Amazon Defeats Second Staten Island Union Vote at LDJ5 Facility 618 to 380

Amazon Defeats Second Staten Island Union Vote at LDJ5 Facility 618 to 380

On May 2, 2022, workers at Amazon’s LDJ5 sorting facility on Staten Island voted 618 to 380 against joining the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), delivering a significant defeat to the upstart union just one month after its …

Warren Report Reveals 672 Pentagon and Congressional Officials Now Lobby for Defense Contractors

Senator Elizabeth Warren released a comprehensive report analyzing the defense contractor revolving door, identifying 672 cases where the top 20 defense contractors employed former government officials, military officers, members of Congress, and senior legislative staff. The analysis found that 91% …

Tornado Cash Integrates Chainalysis Tool to Block OFAC-Sanctioned Addresses

Tornado Cash, the decentralized cryptocurrency mixer designed to enhance transaction privacy, integrates Chainalysis’s oracle contract to block OFAC-sanctioned addresses from accessing the dapp. This controversial move represents a significant compromise of the privacy tool’s core …

Amazon Injury Rate Double Warehouse Industry Average - 6.8 Per 100 Workers

Amazon Injury Rate Double Warehouse Industry Average - 6.8 Per 100 Workers

On April 12, 2022, the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC)—a coalition of four major labor unions—released a comprehensive report analyzing Amazon’s worker injury rates using federal OSHA data. The report revealed that …

Amazon JFK8 Workers Vote to Form Company's First U.S. Union in Historic Victory

Amazon JFK8 Workers Vote to Form Company’s First U.S. Union in Historic Victory

On April 1, 2022, workers at Amazon’s massive JFK8 fulfillment center on Staten Island voted 2,654 to 2,131 to form the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), creating the first unionized Amazon facility in the United …

French Senate Investigation Reveals 'McKinsey Gate' Scandal: Nearly €1 Billion in Government Consulting Fees

A French Senate inquiry committee releases a 400-page report revealing that the French government has spent almost €1 billion in consulting fees since 2017, with very little to show for it. The scandal, dubbed ‘McKinsey Gate,’ centers on the deep ties between McKinsey & Company and …

Biden Administration 2022: Comprehensive Review of Political Appointees' Financial Disclosures and Ethics Compliance

Comprehensive analysis of Biden administration’s 2022 financial disclosures reveals a complex landscape of potential conflicts of interest and efforts to mitigate them. The Office of Government Ethics certified financial reports showing high compliance, with 48 out of 56 White House assistants …

Free State Project Libertarians Slash Croydon, New Hampshire School Budget by Half in Coordinated Takeover

At the annual Croydon school district meeting on March 12, 2022, a small group of Free State Project libertarians executes a coordinated takeover of the town’s budget process, voting to slash the school budget from $1.7 million to $800,000—a 53% reduction. The budget cut passes by a vote of …

Russian State Media Outlet RT America Ceases Operations and Lays Off All Staff After Major Distributors Drop Channel

RT America, the U.S.-based arm of Russia’s state-controlled media network RT (Russia Today), announced on March 3, 2022 that it was immediately ceasing production and laying off more than 100 employees after major American cable distributors dropped the channel in response to Russia’s …

Clearview AI Deploys Mass Facial Recognition Technology in Ukraine War

Ukraine’s defense ministry began using Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology in early March 2022, just weeks after Russia’s invasion, after CEO Hoan Ton-That offered free access to the company’s database of over 10 billion photos. Ton-That first demonstrated the tool …

National $26 Billion Opioid Settlement with Distributors and J&J, Zero Executive Prosecutions

On February 25, 2022, Johnson & Johnson and three major drug distributors—McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen—finalized a $26 billion national settlement to resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits from states, counties, cities, and Native American tribes. Despite the record settlement …

Thousands Strike Across Puerto Rico Demanding End to PROMESA, Austerity, and Privatization in National Day of Action

On February 18, 2022, thousands of publicly-employed union workers, retirees, and university students participated in a national strike and march that spread throughout Puerto Rico, with the largest contingent filling streets in San Juan. Demonstrators marched behind a banner declaring ‘People …

