DistrictofAlex

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Infosec, GRC. Reading past the headline. Unwisely sarcastic. Go Orioles!

Semyon and Tatyana, a Russian couple who have lived in Spain for the past five years, were detained in Sweden on the morning of Aug. 6 while spending the night in a tent by the sea, the Russian Antiwar Committee told The Insider. Semyon and Tatyana were resting on the seashore near the town of Furuvik during a hiking trip when they were approached by police, who had been called by security guards from a private home near the spot where the Russians had pitched their tent. According to the Antiwar Committee, the grounds for the detention — and for the Swedish government’s subsequent deportation order — were the couple’s Russian accents and their possession of two tourist walkie-talkies. The Russians were also unable to clearly explain to police why they had chosen that specific place to spend the night. Later, they told rights defenders that they “like hiking and decided to spend the night by the water.” Semyon and Tatyana are now being held in a deportation detention center. Margarita Kuchusheva, a consul with the Antiwar Committee, shared the details of their case with The Insider: “This is not the first case in which Sweden has recognized Russian citizens as a threat to national security. Unfortunately, anti-war Russians sometimes fall under these criteria as well. In this case, [they were] simply a pair of tourists who chose to go on a camping trip. Challenging such a status is extremely difficult, and it can seriously damage a person’s life, such as when one wants to apply for a visa. The consuls of the Anti-War Committee will help Semyon and Tatyana have this status removed and leave safely for Spain.” The Antiwar Committee added that Semyon (who works as a game developer) and Tatyana oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine, do humanitarian work, and help teenage emigres adapt to life abroad.
On July 20, more than 50,000 attempted to march on parliament, according to some estimates. They were met with a violent police response but won sympathy from the many more following the protests online. The crowds, which by then spanned age groups and socioeconomic classes, swelled. Bollywood stars voiced support on social media. “People are usually divided by religion, caste and language,” said Ashok, showing off a bruise he said came from a police baton during a demonstration. “This was the first time they united around education." Delhi Police didn’t respond to questions about its management of the protests. It has previously said that the demonstrations were policed professionally and that 118 officers were injured during the July 20 confrontation. By the end of the week, the cockroaches had their scalp: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a primary protest target, had resigned. In a rare concession, Modi had bowed to demonstrators’ demands.
About 4% of master's degree programs would fail, with the highest failure rates for programs teaching mental and social health services.
"Key officials responsible for leading US research on infectious disease threats have been barred from speaking directly with the World Health Organization — effectively shutting some of them out of the global discussions on virus outbreaks, according to documents and multiple sources who spoke to CNN. The Trump administration issued the directive stopping individuals at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from communicating with the WHO. The federal health subagency was led for decades by Dr. Anthony Fauci and oversaw developing treatments for public health emergencies including HIV/AIDs and Covid-19. The prohibition has been in place during an outbreak of hantavirus that some Americans have been exposed to. The communication limits were relaxed slightly in the past week as another virus outbreak — an unfolding Ebola epidemic centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo — intensified. Now, some NIAID officials can attend virtual WHO meetings, but only in small groups and only in a “listening capacity,” according to a May 18 email from a senior NIAID official to staff obtained by CNN. Any follow-up to those meetings would be handled by the Department of Health and Human Services, NIAID’s parent agency."
H.R. 1981 — 119th Congress The Drum Break Protection Act of 2026 A bill to protect the sanctity of the drum break in "In The Air Tonight" Whereas the drum break occurring at approximately the 3 minute 40 second mark of "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (1981) represents one of the most anticipated musical moments in recorded history; and whereas the interruption of a person awaiting said break constitutes an unconscionable act against human dignity — be it hereby enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled: Section 1 Short title This Act may be cited as the "Drum Break Protection Act" or, colloquially, "The Phil Collins Act." Section 2 Definitions For purposes of this Act: "The Break" refers to the drum entry at approximately 3:40 in "In The Air Tonight" as commercially released. "The Window" refers to the period beginning when the song starts and ending 10 seconds after The Break concludes. "Interruption" means any spoken word, question, tap on the shoulder, phone call played aloud, or unsolicited sound directed at a listener during The Window.
From FBI raid to explosive growth The prediction market industry has seen breathtaking growth in President Trump's second term. On Polymarket, more than $8 billion was traded in April alone, compared to less than $1 billion last April, according to analytics firm The Block, which estimates that, together with Polymarket's main competitor, Kalshi, the prediction market industry recorded more than $24 billion in trades last month. It's a remarkable reversal of fortunes for Polymarket. Under a 2022 settlement hammered out with the regulators in Washington, Polymarket had to pay a $1.4 million fine and shutter its American business in the U.S. for operating as an unlicensed exchange. Two years later, FBI agents used a battering ram to break down the door of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan's Manhattan apartment as part of a probe into whether Polymarket was violating that settlement. Within months of Trump's second inauguration, those problems started getting smoothed out.
US asks Brazil's security attache to leave country By Reuters April 20, 20266:51 PM EDTUpdated 4 hours ago BRASILIA, April 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has asked ​Brazilian security attache Marcelo Ivo de Carvalho ‌to leave the United States, the U.S. Embassy in the South American country said on Monday. De ​Carvalho, who acts as a liaison ​with U.S. immigration enforcement, has been based ⁠in Miami. The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here. The move comes after ICE last ​week briefly detained Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem, who ​fled Brazil in September following his conviction for plotting a coup with ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, a political ​ally of Donald Trump. "No foreigner gets to ​game our immigration system to both circumvent formal extradition ‌requests ⁠and extend political witch hunts into U.S. territory," the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on X, adding "the relevant ​Brazilian official" ​was asked ⁠to depart. The message, which was reposted by the U.S. embassy in ​Brazil, did not name the official ​or ⁠explicitly mention Ramagem's case. The embassy later confirmed to Reuters it referred to de Carvalho. Brazil's ⁠foreign ​ministry and federal police ​did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
15. The postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone. The defanging of Germany was an overcorrection for which Europe is now paying a heavy price. A similar and highly theatrical commitment to Japanese pacifism will, if maintained, also threaten to shift the balance of power in Asia.
The present issue of the Jewish Political Studies Review is devoted to the history of Haj Amin al-Husseini and his long shadow. Recently, the issue of the Muftis historical responsibility became a subject of public controversy when, on October 20, 2015, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated in an address at the 37th Zionist Congress in Jerusalem that Haj Amin al-Husseini convinced Hitler to change his anti-Jewish policy from forced emigration to extermination. Netanyahu mistakenly argued that Husseini "was one of the leading architects of the Final Solution," but later retracted this statement.1 The contributor of our lead article, Jeffrey Herf, wrote that "it is important to note that authoritative historians of the decision-making sequence leading to the Holocaust found no such role for Husseini. The implication of their work is that, had he never arrived in Hitlers Berlin in 1941, the Holocaust would still have taken place.
His current book tour has fueled speculation that Booker is looking to run for president again. The title of his newest book, Stand, is a reference to his record-setting filibuster last year in the Senate, during which he addressed the Trump administration’s policies for 25 hours.
"What Hedgehog 2025 exposed was not a glitch. Ukraine has spent four years building a warfighting machine more agile than NATO’s legacy ecosystem. Ukraine now produces 4 million drones annually. Tellingly, in February 2026, two Ukrainian manufacturers were selected for the “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” initiative to help the Pentagon catch up. The fundamental differences in innovation, technology, and policy behind this gap should spur a recalibration of NATO’s views on Ukraine. The first key difference is Ukraine’s unit-level feedback loop. Ukraine has integrated drone production into units with soldiers using 3D printers, soldering irons, and even improvised explosives, allowing localized adaptation to operational needs. Ukraine now 3D prints fiber optic cable spools to mitigate Russian electronic warfare. As soldiers rotate off position, they provide feedback to engineers who immediately modify designs. This cycle cannot be replicated by NATO’s centralized procurement."
