednesday.

Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was ​arrested on Sunday after an individual reported receiving concerning electronic communications from him, Palatine police said. It was not immediately clear if he had ⁠legal representation.

Third-largest fine in US treasury’s history, due to failure to report suspicious activity, may affect third-quarter earnings

Bank of America (BAC.N), has been fined $1.21bn by US regulators for widespread failures to detect ‌potential money laundering and other illicit activity, a penalty the bank said will hurt third-quarter earnings.

The US treasury department said the fine, the third-largest in department history, is due to the bank’s failure to report more than $5bn in suspicious activity to the government, including $1bn that posed national security-related and other priority illicit finance risks.

Move would reunite chief executive Brian Niccol with chain he led before joining coffee company two years ago

Starbucks has explored a takeover of Chipotle Mexican Grill, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, in a move that ⁠would reunite chief executive Brian Niccol with the burrito chain he led before joining the coffee giant two years ago.

The potential deal comes as restaurant chains wrestle with uncertain demand from inflation-weary ⁠consumers and rising operating costs, prompting ⁠companies to look ​for new avenues of growth while facing pressure to improve profitability.