National News Updates

As of last week, government and official media have confirmed that sensitive documents have been circulated to tens of thousands of users of the Discord App, a social messaging platform. These documents were from early March, detailing the composition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, NATO deployments, and several ongoing intelligence operations. The leak exposed weaknesses in the Ukrainian Armed Forces to Russian observers, has created a string of diplomatic incidents, and has dangerously exposed the U.S. spy network’s operations in several enemy countries.

Jack Teixeira, 21 and a member of the Air National Guard, was taken into custody by law enforcement. According to reporting done by the New York Times, which includes interviews with members of the close circle that Teixeira originally shared the documents to, the man is not a whistleblower. Unlike previous huge leaks of information, outrage about wrongdoing or government policies does not appear to have been a factor. Instead the leaks were done to inform a close circle of friends, Teixeria having grown close to members of the Discor5d community over the pandemic.

One member within Teixeira’s Discord social group spread the information to more public forums. Where only a dozen people knew before, now thousands of people have access to this information, and it has now spread even further. The American Government has drawn criticism for allowing such a low ranking national guardsman access to these materials, and already are reviewing the policies and workplace culture that allowed for such a massive leak to occur.

Unfortunately, the Commonwealth of Suffolk’s witness, a CSI forensic technician, stated that she was unable to break the security of Geronilla’s cell phone. This means that the accusation against Geronilla cannot be confirmed because the forensic technician could not access the contents of the phone, WAVY also reported.

The judge in charge of Geronilla’s trial, determined that there was enough evidence to see the motive and intent behind Geronilla’s actions, thus making him guilty.

Geronilla was given a 90-day sentence and a 70-day suspension and was immediately handcuffed after being taken into custody, WAVY reported. Despite this, the judge in charge of the case gave Geronilla a total of 7 days to consider filing an appeal, along with a $1,500 fine and is prohibited from using any device that possesses the ability to take a photo.

During the trial, the victim recalled that at the time of the incident, she was at her station typing notes for work when she noticed the phone between her feet with the camera opened and facing up.

Wavy also reported that two other female coworkers have come forward about the same issues with Geronilla. In these instances he would pretend to be on a phone call when other’s moved near.

Another anonymous witness said she had a similar interaction with Geronilla in October of 2021; she passed him in a hallway, felt him near her, spotted the camera and walked away rapidly to get away from him. Wavy confirmed that no police call was ever made.

Geronilla now has until Monday, April 17, 2023 to decide if he wants to appeal, WAVY reported.

Thomas has served on the nation’s highest court since 1991. For the last two decades, Thomas has reported on required financial disclosure forms that his family received rental income equaling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a firm called Ginger, Ltd., Partnership. The real estate firm was launched by his wife, Ginni Thomas, and her family members in 1980. According to a Washington Post report, that firm has not existed since 2006.

State incorporation and property records show that a separate firm was created that year and assumed control of the company’s land leasing business. Thomas has continued to report income from the nonexistent company in recent years, with no mention of the newer firm, Ginger Holdings, LLC, on the forms. CNBC reports that Thomas reportedly disclosed between $50,000 and $100,000 in income from the old firm annually.

This marks the latest question around his financial practices after a recent ProPublica report revealed Thomas had accepted secret luxury trips from Republican mega donor Harlan Crow for more than two decades in apparent violation of a financial disclosure law. ProPublica reported that Thomas failed to report the trips on his financial disclosures. It was later reported that Thomas sold property to Crow, which he failed to disclose as well.

Thomas released a statement claiming that colleagues told him he did not have to report the vacations and that he has always tried to comply with disclosure guidelines. He has not publicly addressed the property transaction.

LINDSAY.DEYTON

LINDSAY.DEYTON.22@CNU.EDU

Giovanni Geronilla, 43 of Suffolk, VA, has been found guilty of taking indecent photos of his female coworker after being accused on July 25, 2022. Geronilla is being charged with a misdemeanor, WAVY reports.

The charge on Geronilla came after being accused of putting his phone under the dress of his female co-worker.

ALYSSA TILLMAN

ALYSSA.TILLMAN.22@CNU.EDU

Clarence Thomas, the 74-year-old conservative associate justice of the Supreme Court, has recently been questioned about his financial practices.

In addition to the recent revelations about Thomas’s financial relationship with Harlan Crow, ProPublica cited a period in the 2000s in which Thomas failed to disclose his wife’s employment until the omission was reported by a watchdog group, Common Cause. The Washington Post reported that Ginni Thomas earned more than $686,000 from the conservative Heritage Foundation between 2003 and 2007, but Thomas checked a box labeled “none” for his wife’s income during that period. He had done the same in 2008 and 2009 when she worked for conservative Hillsdale College.

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Democratic majority called for an investigation into Thomas’ noncompliance with disclosure requirements on Monday. The committee announced in a letter that it would hold a hearing “in the coming days” on “the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court’s ethical standards”, CNN reported.

RJ JONES RAYMOND.JONES.22@CNU.EDU

This year’s NFL Draft is quickly approaching and it could be different from any draft in recent memory.

After trading two firstround picks, second-round picks in 2023 and 2025, and star wide receiver DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears for the No 1 pick, the Panthers will likely pick a quarterback. The main question is which quarterback will the Panthers take off the board?

Initially, the Panthers seemed poised to take former Ohio State Buckeye CJ Stroud with the first pick. The 21 year-old already possesses the accuracy and anticipation of an elite NFL quarterback. Stroud has the highest floor of any quarterback prospect this year and will likely become a good NFL starter.