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Emily Ratajkowski incendiaire face à Juan Arbelaez en mode solo : soirée hot en plein Paris

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Dans la soirée de ce jeudi 20 octobre, certaines stars se sont rendues au pathé Wepler de Paris pour applaudir Nicolas Bedos, Pierre Niney et leurs chéries lors de l’avant-première de la comédie dramatique Mascarade, en salles le 1er novembre. À leurs côtés, François Cluzet, Jean Dujardin et son épouse Nathalie Péchalat, Christophe Dechavanne et la Miss France Vaimalama Chaves. Cette dernière aurait pu compter sur les copines Alicia Aylies et Flora Coquerel pour l’accompagner. Mais elles lui ont largement préféré la soirée Kérastase organisée au centre Pompidou.

Les deux jeunes femmes ont profité de l’événement pour découvrir de nouveaux produits de la marque et papoter avec les autres invités de la soirée. Elles ont ainsi pu croiser Juan Arbelaez, l’ex-mari de Laury Thilleman, non loin d’Emily Ratajkowski, reine de la fête. Il faut dire que la jeune femme n’est autre que l’égérie de la marque. Dans une robe rouge très courte au décolleté transcendant, la belle brune a attiré tous les regards et fait de l’ombre aux autres stars présentes : Dew Sutivanisak et Rosa Carrico, Jessica Aidi, Achiraya Nitibhon ou Ebonee David.

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Emily Ratajkowski a sûrement profité de l’occasion pour se détendre et oublier la mauvaise passe qu’elle traverse. Pas si mauvaise du moins. Il semblerait que depuis l’annonce de son divorce d’avec Sebastian Bear-McClard, la belle se porte comme un charme. Elle aurait même trouvé du réconfort dans les bras de Brad Pitt. Les rumeurs, de plus en plus insistantes concernant la naissance d’une relation amoureuse entre les deux divorcés, n’avaient jamais été commentées jusqu’à récemment.

Interviewée par Variety, le top de 31 ans n’a pas démenti un rapprochement avec Brad Pitt. Elle a simplement confirmé qu’ils se côtoyaient : “Je suis célibataire depuis peu pour la première fois de ma vie. J’ai juste l’impression de profiter de la liberté de ne pas m’inquiéter de la façon dont je suis perçue.” Une rencontre organisée par le biais d’amis communs : “Il lui a demandé si elle voulait sortir, et elle a dit oui. Elle a toujours trouvé que Brad était mignon, et elle s’est dit qu’elle n’avait rien à perdre en acceptant de passer du temps avec lui.” Brad a visiblement décliné l’invitation Kérastase, il faut dire qu’il avait sûrement plus important à gérer

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Russia links Moscow attack to ‘Ukrainian nationalists’; US rubbishes claim

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Russia said Thursday it had evidence the perpetrators of last week’s massacre at a concert hall outside Moscow were linked to “Ukrainian nationalists”, a claim that the United States called nonsense.

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President Vladimir Putin and his security services continue to allege Kyiv and the West were involved somehow in last Friday’s attack, despite an Islamic State (IS) group affiliate having claimed responsibility.

Putin said Saturday that 11 people had been detained after gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall, setting the building alight and killing at least 143 people.

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“As a result of work with the detained terrorists, examination of the technical devices seized from them and analysis of information on financial transactions, evidence of their links with Ukrainian nationalists has been obtained,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Thursday.

It alleged the suspects had received “significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine” and said another man “involved in financing the terrorists” had been identified and detained.

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“Investigators will ask the court to remand him in custody,” it said.

Ukraine and its Western allies have branded as absurd accusations they were involved.

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“My uncle used to say … that the best manure salesmen often carry their samples in their mouths,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday.

“Russian officials seem to be pretty good manure salesmen,” Kirby said, denouncing what he called Russia’s “nonsense propaganda.”

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‘Completely inappropriate’

The four suspected assailants – with bruises and cuts on their swollen faces – were dragged into a Moscow courtroom Sunday, all of whom were from Tajikistan, Russian media reported.

Russia’s FSB security service said it arrested the gunmen while they were trying to flee to Ukraine, a claim seemingly disputed by Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who said they were headed for his country first.

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Islamic State (IS) jihadists have said several times since Friday that they were responsible, and IS-affiliated media channels have published graphic videos of the gunmen inside the venue.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave no indication on Thursday that Putin planned to visit the family members of those killed.

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The Russian leader was seen lighting a candle for the victims at a Moscow church last week, but has not visited the scene of the massacre or publicly met with any victims.

“If any contacts are necessary, we will inform you accordingly,” Peskov said, when asked if Putin planned to meet family members of the dead.

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He also said Putin did not plan to visit Crocus City Hall, where rescuers had for the past week been searching the rubble for bodies.

“In these days it would be completely inappropriate to carry out any fact-finding trips, because this would simply interfere with the work,” he said.

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(AFP)

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Fallen cryptocurrency mogul Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in jail

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Disgraced cryptocurrency wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in jail on Thursday following his conviction in one of the biggest financial fraud cases in history.

