Award-winning Bollywood director Nitin Desai, 58, is found dead at his studio in India as police launch probe

• Director was reportedly discovered at his film studios in Karjat, near Mumbai

By Olivia Jones

Published: 08:14 EDT, 2 August 2023 | Updated: 09:38 EDT, 2 August 2023

The Director of National Intelligence on Friday released to Congress their long-awaited report into Intelligence Community conclusions about the origins of COVID-19, and their assessment of the ‘lab leak’ theory. 

In March, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill to declassify intelligence on the origins of COVID-19.

The DNI’s 10-page report did not provide any fresh conclusions as to the Wuhan lab, and shows the various agencies are divided as to the origin of the pandemic.

The Department of Energy, which oversees biological research labs in the U.S., concluded with ‘low confidence’ in February of this year that the virus most likely came from a lab in Wuhan. The FBI concluded the same with moderate confidence. 

The National Intelligence Council and four other agencies disagree, saying the pandemic likely begun naturally. 

The CIA, meanwhile, is on the fence and has been unable to say with certainty how it begun, given repeated blocks imposed by the Chinese authorities. 

‘The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency remain unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or face challenges with conflicting reporting,’ the report states.

The Intelligence Community (IC) was asked to explore ‘whether the first human infection with SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—was the result of natural exposure to an infected animal or a laboratory-associated incident.’

The report states that both natural exposure and lab leak could be the source of the outbreak, and none of the U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded definitively how the pandemic begun.

‘All agencies continue to assess that both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible hypotheses to explain the first human infection,’ the report says.

The report notes that the Wuhan lab did work with the Chinese army on bioweapons programs.

Scientists in the lab were employed from 2017-19 ‘to enhance China’s knowledge of pathogens and early disease warning capabilities for defensive and biosecurity needs of the military.’

The report notes, however, that they have not found any evidence that COVID-19 was manufactured by the lab technicians.

‘Prior to the pandemic, we assess WIV scientists conducted extensive research on coronaviruses, which included animal sampling and genetic analysis,’ the report says. 

‘We continue to have no indication that the WIV’s pre-pandemic research holdings included SARSCoV-2 or a close progenitor, nor any direct evidence that a specific research-related incident occurred involving WIV personnel before the pandemic that could have caused the COVID pandemic.’

The DNI noted that the lab had one of the world’s largest collections of bat samples, and has worked with pangolins and mice, among others, to study coronaviruses.

The lab worked to genetically alter the viruses. 

But they do not believe that COVID-19 resulted from their experimentation.

‘We assess that some scientists at the WIV have genetically engineered coronaviruses using common laboratory practices,’ the report states. 

‘The IC has no information, however, indicating that any WIV genetic engineering work has involved SARS-CoV-2, a close progenitor, or a backbone virus that is closely-related enough to have been the source of the pandemic.’

The DNI did say there was concern about the safety protocols in the lab, although they could not definitively say that lax safety caused a lab leak.

‘Some WIV researchers probably did not use adequate biosafety precautions at least some of the time prior to the pandemic in handling SARS-like coronaviruses, increasing the risk of accidental exposure to viruses,’ the report says. 

‘Before the pandemic, the WIV had been working to improve at least some biosafety conditions and training. 

‘We do not know of a specific biosafety incident at the WIV that spurred the pandemic and the WIV’s biosafety training appears routine, rather than an emergency response by China’s leadership.’

The report points to ‘a need to update aging equipment, a need for additional disinfectant equipment, and improvements to ventilation systems.’

The DNI report discusses illnesses among scientists working at the lab in the fall of 2019, with symptoms similar to COVID.

But again they say the evidence is not definitive either way.

‘Several WIV researchers were ill in Fall 2019 with symptoms; some of their symptoms were consistent with but not diagnostic of COVID-19. 

‘The IC continues to assess that this information neither supports nor refutes either hypothesis of the pandemic’s origins because the researchers’ symptoms could have been caused by a number of diseases and some of the symptoms were not consistent with COVID-19.’

There were several ‘potential failure points’ in the doomed Titan submersible – and a warning system probably alerted the five crew who perished shortly before the vessel imploded, Titanic director James Cameron has said.

A series of concerns were raised in recent years about the vessel’s carbon fiber hull – the cylinder which carried the five crew who perished – and its porthole, which was allegedly not certified to the immense depths Titan ventured to.

The company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, even said the carbon fiber design broke a ‘rule’ and was accused of ignoring concerns from his own staff. 

