Federal Appeals Court Rules that New Jersey’s Assault Weapons Ban is Unconstitutional

Headline USA Editor
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Federal Appeals Court Rules that New Jersey’s Assault Weapons Ban is Unconstitutional

(Headline USA) A federal appeals court ruled Friday that New Jersey’s bans on assault firearms and magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds are unconstitutional.

This is the first time a federal appeals court has struck down a state ban on such weapons, and it comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles violate the Second Amendment. Just last week, a different federal appeals court upheld Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons.

Friday’s appeals court ruling in the New Jersey case goes further than a July 2024 ruling from a federal judge, who said that the state’s ban on AR-15s specifically was unconstitutional but upheld the provision barring larger magazines. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday in its opinion that the state’s entire ban on weapons it deems to be “assault firearms” and restriction on “large capacity ammunition magazines” were unconstitutional.

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, a Democrat whose office defended the law, said in a statement that the decision is “as unfortunate as it is legally incorrect.”

“Every other federal circuit court to consider the issue has come out the other way,” Davenport said. “Assault weapons and large capacity magazines play a dangerous role in the modern epidemic of mass shootings, and New Jersey acted reasonably and lawfully in restricting them. We are considering our options.”

John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, called the ruling a “historic victory for the NRA, the Second Amendment, and law-abiding Americans.”

“The Third Circuit has struck down these unconstitutional so-called assault weapons bans and magazine bans in New Jersey, affirming what we’ve always known: the right to keep and bear arms, including commonly-owned rifles and standard-capacity magazines, is fundamental and cannot be infringed by politicians who prioritize control over constitutional freedoms,” Commerford said in a statement.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Wildfire Smoke from Canada Pushes Further into US, Engulfing DC in Eerie Haze

Headline USA Editor
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Wildfire Smoke from Canada Pushes Further into US, Engulfing DC in Eerie Haze

(Headline USA) Millions of people in the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states muddled through another day of unhealthy air from uncontrolled wildfires on Friday, as smoke enveloped the nation’s capital in a gloomy, eerie haze.

Air quality warnings were expected to remain in effect through Saturday across a wide swath of the U.S., but there’s potential for temporary relief with rains and storms forecast over a chunk of the affected region over the weekend.

The smoky conditions won’t be gone anytime soon, though, as fires burn unchecked across a remote region of Canada, cautioned Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service based in Maryland. Wildfires in a wilderness area in Minnesota are also contributing to the smoke.

“The source of the smoke is going to continue on for certainly a week, probably,” he said. “So in some form, there’s going to be smoke that gets transported from the fires downstream, and it’s just going to depend upon which way the wind’s blowing as to where the smoke is going to affect the most.”

On Friday, communities in Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois closest to the Canadian border and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota again registered some of the worst air quality in the world, according to IQAir, an air quality monitoring website.

Not far behind them was Washington, D.C., where the thick smoke created eerie scenes. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and other national landmarks could be seen enveloped in a thick, orange-hued haze in the morning.

“Wow that Canadian smoke haze is no joke,” Stewart Verdery, a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, wrote on X as he shared a panorama of D.C. at sunrise. “Almost nothing visible – no sun, no monuments, no Reagan Airport.”

Air in and around Washington was expected to go from bad to worse as the day progressed, reaching “very unhealthy” and potentially “hazardous” levels on the air quality index, regional officials said.

People, particularly those with heart or lung disease, older adults and children, were urged to limit or avoid going outside as much as possible until air quality improved.

There was also concern in the New York City area about how the foul air might impact the World Cup final match between soccer powerhouses Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday.

Oravec said winds will continue pushing the wildfire smoke east in the U.S., though conditions should be better on game day Sunday than on Saturday.

Just a day earlier, a thick haze tinged with orange and yellow darkened skies across several states and partly obscured Manhattan’s skyline.

Officials from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other Northeast states distributed free K95 face masks, canceled outdoor programming and opened libraries and other public buildings as cooling centers where people could get a respite from the sooty air.

As Friday progressed, air quality measures improved from “unhealthy” to “moderate” in some places in and around New York City.

A strong sun broke through a thin veil of smoke, and large chunks of clear blue sky were visible across much of the region by Friday afternoon.

Saturday brings a high chance of thunderstorms across much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, which will help dampen the bad air.

How long the reprieve lasts depends on what happens hundreds of miles north, as some 100 wildfires burn without end in sight, largely in the Ontario area in Canada. In the U.S., officials have closed the Boundary Waters while battling multiple fires.