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US prosecutors were seeking a prison term of 40-50 years after a New York jury found Bankman-Fried, known by his initials SBF, guilty in November following a five-week trial that probed the one-time high roller’s spectacular fall.

During the hearing Bankman-Fried told the courtroom that he was “sorry about what happened at every stage. And there are things I should’ve done and things I shouldn’t have.”

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They “built something beautiful,” Bankman-Fried said. “And I threw it all away.”

The final sentence was meted out by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan who used the hearing to carefully walk through the financial crimes committed by Bankman-Fried.

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There was “never a word of remorse for the commission of a terrible crime,” the judge said, adding that there was a risk Bankman-Fried would commit crimes again.

With the sentencing now done, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said they would appeal his conviction.

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Calling Bankman-Fried’s seven-count conviction reflective of the defendant’s “unmatched greed and hubris,” the government’s sentencing request argued for significant jail time in light of fraud it estimates at more than $10 billion.

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys depicted their client as a diligent young man motivated by philanthropy who got in over his head, calling the government’s proposed sentence “barbaric.”

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Their portrayal is similar to the one SBF’s defense presented at trial – which was quickly rejected by jurors after just five hours of deliberation.

Bankman-Fried’s defense team had asked for six years in prison, a sentence that would return him “promptly to a productive role in society,” said the attorneys led by Marc Mukasey.

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FTX Implosion

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a billionaire before the age of 30, Bankman-Fried conquered the crypto world at breakneck speed, turning FTX, a small start-up he cofounded in 2019, into the world’s second largest exchange platform.

But in November 2022, the FTX empire imploded, unable to cope with massive withdrawal requests from customers panicked to learn that some of the funds stored at the company had been committed to risky operations at Bankman-Fried’s personal hedge fund, Alameda Research.

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During the trial, some of Bankman-Fried’s closest associates said that he was key to all the decisions that saw $8 billion vanish from FTX.

This group included Caroline Ellison, the former Alameda CEO and Bankman-Fried’s on-and-off-again girlfriend, who testified that Alameda had stolen “around $14 billion” from FTX clients and that Bankman-Fried “directed me to commit those crimes.”

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Filings from the prosecution and defense offered starkly different takes on Bankman-Fried, the son of two well-regarded law professors at tony Stanford University.

“The lack of contrition is galling,” said US Attorney Damian Williams, who took issue with the image of Bankman-Fried as “selfless” and “altruistic,” as championed by the defense, noting he used funds for “luxury” real estate, donations to rub shoulders with political leaders, a Super Bowl television ad and “access to celebrities.”

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The defense’s statement describes Bankman-Fried as “wracked” with remorse over the implosion of FTX.

Recovered funds

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys also pointed to statements from FTX’s current leaders expressing confidence that FTX customers and creditors would get back their money, saying in the brief that “the harm to customers, lenders and investors is zero.”

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That argument drew a scathing response from FTX Trading Chief Executive John Ray, who said ongoing recoveries of ill-gotten gains do not make up for fraud.

“That things he stole… were successfully recovered through the efforts of a dedicated group” of professionals “does not mean the things were not stolen,” Ray said in a letter to the court.

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“What it means is that we got some of them back.”

(AFP)

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Sam Bankman-Fried sentencing: Sam Bankman Fried is jailed for 25 YEARS for $8bn crypto fraud, as FTX scammer ignores grim-faced parents in court and judge slams him for perjury

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Samuel Bankman-Fried will head to prison for 25 years for scamming crypto investors out of $8billion – despite his apologies and pleas for a lighter sentence.  

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‘A lot of people feel really let down and they were very let down. I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage,’ Bankman-Fried said. ‘Things I should have done, things I shouldn’t have.’ 

Judge Lewis Kaplan said the 32-year-old FTX founder – commonly known as SBF – was being sentenced to 300 months and forfeit more than $11billion. The judge also blasted him for committing perjury three times during the October trial that saw him convicted by a jury.    

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The prosecution wants the disgraced crypto exec to spend 40 to 50 years behind bars, while the defense is asking for a much more lenient sentence of no greater than six and a half years.

Judge Lewis Kaplan was quick to bash Bankman-Fried during the hearing and noted the fraudster committed perjury multiple times during a trial that saw him convicted on all counts by a jury. 

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He also called Bankman-Fried a ‘thief’ who ‘is not entitled’ to a lighter sentence. The judge also ripped Bankman-Fried’s claims that investors could get their money back despite the fraud. 

One of the 200 victims scammed by Sam Bankman-Fried testified about the ‘nightmare’ they have endured. 

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Bankman-Fried paid little attention to the victims as they testified – despite his later apology to victims and FTX employees – and also ignored his parents who sat in the gallery as the fraudster entered the courtroom. 

Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years behind bars and ordered to forfeit $11billion for scamming FTX crypto exchange investors. Pictured: Bankman-Fried arrives at court in August

Sam Bankman-Fried 's parents Fried have arrived at court and before their son was sentenced to prison

Sam Bankman-Fried ‘s parents Fried have arrived at court and before their son was sentenced to prison

Judge Lewis Kaplan was quick to bash Bankman-Fried during the hearing and noted the fraudster committed perjury multiple times during a trial that saw him convicted on all counts by a jury

Judge Lewis Kaplan was quick to bash Bankman-Fried during the hearing and noted the fraudster committed perjury multiple times during a trial that saw him convicted on all counts by a jury

‘I have new baby son and older and have spoken to tens of thousands of victims like myself who have had their dreams destroyed,’ victim Sunii Kavuri said. ‘My house, the money I wanted to spend on a family home was taken away as well as my children’s education.’

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Kavuri said he disputed the idea that FTX customers would get all their money back. Judge Kaplan agreed and said that would be ‘incorrect’.

‘All the creditors continue to suffer, not only monetary loss, but emotional and mental distress,’ Kavuri said.

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‘People are on medication, recovering, mental health issues, depression and sadly at least three people I’ve heard of have committed suicide as a result of this FTX fraud.’

The judge, in his opening remarks, quickly dismissed the idea that Bankman-Fried deserves a lighter sentence because FTX customers didn’t lose anything in the fraud.

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‘The defendant’s argument hinges on what amounts to an assumption that customers of FTX are going to be made whole in the bankruptcy,’ the judge said. 

‘Even if that were true they would not be entitled to a reduction of the loss amount (of sentence). The defendant’s assertion that FTX customers and creditors will be paid in full is misleading

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‘It is logically flawed, it is speculative.’

The judge said it made no difference that cryptocurrencies had gone up in value since FTX went bankrupt in November 2022. This, in part, makes it likelier that FTX victims could be repaid in full through the bankruptcy process.

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‘The fact that a combination of successes in some of those investments, persistence by the current leadership of the FTX bankruptcy estate in clawing back stolen assets and fortuitous but radical run-up in the value of some crypto currencies might result in benefit to some creditors, it bears no logical reactions to the gravity of the crime that were committed.’

The judge then delivered a blunt assessment of his view in the case that cost investors $1.7billion. 

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‘A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a discount on the sentence by using his winnings to pay back what he stole if he gets caught.

The judge noted that Bankman-Fried perjured himself three times during trial and that the felon committed witness tampering. 

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Defense attorneys for Bankman-Fried asked for a sentence of no greater than six and a half years. Pictured: Bankman-Fried in February 2023

Defense attorneys for Bankman-Fried asked for a sentence of no greater than six and a half years. Pictured: Bankman-Fried in February 2023

A judge quickly dismissed the idea that Bankman-Fried deserves a lighter sentence because FTX customers didn’t lose anything in the fraud. Pictured: Bankman-Fried leaves a courthouse in March 2023

Kaplan ruled Bankman-Fried’s sentence should be increased because of his efforts to obstruct justice.

The judge also ruled that Bankman-Fried’s texts to the former counsel of FTX ‘did constitute attempted witness tampering and a judgement is warranted on that alone’.

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The judge made three findings of perjury in addition and said Bankman-Fried willfully and materially committed’ it.

He committed perjury in relation to the claim that until the Fall of 2022 he had no knowledge Alameda had spent FTX customer deposits, Judge Kaplan said.

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Judge Kaplan said: ‘He testified falsely that he first learned Alameda had a roughly $8bn liability to FTX in October 2022.

‘He falsely testified that he did not know repayment of third party loans to Alameda in June 20202 would require Alameda to borrow more customer funds’.

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The judge added: ‘Also think appropriate to be clear that I have limited my findings with respect to obstruction.

‘This does not necessarily exhaust my view as to occasions where the defendant obstructed justice by perjury and otherwise in relation to this case.’

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Bankman-Fried (pictured in 2023) apologized to victims and his employee as he begged for a lighter sentence

Bankman-Fried (pictured in 2023) apologized to victims and his employee as he begged for a lighter sentence

Judge Kaplan noted how the felon committed witness tampering, which landed him the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (pictured) ahead of his trial

Judge Kaplan noted how the felon committed witness tampering, which landed him the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (pictured) ahead of his trial

Bankman-Fried addressed the court where as he pleaded for less than a decade behind bars. His comments lasted 20 minutes and veered between apologetic, self pitying and defiant.

He paid tribute to his former colleagues at FTX who ‘poured themselves into the company for years then watched me throw away everything they’d built’.

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‘I made a series of bad decision,’ he said. ‘They weren’t selfish decisions, they were bad decisions. Those culminated with a bunch of other factors.’

Bankman-Fried claimed that the collapse of FTX ‘haunts me every day’ but customers could get their money back. 

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But Bankman-Fried continued to insist that FTX customers could be paid back in full.

He said: ‘There were enough assets, there are enough assets to pay back investors in full. There are enough assets for that. It’s not because of a rising price of crypto, that hasn’t hurt certainly. There was always enough value to do that.’

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Bankman-Fried went on to claim it was ‘excruciating to watch all of this unfold in slow motion’, referring to seeing customers not get their money back.

He said: ‘I was the CEO of FTX, I was its leader. That means that I was responsible for what happened to it. It doesn’t matter why things go bad when you’re responsible, it’s on you…it’s collapse is on me.

