Tag Archives: scandal

US

Rep. Stefanik: New York nursing home scandal shows corruption ‘at the highest level’

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The undercounting of coronavirus deaths among New York nursing home residents is “a massive corruption scandal at the highest level” of state government, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., told “Hannity” Thursday.

State Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker confirmed earlier Thursday that at least 12,743 long-term care residents had died of COVID-19 as of Jan. 19 of this year, more than 4,200 more than the official tally given on that day.

State Attorney General Letitia James had charged in a report released hours earlier that the nursing home death count could be off by about 50%. Zucker’s figure included for the first time 3,829 confirmed COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents who had been transported to hospitals. 

REP. ELISE STEFANIK, R-N.Y.: We know that the March edict that the governor put in place … forced nursing homes to take positive COVID patients, which put at risk our most vulnerable constituents in New York State.

There have been advocates who have lost loved ones, who have been asking for answers, accountability and transparency. And at every turn, the governor and his staff heads have smeared those individuals. One of the most notable and most effective advocates is [FOX News senior meteorologist] Janice Dean, and they have belittled her each and every day, going so far as calling these family advocates part of a death cult.

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Finally, today is the first step towards justice. We need to get answers and issue subpoenas immediately against the governor, the commissioner of health in New York State, Dr. Zucker, and his senior staff, because the corruption is the cover-up. They knew this number and yet they refused to be transparent with New Yorkers. But what was most heartless is [not] being more transparent with those that have lost loved ones.

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The way to get answers is to issue subpoenas. Both Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate and state Assembly are finally coming together to issue subpoenas. We also need to continue the independent investigation at the federal level …These families deserve accountability and we need to make sure this never happens again.

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Business

Goldman Sachs slashes CEO pay by $10 million over massive scandal

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Solomon’s compensation package was reduced to $17.5 million for 2020, down from the $27.5 million he received in 2019, according to a US Securities and Exchange filing on Tuesday. The $10 million payout comes after Goldman agreed to pay nearly $3 billion after pleading guilty to charges the bank conspired to violate US anti-bribery laws in a massive scandal with 1MDB.

In October, the bank said that Solomon would face a pay cut, along with other top executives including its CFO Stephen Scherr and COO John Waldron in light of findings from the investigation that involved the US Department of Justice and other authorities.

The scandal relates to bond sales that Goldman Sachs (FADXX) arranged and underwrote for 1MDB, from which the US Justice Department alleges $4.5 billion was stolen. The Justice Department accused Malaysian financier Jho Low, who had ties to the film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” of masterminding a plot to channel the money from the fund to former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bank accounts.

Scherr’s pay was reduced to $15.5 million from $22.5 million in 2019. Waldron’s pay was slashed to $18.5 million, down from $24.5 million in 2019. In total, the three executives’ total compensation for 2020 was reduced by $24 million in response to the bribery scandal fallout.

“While none of Messrs. Solomon, Waldron or Scherr was involved in or aware of the firm’s participation in any illicit activity at the time the firm arranged the 1MDB bond transactions, the Board views the 1MDB matter as an institutional failure, inconsistent with the high expectations it has for the firm,” the filing stated.

CNN’s Eoin McSweeney contributed to this report.

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Entertainment

Hilaria Baldwin’s heritage scandal sparks reaction from Charo: ‘It’s funny’

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Charo admitted she finds Hilaria Baldwin’s Spanish heritage scandal “funny.”

The 70-year-old Spanish-American actress-singer told Page Six that she spent her entire life trying to perfect her English so she doesn’t understand why Baldwin, 37, was “obsessed” with her Spanish accent.

“I spend all my life trying to speak English like you,” Charo told the outlet. “I hoped to [be] a sophisticated American and I was born in Murcia, Spain, where they have a very strong Castilian accent.”

“That’s Hilaria’s obsession, probably,” Charo thought. “I want to speak the best English because after so many years in America nobody knows what the hell I’m talking about.”

ALEC BALDWIN DOUBLES DOWN ON DEFENDING WIFE HILARIA AMID CULTURAL APPROPRIATION SCANDAL

Baldwin was put on blast in December when it was discovered she wasn’t actually born in Spain — as she had implied — and instead was born and raised in Boston, Mass. 

Charo (R) reacted to Hilaria Baldwin (L) Spanish heritage scandal. 
(Getty)

“In the case of Hilaria, she must be [so] obsessed with everything Spanish — the tradition, flamenco — that she really went into that education and she managed to do it very well indeed,” Charo mused. 

Baldwin was also criticized for allegedly faking a Spanish accent. The bilingual mother of five’s accent noticeably fluctuated over the years when she made appearances on TV. 

