Prepared for the Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Editorial Note: The DHS Daily Briefing is a collection of news articles related to Department’s mission. The inclusion of particular stories is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse the political viewpoints or affiliations included in news coverage.

The AP [7/1/2024 7:18 PM, Rebecca Santana, 36419K, Neutral] reports the United States is going to pay for flights and offer other help to Panama to remove migrants under an agreement signed Monday, as the Central American country’s new president has vowed to shut down the treacherous Darien Gap used by people traveling north to the United States. The memorandum of understanding was signed during an official visit headed by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to Panama for the inauguration Monday of José Raúl Mulino, the country’s new president. The deal is “designed to jointly reduce the number of migrants being cruelly smuggled through the Darien, usually en route to the United States,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. The efforts to send some migrants back to their homelands “will help deter irregular migration in the region and at our southern border, and halt the enrichment of malign smuggling networks that prey on vulnerable migrants,” she said. CBS News [7/1/2024 10:52 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 47221K, Neutral] reports that under the joint initiative, U.S. immigration officials will train and provide assistance to Panamanian authorities to help them carry out more deportations of migrants heading north. In recent years, Panama has reported record numbers of crossings along the roadless Darién jungle, including over half a million in 2023 alone. The Department of Homeland Security will be dispatching officials who have experience screening asylum claims and deporting migrants to Panama so they can assist their Panamanian counterparts on the ground. Using State Department funds, the U.S. will also help Panama build up its deportation infrastructure. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who attended the inauguration of Panama’s President-elect José Raúl Mulino on Monday, said the agreement is part of "a regional response" to migration. "As the United States continues to secure our borders and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain, we are grateful for our partnership with Panama to manage the historic levels of migration across the Western Hemisphere," Mayorkas said in a statement. VOA News [7/1/2024 11:12 PM, Staff, 4032K, Neutral] reports that the U.S. said more than 520,000 migrants passed through the Darien region last year. Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino, who took office Monday, pledged that migrants without legal status in Panama will not be permitted to pass through the country. “I won’t allow Panama to be an open path for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by an international organization related to drug trafficking and human trafficking,” Mulino said during his inauguration speech.

Reported similarly:
CNN [7/1/2024 7:51 PM, Abel Alvarado and Omar Fajardo, 22739K, Neutral]

AP [7/1/2024 4:51 PM, Juan Zamorano, 47701K, Neutral] reports José Raúl Mulino was sworn in Monday as Panama’s next president, facing pressure to slow irregular migration through the Darien Gap that connects his country with Colombia. The 65-year-old former security minister has promised to shut down migration through the jungle-clad and largely lawless border. More than half a million people traversed the corridor last year and more than 190,000 people have crossed so far in 2024, with most of the migrants hailing from Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and China. Last week on a visit to the Darien, Mulino announced he would seek an agreement with the United States government to aid in deporting migrants who crossed into Panama. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was among those who attended his inauguration. The U.S. role would largely be covering the cost of deportation flights. Panama’s Foreign Affairs Minister-designate Javier Martínez Acha said Sunday that the U.S. would help cover the costs, but that the amounts were not yet set. Strengthening enforcement efforts in Panama could potentially reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S. border, at least for a time until new routes are established. But it could also force migrants to riskier paths and be a boon for smugglers.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [7/1/2024 5:58 PM, Elida Moreno, 42991K, Neutral]

Indian Gaming [7/2/2024 5:00 AM, Staff, Negative] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has announced more than $18.2 million in Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program (TCGP) awards to assist tribal nations with managing and reducing systemic cyber risk and threats. These are the first-ever Tribal Cybersecurity Grants to be awarded. The grant program was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the more than 30 grant awards represent the largest number of awards ever provided by the Department to tribal nations in a single grant program. “For far too long, tribal nations have faced digital and cybersecurity threats without the resources necessary to build resilience,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The Department of Homeland Security’s first-ever Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program awards announced today – made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – will help tribes and tribal communities ensure they have the tools to assess risks, implement solutions, and increase cyber defenses.” Digital threats impacting American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are increasing and becoming more complex, and tribal sovereignty creates unique cybersecurity challenges for these communities who have been consistently underfunded and under-resourced. This program is another example of a unified approach across DHS. This FEMA-administered program leverages CISA’s capabilities to support grant recipients. “With these first-ever Tribal Cybersecurity Grants, we are not just addressing immediate needs, but also reinforcing the infrastructure that supports the sovereignty and resilience of tribal nations,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “This funding, benefiting the largest number of tribal recipients to build cybersecurity resilience in FEMA’s history, is a testament to our dedication to a safer, more secure future for all communities.”

ABC News [7/1/2024 3:19 PM, Luke Barr, 31180K, Positive] reports a helmet-mounted indoor visualization and navigation device that allows first responders to see through dark smoke could soon be available to fire departments around the country, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The Department’s Science and Technology Directorate is opening applications for fire departments around the country to apply for the technology developed by an Austin, Texas, startup Qwake Technologies. The technology was developed by Qwake along with the DHS through a 2020 contract to develop fire safety technology. The device is called C-THRU, according to the Department. "We know improved equipment and technology for first responders will help save lives and protect firefighters," said Dr. Dimitri Kusnezov, DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology. "Through collaborative partnerships with industry, S&T supports the development of devices like C-THRU that address challenges we know exist for first responders, and we’re leveraging emerging technology to meet their most urgent needs." There are 400 prototype devices available for fire departments to apply for.

AP [7/1/2024 9:19 AM, Elliot Spagat, 146K, Negative] reports Ana Ruiz was dismayed seeing migrants from some countries released in the United States with orders to appear in immigration court while she and other Mexicans were deported on a one-hour bus ride to the nearest border crossing. “They’re giving priority to other countries,” Ruiz, 35, said after a tearful phone call to family in Mexico’s southern state of Chiapas at the San Juan Bosco migrant shelter. The shelter’s director says it is receiving about 100 deportees a day, more than double what it saw before President Joe Biden issued an executive order that suspends asylum processing at the U.S.-Mexico border when arrests for illegal crossings reach 2,500 a day. The asylum halt, which took effect June 5 and has led to a 40% decline in arrests for illegal crossings, applies to all nationalities. But it falls hardest on those most susceptible to deportation — specifically, Mexicans and others Mexico agrees to take (Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans). Lack of money for charter flights, sour diplomatic ties and other operational challenges make it more difficult to deport people to many countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the U.S. is working with countries around the world to accept more of their deported citizens, citing challenges from diplomatic relations to speed producing travel documents. “The reality is that it is easier to remove individuals to certain countries than other countries,” he said in an interview Wednesday in Tucson, Arizona. “We do remove individuals to Senegal, we do remove individuals to Colombia, we do remove individuals to India. It can be more difficult.”

New York Times [7/2/2024 3:00 AM, Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 153395K, Neutral] reports New York City officials are significantly expanding a contentious program that distributes debit cards to migrant families staying in city-funded hotels, allowing them to buy their own food as the city tries to reduce the costs of caring for migrants. The debit cards are expected to be distributed to more than 7,300 migrants over the next six months at a cost of about $2.6 million, city officials said, building from a pilot program that began earlier this year with roughly 900 families, or nearly 3,000 migrants. The program drew fierce skepticism when it was proposed in February, largely over fears that the cards would be misused and concerns about whether migrants were being given preferential treatment over other people in need. Officials connected to the program said that fraud prevention measures had been successful, with the cards being used as intended to feed more than 1,300 children and 42 pregnant women during the program’s first 13 weeks. With more than 60,000 migrants currently in the city’s care, the program — which is expanding from three hotels to 17 — could serve about 1,230 people per month, or roughly 2 percent of the total migrant population.

Yahoo! News [7/1/2024 7:33 PM, Michelle De Pacina, 60154K, Negative] reports Nyah Mway was fatally shot by a police officer in Utica, New York, following a foot chase on Friday night. Police reportedly stopped Mway and another boy based on their resemblance to suspects in a recent armed robbery in the area. In body camera footage of the incident, Mway can be seen running away as officers prepared to search him for weapons, leading to a chase where he allegedly displayed a handgun, which was later determined to be a toy pellet gun. Officer Bryce Patterson can be seen catching up with Mway before tackling and punching him. After a struggle, Officer Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the Utica Police Department, opened fire at the boy. He was taken to Wynn Hospital, where he died of his injuries. The incident has sparked community outrage and prompted investigations by local and state authorities to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Three officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave with pay amid ongoing investigations. Nyah, who had just graduated from middle school, was the second of four children in a refugee family from Myanmar’s Karen ethnic group. They settled in the U.S. eight years ago after fleeing persecution and living in refugee camps. Mway’s family is now demanding justice and accountability, insisting that they will not be satisfied until the officers involved are prosecuted and jailed.

Federal News Network [7/1/2024 5:29 PM, Drew Friedman, 574K, Neutral] reports for two hot afternoons last week, hundreds of people waited outside in long lines to get through security and into the Dulles Expo Center. Over the course of a two-day recruitment event, more than 8,000 hopeful job candidates eventually made their way out of the summer heat and into the Department of Homeland Security’s much-anticipated career expo. Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Kristie Canegallo described the expo as a “one-stop shop” for department-wide career opportunities. DHS officials conducted more than 1,200 interviews and made over 440 tentative job offers during the two-day expo. The department expects to make even more job offers stemming from the expo in the coming days and weeks.

