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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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Page 6: Politix
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
DOJ Abruptly Fires Three High-Ranking Prosecutors Involved in Persecuting January 6 Defendants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday fired at least three prosecutors involved in U.S. Capitol riot criminal cases, the latest moves by the Trump administration targeting attorneys connected to the massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Those dismissed include two attorneys who worked as supervisors overseeing the Jan. 6 prosecutions in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington as well as a line attorney who prosecuted cases stemming from the Capitol attack, the people said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

A letter that was received by one of the prosecutors was signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The letter did not provide a reason for their removal, effective immediately, citing only "Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States," according to a copy seen by The Associated Press.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/28/2025 05:15 || Comments || Link || [20 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They can now plead the 5th Amendment with impunity. As Federal employees, the 5th is off limits. I'm admittedly no attorney, but I'm not certain this was a good idea. Their termination agreements may have held other stipulations however.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/28/2025 5:26 Comments || Top||

#2  ...They couldn't possibly have been surprised.

Mike
Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 06/28/2025 6:04 Comments || Top||


Washington Post reporter arrested on child pornography charges after FBI search and is placed on leave
[FoxNews] FBI agents say they discovered fractured hard drive pieces during search of Thomas Pham LeGro's home

A Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter was arrested and placed on leave after being charged with possessing child pornography on his work laptop.

Thomas Pham LeGro, 48, was arrested Thursday and taken into custody after a search of his District of Columbia home.

LeGro made his first appearance Friday in U.S. District Court.

The charges reportedly stem from an FBI search at his home Thursday, where agents seized several electronic devices.

A review of LeGro’s work laptop allegedly revealed a folder that contained 11 videos depicting child sexual abuse material, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

During the execution of a search warrant, authorities said they found what appeared to be fractured pieces of a hard drive in the hallway outside the room where LeGro’s work laptop was found.

"The Washington Post understands the severity of these allegations, and the employee has been placed on leave," a Washington Post spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an email Friday.

The George Mason graduate was part of a team of Post reporters awarded a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Senate candidacy of Roy Moore in 2018.

LeGro, who has been with the publication for more than a decade, served as deputy director of video, overseeing a group of video journalists. He also briefly worked for PBS.

Pirro thanked FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department for their ongoing efforts in the investigation.

The case, part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative, is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, according to the release.

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/28/2025 00:56 || Comments || Link || [27 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What's the cyber equivalent of a throw-down bag of weed?
Posted by: Richard+Aubrey+ || 06/28/2025 6:43 Comments || Top||


Two killed in shooting in southern Poland
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] As a result of shooting in the village of Stara Wieś, located in the southern part of Poland, two people were killed and one was injured. This was reported on June 27 by the Polish radio station RMF FM.

"On Friday, in Star Wieś in the Limanowski district of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, a shooting took place in one of the houses. Two people were killed and one was injured," the publication says.

According to the radio station, the 57-year-old suspect in the crime fled into the woods and his car has already been found. Police warned that the man, who is the father of one of the victims, is dangerous and may be armed.


Continued on Page 47
Posted by: badanov || 06/28/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [19 views] Top|| File under:


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Killer heat dome Summer descends on Europe: Spain braces for record 47C, UK to hit 36C, roads melt in Italy and wildfires rip through Greece... while deadly storms turn roads to rivers in France and Germany
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] In the old days they called this “summer”.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/28/2025 01:22 || Comments || Link || [17 views] Top|| File under:


Swat River tragedy: Nine dead, four missing after 17 swept away by flash floods
[GEO.TV] At least nine died after 17 individuals were swept away by a sudden surge of high water in the Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
River on Friday morning, drawing condolences from the country's top leadership.

In a statement, Swat Deputy Commissioner Shehzad Mehboob confirmed that rescue authorities have recovered at least nine bodies and rescued four others alive while efforts were underway to locate the remaining four missing persons.

Providing details of the victims, DC Mehboob stated that 10 of the individuals involved in the incident were residents of Sialkot, six belonged to Mardan, while one was a local resident of Swat.

According to rescue officials, the affected individuals hailing from Sialkot was on a leisure trip, having breakfast by the riverbank at around 8am when heavy rains upstream caused an unexpected and rapid increase in water flow.

"We received information about the drowning of these people around 8am. There were guests on the bypass who were sitting on the bank of the river. These people were not aware of the water relay," a rescue official said.

