Brazil’s top court threatens to suspend X in country by Thursday night | 29 Aug 2024 | Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday to name a legal representative for his messaging platform X in Brazil within 24 hours or face the site’s suspension in the country, a court decision showed. Earlier this month, X announced it would close its operations and fire its staff in Brazil due to what it called “censorship orders” from Moraes, while adding the firm’s service would remain available for users in Brazil. The Supreme Court posted a screenshot of Wednesday’s court decision on its X account, tagging Musk’s and X’s Global Government Affairs accounts.

EU investigating Telegram – FT | 28 Aug 2024 | The European Commission is investigating whether Telegram breached EU digital rules by failing to provide accurate user numbers, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources. The EU probe comes alongside the French government’s investigation into alleged criminal activity on the messaging platform that led to the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. The 39-year-old was arrested upon landing at a Paris airport on Saturday after arriving by private jet from Azerbaijan. He has reportedly now been released from police custody and transferred to court for possible indictment… Officials briefed on the EU probe told FT that the commission’s Joint Research Centre is conducting a technical investigation to determine Telegram’s number of EU users.

Durov released on $5.5 million bail | 28 Aug 2024 | A French court has formally indicted Telegram founder Pavel Durov, accusing him of complicity in a litany of offenses and barring him from leaving France until the case against him concludes. Durov appeared before a magistrates’ court in Paris on Wednesday, four days after he was arrested upon arrival in the French capital from Azerbaijan. In a statement released on Wednesday night, the court said that Durov had been formally charged with a dozen offenses, including complicity in “administering an online platform” used by a criminal gang to conduct an illicit transaction, a charge that the court noted carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. The rest of the charges, which were announced by prosecutors on Monday, include facilitating fraud…as well as the refusal to turn over user data to law enforcement investigations. The Russian entrepreneur, who also holds the citizenship of France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis, was released on a 5.55 million bond.

Elon Musk posts #FreePavel after Telegram founder’s arrest – and slams Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg | 25 Aug 2024 | Elon Musk defended Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov following his arrest in Paris on Saturday and slammed fellow social media billionaire Mark Zuckerberg for caving into “censorship pressure.” Musk wrote “#FreePavel” on X hours after the billionaire Russian exile was arrested at Le Bourget airport, reportedly over allegations he has allowed criminal activity to thrive on his encrypted messaging app. French authorities issued a search warrant as part of a preliminary investigation into Durov — a staunch free speech advocate — and Telegram but were only able to act on the warrant if the 39-year-old was on French soil. Musk, who said he bought X – formerly Twitter – to further free speech, slammed the Russian-born tech entrepreneur’s arrest in a post, writing “#FreePavel” while sharing a clip of Durov praising X for heralding innovation and free speech.

Mark Zuckerberg ADMITS censoring for Joe Biden in bombshell letter and whines about ‘pressure’ from White House –He also admitted the company ‘demoted’ stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop | 26 Aug 2024 | Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that the Biden administration was “wrong” to demand Facebook censor what they deemed “COVID misinformation” during the pandemic. The Meta CEO said in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan that they’ll fight back against any attempts at censorship in the future and also admitted the company had “demoted” stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop. He wrote that the White House “repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree.” He said that this pressure “was wrong” and says he regrets “that we were not more outspoken about it.”

U.S. tax d-llars at work: Ukrainian draft office threatens lethal force against citizens –Officers are within their rights to open fire in “self-defense,” a regional enlistment authority has warned | 28 Aug 2024 | Draft officers are within their rights to use lethal force in “self-defense” against citizens, a Ukrainian regional enlistment authority warned on Tuesday. The head draft office of the western Ukrainian region of Volyn stated that officers had already been instructed to use lethal force in situations requiring self-defense. “All personnel of all [draft offices] have been notified that in the event of a threat to life, lethal force should be used. The jokes are over. You wanted it to go by law? Everything will be according to the law,” the office said in a statement. The threat comes following an attack on an enlistment office in the city of Lutsk earlier the same day.

