Joe Biden gave his best to us

Sabrina Haake
August 20, 2024

President Joe Biden speaks onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 19, 2024 in Chicago. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

CHICAGO — On July 21, 2024, three weeks after his halting debate performance, Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.

Last night here at the Democratic National Convention, instead of delivering an acceptance speech for his party’s nomination, Biden delivered one of his last major speeches as president of the United States.

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After his daughter Ashley introduced her dad as her “best friend,” Biden walked alone to the Democratic National Committee center-stage lectern among an appreciative blue and red sea of “We Love Joe” signs. As he recounted achievements of the Biden-Harris administration, including the CHIPS Act, infrastructure investments and unmatched climate mitigation efforts, the crowd bellowed, “Thank you, Joe.”



U.S. President Joe Biden greets first daughter Ashley Biden during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Biden humbly reminded them to thank Kamala, too. The president said making Harris his political partner was one of the smartest things he’d ever done.

Biden’s selfless act in walking away from power

Biden’s send-off speech was a bittersweet and historically unprecedented moment, as was his decision to walk away from power. His decision has electrified the Democratic party, along with a fast-growing sector of voters who were dreading the Trump-Biden rematch.

Delivering words of encouragement and unity at the Democratic National Committee, Biden didn’t lick his wounds or air his grievances at having been pushed aside.

Instead, he reminded the nation that nearly four years ago, as he raised his right hand and swore his oath of office just days after the U.S. Capitol had been attacked by people who only love democracy when they win. He reminded Americans that Trump has said — again — that he won’t honor the results of the 2024 election if he loses. Again.

Emanating sincerity in his speech late Monday night, Biden said it was the honor of his life to serve as president, and that he loved the job.

But, he said in pointed reference to his decision to pass the baton to Harris and the next generation, “I love my country more.”
Before the baton is passed, reverence for the man passing it

The Democratic National Convention promises to be a joyous celebration, a reset.

Biden’s selfless act in walking away from power for the good of his country will be revered long after Biden leaves the mortal world.

But Biden also delivered notable legislative and diplomatic accomplishments as president. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says Biden “accomplished more in three and a half years than most presidents get done in eight.” State Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, chair of the Illinois state Democratic Party, predicted that Biden will one day be “viewed as one of the best presidents we ever had.”

For House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who supported Biden’s decision to step down and is rumored to have pushed it, has said that Biden belongs on Mt. Rushmore. Illinois’ senior U.S. senator, Dick Durbin, who served with Biden in the Senate, said Biden made “a remarkable record as a president … (b)ut I think he’s made the right decision (to step down), and I respect him for it.”

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Welch said the Democratic National Committee celebrates Biden because he “saved our country” when he defeated Trump in 2020.

“What this country was going through because of Donald Trump was unbelievable and Joe Biden stepped right in and turned that ship around …,” he said. “The decision he made to pass the torch to Kamala Harris is a perfect example of who he is and what he stands for and it’s all about putting country first, and that’s translating into what you’re seeing in the excitement, not just here in Illinois but all across the country.”
Thank you, President Biden

Addressing the nation about his decision to drop out of the race, Biden said, “Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, and that includes personal ambition.”

The contrast with Trump — who incited an insurrection to cling to power after the voters rejected him — is painfully obvious.

Despite his fervent belief that he could and should serve a second term, Biden walked away from power to save democracy from fascism. He has stressed repeatedly that America is an idea, the premise that all of us are created equally. Even if that goal has not yet been met, it still defines us.

Biden yielded to next generation. With inspiring gravitas and humility, he closed his Democratic National Committee speech with an anthem:

“The work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day…

what shall our legacy be, what will our children say?


Let me know in my heart when my days are through,

America, America, I gave my best to you.”

For that, and for all that he has accomplished for our benefit over the past 50 years in public service, President Biden deserves our unending gratitude.


Sabrina Haake is a columnist and 25 year litigator specializing in 1st and 14th Amendment defense. Her Substack, The Haake Take, is free.