Reuters [7/1/2024 5:37 PM, Kanishka Singh, 42991K, Negative] reports a shooting on Friday in Crete, Nebraska, that wounded seven Guatemalan immigrants, including four children, may have been racially motivated, police said, adding that the suspect later killed himself. The suspect identified by police as Billy Booth opened fire from his house in Crete with a shotgun on Friday afternoon. Crete Police Chief Gary Young said there was a report in May that the suspect had told the victims to go back to where they came from and to "speak English." Anti-Latino hate crimes in the U.S. have gone up in recent years amid rhetoric surrounding immigration from Latin American countries. Such hate crimes increased by 2.8% from 2021 to 2022 and by 41% from 2020 to 2021, according to data shared with media by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. Researchers also say such data can be underreported because some immigrants are hesitant to approach police due to their immigration status. The seven people wounded in Friday’s shooting had non-life-threatening injuries and four were already released from the hospital over the weekend, police told reporters in a press briefing. The wounded children ranged from ages 3 to 10, while the wounded adults were ages 22 to 43. The victims were related and officials said around 15 people were at the home when the suspect fired from his house. Nebraska State Patrol said there was no verbal contact between the suspect and the victims in the moments leading up to the shooting.

Newsweek [7/1/2024 2:26 PM, Dan Gooding, 50452K, Neutral] reports that a bill which would have potentially forced migrants without legal status to leave Oklahoma as of Monday is on hold, as the federal government battles the state’s leadership. The new law – known as HB 4156 – makes it illegal to be in Oklahoma without legal immigration, under a crime called "impermissible occupation". Those found guilty could be jailed for up to a year, fined $500 and be required to leave the state within 72 hours. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in May, another followed from the American Civil Liberties Union and partners, and on Friday, U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones blocked the bill from going into effect, quoting a previous, similar case in Arizona. "Oklahoma ‘may have understandable frustrations with the problems caused by illegal immigration... but the State may not pursue policies that undermine federal law’," Jones said in his ruling. Noor Zafar, staff attorney for ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, told Newsweek Monday that HB 4156 left her clients in fear for their future.

Border Report [7/1/2024 1:55 PM, Julian Resendiz, 146K, Negative] reports that an alleged Sinaloa cartel “money man” will face American justice now that Mexico has extradited him to the United States. The Mexican Attorney General’s Office handed over to U.S. agents Sergio Miguel Vega Mendoza, alias “The Whip,” to face pending drug and conspiracy charges. The handoff took place late last week at the Mexico City International Airport. Between 2012 to 2015, Vega was “a high-ranking member of a criminal organization in charge of coordinating, supervising and transporting large quantities of drugs for distribution in the United States,” the AG’s Office said in a statement. Vega, 51, will face charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Mexican authorities arrested the man known as The Whip as he was about to board a Sinaloa-bound airplane at the Mexico City airport on July 1, 2019, the AG’s Office said. At the time of his arrest, Mexico characterized Vega as the chief financial operator for Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, one of the sons of jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera. El Chapo’s sons are collectively known at the “Chapitos,” or Little Chapos. On April 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a major fentanyl trafficking indictment against 28 members of the Sinaloa cartel including Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, his brothers and half-brothers.The U.S. government is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Guzman Salazar.

AP [7/2/2024 12:03 AM, Coral Murphy Marcos, 47701K, Negative] reports gang violence in Haiti has displaced more than 300,000 children since March, the U.N. children’s agency said Tuesday as the Caribbean country struggles to curb killings and kidnappings. Children are more than half of the nearly 580,000 people who have become homeless in the last four months. The spike in violence began in late February after a series of coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure eventually led Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign in April. “The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes is taking a devastating toll on children,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, said in a statement. “Displaced children are in desperate need of a safe and protective environment, and increased support and funding from the international community.” Gangs now control at least 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince and the key roads leading in and out of it, with more than 2,500 people killed or injured across the country in the first three months of the year, according to the U.N. Many children are living in makeshift shelters, including schools that are in poor hygienic conditions, placing them at risk of disease. School closures are also leading to a higher dropout rate. The agency said children in Haiti are being forced to join violent gangs to survive as they often lack access to food, health care, clean water and sanitation. Displaced children and teenagers in Haiti also face a higher risk of sexual assault, exploitation, abuse and family separation, according to UNICEF.

Bloomberg [7/1/2024 11:13 PM, Andreina Itriago Acosta, 1985K, Neutral] reports Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro said his government will resume talks this month with the Biden administration ahead of the July 28 presidential elections. Talks resuming next Wednesday aim at reaching new agreements to meet the conditions of a Qatar-brokered accord on electoral guarantees in exchange for sanctions relief, Maduro said Monday evening during his television show. The State Department and the White House’s National Security Council didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday night. Direct talks have been stalled since a secret meeting between the parties in Mexico in early April. The Venezuelan government said that during that last encounter it had pointed out the failure of the Biden administration to comply with a scheduled lifting of sanctions. The US later reinstated the sanctions as Maduro failed to comply with an electoral agreement sealed with the opposition. Maduro said that National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and Miranda state Governor Héctor Rodríguez will represent Venezuela during this new meeting. The dialogue will be “public,” he said, “to prevent speculation.”

CNN [7/1/2024 6:37 PM, Robert Lewin, 22739K, Neutral] reports that, in 2003, we were already days into an overwhelming Southern California fire siege when I was reassigned to the Grand Prix fire ripping through San Bernadino and Los Angeles counties. I was immediately deployed to direct the night operations on the branch where the wildfire was running west at a “critical” rate of spread under the hot and ferocious Santa Ana wind. As my L.A. County Fire partner and I were trying to get ahead of the flames, we drove up a narrow road into a canyon neighborhood above the endless sea of homes in the flat valley below. Appropriately called Live Oak Canyon, the neighborhood was tight with homes surrounded by native brush and oak trees — now threatened by fire in the hills above. When the residents went to bed that night, the fire was miles away and no threat. But now it was here, and they were struggling to understand their situation as they stood in the street in their night clothes gazing at the mesmerizing fire. Along with a few police officers, my partner and I told the residents they must evacuate now. But the small road out of the canyon rapidly became backed up with cars — a potentially deadly traffic jam. We got out to the intersection with a four-lane thoroughfare only to find that the evacuees were stopped by oncoming drivers who were unaware of the disaster unfolding in the canyon above. I saw a police officer nearby, ran out to him and clearly requested that he stop all traffic until the people evacuating the canyon could get out. Until that moment, he just didn’t know the extent of the emergency.

Newsweek [7/1/2024 4:46 PM, Dan Gooding, 50452K, Negative] reports U.S. authorities deported a Honduran woman who had been on the run since 2019 on a human trafficking charge. Dora Patricia Flores Canales was sent back to Honduras on Friday, after spending over seven months in ICE custody. Flores allegedly trafficked a vulnerable woman to Mexico five years ago, allowing her to be sexually exploited. She was detained in November 2023 after crossing into the U.S., with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) team in Harlingen, Texas, securing a final order of removal at the end of June. The allegations started in 2018, when Flores called the victim and offered her a job at a bar in Mexico. An arrest warrant for Flores was issued by Honduran authorities in 2019, for the crime of human trafficking. In November 2023, Flores arrived at the U.S. border at or near Eagle Pass, ICE said on Monday. She was arrested and detained the same day for arriving in the country without a visa. On Feb. 26, authorities in Honduras confirmed Flores was wanted on the human trafficking charge and she was eventually removed on Jun. 26. On Monday, ICE announced it had also arrested 11 known or suspected human rights violators as part of a nationwide operation between June 10 and 14.

CBS Austin [7/1/2024 4:02 PM, Ray Lewis, 897K, Negative] reports a New York City man was charged on Tuesday with helping defraud grandparents of tens of thousands of dollars. Victor Valdez conspired with call center operators in the Dominican Republic between 2020 and 2021 to collect cash from people who thought their grandchildren were in jail, according to federal prosecutors. Valdez faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 for wire fraud conspiracy. Reports of fraud by older people to the FBI’s online complaint center increased by 14% last year, the agency said. Scams targeting people at least 60 years old caused more than $3.4 billion in losses, with government impersonation schemes accounting for $180 million, according to the FBI. Many of the crimes go unreported, the agency added. “Fraudsters like this individual proved to be unethical by ruthlessly targeting the elderly in the name of greed,” Special Agent in Charge Francisco Burrola of Homeland Security Investigations Arizona said. “This case like many others, demonstrates the power of agencies working together to protect senior citizens from thieves like this defendant.”

Washington Examiner [7/1/2024 4:50 PM, Luke Gentile, 3607K, Negative] reports an illegal immigrant charged with raping a 15-year-old disabled girl in Massachusetts was released on $500 cash bail. Haitian national Cory Alvarez, 26, is accused of luring and assaulting the disabled teenager at a Comfort Inn in Rockland, Massachusetts, which has been used to house illegal immigrants, according to a report citing court documents. The incident was reported on March 13, and the alleged victim, who is also a Haitian national, pointed out Alvarez to Rockland Police Department officers, the report noted. Alvarez denied accusations of sexual misconduct, and documents from the Department of Children and Families reported no “physical injuries” sustained by the teenager. The prosecution had asked that Alvarez be detained pending trial or a bail of $25,000 be set following his March arrest, but a Massachusetts judge last week set a cash bail of $500, according to the report. Conditions issued by the judge include the wearing of a GPS monitoring device, confinement to a Brockton address, no contact with the alleged victim, check-ins, and the surrendering of travel documents. Alvarez has entered a plea of not guilty and is expected back in court on Aug. 13. In March, federal immigration authorities filed an order to detain Alvarez through the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office, but officials with the Plymouth Superior Court declined to honor the detainer, according to the report.

FOX News [7/1/2024 7:16 PM, Stepheny Price, 48215K, Negative] reports an MS-13 gang member wanted for murder in El Salvador was apprehended by New York City U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after entering the U.S. illegally as a gotaway, according to authorities. On June 20, NYC-based ICE deportation officers arrested 27-year-old Melvin Orlando Hernandez Villanueva. According to authorities, Hernandez Villanueva is a Salvadoran MS-13 gang member with an Interpol Red Notice for two counts of aggravated homicide in El Salvador. He was arrested in Queens and had marijuana and a loaded handgun on him, authorities said. Officials said he illegally entered the U.S. at an unknown time and location. "This violent criminal and MS-13 gang member erroneously thought he could escape murder charges in El Salvador by sneaking into the United States and hiding out in New York City," said ERO New York City Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo. "We will apprehend these international fugitives and repatriate them to their countries of origin to face justice. I am grateful for the courageous efforts and outstanding teamwork between my officers and our law enforcement partners for safely removing this dangerous individual from the community."

