Hello!  It’s April 16, and we’re tracking today's top stories: Treasury to green-light new Iran sanctions after Israel attack, left-wing dark money behemoth behind "Free Palestine" bail fund, how international gold dealers exploited a tiny African kingdom’s economic dream, Bank of America accused of de-banking Trump supporters, and much more...

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🎯 Treasury to green-light new Iran sanctions after Israel attack. Secretary Yellen is preparing fresh sanctions for Iran, vowing that the U.S. "will not hesitate" to inflict economic punishment. Axios 

🇮🇷 How Biden helps Iran pay for its terror by refusing to enforce current sanctions NYP

Top Stories

🌎 Left-Wing Dark Money Behemoth Behind Bail Fund for 'Free Palestine' Bridge Blockers. Community Justice Exchange, part of the Soros-funded Tides Center, solicits legal defense donations for arrested protesters. Free Beacon

🌎 How international gold dealers exploited a tiny African kingdom’s economic dream. Investigation uncovers plan for two phantom gold refineries to channel millions of dollars to Dubai. ICIJ

🌎 Bank of America accused of religious and political 'discrimination' by 'de-banking' Trump supporters, Christian churches. A dozen states plan to send a letter to the bank demanding an explanation. Daily Mail

🌎 I Was a Skeptic of the Stormy Daniels Prosecution. I Was Wrong. The prosecution of Donald Trump starting in New York this week is on firm legal ground. Slate

🌎 Russian weapons help Iran harden defenses against Israeli airstrike. Tehran’s growing partnership with Moscow is strengthening the capabilities of both countries. WaPo

🌎 G42 Made Secret Pact With US to Divest From China Before Microsoft Deal. Microsoft’s just-announced partnership with Abu Dhabi’s G42 followed behind-the-scenes negotiations. Bloomberg

🌎 Hackers start leaking stolen Change Healthcare data. There's a countdown on RansomHub's dark-web leak site threatening to publish the data on Friday. Axios

🌎 Elizabeth Warren Demands U.S. CFTC Chair Explain His Chats With SBF. CFTC chief Behnam previously disclosed there were meetings and messages with FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried, but he hasn't granted another senator's call to see all the records. CoinDesk

🌎 Bronx tax preparer known as ‘the Magician' charged by IRS in $100M fraud. Federal prosecutors said the 60-year-old engaged in a scheme to submit thousands of false tax returns for more than 10 years. NBC

🌎 Conman who swindled $175M in ‘massive’ psychic fraud scheme sentenced to 10 years. Patrice Runner was convicted of multiple counts of defrauding ‘millions of older and vulnerable Americans’. Guardian

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IN THE NEWS

Sanctions

🚩 EU Aims for New Iran Sanctions Over Israel Strike in Coming Days Bloomberg

🚩 U.S., Canada target Belarus with sanctions over support for Russia's war UPI

🚩 U.S. and allies seek new ways to enforce North Korea sanctions Reuters

🚩 US ties renewal of easing of Venezuela oil sanctions to progress on elections Reuters

🚩 Colombian Regulator Paves the Way for Venezuelan Gas Imports Bloomberg

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Russia

🇷🇺 Russian broker running asset swap scheme in contact with U.S. banks Reuters

🇷🇺 Rusal Fears New Russia Metal Sanctions Put 36% of Sales at Risk Bloomberg

🇷🇺 US citizen arrested in Moscow on drug charges appears in court AP

🇷🇺 Russia's Gazprom ships second LNG cargo from Portovaya to Spain Reuters

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Supreme Court Poised to Cut Back Scope of Anti-Corruption Law CST

💸 Owners of Colorado funeral home where 190 bodies were found charged with Covid fraud AP

💸 German watchdog finds EY’s Wirecard audits grossly negligent FT

💸 Von der Leyen’s controversial envoy pick resigns hours before first day Politico

💸 Journalist Investigating Corruption Killed In Colombia AFP

💸 Austria opens fraud probe into Signa's Benko over bank loan Reuters

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China

🇨🇳 China Tells Iran Cooperation Will Last After Attack on Israel Bloomberg

🇨🇳 PwC to investigate ‘false allegations’ over collapse of Chinese property titan Telegraph

🇨🇳 Intel to launch two AI chips for China with reduced capabilities Reuters

🇨🇳 Chinese Runner's Half Marathon Win Raises Questions: 'Extremely Odd' Newsweek

🇨🇳 America hits Chinese biotech – and its own drugmakers Economist

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 UnitedHealth to take up to $1.6B hit from Change Healthcare hack this year Reuters

🔐 Nebraska man defrauded cloud providers of millions via cryptojacking Record

🔐 More than 250 websites selling fake weight-loss drugs reported by anti-counterfeit firm Reuters

🔐 UK to Issue New Crypto, Stablecoin Legislation by July CoinDesk

🔐 Palo Alto Networks releases fixes for zero-day as attackers swarm VPN vulnerability Record

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Trafficking

🚚 What R. Kelly case tells us about Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking case LAT

🚚 Man who hid cocaine in cheese in £70m drugs conspiracy jailed BBC

🚚 Record number of Chinese migrants arrested for illegally crossing into US NYP

🚚 A key plank in Britain’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda is set to become law AP

"When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent." -- Isaac Asimov

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