The United States last month formally opened a permanent military base in Poland, part of NATO’s missile defense system amid rising tensions with Russia. The Polish defense minister says the base is a testament to Polish-American cooperation. VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from Redzikowo, Poland.
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The National Building Museum has unveiled a new exhibition featuring over 2,500 rare artifacts. It’s called “Visible Vault: Open Collections’ and offers a glimpse into the history of architecture and construction. Maxim Adams has the story. Camera: Sergii Dogotar
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LOS ANGELES — China’s ruling Communist Party used an agent in California to influence state politics, U.S. prosecutors said Thursday as they unveiled criminal charges against a Chinese national. 

 

FBI agents arrested Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, at his home in Chino Hills, near Los Angeles, on charges that he acted as an agent for a foreign government while getting involved in local politics.

The complaint claims Sun served as the campaign manager and close confidante for an unnamed politician who was running for local elected office in 2022.

During the campaign, he is alleged to have conspired with Chen Jun — a Chinese national sentenced to prison last month for acting as an illegal agent of Beijing — regarding his efforts to get the politician elected.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Chen discussed with Chinese government officials how they could influence local politicians, particularly on the issue of Taiwan.

China considers the self-ruled island of Taiwan part of its territory.

Beijing — which has said it would never rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control — has been accused of using local influence campaigns, among other tactics, to sway global opinion on the issue.

Charging documents say after the local politician won office in late 2022, Chen instructed Sun to prepare a report on the election to be sent to Chinese government officials, who expressed their thanks for his work.

“The conduct alleged in this complaint is deeply concerning,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada.

“We cannot permit hostile foreign powers to meddle in the governance of our country.”

Sun was charged with one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

He also faces one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Asked about the charges on Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said it was “not aware of the details in the case you mentioned.”

But spokesperson Lin Jian said, “China never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries.”

“The international community sees clearly who is actually wantonly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries,” he said during a regular briefing.
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WASHINGTON — Immigration has been a defining challenge of the Biden presidency, marked by record numbers of asylum-seekers and other migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. President Joe Biden pledged to modernize the nation’s immigration system and rebuild a refugee resettlement program that had hit historic lows under the previous administration. 

But despite issuing a record number of immigration-related executive actions — surpassing the Trump administration — Biden’s efforts drew criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. Critics on the right said the administration was being too lenient, while those on the left said it was too harsh.  

The Biden administration inherited a fractured immigration system, including a backlog of asylum cases, a reduction in refugee processing capacity, and policies such as Title 42 that significantly shaped migration patterns. 

During a webinar, Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at Migration Policy Institute (MPI), provided an overview of the Biden administration’s record. He noted that Biden’s approach to enforcement away from the border has been seen as largely favorable by experts and immigration advocates.  

He said Biden administration officials focused on enforcement guidelines, rather than trying to deport everyone, yet the crisis at the border cast a long shadow over his legacy.  

He emphasized the success of legal immigration under Biden, pointing to the high numbers of visas issued, the record number of naturalizations and the resurgence of refugee admissions.  

About “3.5 million people were naturalized under the Biden administration, the highest of any one-term presidency,” he said. 

However, Chishti said the administration’s handling of border security was less successful. The administration faced overwhelming numbers of migrants, many arriving from countries beyond Mexico and Central America. 

“The Biden presidency entered office with a crisis at the border, which was precipitated by the COVID crisis and Title 42,” he said. The administration’s failure to call the situation a crisis, he added, contributed to a perception of mishandling, despite efforts to manage it through new programs like the CBP One app and various parole initiatives. 

Handling the border  

Marielena Hincapie, a visiting scholar at Cornell Law School who participated in the webinar, praised efforts under the Department of Homeland Security’s leadership to increase naturalization rates, expedite work permit processing, and implement innovative policies such as deferred action for undocumented workers who had experienced labor disputes.  

These measures, she said, benefited not only immigrants but also the broader U.S. workforce and economy. 

Hincapie also criticized the administration’s handling of border issues, calling it mismanagement.  

She highlighted the role of Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in exacerbating the crisis by busing and flying thousands of migrants to New York, Chicago and elsewhere. 

Hincapie also pointed to additional involvement at the state level, saying, “There’s not only the busing and flying of migrants, which DeSantis did, but also litigation.” 

“And I really see this as the Biden’s inner circle, his political and communications folks, failed to understand that this was a narrative war and the fact that they refused to call it a crisis when that is what voters were seeing. … They fell silent and decided not to prioritize immigration, and by doing so, they ceded the narrative,” she said. 

Migration shifts  

The Biden administration also faced shifts in migration patterns.  

Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst at MPI, said the reality at the U.S.-Mexico border shifted once again during Biden’s term with migrants arriving in large numbers from across the Western Hemisphere and from countries around the world.  

The demographics of migrants also changed, she said, from single adults to families, and many were seeking asylum, further complicating border processing.  

U.S. law offers asylum to people facing persecution in their home countries on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular group. 

Though there are two kinds of asylum, affirmative and defensive, not all asylum claims come from migrants arriving at the border. Immigrants may claim affirmative asylum within one year of their latest arrival in the United States or request a defensive asylum while fighting an order of deportation. 

“All this resulted in a high number of migrants released into the interior of the U.S.,” Putzel-Kavanaugh said.  

This brought the border crisis into the interior of the nation, with large numbers of newly arrived migrants heavily concentrated in cities like New York, Chicago and Denver — cities already facing housing shortages. 

Putzel-Kavanaugh also praised the Biden administration’s work to pair increased enforcement with options for safe and orderly legal migration.  

“We saw the introduction of programs like CBP One app, which allowed migrants to make appointments at ports of entry along the border, and the parole program for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela,” she said.  

Despite these efforts, Putzel-Kavanaugh said many saw the measures as “too little, too late.” 

But that shift in migrant arrivals from irregular crossings to legally arriving at ports of entry has been one of the few success stories of Biden’s border management strategies.

Monthly migrant encounters dropped significantly from the highs of December 2022, with a decrease from more than 300,000 encounters to about 106,000 in October 2024, according to CBP figures.  

Issue for years to come 

While Biden’s efforts to modernize immigration systems and address asylum claims were significant, experts said the ongoing challenges of irregular migration and border security will remain a focal point in U.S. immigration policy for years to come. 

“I do think in summary, we do have two real important crises in our country,” Chishti said. “We do have a labor market crisis across occupations from low, mid to high levels [and a border crisis]. This is why a lot of these people who have come in, even though they came irregularly, have been absorbed.” 

Chishti pointed to remarks in 2022 from Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, about the U.S. labor market and its dynamics. Powell said immigration is a key source of labor supply, and the significant decline in immigration levels during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the labor supply-demand mismatch. 

That shortfall in immigration resulted in fewer workers available to fill jobs, particularly in sectors that traditionally rely on immigrant labor, such as health care, hospitality and agriculture. Powell acknowledged that addressing the labor supply constraints, including through immigration policy, could help ease pressure to raise wages and reduce inflation without significant harm to employment levels. 

“The reason nothing is happening on changes or reform to our legal immigration system — so we can get more people legally for our labor market needs — is because of the crisis of the border,” Chishti said. 

“These are twin crises, but they’re getting interlinked,” he said. “Unless we get the border crisis under control, we won’t be able to address our labor market crisis.”
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The Unforgettable Chorus in New York is using music to help people with memory loss reconnect with family, friends and themselves. Since 2011, the choir has been a beacon of hope, offering a space where those living with dementia can sing, participate and be part of a community. Johny Fernandez reports from New York City.
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Amazon.com workers at seven U.S. facilities walked off the job early on Thursday during the holiday shopping rush, aiming to pressure the retailer into contract talks with their union. 

Warehouse workers in cities including New York, Atlanta and San Francisco are taking part in the “largest” strike against Amazon, said the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents about 10,000 workers at 10 of the firm’s facilities. 

The company, however, said it does not expect any effect on its operations during one of the busiest times of the year. 

Unions represent only about 1% of the hourly workforce of Amazon, the world’s second-largest private employer after Walmart, and it has multiple locations in many metro areas. 

The Teamsters had given Amazon a Dec. 15 deadline to begin negotiations and warehouse workers had recently voted to authorize a strike. 

“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters’ General President Sean O’Brien said late on Wednesday. 

“We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it. This strike is on them.” 

The retailer’s shares were trading 1.5% higher in premarket hours, a sign that investors do not expect a big disruption from the strike.  

The Teamsters have “intentionally misled the public” and “threatened, intimidated and attempted to coerce” employees and third-party drivers to join them, an Amazon spokesperson said on Thursday. 

Observers said Amazon was unlikely to come to the table to bargain as that could open the door to more union actions.  

It employs more than 800,000 people at its U.S. warehouses and has more than 600 fulfillment centers, delivery stations and same-day facilities in the country. 

Amazon has responded to recent organization efforts with legal challenges. Amazon has filed objections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over a 2022 union vote in Staten Island, alleging bias among agency officials.  

It also challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB in a September federal lawsuit. 