While four individuals have been successfully pulled to safety and the bodies of five recovered, the search for the remaining missing family members continues amidst challenging conditions.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred || 06/28/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [20 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


China-Japan-Koreas
Six Americans arrested for trying to smuggle rice into North Korea
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Six Americans have been detained in South Korea for trying to send 1,600 plastic bottles filled with rice, miniature Bibles, $1 bills, and USB sticks to North Korea.
Can everyday North Koreans use dollars or US sticks without getting in trouble just for having them?
The Americans, missionaries aged from their 20s to 50s, were apprehended on Gwanghwa Island just across from North Korea about 1:06am on Friday local time.

Authorities caught the suspects before they could throw the bottles into the sea so they could float toward North Korean shores, two Gwanghwa police officers said.

They noted that the Americans are being investigated on allegations they violated law on the management of safety and disasters.

The officers refused to provide personal details of the Americans in line with privacy rules.

Gwanghwa police said they haven't yet found what is on the USB sticks.

'Because the suspects do not speak Korean fluently, we plan to conduct further questioning with the assistance of an interpreter,' they said.

The US Embassy in South Korea had no immediate public comment.

For years, activists have sought to float plastic bottles or fly balloons across the border carrying anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets and USB thumb drives containing South Korean dramas and K-pop songs.

The practice that was banned from 2021-2023 over concerns it could inflame tensions with the North.

North Korea responded to previous balloon campaigns with fiery rhetoric and other shows of anger.

Last year, the country launched its own balloons across the border, dumping garbage on various South Korean sites including the presidential compound.

South Korea's Constitutional Court struck down a controversial law in 2023 that criminalized the sending of leaflets and other items to North Korea, calling it an excessive restriction on free speech.

But since taking office in early June, the new liberal government of President Lee Jae Myung is pushing to crack down on such civilian campaigns with other safety-related laws to avoid a flare-up tensions with North Korea and promote the safety of frontline South Korean residents.

Police detained an activist on June 14 for allegedly flying balloons toward North Korea from Gwanghwa Island.

Police created a dedicated task force to prevent items crossing the border into the North, in response to Friday's arrests.

'We will strengthen coordination with relevant bodies to completely block these leaflet operations and respond strictly to any violations according to the law,' they said.

Lee took office with a promise to restart long-dormant talks with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee's government halted frontline anti-Pyongyang propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts to try to ease military tensions.

North Korean broadcasts have not been heard in South Korean front-line towns since then.

But it's unclear if North Korea will respond to Lee's conciliatory gesture after vowing last year to sever relations with South Korea and abandon the goal of peaceful Korean reunification.

Official talks between the Koreas have been stalled since 2019, when US-led diplomacy on North Korean denuclearization derailed.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/28/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [25 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Cyber
Chaos as American Airlines is hit by outage leaving thousands stranded on runways
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] American Airlines has been hit by a widespread outage that is impacting all flights.

Reports of issues surfaced around 1:30pm ET, with travelers saying they are stuck on the runway or crammed in waiting areas.

Some travelers have shared their frustrations on social media, saying they have been sitting at the gate for more than one hour.

'Sitting at the airport, they are saying AA flights everywhere are impacted by the maintenance system being down,' one user shared on Reddit.

One flyer in Fort Myers said the Pilot told passengers that they are unable to 'get a flight plan, fuel report or passenger manifest.'

'Our team is awaiting the all clear to take the air, and we truly apologize for the added wait. We'll have you on the way very shortly,' American Airlines shared at 2:37pm ET.

Downdetector, a site that monitors online outages, shows issues with the website, delays and logging into the app.

A live outage map shows major cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York and Phoenix, are all in the red.
Yahoo adds:
A source from one affected airport told CNN the airline had sent messages indicating problems for at least two hours with the system that handles flight bookings, check-in, ticketing and baggage tagging, along with other functions. The source said American sent communications just before 2:45 p.m. ET stating the systems were coming back online and to expect “slight delays as they work towards normal operations.”

At 2:30 p.m. ET, flight data tracker FlightAware showed 21% of American Airlines flights delayed and 2% canceled. American’s wholly-owned subsidiary PSA Airlines had 27% of flights delayed and 11% were canceled Friday.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/28/2025 01:21 || Comments || Link || [19 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...One thing I've always done - and learned this from flying military transport - is to assume that nothing is going to go off on time. My carryon always has enough snacks, gear AND clothes to last me at least 12-24 hours.