Israel targets West Bank with new wave of strikes and assassinations –The IDF has launched a significant “counterterrorism operation” in response to a failed suicide bombing attempt in Tel Aviv | 28 Aug 2024 | Israel has killed around a dozen suspected militants in a series of airstrikes and raids in the occupied West Bank, as well as an assassination near the Syrian-Lebanese border, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday. The strikes allegedly targeted members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. Israeli forces launched what they called a “counterterrorism operation” in the West Bank settlements of Jenin and Tulkarm in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

COVID-19 surge causes closure of two schools, more might follow suit | 27 Aug 2024 | A COVID-19 surge has resulted in the closure of two schools and more might follow suit. So far, the two schools that have closed are located in Alabama and Tennessee. One of those schools, Johnson-Abernathy-Graetz (JAB) high school in Montgomery, Ala., switched to remote learning only four days into its new school year. Students return to school in states such as New York, New Jersey and Michigan after the Labor Day weekend, setting up the possibility of more closures to come. COVID cases are reportedly up in many parts of the country.

Do not comply: Covid surge forces schools to close and bring back pandemic-era measures – and more are at risk as millions head back to class next week | 26 Aug 2024 | Schools in two states experiencing a rise in Covid cases [among the vaccinated] announced they were closing facilities and switching to remote learning. Alabama and Tennessee announced the closure of two schools — affecting more than a thousand children — just days into the new academic year, with officials saying the virus had forced them to shut and carry out a “deep clean.” At one of the schools, children had to abandon their desks and revert to remote learning for two days — a move reminiscent of the early days of Covid. The closures came — both in Republican states — despite a mountain of evidence suggesting they hamper children’s learning, social interactions and ability to develop natural immunity to common infections. And there are fears that more disruption could be in store for students in the coming months — with many schools, in states like New York, New Jersey and Michigan, returning after the Labor Day weekend.

Fauci wants to bring back masks after contracting COVID – despite being vaccinated SIX TIMES | 12 Aug 2024 | Dr. Anthony Fauci is again recommending that people don face masks as Covid cases rise. The number of infections is increasing as part of another summer surge — even though hospitalizations and deaths from the virus remain at historic lows. On Monday, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease said: “The message is that if you are in a risk category you have got to take this seriously.” The 83-year-old [beagle-torturing sociopath] told people with comorbidities and seniors “you should be wearing a mask” in crowded places. He also revealed he had contracted Covid about two weeks ago. It was his third Covid infection and he has been vaccinated and boosted a total of six times.

Ex-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard endorses Trump at National Guard event | 26 Aug 2024 | Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard endorsed former President Donald Trump on Monday at an event for the National Guard Association in the battleground state of Michigan. The support from Gabbard, a former Democrat who ran for president against Kamala Harris in 2020 and served in the Army National Guard, came as the two marked the three-year anniversary of the airport bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, that left 13 U.S. service members dead. “This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts and regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before,” Gabbard said. “This is one of the main reasons why I’m committed to doing all that I can to send President Trump back to the White House, where he can once again serve us as our commander in chief.”

Harris camp offered $1K to Biden allies before she was floated for board seat on Beau foundation – Hunter laptop emails | 28 Aug 2024 | Allies of Joe Biden were skeptical that Kamala Harris was “ready” for the national spotlight during her 2016 U.S. Senate campaign — but were apparently happy to hand over donor lists and even offer her a board seat with the Beau Biden Foundation after her camp dangled a 1,000 contribution, emails on first son Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop show. If completed, the convoluted transaction flouted the Foundation’s tax-exempt status and may have violated federal election law, experts told The Post this week. Allies of Harris, then California’s attorney general, contacted Josh Alcorn, Beau Biden’s top political and fundraising adviser, with an unusual request in late 2015 — months after the former Delaware attorney general died of brain cancer. “Just an FYI — Kamala Harris’s campaign reached out. They’d like to pay us about 1,000 for access to the email list,” Alcorn wrote in a December 30 email to Hunter and Hallie Biden, Beau’s widow.

