The fire broke out on Friday at the Napier Barracks, a decommissioned military complex that now houses asylum-seekers and has been at the center of a recent row between Home Secretary Priti Patel and refugee charities who have called on her to close the facility.
Charities have claimed that the estimated 400 asylum-seekers at the facility have been living in poor conditions in overcrowded dormitories and that a recent Covid-19 outbreak has infected at least 120 people, PA Media reported.
Kent police Saturday said enquiries into the incident were continuing and that “no serious injuries were reported as a result of the incident, however a significant amount of damage was caused to one part of the site following a fire — which is believed to have been started deliberately.”
On Friday, the home secretary took to Twitter to condemn the “shocking scenes” from Napier Barracks where the Home Office said windows were smashed and a building set on fire.
“The damage and destruction at Napier Barracks is not only appalling but deeply offensive to the taxpayers of this country who are providing accommodation while asylum claims are being processed,” Patel tweeted.
“This site has previously accommodated our brave soldiers and army personnel — it is an insult to say that it is not good enough for these individuals,” she added.
Patel’s comments drew some criticism, with the founder of one refugee charity saying the home secretary “should be ashamed of herself” for so quickly pointing the finger at asylum-seekers.
“For a British home secretary to accuse and castigate ordinary people when the facts of this incident are not yet even known is shocking and disturbing,” Clare Mosley, founder of the charity Care4Calais, said in statement sent to CNN.
“This is not simply a careless, off-the-cuff emotional response. It is a misleading, opportunistic smoke screen concocted to deflect attention from the multiple warnings she has had about what was clearly going to happen at Napier barracks,” Mosley added.
Care4Calais, in a Facebook post on Friday, said Napier residents they had spoken to “tell us they are simply terrified.”
“Their future remains uncertain and today’s events create more distress and fear,” it added.
When a Reddit community banded together to punish Wall Street investors who had bet against GameStop shares, one app stood out as a weapon of choice: Robinhood. Traders from the r/WallStreetBets forum used the fee-free stock-trading app and others like it to push shares of the beaten-down game retailer 14,300% higher over the past few months, making short-selling hedge funds howl in pain.
The popularity of the app was evident on Wednesday, when Robinhood jumped to the top spot in Apple’s App Store and notched a record 2.6 million daily active users, according to data from tracking firm Apptopia.
A day later, however, Robinhood had fallen from favor with the group because it had restricted some activity such as GameStop trading, along with some other active stocks, limiting users to closing out positions rather than opening new ones. That had traders screaming foul. Even before trading had closed on Thursday, a lawsuit seeking class-action status against Robinhood had been filed in New York. In a second blog post published Thursday afternoon, Robinhood said it would reopen limited trading of the stocks on Friday. But on Friday, without mentioning Robinhood by name, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it would “closely review actions taken by regulated entities that may disadvantage investors or otherwise unduly inhibit their ability to trade certain securities.”
Here’s what you need to know about Robinhood, its past and recent controversies, and how it works.
Read more: GameStop stock spike lingo: This is what Reddit’s WallStreetBets vocabulary means
What is Robinhood?
Robinhood is a financial services company founded in 2013 for the purpose of democratizing the financial system, giving people the opportunity to make fee-free investments. Its main product is an app designed to make it easy buy and sell stocks without a financial broker or commissions. Robinhood also offers cash management accounts and cryptocurrency trading.
Some state regulators and academics have accused Robinhood of “gamifying” investing by doing things like rewarding you for making trades with a confetti animation. The app also lets you browse the 100 most-held stocks to determine what you might want to buy next. The company says those app elements are meant to draw in young investors from diverse backgrounds.
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How does Robinhood work?
First, you need to download the Robinhood app for iOS or Android and create an account. New members who sign up through a promotional page will get one free stock added to their account to keep or sell. The app requires you to enter your social security number and address. You’ll also need to connect a bank account.
Inside the app, you can search for a stock and see price and activity stretching back five years. You’ll also see news stories and analyst ratings about the companies, as well as similar stocks that other people invest in. When you click Buy, you’ll have the option to pay for your purchase in shares or in dollars. You can also set up recurring investments and other instructions, such as price limits. Hit Review, swipe up and your stock has been purchased.
You might be wondering: If Robinhood is letting me buy and sell stocks without a fee, how does the company make money? Here’s where things get a bit complicated.
