[EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Daily News Briefing - November 21, 2024

FBI News Briefing

The image displays the header of a document from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It includes the FBI seal and states that the document is the "Federal Bureau of Investigation Daily News Briefing" dated "November 21, 2024". It also notes that it is "In coordination with the Office of Public Affairs".

Email Public Affairs to subscribe to the Daily News Briefing. Mobile version and archive available here.

Table of Contents

IN THE NEWS

House Ethics Committee Deadlock on Gaetz Report and Senate Democrats Request FBI File Amid AG Nomination Battle
The FBI Arrested a Man Who's Been Charged With Planning an Attack on the New York Stock Exchange
Trump Reportedly Considers Replacing Director Wray Amid GOP Criticism
Billionaire Gautam Adani of India's Adani Group Charged in U.S. With Bribery, Fraud

COUNTERTERRORISM

Former Georgia Poll Worker Indicted for Mailing Bomb Threat to Polling Place
Man Who Bought a Gun to 'Shoot Up a Synagogue' Is Sentenced to 10 Years
Venezuelan Migrant Gang Tren de Aragua Now Operating in 16 States
Continued Reporting: The FBI Busted ISIS's Graphic Designer—After Raiding His Texas Home
Arizona Student Facing Eight Counts of Terrorist Threats After FBI Investigation

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE

Lawmakers Are Concerned About Background Checks of Trump's Cabinet Picks as Red Flags Surface
Continued Reporting: FBI and CISA Warn of Continued PRC Cyberattacks on U.S. Telecoms
Continued Reporting: Allegations of China Harassment Surface in Texas
Continued Reporting: Iran Plot To Kill Jewish Politician Foiled in Canada
Opinion: Trump Should Let the Clock Run Out on TikTok

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

Venezuelan Migrant Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Georgia Student Laken Riley
FBI Investigating Whether Burglaries Targeting Athletes Are Linked to a Transnational Crime Ring
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening to Kill Muslims in Michigan, Feds Say
Urologist Who Sexually Abused Patients Is Sentenced to Life in Prison
Corrections Worker, Detainees Charged With Smuggling Contraband at D.C. Jail
Continued Reporting: Family of Missing Hawaii Woman 'Extremely Worried' Over New Footage
Passengers Duct Tape Man Who Allegedly Tried to Open Door During Flight
FBI Accuses Suspect of Collecting Cash From Ohio Victim of Elder Fraud Scam
Doctor Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge Connected to FBI Investigations in Ohio
FBI, Police Search Home in Missing West Virginia Woman Investigation
Kansas City Police, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service Arrest 38 in Massive Crime Sweep
FBI Wiretaps of Connecticut Drug Trafficking Ring Overheard Plot to Shoot Rivals Near School
Continued Reporting: Head of D.C. Preschool Arrested After Directing Undercover Officer 'To Abuse His Child,'
Alabama Woman Produced Child Porn of Daughter for Texas Imam

FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS

Archegos Founder Bill Hwang Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison
Continued Reporting: Start-Up Founder Who Sold A.I. Chatbot to Schools Is Charged With Fraud

CYBER DIVISION

U.S. Charges Five Men in Scattered Spider Hacking Operations
FBI Says BianLian Based in Russia, Moving From Ransomware Attacks to Extortion

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

North Korea Hackers Behind 2019 $42 Million Ethereum Heist, South Korea Police Say

CAPITOL VIOLENCE NEWS

Jan. 6 Rioter Is Convicted of Plotting to Murder FBI Agents Who Investigated Him
Trump-Nominated Judge Says Blanket Pardons for Capitol Rioters Would Be 'Beyond Frustrating'
Former Oath Keeper Who Helped Jan. 6 Prosecutors Sentenced to Probation
Jan. 6 Defendants With Florida Ties Await Possible Pardons From Trump
Virginia Woman Sentenced for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

