Federal Bureau of Investigation

All 25,000 National Guard troops tasked with securing the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on January 20 are being vetted by the Pentagon and the FBI amid fears of a coordinated insider attack.

"This type of vetting often takes place by law enforcement for significant security events. However, in this case the scope of military participation is unique. The DC National Guard is also providing additional training to service members as they arrive in DC that if they see or hear something that is not appropriate, they should report it to their chain of command," so Christopher Miller, the acting defence secretary.

After the FBI issued a warning of potential violence in all 50 state capitals ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 29, state officials are preparing for potentialyl armed and violent protests. National Guard forces have been activated in California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Florida. Washington, DC is bracing for further violent protests following the attack on the US Capitol earlier this month.

The FBI is also investigating US military personnel in preparation for Joe Biden's inauguration. The US military authorities cannot rule out that an attack on the President-elect may come from within its own ranks. All 25,000 National Guards transferred to Washington would have to undergo a security clearance.

The inauguration will take place after the events around January 6th under the strictest security measures.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has published a statement, asking for "information related to violent activity at the U.S. Capitol Building" that happened on Wednesday while the US Senate was to certify the Electoral College results.

"The FBI is seeking information that will assist in identifying individuals who are actively instigating violence in Washington, DC. The FBI is accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting and violence in the U.S. Capitol Building and surrounding area in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021," the statement reads. "If you have witnessed unlawful violent actions, we urge you to submit any information, photos, or videos that could be relevant at fbi.gov/USCapitol. [...] You may also call ‪1-800-CALL-FBI (1-‪800-225-5324) to verbally report tips and/or information related to this investigation."

Despite a last-minute evacuation, at least three people have been slightly injured by the explosion of a mobile home in Nashville. Previous to the explosion speakers had warned the people around the vehicle. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating after the incident in Nashville in the state of Tennessee. The mobile home was apparently deliberately used as a car bomb on Friday, Christmas Day, according to police. The background of the crime is still unclear.

According to reports the home of a suspect in Antioch, Tennessee is being searched.

Donald Trump has granted his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn a "full pardon", the President wrote in a tweet Wednesday.

In 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador and later cooperated with prosecutors. He later accused the government of trying to frame him and withdrew his guilty plea.

"It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg defended this decision to not ban Donald Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon after he called for the beheading of former FBI director Christopher Wray and pandemic expert Anthony Fauci in a video broadcast. In a conversation with employees Zuckerberg stated that Bannon was "close" to "crossing that line" but did not break enough rules to justify banning him, so his account will remain available.

The FBI and two other federal agencies have warned that the US healthcare system is facing an “increased and imminent” threat of cyberattacks, including data theft and extortion attempts to lock up hospital information systems, and that there is "credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to US hospitals and healthcare providers."

"We are experiencing the most significant cyber security threat we’ve ever seen in the United States,” so Charles Carmakal, chief technical officer of the cybersecurity firm Mandiant.

Six people were arrested Thursday morning in a raid over the alleged plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. According to the FBI, the group had been planning the plot since June.

They had surveilled Whitmer's vacation home in August and September, and according to the FBI, they indicated that they wanted to take her hostage before the presidential election in November.

Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta, and Ty Garbin were taken into custody in a raid on a house in suburban Detroit on Thursday morning

The first presidential debate was 90 minutes of interjections and altercations and moderator Chris Wallace repeatedly had to ask President Donald Trump not to interrupt former Vice President Joe Biden.

President Trump spoke a total of around 38 minutes compared to Biden with 43 minutes. The Covid-19 pandemic took up around 20 minutes of the debate, race and violence 17 minutes, election integrity 11 minutes and climate change 10 minutes. Trump interrupted Biden 73 times.

Key Points:

• President Trump questioned the legitimacy of the November election again and alleged he had seen "tens of thousands of ballots being manipulated." Biden countered that Trump's own FBI director didn't find evidence of widespread voter fraud. "This is all about trying to dissuade people from voting, because he is trying to scare people into thinking that it's not going to be legitimate. Show up and vote. You will determine the outcome of the election," so Biden.
• Biden called Trump "Putin's puppy" who "refuses to say anything to Putin about the bounty on the heads of American soldiers" and "the worst president that America has ever had."
• Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden, and Wallace had to unsuccessfully remind the President about the rules, saying: "Mr President. Your campaign agreed that both sides would get two-minute answers. Uninterrupted. Well, your side agreed to it. Why don't you observe what your campaign agreed to as a ground rule."
• Biden said that Trump has made the country "sicker, poorer, more divided and more violent," adding that during his time as vice president, he fixed the recession his administration inherited. "We left him a booming economy and he caused the recession," Biden said.
• Trump refused to denounce White supremacists, claiming that "almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not from the right-wing. I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace."