Reported similarly:
CBS Austin [7/1/2024 2:33 PM, Jackson Walker, 897K, Negative]

Minnesota Public Radio [7/1/2024 2:00 PM, Staff, 38K, Positive] reports that wedding bells were ringing last week in Minneapolis for Erik and Ivan Beda. The couple remarried at The Bell of Two Friends sculpture at Nicollet Island on Tuesday. It marked the end of an eventful Pride month for the two. On June 1, just minutes after midnight, Ivan Beda landed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Ivan Beda walked through the doors into baggage claim and Erik Beda came running for an embrace, which lasted two minutes. They had been separated for two-and-a-half months after Ivan Beda was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while Erik Beda was released. The couple was forced by the Russian government to get a divorce in 2023 when Erik physically transitioned from female to male. So, when they got to the U.S.-Mexico border in March, they were processed as individual cases. After they were reunited, their next step was getting remarried. Before even leaving the airport, Erik and Ivan were already planning their nuptials, with a goal of getting legally married again before Twin Cities Pride at the end of June. A group of airport volunteers who helped Erik Beda when he landed alone at MSP airport back in March came to welcome Ivan, with mini Minnesota flags in hand. “I’ve never had this many people greet me at the airport,” Ivan Beda exclaimed. John Pundsack was one of those gathered to greet Ivan Beda. Pundsack and his husband Joe Briol were Erik Beda’s first lifeline. “I think as much as we were overwhelmed with learning the immigration process, the shelter, food, everything. We are also overwhelmed with the generosity,” said Pundsack. Pundsack and Briol took Erik Beda under their wing, helping him find a place to stay and buying clothing. But they didn’t do it alone. Friends and neighbors stepped in where they could. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s office was in contact with ICE to help secure Ivan Beda’s release. OutFront Minnesota paid for housing and groceries for Erik Beda. And hundreds of people raised more than $17,000 in a GoFundMe. On Monday, the Bedas moved into housing provided by a local church until they get a work permit.

Border Report [7/2/2024 4:34 AM, Julian Resendiz, 146K, Negative] reports U.S. authorities have deported to Honduras a woman accused of recruiting under false premises females in that Central American country to work at a bar in Mexico whose owner expected them to prostitute themselves. In June 26, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations agents in Harlingen, Texas, flew Dora Patricia Flores Canales back to Honduras for entering the United States illegally and being a fugitive from justice in another country. Flores entered the U.S. illegally last November near Eagle Pass, Texas. She was apprehended by Border Patrol agents and remained in custody until Feb. 8, when ICE had her transferred to San Antonio, then to a processing center in Laredo, Texas. It was in Laredo that ICE confirmed Flores had a pending arrest warrant in Honduras for aggravated human trafficking, the agency said. According to the Office of the Public Ministry in Tegucigalpa, Honduran authorities have been looking for Flores since 2019. That’s when one of her alleged victims turned herself over to immigration authorities in Mexico and said she would rather be deported than continue to be sexually exploited, the ministry said in a statement this week. Flores allegedly told the victim she would cover travel expenses for a high-paying job in Mexico. However, the travel involved sneaking into Mexico and the job was at a bar called Pantera Rosa (Pink Panther) in the state of Chiapas. The state borders Guatemala and in the past few years has become a crossing point for millions of people from all over the world on their way to the United States.

AP [7/2/2024 4:46 AM, Staff, 47701K, Positive] reports the I-956F approval is an important milestone in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, as it provides a pathway for foreign investors to obtain U.S. permanent residency through investment in USCIS approved projects. This approval signifies that the Four Seasons Surf Club Residences EB-5 project meets the rigorous standards set by USCIS under the program. The Four Seasons Surf Club Residences EB-5 Project is designed to attract investments from up to 165 investors and is expected to generate approximately 7,000 jobs in total. Located in a designated Urban Targeted Employment Area (TEA), the deavelopment project consists of 53 exclusive residential units across three towers in one of Miami’s most sought-after locations. The first residential tower is scheduled to commence delivery of units to residents in Q3 2024. “We are thrilled to receive I-956F approval for this exceptional project in partnership with EB5 Southeast Regional Center.” said Wonjoon Kang, CEO of Bether Capital. “This achievement underscores our commitment to securing U.S. green cards for investors and ensuring the safety of their investments, supported by our extensive experience in the EB-5 industry.”

CBS News [7/1/2024 9:58 AM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 47221K, Negative]
Illegal crossings along the U.S. southern border fell to a 3-year low in June following President Biden’s drastic move to curtail asylum and continued efforts by Mexico to stop migrants heading north, according to preliminary Customs and Border Protection data obtained by CBS News. Border Patrol processed approximately 84,000 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization in June, the lowest monthly level since Mr. Biden took office in January 2021, when the agency reported just over 75,000 migrant apprehensions, the internal statistics show. June’s migrant apprehension tally was also the fourth consecutive monthly drop, continuing an unexpected downward trend in illegal border crossings that started in the early spring. Border Patrol agents recorded 118,000 migrant apprehensions in May; 129,000 in April; 137,000 in March; and 141,000 in February, according to public government figures. Migrant crossings dropped across border regions, including in remote and rugged stretches of Arizona and California that had become the busiest sectors for illegal entries. The marked reduction in migration comes weeks after Mr. Biden invoked a presidential power frequently cited by the Trump administration to ban most migrants from asylum if they crossed into the U.S. between official border crossings, known as ports of entry. The asylum crackdown - which includes exemptions for unaccompanied children and those who wait in Mexico for a chance to be processed at a port of entry - has allowed U.S. immigration officials to more quickly deport larger numbers of migrants, mainly those from Mexico and other countries in Latin America. The sustained decrease in unauthorized border entries has also occurred against the backdrop of a months-long campaign by Mexican officials to slow U.S.-bound migration by carrying out more deportations to southern Mexico and preventing migrants from boarding trains and buses. The aggressive operation began after a meeting between top American and Mexican officials in December, when migrant apprehensions at the U.S. border reached a quarter of a million, a record. Beyond U.S. and Mexican policies, other factors also influence migrant migration, including weather patterns and tactics by smugglers, who control the movement of migrants in many parts of Mexico. Temperatures along the U.S. border, for example, have increased rapidly and are expected to continue climbing further into the summer. Senior U.S. officials told CBS News the partial asylum ban is the main driving force behind the steep decline in crossings. One official noted the drop has been more acute since the crackdown was announced on June 4.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [7/1/2024 12:30 PM, Julia Ainsley, 48440K, Negative]
Newsweek [7/1/2024 4:50 PM, Billal Rahman, 50452K, Negative]
Washington Examiner [7/1/2024 5:45 PM, Anna Giaritelli, 3607K, Negative]
Univision [7/1/2024 6:06 PM, Staff, 12612K, Negative]

(B) Good Morning America [7/1/2024 8:57 AM, Staff] reports that officials at the Swanton sector of the US-Canadian border say more than 12,000 people from 85 different countries have been apprehended at the northern border since last October. According to US Customs and Border Protection, 2,900 people were apprehended in May, more than double the number apprehended in 2021 and 2022 combined.

VOA News [7/1/2024 9:33 AM, Angelina Bagdasaryan, 4032K, Negative] reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says illegal wildlife trafficking generates about 23 billion dollars a year. Angelina Bagdasaryan has more on a new exhibit that opened in Los Angeles trying to shed some light on the practice, in this story narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian [Editorial note: consult video at source link].

San Francisco Chronicle [7/1/2024 12:25 PM, Lisa Rathke, 4705K, Negative] reports that a woman from China has been arrested at a Vermont lake bordering Quebec for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak, according to Border Patrol agents. Wan Yee Ng was arrested on the morning of June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan as she was about to get into an inflatable kayak with a duffle bag on Lake Wallace, according to an agent’s affidavit filed in federal court. Agents had been notified by Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including a man who was believed to be her husband, had started to paddle an inflatable watercraft from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States, according to an agent’s affidavit. The agents searched her heavy duffle bag and found 29 live eastern box turtles individually wrapped in socks, the affidavit states. Eastern box turtles are known to be sold on the Chinese black market for $1,000 each, according to the affidavit. Article continues below this ad. Ng is charged with attempting to export the turtles from the U.S., in violation of the Endangered Species Act. A federal judge on Friday ordered that she remain detained. The federal public defender’s office, which is representing her, declined to comment. Border Patrol agents first spotted Ng at the Airbnb rental in May when they noticed a vehicle with Ontario plates traveling on a Vermont road in Canaan in an area used by smugglers, they said. Lake Wallace has been used for human and narcotic smuggling, the affidavit states. The vehicle had entered the U.S. in Alburgh, Vermont, agents said. Ng was admitted to the United States in May on a visitor visa with an intended destination of Fort Lee, New Jersey, the affidavit states. Border Patrol agents learned on June 18 that she had again entered the U.S. in Buffalo in a vehicle with a Quebec plate and was expected to arrive at the same Airbnb on Lake Wallace in Vermont on June 25, the affidavit states.

