Month: January 2023

Authored by James Durso via Defense.info,

Timing is everything, and it may determine the fate of Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili. Saakashvili was president of Georgia from 2004 to 2013, and governor of Ukraine’s Odesa Oblast in 2015 and 2016. He returned to Georgia on October 1, 2021 and promptly started a hunger strike to protest previous convictions and new charges against him, including battery, misappropriation, abuse of power, and embezzlement.

Recently, there has been a groundswell of protest to force the Georgian government, led by the Georgian Dream party, to free Saakashvili so he can seek medical attention in the U.S. or Europe for his deteriorating health. His dire condition may be caused by neglect and heavy metal poisoning, and a council of physicians convened by Georgia’s state ombudsperson Nino Lomjaria declared the prison clinic (Vivamedi Clinic) “fails to meet his medical needs.” His condition is likely worsened by petty harassment by the government, including turning off the electricity to the clinic.

Saakashvili demonstrated bad judgement in the past, by starting a war with Russia in 2008, and returning to Georgia despite earlier convictions and with new charges pending against him, despite an earlier pledge to not return. And he made it easy for the Georgian authorities by entering the country illegally, inside a cargo container. (Saakashvili was stripped of his Georgian citizenship in 2015 after he accepted Ukrainian citizenship.)

Despite all, he is viewed as “America’s guy” for being feted by presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and receiving significant support from Washington that “enabled his reckless behavior” and insulated him from domestic criticism.

In another time, Washington might have been able to get away with distancing itself from Saakashvili, but it is too soon after America’s retreat from Afghanistan for the U.S. to freely abandon an old friend.

The optimal solution is for Georgia to deport this Ukrainian back to Ukraine where he can get medical treatment and no longer be a burden to Tbilisi, which can avoid possible  sanctions by the U.S. and the European Union.

All well and good, but what will Washington do if the price for Saakashvili’s freedom is a prisoner swap?

The U.S. recently secured the freedom of professional basketball player, Britney Griner, by releasing the jailed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the “Merchant of Death.” The Biden administration was criticized for not making a like-for-like swap, and for leaving behind a former U.S. Marine, Paul Whelan, serving a 16-year prison sentence for espionage.

The Griner affair alerted the public to the fate of other wrongfully detained and kidnapped Americans, such as Siamak Namazi (7 years in Iran) and Zack Shahin (15 years in the United Arab Emirates). The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation reports “65 innocent fellow Americans are suffering in prolonged unjust detentions, on an average of four long years” and “more state actors are wrongfully detaining Americans, and fewer Americans are returning home.”

In the past, the U.S. government moved quickly when a soldier, spy, journalist, or diplomat was abducted, but ordinary citizens with no connection to the apparat may have to wait their turn. It won’t be a good look if Washington pulls out the stops for a foreign politician but moves at a leisurely pace for Average Joe.

Aside from bureaucrats who only move at government speed, another obstacle to prisoner trade is the structure of the U.S. prison system. In the U.S., the federal prison system holds a small share of the over 1.2 million incarcerated persons, most of whom are held at the state level and typically for more violent offenses.

So, if the price of Saakashvili’s freedom is a prisoner in the U.S., what can Washington offer a governor to spring a convict? 

That governor may be in office because of a tough-on-crime campaign and will not want to face the police, prosecutors, local media, and victims’ families, all of whom are invisible to Washington but who know the address of the governor’s mansion.

The “local factor” also applies in Georgia, where numerous private citizens are named as victims of Saakashvili’s alleged crimes, and the country’s president will be as reluctant to spring him as any U.S. governor. Irakli Kobakhidze, leader of the Georgian Dream party, who answers to Putin’s local ally, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, says releasing Saakashvili will “destabilize the country” and he may right given Moscow’s interest in keeping Saakashvili in prison until he expires.

There will be few domestic plaudits for the Biden administration if it succeeds, other than from some think tanks and cable TV hosts, so the best approach for the Americans is to urge Georgia to deport Saakashvili to Ukraine or quietly support efforts by European leaders to free their fellow European.

