Newsletter Sep 23, 2022

3 things you must know

Leaked documents reveal Russia's heavy surveillance network
A New York Times investigation based on nearly 160,000 leaked files from Russia's telecom agency and published Thursday shows the country has erected a massive surveillance network under President Vladimir Putin Russia has also reportedly invested heavily in facial recognition, expanding its use of the technology since 2020. The leaked files belong to Roskomnadzor, the Russia regulator with broad authority over mass communications, the internet and most telecommunications in the country. The report also found the regulator closely tied to Russia's top intelligence agency, the FSB.
FIND OUT HOW RUSSIA IS USING THE INFO IN MOBILIZATION

Boeing must pay $200 million in 737 MAX lawsuit settlement
Boeing will pay $200 million to settle civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that it misled investors about its 737 MAX, which was grounded for 20 months after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. The SEC also said former Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg had agreed to pay $1 million. The SEC said a fund will be established for the benefit of harmed investors.
WHY THE SEC SAID BOEING 'PUT PROFITS OVER PEOPLE'

Walmart, Target gearing up for holiday shopping season
Retail giants Target and Walmart are already preparing for what they hope is a profitable holiday shopping season. Target announced Thursday that Deal Days will be held Oct. 6-8, and it is extending its Holiday Price Match Guarantee from Oct. 6 to Dec. 24. Walmart is making three updates to its holiday return policy to make returns "easier and more convenient" for shoppers.
RETAILERS HIRE HELP IN HOPES OF HOT HOLIDAY SEASON

Markets

DJIA	30,076.68	-0.35%
S&P 500	3,757.99	-0.84%
Nasdaq Composite	11,066.81	-1.37%
Japan: Nikkei 225	27,153.83	-0.58%
UK: FTSE 100	7,159.52	-1.08%
Crude Oil Futures	82.87	-0.74%
Gold Futures	1,678.10	-0.18%
Yen	142.24	-0.09%
Euro	0.98	-0.47%
* As of market close

Can Trump declassify docs with his mind?

Former President Donald Trump has claimed that presidents can declassify White House documents by using the power of thoughts alone. Speaking on Fox News, Trump said the president does not need to go through a process to declassify government documents. He added that presidents could declassify documents simply by saying or thinking that they are declassified. It was Trump's first sit-down interview since the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago resort in August. Prosecutors later revealed that the FBI recovered about 100 documents from Trump's Florida property.

TRUMP LEGAL TEAM SEEKS TO STALL DOCUMENT INVESTIGATION

Ginni Thomas to testify before Jan. 6 panel

Conservative activist Ginni Thomas, who is married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will meet with the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The committee expressed interest in speaking with Thomas about 29 text messages she exchanged with Trump's former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and state lawmakers about overturning the election. The panel requested Thomas cooperate with questioning and provide documents relevant to the investigation.

SEE THE MESSAGES THOMAS SENT ABOUT THE 2020 ELECTION

NASA prepares to deflect asteroid via DART

Bet the dinosaurs wish they'd thought of this. NASA on Monday will attempt a feat humanity has never before accomplished: deliberately smacking a spacecraft into an asteroid to slightly deflect its orbit, in a key test of our ability to stop cosmic objects from devastating life on Earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spaceship launched from California last November and is fast approaching its target, which it will strike at roughly 14,000 miles per hour (23,000 kph).

HOW THE DART SYSTEM COULD SOMEDAY SAVE CIVILIZATION