OTHER FBI NEWS

Philadelphia Loses Lawsuit That Sought Greater Power for the City to Regulate Firearms
Detective With the El Paso County Sheriff's Office Awarded Certificate From FBI El Paso
Idaho Man Led FBI Case That Inspired 'The Order' Film
Opinion: Weaponizing of DOJ Was a Hatchet Job Against the American People — And the New Trump Admin Must Restore Trust
Opinion: The Right's Triumph Over Social Media

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Biden Approves Antipersonnel Mines for Ukraine
Chinese-Registered Ship Is Held in Baltic Sea Sabotage Investigation
Cease-Fire Between Israel and Hezbollah Edges Closer, U.S. Envoy Says
Ugandan Opposition Leader Who Was 'Kidnapped' in Kenya Turns Up in Court
U.S. Pauses Operations at Kyiv Embassy, Warning of 'Significant Air Attack'
U.S. and Europeans Move to Censure Iran for Nuclear Secrecy
The Hair-Raising Stakes of Flying Into Beirut's Airport
Australia Launches 'Landmark' Bill to Ban Social Media for Children Under 16
Mexico's Lower House Votes to Abolish Autonomous Bodies

OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS

Trump Eyes Return of Russell Vought to Key White House Budget Post
Trump Taps Matthew Whitaker, Former Acting Attorney General, for NATO Ambassador
Trump Picks Business Executive Linda McMahon to Lead the Education Department
Jessica Tisch, Sanitation Chief, Becomes 2nd Woman to Lead the N.Y.P.D.
Bomb Cyclone' Brings High Winds and Soaking Rain to Northern California and Pacific Northwest
How Science Lost America's Trust and Surrendered Health Policy to Skeptics
Trump Has Called for Dismantling the Education Department. Here's What That Would Mean
Speaker Johnson Restricts Use of Capitol Bathrooms by Transgender People
Intelligence IGs Head for the Exit Before Trump's Return
U.S. Regulators Seek to Break up Google, Forcing Chrome Sale as Part of Monopoly Punishment
Analysis: Trump Promised to Disrupt Washington. His Cabinet Picks Would Do Just That

BIG PICTURE

New York Times
- Inquiry Showed Gaetz Payments Went To Women
- Is the Northeast Entering Its Wildfire Era?
- Debating Role Of Trans Rights In Harris's Loss
- Battling Russia, Scarcity and Their Own Fatigue
- Wicked' Fans Beg Seatmates: Shush, Please!
- Grieving Israeli Parents Weigh Freezing Dead Soldiers' Sperm
Wall Street Journal
- U.S. Companies Boost Imports As Trump's China Tariffs Loom
- Archegos Founder Sentenced To 18 Years
- Nvidia's Sales Jump, Lifted by Al Outlook
- $6.2 Million for Banana on Wall: Bananas and Tape Not Included
- How Science Lost America's Trust
Washington Post
- RFK Jr.'s Skepticism, Oregon Vote Further Turn Tide Against Fluoride
- House Panel Told Gaetz Paid for Sex
- Man Guilty in Murder That Became a GOP Focus
- U.S. Egg Supply in Pre-holiday Slump as Avian Flu Cases Surge
- Israel's War With Hezbollah Has Shattered Lives and Families.
- Trump's Picks Draw From Project 2025
ABC News
- Laken Riley Case: Judge Finds Suspect Guilty in Campus Killing, Sentences Him to Life; Major Storms Bring Heavy Rainfall to Both Coasts; Separate Home Explosions Rock Midwest, Leave 2 Dead.
CBS News
- Man Convicted of Murder in Slaying of Laken Riley; Restoring Pacific Northwest Forests Decimated by Wildfires.
NBC News
- Bomb Cyclone and Atmospheric River Bring Prolonged Rain, High Winds to West Coast; Judge Finds Suspect Guilty of Murder, Other Charges in Killing of Laken Riley; Vance Joins Gaetz as He Meets With Senators Who Will Decide if He Becomes Attorney General.
Fox News
- President-Elect Trump Confident on Achieving Cabinet Confirmations; Democrats Make Final Push to Confirm Biden Judicial Nominees Ahead of Trump Return; Matt Gaetz Has 'Burned Bridges With the Republican Party; Marc Thiessen Says.
CNN
- Police Report Details Sexual Assault Allegation Against Hegseth; Western Official Says Missile Used in Ukraine Attack Was Not an Icbm; The Biden Administration Is Trying to Throw a Hail Mary to Save the Colorado River Before Trump Takes Over

