Domestic terror probes doubled, says FBI head
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that his agents are pursuing roughly 2,000 domestic terrorism cases — a huge spike as the FBI tries to show it is taking the threat of such attacks seriously in the wake of January's riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“We have significantly grown the number of investigations and arrests,” Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee, noting that the number of such cases has more than doubled since he became the FBI director in 2017. He had testified in September that the number of such cases was about 1,000. By the end of 2020, there were about 1,400, and after Jan. 6 the figure ballooned again, the director said.
Wray also defended the bureau's handling of intelligence in advance of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, asserting that agents rapidly shared what they were learning with other agencies, rejecting criticism that the FBI did not do enough to warn Capitol Police of the looming threat.
Wray said the report was shared in three ways — sent by email to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes the D.C. and Capitol Police; posted on a law enforcement web portal; and mentioned in a briefing at a command centre in D.C.
Wray debunked conspiracy theories promoted by rightwing supporters of former president Donald Trump, saying there was no evidence that leftist extremists disguised themselves as Trump supporters to storm the Capitol.
Taylor Swift has taken to social media to add her voice to the chorus of complaints already being made by her fans about a line on the show Ginny & Georgia that the singer called “lazy,” “deeply sexist” and “horse s---.”
“Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back,” Swift wrote.
“How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse s--- as FuNnY. Also, @netflix after Miss Americana this outfit doesn't look cute on you.” She inserted a broken-heart emoji.
“Happy Women's History Month I guess,” she sarcastically added.
Swift attached a screen shot of a black screen with a subtitled punchline from the show: “What do you care?
You go through men faster than Taylor Swift.”
The line in question was uttered by the teenage Ginny character (played by 23-year-old Antonia Gentry) as she has an argument with her mother Georgia (Brianne Howey).
Swift's mention of Taylor Swift: Miss Americana refers to the documentary released in early 2020 that marked a fruitful collaboration between her and the streaming giant. Swift also went into business with Netflix prior to that on a New Year's Eve webcast of her Reputation tour special.
The flap echoes the November controversy over jokes about Selena Gomez's kidney transplant on the Peacock reboot of Saved by the Bell, for which the show's executive producers apologized.
Although the timing with the Globes was seemingly coincidental, the beef is reminiscent of Swift's response to having her dating life become the subject of comedy at the 2013 Golden Globes.
“You know what Taylor Swift? You stay away from Michael J. Fox's son,” Tina Fey said in that year's opening monologue.
“Or go for it,” Amy Poehler responded.
“No, she needs some me-time to learn about herself,” Fey said in wrapping up the bit.
Responding to that dialogue in Vanity Fair a couple of months later in 2013, Swift quoted the famous maxim that “there's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women,” and elaborated, “For a female to write about her feelings, and then be portrayed as some clingy, insane, desperate girlfriend in need of making you marry her and have kids with her, I think that's taking something that potentially should be celebrated — a woman writing about her feelings in a confessional way — that's taking it and turning it and twisting it into something that is frankly a little sexist.”
Jodie Foster has shot down rumours she played matchmaker to newlyengaged Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers after thanking the football star in her Golden Globe acceptance speech.
Weeks after the Green Bay Packers great thanked the Oscar winner in his NFL MVP speech, Foster had the quarterback on her mind on Sunday night as she collected her latest accolade for her new film The Mauritanian.
But after thanking Rodgers, she quickly dismissed reports suggesting she had served as the go-between for the footballer and her co-star, Woodley.
“I did not set up Shailene and Aaron,” she said after her big win. “I have never met Aaron Rodgers. But it is possible that I do like to talk about how much I love the Green Bay Packers. And sometimes I can talk a little too much about that.
“Of course Shailene was very aware of my enthusiasm for the team.”