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‘I’m not the one who matters the most at the end of the day. What matters is the customers, the creditors, the employees, the people who have suffered a lot because of this.’

Bankman-Fried said that the victim letters he read were ‘incredibly moving.’

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‘My useful life is probably over, it’s been over now, from before my arrest. I’ve long since given everything I have to give and I’d’ do anything to be out there trying to help but I can’t really do that from prison,’ Bankman-Fried said.

Marc Mukasey, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, also told the court: ‘We’ve read the victim impact statements. We think we understand the intensity of the pain of the victims and understand with crystal clarity people have suffered financially, emotionally and otherwise. Everyone at the table’s sympathies are with the victims.’

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Mukasey said in sentencing memos prosecutors pointed to ‘truly vile defendants’ like Bernie Madoff who ‘looked Holocaust survivors in the eye and took their money.’

He said: ‘These defendants are stone cold financial assassins. That level of depravity and cruelty was nowhere I saw in the testimony in this case.

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‘It’s nowhere in Sam’s history as a person because I don’t think it’s anywhere in Sam’s heart.’

Mukasey and his team filed an 11th-hour plea for mercy Wednesday ahead of sentencing, featuring letters from Bankman-Fried’s friends and parents of neurodivergent children.

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Bankman-Fried (picsits in court during a February hearing. He learned on Tuesday he will head to prison for 25 years

Bankman-Fried (picsits in court during a February hearing. He learned on Tuesday he will head to prison for 25 years

Bankman-Fried owned a real-estate empire including a home in the Bahamas before his arrest

Bankman-Fried owned a real-estate empire including a home in the Bahamas before his arrest

Judge Kaplan blasted Bankman-Fried and his actions, but still delivered a sentence half of what prosecutors requested.   

‘I think one of his pithier expressions was I fucked up but never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes,’ the judge said. 

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‘Mr. Bankman-Fried has the right to plead not guilty…but at the end of the day he knew it was wrong. He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught but he’s not going to admit a thing.’

 Kaplan said the case was a ‘very serious crime’ and criticized the ‘enormous harm that he did, the brazenness of his actions, his exceptional flexibility with the truth, his apparent lack of any remorse’

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During his sentencing Judge Kaplan cited the testimony of former Alameda Research boss Caroline Ellison, who said in her testimony that Bankman-Fried once said that he was so comfortable with risk he would have flipped a coin if tails meant the world was destroyed but heads meant it was twice as good.

Judge Kaplan said: ‘In other words a man willing to flip a coin as to the continued existence of life and civilization on earth if the chances were imperceptibly greater it wouldn’t come out without that catastrophic outcome’.

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The judge went on: ‘Mr Bankman-Fried knew for a protracted period that Alameda was spending large sums of FTX customer funds on risky investments, political contributions, Bahamas real estate and other things in circumstance in which FTX was seriously exposed to downside of market deterioration, loan calls and other risks.

‘He knew that FTX customer funds were not to be used for those purposes.

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‘They were not his to use and that his use of them was not only wrong, it was flatly inconsistent with the image of safety and security he vigorously and endlessly portrayed to the world.

‘He was betting on expected value. In the head of this mathematical wizard, his counsel tells us. that he was viewing the cost of getting caught discounted by probability against the gain of getting away without getting caught.

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That was the game. It started (early in his career) and it continued to the very end. It’s his nature.’

The highly anticipated court hearing drew numerous people, including crypto fans, lawyers, and journalists such as Tiffany Fong

The highly anticipated court hearing drew numerous people, including crypto fans, lawyers, and journalists such as Tiffany Fong

'I collected some trash from the streets and I'm going to try to make a makeshift bed out of this street trash,' she said

‘I collected some trash from the streets and I’m going to try to make a makeshift bed out of this street trash,’ she said

The highly anticipated court hearing drew numerous people, including crypto fans, lawyers, and journalists such as Tiffany Fong.

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Fong posted a video of herself nine hours before the courthouse was set to open.

‘I collected some trash from the streets and I’m going to try to make a makeshift bed out of this street trash,’ she said. 

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‘I’m going to try to take a nap outside of the courthouse, and goodnight to me.’

Her video was greeted with a ‘fire’ emoji from Twitter tsar Elon Musk.

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Bankman-Fried’s parents sat in the courtroom after arriving at the Brooklyn courthouse an hour earlier. Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried were a mainstay at the October 2023 trial, which resulted in a conviction on all counts of fraud and conspiracy. 

They were often seen trying to make eye contact and waving to their son throughout the proceedings. While Joseph Bankman was usually more stoic, Barbara Fried was often more up front with her emotions. For particularly difficult moments of the trial, she could be seen with her head in her hands or suppressing tears. 

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Bankman-Fried, after being extradited to the US from the Bahamas following his arrest was placed under house confinement at his parents’ multi-million dollar home in Palo Alto, California. The home was used as collateral for their son’s $250million bond, which means they’d likely have to forfeit the property if he had fled.

Bankman-Fried didn’t flee, but Judge Kaplan said Bankman-fried violated his bail agreement in August 2023 when prosecutors accused the crypto founder of leaking personal letters of his ex-girlfriend and Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison to the New York Times. 