Who’s Kaitlyn Joshua, the Louisiana woman who spoke at the DNC?

Greg Larose, Louisiana Illuminator
August 20, 2024 

Kaitlyn Joshua of Baton Rouge speaks onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. 

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Democratic National Convention heard the stories of three women Monday night who struggled to obtain reproductive health care after the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the 49-year-old Roe v. Wade decision in 2022.

They included Kaitlyn Joshua of Baton Rouge, who shared was refused treatment for her miscarriage because doctors feared the criminal consequences of Louisiana’s strict abortion ban. State law allows abortions in instances when a pregnant person’s life is in jeopardy or they risk permanent damage to a vital organ, but physicians have said the law lacks enough clarity to ensure they won’t face prosecution.

Joshua was unable to obtain prenatal care during the first trimester of her pregnancy, which she said her doctor attributed to the state’s abortion law.

When Joshua went into labor 11 weeks into her pregnancy, she said she was turned away from two emergency rooms. Doctors use the same drug to treat miscarriages as they do abortions, leaving some caregivers to fear they could face criminal consequences under Louisiana law even if they provide legal treatment for a miscarriage.

“I was in pain, bleeding so much my husband feared for my life,” Joshua said. “No woman should experience what I endured, but too many have.”

Also speaking on the first night of the convention were Hadley Duvall and Amanda Zurawski, who with Joshua have actively campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Duvall has spoken out frequently about the strict abortion law in her home state of Kentucky. When she was 12, Duvall was raped and impregnated by her stepfather. She eventually miscarried and, now in her 20s, remains critical of the narrow exceptions to Kentucky’s abortion ban that, like Louisiana’s, doesn’t allow the procedure in instances of rape and incest.

Zurawski experienced a pregnancy that became nonviable after 18 weeks, but she was unable to access abortion care for three days — and only then because she had developed a life-threatening sepsis infection.

Zurawski joined a lawsuit against the state of Texas over its abortion ban. It argued the law, just like a comparable measure in Louisiana, was too vague with regards to its language about when abortion is permissible to save someone’s life. The Texas Supreme Court ultimately ruled against Zurawski and other plaintiffs, without adding any clarity to the law.


Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and X.

YOU LOVE ME, YOU REALLY LOVE ME

'Biggest applause I've ever seen her get': Hillary Clinton's DNC ovation wows onlookers
Daniel Hampton
August 19, 2024 10:34PM ET


(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Democrats gave former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton a rousing greeting on Monday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

As Clinton walked onto the stage to the song, "Brave," by Sara Bareilles, cheers erupted in her honor, with MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow remarking the room was "quite electric."

A smiling Clinton, who was defeated by former President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, repeatedly thanked the crowd and waved.

"Thank you all so much," she said, taking in the moment.

ALSO READ: ‘Absolutely essential’: Son of Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes is all in for Kamala Harris

The cheers didn't subside. Instead, the audience gave her a standing ovation, which continued for about one minute and 40 seconds.

And once it finally subsided, she remarked, "There's a lot of energy in this room."

"Something is happening in America," she said. "You can feel it.

At the end of her speech, CNN commentator Audie Cornish remarked it was, "The biggest applause I've ever seen her get."

Reactions flooded in on social media as well.
"This is a really sweet moment watching Gwen Walz, wife of Tim Walz, react to Hillary Clinton," wrote Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko.

"Sustained applause for Hillary Clinton as she takes the stage in Chicago. She’s having a hard time starting her remarks because of the cheers," wrote Joane Greve of The Guardian.

"Hillary Clinton just walked on stage and the whole arena went CRAZY," wrote gun violence advocate Samuel Schwartz

Watch the emotional moment below or at this link.

'Silly' DNC protesters don't fit GOP narrative of chaos — and violence: Fox News host

Matthew Chapman
August 19, 2024
RAW STORY

Jessica Tarlov (Fox News)

Fox News' Jessica Tarlov hit her fellow panelists on "The Five" with a reality check, as they tried to paint the protests surrounding the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a sign of instability in the Democratic Party.