Pentagon Authorizes Oracle Cloud for Top Secret and Special Access Program Missions

The U.S. Department of Defense granted Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) authority to operate (ATO) for Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) and Special Access Program (SAP) missions on February 15, 2022, authorizing Oracle to host and process some of the Pentagon’s most …

Rio Grande Council of Governments, Texas launches first i3-compliant cloud-native 911 system with Carbyne

Rio Grande Council of Governments (RGCOG) in Texas launched the United States’ first i3-compliant cloud-native 911 contact center using Carbyne’s APEX platform, deploying across five Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) serving Alpine, Brewster, Presidio, Culberson, and Hudspeth …

Flock Safety Reaches $3.5 Billion Valuation with 1,000+ Police Departments Using Surveillance Network

Flock Safety announces $150 million Series E funding round led by Tiger Global, achieving a post-money valuation of $3.5 billion and cementing its status as a surveillance unicorn. Additional investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, Meritech, and Initialized Capital, bringing total …

Neil Young Demands Removal from Spotify Over Joe Rogan's COVID Misinformation

Rock legend Neil Young issues ultimatum to Spotify saying “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” protesting platform’s hosting of COVID misinformation, triggering artist exodus

Raytheon-Manufactured Bomb Kills 80 at Yemen Detention Center in Worst Attack in Three Years

On January 21, 2022, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit a detention facility in Sa’adah, northwestern Yemen, killing at least 80 people and wounding over 200 in what the United Nations described as the “worst civilian-casualty incident in the last three years in Yemen.” Amnesty …

Conservative Influencer Lauren Chen and Husband Liam Donovan Incorporate Tenet Media in Tennessee

Conservative political commentator Lauren Chen (known online as “Roaming Millennial”) and her husband Liam Donovan officially incorporated Tenet Media as a Tennessee corporation on January 19, 2022. The company would later become the vehicle for a Russian influence operation funneling …

NY Attorney General James Files Motion Revealing Evidence of Trump Organization Fraud

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a motion to compel Donald Trump and his two eldest children (Ivanka and Donald Jr.) to appear for depositions and provide documents, publicly revealing for the first time that her three-year investigation had “uncovered significant evidence that …

National Archives retrieves 15 boxes with 184 classified documents from Mar-a-Lago

The National Archives retrieved 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago containing 184 classified documents totaling 700 pages, including 25 marked “top secret,” 92 “secret,” and 67 “confidential.” Documents included CIA, FBI, and NSA materials on national security topics, some …

Navient Settles for $1.85 Billion Over Student Loan Servicing Fraud - Steered Borrowers Into Costly Forbearances

A bipartisan coalition of 39 state attorneys general announced a $1.85 billion settlement with Navient Corporation on January 13, 2022, resolving allegations that the student loan servicing giant engaged in systematic fraud by steering struggling borrowers into costly long-term forbearances instead …

Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Convicted of Defrauding Investors in $9 Billion Fraud Scheme

A federal jury convicts Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes on one count of conspiracy to commit investor fraud and three counts of wire fraud involving over $140 million in investments. The conviction follows a nearly four-month trial where prosecutors presented testimony from 29 witnesses …

Starbucks Executes Systematic Union-Busting Campaign with Record NLRB Violations

Following grassroots organizing success at Buffalo stores in late 2021, Starbucks launches a systematic illegal union-busting campaign that generates over 500 unfair labor practice charges—likely the largest number facing any company in the 90-year history of the National Labor Relations Board. The …

Rogan Hosts Vaccine Skeptic Dr. Robert Malone Who Claims "Mass Formation Psychosis"

Dr. Robert Malone on Rogan’s podcast falsely claims vaccines increase COVID risk and compares pandemic response to Nazi Germany through a discredited psychological theory, reaching 11 million listeners. The episode sparked major controversy, with 270 medical professionals demanding Spotify …

Ghislaine Maxwell Convicted on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges

