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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s former Wisconsin attorney lashed out Thursday at the state’s Democratic attorney general for filing felony charges against him and two others related to the 2020 fake electors scheme, saying after their initial court appearance that he was the victim of “lawfare” that wreaked havoc on his life. Jim Troupis, a former Wisconsin judge who represented Trump in 2020, was the only one of the three defendants to appear in person at the hearing. Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who advised Trump’s 2020 campaign, and Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day operations in 2020, appeared by phone. All three are charged with 11 felony forgery counts. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A court commissioner set a preliminary hearing for all three for Jan. 28. They will enter their pleas at their arraignment, which is not yet scheduled. Troupis, in comments after the brief hearing, said Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has “doubled down on a vicious strategy to destroy our very faith in the system of justice by using the courts for his own personal political game.” “My family and I have endured nonstop vicious and unrelenting savage attacks on my reputation, on my livelihood,” Troupis said outside of the courtroom surrounded by supporters, including Republican former Gov. Scott McCallum. “My children have been interrogated. My long-held friendships and professional life have been destroyed.” Kaul said in a written statement in reaction to Troupis that decisions in cases are based on the facts and the law. “In this case, like all other cases, we will litigate the issues in dispute in a court of law,” Kaul said. Troupis defended the strategy of having the GOP electors meet, saying it was necessary in case a court ruled that Trump won Wisconsin. “We had thought that this would end,” Troupis said. “The country asked for it to end in November, but lawfare in all its despicable forms will not end in Wisconsin.” Troupis and the other two defendants were ordered not to have contact with the 10 electors or three others not identified by name in the criminal complaint. They did not object to those conditions and were allowed to leave without posting any money for bail. The state charges against the Trump attorneys and aide are the only ones in Wisconsin. None of the electors have been charged. The 10 Wisconsin electors, Chesebro and Troupis all settled a lawsuit that was brought against them in 2023. There are pending charges related to the fake electors scheme in state and federal courts in Arizona , Michigan , Nevada and Georgia. Federal prosecutors investigating Trump’s conduct related to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot said the fake electors scheme originated in Wisconsin. Electors are people appointed to represent voters in presidential elections. The winner of the popular vote in each state determines which party’s electors are sent to the Electoral College, which meets in December after a presidential election to certify the outcome. The Wisconsin complaint details how Troupis, Chesebro and Roman created a document that falsely said Trump had won the state’s 10 Electoral College votes and attempted to deliver it to then-Vice President Mike Pence for congressional certification. Prosecutors said in the complaint that most of the 10 electors told investigators they needed to sign the elector certificate indicating that Trump had won only to preserve his legal options if a court changed the outcome of the election in Wisconsin. Most of the electors also said that they did not consent to having their signatures presented as if Trump had won without such a court ruling, the complaint said. Troupis and Roman filed four motions to dismiss the charge before Thursday’s hearing. The court commissioner did not consider those. The fake elector efforts were central to a 2023 federal racketeering indictment filed against Trump alleging he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon that case last month, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House in January will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him. Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Trump is trying to get that case dismissed , arguing that state courts won’t have jurisdiction over him when he returns to the White House next month. Chesebro and Roman were among those indicted with Trump in Georgia. Roman has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges there, as well as to nine felony charges in Arizona related to the fake electors scheme in that state. Chesebro pleaded guilty to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents in a deal with Georgia prosecutors. He is trying to invalidate the plea after the judge in September tossed out the charge against Trump and others. Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this story.fb777 blog 。

