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A Senate investigation into the US Capitol riots has uncovered a “number of intelligence and security failures” leading up to and on the day violence erupted.

On 6 January pro-Trump supporters broke into the Capitol building, vandalised and destroyed property and ransacked offices as Congress met to certify Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

Seven people died, including three police officers, and dozens were arrested in the aftermath of the attack.

The 95-page report found intelligence officers, including the FBI, failed to issue any warning of potential attacks on the Capitol, leaving police officers unprepared to deal with rioters.

It said the police’s intelligence unit “knew about social media posts calling for violence at the Capitol” including a plot to breach the building, online sharing of maps of the area’s tunnel systems and other specific threats.

Published by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Rules committees, it also said Capitol Police were compromised by multiple issues and its incident command system “broke down” during the insurrection.

The report said Chief of Police at the time, Steven Sund, believed officers would need support securing the area but did not order an operational plan ahead of time – which resulted in a lack of leadership during the riots.

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“I was horrified that no deputy chief or above was on the radio or helping us,” one officer told the committee in an anonymous statement.

“For hours the screams on the radio were horrific, the sights were unimaginable and there was a complete loss of control.”

The FBI has identified more than 400 suspects over the riots at the US Capitol
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The report said intelligence units knew about social media posts about violence at the Capitol but did not pass the information on

The report also noted the lack of “effective protective equipment” for officers.

The Capitol Police Labor Committee released a statement recounting some of the serious injuries seen, which said there were officers “who were not issued helmets prior to the attack who sustained brain injuries” as well as an officer with “two cracked ribs” and another who was “going to lose his eye”.

The Senate report recounted how the National Guard was delayed for hours due to a “lack of emergency authority” to obtain the necessary approvals for its assistance and the failure by Capitol Police to request its help before 6 January.

Deployed troops did not arrive until about 5:20pm – nearly three hours after they were requested – and by which time the House and Senate chambers had already been declared secure.

The committees have made several recommendations following the investigation including giving the Chief of Police the power to request National Guard help in an emergency, improvements to officers’ training, equipment, intelligence collection and operational planning.

Riot police clash with protesters outside Capitol building
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Riot police clashed with protesters during the attack

The report also found:

• Capitol Police officers were not provided periodic training in basic civil disturbance tactics

• The police incident command system “broke down during the attack, leaving front line officers without key information or instructions as events unfolded”

• Capitol Police Board members in charge did not “fully understand” the requirements for asking for assistance from other agencies or declaring emergencies

• The Department of Defense’s response was “informed by criticism” of its “heavy-handed” response to the protests last summer that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis

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Baltimore bridge collapse: Wife of survivor say it’s a ‘miracle’ husband survived’ because he can’t swim

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Baltimore bridge collapse: Wife of survivor say it's a 'miracle' husband survived' because he can't swim

The wife of one of the eight construction workers who was on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed has said “it’s a miracle he survived” because he can’t swim.

Julio Cervantes was on the 1.6-mile-long structure when it crashed into the Patapsco River after being struck by a huge container ship in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Mr Cervantes and another man were rescued the same day.

The rescue mission turned into a recovery operation when they were presumed dead on Tuesday night. The bodies of two of them were found on Wednesday while the remaining four have still not been found.

Mr Cervantes’ wife, who did not want to give her name, told Sky News’ US partner network: “All of the men were on a break in their cars when the boat hit.

“We don’t know if they were warned before the impact… My husband doesn’t know how to swim. It is a miracle he survived.”

It emerged after the disaster that personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel.

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Pic: NTSB via AP
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Pic: NTSB via AP

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New angle shows moment bridge hit

This meant local authorities were able to get close to the bridge before it was struck, with US President Joe Biden saying this “undoubtedly saved lives”.

Mr Cervantes was taken to hospital with a chest wound on Tuesday and was released the same day.

The other worker rescued was in good condition and refused treatment.

The remains of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, were recovered in the Port of Baltimore on Wednesday morning.

They were found in a red truck trapped under 25ft of water near what was once the middle of the bridge.

Read more:
Two possible causes for the catastrophe
Baltimore has ‘very long road ahead’

Mr Cervantes’ wife said that her brother-in-law was one of the two men whose bodies were recovered, but did not share his name.

She said her entire family is of Mexican origin, and her nephew is among those still missing.

“We haven’t been able to sleep, waiting for word if they’re going to find a relative,” she said.

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Moment bridge collapses after being hit by ship

It came as Maryland Governor Wes Moore warned of a “very long road ahead” to recover from the loss of the bridge as the Biden administration approved $60m in immediate federal aid.

Massive barges carrying cranes are in the process of removing twisted metal and concrete as a first step toward reopening a key shipping route blocked by the wreckage.

Mr Moore promised that “the best minds in the world” were working on plans to clear the debris, move the cargo ship that rammed into the bridge from the channel, recover the bodies of the four remaining workers presumed dead and investigate what went wrong.