Long-term exposure to smoky conditions can complicate existing health problems and lead to chronic and deadly issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases and premature death.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Rhode Island Becomes First State to Cap Self Checkout

Jose Nino
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Rhode Island Becomes First State to Cap Self Checkout

(José Niño, Headline USA) Rhode Island shoppers should expect longer wait times at the grocery store. Reason reports the state now leads the country in restricting grocery self-checkout, after Gov. Daniel McKee put his name on the Restrictions on Self-Service Checkout Stations Act in late June. 

The statute demands one staffed lane for every trio of machines, goes into effect on January 1, 2027, and threatens violators with fines climbing to $500 daily.

“Today, we’re protecting jobs and strengthening customer service,” McKee declared in a press release. “Whether it’s helping a customer with an issue, assisting a senior or ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities, this law is about preserving choice and keeping people at the center of the shopping experience.”

Supporters market the rule as a shield for workers and customers alike. State Rep. Megan Cotter charged that stores deploy kiosks “specifically used to reduce the number of people that stores employ, and the number of hours that their employees work.” She accused “big corporations” of easing customers into the change even though “many people still want the advantages of checking out with a real human being.”

The polling cuts the other way, Reason points out. A 2024 NCR Voyix poll of 1,133 shoppers showed 43 percent favoring self checkout, rising to 53 percent for those aged 18 to 44. The firm’s 2025 Commerce Experience Report recorded 77 percent choosing speed as the reason, 36 percent naming shorter lines and 43 percent wanting to bag their own groceries. CapitalOne Shopping Research measured regular use at 79.3 percent in 2026.

Organized labor drove the win. Domenic Pontarelli of UFCW Local 328 argued in a statement that store employees end up “often overburdened, having to monitor too many self-checkouts while shoppers face delays,” and that “staffing ratios fix this issue for all parties.”

Grocers used a blunter word, calling the measure “egregious.” The Rhode Island Food Dealers Association told lawmakers in a March letter the plan “puts Rhode Island grocers at a significant competitive disadvantage” and “severely limits our members’ ability to properly utilize their staff as needed.”

“This bill while labeled as a restriction on self-checkout is in fact a ban on self-checkout. There is no way a grocery retailer would be able to keep self-checkout with these restrictions,” the association warned.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino 

Sen. Ruben Gallego Had Sexual Relationships with House Staffers: Report

Luis Cornelio
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Sen. Ruben Gallego Had Sexual Relationships with House Staffers: Report

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) When Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., addressed reporters last month at a press conference regarding allegations of sexual misconduct, he appeared visibly uncomfortable and seemingly on edge. A new report may help explain why.

Gallego, who faced scrutiny months earlier over his close ties to disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell, reportedly had sexual relationships with two congressional staffers, raising new questions about potential ethical concerns.

The alleged relationships were revealed by the New York Post on Thursday and involved two aides who worked for members of the Texas Democratic congressional delegation.

One of the women involved in the alleged relationships was in her 20s at the time, significantly younger than Gallego, who is now 46.

According to the Post, Gallego disclosed one of the relationships to one individual, while a second person told the outlet they had recently learned of them.

The Post described romantic entanglements as “consensual.”

The workplace relationships occurred while Gallego represented parts of Arizona in the House of Representatives and may not overlap with his relationship with Democratic operative Sydney Barron, his now-wife, whom Gallego met in 2018.

Two years earlier, Gallego served his then-nine-month-pregnant wife with divorce papers after the couple had been married from 2010 to 2017. His ex-wife, Kate Widland Gallego, now serves as mayor of Phoenix.

Gallego served in the House of Representatives from 2015 until 2025, when he took office in the Senate. He previously served three years as an Arizona state lawmaker.

News of the relationships came after the Senate Ethics Committee dismissed a complaint brought forward by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., against Gallego following Swalwell’s departure from Congress.

Details of the complaint were never publicly revealed, though Luna suggested it involved allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate touching.

Senate investigators did not look into Gallego’s previous relationships with congressional staffers because they were likely unaware of them, according to the Post.

“Ethics looked in the wrong place,” one source told the outlet.

Asked about the relationship, Gallego replied, “I’m not going to engage in gossip.”

US Launches Attacks on Iran for Sixth Consecutive Night

Headline USA Editor
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US Launches Attacks on Iran for Sixth Consecutive Night

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) US Central Command on Thursday announced it was bombing Iran for the sixth consecutive night as the US continues to escalate its attacks on the country.

“At 2 pm ET today, US forces began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran for the sixth consecutive night to further degrade Iranian military capabilities,” CENTCOM wrote on X.

Iranian media reported several attacks on bridges and other infrastructure in Iran, suggesting President Donald Trump was beginning to make good on his threat to destroy the country’s bridges and power plants.