Tarlov, one of the network's few Democratic commentators, pointed out that Jewish voters are overwhelmingly not backing former President Donald Trump — an issue that has bothered the former president and led him to repeatedly insult Jewish voters in recent speeches.

"I really enjoyed everyone's comments on this," said Tarlov. "I have a little bit of a different take on it. Seventy percent of American Jews vote for the Democrats, and I believe that that number will be the same come November 5th. I don't think that any of this is going to make a substantial difference. I think that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have firmly stood with Israel. They have given all the arms that Netanyahu has asked for. He has said multiple times that he thanks the administration for it."

Moreover, she added, "If people think that Donald Trump is going to be better for Israel, they have another thing coming. Because guess what? The majority of American Jews, and also Israelis, favor a peaceful two-state solution, and Donald Trump doesn't care about that at all."

Regarding the protests, Tarlov continued, "I think that it really suits Republican's narratives that everything is absolute chaos and falling apart. What I have seen so far ... 10,000 people are out there. 'I heard there were a hundred thousand people out there,' 'I heard it was going to be terribly violent.' I just see a bunch of people marching around with their flags and yelling, appearing generally pretty silly. And they're also unified by everyone who has a grievance. They have LGBTQ+ protesters, people who don't think we have enough reproductive freedoms. So it's a big hodgepodge, and it's meant to distract from the fact that this party, my party, is unified right now."

"Kamala Harris has seen a 26-point bump in enthusiasm since she came in. Gen-Z voters coming home, Latino voters coming home, Black voters coming home," said Tarlov. "If you look at our issues tracker, you saw her cut in substantially to Donald Trump's lead on the economy. He can't win the election if it's just an 8-point differential. On crime, he's only up 5 points, that's within the margin of error. Immigration, also getting smaller, there difference there. And she is increasing on where Biden was on climate change and of course how to handle abortion. So it is not chaos here, no matter what you say."

Watch the video below or at the link here.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Planned Parenthood Offers Free Vasectomies, Medication Abortions, And Emergency Contraceptives At 2024 DNC | What You Need To Know

At the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Planned Parenthood is highlighting reproductive rights by offering free vasectomies, medication abortions, and emergency contraceptives via a mobile health bus. This initiative responds to the shifting landscape of abortion access following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Outlook International Desk
Updated on: 20 August 2024 

DNC 2024 Photo: Getty Images

Planned Parenthood is spotlighting reproductive rights at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago by offering free vasectomies, medication abortions, and emergency contraceptives through its mobile health bus.

Planned Parenthood Great Rivers of St. Louis announced on X that the bus will be stationed in Chicago on Monday and Tuesday, directly addressing the evolving landscape of reproductive rights in the U.S. since the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Since the 2020 Democratic Convention, abortion access has significantly changed. Following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, 22 states have either banned abortion or imposed stricter limitations:

Full bans are in effect in 14 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

Access limited to six weeks is permitted in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and South Carolina.

Access limited to 12 weeks is allowed in Nebraska and North Carolina.

Access limited to 15 to 18 weeks is available in Arizona and Utah.

Additionally, 19 states have banned abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy.

Nine states and Washington, DC, have no gestational limits or bans: Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont.


Kamala Harris' Nomination, Special Appearance From Obamas & More | What To Expect At DNC 2024 Chicago
BY Danita Yadav

Reproductive Health Services At The DNC

At the Democratic National Convention, all appointments for vasectomies and medication abortions are fully booked. Interested people should regularly check the sign-up form for any cancellations or new appointment slots.

For those who are unable to book an appointment, medication abortion by mail is accessible through the PPDirect Mobile App. While 18 states have banned medication abortions, receiving abortion pills by mail is still legal across the U.S.

Additionally, Plan C is another resource for obtaining medication abortion.

 

J.D. Vance: Only ‘Fake Polls’ Say We’re Not Doing Great

Posted by Ellen -7849.80pc on August 19, 2024 · Flag

Vance claimed that Kamala Harris “insiders” are “very worried” about their candidate’s election prospects.