It is a remarkable turn of events for the one term Republican governor, whose estranged son, Jonah, now 19, intervened in the divorce case of Matt and his ex-wife, Glenna Bevin. The case is still pending while Jonah — who alleges his parents abandoned him at age 17 in a brutally abusive youth facility in Jamaica—seeks support. Jonah is one of four children from Ethiopia the Bevins adopted in 2012.
A Democrat running for Senate in Maine who previously apologized for a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol is now defending the design as nothing more than a skull-and-crossbones. Graham Platner, who hopes to run against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, was mired in scandal last year when it was revealed he has a tattoo on his chest resembling the Nazi 'Totenkopf' or 'death's head' symbol adopted by Hitler's SS. He has since had it altered to resemble some kind of animal. At first Platner apologized, saying he didn't realize the symbol was associated with Nazism, and promised he'd get it removed. But in an interview this week with news blog Zeteo, Platner pushed back, defending the tattoo as merely a 'skull-and-crossbones' and 'an eminently reasonable thing'. During the interview he also recommended the war movie Come and See, which prominently and repeatedly shows the similar 'Totenkopf' on Nazi uniforms. 'Everybody should watch Come and See,' he said. The fact that the 1985 film is one of his favorites may undermine his claims that he didn't know the association of the symbol with Nazis.
The records provide insight into the sort of data that Proton Mail, which prides itself both on its end-to-end encryption and that it is only governed by Swiss privacy law, can and does provide to third parties. In this case, the Proton Mail account was affiliated with the Defend the Atlanta Forest (DTAF) group and Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta, which authorities were investigating for their connection to arson, vandalism and doxing. Broadly, members were protesting the building of a large police training center next to the Intrenchment Creek Park in Atlanta, and actions also included camping in the forest and lawsuits. Charges against more than 60 people have since been dropped. Information the FBI received showed a specific person as the payment source for a particular Proton Mail account, the record shows. “On January 25, 2024, subscriber information received from the Swiss Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty Unit, revealed [full name] (SUBJECT) as the payment source for the Proton e-mail address defendtheatlantaforest@protonmail.com,” it reads. 404 Media is not publishing the person’s name because they don’t appear to have been charged with a crime, according to searches of court databases.
In addition, Cornacchia has suggested that the global war on terror was conducted “on behest of Israel” and claimed Israel would benefit if another 9/11-style attack were carried out during the tenure of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying it would help to drum up Islamophobic sentiment and lead to another foreign military entanglement in the Middle East. The Jewish state “got exactly who they wanted” in Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor whom the Israeli government has accused of antisemitism, he argued on his own show in November. “Thats their candidate, guys. You got to pay attention.”
Several of the migrants in the detention center who arrived there in January said they had felt pressured by the local authorities to return to their home countries or face indefinite detention in Cameroon, according to four people on the flight interviewed by The Times. "The state cannot prevent the public from knowing where they are keeping deportees who are not even citizens," said Mr. Fru, the lawyer supporting the deportees. "That goes to the whole idea of shady deals in the dark." Through deals forged with willing governments - often in exchange for cash — the United States has deported hundreds of people to countries that may not respect the removal protections they have been granted in U.S. courts, returning some of them to the dangers they fled.
Immigration Judge Tamar Wilson, sitting in Elizabeth, New Jersey, said she believes detention to be mandatory given the felony drug conviction. Alternatively, she agreed with Department of Homeland Security officials who said he remains a safety risk. “The fact he’s been a ‘model prisoner’ does not suggest that out in the general public he’s going to be safe,” Wilson said.
An article by right-wing news organization Breitbart published in January about the existence of an Islamic tribunal first sparked the rumors. In February, Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne took to Facebook to say she would look into the alleged "Sharia Court" and added: "Our nation cannot be so overly sensitive in defending other cultures that we stop protecting our own." From there the tale spread out of control.