WASHINGTON SCHEDULE

White House

President Biden
- 10:00 AM: In-Town Pool Call Time
- 12:00 PM: The President signs the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2024
- 1:30 PM: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
- 2:15 PM: The President receives the President's Daily Brief
- 4:30 PM: The President welcomes the Boston Celtics to the White House to celebrate their victory in the 2024 National Basketball Association Championship by 10:00 am edtl
Vice President Harris
- No events scheduled.

US Senate

Hearings to examine threats to the homeland. — 10:00 AM — Host: Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Business meeting to consider 5.1306 to reauthorize the COPS ON THE BEAT grant program 5.2220 to amend title 35 United States Code to invest in inventors in the United States maintain the United States as the leading innovation economy in the world and protect the property rights of the inventors that grow the economy of the United States 5.2082 to make technical corrections relating to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act and the nominations of Anthony J. Brindisi and Elizabeth C. Coombe both to be a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York Sarah Morgan Davenport to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico Tiffany Rene Johnson to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, Keli Marie Neary, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and Miranda 1. Holloway-Baggett to be United States Marshal for the Southern District of Alabama Department of Justice. — 10:00 AM — Host: Juidiciary

US House of Representatives

No events scheduled.

Cabinet Members

Secretary of Defense Austin is traveling.
Secretary of State Blinken delivers remarks at the Overseas Security Advisory Council Annual Briefing in Arlington, Virgini at 9:05 AM.
Secretary of State Blinken delivers remarks at the Resettlement Diplomacy Network virtual ministerial in Washington, D.C. at 4:00 PM.

Visitors

No events scheduled.