FACT CHECK: Kamala Harris is surging in the polls. You almost can’t turn on Fox News these days without seeing a host or a contributor or a top Republican urging Donald Trump to run a more disciplined campaign (despite the fact that it’s obviously a futile effort).

Fox News Sunday anchor Shannon Bream echoed that sentiment during her interview with Trump running-mate J.D. Vance yesterday. On Friday, Fox News host Martha MacCallum suggested the Trump campaign replace Vance with Nikki Haley. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Vance did nothing to help himself yesterday.

If Vance didn’t know in advance he was there to defend his candidacy, he could not have missed the point when Bream began the interview with a clip of Haley saying the Trump campaign has to expand its appeal beyond the MAGA base.

Vance responded by saying, nonsensically, “Ambassador Haley is right that we have to reach a broader group of voters, but I think that we’re doing exactly that.” Ignoring Donald Trump’s unhinged rhetoric, Vance claimed, “We’ve been making a very simple argument that when Kamala Harris became president – or vice president, I should say, she caused policies that led to a rapid increase in inflation and a rise in chaos around the world. When Donald Trump was president, we had stable prices, we had prosperity, we had higher take-home pay for American workers and we had peace across the world.

He went on to say, dubiously, “we actually have a vision for bringing down energy costs, for bringing down food costs, for making housing more affordable for American citizens, and we have been running on that.”

You know that the show’s producer and/or network was more interested in warning Vance than in hearing about the campaign’s “vision” because Bream followed up by saying, “I want to get to some of the policy but first, a little bit more on the campaign.” She quoted The Washington Post, saying, “With so many seeking his confidence, there’s one thing that no one will tell him. What’s most in need of fixing is the candidate himself.” She added that Vivek Ramaswami says Trump is “receptive” to criticism. (Never mind that Trump recently said he’s “entitled to personal attacks on Harris.”)  “Who is the president listening to and are there going to be more changes at the top of the campaign?” Bream concluded, pointedly.

Vance blathered about how Trump “listens to everybody” and that “it’s one of his great strengths as a leader” that he solicits opinions from "everyone from his campaign staff, uh, to the people who serve him his food at a restaurant.” It’s all in service of trying to “understand where the American people are on the issues of the day.”

After another detail-free jag about Trump’s great plans to help Americans, Vance said, also pointedly, “I think that what a lot of the people who are giving Donald Trump advice would, I think, do well to understand is that Donald Trump is carrying the message out there to the American people every single day. I’m doing it every single day and we’re just going to keep on doing it for the next 80 days.”

Bream was not buying it. She noted that the polls show Harris leading Trump among likely voters in Arizona and even North Carolina and that she has narrowed his lead significantly in Georgia and Nevada.

“These are critical states,” Bream said, that will be needed for a Trump win. Will there be any pivots or reconfiguring of strategy, she pressed, “because you talk about your message but it is not landing.”

Vance responded by saying, “the polls tend to radically overstate Democrats,” and that Kamala Harris is on “a bit of a sugar high.” Then he claimed that she has already “leveled off” according to his campaign’s internal polling. 

Then Vance claimed to have some inside dope from the Harris campaign. “If you talk to insiders in the Kamala Harris campaign, they’re very worried about where they are because the American people just don’t buy the idea that Kamala Harris, who has been vice president for three and a half years, is somehow going to tackle the inflation crisis in a way tomorrow that she hasn’t for the past 1,300 days.”

Then Vance proved why he’s the most unpopular vice presidential candidate in modern history: “Giving Kamala Harris control over inflation policy, Shannon, it’s like giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human trafficking policy.”

It’s not just the presidential candidate who’s the problem.

You can see why below, from the August 18, 2024 Fox News Sunday.

Corporate America Considers Throwing Support Behind Harris Despite Targeting Their Profits: REPORT

(Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Hailey Gomez

General Assignment Reporter

August 19, 2024

A considerable share of business leaders may be considering backing Vice President Kamala Harris despite concerns her economic policies could cut into their profits through oppressive taxes and regulations, according to the Financial Times.