In his final year at HKS, Hegseth wrote a policy brief that called for Minnesota to create a high school that would “emphasize equity” and enroll a “diverse student body.” Since taking the helm of the Department of Defense in 2025, Hegseth has adopted a remarkably different tenor, targeting mentions of diversity, equity, and inclusion in his department and beyond.
Zoom in: Shortly after Trump took office in January, Stone wrote three separate Substack posts calling for the pardon of Hernandez, who was indicted the day he left office in 2022 and extradited to the U.S. to face cocaine-trafficking and weapons charges. Stone cast Hernandez as a victim of leftist "lawfare" in Honduras and in President Biden's administration.
April 22nd I had no choice. I wasnt ready and she wasnt ready. My mother had found me and it was urgent. After so many bonding moments with Jeffrey, Ghislaine, their baby inside me with me in the middle she wouldnt even look at me. We said nothing to one another and I was so confused. When we arrived at Palm Beach I was taken to a house close to Jeffreys I think or St. But it was close and I was ALONE except for a new drive Not Juaro An elderly French lady whose pictures on the wall diolkINsi hetAkei She had a thick accent and was kind. Said she had been born to deliver babies and ha ( Similar as the last one with shot and (e een eso ean Blvd tr . before I was born. but tt much blood with so much water and unbearable pain. She put her hands inside of me and see 3/ 41 .... Ni ‘ ied. I didnt understand. Something about the b by facing wrong way and putting ... (next page)
Controlled ALL by Jeffrey! All the time! Get away from it all. And go to New Mexico? What in the hell? This makes no sense. What about school? Behind the scenes. He is now controlling EVERYTHING when it used to be Ghislaine who so hates me. Secrets of.. all of them. I am tired of keeping this secret. I am exhausted! I know people are wondering but I can't tell! Q Broken promises...I don't understate then we lay in bed together and He makes her feel my to Superior gene pool ?!? Wh and its s e? Why my hair color and eye color? That feels very Nazi like mind it makes sense. The piano and V o3/4. in cts like she c & 4 es no sense. N1 / g me on some days like Im the enemy but o be, warm. confusing. 'nk[ing] about these stupid insane theories he has I guess in his omments are made to convince me this is right and will create perfect offspring het I dont thinkirks that way and its making me hate playing altogether. Piano or viola. I am starting to resent them both. I miss the person I was before I was made into what feels as a human incubator.
A photo of a list of names: 1. Homer 2. Homer J. Simpson 3. Commander Cool (Me)
"Sources have also told MSNOW that Gregory Bovino, the Customs and Border Protection commander who is leading the surge of immigration officers in Minnesota, expressed frustration about the magistrate judge declining to approve arrest warrants. MSNOW asked Bovino about this report at a news conference he held Thursday; Bovino said he had not argued directly with any magistrate judges but acknowledged struggling to get some warrants approved. “We work very hard with Department of Justice, with the courts, to gather and obtain those warrants,” Bovino said, mentioning his teams work for “several days” to get a warrant for one person. “We worked through what we needed to do to get a warrant for this individual. And you know, we’re going to, we’re going to continue to work with judges and the courts to obtain these warrants with those judges.”
“They had daggers in their eyes”: Sean Hannity says he left NYC in part because he got dirty looks at restaurants.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner's behavior, questioning current and former employees about allegations of sexual harassment the Miami Herald unearthed last year, according to the newspaper. Why it matters: The probe underscores concerns around the mayor's behavior toward women at the SEC, where he works as an attorney in the Miami office. Catch up fast: In November, days before he was elected mayor, the Herald reported that three former female SEC employees — including two former interns — alleged Meiner had made unwelcome advances toward them while working together. Allegations included Meiner expressing his desire to get a "second apartment to carry on an affair" with a colleague, attempting to kiss a college-age intern, and texts and comments a colleague saw as inappropriate, the Herald reported. One woman reported his alleged conduct, which triggered an internal review in 2016. Meiner has denied the claims. The latest: According to the Herald, representatives from the federal agency's Office of Human Resource in Washington, D.C., have been speaking with current and former colleagues at the SEC about their working relationship with Meiner. The concerns about his behavior are not new and have been discussed for years, according to current and former employees the Herald spoke with. The bottom line: Meiner emphasized the importance of ethics, a crackdown on crime and independence from developers during his mayoral campaign last year. It's unclear when the inquiry into his behavior will conclude.