Earlier this year, the company announced a $2.1 billion investment to raise pay for fulfillment and transportation employees in the U.S., increasing base wages for employees by at least $1.50 to around $22 per hour, a roughly 7% increase. 
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NEW YORK — U.S. life expectancy jumped last year, and preliminary data suggests there may be another — much smaller — improvement this year.

Death rates fell last year for almost all leading causes, notably COVID-19, heart disease and drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Thursday. That translated to adding nearly a year the estimated lifespan of Americans.

Experts note it’s part of a bounce-back from the COVID-19 pandemic. But life expectancy has not yet climbed back to prepandemic levels, and the rebound appears to be losing steam.

“What you’re seeing is continued improvement, but slowing improvement,” said Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, a University Minnesota researcher who studies death trends. “We are sort of converging back to some kind of normal that is worse than it was before the pandemic.”

Last year, nearly 3.1 million U.S. residents died, about 189,000 fewer than the year before. Death rates declined across all racial and ethnic groups, and in both men and women.

Provisional data for the first 10 months of 2024 suggests the country is on track to see even fewer deaths this year, perhaps about 13,000 fewer. But that difference is likely to narrow as more death certificates come in, said the CDC’s Robert Anderson.

That means that life expectancy for 2024 likely will rise — “but probably not by a lot,” said Anderson, who oversees death tracking at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live, given death rates at that time. It’s a fundamental measure of a population’s health.

For decades, U.S. life expectancy rose at least a little bit almost every year, thanks to medical advances and public health measures. It peaked in 2014, at nearly 79 years, and then was relatively flat for several years. Then it plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping to just under 76 1/2 years in 2021.

It rebounded to 77 1/2 years in 2022 and, according to the new report, to nearly 78 1/2 last year.

Life expectancy for U.S. women continues to be well above that of men — a little over 81 for women, compared with a little under 76 for men.

In the last five years, more than 1.2 million U.S. deaths have been attributed to COVID-19. But most of them occurred in 2020 and 2021, before vaccination- and infection-induced immunity became widespread.

The coronavirus was once the nation’s third leading cause of death. Last year it was the underlying cause in nearly 50,000 deaths, making it the nation’s No. 10 killer.

Data for 2024 is still coming in, but about 30,000 coronavirus deaths have been reported so far. At that rate, suicide may surpass COVID-19 this year, Anderson said.

Heart disease remains the nation’s leading cause of death. Some underappreciated good news is the heart disease death rate dropped by about 3% in 2023. That’s a much smaller drop than the 73% decline in the COVID-19 death rate, but heart disease affects more people so even small changes can be more impactful, Anderson said.

There’s also good news about overdose deaths, which fell to 105,000 in 2023 among U.S. residents, according to a second report released by CDC on Thursday.

The causes of the overdose decline are still being studied but there is reason to be hopeful such deaths will drop more in the future, experts say. Some pointed to survey results this week that showed teens drug use isn’t rising.

“The earlier you start taking a drug, the greater the risk that you could continue using it and the greater the risk that you will become addicted to it — and have untoward consequences,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the survey study. “If you can reduce the pipeline (of new drug users) … you can prevent overdoses.”
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During a visit to Baghdad last week, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to discuss the evolving situation in Syria. Blinken emphasized the need for a Syrian government that respects human rights, safeguards the rights of women and minorities, and protects religious holy sites. He also stressed that Syria must not become a haven for terrorism or a threat to its neighbors. Prime Minister al-Sudani echoed these concerns, highlighting the necessity of a Syrian government that represents all communities to ensure lasting stability, while cautioning that Iraq expects concrete action, not just rhetoric.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, speaking at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Jordan, reinforced the link between Syria’s stability and Iraq’s security.

Click here to see the full report in Kurdish. 
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GENEVA — International human and animal health experts warn the H5N1 avian influenza is evolving quickly and posing a global health threat as the virus is increasingly crossing species barriers and infecting a wide range of domestic and wild mammals.

“These developments pose significant challenges to animal, human and environmental health,” Dr. Gregorio Torres, veterinarian and head of the science department at the World Organization for Animal Health, told journalists in Geneva Tuesday.

He noted that avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has been reported in 108 countries and territories over five continents in the last three years.

“And as of December 2024, the infection has been detected in over 70 species of domestic and wild mammals. This includes the ongoing detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle in the United States,” Torres said.

“So far, the close monitoring of the virus has not found markers that could suggest effective mammalian adaptation, but we know this can change at any time,” he said.

Most human cases in US

The World Health Organization this week reported 76 people were infected with the H5 avian influenza viruses in 2024, most of them among farm workers. Sixty-one of these cases occurred in the United States, which has reported outbreaks in wildlife, poultry and, more recently, dairy cattle.

