Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Global Sting Operation Nets Nearly One-Thousand Drug Traffickers
The most important aspect of being a criminal? Being able to do your thing outside the purview of law enforcement. So something like an encrypted messaging app is perfect, right? Sure – except when you’re using an ‘encrypted messaging app’ that’s been created by cops. That’s what’s been going on since 2016 with ANOM, the FBI's encrypted device company. The FBI created the app, which was used by more than 300 criminal organizations in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and New Zealand. But now that the hammer has dropped courtesy of ‘Operation Trojan Shield?’ Law enforcement officials have not only arrested 800 at last check, but also, taken several tons of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana out of circulation. They’ve also seized about $48-million in different currencies.
2 Biden Presses On As Infrastructure Talks Collapse
Talks surrounding President Biden’s plans for our nation’s infrastructure were said to be going well, but they collapsed yesterday. Still, he’s pressing on and urging senators to continue efforts toward a bipartisan plan to fix the nation's infrastructure after his talks with Republicans broke down. Biden ended negotiations with the GOP after their latest offer fell short of his expectations. The White House says the President has spoken with a group of moderate senators and pushed them to develop a bipartisan infrastructure plan. Biden initially wanted over two-trillion-dollars in infrastructure spending, but through the negotiations he said he'd accept something closer to one-trillion. So what happens if this doesn’t work out? Reconciliation – not hugs, but rather the legislative process of passing legislation with a simple majority in the Senate. As you might recall, Democrats that to advance the $1.9-trillion Covid-19 relief law.
3 Officials Warn About Rise Of The ‘Delta Variant’
The coronavirus variant known as the ‘Delta variant’ is driving India’s devastating Covid-19 second wave - is the most infectious to emerge so far. And as the Biden Administration continues to press for more Americans to get vaccinated, they’re concerned about this variant spreading here. The concern, the national adult vaccination rate stands at more than 63-percent, but the pace of vaccinations has slowed down – so much that there’s a deep concern Biden’s target of getting 70% of people vaxxed by July 4th may not get met. On a related note, fewer Americans are wearing face masks to protect against getting or spreading the coronavirus. A new Gallup poll finds mask-wearing is down among all groups since the CDC relaxed its masking guidelines last month. The agency said people who are vaccinated can go without masks in most situations, including indoor settings.