When you buy or sell stocks through Robinhood, the company doesn’t actually execute those trade requests. Instead, it routes the orders through a “market maker” (like Citadel Securities or Virtu) which in turn offers Robinhood a rebate. This is also called “payment for order flow.” The practice is common, though often criticized for lacking transparency. Among the concerns: who pays the broker and whether there are other benefits the broker gets for directing orders to market makers. For example, a broker could potentially direct orders to a specific market maker to make a larger cut, even if it isn’t in the investor’s best interest.
Bottom line? In exchange for a fee-free buying and selling experience for you, Robinhood is selling your order to another firm, and both make money off of it.
Robinhood offers commission-free trading.
James Martin/CNET
Why did Robinhood shut down trading in GameStop and AMC?
On Thursday, Robinhood (along with TD Ameritrade) began restricting some transactions of GameStop and other companies that Redditors had begun targeting because of “recent volatility,” according to a blog post. (The other companies affected included AMC, Nokia and BlackBerry.)
After this happened, GameStop and AMC stock dropped dramatically. A class-action lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York against Robinhood for restricting trades. The complaint says the company “purposefully, willfully and knowingly” removed GameStop during its extraordinary run-up and “thereby deprived retail investors of the ability to invest in the open market.”
Robinhood didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But users quickly expressed their displeasure, flooding the Google Play Store with tens of thousands of bad reviews for the app. Google cleared out lots of the deliberate slams, which had temporarily brought the app’s overall rating down to one star.
Members of Congress have also weighed in. Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib joined with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz to tweet support for a hearing on Robinhood’s decision to restrict the trading.
In a second blog post published Thursday afternoon, Robinhood said it would allow limited buying in the affected securities on Friday. The company will continue to monitor the situation and adjust as needed, the post said.
“To be clear, this was a risk-management decision, and was not made on the direction of the market makers we route to,” the post said.
I heard that Robinhood got in trouble. What’s that about?
On Dec. 16, 2020, Massachusetts security regulators filed a complaint against Robinhood for violations of state law, including its “aggressive tactics to attract new, often inexperienced, investors” and its “use of strategies such as gamification to encourage and entice continuous and repetitive use of its trading application.”
The next day, the SEC charged Robinhood for alleged “repeated misstatements that failed to disclose the firm’s receipt of payments from trading firms for routing customer orders to them, and with failing to satisfy its duty to seek the best reasonably available terms to execute customer orders.” That refers to the routing of order flow to market makers.
According to the SEC, between 2015 and 2018, Robinhood failed to disclose that it made money from payments for its order flow and that it executed orders at higher rates than its competitors, despite claiming it was offering prices that matched or beat its competitors. The SEC said the activity stripped customers of $34.1 million, even after adjusting for commission-free trades.
Robinhood agreed to pay $65 million to settle the charges.
On Friday, the SEC said it would “closely review” what happened during the GameStop stock drama this week, stating, “We will act to protect retail investors when the facts demonstrate abusive or manipulative trading activity that is prohibited by the federal securities laws.” The organization did not mention Robinhood by name.
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Are there any alternatives to Robinhood?
Several other apps perform a similar service to Robinhood, offering commission-free stock trading. These include:
TD Ameritrade: Named the best stock trading platform by both NerdWallet and StockBrokers, TD Ameritrade offers tools for both beginners and active traders. Like Robinhood, it features commission-free stock, ETF and options trades. It also restricted some trading of GameStop and AMC.
WeBull: WeBull also offers commission-free trading of stocks, ETFs and options. While this app temporarily restricted trades in GameStop and AMC on Thursday, those restrictions have since been lifted.
Cash App: Cash App allows you to send and receive money, similar to Venmo. But it also has an investing option, allowing commission-free stock trades similar to Robinhood. It’s a bit more of a beginner’s platform, with fewer features than Robinhood. It also gives you the ability to buy fractional shares, which many other platforms don’t. The app is owned by Square and CEO Jack Dorsey.
Fidelity: Fidelity is a more traditional online broker that offers commission-free trades, research and strong trading tools, according to StockBrokers, which named it the best trading platform for everyday investors.
E*Trade: One of the first online brokerages in the US, E*Trade also offers commission-free trades, and a strong selection of trading tools. StockBrokers named it the top web trading platform and the best trader app.
You can also check out CNET’s tips for getting started with investing, and the best robo-advisors.
The Austin Police Department’s SWAT team is currently in a more than six-hour standoff at a medical center in central Austin, Texas, that began around 4:30 p.m.
At least one doctor is being held inside the building, KVUE reports. The parent of a patient at the medical center tells Fox News that their doctor is being held in the building.
Police are currently talking to the suspect, who also appears to also be a doctor, through a bullhorn, according to KVUE. The witness also told Fox News the suspect is a doctor.