“This is the first time we have seen the infections from dairy cattle to humans, and so many within the U.S.” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic threat management at WHO.

“In the U.S., all but two have direct links with infected animals, whether this was working on farms, whether this was part of culling exercises,” she said. “We have not seen any detection of human-to-human transmission among these cases.”

While much attention on the bird flu situation has focused on the United States this year, Van Kerkhove noted that Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China and Vietnam also reported outbreaks.

Based on available information, she said that the H5N1 viruses have remained avian viruses and have not adapted to spread among people, stressing that follow-up epidemiologic, virologic and serologic investigations “so far have not reported or identified human-to-human transmission.”

“However, this can change quickly as the virus is evolving, which is why we are actively assessing the situation and why surveillance is so critical,” she said.

300 million birds dead

Although the WHO assesses the current risk of infection for the public as low, it considers the public health risk for farm workers and others exposed to infected animals to be low-to-moderate. The WHO advises exposed groups to use personal protective equipment such as coveralls, respirator masks, eye protection, gloves and boots to minimize the risk.

Since October 2021, H5N1 has caused the deaths of more than 300 million birds worldwide, affecting the livelihood of millions of people.

“In addition to the direct impact on livelihoods, the economic burden on farmers can lead to reduced investments in biosecurity measures,” said Madhur Dhingra, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s senior infectious diseases animal health officer.

“This increases the risk and leads to a dangerous cycle of risk, vulnerability, and loss. … In regions heavily reliant on poultry as a primary protein source, HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] poses a serious threat to food and nutrition security,” she said.

“The impacts of HPAI have spilled over into wildlife, with more than 500 bird species and over 70 mammalian species affected, including endangered animals like the California condor and polar bears,” she said. “The biodiversity impacts, particularly among seabirds and marine mammals, and disruption of fragile ecosystems, such as the Antarctic region, are concerning.”

Health experts agree that increased surveillance and close monitoring of the evolution of the H5N1 virus are essential to prevent the disease from spreading widely around the world.

“We are in an interpandemic period right now where we have a number of different zoonotic viruses, with avian influenza, H5N1 one of several,” Van Kerkhove said.

“While we are operating in a state of readiness, I think the world is not ready for another infectious disease, massive outbreak or pandemic because we have lived through COVID and it was incredibly traumatic, and it is still ongoing.

“We are recommending to our member states and national authorities to increase surveillance and vigilance in human populations, especially those who are occupationally exposed, for the possibility for infection, and, of course, doing thorough investigations around each and every human case,” she said.

In the meantime, she advised people to minimize their risk of becoming sick from bird flu by carefully watching what they eat and drink.

“Cows infected with the H5N1 virus have been reported to have high viral loads in their milk,” she said, so, it is advisable that people “consume pasteurized milk.”

“If pasteurized milk is not available, heating milk until it boils also makes it safe for consumption. Similarly, we recommend thoroughly cooking meat and eggs when in areas affected by avian flu outbreaks,” she said.
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MADISON, Wis. — Community members in Wisconsin continued to wrestle with grief and called for change in the aftermath of a school shooting that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six others. 

Several hundred people gathered outside the Wisconsin State Capitol for a vigil Tuesday night to honor those slain at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison the day before, with some passing candles to each other and standing close against the winter chill. 

Among those in attendance was Naomi Allen, 16, who was in a nearby classroom Monday when a 15-year-old girl attacked people in a study hall before fatally shooting herself. 

“It’s doesn’t matter who you are or where you are, something like this could happen. There’s nothing that is going to exempt someone,” Allen said at the vigil. 

Allen’s father, Jay Allen, reflected on the dangers students face these days. 

“When I was in school these things never happened,” he said. “This country at some point needs to take mental health seriously and we need to pour resources into it. We really need some changes in the way we handle that issue.” 

The motive for the shooting appears to be a “combination of factors,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Tuesday as he appealed to the public to call in to a tip line and share what they might know about the shooter. 

He offered no details about what that motive might be, though he said bullying at Abundant Life Christian School would be investigated. He also said police are investigating writings that may have been penned by the shooter, Natalie Rupnow, and could shed light on her actions. 

“Identifying a motive is our top priority, but at this time it appears that the motive is a combination of factors,” Barnes told reporters. 

Two students among the six people wounded Monday remain in critical condition. Officials have declined to disclose the names of the victims. 

“Leave them alone,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. 

The school shooting was the latest among dozens across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas. 

The shootings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms. But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws. 

School shootings by teenage females have been extremely rare in U.S. history, with males in their teens and 20s carrying out the majority of them, said David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database. 

Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school — prekindergarten through high school — with approximately 420 students. Barbara Wiers, the school’s director of elementary and school relations, said the school does not have metal detectors but uses cameras and other security measures. 

Barnes said police were talking with the shooter’s father and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching the shooter’s home. 

The shooter’s parents, who are divorced, jointly shared custody of their child, but the shooter primarily lived with her 42-year-old father, according to court documents. 

Investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. 

Madison resident Cristian Cuahutepitzi said he attended Tuesday’s vigil to let the families of the victims know “we’re thinking of them.” He said his uncle’s two daughters go to the school. 

“They’re still a little bit shook,” he said. 

Joe Gothard, the superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District, said at the vigil that the tragedy happened less than two blocks away from his childhood home. He said it wasn’t enough to say the district would work on safety. 

“We need to connect like we are tonight, each and every day and make a commitment that we know we’re there for one another, hopefully to avoid preventable tragedies like yesterday,” he said. 

A prayer service was also held Tuesday night at City Church Madison, which is affiliated with the school. 

Several teachers from the school prayed aloud one by one during the service, speaking into a microphone and standing in a line. One middle school teacher asked for courage, while another sought help quieting her own soul. 

“God, this isn’t a Abundant Life Christian School tragedy,” said Derrick Wright, the youth pastor at the church. “This is a community tragedy. This is a nation tragedy.”
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Police in Madison, Wisconsin, said Tuesday that they were working to establish a motive for the shooting at a small, private Christian school that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six other people.

“Identifying a motive is our top priority,” Police Chief Shon Barnes said of the shooting Monday that he called a “hurting and haunting situation.”

Police were trying to verify a document posted online by the 15-year-old shooter, who apparently died of a self-inflicted wound. 

Authorities said the shooter, Natalie Rupnow, was a student at the Abundant Life Christian School, which has an enrollment of just over 400 students from kindergarten to high school. She opened fire in a study hall late Monday morning.  

“We don’t know nearly enough yet,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told reporters Tuesday about the shooting.  

Rhodes-Conway also said it was too early to determine whether the shooter’s parents, who were cooperating with the police investigation, would face criminal charges. 

“We have to allow law enforcement the time and space for a careful and methodical examination,” she said. 

Barnes said Tuesday that several schools across the Madison metropolitan area “were targeted by false threats, often known as swatting.” He said police and the school district were working together to determine who initiated the scheme. 

The mayor lashed out at reporters’ requests Tuesday for more information about the victims. 

“I’m going to say this and then we’re done,” she said. “It is absolutely none of y’all’s business who was harmed in this incident. Please have some human decency and respect for the people who have lost loved ones or were injured themselves or whose children were injured. Just have some human decency, folks.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking in Maryland, said, “Our nation mourns for those who were killed, and we pray for the recovery of those who were injured.” 

The vice president said stronger gun controls were needed.  

“Solutions are in hand,” she said, “but we need elected leaders to have the courage to step up and do the right thing.” 

President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday that the shooting was “shocking and unconscionable.” 

“Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom,” he said. “Students across our country should be learning how to read and write, not having to learn how to duck and cover.” 

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the shooting victims.  

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA — A San Francisco jury on Tuesday found a tech consultant guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, which carries a sentence of 16 years to life.

Jurors took seven days to deliver their verdict against Nima Momeni in the April 4, 2023, death of Lee, a beloved tech mogul who was found staggering on a deserted downtown street, dripping a trail of blood and calling for help. Lee, 43, later died at a hospital.

“We think justice was done here today,” the victim’s brother, Tim Oliver Lee, told reporters. “What matters today is that we had a guilty verdict and Nima Momeni is going away for a very long time.”

Prosecutors said Momeni planned the attack on Lee, driving him to an isolated spot under the Bay Bridge and stabbing him three times with a knife he took from his sister’s kitchen. They say Momeni was angry with Lee for introducing his younger sister to a drug dealer she says gave her GHB and other drugs and then sexually assaulted her.

But Momeni testified on the stand that Lee was the one who attacked him with a knife, angry after the tech consultant chided him about spending more time with his family instead of searching for a strip club that night. Momeni, who studies martial arts, claimed self-defense and said he didn’t realize he had fatally wounded Lee or that Lee was even hurt.

The case has drawn national attention, partly given Lee’s status in the tech world.

Momeni, 40, has been in custody since his arrest in April 2023, when he was charged with murder in the first degree. Jurors received the case, which started Oct. 14, on Dec. 4.

Lee had created mobile payment service Cash App and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin when he died. He had moved to Miami from the San Francisco Bay Area, where his ex-wife Krista Lee lives with their two children.
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