Yahoo! News [7/1/2024 6:50 PM, Greg LaRose, 60154K, Neutral] reports Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry shakes hands with a Louisiana National Guard member during a May 10, 2024, trip to the Texas-Mexico border. (Governor’s Office photo) Engineers with the Louisiana National Guard will deploy in Texas to assist with border security through mid-November, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Monday. Their assignment extends Louisiana’s commitment of 150 personnel from its state militia for Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to enforce immigration law, which is the federal government’s responsibility. Landry said the additional time Guard members will spend in Texas will not create an additional cost to taxpayers. State lawmakers approved $3 million for Operation Lone Star earlier this year, and there is $800,000 from that allocation, according to the governor’s office. “As the Biden Administration repeatedly ignores the crisis on our southern border, the Louisiana National Guard continues to step up and assist our neighbors in Texas as they work to protect our citizens and secure our country’s border,” Landry said in a statement from his office. “I am grateful to the Louisiana National Guard for their hard work defending and securing our nation’s border.”

Yahoo! News [7/2/2024 2:53 AM, Daniel Borunda, 60154K, Negative] reports U.S. Border Patrol agents on Monday found four bodies in the desert surrounding Sunland Park, New Mexico, among about 20 lives lost in the area in just over a month. As day-after-day of 100-degree heat continues to blanket the Borderland, deaths in the desert are being discovered every few days in the border migrant smuggling zone in New Mexico, just west of El Paso. The Sunland Park Fire Department said via a post on the X platform that the bodies found on Monday afternoon were located in the desert between the 5600 block of McNutt Road and Bi-National Avenue, which is near the Santa Teresa border crossing on the U.S.-Mexico border. The deaths are under investigation by the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the Sunland Park Police Department and the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. The identities of the deceased have not been disclosed, but it is likely they were undocumented migrants, who have been known to perish due to heat stroke after getting disoriented and lost in the desert after crossing the border wall.

AP [7/1/2024 8:32 AM, Staff, 47701K, Positive] reports that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today the expansion of its TSA PreCheck program with the addition of Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, Ethiopian Airlines and Saudia. Nearly 100 airlines now participate in the program.

The AP [7/1/2024 7:36 PM, Isabella Volmert, 47701K, Negative] reports Indiana Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz has been charged with bringing a firearm through airport security, authorities said Monday. Spartz, 45, was charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor under Virginia law, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said Monday. A TSA spokesperson said officers detected an unloaded .380-caliber firearm in Spartz’s carry-on during passenger security screening on Friday at Washington Dulles International Airport. Her office said in a statement that Spartz mistakenly carried an unloaded handgun in the pocket of her suitcase while going through security on her way to a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly in Europe. “Rep. Spartz was issued a citation and proceeded on her international flight,” the statement said. TSA allows passengers to travel with a firearm but it must be declared with the airline and packed in a hard-sided case in the passenger’s checked baggage. Firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints.’ The Washington Post [7/1/2024 6:19 PM, Jenny Gathright, 54755K, Neutral] reports that Transportation Security Administration officers reported finding an unloaded .380-caliber handgun in a passenger’s carry-on bag during a security screening at the airport on Friday, a spokesman said. On Monday, a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokeswoman confirmed that Spartz, of Noblesville, Ind., was the person charged in the incident. The spokeswoman said Spartz was issued a summons to appear in Loudoun County court, but she declined to share more information about the arrest and the charge, citing department policy.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [7/1/2024 6:38 PM, Caitlin Yilek, 47221K, Neutral]

Reuters [7/2/2024 5:02 AM, Timothy Gardner, 42991K, Negative] reports the administration of President Joe Biden took steps on Tuesday to protect workers and communities from the deadly effects of extreme heat including proposing the first-ever rule on the matter from the Department of Labor. On June 20, before the beginning of the U.S. summer, nearly 100 million Americans were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings. New York City opened emergency cooling centers, while New Mexico suffered deadly wildfires. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing a rule to protect workers, that if finalized, would be the first-ever U.S. safety standard on the matter. It includes requirements for identifying heat hazards, emergency response plans, training for supervisors, and work standards, including breaks, access to shade and water, and heat acclimatization for new employees. Farm worker groups had called on the administration to issue heat standards, as agricultural workers are often exposed to high temperatures and can have inconsistent access to shade, water, and breaks. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is announcing nearly $1 billion dollars in awards for nearly 660 projects to help communities protect against disasters and natural hazards, including extreme heat, storms, and flooding. A White House fact sheet said Biden would receive a briefing on Tuesday on extreme weather forecasts for the summer. The White House will hold this summer a summit on extreme heat.

NPR [7/1/2024 11:23 PM, Bill Chappell, 13K, Neutral] reports Hurricane Beryl upgraded to a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm late Monday night, the National Hurricane Center said, as it crossed islands in the southeastern Caribbean. Beryl’s winds increased to 160 mph on the Saffir-Sampson wind scale late Monday, the hurricane center said. The storm was about 510 miles east-southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 22 mph. "Fluctuations in strength are likely during the next day or so, but Beryl is expected to still be near major hurricane intensity as its moves into the central Caribbean and passes near Jamaica on Wednesday," the NHC said. A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica. Earlier Monday, the eye of Beryl "made landfall on Carriacou Island" as it brought 150 mph winds and a dangerous storm surge to islands on the eastern edge of the Caribbean, the NHC said. The storm hit the island after another round of rapid strengthening. "This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Take action now to protect your life!" the center said ahead of Monday’s landfall. "Residents in the Grenadine Islands and Carriacou Island should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the eyewall of Beryl." The Category 4 storm has been moving at 20 mph. Its center passed well south of Barbados, but Beryl still hammered the island with winds that gusted up to 70 mph. As of 2 p.m. ET, the government of Barbados has discontinued its hurricane warning for the island. Warnings remain in place for St. Vincent, the Grenadine Islands and Grenada. A less urgent hurricane watch — meaning hurricane conditions are possible, though not explicitly expected — is in place for Jamaica. Beryl has put up some eye-popping numbers in recent days, with warm ocean water allowing it to quickly gain strength after becoming a tropical depression on Friday. When it blossomed into a Category 4 storm on Sunday, it became the first Atlantic hurricane on record to attain that status in June.The New York Times [7/2/2024 4:09 AM, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, 153395K, Neutral] reports that major Atlantic hurricanes have maximum sustained winds of 111 m.p.h. or higher on a five-tier scale that was developed in the 1970s. By Tuesday morning, Beryl had sustained winds near 165 m.p.h., the National Hurricane Center said. No Atlantic storm has ever grown to Category 5 strength this early in the season, according to Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University meteorologist who specializes in tropical cyclones. Beryl roared across several Caribbean islands on Monday, and two deaths were later reported in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. One death was reported in Grenada’s capital, St. George’s, after a tree fell on a house. “This hits home,” Mr. Mitchell said. “The deceased person is in fact the relative of one of the persons who spent the last 36 hours with us here at the National Emergency Operating Center.” VOA News [7/2/2024 1:47 AM, Staff, 4032K, Negative] reports that the NHC is predicting that Beryl will reach Jamaica by Wednesday, where it will produce between 10 to 20 centimeters of rain in portions of the island, with localized totals up to 30 centimeters, which may trigger flash flooding in vulnerable areas. A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica, while the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which share the island of Hispaniola, is under a tropical storm warning. Forecasters say portions of Hispaniola could be hit with 5 to 15 centimeters of rainfall from the outer bands of Beryl. Hurricane Beryl made landfall across the Windward Islands Monday as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 241 kilometers an hour, striking first on Grenada’s Carriacou island. Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said late Monday night that Carriacou had been “flattened” within a half-hour of landfall, while there were also initial reports of destruction on the nearby island of Petite Martinique.

Reported similarly:
AP [7/1/2024 9:29 AM, Dánica Coto, 16541K, Neutral]
Reuters [7/1/2024 9:12 AM, Staff, 42991K, Negative]
ABC News [7/1/2024 5:47 PM, Julia Jacobo, 31180K, Neutral]
ABC News [7/1/2024 6:20 AM, Kenton Gewecke, 31180K, Negative] Video: HERE

Bloomberg [7/1/2024 12:06 PM, Brian K. Sullivan, 27296K, Negative] reports record-breaking Hurricane Beryl came ashore on Carriacou Island with house-wrecking winds as it keeps growing stronger, plowing through the Caribbean with the threat of $1 billion in damages. Beryl’s winds reached 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour as it came ashore at 11:10 a.m. New York time on Carriacou, the second largest of Grenada’s islands, the US National Hurricane Center said. A Category 4 hurricane, Beryl is just 7 mph below the threshold for becoming a Category 5 storm at the top of the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. “Residents in Grenada, the Grenadine Islands and Carriacou Island should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the eyewall of Beryl,” Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the center, wrote in a forecast. “Remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions and do not venture out in the eye of the storm.” The storm rapidly intensified from a tropical depression Friday to a major Category 4 hurricane Sunday night before temporarily losing some power as it spun toward the Windward Islands. Beryl, a looming humanitarian disaster, became the earliest Category 4 storm in the Atlantic, said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane forecaster at AccuWeather Inc. “It is exceptionally rare,” DaSilva said. “There has never been a Category 4 anywhere in the Atlantic in the month of June.”

ABC News [7/2/2024 12:17 AM, Daniel Peck, 31180K, Neutral] reports that, after Hurricane Beryl strengthened to a Category 5 while over the ocean, a Hurricane warning is now in effect for Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Beryl is expected to produce rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches across portions of Jamaica on Wednesday, with isolated amounts of up to 12 inches possible. This could trigger flash flooding in vulnerable areas. The outer bands of Beryl could impact southern portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti beginning late Tuesday into Wednesday, potentially causing 2 to 6 inches of rain in these areas. Sea surface temperatures in the eastern Caribbean Sea, where Beryl is currently located, are running warmer than average for this time of the year, more in line with where they would be at the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season rather than early July. This is providing ample fuel for Beryl’s extreme intensification. The latest forecast calls for little change in strength overnight, with a gradual weakening trend commencing on Tuesday as the storm sweeps west-northwestward across the Caribbean Sea.