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The judge ruled the move was witness tampering, and Bankman-Fried has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center ever since.

Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried are seen leaving a courthouse on Thursday after their son was sentenced to 25 years in prison

Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried are seen leaving a courthouse on Thursday after their son was sentenced to 25 years in prison

Sam Bankman-Fried ignored his parents (pictured leaving a courthouse) when he arrived in the courtroom for his sentencing

Sam Bankman-Fried ignored his parents (pictured leaving a courthouse) when he arrived in the courtroom for his sentencing 

Barbara Fried was seen entering the courthouse hours before her son was sentenced to two decades in prison and ordered to forfeit $11billion

Barbara Fried was seen entering the courthouse hours before her son was sentenced to two decades in prison and ordered to forfeit $11billion

The two parents looked glum when they arrived at the New York City courthouse

The two parents looked glum when they arrived at the New York City courthouse

Bankman-Fried’s sentencing comes months after a Manhattan jury convicted him on all seven counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.

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The monthlong trial began in October 2023, and ended days before the anniversary of the FTX collapse in November 2022. Some of the key testimony against Bankman-Fried came when Ellison took the stand. 

She was romantically involved with Bankman-Fried and also oversaw Alameda Research which received money from FTX.

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She cited the reason for the couple’s breakup as her dumping him because he was ‘distant’ and for ‘not paying attention to me’.

When Ellison was asked if she committed the crimes alone, she told the court in New York: ‘No, they were committed with Sam.’ 

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Ellison testified that Alameda took FTX deposits for ‘whatever’ it needed and that Bankman-Fried ‘directed me to commit these crimes.’

Part of what Ellison said Bankman-Fried instructed her to do was to draft seven different balance sheets to send to Genesis, one of Alameda’s main lenders, when it recalled its $500 million loan to Alameda.

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He and Ellison agreed to send a falsified balance sheet that understated Alameda’s liabilities and omitted any mention of it borrowing money from the FTX exchange, aka customers, Ellison testified.

All told, Ellison said Alameda took about $14billion from FTX customers over the firm’s lifetime.

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Bankman-Fried told the court that he and Ellison ended their romantic relationship because he couldn't dedicate his time to her. Pictured: Bankman-Fried on the stand

Bankman-Fried told the court that he and Ellison ended their romantic relationship because he couldn’t dedicate his time to her. Pictured: Bankman-Fried on the stand

According to testimony, Bankman-Fried told an FTX insider months before the collapse that the exchange wasn't 'bulletproof.' Pictured: A sketch of Bankman-Fried talking to lawyers during trial

According to testimony, Bankman-Fried told an FTX insider months before the collapse that the exchange wasn’t ‘bulletproof.’ Pictured: A sketch of Bankman-Fried talking to lawyers during trial

The government claimed that billions worth of customer money was funneled out of FTX and into Alameda to pay back the giant loans it had taken out from other crypto lenders.

The other highlight happened when SBF took the stand in his own defense. 

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Bankman-Fried told the court that he and Ellison ended their romantic relationship because he couldn’t dedicate his time to her. 

‘I didn’t have the time or the energy to put in what I think she wanted from a relationship,’ Bankman-Fried said. ‘It wasn’t the first time that I had that problem.’ 

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Some of the most damning testimony came from FTX insiders. One of the first government witnesses was Adam Yedidia, a longtime friend of the now-convicted fraudster and a FTX employee who dealt with the backend code.

Yedidia told the court that Bankman-Fried told him in the summer of 2022 that FTX wasn’t ‘bulletproof’ and that it could take about six months to three years for it to become bulletproof again. Yedidia said that throughout this conversation – which occurred on a paddle tennis court at the Albany, a luxury Bahamas apartment complex – Bankman-Fried appeared ‘worried or nervous.’

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For context, this was around the time Yedidia found out that Alameda owed roughly $8billion to FTX.

FTX co-founder Gary Wang testified soon after Yedidia, telling the jury that he had built ‘special privileges’ for Alameda into FTX’s code. The main advantage Alameda had was that its account on FTX could make ‘unlimited’ withdrawals even if its balance went negative.

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Wang testified that none of this was known to the public. 

Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand to testify in his own defense after being blamed for the collapse of FTX

Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand to testify in his own defense after being blamed for the collapse of FTX

Caroline Ellison leaves Manhattan Federal Court in Manhattan, New York City on October 10, 2023, after giving testimony against Bankman-Fried. The two were in a romantic relationship

Caroline Ellison leaves Manhattan Federal Court in Manhattan, New York City on October 10, 2023, after giving testimony against Bankman-Fried. The two were in a romantic relationship 

Ellison told the jury that Bankman-Fried 'directed me' to commit Fraud, and all the crimes 'were committed with Sam'

Ellison told the jury that Bankman-Fried ‘directed me’ to commit Fraud, and all the crimes ‘were committed with Sam’

The trial, with a guilty verdict, capped off the fall for FTX and Bankman-Fried himself, who was once thought of as the most promising man to herald crypto into equal standing with traditional finance.