Cameron, a renowned explorer who has traveled to the deepest known point in the ocean, said Titan had ‘three potential failure points’ and indicated that its ‘Achilles heel’ was the carbon fiber cylinder.

He added the hull was broken into ‘very small pieces’ after Titan imploded when the hull fractured because of the pressure. A warning system probably sounded an alert and the crew tried to ascend in the moment before the implosion, he added.

Concerns about the hull and porthole were also raised by OceanGate’s former head of marine operations, David Lochridge, in court documents in 2018. The filings state the viewport was ‘only built to a certified pressure of 1,300 meters, although OceanGate intended to take passengers down to depths of 4,000 meters’.

Cameron delivered a damning assessment of the Titan craft during a series of interviews following the grim news it had been destroyed during its mission.

He criticized the design for straying away from proven techniques in favor of experimental methods. 

‘There are three potential failure points and the investigation hopefully can localize it down to exactly what happened,’ he told Good Morning America.

‘The viewport in the front was an acrylic viewport. I’m told it was rated to less depth than they were diving to, which is one point. They also had two glass spheres on the sub, small glass spheres for floatation, which is a bad idea.’

Cameron didn’t clarify his statement about the ‘glass spheres’ but he said it was the carbon fiber hull that was the ‘weakest link’. 

‘If I had to put money down on what the finding will be, the Achilles heel of the sub was the composite cylinder that was the main hull that the people were inside,’ 

‘There were two titanium end caps on each end. They are relatively intact on the sea floor. But that carbon fiber composite cylinder is now just in very small pieces. It’s all rammed into one of the hemispheres. It’s pretty clear that’s what failed.’

Rush, who died in the Titan incident, said in a video posted online in 2021 that he had ‘broken some rules’ to create the vessel and added: ‘The carbon fiber and titanium, there’s a rule you don’t do that – well I did.’

He also said in 2020 that the hull had ‘showed signs of cyclical fatigue’. 

Carbon fiber is prone to delamination, the process whereby a material fractures into layers while put under pressure.

Cameron said: ‘The way it fails is it delaminates. You have to have a hull, a pressure hull, made out of a contiguous material like steel, or like titanium, which is the proven standard.’

‘This OceanGate sub had sensors on the inside of the hull to give them a warning when it was starting to crack. And I think if that’s your idea of safety, then you’re doing it wrong. And they probably had warning that their hull was starting to delaminate, and it started to crack…

‘It’s our belief we understand from inside the community that they had dropped their ascent weights and they were coming up, trying to manage an emergency.’

OceanGate has not shared a comment about reports into safety concerns about Titan since the incident.

The company had boasted in promotional material about Titan’s ‘Real Time Hull Health Monitoring’, which constantly checked the integrity of the vessel throughout the dive. The system used acoustic sensors and strain gauges to ‘analyze the effects of changing pressure on the vessel as the submersible dives deeper, and accurately assess the integrity of the structure’.

But legal filings reveal Lochridge, the former director of marine operations, ‘expressed concern that this was problematic because this type of acoustic analysis would only show when a component is about to fail—often milliseconds before an implosion—and would not detect any existing flaws prior to putting pressure onto the hull.’

Cameron successfully reached the deepest known point on Earth, the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, in 2012 using the Deepsea Challenger submersible.

It was only the fourth time the seven-mile descent to the Pacific sea bed has been made successfully – and the first time a man has made it the bottom and back since 1960.

The dive followed seven years of planning and design for the construction of the specialized sub which could withstand the immense pressure at the ocean floor. 

House Republicans are officially starting contempt of Congress charges against FBI Director Chris Wray for failing to turn over Biden ‘bribery’ document they claim shows then-Vice President Joe Biden was involved in a $5 million ‘criminal’ scheme with a foreign national.

The escalation comes after the Republican and Democrat leaders of the House Oversight Committee were granted access by the FBI Monday to view the FD-1023 form in a secure facility within the Capitol. The document apparently details an ‘arrangement’ for an exchange of money for policy decisions.

The Republicans issued a subpoena for the FD-1023 form last month and FBI Director Chris Wray was given a hard deadline of May 30 to hand over the unclassified document, which he did not comply with.

After reviewing the document Monday, Comer told reporters the accusations contained in the form ‘suggests a pattern of bribery’ consistent with findings the committee has put out publicly. 

It’s called ‘money laundering,’ he said, saying it fits within the pattern of over $1 million in Romanian-linked payments to the Biden family revealed last month. 