⁦.@Billbrowder⁩, Magnitsky Act Proponent, Turns His Attention To Mikheil Saakashvili ⁦@SaakashviliM⁩ https://t.co/q0K2DYszmK

— Pedro Pizano (Peter) (@PedroPizano) January 21, 2023

If the Europeans founder, the Americans can attempt to negotiate Saakashvili’s freedom using tools such as Magnitsky sanctions, visa cancellations, or suspension of military sales. If the U.S. has to spring a federal prisoner, it won’t be the first time an inmate vanished from the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, but if the Georgians demand a prisoner in state custody, Biden himself will have to publicly take the heat (and deliver compensation to the aggrieved state).

Washington and Tbilisi are fenced in by domestic concerns, with Tbilisi also looking over its shoulder at Moscow.

The U.S. is suffering a post-Afghanistan trust deficit as the world saw all that Shohna-ba-Shohna (“Shoulder-to-Shoulder”) stuff for what it really was and, if Washington defaults to its usual behavior and sanctions Georgian Dream party leaders it is betting they will capitulate before Saakashvili dies.

Is the administration ready to gamble?

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson,

Former President Donald Trump for now certainly seems to have had more documents labeled “classified” at Mar-a-Lago in Florida than did President Joe Biden at his various homes in Delaware.

Yet otherwise, the comparisons between the two cases, contrary to popular punditry, hardly favor Biden.

First, a stranger would face a far greater challenge entering a post-presidential Mar-a-Lago than a pre-presidential Biden home, office, or garage — or who knows where?

Secret service agents and private security were stationed at Mar-a-Lago. Prior to the 2020 presidential election they were not at citizen Biden’s various troves for most of 2017-2020, much less prior to 2009.

Second, we seem to forget that for much of the developing controversy, Biden’s own team was investigating Biden.

On the other hand, the Biden Administration’s Justice Department and the FBI were not just investigating Trump as an outside party, but as a former president — and possible 2024 presidential candidate and opponent of Biden himself.

Remember, the narrative of the first Democratic impeachment of Trump was the allegation that Trump had used his powers of the presidency to investigate Biden and his family, a likely 2020 challenger to Trump’s reelection bid.

Third, no one in a position of government authority had passed judgment on Biden’s alleged security violations.

That was not the case of the still alleged violations of Trump.

Biden, as president, had weighed in, during his own Justice Department’s ongoing investigations of Trump. Indeed, he proclaimed the former president to be guilty: “How could anyone be that irresponsible?” In contrast, he also dismissed the ongoing investigation of himself with “There is no there, there.”

Fourth, Trump is certainly right that as president he had a far more substantial claim of declassification rights than did Biden, who took the papers out either as a senator or vice president.

Fifth, the FBI was not merely asymmetrical in melodramatically raiding the Trump home while allowing Biden lawyers to inspect various Biden stashes. The FBI also leaked the purported contents of the subjects of the Trump classified documents (falsely spreading the lie of “nuclear codes” and “nuclear secrets”) in a way it has not with the Biden cache.

The FBI went so far as to scatter the documents on the floor for a fake news photo-op as if the papers were so messily arrayed when they arrived.

So far, the FBI has come lightly and belatedly to the Biden case without the SWAT team get-up, and only under pressure from the public and the Republican opposition.

Six, Biden did not “self-report.” Biden’s team did not call the relevant government authorities the minute they discovered the classified documents in Biden’s office and home and garage.

In truth, Biden, or someone close to Biden, certainly knew that he or someone close to him had illegally removed classified documents when he left the vice presidency in 2017 — or years earlier as a senator.

For at least the last six years — at least — Biden has felt no compunction to confess to authorities he illegally was in possession of classified documents.

Indeed, the only reason the current troves are coming to light was apparent White House paranoia that the media, the Biden Justice Department, and the special counsel were so fixated on the Trump documents that they likely feared someone might raise the logical question of whether a hypocritical Biden himself might be guilty of exactly the crime for which they were pursuing Trump.