General Events

Brooking Institution: Transitions: Planning and staffing a presidency — Thursday, , November 21, 2024. Location: The Brookings Institution, 10:00 AM. Newly elected presidents have 11weeks to translate their electoral victory into a governing agenda and team. The two priorities go hand in hand, and successful transitions address both challenges at the same time. That includes strategic and operational choices in setting out a legislative and governing agenda, as well as confirming approximately 1,300 executive branch officials and filling judicial vacancies.
Heritage: Nuclear Revolution: Powering the Next Generation — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: Online event, 11:00 AM. Please join us for this special event where Jack Spencer will be discussing his new book, Nuclear Revolution: Powering the Next Generation, in which he argues that for nuclear energy to meet America's growing energy demand, we need to think beyond a nuclear renaissance and towards a nuclear revolution; a revolution animated by the American spirit, molded by free enterprise, and delivered by the private sector.
CSIS: Preventing Detecting and Responding to Animal Disease Threats: 20 Years of UN FAO ECTAD — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: CSIS, 10:30 AM. Today, up to 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases originate from animal sources, posing outsized risks to livestock health, agricultural production and socio-economic trade, and and human health security. threats From posed the by African transboundary swine fever animal to the diseases highly pathogenic are vast and avian far-reaching. influenza, Established the in 2004, the UN FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) implements the largest animal health capacity development programming globally, supporting countries in forecasting, preventing, detecting, and responding to high-impact transboundary animal diseases.
CATO Institute: A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: CATO Institute, 1:00 PM. Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett has played an integral role in the rise of originalism—the movement to identify, restore, and defend the original meaning of the Constitution. But Barnett's path to becoming an influential professor of constitutional law was not an easy one. Starting from a working-class childhood in Calumet City, Illinois, Barnett's unusual resume has included stints as an ice cream truck driver, newspaper ad salesman, prosecutor, libertarian theorist, contract law professor, and Supreme Court advocate. In his new autobiography, A Life for Liberty, Barnett tells the complete story of his personal and professional journey.
Aspen Institute: Socrates San Francisco — Is technology the new religion? — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: The Institute at Salesforce Park, 6:00 PM. As our unified social values fragment and organized religion falls to the lowest levels of participation on record, people are seeking meaning. Belief in biohacking and the singularity now resemble tenets of a new faith. Since before the advent of the printing press and the Gutenberg Bible, technology and religion have had a complex and mutually beneficial relationship. While technology in the past augmented religion, join us as we ponder whether technology has itself become a new religion.
PIIE: Small packages big questions: Valuing the de minimis exemption — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: Online event, 9:00 AM. The United States allows international shipments with a fair market value of $800 or less to enter the country duty free. US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) processes about 4 million of these de minimis shipments a day, up from 2.8 million a day last year. Federal lawmakers are considering legislation that would significantly alter or eliminate the de minimis exemption.
Atlantic Council: A fireside chat with Josu Jon lmaz, chief executive officer of Repsol —Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: Online event, 10:00 AM. Please join the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center on November 21, at 10:00 a.m. EST, for a virtual fireside chat with Josu Jon Imaz, chief executive officer of Repsol. The conversation will be moderated by Frederick Kempe, president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council, and explore the evolving landscape of transatlantic energy security, climate policy, and competitiveness under new European and US leadership.
Atlantic Council: Congressman Michael McCaul on Russia and the authoritarian challenge — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: Online event, 11:00 AM. On Thursday, November 21at 11:00 a.m. ET, the Atlantic Council will host a #ACFrontPage conversation featuring Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX-10), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to discuss the threat to US interests from Russian aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere, as well as Russia's growing authoritarian partnerships with North Korea, Iran, and China.
Atlantic Council: Building the future of cross-sector collaboration in the Summit of the Americas — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: Hotel Hilton Panama, 2:30 PM. The next event in this series is taking place in Panama, which hosted the 2015 Summit of the Americas under the banner of "prosperity with equity," seeking to promote hemispheric cooperation across people and businesses. Senior representatives from Panama, the United States, and other key regional stakeholders will address lessons learned and propose new strategies to strengthen and enhance cooperation among governments, business leaders, civil society, and young leaders.
Hudson Institute: Strategic Challenges Facing the US—South Korea Alliance — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: Hudson Institute, 10:00 AM. President-elect Donald Trump will bring a new agenda and a different approach to the United States' alliances compared to the outgoing Biden administration. How should the second Trump administration balance US national security interests while building on Washington's strong alliance with the Republic of Korea (ROK)? The two governments recently "reaffirmed the shared vision, common values, and unwavering commitment to their combined defense posture and the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) as the bedrock of our security partnership." On the other hand, President Trump will face growing security cooperation among North Korea, Russia, China, and Iran as he begins his second tenure.
Hudson Institute: Big Ideas for America's New National Security Team — Thursday, November 21, 2024. Location: Hudson Institute, 2:00 PM. The next four years of American foreign policy will be crucial. From Afghanistan to Ukraine to Israel, the Biden administration failed to fulfill its commitments, and China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea have seized on this opportunity to increase their collaboration. America's global allies and partners have looked on nervously as this axis of authoritarians developed into a major threat to the American-led world order. Distinguished Fellow Mike Gallagher will join Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar and Senior Fellows Peter Rough and Nadia Schadlow to discuss what to expect from the second Trump administration and how Washington can change course by returning to hard-power principles and reasserting American dominance on the world stage.

Email Public Affairs to subscribe to the Daily News Briefing. Mobile version and archive available here.