News of the World

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Charges Dropped Against CEO of Election Software Firm

A judge in California on Nov. 9 dismissed charges against the CEO of an election software firm, who prosecutors had accused of being behind “probably the largest data breach in United States history.”

The Los Angeles Superior Court judge threw out charges of conspiracy and grand theft by embezzlement of public funds against Eugene Yu, the CEO of Konnech, at the request of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon.
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The office of Gascon, a Democrat, said the request stemmed from potential bias that it didn’t detail.

“We are concerned about both the pace of the investigation and the potential bias in the presentation and investigation of the evidence,” Tiffiny Blacknell, a spokeswoman for the office, told The Epoch Times in an email. “As a result, we have decided to ask the court to dismiss the current case, and alert the public in order to ensure transparency.”

Gary Lincenberg, an attorney representing Yu, said the dismissal shows that his client is innocent.
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Konnech sued the leaders, Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips, alleging public comments the pair made defamed Yu, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen, and Yu’s firm.

Some of the comments aligned with the charging documents against Yu, which alleged in part that he violated the contract Konnech signed with Los Angeles County by storing data on poll workers on servers in China.
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Phillips testified in the defamation case that he was “told by L.A. County” that they had accessed the same data he viewed in 2021.

The charges against Yu were dismissed without prejudice, which means the charges can be refiled in the future.

Prosecutors haven’t ruled out refiling charges.

Russian Forces Begin Withdrawal From Ukraine’s Kherson

Russia has begun withdrawing its forces from Ukraine’s Kherson region, on the southern bank of the Dnieper River, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed on Nov. 10.
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Russian forces will fall back across the river, while taking “all measures to ensure the safe relocation of personnel, armaments, and hardware,” according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
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He asserted that departing Russian forces were destroying bridges and mining roads in the vicinity of Kherson.
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U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested it would take Russian forces “days, perhaps even weeks, to pull those forces south of that river.”

Milley estimated Russia’s total current troop strength north and west of the Dnieper at 20,000 to 30,000 men.
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Kherson is considered the most strategically important as it commands the only land route to the Crimean Peninsula, along with the mouth of the Dnieper River.

Most of Kherson, including its regional capital, was captured by Russian forces in the opening weeks of the conflict.

In recent weeks, Russian military authorities have overseen the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians from Kherson city in anticipation of a looming Ukrainian offensive. More than 115,000 people so far have left the city for safer positions, Surovikin said.

Previous attempts by Ukrainian forces to breach Russian defenses near Kherson have encountered stiff resistance, leading to significant Ukrainian losses in terms of both troops and equipment, Russian officials say.
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Biden also said it was “interesting” that Moscow had “waited” until after the U.S. midterm elections to announce its withdrawal plans.

Following the Nov. 8 U.S. midterm elections, Republicans are edging closer to securing a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, while control of the U.S. Senate hinges on a few close races.