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A well-known conservative lobbyist was sprayed with a “caustic substance” by a masked attacker outside his Arlington home Tuesday, according to local police. Jack Burkman, who made headlines again in 2016 by offering a $130,000 reward for information on the mysterious murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich, was reportedly attacked Tuesday. Local police told The Washington Post they have not yet determined the perpetrator’s identity. Burkman told WaPo he was returning from the grocery store when a man wearing a ski mask jumped out of a black SUV, sprayed him in the face with what appeared to be pepper spray,...

Rick Gates, a former top official in President Trump’s campaign, has agreed to plead guilty Friday afternoon to conspiracy and lying to the FBI, according to court papers filed by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. The guilty plea, which is scheduled for 2 p.m., caps a busy week for Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and related issues. It also ends a tumultuous period for Gates, who found himself re-indicted, changing lawyers and agreeing to plead guilty all within 24 hours. According to a criminal information — a document filed with the permission of the defendant...

Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates says he should pay more in taxes and that the government should require other superwealthy people like him to contribute "significantly higher" amounts. "I need to pay higher taxes," Gates, who is worth over $90 billion, said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Sunday. "I've paid more taxes, over $10 billion, than anyone else, but the government should require the people in my position to pay significantly higher taxes," he said. Gates, the second richest man in the world after Amazon's Jeff Bezos, didn't mince his words when it came to the...

Exclusive: A top Trump campaign adviser close to plea deal with Mueller Anchor Muted Background By Katelyn Polantz and Sara Murray, CNN Updated 6:16 PM ET, Thu February 15, 2018 Who is Rick Gates? Play Current Time 0:05 Duration Time 1:15 Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:05Fullscreen Configuration Subtitles Now Playing Who is Rick Gates? Source: CNN Who is Rick Gates? 01:15 Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates is finalizing a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller's office, indicating he's poised to cooperate in the investigation, according to sources familiar with the case. Gates has already spoken to Mueller's team about...

Lawyers for Richard Gates, a former Trump campaign aide charged with tax fraud and money laundering last year as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, have filed a motion to leave the case. Gates's lawyers filed the motion Thursday, though the reason for their leaving was not made public. "Pursuant to Local Rule 44.5(d), undersigned counsel hereby move to withdraw as counsel of record in this case effective immediately for the reasons set forth in Exhibit 1 which is the subject of a motion to be filed under seal," the filing reads. The motion by Gates's lawyers comes...

With Paul Manafort now being arrested along with his protégé Rick Gates by Robert Mueller, and indicted by a Grand Jury on 12 criminal counts (in particular conspiracy against United States and to launder money, tax/wire fraud etc.) thus potentially facing life in jail, we now have to ask the obvious question: why is Robert Mueller and his team leaking to the Clinton News Network? CNN announced on Friday that indictments/arrests are coming on Monday, and they're the sworn  political enemies of President Trump. The second point is this: after reading all the indictments, 31 pages, President Trump's name is...

PHOENIX - One of Bill Gates' investment firms has spent $80 million to kickstart the development of a brand-new community in the far West Valley. The large plot of land is about 45 minutes west of downtown Phoenix off I-10 near Tonopah. The proposed community, made up of close to 25,000 acres of land, is called Belmont. According to Belmont Partners, a real estate investment group based in Arizona, the goal is to turn the land into its own "smart city."

A federal judge has issued a gag order in the federal government's case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates, preventing them and their legal teams from speaking to the press.   U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson threatened the order last week, and the lawyers for Manafort and Gates did not object. Jackson's order comes after she chastised Manafort's lawyer last week for holding a press conference after court proceedings, fearing such media attention could taint the jury pool. Manafort and Gates face 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States and money laundering....

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury is investigating a prominent Democratic lobbyist and a former GOP congressman for their involvement in an influence campaign on behalf of Ukrainian interests tied to Paul Manafort, according to a person with direct knowledge of the investigation. At the center of the widening probe are Tony Podesta, a longtime Democratic operative, and Vin Weber, a former GOP congressman and leader of his own high-powered lobbying firm, Mercury LLC. The two men were hired as part of a multimillion-dollar lobbying effort directed by Manafort and longtime associate Rick Gates.

Paul Manafort and Rick Gates entered not guilty pleas Monday afternoon in a federal courtroom, telling a magistrate judge that they'll fight a laundry list of felony charges brought by a grand jury on Friday. Manafort, a former Donald Trump campaign chairman, is a veteran lobbyist now charged with conspiring against the United States and money-laundering on a gigantic scale, following an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Along with Gates, his longtime business partner and protege, Manafort surrendered to federal authorities early on Monday as the first charges from the probe of possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S....