“You don’t deserve to go through this..for all you have done for others…that is why I want to help you work through this,” the local news outlet reports that a police officer said through a bullhorn to the suspect. “You have saved a lot of lives.”
In a 911 call that came in about the incident around 4:30 p.m., it was reported that the suspect entered the office and took a hostage or hostages at gunpoint, FOX 7 in Austin reported.
In a 9 p.m. update, a FOX 7 reporter said a witness told her everyone inside the medical office had been taken hostage by the suspect, but he let at least three people go immediately.
“When I arrived on scene, I saw a woman being escorted by police out of the taped area where she was met and hugged by a child. And that’s what we’ve been seeing over the past few hours: multiple people being walked out and handed off to what we can only assume are loved ones,” FOX 7’s Amanda Ruiz reported.
HOUSTON DEPUTY SHOT IN BOTH HANDS, MANHUNT FOR SUSPECT INTENSIFIES
Law enforcement escorted at least one woman in scrubs away from the building, but it is unclear if she was ever held hostage, KXAN reports.
An officer also said through the bullhorn, “Everything that is happening tonight doesn’t take anything away from everything that you have accomplished as a doctor,” according to KEYE-TV reporter Melanie Barden.
“I cannot guarantee your safety unless you comply,” KVUE-TV reporter Tony Plohetski tweeted earlier of the hostage negotiator’s attempted communications with the suspect. “I am letting you know, doctor, there is a way to resolve this. I need your help to fix the situation. That starts with you answering the phone.”
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Police have evacuated homes in the area surrounding the 1900 block of W 35th Street and are asking the public to stay away.
A toll-free phone line will go live Monday to help people who who don’t have a computer make an appointment for a coronavirus vaccine.
The call center’s number, 855-568-0545, says in a Sunday recording that live agents will be taking calls starting the week of Jan. 25.
North Jersey.com reported the call center was launching Monday at 8 a.m., staffed with 250 agents.
State Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli announced the call center last week for residents unable to use the online registry.
The call center will have, “an interactive voice response platform in both English and Spanish that provides key information to New Jersey residents on how to register (for a vaccine) as well as how to schedule vaccination appointments as people become eligible,” the commissioner said.
The call center augments the online vaccine registry, which launched earlier this month. When an online user is eligible, they receive an email from the state with a link to choose a vaccination location and set an appointment.
The state Health Department cautioned that vaccine appointments are limited due to supply limitations.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will be the center of attention when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers square off in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday afternoon.
It will only be the fourth meeting between the future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and it will be the first time they face each other in the postseason. The Buccaneers defeated Green Bay, 38-10, in their meeting on Oct. 18 in Tampa. The other two times they met, Brady was still the quarterback for the New England Patriots.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
In 2014, the Packers pulled out a 26-21 win over New England at Lambeau Field, and four years later, the Patriots rolled to a 31-17 victory in Foxborough.
“I remember when I heard the news about him coming to the NFC, I thought this was a real possibility,” Rodgers said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to play against him one more time.”
Brady and the Bucs are rolling. Tampa Bay is currently on a seven-game winning streak in road games, which is a franchise record. If the Buccaneers take down the Packers on Sunday, they will be the first team in NFL history to host a Super Bowl at their home stadium.
The last time Tampa Bay made the Super Bowl, Jon Gruden was the team’s head coach, and they were anchored by one of the best defenses in league history, featuring the likes of Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and John Lynch.
TERRY BRADSHAW OFFERING UP $500,000 AND A NEW FORD F-150 TRUCK IN SUNDAY’S FOX BET SUPER 6
With a victory on Sunday, Brady will join quarterbacks Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, and Craig Morton as the only QBs to lead two different franchises to a Super Bowl appearance.
“This is one of the coolest stadiums in the league to play in,” Brady said of Lambeau Field. “I know they’re excited, we’ll be excited, and it will make for a great football game.”
Green Bay, on the other hand, will play in its fifth NFC Championship Game with Rodgers under center. The last time the Packers reached the Super Bowl was back in 2010 when Green Bay ended up defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the big game.
Everyone will be tuning in to watch two of the greatest QBs in NFL history on Sunday afternoon, and Warner, a Hall of Famer and current NFL Network analyst, believes it should be a matchup for the ages.
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“When I played, I always knew who was on the other sideline,” Warner said. “I always said when I went into these matchups, at the end of the day, I know if we’re going to win this game, I’ve got to outperform that guy. I’ve got to be better than the quarterback on the other side.”
Brady and Rodgers will certainly have their eyes on each other come Sunday.