According to Drop Site News, at least three bridges were targeted by the US strikes, and Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported that at least three people were killed and nine were wounded by a strike on one of the bridges in Bandar Khamir, a port city in the Hormozgan province.

Iranian media also reported a strike on a railway station in the port city of Bandar Abbas, and an attack on an airport in Iranshahr, a city in Iran’s southeast. CENTCOM also announced that US Marines conducted what it called a “verification boarding” of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman as it is once again enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports.

Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s military warned that it would target infrastructure across the region if the US began bombing Iranian infrastructure.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Command, said that if Trump’s threats were carried out “then everything that, owing to Iran’s restraint, still remains — meaning all infrastructure in the region — will be crushed under the steel blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, such that no trace of it shall remain, as if it never existed.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also announced that it launched attacks on US bases in the region on Thursday, claiming to hit an early warning radar and a gathering of US troops in Kuwait. So far, there’s been no confirmation or denial from the US of any US casualties.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

SpaceX Starship Launch Aborted on the Pad at the Last Moment

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SpaceX Starship Launch Aborted on the Pad at the Last Moment

(Headline USA) SpaceX’s mega Starship rocket came within a second or so from blasting off on a test flight Thursday, but some of the engines failed to ignite, triggering a launch abort amid billowing clouds of smoke and vapor.

Elon Musk, the company’s founder and CEO, said two engines will be replaced “to be confident of a good flight” before sending Starship from Texas on a space-skimming journey halfway around the world. It will be the 13th flight for Starship, which at 407 feet (124 meters) tall with 33 main engines is the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket.

SpaceX’s launch webcast showed the start of engine ignition three seconds before the planned liftoff, viewed from a drone high above the pad. Although the company did not elaborate, onscreen data showed four engines not firing, with the remaining 29 engines immediately shutting down and keeping the rocket anchored to the pad. It was the first time a full-scale Starship experienced a last-second abort like this.

The launch team immediately began draining the fuel from the rocket.

“Most probable launch timing is early next week,” Musk said via X.

Everything was going SpaceX’s way, even the weather, until the partial engine ignition. 

In the end, the rocket’s automatic launch system worked as planned by halting everything. Too few operating engines could have doomed the launch. Some earlier Starship flights ended in explosive fireballs.

Twenty of SpaceX’s newest and most advanced Starlinks were on board Starship for release during the planned hourlong flight from Starbase, the company’s hub near the Texas-Mexico border. The internet satellites were going to try communicating with Starlinks already in orbit while taking photos of Starship’s heat shield.

Neither the first-stage booster nor spacecraft were meant to be recovered, with both ending up in the sea.

The rocket’s automatic launch system worked as planned by halting everything. Too few operating engines could have resulted in a failed launch. Some earlier Starship flights, for example, ended in explosive fireballs.

NASA is counting on Starship to land its astronauts on the moon in the next few years. The space agency has hired SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to build and fly the lunar landers that will return humanity to the surface of the moon after an absence of more than half a century.

Both companies need to have their landers — Starship and Blue Moon — ready to fly by next year so that the newly named Artemis III crew can practice docking their capsule with them in orbit around Earth. The mission after that — Artemis IV planned for no earlier than 2028 — would use one of those landers to take two astronauts to the moon’s south polar region.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.

Lettuce at Taco Bell in 5 States Confirmed as a Source of Diarrhea-Causing Parasite

Headline USA Editor
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Lettuce at Taco Bell in 5 States Confirmed as a Source of Diarrhea-Causing Parasite

(Headline USA) Federal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations across five U.S. states as a source of the widespread outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. A record number of cyclospora cases have been reported in more than 30 states, and experts have said not every recent U.S. illness might be caused by a single source.

A Food and Drug Administration investigation identified a single supplier of the lettuce. 

The federal warnings to consumers did not identify the company, but a federal official who was briefed on the investigation and not authorized to discuss it told The Associated Press it was Taylor Farms of Salinas, California.

Taylor Farms, which has been tied to foodborne outbreaks in the past, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“FDA is working with the supplier of iceberg lettuce to determine if potentially contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce remains on the market,” including in other states, the CDC said. “Taco Bell has committed to stop using any lettuce from the supplier identified by FDA’s traceback investigation.”

In a statement, federal health officials stressed that other “brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” could be identified as the investigation continues.

CDC, FDA and public health officials in several states have been investigating a multistate outbreak of cyclospora infections.

The illness is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics.

On Thursday, ahead of the federal government’s confirmation, Taco Bell issued a statement saying that it had taken “immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states. The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.”

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.

The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source and, for years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019.