New York Times [7/2/2024 2:58 AM, Judson Jones, 153395K, Neutral] reports Hurricane Beryl rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in two days as it rushed toward the Caribbean this weekend, increasing its wind speed by 45 miles per hour daily. (It later grew to Category 5 strength.) This quick escalation was a direct result of the above-average sea surface temperatures as well as a harbinger of what is to come this hurricane season. “This early-season storm activity is breaking records that were set in 1933 and 2005, two of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record,” said Philip Klotzbach, an expert in seasonal hurricane forecasts at Colorado State University. Last fall, a study in the journal Scientific Reports found that Atlantic hurricanes from 2001 to 2020 were twice as likely to grow from a weak storm into a hurricane of Category 3 or higher within 24 hours than they were from 1971 to 1990. The study added to a growing body of evidence that rapidly developing major hurricanes were becoming more likely. Andra Garner, an assistant professor of environmental science at Rowan University in New Jersey and the author of the paper, called the findings an “urgent warning.” A hurricane that intensifies faster can be more dangerous, as it allows less time for people in areas projected to be affected to prepare and evacuate. Late last October, Hurricane Otis moved up by multiple categories in just one day before slamming into Acapulco, Mexico, as a Category 5 hurricane that killed at least 52 people. It is no surprise to meteorologists that Beryl was able to strengthen so quickly and behave more like a peak-season storm. Hurricanes suck up warm ocean water and use it as fuel. In an optimal weather environment like this past weekend’s, the ample heat energy rapidly increases the storm’s intensity. Abundantly warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean have been a concern since last season’s overly active year. On Friday, Beryl formed around ocean temperatures that were warmer than they were this time last year, and are more akin to what they typically would be during the peak of hurricane season, in September. Normally, early-season activity is limited in this portion of the Atlantic because those ocean temperatures are relatively cool. But now they are hot. That helped Beryl strengthen into the earliest Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic, and the first to have such strength in June, according to Dr. Klotzbach. Previously, Hurricane Dennis held the record for the earliest Category 4 hurricane, forming on July 8, 2005. Because of the ocean’s heat, Beryl formed farther east in the Atlantic than any storm has in the month of June, breaking a record set by an unnamed storm formed east of the Caribbean on June 24, 1933. The warm ocean temperature is one of the main reasons experts have been predicting an extremely active hurricane season this year. It is also why forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who predict there will be 8 to 13 hurricanes this season, believe about half of those will reach major hurricane status, as Beryl did this weekend.

Vermont Public [7/1/2024 5:00 AM, Peter Hirschfeld, 354K, Neutral] reports that, when the Dog River began seeping into Anne Ward’s home in Berlin on the morning of July 10, 2023, the single mother loaded up her young children in a van and headed to Mosaic, a sexual violence response and prevention agency in Barre City where Ward serves as executive director. “That was our disaster plan,” she told Vermont Public. But Mosaic was underwater too at that point, and so the family waded to the second floor of the building to shelter in place until the water receded. When three Federal Emergency Management Agency staffers showed up at Mosaic two days after the flood, Ward felt a surge of relief. She and her kids had been living without basic supplies at the nonprofit ever since they evacuated their home. “We were dirty. We didn’t have clean water. We didn’t have hot water. We were in the middle of a disaster … and I was really happy to see them and start that process,” she told Vermont Public. Her excitement was fleeting. Ward said it was shockingly difficult to get any guidance on how to apply for assistance for her small organization. “It took weeks and weeks of me going to basically every single FEMA location that I could get to, to talk to different people and start the process of understanding what the next steps would be for Mosaic,” she said.

Yahoo! News [7/2/2024 1:59 AM, Chaya Tong, 60154K, Neutral] reports the Madison County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved launching a long-term disaster recovery committee in their monthly meeting on Monday. The new committee, composed of local citizens, businesses and faith-based groups, would step in to help families recover from disasters. Meredith Lee from The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency presented to the board, asking them to approve the project and nominate two people from each district to serve on the committee. “We never know when a natural disaster is going to happen, and when it happens, there’s so many people who are uninsured or have no insurance,” Lee said. The agency has set up 45 long-term disaster recovery committees in the state so far. The long-term disaster recovery committee would intervene only if disasters are not declared by The Federal Emergency Management Agency. Though the legislature approved up to $250,000 for non-declared disasters for building materials, the county would still need people to help rebuild homes. Besides providing a room for the long-term recovery committee meetings, there would be no cost to Madison county. "We have more non-declared disasters than we do anything," Lee said. "If it’s not declared, [citizens] are left to try and figure out how they are going to get help, and then you get citizens that either lose their homes or have to move out of this county."

Akron Beacon Journal [7/1/2024 3:42 PM, Chad Murphy, Negative] reports 2024 is now the worst year in Ohio history for tornadoes. The Buckeye State’s 63rd tornado of the year touched down on Saturday in the City of Willard in Huron County, about 26 miles northwest of Mansfield, the National Weather Service confirmed Monday. That twister broke the state’s previous record of 62, set in 1992. According to the NWS, the EF0 tornado was on the ground for about a minute, with peak wind speeds of 80 mph, and cut a path about two-tenths of a mile long and 25 yards wide at its maximum. As weather patterns transitioned from winter to spring, Peloquin said the jet stream—the air currents flowing from west to east high in the atmosphere that steer weather systems—lined up just right to direct multiple strong systems through the Ohio Valley.

Yahoo! News [7/1/2024 1:28 PM, Brandi D. Addison, 60154K, Neutral] reports that with half of 2024 still remaining, the United States has already surpassed the average yearly tornado count, while Texas has fallen just short of its annual average. In a stronger than normal tornado season, the U.S. had recorded 1,282 tornadoes through the end of June, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center. Since 2013, the nation has seen between 886 and 1,517 tornadoes each year, averaging 1,194 annually over a 10-year span. Texas also has recorded high numbers in 2024, with 124 tornadoes in the first half of the year. Historically, the state averages 137 tornadoes each year, according to the National Weather Service. This year, Texas has been at the front end of several tornado outbreaks. During the last weekend of April, the local National Weather Service office identified 14 tornadoes within a 24-hour span in Central and East Texas. None resulted in injury or death, although the same outbreak had formed several deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma and Iowa. Additionally, a series of tornadoes formed over Memorial Day weekend in North Texas, claiming at least seven lives and injuring more than 100 in Valley View.

New York Times [7/1/2024 12:46 PM, Austyn Gaffney, 153395K, Negative] reports that after two weeks of wildfires, a deluge in New Mexico caused severe flash flooding and debris flows near Ruidoso over the weekend. Dark floodwaters, blackened with soot and ash from the South Fork and Salt fires, rushed down mountain canyons and into town, turning Highway 70 into a river and pushing over a fuel tanker, according to videos posted to social media. Homes and business suffered damage, and emergency services reported 77 water rescues. “It’s going to be a long road to recovery,” said Kerry Gladden, a public information officer for the Village of Ruidoso. Monsoon season typically starts around July 4, and this year, it coincided with two weeks of wildfires, vastly increasing flood risks. “This is going to continue to happen each time we get a heavy rainfall,” Ms. Gladden said. While the South Fork and Salt fires killed two people and burned more than 25,000 acres last month, the burn scars left behind could put residents at even greater risk than the wildfires themselves. On Saturday afternoon, Brittany Smith, 34, was helping her parents move back into their cabin after officials announced the wildfires were contained. Then their phones suddenly lit up with a new emergency alert: a flash flood warning and urgent evacuation order. That afternoon, a six-and-a-half-foot wall of dark water rushed through their neighborhood in Upper Canyon, a gorge with steep slopes. On Sunday, as the family tried to return, the Village of Ruidoso initiated a third evacuation warning: “Go now!” the order said. Three factors increase the likelihood and danger of a post-fire flooding and debris flow: how severely the soil is burned, how intense the rainfall is and the steepness of the landscape. The canopy of trees and vegetation on the forest floor would normally act like a sponge, intercepting rainfall. That’s especially important during the intense monsoons that happen during Southwestern summers. However, that sponge effect is destroyed by super hot fires. When the rains come, the dead soil moves quickly, which destabilizes steep slopes. The effect can last for years. “The fact that over the last several decades there’s been an increase in fire severity,” said Luke McGuire, an associate professor in geomorphology at the University of Arizona, “that’s driving an increase in these post-fire hazards.”

AP [7/1/2024 10:57 PM, Staff, 31180K, Neutral] reports weather forecasters warned Monday that much of New Mexico faces two more days of elevated threats of dangerous flooding like the walls of water over the weekend that caused severe damage, forced the rescues of 100 people and left parts of one town recently ravaged by wildfires covered in mud and debris. The body of one person was recovered from the Rio Grande in Albuquerque on Sunday, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the death was flood related, according to Albuquerque Fire Rescue and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue. The death remained under investigation and no other details had been released. Most of central New Mexico remained under a flood watch into Tuesday, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Vegas and Ruidoso. “Very few parts of the state have been immune from the impacts,” said Daniel Porter, the senior meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque. “Unfortunately the threat is most likely to continue to be really elevated for the next couple of days, at least through Wednesday,” he told reporters during a briefing Monday. The threat should briefly subside on Thursday for the Fourth of July, but begin to ramp up again by the weekend, Porter said.

AP [7/1/2024 6:37 PM, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, 92K, Neutral] reports that nearly a year after wind-whipped flames raced through Kim Ball’s Hawaii community, the empty lot where his house once stood is a symbol of some of the progress being made toward rebuilding after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. “Welcome to our neighborhood,” Ball said Wednesday as he greeted a van full of Hawaii reporters invited by Maui County officials to tour certain fire-ravaged sites. Already there are signs of change since the fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and killed 102 people in Lahaina. The gravel covering lots on his street in Lahaina indicate which properties have been cleared of debris and toxic ash in the months since the Aug. 8, 2023, blaze. On the lots along Komo Mai Street, there are pockets of green poking up through still visible charred vegetation. Even though it’s been nearly a year, rebuilding Lahaina will be long and complicated. It’s unclear when people displaced by the fire will be able to move back and whether they’ll be able to afford to do so. The county has approved 23 residential building permits so far and 70 are under review, officials said. “We’re not focused on the speed — we’re focused on the safety,” Bissen said. Other stops of the tour included debris removal at a former outlet mall that had been a popular shopping destination for both tourists and locals, and a beloved, giant 151-year-old banyan tree, now drastically greener with new growth thanks to the preservation efforts of arborists.