In early May, Republicans released a report digging in on over $10 million received by Biden family members from foreign actors, including previously undisclosed $1 million in Romanian-linked payments, and a ‘web’ of 20 companies created while President Joe Biden was vice president and pushing anti-corruption efforts abroad.

He also said the FBI record was ‘not disproven’ and is currently being used in an ongoing investigation that is being conducted by the Department of Justice in Delaware into Hunter Biden’s finances.

The ‘confidential human source’ is a ‘trusted, highly credible informant’ who has been used by the FBI for over 10 years and has been paid over six figures, continued Comer. 

The chairman added that contempt proceedings will begin this Thursday. 

‘At the briefing, the FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee, and we will now initiate contempt of Congress hearings this Thursday.’

Last week, Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, spoke with Wray by phone and the FBI director offered to let them and Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., view the documents at the FBI headquarters in an attempt to stave off the contempt threat.

The FBI confirmed to DailyMail.com last week that it would allow committee leadership to view the document.

‘During today’s call, Director Wray offered to provide the Committee’s Chairman and Ranking Member an opportunity to review information responsive to the subpoena in a secure manner to accommodate the committee, while protecting the confidentiality and safety of sources and important investigative sensitivities,’ said the FBI in a statement.

‘The FBI has continually demonstrated its commitment to working with the Committee to accommodate its request, from scheduling briefings and calls to now allowing the Chair to review information in person. The FBI remains committed to cooperating with the Committee in good faith.’

Comer also informed Wray that he was also narrowing the breadth of the subpoena for the document by providing two additional terms that may be referenced in the record: ‘June 30, 2020’ and ‘five million.’

Raskin blasted the Republicans’ handling of the document in a reporter gaggle following Monday’s briefing, calling it ‘second-hand hearsay.’

He said former U.S. Attorney Scott Brady for the Western District of Pennsylvania and then-Attorney General Bill Barr did not find any reason to escalate the investigation into all ‘allegations related to Ukraine’ based on the FD-1023 form.

‘I am just surprised that my colleagues want to try to litigate this in public, much less hold the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in contempt for complying with the request when there was a whole process that was undertaken, and that process came to its natural end as I understand it,’ Raskin said.

He would not directly confirm that the foreign national alleged in the memo being sought by Republicans is from Ukraine. 

The White House has also pushed back, calling the Republican-led investigation ‘unfounded’ and ‘politically motivated.’ 

Last week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy backed up Comer’s contempt threat – saying he is ‘prepared’ to move forward with the charge.

‘We have jurisdiction over the FBI, which they seem to act like we do not,’ said McCarthy.

The FBI’s latest stonewalling also comes after a second IRS whistleblower came forward, claiming he was sidelined from the Hunter Biden probe when he spoke up about the president’s son getting preferential treatment.

The case agent, who has not been identified, says he was fired recently without any explanation after working on the Hunter Biden investigation since 2018, according to documents sent to congressional leaders obtained by DailyMail.com.

This is the second whistleblower to come forward in recent days on the matter.

According to documents, he informed Congress last week about backlash he suffered for acting as a whistleblower and alleged unfair retaliatory treatment.

He sent an email in recent weeks to senior IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and several other officials alleging that he was ousted for raising concerns that the Department of Justice was ‘acting inappropriately’ in its handling of the investigation into the president’s son.

His complaint comes days after the Department of Justice removed the entire team probing Hunter Biden’s tax returns, according to attorneys representing an initial supervisory whistleblower – Gary Shapley. 

Shapley testified before the GOP-led Ways and Means Committee for six hours and answered all questions from both Republicans and Democrats, DailyMail.com learned.

Princess Beatrice appointed as director of a membership community focused on nurturing UK entrepreneurs

By Leah Montebello For The Daily Mail

Updated: 17:05 EDT, 1 June 2023

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Biden taps former Obama staffer as new CDC director – with agency’s reputation in tatters after Covid mishandlings

By Cassidy Morrison Senior Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Updated: 19:33 EDT, 1 June 2023

FBI director will let top Republican LOOK at Biden ‘criminal scheme’ document: Chris Wray offers compromise on ‘$5million bribery’ memo to avoid contempt charges

• The internal unclassified FD-1023 form apparently details an ‘arrangement’ for an exchange of money for policy decisions, the Republicans have said
• They issued a subpoena for the document last month and have threatened to hold FBI Director Chris Wray  

By Morgan Phillips, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 19:34 EDT, 31 May 2023 | Updated: 20:49 EDT, 31 May 2023

Republicans are moving forward with contempt charges against FBI Director Chris Wray after he failed to hand over an internal document that they claim shows President Joe Biden was involved in a $5 million ‘criminal’ scheme with a foreign national.

