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Ex-head of Michigan medical marijuana board and former state House speaker admits he took bribes

7Apr

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Business

Ex-head of Michigan medical marijuana board and former state House speaker admits he took bribes

File: House Speaker Rick Johnson, R-LeRoy, right, talks with House Minority Leader Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga, during a session in the House Chambers, Dec. 16, 2003, in Lansing, Mich. AL GOLDIS / AP The former head of a Michigan medical marijuana licensing board has agreed to plead guilty to accepting $110,000 in bribes when he led the panel over a two-year period, authorities said Thursday. Rick Johnson acknowledged in a signed court filing that he acted "corruptly" when he accepted cash and other benefits to help businesses get licenses. Charges against Johnson and three other men were announced by U.S. Attorney Mark Totten at a press conference near the Capitol in Lansing.Jo...

4Feb

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

Suspected Chinese spy balloon moving over U.S.: What we know so far

Update: U.S. fighter jets shot down the balloon off the South Carolina coast Saturday afternoon. Read the latest here.China acknowledged Friday that a high-altitude balloon spotted this week over the U.S. does in fact belong to Beijing, but it referred to the airship as a civilian device "used for scientific research such as meteorology." A senior defense official told CBS News on Thursday that the Defense Department was "confident" that it was, in fact, a Chinese surveillance balloon. The payload of the balloon — that is, the part under the balloon conducting the surveillance — is the size of two to three school buses, and the balloon itself is much larger, according to a U.S. official. On Saturday morning, when President Biden was asked about t...

3Feb

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

Suspected Chinese spy balloon drifting over U.S. has surveillance part as big as multiple school buses

China acknowledged Friday that a high-altitude balloon spotted this week over Montana does in fact belong to Beijing, but it referred to the airship as a civilian device "used for scientific research such as meteorology." A senior defense official told CBS News on Thursday that the Defense Department was "confident" that it was, in fact, a Chinese surveillance balloon. The payload of the balloon, that is, the part under the balloon conducting the surveillance, is the size of two to three school buses, and the balloon itself is much larger, according to a U.S. official.According to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry, the airship was "affected by the westerly wind" and its ability to control its direction "is limited." The statement also says that the balloon "seriously devi...

Canadian Conservatives elect “right-wing populist” Pierre Poilievre to lead fight against Justin Trudeau

12Sep

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

Canadian Conservatives elect “right-wing populist” Pierre Poilievre to lead fight against Justin Trudeau

Pierre Poilievre, newly-elected leader of Canada's Conservative Party, speaks to the crowd after winning the leadership race during a Conservative Party of Canada leadership event at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 10, 2022. James Park/Bloomberg/Getty Toronto — Canada's opposition Conservative Party elected its go-to attack dog as its new party leader Saturday. Pierre Poilievre is a firebrand populist who opposes vaccine mandates and blames global inflation on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He won the party leadership on the first ballot, defeating a moderate, centrist candidate with 68% of the votes cast by the party's members. The 43-year-old P...