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Bankman-Fried also had a reputation in politics Initially, he was charged with donating $90million of FTX deposits to political candidates and political action committees. Those charges were later dropped.

In the 2022 election cycle Bankman-Fried donated $6million to the House Majority PAC, the main outside group supporting House Democrats.

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He also shelled out $27million to Protect Our Future PAC, a group advocating pandemic preparedness, and $6million to the Future Forward PAC’ in 2020 which supported Biden’s 2020 Presidential run.

Bankman-Fried also reportedly considered paying former US president Donald Trump $5billion to not run, ‘Going Infinite’ author Michael Lewis told 60 minutes in October 2023.

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Not only that, Ellison revealed during her testimony that Bankman-Fried thought he had a 5 percent chance of becoming president one day.

The former crypto kingpin’s ambitions weren’t limited to the political. He was also very fond of celebrities and wanted them to be synonymous with the FTX name. Some of them, including Brady, his ex-wife Gisele, comedian Larry David and tennis star Naomi Osaka. 

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David was featured in one of FTX’s most iconic ads that aired during Super Bowl 2022, where the grumpy comic played a historical character who makes a series of incorrect predictions. The narrative culminating in David ironically saying that he didn’t think FTX was a good investment.

At the actual Super Bowl that year, Bankman-Fried was photographed with 2022 Perry, actor Orlando Bloom, actress Kate Hudson and Hollywood agent turned investor Michael Kives.

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This façade of success, wealth and fame was all brought to a screeching halt in November 2022, when the exchange began to falter.

The FTX exchange was worth $32billion at its peak and Bankman-Fried appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine which touted him as the future of finance

The FTX exchange was worth $32billion at its peak and Bankman-Fried appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine which touted him as the future of finance

Bankman-Fried appears front and center of a group picture with his arm around Caroline Ellison as men in curly wigs ¿ believed to be mocking his signature hairstyle ¿ pose around them. They're pictured with FTX co-founder Gary Wang (left)

Bankman-Fried appears front and center of a group picture with his arm around Caroline Ellison as men in curly wigs – believed to be mocking his signature hairstyle – pose around them. They’re pictured with FTX co-founder Gary Wang (left)

Numerous A-list celebrities are still facing a major lawsuit following Sam Bankman-Fried's conviction on fraud charges, here he is pictured with Gisele at a conference in 2022

Numerous A-list celebrities are still facing a major lawsuit following Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction on fraud charges, here he is pictured with Gisele at a conference in 2022

Brady was filmed at home calling around his friends to sign them up with FTX. The company marketed the ad campaign with the slogan: 'Tom Brady is in. Are you?'

Brady was filmed at home calling around his friends to sign them up with FTX. The company marketed the ad campaign with the slogan: ‘Tom Brady is in. Are you?’

Sam Bankman-Fried testifies during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee in 2021. He operated the FTX exchange before its stunning collapse

Sam Bankman-Fried testifies during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee in 2021. He operated the FTX exchange before its stunning collapse

The fall of FTX included the arrest of Bankman-Fried in December 2022 as he was accused of taking $8billion from investors

The fall of FTX included the arrest of Bankman-Fried in December 2022 as he was accused of taking $8billion from investors

Bankman-Fried’s rise to prominence was preceded by him getting an education at MIT. Before he graduated in 2014 with a physics degree, he took an internship at Jane Street Capital, a proprietary trading firm. He would return there full-time after leaving school. This was where he got his start as a trader, and also, where he met his eventual on-again off-again girlfriend Caroline Ellison. 

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Bankman-Fried was older than Ellison by about two years, and he would later ask her to join his new venture. Alameda Research. It was a crypto trading firm, sometimes called a hedge fund.

When he later testified in his own defense, Bankman-Fried was asked what he knew about crypto, to which he said ‘basically nothing.’

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‘I knew a bitcoin was digital, you could trade it on website. I knew there were other crypto currencies, I had absolutely no idea how they worked.’

But Bankman-Fried looked at the opportunities to make money and went ahead.

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Bankman-Fried had a lot of initial success exploiting something called the Kimchi premium. Bitcoin was cheaper in the US than Korea, so he began buying the digital asset on US exchanges and selling for substantive returns in Korea.

That initial success for Bankman-Fried wasn’t enough though, so in 2019 he founded FTX. That decision was crucial in growing his wealth, and by early 2022, FTX was valued at $40billion. Since he was the majority owner of FTX, Bankman-Fried became a very rich man, peaking at around $26billion.

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Bankman-Fried arrives for court hearing on March 30, 2023

Bankman-Fried arrives for court hearing on March 30, 2023

Ellison was one of the key witnesses at trial against Bankman-Fried. He was convicted by a federal jury and is being sentenced on Thursday

Ellison was one of the key witnesses at trial against Bankman-Fried. He was convicted by a federal jury and is being sentenced on Thursday

FTX co-founder and former chief technology officer Gary Wang took a plea deal and testified against Bankman-Fried

FTX co-founder and former chief technology officer Gary Wang took a plea deal and testified against Bankman-Fried

Given his convictions for stealing customer money, the question at trial became, how much of that massive net worth amounted to ill-gotten gains. 

