11 days ago
As former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Vice President JD Vance and other dignitaries gather in New York to honor those lost in the Sept. 11 attacks, historian Walter Isaacson and Andy Card, former Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush, join TODAY to share their reflections of that day.
#presidents #bill #clinton #barack
#presidents #bill #clinton #barack
17 days ago
By Sarah Kinosian, Marianna Parraga and Gram Slattery
CARACAS/MIAMI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The billionaire who helped broker the Trump administration's sweeping long-term oil deal with Venezuela was until recently a target of U.S. money-laundering investigations involving funds embezzled from the state-owned oil company PDVSA. Now, after **** isting U.S. authorities ahead of the capture of authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro, Alejandro Betancourt is Washington's key partner in an unusual oil agreement with Caracas.
According to last week's announcement, the U.S. gains access to about one-fifth of Venezuela's crude reserves for decades. The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital takes a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), Betancourt's company and a known crude producer in Venezuela. The State Department gets the right to buy 20% of NABEP's oil at cost, and preferential access to the remaining 80% of output.
The deal marks a striking change of fortune for Betancourt, who four people familiar with U.S. policy in Venezuela said was key to U.S. strategy and planning in the lead-up to the January 3 operation that removed former President Maduro from power and flew him to New York to face charges of drug-trafficking, which Maduro denies.
Asked about the investigations of Betancourt, a U.S. official who declined to be named said most of the legal challenges were nearly a decade old — and that he currently has no legal problems in the United States. NABEP's record of pumping oil in Venezuela made Betancourt the best partner to help boost output under the arrangement, the official said.
#venezuela #deal #partner
CARACAS/MIAMI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The billionaire who helped broker the Trump administration's sweeping long-term oil deal with Venezuela was until recently a target of U.S. money-laundering investigations involving funds embezzled from the state-owned oil company PDVSA. Now, after **** isting U.S. authorities ahead of the capture of authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro, Alejandro Betancourt is Washington's key partner in an unusual oil agreement with Caracas.
According to last week's announcement, the U.S. gains access to about one-fifth of Venezuela's crude reserves for decades. The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital takes a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), Betancourt's company and a known crude producer in Venezuela. The State Department gets the right to buy 20% of NABEP's oil at cost, and preferential access to the remaining 80% of output.
The deal marks a striking change of fortune for Betancourt, who four people familiar with U.S. policy in Venezuela said was key to U.S. strategy and planning in the lead-up to the January 3 operation that removed former President Maduro from power and flew him to New York to face charges of drug-trafficking, which Maduro denies.
Asked about the investigations of Betancourt, a U.S. official who declined to be named said most of the legal challenges were nearly a decade old — and that he currently has no legal problems in the United States. NABEP's record of pumping oil in Venezuela made Betancourt the best partner to help boost output under the arrangement, the official said.
#venezuela #deal #partner
1 month ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Late mob boss John Gotti 's reality TV star grandson has reported to federal prison after trying to stave off his sentence on fraud charges by saying he was going to donate a kidney to his ailing mother, Victoria Gotti.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Tuesday that Carmine Agnello began his 15-month prison term the previous day at the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in southern New Jersey.
Agnello, who starred on " Growing Up Gotti " in the mid-2000s, was originally scheduled to report to prison in July. But U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury agreed to delay that until Sept. 18, saying it would allow enough time to recover from the surgery, presuming that happened by Aug. 10 as Agnello suggested
Agnello's lawyers have said in court filings that Victoria Gotti, the daughter of the former head of New York's Gambino crime family, suffers from chronic kidney disease.
On Monday, though, with no operation in sight, Choudhury ordered Agnello to surrender immediately to federal authorities.
#gotti
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Tuesday that Carmine Agnello began his 15-month prison term the previous day at the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in southern New Jersey.