WPVI Philadelphia [7/1/2024 10:29 PM, Leland Pinder, 3255K, Neutral, Secondary] reports West Chester police are investigating after counterfeit bills were passed at a CVS pharmacy in East Bradford Township, Chester County over the weekend. It happened around 8 p.m. Sunday when police responded to the store on Miles Road. According to police, suspects walked in with the fake cash in exchange for a deposit on their Cash App. "They have the app on their phone, pharmacy scans the barcode to their Cash App, it registers how much they want -- $100, $200 whatever. You pay the cashier $200, and once the transaction is complete, it goes on your app," said West Chester Police Public Information Officer Dave March. Investigators released surveillance images of the suspects on Monday, hoping that the public can help them identify the men caught on camera. Authorities are also looking into whether this incident may be connected to a counterfeit bills case in Kennett Square. Police there say on May 30, at approximately 9:15 p.m., two men passed a fake $100 bill at the Star Gas & Diesel on Cypress Street. Authorities said the store owner reported seeing the men in that case a few weeks before, but recognized the scheme and confiscated the bill in the first instance. Kennett Square police have also released surveillance images of those suspects, hoping the public can aid in identifying them. The U.S. Secret Service seized nearly $22 million in counterfeit cash last year. In May 2023, Philadelphia Customs and Border Patrol officers worked with the Secret Service to seize more than $14 million in counterfeit currency from several multi-million-dollar counterfeit smuggling attempts.

WUSA 9 [7/1/2024 6:16 PM, Matt Gregory, 1299K, Neutral, Secondary] reports hundreds of dignitaries and military officials from 30 nations will be descending on D.C. from July 9-11 to map out the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance at the 75th annual NATO Summit. And with them, they’ll bring a massive security presence. If you live near, or need to head to, the areas around the Washington Convention Center, Mellon Auditorium, and The White House next week, you should prepare for delays and closures. But for business owners, it may also create an inconvenience in the bottom line. Alexia Ramos built her plant-based smoothie business, Ana’s Market, in a prime location, a block away from the Washington Convention Center in the heart of the busy Shaw neighborhood. “This is our first brick and mortar,” Ramos said. “We’ve been here since 2022. Residents here depend on us, it’s a very heavy gym community." But next week, that real estate may not be so prime when NATO comes to town. While she blends, across town D.C. leaders are busy planning. "Next week is not going to be a regular week in D.C.," DC Police Chief Pamela Smith said Monday at a public safety briefing alongside the D.C. mayor, members of Homeland Security, the Secret Service, and the FBI. "“The biggest impacts will be felt around two security perimeters in place, around the Washington Convention Center and around Mellon Auditorium in Federal Triangle.”

NBC Washington DC [7/1/2024 6:59 PM, Mark Segraves, 1664K, Neutral, Secondary] reports D.C. will see major traffic disruptions as the NATO summit brings leaders from more than 30 countries to the Washington Convention Center July 9 through 11. Here’s what you need to know if you live, work or play downtown. The summit will bring leaders from over 30 countries to the Washington Convention Center. D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith says that in addition to increasing security to protect summit attendees, she also expects protests surrounding the event. “We anticipate an increase of First Amendment demonstrations in our city as NATO gets underway,” Smith said. “We will not tolerate violence of any kind, and offenders will be held accountable.” The U.S. Secret Service has designated three downtown areas that will have vehicle and pedestrian restrictions, as well as checkpoints that will be in place from July 8-12. The largest restricted area is around the Washington Convention Center and Mount Vernon Square. Along with checkpoints and fencing, there will be significant street closures and parking restrictions. Metrorail and bus services will also be impacted, with Mount Vernon and Federal Triangle stations closing and 20 bus routes skipping stops. The D.C. National Guard will be brought in to assist with traffic control. They will not be armed. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Click Orlando [7/1/2024 6:32 PM, Mike Holfeld, 2453K, Neutral, Secondary] reports that, tucked away in downtown Orlando’s 32801 ZIP code, the U.S Secret Service’s Orlando field office, led by veteran Special Agent in Charge Caroline O’Brien-Buster, works to track a wave of high-tech financial schemes in a 7-county jurisdiction from Citrus to Brevard counties. “We have 57 task force officers from all around Central Florida that are set up in the seven different counties,” O’Brien-Buster told News 6. “(They) support us in their jurisdictions, we couldn’t do it without them.” The Orlando Field Office is made up of law enforcement professionals boasting years of field experience with police agencies from coast to coast. O’Brien-Buster’s team is considered one of the best in the country. The field office Network Intrusion Forensics Analyst James Montgomery was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. last year and is sought for assistance by law enforcement agencies worldwide. In 2023 alone, there were 2.6 million fraud reports filed, accounting for a staggering $10 billion lost, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

The-Sun.com [7/1/2024 1:38 PM, Louis Regan, 24713K, Neutral, Secondary] reports Secret Service agents nabbed 13 skimming devices during a 472-store sweep - and warned consumers how to spot the info-stealing gadgets. The federal law enforcement agency joined forces with local cops as part of a state-wide operation to clamp down on credit card fraud. Credit card skimmers have been utilized by scammers all over the United States to steal shoppers’ credit card information without them knowing. Skimmers can fit over the original card reader and almost perfectly blend in. These devices are often found in ATMs, gas, stations, and grocery stores. “We have a joint operation with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture," Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Jacksonville Field Office Peter Andrews told local CW affiliate WJXT. "It’s a two-tier mission for us. The first part of the mission is to identify, locate, and extract any skimmers that are found on ATMs and or point-of-sale terminals or gas pumps. "If we happen to find one, we’ll extract it and bring it for further investigation.” The U.S. Secret Service estimated their removal prevented a potential loss of $1.3 million. More than 3,500 point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps, and ATMs were inspected, which means thousands of business owners were also educated on what to be on the lookout for.

Tallahassee Democrat [7/1/2024 5:57 PM, Arianna Otero, 959K, Neutral, Secondary] reports it’s been nearly five months since the city lost $1 million in a "cybercrime" and while the city has no update on the investigation, they say they’ve updated their protocols. While the investigation is ongoing, the topic was brought up at the last city commission by Commissioner Jeremy Matlow. He asked if there were any updates or public information to share. After consulting City Attorney Amy Toman, Mayor John Dailey answered Matlow by reminding him the investigation was still pending. The investigation is being carried out by the Tallahassee Police Department in conjunction with the U.S. Secret Service. Commissioner Curtis Richardson wanted to know if the situation has prompted any new measures by the city "to guard against that in the future." "We’re going inspect every time something like that happens, did we follow our processes, do we need to enhance them, and I can tell you we took a real deep dive on this," City Manager Reese Goad said.

My Magic GR [7/1/2024 10:56 AM, Staff, 8K, Neutral, Secondary] reports the Michigan State Police (MSP) are seeking public assistance in locating a woman suspected of passing counterfeit bills at businesses in Calhoun County and surrounding areas. The Michigan State Police (MSP) are seeking public assistance in locating a woman suspected of passing counterfeit bills at businesses in Calhoun County and surrounding areas. The images show a female individual believed to be responsible for multiple instances of passing counterfeit money in the region. The investigation extends beyond Calhoun County, as authorities believe the suspect may have been active in other parts of West Michigan as well. Law enforcement is working to determine the full extent of the fraudulent activities and the total amount of counterfeit money involved. Businesses in Southwest Michigan are being advised to be vigilant when accepting cash payments, particularly when customers request to load money onto online cards. Store owners and employees are encouraged to carefully examine money for signs of counterfeiting.

FOX6Now.com [7/1/2024 6:27 PM, Bret Lemoine, 1340K, Neutral, Secondary] reports keeping people safe at the RNC 2024 Republican National Convention is a local job. "My company is the security provider – and that is just very thrilling for us," said Brian Dorow. Dorow says it’s been an adrenaline rush. The Republican National Convention hired his Waukesha County company, Secure Resources Unlimited. They signed the contract three weeks ago. "We provide the physical security, we supplement law enforcement. We are extra ears, extra eyes," added Dorow. His team will monitor threats inside and outside the security zone. Those threats could be from protesters, on social media, or even the weather. Dorow says he’ll have "hundreds" of uniformed men and women working in the area. Some will be armed. "Look for suspicious activities, report immediately and have good situational awareness of the venue," said Dorow. Dorow says he also recruited two retired New York City police officers who oversaw security for events like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and New Year’s Eve in Times Square. During the convention, Dorow says he will stay in an apartment downtown. "I plan to be on site at 7 o’clock in the morning, and we don’t go home until the last client is in their hotel or everything is clear," said Dorow. Dorow has more than 30 years experience in law enforcement and worked for homeland security during the Trump Administration. He says the police, Secret Service, and Secure Resources Unlimited are in hourly contact with each other. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX 5 KVVU-TV [7/1/2024 8:07 PM, Molly McBride, 1495K, Neutral, Secondary] reports several southeast Las Vegas Valley small businesses say they’re feeling the effects of fake bills, but officials say these cases are hard to prosecute. Tacotarian Co-owner Kristen Corral said she’s on high alert after two fake $50 bills were used at two separate Tacotarian locations last month. She put her staff on high alert, who she says caught another fake $50 bill within the same week. “Someone came in, and the $50 felt a tiny bit off, but it passed the marker test, it passed the UV test,” Corral said. Corral checked in with neighboring businesses, and found some of them had also encountered fake bills in the same week, like Pullman Bread. Both businesses said the fake bills passed the traditional UV light and marker tests, meaning they were accepted, and cost the businesses money. They said they want whoever is responsible to be caught. The Secret Service is the lead investigative agency when it comes to counterfeit money investigations. The Special Agent in charge of the Las Vegas Field Office, Karon Ransom, said they can’t discuss ongoing investigations in the valley. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Miami Herald [7/1/2024 1:01 PM, Mark Price, 6212K, Neutral] reports that the U.S. Coast Guard rescued three boaters from the Gulf of Mexico late Saturday, June 29, when their vessel ran aground and sank, officials said. USCG Southeast photo Three mariners were left adrift in the dark when their vessel sank in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. It happened around 10 p.m. Saturday, June 29, near Egmont Key, officials said. The barrier island is at the mouth of Tampa Bay in Southwest Florida. A distress call came around 10:13 p.m., reporting a 36-foot boat had run aground and sank, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. Rescuers from the U.S. Coast Guard station in St. Petersburg set out and reached the group about 10:50 p.m. The three survived with the help of life jackets, officials said. They were pulled aboard a rescue boat and were found to be uninjured. Identities of the three were not released. A crew revisited the site Sunday, June 30, and marked the boat’s location as a potential navigation hazard for passing boats, officials said. Part of the boat’s rigging can be seen sticking above the water’s surface.