On the stand, Bankman-Fried denied stealing $10billion from customers. 

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The collapse itself, for those on the outside, happened at lightning speed. In less than two weeks, FTX went from appearing solvent to bankrupt. But as the testimony later showed, cracks were starting to appear as early as the summer of that year.

The first major sign of trouble that went public was when crypto news site CoinDesk published an Alameda balance sheet.

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The balance sheet showed that a substantial portion of Alameda’s assets were held in FTT, FTX’s proprietary token. According to keen watchers of the crypto industry, this appeared incredibly risky because FTT was essentially a made-up currency by Bankman-Fried, yet it was serving as collateral for many of the hefty loans granted to Alameda for trading purposes.

Bankman-Fried and Ellison’s subsequent attempts to downplay the CoinDesk story proved fruitless because by around November 8, a classic bank run was in full swing. FTX processed billions of dollars worth of panic withdrawals.

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As the chaos continued, rival crypto exchange Binance offered to buy out FTX, and users rejoiced.

But it wasn’t meant to be, because after one look at FTX’s books, then-CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao backed out of the deal on November 9, just one day after announcing the possible buyout.

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By November 11, the jig was up. FTX went bankrupt and Bankman-Fried stepped aside as CEO, letting John J. Ray take over the liquidation of the company. The fraudster was then arrested a month after the failed deal and collapse of FTX.

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Quirk in US maritime law may be key to liability in Baltimore bridge disaster

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The investigation continues to determine why a container ship, the Dali, smashed into a pillar of the 2.6 km span of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key bridge in early morning darkness on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and leaving six construction workers presumed dead.

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However, establishing the precise cause of the accident will be just the first step in untangling the question of who will shoulder the financial cost of the disaster, which will be considerable. 

John Neal, chief executive of the leading global insurer Lloyds of London, told British media on Thursday that the accident is “certainly going to be one of the largest marine losses in history”.  

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Mathilde Jakobsen, senior director of analytics at the credit rating agency AM Best, agreed, noting that “while the total cost of the bridge collapse and associated claims will not be clear for some time, it is likely to run into the billions of dollars”. 

The tragedy could lead to up to $4 billion in insurance claims, Morningstar DBRS said.

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Reinsurers – insurers that handle risks that are too large for insurance companies to handle alone – “will bear the bulk of the insured cost of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore”, according to Jakobsen. 

The Dali’s insurer, Britannia P&I Club, is part of a global group of mutual insurance organisations that pool liability for the shipping industry

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Known as protection and indemnity (P&I) clubs, they provide “liability cover for most shipping vessels” and “collectively insure approximately 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage”, notes Jakobsen.  

Insurance claims from the bridge collapse will take a long time to determine and involve the families of those who died, the injured, those suffering damage to property, cargo and the cost of the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the US eastern seaboard.  

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Maritime law from the 19th century

But according to the maritime lawyer John Fulweiler, the Dali’s owners, Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private, will certainly try to limit their liability from lawsuits by using a 19th century US maritime law that he calls “a powerful tool that favours vessel owners”.  

The law was originally meant to prevent shipping companies from having to pay overwhelming losses from accidents at sea. 

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The ship’s owners, Fulweiler told FRANCE by email, can petition federal court under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, and bring all potential claims against them “into a single courtroom before a single federal judge”.  

“When the Act is triggered, the court issues an order halting all claims that might be pending in other forums,” notes Fulweiler. 

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“It’s an old piece of legislation” that produces “a lot of injustices,” says Fulweiler, by capping the ship owner’s liability to a sum equal to the “post-incident value of the vessel” and the earnings it collected from carrying the freight on board. 

The wreckage wrought by the Dali is estimated to far exceed its current value.  

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According to Fulweiler, “the murky waters of the marine world give amplified lobbying power to those representing marine insurers and vessel owners”. 

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

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International

Off the deep end: France’s love of swimming pools

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With more than 3 million private swimming pools, France has more “piscines” than any other nation in Europe. We find out why the sector has been booming for years and how the government is using AI to crack down on illegal pools. We also look into the challenges, benefits and heritage of France’s public swimming pools.  

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Remains of George Washington’s long-lost grandnephews are identified using DNA from 200-year-old bones found in unmarked graves

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Unmarked graves belonging to the grandnephews of the first US president have been identified after 200 years using DNA.

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The bones belonged to Samuel Walter Washington and George Steptoe Washington Jr., along with their mother, Lucy Payne Washington.

The graves were discovered during a 1999 excavation at the Harewood Family Cemetery in Charles Town, West Virginia that aimed to find the remains of Washington’s younger brother, Samuel Washington.

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Researchers at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used DNA from the fragmented bones and a living descendent, Samuel Walter Washington.

This marks a significant discovery for the researchers who said their findings could lead them to identify service members extending back to World War II.