Ghislaine Maxwell is convicted on five of six federal charges including sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy, in connection with Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse network. The trial revealed extensive details about the systematic recruitment and abuse of minors, but many documents and witness …

SEC Charges Nikola Corporation $125 Million for SPAC-Related Fraud and False Claims

The SEC settled fraud charges against Nikola Corporation for $125 million, finding the electric vehicle company made materially false and misleading statements about its products, technical capabilities, and partnerships during its 2020 SPAC merger. Founder Trevor Milton falsely claimed the Nikola …

Federal Judge Overturns Sackler Immunity Deal, Rules Bankruptcy Law Violated

On December 16, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon overturned the controversial bankruptcy settlement that would have granted the Sackler family immunity from opioid-related lawsuits in exchange for $4.5 billion. Judge McMahon ruled that bankruptcy courts do not have the authority to …

Harvard Study Finds Private Equity Hospital Takeovers Increase Emergency Room Deaths by 10%

In December 2021, researchers at Harvard Medical School published a landmark study in Annals of Internal Medicine demonstrating that hospitals acquired by private equity firms experienced significant increases in emergency department mortality—7 additional deaths per 10,000 visits (approximately 10% …

USA Gymnastics Emerges from Bankruptcy with $380 Million Settlement for 500+ Nassar Survivors

On December 13, 2021, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robyn Moberly confirmed a joint Plan of Reorganization providing a $380 million settlement for sexual abuse survivors and enabling USA Gymnastics to emerge from bankruptcy after three years of proceedings. Over 90% of the more than 500 victims voted in …

Six Amazon Workers Killed in Edwardsville Warehouse Tornado Collapse

Six Amazon Workers Killed in Edwardsville Warehouse Tornado Collapse

On December 10, 2021, an EF-3 tornado struck Amazon’s DLI4 delivery facility in Edwardsville, Illinois, causing catastrophic structural damage that killed six workers: Deandre S. Morrow (28), Kevin D. Dickey (62), Clayton …

Truth Social Receives $8 Million from Russian-Connected Entities While "On Brink of Collapse"

Trump Media receives emergency loans totaling $8 million from Putin-connected Paxum Bank ($2M) and ES Family Trust ($6M) when company near failure, triggering federal investigation

Federal Jury Finds CVS, Walgreens, Walmart Liable for Fueling Ohio Opioid Crisis

On November 23, 2021, a federal jury in Cleveland found CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart liable for contributing to the opioid crisis in Lake and Trumbull counties in Ohio. After a six-week trial and five and a half days of deliberation, jurors concluded that the pharmacy chains contributed to a public …

SEC Fines McKinsey Subsidiary MIO Partners $18 Million for Puerto Rico Conflict of Interest and Material Nonpublic Information Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission censured MIO Partners Inc. (McKinsey’s investment subsidiary) and ordered it to pay $18 million to settle allegations that it had access to material nonpublic information about Puerto Rico and other issuers while simultaneously overseeing investments that …

Jonathan Kanter Confirmed as DOJ Antitrust Chief After Longest Delay in Modern History

The U.S. Senate confirmed Jonathan Kanter as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice by a bipartisan vote of 68-29 on November 16, 2021, and he was sworn in the same day. Kanter’s confirmation came after the longest delay for a nominee to lead the …

Office of Special Counsel Report Documents Hatch Act Violations by 13 Senior Trump Officials, Finding "Willful Disregard" for Federal Law

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel released a comprehensive investigative report documenting that 13 senior Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act prior to the 2020 election, with the violations characterized as demonstrating “willful disregard for the law” and occurring …

US Commerce Department Adds Candiru and NSO Group to Entity List

The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security adds Israeli spyware companies NSO Group and Candiru to the Entity List for developing surveillance software used to spy on journalists, activists, and government officials. This action restricts US companies from selling technology …

Pfizer Reports $22 Billion Profit on COVID-19 Vaccine, One of Most Profitable Drugs in History