Agnello, who starred on " Growing Up Gotti " in the mid-2000s, was originally scheduled to report to prison in July. But U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury agreed to delay that until Sept. 18, saying it would allow enough time to recover from the surgery, presuming that happened by Aug. 10 as Agnello suggested
Agnello's lawyers have said in court filings that Victoria Gotti, the daughter of the former head of New York's Gambino crime family, suffers from chronic kidney disease.
On Monday, though, with no operation in sight, Choudhury ordered Agnello to surrender immediately to federal authorities.
#gotti
1 month ago
Democratic senators are still backing Maine Senate nominee Troy Jackson, who replaced former candidate Graham Platner on the ballot, after the latest allegations threaten to yet again shake up the race for U.S. Senate in the Pine Tree State.
Platner, following a series of scandals culminating in ***** ual misconduct claims, was forced to drop out ahead of the Democratic primary to take on Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, earlier this summer. But now, a bombshell report claims Platner's replacement fathered two children with his second cousin.
The recent report wasn't enough to turn lawmakers against Jackson, with most stressing the necessity for Democrats to win swing state races in order to win back a majority in the upper chamber — not an easy feat in Maine, where Collins, a moderate, has represented the state in the Senate since 1997.
Maine's other senator, independent Angus King, said: "I have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm not going to comment on it anyway."
Troy Jackson speaks as he became the Maine Democratic Party's choice to be their U.S. Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner on the ballot in November on July 25, 2026, in Bangor, Maine.
#maine #senate #collins
Platner, following a series of scandals culminating in ***** ual misconduct claims, was forced to drop out ahead of the Democratic primary to take on Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, earlier this summer. But now, a bombshell report claims Platner's replacement fathered two children with his second cousin.
The recent report wasn't enough to turn lawmakers against Jackson, with most stressing the necessity for Democrats to win swing state races in order to win back a majority in the upper chamber — not an easy feat in Maine, where Collins, a moderate, has represented the state in the Senate since 1997.
Maine's other senator, independent Angus King, said: "I have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm not going to comment on it anyway."
Troy Jackson speaks as he became the Maine Democratic Party's choice to be their U.S. Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner on the ballot in November on July 25, 2026, in Bangor, Maine.
#maine #senate #collins
2 months ago
A confidential report prepared for Iran's presidency is raising a consequential question for Washington and its allies: Do extraordinary levels of public anger and support for systemic change justify reassessing whether the Islamic Republic may be more vulnerable to regime change than previously believed?
The classified document, ***** led "What Iran Wants," reportedly found that only 9% of respondents supported maintaining the status quo, with 53% calling for fundamental or structural reforms and more than 19% favoring changing the political system outright.
Taken together, nearly three-quarters of those surveyed reportedly supported either deep structural reform or replacement of the existing system — findings that could strengthen arguments that Iran's political crisis has moved beyond dissatisfaction with individual leaders or policies.
Iranians Speak Out Over Possible Trump-regime Deal
IranWire reported on July 13 that it had obtained the document, which was compiled by Ali Rabiei, President Masoud Pezeshkian's social adviser and a former government spokesman. It was based on polling conducted by the Ara Opinion Research Center in May 2026 and circulated among institutions within Iran's governing structure in June, according to the outlet.
The classified document, ***** led "What Iran Wants," reportedly found that only 9% of respondents supported maintaining the status quo, with 53% calling for fundamental or structural reforms and more than 19% favoring changing the political system outright.
Taken together, nearly three-quarters of those surveyed reportedly supported either deep structural reform or replacement of the existing system — findings that could strengthen arguments that Iran's political crisis has moved beyond dissatisfaction with individual leaders or policies.
Iranians Speak Out Over Possible Trump-regime Deal
IranWire reported on July 13 that it had obtained the document, which was compiled by Ali Rabiei, President Masoud Pezeshkian's social adviser and a former government spokesman. It was based on polling conducted by the Ara Opinion Research Center in May 2026 and circulated among institutions within Iran's governing structure in June, according to the outlet.