Previously, 2019 saw the most reported U.S. cyclosporiasis cases, with about 4,700. 

The current surge has far surpassed that. Michigan — the apparent epicenter of the current outbreak — is reporting more than 5,000 cases, and more than 2,000 additional probable and suspected cases have been reported in other states.

No deaths have been reported. But Michigan officials say more than 100 people in that state have been hospitalized, and federal health officials say dozens more have been hospitalized in other states.

Experts attribute the increasing trend in cases to climate change and better detection. They also say it’s likely that cyclospora cases historically were underreported, for several reasons.

Some common tests used to check for food poisoning have not been geared to detect cyclospora. Technicians aren’t able to grow the parasite in labs, making it hard to draw evidence from contaminated produce. And it can be hard to figure out what food sick people had in common because sometimes it’s a single ingredient that might be common in multiple recipes — like basil or cilantro.

The FDA’s traceback investigation identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by the Taco Bell locations where people who got sick ate, federal officials said.

The Mexican food chain is among the restaurants linked to foodborne illness outbreaks in the past.

Taylor Farms also was tied to a 2013 cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to salad mix and a 2024 E. coli outbreak tied to onions served at McDonald’s.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

 

Feds Arrest Alleged Gold Smugglers

Ken Silva
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Feds Arrest Alleged Gold Smugglers

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Justice Department announced Tuesday that several jewelry dealers have been arrested for allegedly smuggling nearly $1 billion worth of gold jewelry into the U.S. without paying customs duties.

The U.S. has agreements with Oman and Singapore that allows jewelry made there to be imported duty-free. The three defendants recently arrested are accused of falsely declaring that their gold jewelry was from those countries, when in fact it was from India and the United Aram Emirates.

In one case, Raj Kohli and Veena Kohli—who operate the San Francisco-based importer Surya International—allegedly smuggled $693 million in gold jewelry from India and Emirates from August 2020 through May 2024. By falsely declaring that their imports were from Singapore, the Kohlis were able to evade more than $38 million in customs duties, according to the DOJ.

The two defendants were charged last month, with the case being unsealed last week.

In another case, Narain Gulabani—who owned and operated Barkha Wholesale, Inc. in Illinois—was charged last week with smuggling more than $240 million in gold jewelry into the country from May 2016 to October 2021. The DOJ said Gulabani declared that his imports were from Oman and Singapore instead of their true origin: India and the UAE.

“At Gulabani’s request, prior to exporting the gold jewelry to the United States, Omani Individual A, UAE Company A, and UAE Company B created false documentation for the gold jewelry to support a false country-of-origin designation of Oman for the gold jewelry,” the DOJ alleged in court records.

“Gulabani obtained and caused to be created false invoices listing companies located in Oman (‘the Oman Companies’) as the manufacturers of the gold jewelry obtained from India and UAE, knowing that the Oman Companies had not manufactured the gold jewelry.”

Neither the Kohlis nor Gulabani have entered pleas in their respective cases.

In a press release Tuesday, the DOJ touted the crackdown on gold smuggling as a win for the U.S. economy.

“These charges are part of a broader federal effort to combat trade fraud schemes that undermine fair competition, harm domestic industries, deprive the United States of substantial revenue, and ultimately hurt the American taxpayer,” the DOJ said.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Blanche Meets with Epstein Accusers After Demand from Republican Senator Crucial to Confirmation

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Blanche Meets with Epstein Accusers After Demand from Republican Senator Crucial to Confirmation

(Headline USA) Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met Thursday with accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the demand by a Republican senator whose support is crucial to advancing his nomination to lead the Justice Department.

Blanche spent about an hour at Justice Department headquarters in Washington with the group of Epstein accusers, who have criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the disgraced financier’s investigation and a trove of files related to his sex trafficking case.

After the meeting, Blanche told reporters that he encouraged the accusers to come to the FBI with any information that could help investigators build cases against additional figures tied to Epstein.

But Blanche acknowledged he couldn’t assure them additional prosecutions could be brought. The Justice Department has repeatedly said it will investigate further if new information surfaces, but the government doesn’t currently have evidence to support prosecutions against others in Epstein’s orbit.

“It wasn’t all cordial,” Blanche said of Thursday’s meeting. “Because there’s something that they want that I don’t think I can give them, which is some form of justice. And I want to be able to give justice in the form of prosecutions, and maybe we can do a prosecution at some point,” Blanche said.

But Blanche added, “I don’t know.”

The political firestorm over Epstein has been a persistent headache for the Trump administration, which released millions of investigative documents over the last year in response to right-wing clamoring for answers about the disgraced financier’s crimes and connections to high-profile people.