An investigation into what caused the crash and subsequent bridge collapse is under way by the National Transportation Safety Board. It is anticipated to take up to two years.

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Sam Bankman-Fried sentence: After years of ‘hubris, incompetence and greed’, crypto king’s jail term is end of an era

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Sam Bankman-Fried sentence: After years of 'hubris, incompetence and greed', crypto king's jail term is end of an era

Sam Bankman-Fried was breathlessly described as a wunderkind – a boy wonder transforming the world of finance.

Renowned for his messy hair and unkempt appearance, he graced the covers of Forbes and Fortune, who pondered whether he could become the next Warren Buffett.

The 32-year-old was the founder of FTX, which had quickly become the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange – a place where investors could buy and sell digital assets like Bitcoin.

Larry David appeared in an advert for FTX during the Super Bowl in 2022
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Larry David appeared in an advert for FTX during the Super Bowl in 2022

Star-studded adverts featuring the tennis player Naomi Osaka and the comedian Larry David added to its allure – with eye-watering sums spent on sponsorship deals.

But in November 2022, Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire came crashing down after it emerged that customer funds worth $10bn (£7.9bn) was missing.

A year later, a jury convicted the fallen entrepreneur of fraud and money laundering after just five hours of deliberations – based on evidence from close colleagues who had turned against him.

Now, “SBF” is beginning a lengthy prison sentence of 25 years for what prosecutors have described as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”.

His punishment may be little comfort to five million FTX customers who were suddenly locked out of their accounts as the company entered bankruptcy – and are yet to receive any compensation.

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November: ‘Crypto king’ guilty of fraud

An estimated 80,000 of Bankman-Fried’s victims were based in the UK. Some of them had millions of pounds tied up in the company after entrusting him with their life savings.

While slick marketing campaigns had presented FTX as a safe way to invest in volatile cryptocurrencies, the reality behind the scenes couldn’t have been more different.

Secret back doors had been established that allowed SBF’s other company, Alameda Research, to access money belonging to FTX customers and make risky bets without their knowledge.

Meanwhile, executives were spending lavishly. Private jets ferried Amazon orders from Miami to the firm’s headquarters in the Bahamas, £12m was spent on luxury hotel stays in just nine months, and employees in the US were allowed to order £160 of food deliveries each a day.

The fallout from FTX’s demise also reaches as far as the White House. Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020, with the president subsequently facing pressure to return millions of dollars.

Read more:
Who is Sam Bankman-Fried?
SBF ‘wanted to be US president’

Sam Bankman-Fried's colleague and on-off girlfriend Caroline Ellison testified against him. Pic: Reuters
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Sam Bankman-Fried’s colleague and on-off girlfriend Caroline Ellison testified against him. Pic: Reuters

A new chief executive has been tasked with untangling where all the money went. Soon after FTX went under, he said: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls.”

Unusually, and thankfully, FTX victims are expected to be compensated in full eventually – kind of.

The payouts they receive will be based on what cryptocurrencies were worth in November 2022. But Bitcoin was trading at £16,000 back then and is now worth £55,500.

Bizarre plans to bring FTX out of bankruptcy and reopen the exchange have also been abandoned.

Other entrepreneurs in this space – who had loyal, cult-like followings and huge profiles – are also facing jail time.

Changpeng Zhao has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. Reuters
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Changpeng Zhao has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. Pic: Reuters

Changpeng Zhao, who ran the world’s biggest crypto exchange Binance, sensationally resigned last year after pleading guilty to money laundering violations in the US.

His company had allowed individuals in Syria, Iran and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine to evade economic sanctions – and allegedly made it easy for terrorists and criminals to move money.

The billionaire faces jail time when he is sentenced next month.

Do Kwon created two cryptocurrencies that spectacularly collapsed in May 2022, with investors losing an estimated $40bn (£31.7bn) in a matter of days.

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He later went on the run but was captured in Montenegro last year after attempting to fly to Dubai using a fake passport.

A civil fraud trial against Kwon and his company Terraform Labs began this week, with prosecutors warning: “Terra was a fraud, a house of cards, and when it collapsed, investors nearly lost everything.”

Do Kwon created two cryptocurrencies that lost tens of billions of dollars - then went on the run. Pic: Reuters
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Do Kwon created two cryptocurrencies that lost tens of billions of dollars – then went on the run. Pic: Reuters

In a way, Bankman-Fried’s sentence marks the end of an era for crypto – when extravagant excesses and a lack of regulatory oversight were the norm.

Bitcoin’s recent gains have been driven by regulated products that allow investors to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency’s price without owning it directly.

And many of these products are offered by established, traditional finance firms like BlackRock, which is the world’s largest asset management company.

A damning report described the rise and fall of FTX as a tale of “hubris, incompetence and greed” – with Bankman-Fried and his inner circle showing little regard for the financial wellbeing of his customers.

Millions of people had their fingers burned, and many will be put off from ever investing in cryptocurrencies again.