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Researchers identified the remains of three of George Washington's ancestors using new DNA sequencing methods

Researchers identified the remains of three of George Washington’s ancestors using new DNA sequencing methods 

George Steptoe Washington Jr. lived from 1806 to 1831 and was buried in the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

George Steptoe Washington Jr. lived from 1806 to 1831 and was buried in the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

Samuel Walter Washington lived from November 16, 1734 to September 26, 1781 and was a planter, politician and military officer buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

Samuel Walter Washington lived from November 16, 1734 to September 26, 1781 and was a planter, politician and military officer buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

In the study, the researchers had set out to identify all the unmarked graves at Harewood Cemetery and believed the recovered remains belonged to George Washington’s descendants, but conducted DNA tests to be sure.

The researchers believed the recovered remains belonged to Washington’s descendants because the burial ground sat on the land of the Harewood Estate, which was built by Samuel Walter Washington in 1977.

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The most common form of DNA profiling is short tandem repeat analysis – which repeats DNA sequences to verify family connections – but it is often difficult, if not impossible, to use this method on degraded remains.

People who were embalmed using post-war techniques – such as Samuel, Lucy, and George Steptoe – involved formaldehyde which can damage the DNA.

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Instead, the researchers performed a series of DNA tests that compared the remains to a living descendant: S.W. Washington. 

The researchers analyzed the Y chromosomes to determine the paternal relationship and mitochondrial DNA sequencing to determine the maternal relationships to build a family tree.

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The grandnephews were more closely related than previously thought because of a cross-cousin marriage

The grandnephews were more closely related than previously thought because of a cross-cousin marriage

The Herewood estate in Charles Town, West Virginia

The Herewood estate in Charles Town, West Virginia

The family of three was buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

The family of three was buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing detects the smallest forms of biological material that is passed down from a mother to her child.

They also used a new method that analyzed DNA data from 95,000 sets of genomes which houses all the genetic information of a person.

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‘This particular case gave us an opportunity to test methods for extended kinship prediction that we developed using a set of known, degraded DNA samples needing identity confirmation,’ said senior author Charla Marshall, Deputy Director of DoD DNA Operations. 

‘Our laboratory is currently validating these novel methods to be used in routine casework.’ 

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Through these methods, the researchers not only confirmed that Lucy, Samuel and George Steptoe Jr. were Washington’s descendants, but they were surprised to find that their family tree was closer than they expected. 

The familial relationships were one degree closer, but the researchers were able to confirm that it was due to cross-cousin marriages in the Washington family tree. 

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‘Our data confirmed the identities of the three sets of remains, and we furthermore resolved which male was the direct ancestor of S.W. Washington, the living descendant,’ Marshall added.

Samuel was Washington’s brother and a planter, politician and military officer who lived from 1734 to 1781.

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He was the county lieutenant of Berkeley County, Virginia during the early revolution and resigned in 1777 at 43 years old.

Little is known about George Steptoe II who lived from 1806 to 1831.

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He was the youngest son of a Virginia planter and militia officer who died of Tuberculosis at 36.

This is not the first time researchers have had to use new DNA methods after scientists analyzed the hair of a man who claimed to be the great-grandson of Sitting Bull – a legendary Native American Chief. 

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In 2021, the scientists used autosomal DNA from a lock of Sitting bull’s hair to match it to Ernie Lapointe and found it was a positive match.

Now, uncovering Washington’s grandnephews through new DNA sequencing could mean that formerly unknown and unidentified remains can be identified.

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It will allow the researchers to expand the reference points to third and fourth-degree living relatives ‘in an effort to increase the number of DNA-assisted identifications, particularly those of past conflicts such as World War II, Korea, Cold War, and Southeast Asia/Vietnam,’ Marshall said.

Dailymail.com has reached out to the authors for comment. 

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France takes down fake website inviting volunteers to ‘enlist in Ukraine’

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French authorities have uncovered a website containing a fake recruitment drive for French volunteers to join the war in Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

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The site has now been taken down by French services, a government source, who asked not to be named, told AFP without giving further details on the nature of the operation.

The site, which is now inaccessible, said 200,000 French people were invited to “enlist in Ukraine“, with immigrants given priority.

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A link to the site – that resembled the French army’s genuine recruitment portal – had been posted on X, formerly Twitter, the French defence ministry said.

“The site is a fake government site,” the ministry said, also on X, “and has been reposted by malevolent accounts as part of a disinformation campaign”.

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The ministry did not name any suspects in the website spoof, but a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the site bore “the hallmarks of a Russian or pro-Russian effort as part of a disinformation campaign claiming that the French army is preparing to send troops to Ukraine”.

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French President Emmanuel Macron angered the Russian leadership last month by hardening his tone on the conflict sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, refusing to rule out sending ground troops and insisting Europe had to do all that was needed for a Russian defeat.

Similar recent examples of disinformation posts included pictures of French army convoys wrongly presented as moving towards the Ukrainian border, the official said.

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The fake website invited potential recruits to contact “unit commander Paul” for information about joining.

The defence ministry and government cyber units are investigating, ministry staff told AFP.

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The French government has recently stepped up efforts to denounce and fight what it says are Russian disinformation and destabilisation campaigns aimed at undermining French public support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

(AFP)

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