One accuser, Dani Bensky, expressed frustration after the meeting, saying Blanche appeared to treat it as “a mere ‘check-the-box’ exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation.”

“He danced around his wording, repeatedly interrupted us and could not commit to anything that would demonstrate good faith or begin to restore trust,” she said in an emailed statement. She said Blanche offered “no credible plan to investigate and pursue accountability” beyond Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.

Earlier Thursday, Bensky told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee that women harmed by Epstein repeatedly asked to meet with Blanche “through multiple channels and he never responded.”

“We deserve to be heard directly, not dismissed and ignored,” Bensky said.

Blanche has pushed back on suggestions that the Justice Department has been dismissive of the Epstein’s accusers, saying officials have spoken with more than 30 representatives of the women over the course of their sweeping review of the files.

“The Department of Justice will always meet with victims or their representatives, and if those victims or their representatives have evidence that anybody committed a crime — whether it has to do with Jeffrey Epstein or anybody else — we will of course move forward and investigate and prosecute,” Blanche told reporters.

The meeting came hours after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said it needed to happen before Blanche could earn his vote.

Without Tillis’ support, Blanche’s nomination won’t make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which questioned Blanche for hours Wednesday about the Epstein files as well as the creation of a fund to compensate President Donald Trump’s allies, a tax immunity deal for the president and a slew of other issues.

Another Republican, Sen. John Cornyn, has also expressed concern over the fund and has said he remains undecided about his vote.

Tillis indicated during Blanche’s confirmation hearing Wednesday that he was leaning toward backing Blanche, who has been leading the department in an acting capacity since April. But after lawmakers heard Bensky’s testimony, Tillis said he expected a meeting between victims and Blanche to occur before he’s “willing to vote out of this committee.”

Tillis later Thursday commended Blanche for holding the meeting, writing in a social media post, “I appreciate his willingness to directly engage and listen to them.”

After missteps by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi that enraged Trump’s base, Blanche as deputy attorney general oversaw a massive review and the release of millions of files related to the investigation into Epstein. The case has captivated internet sleuths and conspiracy theorists for years, in part because of Epstein’s connections to other powerful individuals.

Blanche has also defended the department’s staggered release of the Epstein files, a process beset by problems, including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims.

Blanche said during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he takes responsibility for mistakes that were made, but noted that department lawyers were given a “herculean task” to quickly review millions of files for release. Blanche said department lawyers took pains to protect the women involved, and quickly fixed any errors that were found.

“I am sorry that in about 1% of the documents mistakes were made,” Blanche said Wednesday. “But what I will say on top of that is we put tons of resources to rectifying those mistakes immediately, including pulling down documents within minutes of being informed that there were mistakes.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Ex-Federal Reserve Adviser Sentenced for Sharing Info w/ Chinese Spies

Ken Silva
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Ex-Federal Reserve Adviser Sentenced for Sharing Info w/ Chinese Spies

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A former senior adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors was sentenced to 38 months in prison on Wednesday for conspiring to steal trade secrets for the People’s Republic of China.

The ex-Fed official, John Harold Rogers, 63, of Vienna, Virginia, was arrested in January 2025. A jury found him guilty in February of this year after deliberating for two days.

According to the Justice Department, Rogers a U.S. citizen with a Ph.D. in economics, worked as a senior adviser in the Federal Reserve’s Division of International Finance from 2010 until 2021—giving him access to confidential financial information.

The DOJ alleged that Rogers shared that information with Chinese intelligence agents. Specifically, Rogers gave them info that could allow China to manipulate the U.S. market, in a manner similar to insider trading, according to the DOJ.

“Rogers developed a clandestine relationship with Hummin Lee, a Chinese intelligence operative, whom he met at a conference in China. Over the following years, Rogers met Lee and associates in hotel rooms in China under the guise of teaching academic ‘classes,’ using the sessions to convey Federal Reserve information that Lee had specifically tasked him to collect,” the DOJ said in a press release.

“Rogers printed restricted documents to bring on a trip to China, stripped classification markings from materials before emailing them to his personal account, and forwarded sensitive information to a professor at Fudan University, a Chinese state-run institution, days before meeting Lee,” the DOJ said.

“Rogers understood that Lee was writing reports for the Chinese government using the information he provided, and knew China could use advance knowledge of Federal Reserve interest rate decisions to generate enormous profits trading its roughly $1.5 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities.”

Rogers was paid about $450,000 as a part-time professor at a Chinese university, the DOJ added.

Rogers was interviewed in 2020 by the Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board about his dealings with China. During that interview, he allegedly lied about his accessing and passage of sensitive information and his associations with his co-conspirators.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

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