HILARIA BALDWIN’S HERITAGE DEFENSE SPARKS HILARIOUS TWITTER REACTIONS

After the news broke, the wife of Alec Baldwin also revealed her real name is Hillary.

“Yes, I am a White girl, my family is White… Europe has a lot of White people in them. Ethnically I am a mix of many, many things,” she said on social media. 

Hilaria Baldwin was criticized for implying she was born in Spain when she was actually born and raised in Boston.
(Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Charo said she got a laugh out of the situation. “There’s nothing wrong if that makes her happy. I think it’s funny. In my opinion, it’s just funny,” she said.

In an interview with The New York Times, Baldwin tried to correct some of what she says are misconceptions about how she has presented herself.

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“The things I have shared about myself are very clear,” Baldwin said. “I was born in Boston. I spent time in Boston and in Spain. My family now lives in Spain. I moved to New York when I was 19 years old and I have lived here ever since. For me, I feel like I have spent 10 years sharing that story over and over again. And now it seems like it’s not enough.”

Fox News’ Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.



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Entertainment

Olivia Jade returns to YouTube in first video since college admissions scandal

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Olivia Jade Giannulli is attempting a YouTube career comeback.

The 21-year-old daughter — whose parents Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli pleaded guilty for their involvement in the college admissions scandal — returned to the video content platform with a new message to her followers on Thursday.  

“This is so crazy! Welcome back to my YouTube channel,” Jade began. “I am really excited because obviously I haven’t filmed in a really long time and I’m just grateful to be back on YouTube and I’m really excited for you guys to watch this video.”

“I wanted to film this little intro part just because I didn’t want it to, like, just start the vlog and me not address anything,” she explained. “Obviously did my ‘Red Table Talk’ interview and I think if you have any questions for me or you have anything to say or you’re like, ‘Why are you back?’ you can go watch that interview. I think I kind of disclosed what I felt I needed to say on there.”

OLIVIA JADE BREAKS SILENCE ON PARENTS’ INVOLVEMENT IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL

Jade was known on YouTube for creating makeup tutorials and is trying to restart her career with new daily vlogs about life in her new Los Angeles apartment.

WARNING: VIDEO BELOW MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

A few minutes into the vlog, Jade made an editor’s note to clarify something she said. 

US ATTORNEYS OPPOSE MOSSIMO GIANNULLI’S REQUEST TO SERVE PRISON SENTENCE AT HOME AS HE AWAITS COURT VERDICT

“I didn’t want this to come across the wrong way, and I’d just rather say something and make the video look a little weird,” she said. “I don’t mean to say [what I said] in a dismissive way or a pretentious way. I think what I was trying to get across was that the thing I wanted to do the most was apologize for so long and I felt like I got to do that at ‘Red Table [Talk].’ So although I can’t change the past, I can change how I act and what I do going forward.” 

LORI LOUGHLIN HAD EMOTIONAL REUNION WITH DAUGHTERS OLIVIA JADE AND ISABELLA AFTER RELEASED FROM PRISON

Jade added that she doesn’t want anybody to think that her “name’s cleared” just because she sat down for an interview with Jada Pinkett Smith and her family. 

Actress Lori Loughlin (R) and daughter Olivia Jade (L) have reunited after Loughlin was released from prison on Dec. 28. 
(Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

“I just want to move on and do better and move forward and come back, and do what I love, which is YouTube,” she said.

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In December, the former University of Southern California student, said, “I’m not trying to victimize myself. I don’t want pity. I don’t deserve pity. We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like I recognize I messed up. And for so long I wasn’t able to talk about this because of the legalities behind it. I never got to say I’m really sorry that this happened or I really own that this was a big mess-up on everybody’s part. But I think everybody feels that way in my family right now.”

She claimed that her parents’ actions just came from a place of love. Jade said she confronted them but “they didn’t really have much to say except like, ‘I’m so sorry. I really messed up trying to give the best to you and your sister…’ I’ve seen them day in and day out and how they’ve received all of this. And I know that they’ve struggled.”

Olivia Jade returned to YouTube with a new message to her followers on Thursday. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Loughlin, 56, was released from Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., on Dec. 28, while Giannulli, 57, is currently serving five months at a facility in Lompoc, Calif. 

Back in August, Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded guilty to charges stemming from $500,000 payments to scam mastermind William “Rick” Singer to get their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, recruited onto the University of Southern California’s crew team. The two had never participated in the sport.

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In their plea agreement, Loughlin, agreed to serve two months and pay a $150,000 fine along with two years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service. Giannulli, meanwhile, was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine with two years of supervised release and 250 hours of community service in addition to a five-month prison sentence.

Fox News’ Melissa Roberto contributed to this report

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