Worse, Biden and his staff knew classified documents were in his possession before the midterms, but deliberately suppressed that information until after the elections were over.

Seventh, Trump’s documents were stored only at one place — Mar-a-Lago, and only for about 19 months. Biden’s were stashed at various locations for nearly seven years, or perhaps over a decade.

There were far more opportunities of time and space for those without security clearances to have access to the Biden documents than to the Trump files.

Eighth, the press has exhaustively speculated, usually wrongly, about how the documents reached Mar-a-Lago and what they contained.

In contrast, no one knows or even asks why Biden took classified documents, what they concerned, or who if any in his family circle had access to them.

Ninth, Trump’s documents did not expose other liabilities of the constantly investigated Trump. The Biden files so far have directed attention to the mysterious tens of millions of dollars in Communist Chinese money that poured into Biden’s think tank at the University of Pennsylvania, the proximity of members of the quid pro quo Biden consortium to these classified papers, and the files’ relevance, if any, to the Biden family’s overseas businesses.

Did Hunter Biden ever consult or view classified documents while living in a home with them? Will there be fingerprint or DNA tests on the documents? If Hunter consulted any of these classified documents, then the Biden presidency is finished.

Tenth, Trump possessed contested documents as a private citizen. Biden’s files under contention involve the current behavior of the president of the United States. Biden ran for office, was elected, and serves as president with the full knowledge that during all this time he unlawfully possessed classified documents.

NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a plan on Tuesday to test out a nuclear-powered thermal rocket engine which will enable NASA-crewed missions to Mars, according to NASA.

The program, called Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, or DRACO, could allow for faster transit time, an increased payload capacity, and higher power for instrumentation and communication.

In a nuclear thermal rocket engine, a fission reactor is used to generate extremely high temperatures. The engine transfers the heat produced by the reactor to a liquid propellant, which is expanded and exhausted through a nozzle to propel the spacecraft. Nuclear thermal rockets can be three or more times more efficient than conventional chemical propulsion. -NASA

Under the agreement, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) will lead technical development of the nuclear thermal engine to be integrated with DARPA’s experimental spacecraft. DARPA is acting as the contracting authority for the development of the entire stage and the engine, which includes the reactor. DARPA will lead the overall program including rocket systems integration and procurement, approvals, scheduling, and security, cover safety and liability, and ensure overall assembly and integration of the engine with the spacecraft. Over the course of the development, NASA and DARPA will collaborate on assembly of the engine before the in-space demonstration as early as 2027.  -NASA

“DARPA and NASA have a long history of fruitful collaboration in advancing technologies for our respective goals, from the Saturn V rocket that took humans to the Moon for the first time to robotic servicing and refueling of satellites,” said DARPA director Dr. Stefanie Tompkins. “The space domain is critical to modern commerce, scientific discovery, and national security. The ability to accomplish leap-ahead advances in space technology through the DRACO nuclear thermal rocket program will be essential for more efficiently and quickly transporting material to the Moon and eventually, people to Mars.”

According to the press release, the last time the US conducted nuclear thermal rocket engine tests was more than 50 years ago under NASA’s Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application and Rover projects.

“With this collaboration, we will leverage our expertise gained from many previous space nuclear power and propulsion projects,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for STMD. “Recent aerospace materials and engineering advancements are enabling a new era for space nuclear technology, and this flight demonstration will be a major achievement toward establishing a space transportation capability for an Earth-Moon economy.”

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The installation of wind and solar power projects is slowing down in the United States, with some projects being canceled over persistent cost issues and community animosity.

New utility-scale solar installations are estimated to have fallen by 40 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to a report from research firm Wood Mackenzie. Utility-scale solar deployments in the third quarter of 2022 were 36 percent lower when compared to Q3, 2021, and 9 percent lower compared to Q2, 2022.