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Has this 6% yielding penny share fallen too far?NoneDrone operators worry that anxiety over mystery sightings will lead to new restrictions(TNS) — Hackers claim they have retrieved 17 million patient records, including confidential personal and medical information, in a ransomware attack on PIH Health that has paralyzed operations at three hospitals, the Southern California News Group has learned. The downed computer and most phone systems at PIH Health Downey Hospital, PIH Health Whittier Hospital and PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. Also compromised were urgent care centers, doctors offices and a home health and hospice agency operated by PIH. PIH officials on Wednesday declined to comment on a threatening typewritten letter purportedly faxed by the cyber criminals late last week, saying they are working with a cyber forensic specialist and the FBI to untangle the ransomware attack. The FBI also declined to discuss the ongoing investigation. “Be informed, there was a Ghost in your network!” reads the letter circulated among several PIH employees. “So the ghost has taken your data as evidence, and if you’re not going to cooperate and make a deal, then all your confidential files will be published on the Internet.” Whittier Informed, a grassroots news organization, first reported the letter’s content. SCNG received a copy of the letter from a PIH employee who declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak about the cyber attack. A similar letter was faxed to PIH Whittier Hospital’s Emergency Department on the evening of Nov. 30 but initially was not taken seriously by staff on duty, the worker said. Purportedly, neither letter contained specific demands and it is unknown if PIH has paid a ransom to the hackers. No known group has taken credit for the attack. The most recent letter states the cyber thieves found PIH’s network “highly vulnerable,” with data stored insecurely on computer servers. The hackers claimed to have stolen about 2 terabytes of materials, including: To validate their claims, the hackers included in the letter a link to screenshots of PIH’s monthly oncology reports and patient billing information. “You have to resolve these issues immediately,” states the letter, which promises to provide PIH a “decryption key” to restore computer servers if its demands are met. “Contact our recovery team to discuss the situation and we’ll provide you with assistance.” PIH said on its website it does not have any information about patient information being compromised and will contact affected individuals if more information becomes available. Meanwhile, patient health records, laboratory systems, pharmacy, radiology, patient registration, and all other information technology systems and tools, including Internet access, are down at the three hospitals, urgent care centers, doctors’ offices, and home health and hospice agency. Phone lines for PIH Health Whittier and PIH Health Downey have been rerouted to operators at PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where the lines remain functional. “However, we continue to provide care to patients safely using our downtime procedures at all of our facilities,” PIH Health spokesperson Amanda Enriquez said in an email. “As these procedures entail non-electronic documentation, records and communication, staff are having to adjust to changes in their regular workflows.” PIH’s Internet workaround during the cyber crises has been chaotic, said an employee. Staff members are using their personal cellphones to remind patients of appointments and must jockey for temporary hotspots scattered throughout the medical facilities to connect laptops, according to the worker. Additionally, patient information, treatment plans and prescriptions have to be written by hand because electronic recordkeeping is unavailable. “They (PIH) are scrambling,” said the employee, who added that many workers are volunteering for overtime shifts to staff overwhelmed departments. “It’s a day-to-day thing. The majority of locations have not used paper in 15 years. It’s a stark awakening.“ Watsonville Community Hospital in Watsonville also was attacked by hackers over the weekend, according to Becker’s Healthcare, which noted that medical systems are often victimized around holidays when IT staff and employees are off. More information about what patients should expect due to the PIH ransomware attack can be found on its . ©

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Max George will be spending Christmas in hospital. The 36-year-old pop star - who is best known for being part of the boyband The Wanted alongside Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuinness and the late Tom Parker - took to social media on Thursday (12.12.24) to reveal that he had started to feel "really unwell" earlier in the week and will to have surgery after doctors discovered some heart problems. He wrote on Instagram: "Yesterday I felt really unwell and was taken in to hospital. Unfortunately after some tests they’ve found that I have some issues with my heart. "I have a lot more tests to determine the extent of the problems and what surgery I will need to get me back on my feet. It’s gonna be a difficult few weeks / months... and Christmas in a hospital bed wasn’t exactly what I had planned!" The 'Glad You Came' hitmaker - who is currently dating former soap actress Maisie Smith - admitted that the whole ordeal had come as a "huge shock" to him but is glad that things were dealt with as soon as possible, even if it means he will be spending the festive period in bed. He said: " But, as always, I’m surrounded with love and