A Canadian woman, who was arrested after sending a letter containing highly toxic ricin to Donald Trump, has been charged with threatening the US president. The 53-year-old was brought before a federal court in New York on Tuesday.

According to the indictment, the envelope containing the poison contained a letter to Trump in which the woman described the president as an "ugly tyrant clown". She accused him in the letter of "ruining the USA and leading it to disaster".

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has stated that they are assisting the FBI with an investigation after two letters to the White House that contained poison had been intercepted.

A woman from Canada is currently under investigation for the sending of ricin poison that could potentially cause nausea through to organ failure and death through a collapse in the circulatory system.

An FBI swat team has searched the Calabasas residence of 23-year-old YouTuber Jake Paul and confiscated several firearms, including long guns. The reason for the search has not been disclosed but was reportedly related to an ongoing investigation. At the time of the raid, Paul was not present.

"The FBI is executing a federal search warrant at a residence in Calabasas in connection with an ongoing investigation," so a statement by the FBI. "The affidavit in support of the search warrant has been sealed by a judge and I am, therefore, prohibited from commenting as to the nature of the investigation. No arrests are planned."

The FBI arrested a Chinese researcher who took refuge in the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. The researcher, Juan Tang, will appear in court on Monday after allegedly made fraudulent statements on her visa application by concealing that she served in the Chinese military.

If convicted, Tang faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

According to court filings, the FBI alleges that a Chinese citizen that is affiliated to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) appears to have entered the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. The FBI had previously interviewed the person in question and searched her home. According to them, the person had stated to have any affiliation with the PLA, but an investigation revealed a connection to the Air Force Military Medical University (FMMU) and that she is considered active military personnel.

The person in question is being charged with visa fraud and similar to other cases where Chinese military scientists have been allegedly directed to steal information from U.S. insitutions.

In an attack to the family home of US federal judge Esther Sales, her 20-year-old son was shot dead and her husband injured. Investigators said the judge was unharmed.

According to reports the attacker was dressed as a FedEx delivery driver.

The FBI posted a call for informations on Twitter: "The FBI is investigating a shooting that occurred at the home of Judge Ester Salas in North Brunswick Township, New Jersey earlier this evening, July 19. We're looking for one subject & ask that anyone who thinks they may have relevant information call us at 1-973-792-3001."

According to reports, strict safety protocols have been implemented for Jeffrey Epstein's friend and confidante Ghislaine Maxwell over fear she might commit suicide. Federal officers took away Maxwell's bedsheets and clothing, the latter was replaced with paper clothes. Maxwell, who was arrested last week, will be under constant surveillance during her imprisonment in response to criticism regarding the uncertain circumstances of Epstein's death.

The non-profit Tech Inquiry has discovered alleged ties between technology companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft with the United States law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, Department of Defense, Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Prisons and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Tech inquiry has analyzed over 30 million governmental contracts from the past five years and sub-contracts below them. They discovered that Google and Amazon several hundreds of subcontracts with United States law enforcement agencies while Microsoft several thousand.

CNN and Buzzfeed obtained further reports and notes from "special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the 2016 election [...] in response to Freedom of Information Act lawsuits by BuzzFeed News and CNN." The notes contain interviews with major witnesses during Robert Mueller's investigations, including Steve Bannon and multiple witnesses whose names had been retracted.

Some of the key takeaways of these notes are:

• Steve Bannon, Trump's former campaign manager, expressed severe mistrust of Roger Stone, accusing Stone of having leaked damaging information to the press to get Paul Manafort as a replacement for Corey Lewandowski as campaign manager. Bannon called Stone a "nasty piece of work" with a "sketchy background."

• Bannon described Trump asking frequently about "dirt" on Hillary Clinton and her missing emails to hurt her campaign. According to Bannon, Trump assumed the emails could contain information that would link "crooked Hillary" to the conspiracy theory about an illicit uranium deal.

• FBI agents visited a male, unnamed witness who asked "if the agents were there to inquire about the campaign, and about Erik Prince, a military contractor and unofficial adviser to Trump’s campaign."

According to a now concluded FBI investigation the noose had been in garage number 4 since 2019. Which only had been assigned to Bubba Wallace, the only full-time black driver in NASCAR, last week. US attorney Jay E Town and FBI special agent in charge Johnnie Sharp Jr have announced in a statement that "The investigation also revealed evidence, including authentic video confirmed by Nascar, that the noose found in garage number 4 was in that garage as early as October 2019". NASCAR itself stated that they are "thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba".