Good morning. Federal prosecutors earlier this year reviewed claims that JPMorgan Chase executives ignored deficiencies in the bank's antifraud program and improperly denied more than $100 million in reimbursements to customers whose money was stolen, according to people familiar with the matter.

   -- Scam fighter turns whistleblower: The review was sparked by a 
      whistleblower report last year by JPMorgan's then-head of scam 
      prevention. Representatives from the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan 
      and the Treasury Department last year met with the whistleblower and 
      later received documentation tied to her claims, the people said. 
 
   -- Fraud explosion: Banks have been grappling with a surge in scams and 
      frauds driven by sophisticated criminal operations located in parts of 
      Southeast Asia and Africa. The whistleblower, Christy Lillie, alleged 
      that JPMorgan failed to properly handle that surge and took steps to 
      minimize its own losses at the expense of its customers' savings. 
 
   -- Probe status unknown: Prosecutors haven't alleged any wrongdoing by 
      JPMorgan, and it couldn't be determined whether they are still 
      investigating the allegations. After disclosing to her supervisors that 
      she had become a whistleblower last year, Lillie was placed on 
      involuntary paid administrative leave in October 2025 and later left the 
      bank, according to people familiar with the matter and her LinkedIn 
      profile. 

Risk Journal Podcast

Amazon security chief Steve Schmidt explains why artificial intelligence is accelerating both attacks and defenses, and why skilled humans remain essential. Also, new European AI rules and a surge in corporate AI-risk disclosures.

You can listen to new episodes every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon.

Compliance

FCC votes to repeal national TV ownership limit

The Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal the national cap on television-station ownership Thursday, potentially clearing the way for further consolidation of broadcasters.

In a 2-1 split, the agency voted to eliminate a rule that prohibits any company from owning television stations reaching more than 39% of U.S. TV households. The FCC said it would instead review proposed station acquisitions on a case-by-case basis.

Ex-Goldman banker convicted of bribery

Former Goldman Sachs banker Asante Berko was found guilty of involvement in a scheme to pay bribes related to a power plant construction project in Ghana, Risk Journal reports (free link).

A jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., federal court returned a guilty verdict Thursday afternoon against Berko, a spokesman for prosecutors said. Berko, a citizen of the U.S. and Ghana, was charged in 2020 with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and in 2024 he was extradited from the U.K., where he had worked for Goldman.

   -- A New Mexico judge ordered Meta Platforms to pay more than $900 million 
      and limit the time young people in the state can spend on its apps, 
      significantly increasing the cost of the landmark child safety verdict 
      against the Facebook and Instagram parent. 
 
   -- The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the inspections of Boeing 
      737 MAX jets for cracks in the body of the aircraft, the latest safety 
      issue to affect the plane maker. 
 
   -- Wintermute's U.S. arm has registered as a broker-dealer, ushering the 
      crypto-trading firm into regulated Wall Street and clearing a path for 
      its expansion into traditional financial services. 
 
   -- The U.K. has sanctioned 19 entities it accuses of supporting the conflict 
      in Ukraine and propping up Russia's wartime economy. 
 
   -- Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav said he is confident Paramount's deal to 
      buy Warner will close. The Writers Guild and 12 states want to block the 
      deal on antitrust grounds. 
 
   -- The Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna's mRNA-based flu 
      vaccine Wednesday for adults ages 50 and older, clearing the first shot 
      of its kind after a review process that nearly collapsed in February. The 
      agency also approved a therapy for advanced skin cancer, ending a 
      separate regulatory saga. 
 
   -- Camp Mystic is asking a bankruptcy court to freeze wrongful-death 
      lawsuits against owners and executives of the Texas camp, arguing that 
      state-court individual litigation threatens to wipe out shared insurance 
      policies needed to fund a broad settlement. 
 
   -- The U.S. Treasury Department removed Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad Airlines 
      from its sanctions list on Thursday, more than two years after 
      designating the carrier for supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard 
      Corps-Quds Force. 
 
   -- A Missouri court granted a request to postpone to Sept. 14 a hearing to 
      consider the final approval of Bayer's proposed $7.25 billion class 
      settlement over its Roundup weedkiller, the company said. 

The approximate daily arrest quota for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Airlines have begun to push back against ICE enforcement at airports, including by denying agents access to planes.

Risk

Explosive drone at German airport marks new threat for Europe

An explosive-laden drone discovered at a cargo airport in Germany -- near a Ukrainian freighter plane -- represents "a new level of danger," according to the country's interior minister, who pointed to a sophisticated foreign actor as the potential culprit.

Staff at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany on Tuesday night called in authorities after an employee spotted a drone on the tarmac in a secure area, near a cargo jet operated by Ukraine's Antonov Airlines. A police bomb-squad used a robotic device to remove the device's detonator, said the state government in Dresden.

Meta AI model hacked outside company, adding to concerns over rogue bots

Meta Platforms said that one of its artificial-intelligence models went rogue during cybersecurity testing, slipped onto the internet and hacked a third-party service, the latest in a drumbeat of disclosures that suggest such incidents are becoming widespread.

The Instagram and Facebook owner said that one of its AI models was able to access the internet because of a "misconfiguration" in a hacking test conducted by a third-party AI testing company.

   -- Israel has stepped up its attacks in southern Lebanon after weeks of 
      relative calm, as delegations from both countries finished another round 
      of U.S.-brokered talks exploring a diplomatic solution to years of 
      fighting. 
 
   -- North Korea's test launch of a ballistic missile this week is stirring 
      fresh friction with Japan, the latest example of growing military 
      tensions between Pyongyang and U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific. 
 
   -- World food prices rose in July as heatwaves and supply disruptions in the 
      Middle East and Black Sea regions pushed up prices and lowered crop 
      yields, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said. 
 
   -- Pop stars who've canceled shows can face messy insurance disputes. Ariana 
      Grande is stepping away from the spotlight, but after her tour ends -- 
      avoiding a potential financial loss. 

What Else Matters

   -- President Trump has spoken repeatedly with Kevin Warsh since he became 
      chairman of the Federal Reserve, according to people familiar with the 
      matter, maintaining a line of communication between a president and a 
      central bank chief that departs from recent precedent. 
 
   -- A startup has raised $700 million to replace data-center wires with 
      light. 
 
   -- President Trump has ordered new investigations into the disclosures of 
      the Pentagon's munitions stockpile, administration officials said, an 
      escalation of his effort to battle damaging revelations about the Iran 
      war. 
 
   -- President Trump signed a pair of executive orders that he said were aimed 
      at cracking down on birthright citizenship, renewing one of his signature 
      policies. 
 
   -- Jason Arday resigned from the University of Cambridge following 
      allegations of plagiarism and inconsistencies in his back story. 
 
   -- Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen died in July after setting himself on fire 
      outside the United Nations headquarters in New York. His self-immolation 
      has galvanized a fractured global Tibetan diaspora, prompting 
      demonstrations in several countries. 

About Us

Follow us on LinkedIn. Send tips to our reporters Max Fillion at max.fillion@dowjones.com, Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com, Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com and Richard Vanderford at richard.vanderford@wsj.com.

You can also reach us by replying to any newsletter, or by emailing our editors Perry Cleveland-Peck at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com and David Smagalla at david.smagalla@wsj.com.

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