“The low installation figures are the result of previous project delays and continued supply chain constraints,” the report said.

During the third quarter, new wind installations are calculated to have crashed by 77.5 percent compared to the same period a year ago based on another report by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Between July and September, U.S. developers only added 501 MW of new wind power capacity, down 22 percent from Q3, 2021.

“No other third quarter saw lower wind capacity additions since at least 2015. The 4,500 MW of new wind capacity added in the first three quarters of 2022 is less than half of that added by the end of 2021’s third quarter, 9,223 MW,” the report states.

High costs are said to be one of the reasons for canceling some of the renewable energy projects. For instance, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) canceled around 245 renewable energy projects in the four years between January 2016 and July 2020 which had reached advanced stages of development.

The 245 projects accounted for 40 percent of total projects by the organization at the time. According to MISO, issues with congestion and costs related to grid upgrades were the main reason behind withdrawing the projects, according to the Institute of Energy Research (IER).

Community Opposition, China Slave Labor

Wind and solar projects are also facing increasing opposition from local communities. The Renewable Rejection Database shows that 79 local governments in the United States either restricted or banned solar power projects in 2022, up from 19 in 2021 and just two in 2020.

Much of the rejections between 2017 and 2022 happened last year, with 106 projects being rejected during this period in total.

Rural communities in states like Ohio, Michigan, and New York have blocked solar and wind projects over concerns about how these initiatives will affect property values and neighborhoods, according to IER. In Ohio, over 40 townships prohibited the construction of such large renewable energy projects last year.

While some experts expect more electricity to come from renewables in the future, they foresee great challenges before getting to such a position.

A ban on certain imports from China also had a negative effect on the implementation of renewable energy projects.

“Solar panel imports, 80 percent of which come from China and Asia, have slowed following U.S. legislation aimed at labor abuses in China with several thousand shipping containers of solar panels being detained by U.S. Customs near ports such as Los Angeles,” according to IER.

In June last year, the United States banned the import of goods from China’s Xinjiang region following President Joe Biden signing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021.

A 2022 report by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization stated that China has implemented a “widespread and systematic” program of using Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities as forced labor for industrial and agricultural activities in the Xinjiang region.

“Some 13 million members of the ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang are targeted on the basis of their ethnicity and religion with a goal of social control and assimilation of their culture and identity,” the report said.

Biden Green Energy Push, Wind Power Challenges

The Biden administration has been promoting the transition to green energy power. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by Biden in August last year, contains provisions promoting renewable energy.

In the last three months of 2022, over $40 billion in solar, wind, and battery projects were announced, according to the American Clean Power Association. This is roughly equivalent to the total investment in such renewable projects in 2021.

Read more here…

Last week, military buyers from Europe and Asia flooded the Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum in Las Vegas for the world’s largest firearms trade show of its kind. 

The Washington Times said Poland, Romania, and the Baltic States sent defense buyers to SHOT Show, where more than 2,500 exhibitors showed off new weaponry, drones, robots, and other high-tech devices for war. 

Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and other Asian states also sent military buyers. The Times even said visitors from China and North Korea were present at the closed-door event. 

We attended the event (read: here & here) and can confirm the military buyers were present. This comes as European and Asian nations are preparing for possible conflict. The US and Germany are sending main battle tanks to Ukraine, with even the possibility Lockheed Martin is ready to send F-16 fighter jets. 

The Times said 40 nations sent delegations to purchase firearms and equipment. Most of the deals are made at the event or a follow-up meeting. There’s even an event before the Shot Show where a select group of attendees tests the weapons in a nearby desert. We were there and observed multiple military buyers from Asia, including ones from Singapore, shooting machine guns and high-powered sniper rifles. 

Hubert Marciniak, a Polish defense contractor, told The Times that Russian aggression has resulted in Warsaw modernizing its forces. 

“Russia is our neighbor. But it’s also a crazy neighbor, so we need to be prepared for what they are doing,” Marciniak said.

