Elizabeth Holmes found guilty of defrauding investors

JANUARY 4, 2022

THE BIG STORY

Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty of defrauding investors with false promises about Theranos's blood-testing technology

Elizabeth Holmes in 2015 David Orrell/CNBC / NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty of engaging in a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors by making misleading and false statements about the company's technological capabilities.

Holmes falsely claimed that Theranos's blood-testing device was faster, cheaper, and more accurate than all other lab equipment on the market and capable of running hundreds of medical tests with just a few drops of blood. In reality, Theranos's results were rife with inaccuracies, and secretly relied on commercially available machines to run most of its tests.

The former CEO was found guilty of 4 counts — including conspiring to defraud and defrauding investors — but was found not guilty of conspiring to defraud and defrauding paying patients. The jury could not reach a verdict on 3 charges. Her sentence will be determined by a judge at a later date. Each guilty count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, plus a fine of $250,000.

😷 STAYING ON TOP OF THIS (PANDEMIC)

Identifying potential COVID-19 symptoms

COVID-19 cases rise in the US.

Rapid COVID-19 tests are more accurate in people with symptoms than without symptoms. There are now (at least) 11 over-the-counter rapid antigen tests, which generally cost about $20 to $35 for two — if you can find them.
Are Omicron symptoms different from other virus symptoms? New York Times reporter Melinda Wenner Moyer explains the encouraging emerging research on the Omicron variant.

SNAPSHOTS

One year ago, violent rioters attacked the US Capitol, threatening the lives of lawmakers and the country's democratic systems. HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic and BuzzFeed News reporter Kadia Goba were both in the Capitol on Jan. 6. Join us for a Twitter Spaces conversation about that day and how the insurrection altered the course of US politics on Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. ET. Sign up to be notified when the Space begins here.

Meet the woman behind the iconic "woman stepping into the new year" artwork. Graphic artist Peniel Enchill first draw the woman in the meme in 2014 and continues to create special illustrations to mark the start of a new year.

Dwayne Johnson responded to Vin Diesel's public plea for him to return to Fast & Furious and accused him of "manipulation." "I didn't like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker's death. Leave them out of it."

"THIS IS CLIMATE CHANGE BARGING THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR"

Water scarcity is forcing changes in how the Colorado River is shared

Dry soil and dead vegetation is seen in the formerly lush upper estuary of the Colorado River delta. Caitlin Ochs for BuzzFeed News

The Colorado River is at a tipping point, with implications that could shape how the US chooses to adapt to climate change.

For over two decades, Western states sharing the river have relied on water from these reservoirs to insulate their residents from the impact of a 22-year megadrought. In August, water levels dropped low enough to trigger the first-ever federal shortage declaration, which will cut states' 2022 river usage by billions of gallons. More cuts are likely: 2021 was the second-driest water year on record, and a growing body of data indicates what we are seeing is not a temporary drought, but a permanently hotter, more arid environment.

For nearly 100 years, management of the river has been dominated by the seven Western states that signed the 1922 Colorado River Compact — a document that fails to allocate water for the 30 sovereign tribes of the Colorado River Basin (a majority of which have water rights that predate the compact), the areas of Mexico where the river ends, or for maintaining the health of the river itself. Now, as the river barrels toward irreversible drought and damage, the basin's tribes are taking on a crucial leadership role in preservation efforts.

LIFE AFTER THE BLIP

What the Marvel movies don't say about the end of the world

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame Null / ©Walt Disney Co./ courtesy of Everett Collection

Intentionally or not, the Marvel franchise has become one that speaks to the last decade, in which it's occasionally felt like the world is ending — or at least becoming complicated beyond previous recognition, says Katherine Miller.

The new Disney+ title, Hawkeye, opens with an 11-year-old girl — Kate Bishop (eventually Hailee Steinfeld) — watching aliens destroy her family's penthouse and kill her father in 2012. In that series' present day, Hawkeye eyes "Thanos Was Right" graffiti, and catches a terrible musical rendition of the Avengers history. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Shaun (Simu Liu) walks past flyers advertising help coping with the blip: "POST-BLIP ANXIETY? YOU ARE NOT ALONE."

Marvel films and TV examine what it's like to live in a notable historical period of continual surreal events that could make you question the foundations of society. Together, they tell a story where everyone has to continue doing what they're doing even through the apocalypse, where you never have that much time to think about what it all means because the next thing is already happening. Sound familiar?

If the world were to end, what's one memory you'd want to keep with you?

Alexa

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