Tuesday marked the deadline for the agency to turn over an internal unclassified FD-1023 form that apparently details an ‘arrangement’ for an exchange of money for policy decisions between then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national.

The Republicans issued a subpoena on May 4 for the document first brought to their attention by a ‘credible’ whistleblower and narrowed the breadth last week providing two additional terms that may be referenced in the record: ‘June 30, 2020’ and ‘five million.’

‘Today, the FBI informed the Committee that it will not provide the unclassified documents subpoenaed by the Committee,’ House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Tuesday.

‘The FBI’s decision to stiff-arm Congress and hide this information from the American people is obstructionist and unacceptable.’

Comer confirmed that he will still be holding a call Wednesday with Wray and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and they plan to discuss the FBI’s response further.

‘While I have a call scheduled with FBI Director Wray tomorrow to discuss his response further, the Committee has been clear in its intent to protect Congressional oversight authorities and will now be taking steps to hold the FBI Director in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena.’

‘Americans deserve the truth, and the Oversight Committee will continue to demand transparency from this nation’s chief law enforcement agency.’ 

The FBI told DailyMail.com in response that the agency ‘remains committed’ to cooperating with the committee ‘in good faith.’

‘In a letter to Chairman Comer earlier today, the FBI committed to providing access to information responsive to the Committee’s subpoena in a format and setting that maintains confidentiality and protects important security interests and the integrity of FBI investigations,’ the FBI added. 

‘Last week, Director Wray scheduled a telephone call for tomorrow to provide additional details of the FBI’s extraordinary accommodation to satisfy the subpoena request. Any discussion of escalation under these circumstances is unnecessary,’ the statement continued. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared on Fox & Friends earlier Tuesday that the Republicans were prepared to move forward with contempt proceedings.

‘We have jurisdiction over the FBI, which they seem to act like we do not. I personally called Director Wray and told him he needs to send that document. Today is the deadline,’ he added.

Staff for Comer, who is leading the investigation into ‘influence-peddling’ by the first family, met with bureau officials one week ago who refused to hand over the file. 

The White House has pushed back, calling the Republican-led investigation ‘unfounded’ and ‘politically motivated.’ 

A whistleblower came forward with stunning claims that a file ‘includes a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme (involving Biden) was employed as well as its purpose’, top GOP lawmakers have said.

‘We have received legally protected and highly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures. Based on those disclosures, it has come to our attention that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) possess an unclassified FD-1023 form that describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions,’ the senators write. 

As part of the ever-growing investigations against the president’s son Hunter Biden, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have also reviewed IRS documents and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) they claim prove that the Biden family corruption and influence peddling has benefitted at least 12 family members. 

The FBI’s latest stonewalling also comes after a second IRS whistleblower came forward, claiming he was sidelined from the Hunter Biden probe when he spoke up about the president’s son getting preferential treatment.

The case agent, who has not been identified, says he was fired recently without any explanation after working on the Hunter Biden investigation since 2018, according to documents sent to congressional leaders obtained by DailyMail.com.

This is the second whistleblower to come forward in recent days on the matter.

According to documents, he informed Congress last week about backlash he suffered for acting as a whistleblower and alleged unfair retaliatory treatment.

He sent an email last Thursday to senior IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and several other officials alleging that he was ousted for raising concerns that the Department of Justice was ‘acting inappropriately’ in its handling of the investigation into the president’s son.

His complaint comes days after the Department of Justice removed the entire team probing Hunter Biden’s tax returns, according to attorneys representing an initial supervisory whistleblower – Gary Shapley. 

Shapley testified before the GOP-led Ways and Means Committee for six hours on Friday and answered all questions from both Republicans and Democrats, DailyMail.com learned.

WHAT BOOK would managing director of Conde Nast UK and author Albert Read take to a desert island?

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 18:04 EDT, 16 March 2023 | Updated: 18:19 EDT, 16 March 2023

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy finalising plans to appoint a new sporting director before summer transfer window… with Roma chief Tiago Pinto and Eintracht’s Markus Krosche in the frame following departure of Fabio Paratici

By Sami Mokbel for MailOnline

Published: 13:00 EDT, 12 May 2023 | Updated: 13:00 EDT, 12 May 2023