Military officials from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines were also walking the floors of the event. Many of them were making deals with US defense companies for military-grade weapons. Here are some of the exhibitors we came across.

A Japanese official declined to comment on Tokyo’s shopping list, but when asked by The Times if they were buying or selling at the show, they replied: “buying.” 

What’s clear is that foreign defense buyers are on spending sprees with long shopping lists for US weaponry as risks of war in Ukraine and the Taiwan Strait spark an arms race. 

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. State Department on Monday issued a travel warning for American citizens visiting tourist areas in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo due to “recent incidents involving taxi and Uber drivers.”

The “security alert” said that American citizens should be wary of “application-based transportation services in Mexico,” the State Department wrote. Quintana Roo encompasses Cancun and other popular resort areas on the Yucatan Peninsula.

“Application-based car services such as Uber and Cabify are available in many Mexican cities, and generally offer another safe alternative to taxis,” the bulletin stated. “Official complaints against Uber and other drivers do occur, however, and past disputes between these services and local taxi unions have occasionally turned violent, resulting in injuries to U.S. citizens in some instances.”

Medallion taxi drivers in the state have reportedly harassed and attacked Uber drivers and passengers due to complaints of competition in recent days. This week, medallion taxi drivers blocked all three Cancun Hotel Zone entrances, according to local media reports and photos published online.

A reporter with the Riviera Maya News outlet said that dozens of taxi drivers blocked the three main roadways that go into the hotel zone on Monday, forcing hundreds of tourists to scramble to find a way in or out of the zone. The state’s National Guard and local police were deployed to deal with the demonstration, it was reported.

The Cancun police department shared photos of travelers getting into the beds of police trucks, and said that “given the blockades on the Kukulcan boulevard, our transit officers helped people get to the airport.” Cancun’s mayor called on the taxi drivers to show restraint amid the unrest.

Some Cancun residents also posted videos or photos of taxis encircling suspected ride-hailing cars, and one man said he was just giving a ride to some people when his car was pelted with stones and dented by taxi drivers.

“I am not going to allow a small group to damage the reputation of the resort and human safety,” Mayor Ana Patricia Peralta said in a recorded message, according to The Associated Press.

And State Secretary Cristina Torres Gomez told reporters that the “free demonstration of the citizens of Quintana Roo” is fine “as long as it does not violate or harm the rights of third parties.”

“We listen to absolutely all groups, but under no circumstance are we going to allow peace and tranquility to be violated, nor for the roads to collapse in a state that is Mexico’s window to the world,” she added.

Ride-hailing apps had been blocked in Cancun until earlier this month, when a court granted an injunction allowing Uber to operate. Given the high cost of local medallion taxis in Cancun, many travelers prefer to use apps.

A group representing about 12,000 members in Cancun called the Taxi Union was angered by the court ruling, issued on Jan. 11, that allows Uber to operate, according to the Mexico Daily News. That triggered the protests this week.

On social media, some users targeted the Taxi Union and called on people not to use medallion taxis.

“The Quintana Roo taxi drivers are just another cartel. Don’t ride one,” a Twitter user said. “These mafia taxi drivers, just like the sargassum, are ending Cancún,” another user said, the outlet reported.

But the union described the court ruling as unjust.

“Just as today voices have been raised condemning taxi drivers, we also raise our voices to demand certainty and action against the activities that violate our source of income,” the Andres Quintana Roo taxi union said in a statement to the Daily News.

Other Warnings

Amid cartel-related violence, crime, and kidnappings, the U.S. State Department frequently issues travel alerts against traveling to certain Mexican states. Earlier this month, the agency warned Americans not to travel to Sinaloa state following reports of cartel violence sparked by the arrest of a powerful drug lord.

Read more here…

A new report via Massachusetts-based International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed worldwide smartphone shipments experienced the most significant quarterly drop on record over the holiday season as cooling consumer demand suggests trouble for smartphone manufacturers ahead of earnings releases. 