support from my wonderful partner Maisie, her family, my family and friends.. and I’m 100% in the best place. "Although this is a huge shock and no doubt a set back, it’s something I’ll take on with all I’ve got! I count myself very lucky that this was caught when it was. "Apologies if I bore you with updates in the coming weeks..I’ve probably got a month in a bed and there’s not THAT much to do!" Max was inundated with words of support from his fans and friends in the comments, with bandmate Siva writing: "Here for you brother. Rest up and get well soon." Perez Hilton said: "Oh no!!!!!!! Sending you all of the healing!!!" Westlife star Nicky Byrne wrote: "Get well soon Max", whilst JLS singer Marvin Humes said: "Sorry to hear you’re not well geezer..you’re strong and will fight through..big love mate."When the NCAA's playing rules oversight committee this past spring approved the use of coach-to-player helmet communications in games for the 2024 season, Kolpacki, Michigan State's head football equipment manager, knew the Spartans' QBs and linebackers were going to have a problem. "There had to be some sort of solution," he said. As it turns out, there was. And it was right across the street. Kolpacki reached out to Tamara Reid Bush, a mechanical engineering professor who not only heads the school's Biomechanical Design Research Laboratory but also is a football season ticket-holder. Kolpacki "showed me some photos and said that other teams had just put duct tape inside the (earhole), and he asked me, 'Do you think we can do anything better than duct tape,?" Bush said. "And I said, 'Oh, absolutely.'" Bush and Rylie DuBois, a sophomore biosystems engineering major and undergraduate research assistant at the lab, set out to produce earhole inserts made from polylactic acid, a bio-based plastic, using a 3D printer. Part of the challenge was accounting for the earhole sizes and shapes that vary depending on helmet style. Once the season got underway with a Friday night home game against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 30, the helmets of starting quarterback Aidan Chiles and linebacker Jordan Turner were outfitted with the inserts, which helped mitigate crowd noise. DuBois attended the game, sitting in the student section. "I felt such a strong sense of accomplishment and pride," DuBois said. "And I told all my friends around me about how I designed what they were wearing on the field." All told, Bush and DuBois have produced around 180 sets of the inserts, a number that grew in part due to the variety of helmet designs and colors that are available to be worn by Spartan players any given Saturday. Plus, the engineering folks have been fine-tuning their design throughout the season. Dozens of Bowl Subdivision programs are doing something similar. In many cases, they're getting 3D-printed earhole covers from XO Armor Technologies, which provides on-site, on-demand 3D printing of athletic wearables. The Auburn, Alabama-based company has donated its version of the earhole covers to the equipment managers of programs ranging from Georgia and Clemson to Boise State and Arizona State in the hope the schools would consider doing business with XO Armor in the future, said Jeff Klosterman, vice president of business development. XO Armor first was approached by the Houston Texans at the end of last season about creating something to assist quarterback C.J. Stroud in better hearing play calls delivered to his helmet during road games. XO Armor worked on a solution and had completed one when it received another inquiry: Ohio State, which had heard Michigan State was moving forward with helmet inserts, wondered if XO Armor had anything in the works. "We kind of just did this as a one-off favor to the Texans and honestly didn't forecast it becoming our viral moment in college football," Klosterman said. "We've now got about 60 teams across college football and the NFL wearing our sound-deadening earhole covers every weekend." The rules state that only one player for each team is permitted to be in communication with coaches while on the field. For the Spartans, it's typically Chiles on offense and Turner on defense. Turner prefers to have an insert in both earholes, but Chiles has asked that the insert be used in only one on his helmet. Chiles "likes to be able to feel like he has some sort of outward exposure," Kolpacki said. Exposure is something the sophomore signal-caller from Long Beach, California, had in away games against Michigan and Oregon this season. Michigan Stadium welcomed 110,000-plus fans for the Oct. 26 matchup between the in-state rivals. And while just under 60,000 packed Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, for the Ducks' 31-10 win over Michigan State three weeks earlier, it was plenty loud. "The Big Ten has some pretty impressive venues," Kolpacki said. "It can be just deafening," he said. "That's what those fans are there for is to create havoc and make it difficult for coaches to get a play call off." Something that is a bit easier to handle thanks to Bush and her team. She called the inserts a "win-win-win" for everyone. "It's exciting for me to work with athletics and the football team," she said. "I think it's really exciting for our students as well to take what they've learned and develop and design something and see it being used and executed."