Moreover, as for stops of those individuals who are legally in the country, the questioning in those circumstances is typically brief, and those individuals may promptly go free after making clear to the immigration officers that they are U. S. citizens or otherwise legally in the United States.
paragraph from the linked article which states: "Matthew Ammel began work as a security detail for Sinema in April 2022, while she was still a senator, the lawsuit states. In the fall of 2023, Sinema’s head of security resigned, citing concerns about Sinema’s sexual relations with several members of her security detail, the lawsuit alleges. Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article314347105.html#storylink=cpy"
Dan Radcliffe in the movie "Guns Akimbo", holding up two pistols in the middle of the street while wearing a robe and grinning maniacally.
Quote from the linked article in the original post, which states: "In a tweet, FBI Portland said it was the lead agency investigating an "agent involved shooting" involving Border Patrol officers and that two people were wounded. They quickly deleted the tweet. The FBI later released a different statement, calling it an investigation into an assault on federal officers: "FBI Portland is investigating an assault on a federal officers that happened at approximately 2:15 p.m. near the 10000 block of Main St. in Portland involving two Customs and Border Patrol agents. The two assailants fled the scene immediately following the shooting and are currently being treated for their injuries. This remains an active and ongoing investigation led by the FBI. Please follow this thread for more information."
Quote from the last three paragraphs of the linked article, which states: "She said she felt as if the ICE agents were untrained, inexperienced and didn’t know what they were doing. Heller said the driver was being told to leave but also being instructed to stop at the same time, then the man "just fired" his gun. "They’re just out of their league, and they didn’t know how to handle the situation," Heller said. "They couldn’t let somebody give life support. It was just total chaos.” She said at times she was frightened watching the agents, some of whom were touching their guns. Heller thought in that moment, "oh ... I could die," she said."
Quote from the end of the linked article, which states: "Good had previously been married to Timmy Ray Macklin Jr., who died in 2023 at the age of 36. Macklin’s father, Timmy Ray Macklin Sr., was shocked to hear the news that Good had been shot and killed. He said Good and his son had a child who is now 6 years old. “There’s nobody else in his life,” Macklin Sr. said. “I’ll drive. I’ll fly. To come and get my grandchild.”
Screenshot quoting text from the linked article: "In other words, the caricatures themselves created the conflict. This is an ironic and tragic outcome: A situation where many people actually agree became polarized not because of deep-seated differences but because of how people imagined others feel."
Sustained federal support is uncertain as the Trump administration cuts programs related to climate change and disaster resilience. Trump in May proposed cutting $617 million from the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ tribal self-governance and communities programs but did not specify which programs. The Department of Interior said in an email that new grant funding is “under review as part of a broader effort to improve federal spending accountability,” but that the Bureau of Indian Affairs was “helping tribes lay the groundwork for future implementation when funding pathways are clarified.” Other federal money that could help Alaska villages has already been cut. Federal Emergency Management Agency awards to Newtok and Kwigillingok for projects related to relocation didn’t arrive before the administration in April halted billions of dollars in unpaid grants. Trump has also stopped approving state and tribal requests for hazard mitigation funding, a typical add-on that accompanies federal support after major disasters. Even the data that villages need to assess how climate change is affecting them are at risk. The Trump administration has removed information related to climate change from government websites and has fired scientists in charge of the nation’s congressionally mandated climate assessment reports.