But while the industry has learned some lessons, the crypto market’s rapid surge in recent months mean there’s a real risk of another bubble forming – and new bad actors taking advantage of investors looking for a piece of the action.

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Sam Bankman-Fried: Disgraced ‘crypto king’ jailed for 25 years after stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers

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Sam Bankman-Fried: Disgraced 'crypto king' jailed for 25 years after stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers

Disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of stealing billions of dollars from his customers.

He was the chief executive of FTX, which suddenly went bankrupt in November 2022 – leaving millions of users frozen out of their accounts and unable to make withdrawals.

The 32-year-old American could have faced up to 100 years behind bars – but last month, his lawyers argued such a sentence would have been “barbaric” and a five-year term would be more appropriate.

Initial reports said he had been sentenced to 20 years – but this has since been corrected to 25.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to jail Bankman-Fried for 40 to 50 years, arguing the public needed protecting from the fraudster and a harsh punishment would deter other criminals.

“The defendant victimised tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple years,” prosecutors said in a court filing.

“He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him; he lied to investors; he sent fabricated documents to lenders; he pumped millions of dollars in illegal donations into our political system; and he bribed foreign officials. Each of these crimes is worthy of a lengthy sentence.”

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Prosecutors also said Bankman-Fried had cost customers, investors and lenders over $10bn (£7.9bn) by misappropriating funds to fuel his quest for influence and dominance in the new industry, and had illegally used money from FTX depositors to cover his expenses, which included purchasing luxury properties in the Caribbean, alleged bribes to Chinese officials and private planes.

At the sentencing hearing in Manhattan, Judge Lewis Kaplan said the businessman lied on the witness stand when he insisted he had no knowledge of customer funds being used this way.

The judge also described Bankman-Fried’s claim that victims will be paid back in full as “misleading and logically flawed”.

“A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a discount on the sentence by using his Las Vegas winnings to pay back what he stole,” Judge Kaplan warned.

Crypto king’s jail term is end of an era

Sam Bankman-Fried was breathlessly described as a wunderkind – a boy wonder transforming the world of finance.

Renowned for his messy hair and unkempt appearance, he graced the covers of Forbes and Fortune, who pondered whether he could become the next Warren Buffett.

The 32-year-old was the founder of FTX, which had quickly become the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange – a place where investors could buy and sell digital assets like Bitcoin.

Star-studded adverts featuring the tennis player Naomi Osaka and the comedian Larry David added to its allure – with eye-watering sums spent on sponsorship deals.

But in November 2022, Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire came crashing down after it emerged that customer funds worth $10bn (£7.9bn) was missing.

Read the full analysis here

The judge said that the sentence reflected “a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future”.

“And it’s not a trivial risk at all.”

He added that it was “for the purpose of disabling him to the extent that can appropriately be done for a significant period of time”.

Before he was sentenced, Mr Bankman-Fried apologised in a rambling statement.

FILE PHOTO: Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the United States Courthouse in New York City, U.S., July 26, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
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Sam Bankman-Fried leaving court last July. Pic: Reuters

“A lot of people feel really let down. And they were very let down. And I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage,” he said.

“My useful life is probably over. It’s been over for a while now, from before my arrest.”

Judge Kaplan said he would advise the Federal Bureau of Prisons to send him to a medium-security prison or less near the San Francisco area because he’s unlikely to be a physical threat to other inmates or prison staff, and his autism and social awkwardness would make him vulnerable to other inmates in a high-security location.

Read more:
The meteoric rise and even sharper fall of Sam Bankman-Fried

Why industry may never recover from downfall of ‘crypto king’

It took just five-and-a-half hours for a jury in New York to convict him of two counts of fraud and five of conspiracy last November.

Three people from Bankman-Fried’s inner circle – including his former girlfriend Caroline Ellison – pleaded guilty to related crimes and testified at his trial.

Sam Bankman-Fried's colleague and on-off girlfriend Caroline Ellison testified against him. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Sam Bankman-Fried’s colleague and on-off girlfriend Caroline Ellison testified against him. Pic: Reuters

Bankman-Fried’s conviction followed a dramatic fall from grace from his time as chief executive of FTX – the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world at one time – when he was worth billions of dollars on paper.

FTX allowed investors to buy dozens of virtual currencies, from Bitcoin to more obscure ones like Shiba Inu Coin.

FTX logo is seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Pic: Reuters

Flush with billions of dollars of investors’ cash, Bankman-Fried rode a crest of success that included a Super Bowl advertisement and celebrity endorsements from stars like quarterback Tom Brady, basketball star Stephen Curry and comedian Larry David.

But after the collapse of cryptocurrency prices in 2022, Bankman-Fried tried to plug the holes in the balance sheet of FTX’s hedge fund affiliate, known as Alameda Research.

Bankman-Fried’s victims – an estimated 80,000 of whom are based in the UK – remain out of pocket, with some losing their life savings.

Prosecutors described his crimes as one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.

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