In November 2021, Pfizer reported annual profits of $21.98 billion on revenues of $81.29 billion for 2021, with COVID-19 vaccine sales of $36.7 billion accounting for 45% of total company revenue. The COVID-19 vaccine became one of the most financially successful pharmaceutical products in history, …

In-Q-Tel Leaders Launch Chain Bridge SPAC, Criticized as 'Revolving Door on Steroids'

In November 2021, the senior leadership of In-Q-Tel—CEO Christopher Darby, President Stephen Bowsher, and technology investor Michael Rolnick—filed for an initial public offering for Chain Bridge I, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) seeking to raise $200 million. The blank check company …

Fed Implements Strict Trading Restrictions After Major Ethics Scandal

The Federal Reserve announced comprehensive trading restrictions for senior officials following a major financial ethics scandal. In response to controversial trades by regional Fed bank presidents Robert Kaplan and Eric Rosengren during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fed imposed strict new rules …

Digital World Acquisition Corp Announces Trump Media SPAC Merger

Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), a special purpose acquisition company, announced its agreement to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (TMTG), bringing Trump’s Truth Social platform public. The announcement triggered massive trading volume and price volatility, with DWAC …

NPR Documents How Hedge Fund Newspaper Ownership Creates News Deserts and Undermines Democracy - Over 2,500 Newspapers Closed Since 2005

On October 18, 2021, NPR published comprehensive reporting documenting how hedge fund ownership of local newspapers creates “news deserts” that cause measurable harm to democratic governance and civic life. The investigation revealed that since 2005, 2,500 newspapers have closed in the …

Tether Fined $41 Million by CFTC for Lying About Dollar Reserves Backing Stablecoin

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Tether Holdings Limited to pay a $41 million civil penalty for making untrue and misleading statements about the reserves backing its USDT stablecoin, the world’s largest stablecoin with over $69 billion in circulation. The CFTC found that from …

Frances Haugen Senate Testimony Exposes Facebook Algorithmic Harm to Children and Democracy

Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen testifies before the U.S. Senate that Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division, and weaken democracy, backed by tens of thousands of internal company documents showing Facebook executives knew about Instagram’s severe mental health …

Pandora Papers Expose Hidden Wealth of Global Elite and Politicians

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the Pandora Papers, the largest offshore data leak in history, containing 11.9 million files from 14 financial services companies across multiple jurisdictions. The investigation exposed the secret offshore affairs of 35 …

Former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn Joins Moderna Backer Flagship Pioneering

Former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, who led the agency during the Emergency Use Authorization of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, took an executive-level position as Chief Medical Officer with Flagship Pioneering, the venture capital firm that launched Moderna. This transition occurred six …

Dallas and Boston Fed Presidents Resign Over Trading Scandal

Robert Kaplan (Dallas Fed) and Eric Rosengren (Boston Fed) announce simultaneous resignations following massive public backlash over their 2020 trading activities. The scandal revealed deep ethical vulnerabilities in the Federal Reserve, where senior officials traded stocks during critical market …

Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Maggie Nichols Testify Before Senate on FBI's Betrayal in Nassar Case

On September 15, 2021, Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Maggie Nichols delivered powerful testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the FBI’s catastrophic mishandling of sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar. The athletes’ testimony …

Boston Fed President Rosengren Resigns Over REIT Trading Scandal

In September 2021, Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren resigned amid a trading scandal revealing he actively traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and mortgage-backed securities during 2020, while the Federal Reserve was simultaneously purchasing such assets. A 2024 watchdog …

Dallas Fed President Kaplan Resigns Over Trading Controversy

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan resigned on September 27, 2021, after disclosure of extensive stock trading during the 2020 pandemic. Kaplan had made multiple trades worth over $1 million in companies like Amazon, Apple, and Delta Air Lines while serving as a voting member of …

Bankruptcy Court Approves Sackler Immunity Deal Despite DOJ Opposition

On September 1, 2021, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain approved a bankruptcy settlement granting the Sackler family “global peace” from civil liability for the opioid epidemic, despite vigorous opposition from the Department of Justice and nine state attorneys general. The ruling …