Paul Manafort, the onetime chairman of President Donald Trump's campaign, has been indicted along with his former colleague, Rick Gates. The indictments mark the beginning of a new phase in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The timing of the indictment suggests that Mueller is pursuing a legal strategy typically reserved for cases involving drug cartels and mafia families.

In 2008 Michael B. Froman, then Citigroup executive, sends John Podesta a list of cabinet members. The email is dated Oct. 6, 2008 and bears the subject line “Lists.” It went to Podesta a month before he was named chairman of President-Elect Obama’s transition team. Froman’s list proved remarkably prescient. As it proposed, Robert Gates, a Bush holdover, became secretary of Defense; Eric Holder became attorney general; Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security; Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff; Susan Rice, United Nations ambassador; Arne Duncan, secretary of Education; Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services; Peter Orszag,...

NBC-owned television stations in cities across the nation just teamed up with a nonprofit “journalism” group funded by a billionaire husband and wife team who not only spent millions campaigning for President Obama but also topped donor lists to groups like ACORN and MoveOn.org. The nonprofit, ProPublica, will contribute to the news operations of all NBC owned-and-operated stations, including those in such cities as Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia, the network announced Monday. The NBC affiliates will get early access to investigative reports from ProPublica, which describes itself as an “independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has overtaken Bill Gates and is now the richest person in the world, with a fortune topping $90 billion for the first time ever. When markets opened on Thursday, Bezos had a net worth of $90.6 billion, putting him $500 million ahead of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Amazon stock opened up 1.6% on Thursday, adding $1.4 billion to Bezos’ net worth. That was enough to put him ahead of Gates.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has warned that Africa’s population explosion will overwhelm Europe unless the continent makes it more difficult for migrants to reach its shores. In an interview with the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Gates said massive population growth in Africa will result in “enormous [migratory] pressure” on Europe unless countries increase overseas development aid payments. Praising Germany having achieved its commitment to devote 0.7 per cent of GDP to foreign aid as “phenomenal”, the 61-year-old called on “other European nations to follow its example”. But Gates also spoke of a dilemma caused by ‘the German attitude to...

Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are two investors in Bridge International Academies. But in Uganda, the group's 63 schools have been "ordered to shut down in a matter of weeks, leaving the lives of thousands of pupils in limbo." An anonymous reader quotes CNN: Uganda's High Court has described the Bridge International Academies...as unsanitary and unqualified, and has ordered it to close its doors in December because it ignored Uganda's national standards and put the "life and safety" of its 12,000 young students on the line. The Director of Education Standards for the Ministry, Huzaifa Mutazindwa, told CNN that the...

Toll gates at the Big Apple’s bridges and tunnels will disappear next year as a cashless system is rolled out, Gov. Cuomo announced Wednesday. The new system will be set up beginning in January at the Queens-Midtown and Hugh Carey tunnels, and then throughout the year at the Rockaway, RFK, Verrazano-Narrows, Throgs Neck and Bronx-Whitestone bridges. The system will collect money from drivers using E-ZPass. Those without E-ZPass will get their license plates recorded and receive a bill within 30 days. They will have 30 days to pay. All license plates will be scanned and scofflaws will be ticketed immediately....

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin “being friendly doesn’t make you friends.” Gates said, “He is familiar with countries from Indonesia to Latin America to the Middle East and Russia. It seems to me having somebody who is secretary of state who has dealt with a lot of these leaders, who knows them, knows how they negotiate, knows how they think is a huge assess for the United States. As I have said, I think...

Mr. Tillerson emerged as a contender on the strong recommendations of James A. Baker III, the secretary of state under President George Bush, and Robert M. Gates, the former defense secretary, according to a person briefed on the process. Mr. Kushner and Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, advocated strongly for Mr. Tillerson, and the president-elect became intrigued.

Full Title: Bill Gates teams up with Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos to lead a $1 BILLION venture to tackle climate change In a bid to tackle climate change, Bill Gates has joined forces with some of the richest people in the world, including Sir Richard Branson and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, to create a £800 million ($1 billion) fund. The initiative, named Breakthrough Energy Ventures, plans to invest in green energy over 20 years. Its funders hope that this long-term approach will help to deliver the next generation of reliable and affordable energy to the world.