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- Convicted crypto fraudster seeking Trump pardon loses bid to overturn 25 year pr...
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former crypto billionaire convicted for fraud in 2023, lost an appeal to overturn his conviction and 25-year prison sentence Friday, Reuters reported. A New York jury found Bankman-Fried guilty on two charges of wire fraud and five conspiracy counts in November 2023 for his actions while running FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that declared bankruptcy in 2022 after once being valued at more than $26 billion.Bankman-Fried pleaded his case to a three-judge panel of Manhattan's 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who unanimously rejected his plea on Friday, calling the evidence against him "conservatively stated, robust," according to Reuters. "While he was publicly reassuring customers, investors and regulators that FTX customer funds were safe, he was simultaneously using FTX as his own personal piggy bank, spending customer funds on real estate, political contributions, and investments," Circuit Judge Barrington Parker stated, per Reuters.DEAL-MAKING CLEMENCY: INSIDE TRUMP’S MOST DISPUTED PARDONS OF 2025Bankman-Fried became a prolific political donor in the years leading up to his conviction. While the one-time crypto magnate appeared to strongly favor Democrats with his donations — his $40 million contributions to Democrats in the 2022 midterms made him the party's second-biggest donor after George Soros — he poured a significant amount funds into Republican coffers as well. According to Michael Lewis' book about Sam Bankman-Fried's rise and fall, the former crypto billionaire explored whether a large payment could persuade then-former President Donald Trump not to run for president again. Now, Sam Bankman-Fried signaled he's like a presidential pardon from Trump.Bankman-Fried made the admission in an interview with Fox Business' Susan Li, who asked him if he wanted a pardon."Absolutely," he told Li, adding, "It would be obviously, you know, ultimately up to the president, not up to me."Bankman-Fried also insisted he was innocent of defrauding or stealing from his customers. CONVICTED FTX FOUNDER SAM BANKMAN-FRIED INSISTS HE'S INNOCENT IN EXCLUSIVE PRISON INTERVIEW"I didn't steal user funds either," he told Li. "Customers have been repaid now 170% or so on their deposits. It's one of the very few cases where the platform was over-collateralized, where customers were more than made whole. And yet there was, you know, not just a criminal investigation, but a prosecution. And, you know, dozens of years of sentence[s]."FTX's bankruptcy estate confirmed to FOX Business that customers are being repaid in full with some getting returns as high as 118%. However, those estimations are calculated using crypto prices from… [TheTopNews] Read More.23 mins ago - The science behind restoring the White House South Lawn after UFC Freedom 250The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is committing $1 million to help restore the White House South Lawn after Sunday's UFC event at the White House.Following the June 14 Freedom 250 event – a centerpiece of the nation's 250th anniversary celebration – the company will provide funding, products and technical expertise to the National Park Service as it restores the historic lawn.For investors, the high-profile White House project serves as a showcase for Scotts' research and development division. It comes as the $3.3 billion company navigates a stagnant U.S. housing market where traditional lawn ownership faces headwinds from flat homeownership rates and changing urban demographics."The scale and scope of our R&D department is impressive," Nate Baxter, Scotts Miracle-Gro chief operating officer, told FOX Business, noting that the company is leveraging its research muscle to expand into organic and biological alternatives to synthetic fertilizers. "I do believe Scotts Miracle-Gro has the horsepower in terms of the investment we make in R&D, to bring naturals and organics, to bring biologicals."TRUMP UNVEILS $700M COAL INDUSTRY SUPPORT PLAN USING DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACTThe upcoming mixed martial arts event has drawn considerable attention regarding the physical impact on the White House grounds, which currently feature a massive, 92-foot-high temporary venue known as "the Claw" erected on the turf.Because the grounds are managed by the National Park Service, Scotts is structuring the contribution as a philanthropic donation.TRUMP CONSIDERS RECLASSIFYING MARIJUANA AS LESS DANGEROUS DRUG: REPORTThe restoration is more complex than a standard landscaping project. Washington, D.C.'s climate presents unique challenges, with freezing winters and hot, humid summers.To navigate these conditions, Scotts brought its research team to the White House to review proprietary seed options with President Donald Trump, who brought his own turf-management experience to the meeting."The president knows a lot about grass. I think his history and past with golf courses," Baxter noted. "It was really interesting to watch our tour scientists, and President Trump, talk through each of these."WHITE HOUSE UNVEILS TRUMP ACCOUNTS MOBILE APP AHEAD OF JULY 4 ROLLOUTScotts presented multiple seed varieties before settling on a customized four-seed blend engineered to withstand heavy staging equipment and helicopter landings."Creating a proprietary blend for the White House’s unique conditions presented a distinct set of challenges," Matthew Koch, R&D Lawns Research Fellow at Scotts Miracle-Gro, said in a press release. "It is a functional lawn that has to stand up to hundreds of events and thousands of people… [TheTopNews] Read More.1 hour ago
- Elon Musk’s Big Bet for SpaceX
Elon Musk is taking SpaceX public and keeping almost all the power. Ryan Mac, a technology reporter for The Times, breaks down why the company’s record I.P.O. is both a big bet on Musk’s vision and a risk for investors. [TheTopNews] Read More.3 hours ago - Cleve Moler, Who Unlocked the Power of Computing for Millions, Dies at 86He built interfaces that allowed engineers, scientists and everyday people to solve difficult problems without having to write the underlying code. [TheTopNews] Read More.4 hours ago
- Everyone Wants to Tax A.I. The Big Disagreement: How?Bernie Sanders, President Trump and even A.I. companies say they would like the public to share the wealth. But their solutions are very different. [TheTopNews] Read More.8 hours ago
- Rivian CEO taking different approach than Elon Musk for humanoid robotics compan...
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe started a robotics company late last year called Mind Robotics that he says has has raised more than $1 billion. [TheTopNews] Read More.8 hours ago
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