The Harris campaign has garnered strong support from Democratic donors, lawmakers, and political figures and could now be attracting the backing of major businessmen who traditionally have thrown their support to Republicans, the Financial Times reported. The support is in spite of her recent economic plan that has called for both raising taxes on corporations and imposing restrictions on what businesses can do with their prices.

“In a matter of weeks, the business community has gone from readying itself for a Republican-run Washington to scenario planning for a wide range of outcomes,” Republican consultant Ken Spain told the Financial Times. “Many are hedging their bets given the volatility of the political environment.”

Despite Harris’ campaign not publishing a full policy platform on her website as of Monday, corporate CEO’s are allegedly considering supporting the vice president as they hope she’ll rethink Biden’s firm stances on competition, labor and financial services policy, according to the Financial Times.

The Goldman Sachs company logo is displayed on a screen at the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on August 02, 2024 in New York City.(Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Prior to Harris stepping in, Biden had received donations from four Business Roundtable members, a nonprofit lobbyist association — the CEOs of Centene, Kaiser Permanente, Stripe and Suffolk — with Trump pulling support from Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman, the Financial Times reported.

While US business leaders have typically thrown their support behind Republicans, over the last eight years Trump has received little support from the group, with only two Fortune 100 CEOs disclosing their donations to the former president, according to the president of Yale University’s Chief Executive Leadership Institute, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the Financial Times reported.

“If you are a CEO, what do you do now? You need to have a vigorous discussion with the policy team on the Harris side about how can [they] attract business to be partners in the future,” the chief executive of the PR firm Edelman, Richard Edelman, told the Financial Times. “I don’t think people are assuming that as it was under Biden, so it will be under Harris.”

Since Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris has faced significant pushback from pundits on both sides of the aisle after unveiling her economic plan for the U.S. While Harris discussed tax credits, housing and reducing high prices, her main focus was on a federal proposal to address “corporate price gouging,” aimed at attempting to solve rising grocery prices as Americans continue to struggle with food costs.

Pundits have warned that the implementation of a price gouging policy could not only drive up already high prices but could create black markets, thus affecting corporations’ profits.

Additionally, Harris is seeking to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% if elected into office, according to Reuters. Harris’ spokesperson, James Singer, told the outlet the economic move would be “a fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.”

Donations to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign are set to become public through Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings on Tuesday, according to the Financial Times. Harris’ campaign announced in early August that it had raised over $300 million in July, breaking a record with $200 million reportedly donated within the first week of Harris being named as the party’s presumptive nominee. (RELATED: Kamala Harris Fails To Distance Herself From Left-Wing 2020 Campaign, Despite Aides’ Best Efforts)

In recent months, Trump has gained increasing support from Silicon Valley, a region once firmly aligned with the Democratic Party. Major tech industry figures, including billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, have all thrown their support behind Trump, as many are now viewing his potential administration as one who could help their industry.

Both the Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

2,000-Year-old Roman Mosaic Floor Decorated with Sea Creatures Discovered in England

By Andy Corbley
-Aug 19, 2024

The mosaic discovered at Wroxeter – credit English Heritage.

A remarkable 2,000-year-old Roman mosaic was uncovered during excavations at Wroxeter Roman city, which also uncovered an ancient building and shrine.

The Roman presence in Britain is often referred to as the high water mark of the Roman Empire, while the decline and eventual abandonment as something like the receding of a tide.

As the tides of empire receded from England’s Shropshire, near Wales, they left behind a stunning mosaic of fish and other sea life made from green, blue, yellow, and red tiles that’s just been seen for the first time in centuries.


Recent excavations on the largely unexcavated Roman city of Wroxeter turned up the foundations of the settlement’s main building.

“One of the best-preserved examples of a Roman city in Britain, Wroxeter (or Viriconium as it was known) established in the 90s AD, was a thriving city of the Roman Empire, once as large as Pompeii,” a statement from English Heritage reads.

“At its height, the city would have contained over two hundred houses, a civic bath house, marketplace, county hall and judicial center.”

