U.S. judge will decide Friday whether to send Sam Bankman-Fried to jail over witness tampering
Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the U.S. Courthouse in New York City, July 26, 2023.
Amr Alfiky | Reuters
A New York judge will decide on Friday, during a hearing that starts at 2 p.m. ET, whether to send Sam Bankman-Fried to jail.
Federal prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to revoke the FTX founder’s bail over alleged witness tampering. If Judge Kaplan sides with the government, Bankman-Fried will be remanded to custody directly from a court hearing in Manhattan, where he would remain ahead of his criminal trial, due to begin on Oct. 2.
Since his arrest in December, Bankman-Fried had been out on a $250 million bail package which requires him to remain at his parents’ Palo Alto, California house.
Bankman-Fried’s court appearance on Friday is the latest in a series of pre-trial hearings related to the ex-billionaire’s continued dealings with the press – exchanges which the Justice Department characterizes as a “pattern of witness tampering and evading his bail conditions.”
Judge Kaplan previously issued a direct and stern warning to Bankman-Fried in July over his conversations with the media.
Members of the press, including counsel for The New York Times and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, have filed letters objecting to Bankman-Fried’s detention, citing free speech concerns. Defense attorneys have similarly argued that Bankman-Fried was asserting his first amendment right and did not violate any terms of his bail conditions by speaking with journalists.
The discovery process is also helping Bankman-Fried’s case.
Lawyers representing the former FTX chief have argued that if Bankman-Fried is jailed, he would not be able to properly prepare for his trial due to the mountainous amounts of discovery documents only accessible via a computer with internet access.
In the motion requesting Bankman-Fried’s detention, the government said that, over the last several months, the defendant had sent over 100 emails to the media and had made over 1,000 phone calls to members of the press. The final straw, according to prosecutors, was Bankman-Fried’s decision to leak private diary entries of his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to the New York Times.
Ellison, who is also the former chief executive of Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, has been cooperating with the government since December and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution. Ellison pleaded guilty to federal charges in Dec. 2022.
“Faced with a series of conditions meant to limit the defendant’s use of the internet and the phone, the defendant pivoted to in-person machinations,” the prosecution said of Bankman-Fried, whose revised bail conditions include restricted internet access and a ban from smartphone use.
The government added that Bankman-Fried had more than 100 phone calls with one of the authors of the Times story prior to publication, many of which lasted for approximately 20 minutes.
The prosecution described the effort by Bankman-Fried – who faces several wire and securities fraud charges related to the multibillion-dollar FTX fraud – as an attempt to discredit Ellison, characterizing it as a “means of indirect witness intimidation through the press.”
Prosecutors have had to cull charges twice to comply with an extradition agreement inked with The Bahamas – where Bankman-Fried was previously held in custody. The government told the Judge in a letter that next week it plans to file a new superseding indictment.
DHL Express has more than 10,000 eSprinter vans in its global delivery fleet, but none of those have been deployed in North America – until now, that is! The company recently added 45 new Mercedes eSprinter panel vans, and they’ve got plans for plenty more!
While Mercedes offers its eSprinters with a promised 206 mile estimated range, DHL says it’s consistently seen them exceed 240 miles in stop-and-go delivery duty, making them the longest-range battery electric vehicles in DHL’s US fleet.
This extended capacity makes them ideally suited for urban logistics while expanding their potential use in longer delivery routes. The eSprinter vans also offer the same massive cargo capacity as their diesel-powered brothers, making them efficient last-mile delivery solutions that don’t compromise on payload or operational reliability.
And, of course, the eSprinter will do all of that without the noise, vibration, and harmful carbon emissions of diesel.
“Electrifying our fleet is one of the most visible and impactful ways we are moving toward a more sustainable future,” explains Greg Hewitt, CEO of DHL Express, US. “The Mercedes-Benz eSprinter brings an extended range and proven cargo capabilities that allow us to serve our customers with zero emissions, while also advancing our global goal of more sustainable logistics. These vehicles not only strengthen our operations in major US cities but also set the stage for future electric fleet growth across the Americas.”
The 45 eSprinters will see deployment in Chicago, Indiana, and Pittsburg, and will act as a first step DHL’s global Sustainability Roadmap, which will see the company electrify 66% of its last-mile US delivery fleet (and some of its long-haul fleet operations) by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
In addition to these 45 vans, DHL is electrifying its European and Asian delivery fleets, ramping up its sustainable aviation fuel use, and even exploring electric semis, eVTOL and hybrid aircraft deliveries, and more.
In short, they’re doing the right thing – or seem to be, anyway. Whether or not that commitment to decarbonization will win them more American customers remains to be seen.
SOURCE | IMAGES: DHL, via PR Newswire.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Enphase Energy just launched a new off-grid system that lets homeowners power their homes without a utility connection – even for extended periods. The California-based Enphase says the off-grid setup delivers a seamless way to live independently from the grid while still using solar, batteries, and a standby AC generator.
A full off-grid setup
The new system combines Enphase’s IQ Battery 5P with embedded grid-forming microinverters, IQ8 Series Microinverters with Sunlight JumpStart, and a third-party standby AC generator. The components work together to supply power to a home and automatically manage energy sources to maximize efficiency and reliability.
If the batteries are drained and the generator runs out of fuel, the Sunlight JumpStart feature can automatically recharge the batteries the next morning once the sun comes up.
The IQ Battery 5P delivers 3.84 kVA of power per 5 kWh of capacity, and systems can be scaled up to 40 kWh and 15.4 kVA. That’s enough power to start big household appliances like HVAC systems or water pumps. The IQ System Controller 3G provides the backbone, managing solar, batteries, and generator inputs to deliver up to 46 kVA of off-grid power.
Smarter control and connectivity
Each system connects to the cloud through Enphase’s IQ Combiner 5C HDK, which bundles solar interconnection, communications, and metering into one box. For homes without reliable broadband, the built-in 4G LTE Cat 4 modem keeps the system online for monitoring, firmware updates, and remote support.
Homeowners can manage everything from the Enphase App – from solar generation and battery status to generator integration and load control.
Why it matters
As grid outages become more common and homeowners look for ways to gain energy independence, off-grid systems like this are becoming more appealing.
“With the launch of our off-grid solution, we are giving homeowners a reliable path to complete energy independence,” said Nitish Mathur, Enphase’s SVP of customer experience. Enphase says over 100 homes are already operating entirely off-grid using its technology. The company plans to expand availability beyond the US in 2026.
Read more: Battery boom: 5.6 GW of US energy storage added in Q2
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Global offshore wind targets are still strong enough to triple global capacity by 2030, despite the US’s offshore wind stagnation under Trump. A new analysis from energy think tank Ember and the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) shows that the rest of the world is charging forward, underscoring confidence in offshore wind as a cornerstone of future clean energy systems.
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