NBC News [7/1/2024 11:04 AM, Staff, 48440K, Neutral] reports that an abandoned sailboat dubbed a “ghost ship” by locals washed ashore in Pensacola Beach, Fla., weeks after its owner had to be rescued off it by the Coast Guard. Michael Barlow and a friend had to abandon his boat after facing harsh conditions caused by Hurricane Alberto in the Gulf of Mexico [Editorial note: consult video at source link].

(B) ABC7 Eyewitness News at 4pm [7/1/2024 5:02 PM, Karen Jordan] reports that in the Chicago area, divers returning to the waters of Lake Michigan this morning are searching for a swimmer who disappeared at Evanston’s Lighthouse Beach yesterday. They are looking for a 41-year-old man. Assisted by Chicago and other suburban fire departments of the Coast Guard, crews for now are focusing on a half mile area starting at Lighthouse Beach and heading south. They are using sonar and other technology but the turbulent water is making it difficult.

Chicago Tribune [7/1/2024 6:27 PM, Alex Hulvalchick, 6174K, Neutral] reports that officials have suspended recovery efforts for a missing swimmmer at Lighthouse Beach in Evanston as of 2:30 p.m. Monday, stating all search areas have been exhausted. Lifeguards and Evanston fire personnel will continue surface and shoreline searches on Tuesday, read a news release by the city A distress call brought the Evanston Fire Department to Lighthouse Beach around 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon to rescue four swimmers struggling in the water. According to a news release, a bystander rescued an adult woman and two teenage females, but a 41-year-old swimmer remained missing. The Evanston Fire Department along with more than 10 outside agencies such as the Coast Guard and Chicago Fire Department assisted in the search, but the missing swimmer wasn’t found.

FOX News [7/1/2024 11:46 AM, Staff, 48215K, Positive] reports that the US Coast Guard rescued eight boaters whose vessel began taking on water 40 miles off Galveston, Texas. CREDIT: United States Coast Guard [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

MeriTalk [7/1/2024 2:11 PM, Lisbeth Perez, 26K, Neutral] reports that more than half of critical open-source tools are built on code that doesn’t internally manage memory overflow risks, potentially leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by hackers, according to findings released by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on June 26. The report – authored by the FBI, CISA, and the Australian and Canadian cyber directorates – found that approximately 52 percent of the 172 projects listed by the influential Open-Source Security Foundation include code written in memory-unsafe languages, while 55 percent of the total lines of code for all the projects were written in a memory-unsafe language. Moreover, even projects written in memory-safe languages may potentially harbor memory safety vulnerabilities. The report specifically identified instances where projects in memory-safe languages depended on components written in memory-unsafe languages. “Most critical open-source projects analyzed, even those written in memory-safe languages, potentially contain memory safety vulnerabilities. This can be caused by direct use of memory-unsafe languages or external dependency on projects that use memory-unsafe languages,” the report stated. “Additionally, low-level functional requirements to disable memory safety may create opportunities for memory safety vulnerabilities in code written in otherwise memory-safe languages.” Memory safety vulnerabilities are among the most common software vulnerabilities, prompting the cybersecurity sector to intensify its focus in recent years. These vulnerabilities incur significant costs for both software manufacturers and consumers, including expenses related to patching, incident response, and other mitigation efforts, the report states. Memory-unsafe languages require developers to carefully manage memory usage to avoid errors like buffer overflows and use-after-free vulnerabilities, which attackers can exploit to gain control over software and systems. In contrast, memory-safe languages reduce these risks by handling memory safety through compilers or interpreters, easing the burden on developers. The report stresses the ongoing necessity of employing memory-safe programming languages, secure coding practices, and rigorous security testing. Additionally, the report recommends that software manufacturers create memory-safe roadmaps, including plans to address memory safety in external dependencies, which commonly include open-source software.

MeriTalk [7/1/2024 1:56 PM, Cate Burgan, 26K, Neutral] reports that the Federal Communications Commission released draft final rules last week that aim to strengthen the security of the nation’s public alert and warning systems against emerging cybersecurity threats. The nation’s Emergency Alert System delivers warnings to the public through radio and television, and the Wireless Emergency Alerts deliver warnings to consumers’ cell phones. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel introduced the draft rules to the commission on June 28, proposing a requirement for communications providers that have emergency systems to create, update, and implement cybersecurity risk management plans. The rules would also require Emergency Alert System participants, such as broadcasters and cable providers, to notify the FCC of equipment defects within 24 hours of discovery, which would provide the FCC with greater awareness of system availability and help identify persistent technical problems in this equipment. The rules would ensure that Emergency Alert System participants have contingency plans for delivering alerts to the public. The draft final rules "Would reduce risks to communications networks, in keeping with a whole-of-government effort to establish cybersecurity requirements to support national security and public safety," the FCC said. On June 20, the Department of Homeland Security urged regulators to ensure that owners and operators of communications networks and other U.S. critical infrastructure are implementing controls to improve their security and resilience to cybersecurity threats, including through the establishment of minimum cybersecurity requirements. If the commission adopts the draft final rules, they will be publicly released, the FCC said.

Reuters [7/1/2024 6:22 PM, Pritam Biswas, 42991K, Neutral] reports U.S. financial technology firm Affirm Holdings (AFRM.O), opens new tab said on Monday that it believes that the personal information of Affirm card users was compromised as part of Arkansas-based Evolve Bank and Trust’s cybersecurity incident. Evolve Bank is a third-party issuer of Affirm card and last week was a victim of a cybersecurity incident that involved customers’ data being illegally released on the dark web. However, Affirm - which shares the personal information of its card users with Evolve to facilitate the issuance and servicing of the cards - confirmed that the company’s systems were not compromised and Affirm card holders can continue using their cards. A spokesperson for the Arkansas-based lender said at that time that they have engaged appropriate law enforcement agencies to aid in their investigation and response efforts. Affirm also said that upon being notified of the Evolve cybersecurity incident, the company immediately began an investigation independent of Evolve’s investigation to determine whether any personal information of Affirm card users were compromised. This investigation, along with remediation efforts, is ongoing as of July 1, Affirm added.

USA Today [7/1/2024 2:29 PM, Kinsey Crowley, 78424K, Neutral] reports that following a cyberattack, car dealership software company CDK Global plans to restore services to all dealers by Thursday, the company said in a statement Monday. CDK offers cloud-based software to more than 15,000 auto dealerships across North America that manages vehicle acquisitions, sales, financing, insuring, repairs and maintenance. Restoration has been underway for more than a week after a June 19 cyberattack and reported ransom demand forced the company to shut down its systems. "We are continuing our phased approach to the restoration process and are rapidly bringing dealers live on the Dealer Management System. We anticipate all dealers connections will be live by late Wednesday, July 3 or early morning Thursday, July 4," CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said to USA TODAY in an emailed statement, adding that the customer service channels have been restored for those experiencing issues.

CBS San Francisco [7/1/2024 5:09 PM, Carlos Castañeda, 47221K, Positive] reports that nearly a half-million members of Patelco Credit Union, with branches across the Bay Area and Northern California, lost access to banking services following a ransomware attack over the weekend. The Dublin-based credit union announced on social media at 7 a.m. Saturday its services were unavailable, including online banking, mobile app, direct deposits, transfers, and debit and credit card transactions. Patelco members received an email from President and CEO Erin Mendez Sunday afternoon about a "serious security incident," although the details about the incident were not initially disclosed. The email said the credit union was working with cybersecurity experts to assess the situation and restore services. Mendez also said an estimated time of restoration was not available. In an email Monday, a Patelco spokesperson clarified the security incident was a ransomware attack which required it "to proactively shut down some of our day-to-day banking systems in order to contain and remediate the issue."

FOX News [7/1/2024 1:38 PM, Benjamin Weinthal, 48215K, Negative] reports that a group of Americans filed a lawsuit on Monday in federal court in the District of Columbia, alleging Iran, Syria and North Korea provided material support to Hamas to commit atrocities during its mass murder of nearly 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The lawsuit was launched on behalf of U.S. citizens who were injured or killed during Hamas’ invasion. The terrorist group murdered over 30 Americans during the terrorist attack. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the law firm Crowell & Moring LLP said in their joint lawsuit that Iran’s regime, Syria and North Korea provided material support to Hamas to commit atrocities in Israel on Oct. 7. "Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of antisemitism and terror – along with Syria and North Korea, they must be held responsible for their roles in the largest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust. We are doing everything possible to hold Hamas terrorists and those who support them accountable, including putting all of ADL’s weight behind this effort," said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO and national director. He added, "In a world in which Jewish pain and suffering is far too often erased, we hope this ground-breaking case will bring justice to some victims and create a record of Hamas’ heinous brutality perpetrated with the support of these state sponsors of terrorism." Fox News Digital reported on Oct. 7 that Iranian regime-backed proxies were behind the invasion of Israel. On Oct. 15, Fox News Digital revealed that the Iran regime’s organized plan to aid Hamas was front-and-center in the thinking of the dictator who rules over Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran, Syria and North Korea aided Hamas with military, tactical and financial support, noted the lawsuit. The U.S. classifies Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization.