The trenches were dug near the city’s forum, in search of a building called the Civic Temple. Located along the main road, the trenches yielded this “particularly rare” mosaic depicting sea life, and a painted plaster wall, the bottom of which, remarkably, survives to this day.

The mosaic discovered at Wroxeter – credit English Heritage.

Also discovered was a mausoleum and shrine that may have housed the remains of an early civic leader such as a mayor.

Wroexeter contains the largest free-standing Roman wall remaining in Great Britain, and remnants of the public baths have also survived through the ages. The whole site, which saw 20 aspiring archaeologists join in the project, was reburied to protect it from oxidative damage and weathering.

MORE MUST-SEE MOSAICS: This 2,300-year-old Mosaic Made of Shells and Coral Has Just Been Found Buried Under Rome

AND: Stunning Ancient Roman Mosaic Found Submerged in the Sea off Naples

Fish and sea life were common motifs in mosaics made by the Romans and several of their contemporaries, for example, Carthage. The museum in Monastir, Tunisia, contains one of the most impressive collections of classical mosaics outside the Roman world, and sea life is depicted on many of them.

Ukraine’s plan to buy Russian-made nuclear reactors sparks uproar

Lawmakers argue buying aging atomic energy equipment from Bulgaria won’t help keep the lights on and could fuel corruption.



Ukraine's government is facing accusations that officials are opening the door to corruption. | Valentina Petrova/AFP via Getty Images

August 15, 2024 

By Gabriel Gavin

POLITICO EU

Ukraine's government is fighting off growing opposition to a multimillion-dollar scheme to buy mothballed nuclear reactors, facing accusations that officials are opening the door to corruption just as they push to clean up the country’s energy sector.

The government wants to bring two new units online at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Station in Western Ukraine, arguing they will help shore up the country's energy grid that Russian bombs have decimated. The quickest and fastest way to do so, they argue, is to buy Russian-made reactors currently sitting in storage in Bulgaria at an estimated cost of $600 million.

But the deal needs lawmakers’ sign-off, and several parliamentarians — including at least one from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s own party — are alleging the deal could blow a massive hole in the country's tattered budget for outdated technology that won't necessarily help Ukrainians stave off looming blackouts.

The issue came to a head Tuesday morning when government officials met with members of parliament to discuss the issue. According to two lawmakers present, the government acknowledged it didn't currently have the necessary backing amid swirling doubts.

“It’s extremely rare for things on such a high level not to be supported,” said Andrii Zhupanyn, an MP from Zelenskyy’s governing party and a member of the parliament’s energy committee.

He rattled through several questions he said remained unanswered: “Can we afford to be buying Russian nuclear reactors during the full-scale invasion? And what is the condition of these reactors? They were bought by Bulgaria 10-12 years ago, so will they work when they arrive in Ukraine?”

However, Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galuschenko, who is pushing the plan, dismissed the concerns, arguing that expanding nuclear power is the only way to keep the beleaguered energy grid operating, and that the two VVER-1000 reactors are the fastest and cheapest options available.

“Against Russian attacks, nuclear energy [accounts for] 60 percent of our energy mix and is a backbone of our energy system,” he said in comments to POLITICO. “The development and adding more units to Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Station is a priority for the government of Ukraine.”

Needing nuclear

The row has created another point of contention as Ukraine tries to crack down on corruption in its energy sector. Earlier this week, Galushenko’s deputy minister, Oleksandr Kheil, was arrested over allegations he pushed for a bribe of half a million dollars in exchange for transferring coal mining equipment belonging to a state enterprise.

Zhupanyn and his colleagues claim the Russian nuclear reactor purchase will become another venue for such dodgy dealing.

“In the last 10 years, there have been many criminal cases against people using tenders to extract cash from Ukraine’s state nuclear power company,” he said in an interview. “If you allow them to spend billions of hryvnia on this, you can expect a pipeline of criminal cases in the next 10 years.”

Galuschenko denied accusations the government was withholding information.