Mike
Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 06/28/2025 6:07 Comments || Top||


Windows 'Screen of Death' Will Change from Blue to Black
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Windows will change the color of the "screen of death". This was reported by The Verge.

The familiar blue "screen of death" (BSOD) for Windows will be replaced with a black one in version 11. It will look like the screen when updating Windows. However, it will contain a stop code and will not have a sad smiley or QR code.

Microsoft's vice president of enterprise security, David Weston, said the update is an attempt to "bring clarity and better information" to help developers and customers get to the root of the problem and resolve it faster.

"Part of it is just cleaner information about what exactly went wrong, where it is Windows versus the component," Weston explained.

Microsoft said it will introduce a new BSOD design in an update to Windows 11 this summer, along with a new Quick Machine Recovery feature.

As the publication noted, Microsoft developers are working to improve the fault tolerance of Windows after the CrowdStrike incident, which resulted in millions of Windows computers booting with a BSOD.


Continued on Page 47
Posted by: badanov || 06/28/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [21 views] Top|| File under:


Great White North
Trump announces end to all trade talks with Canada
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The United States of America is immediately ceasing all discussions of a trade agreement with Canada. This was announced on June 27 by US President Donald Trump.
Oh dear.
The reason for this decision was the digital services tax introduced by Ottawa. According to the head of the White House, this tax is aimed against American technology companies.
Ah. Choices do have consequences.
"We just learned that Canada, which has already made it extremely difficult to trade with, including years of tariffs of up to 400% on our dairy products, has imposed a Digital Services Tax on our tech companies. This is a direct and blatant attack on our Country," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He noted that Canadian authorities are copying the actions of the European Union, which is also discussing the possibility of introducing a similar tax on the United States.
So they’ll have the advantage of knowing the consequence of their choice ahead of time. Enjoy, guys.
"Based on this, we are ceasing all trade discussions with Canada effective immediately," the American leader said.

The head of the White House added that Washington will notify Ottawa within the next seven days of the amount of duty that the Canadian side will pay for doing business with the United States.

As reported by Regnum News Agency, in early April, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the country would impose a 25% tariff on all U.S.-imported vehicles not covered by the North American Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA). The day before, Trump signed an executive order imposing 25% tariffs on imports of passenger cars, light trucks, and auto parts.

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: badanov || 06/28/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [40 views] Top|| File under:



Home Front: Politix
Game Changer! The IRS Union Endorses Kamala Harris
[Gateway] In what could be a massive game changer in the 2024 presidential election, the union representing workers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has endorsed Kamala Harris.

In a press release this week, the National Treasury Employees Union which represents workers of the Internal Revenue Service confirmed that the decision had been taken "after extensive research into the candidates’ records regarding the federal workforce, and consultation with NTEU members and chapter leaders across the country."

"When it comes to treating federal employees with respect, valuing their service, and investing in their work, Kamala Harris is the clear choice," said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald.

"She shares our values and our commitment to making sure that the federal government works for all Americans. She has been a strong advocate for the issues that matter most to federal employees: fair pay, paid family leave, adequate agency funding and staffing, and robust collective bargaining rights."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/28/2025 05:30 || Comments || Link || [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Surprising no one.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/28/2025 5:37 Comments || Top||


Karmelo Anthony reportedly files court paperwork for a public defender

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Grom the Affective || 06/28/2025 03:56 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...Leading one to consider that the Anthony family isn't giving up - or has already blown through - all that sweet, sweet crowdfunding cash they raised.

Is it bad of me to want the Judge to ask?

Mike
Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 06/28/2025 6:00 Comments || Top||


Supreme Court Nukes Nationwide Injunctions Against Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order
[Federalist] On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court declared rogue lower courts’ universal injunctions against President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship order to be unlawful.

"[F]ederal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch; they resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them. When a court concludes that the Executive Branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too," Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote.

The final decision was 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh joining Barrett in the majority. Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

Known as Trump v. CASA, Inc., the matter before the high court centers around the issuance of nationwide injunctions on President Trump’s executive order seeking to end so-called "birthright citizenship." That is a concept in which any individual born on American soil is automatically granted U.S. citizenship under the 14th Amendment, irrespective of whether that individual’s parents are legally permitted to be in the U.S.