Fourth-quarter global smartphone shipments plunged 18.3% year over year to 300.3 million units.

The decline was the largest on record for one quarter and contributed to an annual reduction of 11.3%. 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped for the year, the lowest yearly total since 2013. 

IDC blamed the shipment drop on “significantly dampened consumer demand, inflation, and economic uncertainties.” 

Commenting on the challenging global smartphone market is Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, who said:

“We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter. However, weakened demand and high inventory caused vendors to cut back drastically on shipments.

“Heavy sales and promotions during the quarter helped deplete existing inventory rather than drive shipment growth. Vendors are increasingly cautious in their shipments and planning while realigning their focus on profitability. 

“Even Apple, which thus far was seemingly immune, suffered a setback in its supply chain with unforeseen lockdowns at its key factories in China. What this holiday quarter tells us is that rising inflation and growing macro concerns continue to stunt consumer spending even more than expected and push out any possible recovery to the very end of 2023.”

Also, Anthony Scarsella, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, sheds light on dwindling consumer demand and perhaps more turmoil for the industry this year: 

“We continue to witness consumer demand dwindle as refresh rates climb past 40 months in most major markets.

“With 2022 declining more than 11% for the year, 2023 is set up to be a year of caution as vendors will rethink their portfolio of devices while channels will think twice before taking on excess inventory. However, on a positive note, consumers may find even more generous trade-in offers and promotions continuing well into 2023 as the market will think of new methods to drive upgrades and sell more devices, specifically high-end models.”

IDC’s report was published one week before Apple reveals quarterly earnings. On Monday, UBS wrote in a note to clients that it expects iPhone softness in the December quarter. 

None of this should surprise readers as we’ve thoroughly detailed the waning demand for smartphones and PCs that have triggered a semiconductor bust. 

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Around 25 people have been charged for their roles in a huge coordinated scheme to sell false and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses, the Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) announced on Jan. 25.

HHS-OIG and its law enforcement partners conducted a “multi-state coordinated law enforcement action” dubbed “Operation Nightingale” using search warrants across Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Florida, to arrest about 25 individuals who were allegedly part of the fraud, according to a press release.

The scheme involved the individuals selling fake and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to aspiring registered nurses, licensed nurse practitioners, and vocational nurse candidates.

According to officials, those who acquired the fake nursing credentials used them to qualify to sit for the national nursing board exam that is needed to obtain a nursing license in the United States.

After passing the exam, the individuals were able to obtain the licenses and take nursing jobs in various states, officials said.

The scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas and transcripts by three South Florida-based nursing schools: Siena College in Broward County, Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County, HHS-OIG said.

The three schools are now closed.

Scheme Is ‘Public Safety Concern’

Each of the defendants allegedly involved in the fraud scheme faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, according to a separate statement issued by the Department of Justice.

DOJ prosecutors said that the charges “speak to the purpose of a nursing license which is to protect the public from harm by setting minimum qualifications and competencies,” adding that the fake nursing diplomas and transcripts allowed aspiring nurses to take “employment shortcuts.”

“Not only is this a public safety concern, it also tarnishes the reputation of nurses who actually complete the demanding clinical and course work required to obtain their professional licenses and employment,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe.

He added that “a fraud scheme like this erodes public trust in our health care system.”

Three individuals were charged with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud at Siena College. Prosecutors allege that the three arranged with the manager of the college, Eugene Sanon, to create and distribute the false diplomas and transcripts, making it seem as though the individuals who received them had completed all the necessary courses and clinical experience needed to obtain the diplomas.

“In fact, the aspiring nurses never completed the necessary courses and clinical,” prosecutors said.

Sanon was charged by information with wire fraud conspiracy.

Fake Nurse Diplomas Sold for Up to $17,000

At Palm Beach School of Nursing, prosecutors charged 14 individuals with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud, alleging that they arranged with the school’s owner, Johanah Napoleon, and four school employees to make and hand out the fake diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses.

Napoleon was previously charged by information and has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, according to prosecutors.