Newsweek [7/1/2024 3:58 PM, Erin Keller, 50452K, Neutral] reports that it was an hour of terror for University of Cincinnati students early Monday morning as a mass shooting unfolded near campus. Three men are dead and two more are in stable condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after the mass shooting in Corryville, Ohio near East University and Highland avenues shortly before 3 a.m., Cincinnati Lieutenant Jonathan Cunningham told Newsweek. Five people were shot in total. Police found four male victims when they arrived at the scene. One was pronounced dead on the scene and another was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where they were pronounced dead. Another victim reportedly self-transported to another nearby hospital, Cunningham said. The victims’ identities have not been released by police as of Monday afternoon.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [7/1/2024 4:10 PM, Natalie Neysa Alund, 78424K, Negative]

Public Radio 90 WNMU-FM [7/1/2024 7:22 AM, Nicole Walton, 16K, Negative] reports a Menominee man has been charged with terrorism after he threatened personnel at the Menominee County Courthouse. Dakota Davies, 29, is accused of calling staff around 8 a.m. Friday and making death threats. He had been ticketed earlier that morning for trespassing at the Circle K gas station. Davies allegedly told personnel several times he was going to “shoot the place up.” Officers from the Menominee Police Department arrested him at his residence around 9 a.m. Davies was charged Friday with making terroristic threats. He remains lodged at the Menominee County Jail on a $500,000 bond. A probable cause conference is set for July 10 and a preliminary exam for July 25.

Chicago Tribune [7/1/2024 2:49 PM, Clifford Ward, 6174K, Negative] reports that the family of a Highland Park parade shooting victim has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the assault rifle used in the attack, saying Smith & Wesson irresponsibly marketed the military-style firearm to teenagers and young adults. The suit, filed late Friday in Lake County Court, was mounted on behalf of the family of Eduardo Uvaldo. He was one of the seven people killed in the July 4, 2022, mass shooting when, authorities say, Robert Crimo III opened fire on the crowd gathered to see the parade. The gun police say Crimo used, a Smith & Wesson M&P-15, is an assault rifle modeled on the AR-15. Attorneys for the Uvaldo family say that model has been used in several mass shootings around the U.S., including in Aurora, Colorado, and that Smith & Wesson’s decision to continue to market the weapon in the wake of the shootings constituted a “negligent entrustment” under Illinois consumer law.

New York Times [7/1/2024 10:44 PM, Julian E. Barnes and John Ismay, 153395K, Neutral] reports American defense officials raised the security alert level at military bases in Europe over the weekend in response to vague threats from the Kremlin over Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons on Russian territory, according to U.S. and Western officials. Officials said that no specific intelligence about possible Russian attacks on American bases had been collected. Any such attack by Russia, whether overt or covert, would be a significant escalation of its war in Ukraine. Russia has been stepping up acts of sabotage in Europe, hoping to disrupt the flow of matériel to Ukraine. So far, no American bases have been targeted in those attacks, but U.S. officials said raising the alert level would help ensure that service members were keeping watch. Throughout the war, U.S. officials have assessed that President Vladimir V. Putin is loath to expand the war beyond Ukraine’s borders. But stepped-up U.S. and European aid — and the easing of restrictions on how that matériel is used — has caused consternation in Moscow, according to American officials. Russia’s recent statements have made some American and European officials wary. Ukraine has been using longer-range American missiles known as ATACMS to strike deep into occupied Crimea. The United States has also said Ukraine can use them in cross-border attacks on Russian military targets.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [7/1/2024 12:49 PM, Mike Brest, 3607K, Neutral]

AP [6/30/2024 9:45 AM, Staff, 36419K, Neutral] reports Russia and its ally Belarus on Tuesday launched a second stage of drills intended to train their troops in tactical nuclear weapons, part of the Kremlin’s efforts to discourage the West from ramping up support for Ukraine. In announcing the nuclear maneuvers last month, the Russian Defense Ministry said they were in response to “provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials regarding the Russian Federation.” The Kremlin has expressed outrage after French President Emmanuel Macron said he doesn’t exclude deploying troops to Ukraine, and the U.S. and some other NATO allies allowed Kyiv to use the weapons supplied by them for striking targets on the Russian territory. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that such drills and maintaining combat readiness are important in view of the “hostile decisions and actions” by the U.S. and its allies in Europe and their “daily provocations.” Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said in remarks published Tuesday that the maneuvers were a due response to “Western support of the Kyiv regime, active involvement of NATO’s troops in combat operations in Ukraine and an effective permission for Kyiv to launch missile strikes on Russian civilian facilities.” He added that the drills were also part of Moscow’s reaction to NATO allies beefing up their military potential near Russia’s borders.

New York Times [7/2/2024 3:24 AM, Marc Santora, 740K, Negative] reports Ukraine’s security service said on Monday that it had foiled yet another Russian plot to stir public unrest and then use the ensuing turmoil to topple the government, outlining a familiar tactic that Kyiv claims has been employed in a string of coup attempts in recent years. The Ukrainian domestic intelligence agency, the S.B.U., said that it had discovered a “group” of conspirators it accused of planning to spark a riot, seize the Parliament building and replace the nation’s military and civilian leadership. Four people have been arrested and charged, according to the authorities. While offering little detail on how such an ambitious plan could have succeeded, officials said it was a reminder that more than two years after launching a full-scale invasion of the country, the Kremlin remained determined to bring down President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government by any means. On the battlefield, Russia continues to send tens of thousands of new soldiers to the front to replace those killed in the hopes of exhausting Ukraine’s military and Kyiv’s Western backers. At the same time, Russia’s relentless bombardment of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure is designed, in part, to throttle the economy and undermine the state’s ability to function. The plot outlined by Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency and prosecutors on Monday fit squarely in that pattern. It was meant to start with a riot, according to Ukrainian officials. The organizers — described as agents working on behalf of Russia — were planning to hold “an allegedly peaceful gathering in the center of the capital,” said Artem Dekhtyarenko, the spokesman for the S.B.U.

VOA News [7/2/2024 2:41 AM, Staff, 4032K, Neutral] reports U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to host talks Tuesday with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in a session the Pentagon says will show U.S. support for Ukraine’s security. The talks come a week before the United States hosts a NATO summit where military support for Ukraine to help it defend against a Russian invasion is set to top the agenda. “Secretary Austin and Minister Umerov will discuss the bilateral defense cooperation, regional security issues and ways to strengthen the defense partnership between the United States and Ukraine,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also is hosting talks Tuesday with Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The United States has been by far the biggest supporter of Ukraine in the more than two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. U.S. military aid is again flowing to Ukrainian forces after stalling for several months amid political gridlock in the U.S. Congress. Zelenskyy said in a video address late Monday that he expects this month to “bring even more strength to Ukraine, particularly in protecting our sky and achieving real security for our country.”

Washington Examiner [7/1/2024 7:09 AM, Jamie McIntyre, 3607K, Neutral] reports frustrated as Russia uses retrofitted “dumb bombs” converted to standoff “glide bombs” to reduce Ukrainian cities to rubble, President Volodymyr Zelensky is again appealing to the Biden administration for wider authority to target the planes that launch the weapons from the safety of territory within range, but off limits, to U.S. weapons. “The sooner the world helps us deal with the Russian combat aircraft launching these bombs, the sooner we can strike, justifiably strike, at Russian military infrastructure, military airfields, the closer we will be to peace. Real peace,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address Sunday. At the same time, he said the Russian glide bombs were taking a terrible toll on the civilian population. Zelensky noted in the areas where Ukraine has been given a free hand to strike back across the border, attacks against Russian forces have been effective. “Strikes on the Russian border areas helped protect lives,” he said. “And in particular, defending the Kharkiv region from the Russian offensive, we have proven that the determination of our partners truly helps.” “The world has enough power to force Russia into peace,” he said. “Bold decisions that must be made, that we need, and that we are discussing with our partners. In the coming weeks, we will continue our communication to achieve the necessary decisions.” The urgency of Zelensky’s latest plea for the U.S. to remove restrictions on the use of long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, ATACMS, was underscored by a report by David Axe in Forbes, which suggested dozens of Russian planes that deliver the glide bombs are routinely parked in the open at the Voronezh Malshevo air base, just 100 miles from the border with Ukraine.

Bloomberg [7/1/2024 7:00 AM, Brendan Murray, 27296K, Neutral] reports tariffs, most economists would agree, act to restrict imports of the item targeted by the border tax. A US tariff on Chinese-made port cranes will be indiscriminate — hurting exports as well as imports, and boosting costs for the government, companies and consumers. That’s the argument from US seaports, which are urging the Biden administration to rethink a proposed 25% duty on Chinese-made gantry cranes. Such a tax would add more than $130 million in unexpected costs and disadvantage them against rivals in Canada and Mexico, the industry says. In letters to the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai last week, ports in California, Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia said there are no viable alternatives to Chinese cranes. They’re asking for a delay or withdrawal of the tariff plans that are part of USTR’s 301 case against China. “The tariff, if imposed, will not meet its stated objectives,” Cary Davis, president and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities, wrote in a letter Friday. “Instead, it will only result in negative outcomes, including grave harm to port efficiency and capacity, strained supply chains, increased consumer prices and a weaker US economy.”

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