Following a series of injunctions blocking the order’s implementation among lower courts, the Trump administration appealed to SCOTUS, asking the high court to "’restrict the scope’ of multiple preliminary injunctions that ’purpor[t] to cover every person * * * in the country,’" and limit "those injunctions to parties actually within the courts’ power." The case and Friday’s decision do not, however, determine the merits of Trump’s birthright citizenship order.

In her majority opinion, Barrett noted that the injunctions brought before the Court "reflect a more recent development: district courts asserting the power to prohibit enforcement of a law or policy against anyone."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/28/2025 00:54 || Comments || Link || [42 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I was pretty sue it was gong to be a great year, but it just keeps getting better!



Posted by: Oregon Dave || 06/28/2025 1:37 Comments || Top||



India-Pakistan
Poliovirus detected in 18-month-old girl from KP
[GEO.TV] Pakistain has reported its 13th polio
...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set. Currently the disease is only found in Pakistain and Afghanistain...
case of 2025, after the Regional Reference Laboratory at the NIH confirmed the virus in an 18-month-old girl from Union Council Amakhel, District Tank in South Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

This is the seventh case from the province this year, raising renewed alarm over persistent virus circulation in high-risk areas.

So far, four cases have been reported from Sindh, and one each from Punjab
...1. Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2. A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3. A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots
...
.
and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Regional Reference Laboratory at NIH Islamabad confirmed a case of wild poliovirus in a 33-month-old boy from KP's Bannu district on Sunday.

Last week, the Pakistain Polio Eradication Programme reported that poliovirus was detected in environmental samples taken from seven different districts in the country.

The programme said virus was found in environmental samples from Quetta, Gwadar, South Wazoo (lower) and South Waziristan (upper). Furthermore, environmental samples taken from Larkana, Rawalpindi and Mirpurkhas also contained poliovirus.

Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred || 06/28/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [19 views] Top|| File under:


Science & Technology
INEOS Grenadier
[FE] What is the INEOS Grenadier? I will spare you all myths of pubs and cocktail napkins and simply tell you it’s what you get when you piss off a billionaire. In this case the billionaire is Sir James Arthur Radcliffe, chemical engineer, founder of INEOS (INspec Ethylene Oxide Specialties), and, for our purposes, the richest man in England. He’s also a “car enthusiast and experienced adventurer,” and when you put those two things together, you get off-roader, and being English that means Land Rover fan.

Que the problem: Land Rover stopped building a proper 4X4 when the last Defender rolled off the assembly line on January 29, 2016, and Sir Jim took issue with that. His solution: the INEOS Grenadier, the most significant and, I’d say, important automotive release in 30+ years.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/28/2025 00:00 || Comments || Link || [37 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
26[untagged]
10Govt of Iran
9Hamas
5Islamic State
2Govt of Iran Proxies
2Narcos
1Houthis
1Lawfare
1Migrants/Illegal Immigrants
1Palestinian Islamic Jihad
1Sublime Porte
1Taliban/IEA
1al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Commies
1Devout Moslems
1Govt of Pakistan
1Hezbollah

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
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tu3031
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2025-06-27
  Gunmen kill 17 soldiers in northern Nigeria attacks
Thu 2025-06-26
  Lebanese Army says arrested IS Lebanon leader
Wed 2025-06-25
  Iranian - Israeli War News roundup for June 24th, 2025: Both Iran and Israel claim the win, but Iran arrested 700 for spying for Israel, hanged 3 more
Tue 2025-06-24
  President Trump has announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, to be followed by an official end to the war
Mon 2025-06-23
  Iran's parliment votes to mine the Strait of Hormuz
Sun 2025-06-22
  Trump says US has bombed Fordo nuclear plant in attack on Iran UPDATE: Trump bombs 3 nuke sites
Sat 2025-06-21
  American B-2 stealth bombers reportedly take off from US base towards western Pacific
Fri 2025-06-20
  Unconfirmed reports from Tehran that Khamenei's bunker in Lavizan neighborhood was attacked
Thu 2025-06-19
  Iran armed forces urge evacuation of residents in major Israeli cities
Wed 2025-06-18
  US moving fighter jets to Middle East
Tue 2025-06-17
  Afghan National Pleads Guilty to Plotting Election Day Terror Attack in Oklahoma on Behalf of ISIS
Mon 2025-06-16
  Both IRGC head of Intelligence and his deputy were eliminated
Sat 2025-06-14
  Israel has resumed its strikes on Iran, targeting the underground Fordow nuclear facility


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