Elsewhere at Sacred Heart International Institute, six individuals were given the same charges after prosecutors claimed that they organized with Charles Etienne, Sacred Heart’s owner, to sell the fake documents.

Defendants in the scheme allegedly charged individuals between $10,000 for a licensed practical nurse degree and $17,000 for a registered nurse diploma, the Miami Herald reported.

Read more here…

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued an alert to taxpayers on Tuesday, reminding them that they must report all digital asset-related income and answer a new digital asset question on their 2022 federal income tax return or face consequences such as delayed refunds or even penalties.

The IRS said in a Jan. 24 release that a key change on 1040 forms this year is that the agency has replaced the term “virtual currency” with “digital assets,” in addition to some other modifications to the wording.

The “Yes” or “No” question, which was expanded and revised this year to update terminology, reads as follows:

“At any time during 2022, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, gift or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?”

The question appears at the top of tax forms 1040, Individual Income Tax Return; 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors; and 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return.

“All taxpayers must answer the question regardless of whether they engaged in any transactions involving digital assets,” the agency cautioned.

It is a legal requirement to accurately report all income, including income from digital assets, on federal income tax returns. Failure to do so could result in non-compliance with tax laws and possible penalties.

The IRS has provided a detailed explanation of what constitutes a digital asset, which includes such things as stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cryptocurrencies.

Taxpayers need to check the “Yes” box if they:

• Received digital assets as payment for property or services provided;
• Transferred digital assets for free (without receiving any consideration) as a bona fide gift;
• Received digital assets resulting from a reward or award;
• Received new digital assets resulting from mining, staking, and similar activities;
• Received digital assets resulting from a hard fork (a branching of a cryptocurrency’s blockchain that splits a single cryptocurrency into two);
• Disposed of digital assets in exchange for property or services;
• Disposed of a digital asset in exchange or trade for another digital asset;
• Sold a digital asset; or
• Otherwise disposed of any other financial interest in a digital asset.

Those who tick the “Yes” box must also report all income related to their digital asset transactions on relevant forms. For instance, an investor who sold cryptocurrency during 2022 would use Form 8949, Sales and other Dispositions of Capital Assets.

Taxpayers should check the “No” box if they merely owned digital assets but didn’t engage in any transactions involving them in 2022.

They should also tick “No” if they merely transferred digital assets from one wallet or account they own or control to another one that they own or control, and if they bought digital assets using real currency like the U.S. dollar.

Many Americans Will See Smaller Tax Refunds

The IRS has warned that many taxpayers should expect a smaller refund this tax season because of tax law changes including the expiration of pandemic-related stimulus payments that would otherwise have boosted refund balances.

“Due to tax law changes such as the elimination of the Advance Child Tax Credit and no Recovery Rebate Credit this year to claim pandemic-related stimulus payments, many taxpayers may find their refunds somewhat lower this year,” the IRS said in a press release on Jan. 23, the day the agency began tax returns for 2022 earnings.

Not all tax filers will see lower refunds as individual circumstances vary; many will see smaller checks.

The Recovery Rebate Credit was a way for millions of Americans to receive pandemic support if they did not receive their full amount via stimulus checks.

This credit was available for missing amounts from the first, second, and third round stimulus checks, and could only be claimed on 2020 and 2021 tax returns.

The stimulus checks were discontinued in December 2021 and the missing third-round amounts could only be claimed on a 2021 tax return filed in 2022.

However, people who may have missed the opportunity to claim missing third-round stimulus payments can review their 2021 tax return and consider filing an amended return.

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) for 2022 tax returns has been reduced to $2,000 per child, down from the expanded amount of $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for children between 6 and 17 in 2021.

Some taxpayers may be eligible for an Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), which would allow them to receive up to $1,500 of the CTC as a refund on their tax return.

Also, a tax credit that working parents can use to help cover child care costs or that people with adult dependents can use for the same purpose is lower in 2022.

Read more here…