The government wants to bring two new units online at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Station in Western Ukraine, arguing they will help shore up the country's energy grid that Russian bombs have decimated. | Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

“The very fact the law is in [parliament] and we discuss its provisions with MPs and society is a clear sign of our openness,” he added. “All speculations on ‘transparency’ are manipulations by the forces and circles that are not interested in the development of the Ukrainian nuclear state sector.”

Yet parliamentarians are still claiming the government has failed to answer key questions on how the scheme provides value for money or addresses the challenges of the beleaguered energy grid. And Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an economist and MP from Ukraine’s liberal Holos party, said he wasn’t confident the government could appease those concerns.

“There are a lot of MPs from basically all factions that are not supporting it,” he told POLITICO following the meeting on Tuesday. “We are concerned about corruption in this procurement process and we have not received any explanations.”

Bulgaria's energy sector is facing its own corruption scandals — on Tuesday, investigators raided the offices of its state-owned gas network operator in a probe over alleged misuse of EU cash. Supporters of a far-right, pro-Russian political party in the country in May blocked access to one of the country's nuclear power plants for a delegation from Kyiv, which intended to inspect equipment it plans to buy for its own atomic energy sector.

Ukrainian energy and environment NGO Ekodiya has also raised concerns about the proposals for Khmelnytskyi, arguing that the project would rely on “obsolete Russian-made equipment” and that “the use of outdated technology can lead to serious safety and efficiency problems.”

Instead, the group argues, the better investment would be in smaller electricity-generating facilities, including renewables, distributed across a wider area. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the chief executive of state power firm Ukrenergo, told POLITICO earlier this year that building a broad green energy network would make the grid less susceptible to Russian attacks.

Moscow has stepped up missile and drone strikes on key infrastructure in recent months, crippling the electricity system and leaving Ukraine dependent on imports from the EU. Analysts warn that, without concerted efforts to bring additional capacity online and ensure critical sites are protected with anti-air missiles, the country could face a power crisis this winter.

A fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine over the weekend triggered fears of a disaster at the site, close to the front lines. The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that the power station, seized by Moscow in the early days of the full-scale war, is being operated in unsafe conditions.

Microsoft patches Windows security flaw exploited by North Korean hackers — but is it too late?

By Sead Fadilpašić 

08/19/24

TECH TREND

Lazarus had already used the flaw to access IT systems

(Image credit: Shutterstock) (Image credit: Shutterstock)

As part of its latest Patch Tuesday cumulative update, Microsoft fixed a privilege escalation bug in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver (AFD.sys) for WinSock. This bug is tracked as CVE-2024-38193, and carries a severity score of 7.8.

Abusing this flaw apparently grants attackers admin privileges on the vulnerable endpoint, with Microsoft noting, "an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain SYSTEM privileges."


However, the patch may have come a little too late, since some researchers said hackers were already abusing the bug, while it was a zero-day. In fact, researchers from Gen Digital (owners of Norton, Avira, Avast, and others) claim Lazarus Group, the infamous North Korean state-sponsored organization, used it to drop a malware rootkit called FudModule.

Lazarus strikes again

"This flaw allowed them to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system areas," Gen Digital said in a report. "The vulnerability allowed attackers to bypass normal security restrictions and access sensitive system areas that most users and administrators can't reach."

“This type of attack is both sophisticated and resourceful, potentially costing several hundred thousand dollars on the black market. This is concerning because it targets individuals in sensitive fields, such as those working in cryptocurrency engineering or aerospace to get access to their employer’s networks and steal crypto currencies to fund attackers’ operations,” the researchers concluded.

Lazarus is a known threat actor, responsible for some of the most devastating cyberattacks in recent history. It is most famous for its fake job campaigns, in which it creates fake LinkedIn profiles (or impersonates known figures) and then approaches software developers with offers of great jobs with amazing salaries.

One such attack, carried out against a blockchain developer, resulted in the theft of roughly $600 million from a cryptocurrency project. Some researchers claim North Korea is using the money to fund its state apparatus, as well as its weapons program.