Trump indicted a second time in election subversion case brought by special counsel Jack Smith –Superseding indictment is unlikely to go to trial before the November election | 27 Aug 2024 | Special Counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday filed another indictment against former President Trump over his alleged efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, revising the charges in an effort to navigate a recent Supreme Court ruling that gave former presidents immunity for official acts. The new indictment keeps the prior criminal charges but narrows and reframes the allegations against the Republican presidential nominee after a Supreme Court ruling that conferred broad immunity on former presidents. Specifically, the indictment has been changed to remove allegations involving Department of Justice officials and other government officials. It clarifies Trump’s role as candidate, and makes clear the allegations regarding his conversations with then-Vice President Mike Pence in his ceremonial role as president of the Senate.

RFK Jr. has had his Secret Service protection taken away after suspending his 2024 race and backing Trump | 25 Aug 2024 | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will no longer have Secret Service protection after pausing his 2024 campaign for president — but vowing to still run in November on the ballot in all but 10 states… The Democrat-turned-independent is still running in 40 of the 50 states, but he will no longer tout with him the Secret Service security detail Joe Biden instructed to provide protection for the candidate last month. The directive for USSS detail to protect Kennedy originally came after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. When candidates for president drop out, it’s standard procedure for their protective detail to be pulled. But RFK Jr. is technically still in the race and has not ended his White House bid — though he no longer has a path toward victory.

‘Solemn day’ Trump pays tribute to service members killed in Afghanistan pullout on ISIS attack anniversary – while Biden vacations | 26 Aug 2024 | Former President Donald Trump honored the 13 service members who died in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal three years ago Monday, joining families of the fallen for a private event at Arlington National Cemetery — while Joe Biden stayed away from the White House for the second week in a row. On Aug. 26, 2021, ISIS-K [I-CIA-SIS-K] suicide bomber Abdul Rahman al-Logari detonated an explosive vest outside Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate, killing the service members and nearly 200 Afghans. The White House published separate statements from Biden and Kamala Harris on Monday, though Biden had no public events scheduled as he spends the week at his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Over 100 students without bus service as Massachusetts funds buses for migrants | 24 Aug 2024 | Parents and students of a school district outside of Boston were informed last week that they would be without school bus service, citing a lack of funding and a shortage of buses. The 150 students at Stoughton Public Schools will have to find a new way to get to school ahead of the academic year’s September 4 start date, the Boston Herald first reported. The news comes at the same time that the state has started paying for buses for the migrant students of the more than 200 migrant families that recently moved into their community. “Unfortunately, for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, 150 secondary students who signed up to ride a bus were not able to be placed on a bus,” a letter sent to parents from Superintendent of Schools Joseph Baeta read. “Those families not receiving bus transportation were notified this week. Those receiving bus transportation will receive their bus postcards the week of August 19.”

Massachusetts GOP demands information on state’s $1 billion in ‘secret’ migrant spending: ‘Veil of secrecy’ | 27 Aug 2024 | Massachusetts Republicans have submitted a formal request with the state’s government for information on the alleged “1 billion in secret migrant crisis spending” as the Bay State grapples with the migrant crisis. In a release from the state’s Republican Party, MassGOP, the group demanded that Gov. Maura Healey’s administration provides a detailed cost breakdown of the toll that the migrant crisis has caused for the state’s residents. “The Healey-Driscoll Administration has shrouded nearly 1 billion spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark,” MassGOP chair Amy Carnevale said in a statement. “They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire and EMT. Blocking journalists at every turn, the administration has obstructed the flow of information to the public.”

Brutal Venezuelan gang violence spills into quiet suburb from the sanctuary city next door – despite efforts to keep migrants out | 25 Aug 2024 | Denver’s decision to welcome migrants with open arms is bringing bloodshed to the suburbs next door. A notorious Venezuelan prison gang has set up shop in Aurora, Colorado — even though the town wanted no part of the influx of asylum seekers in the first place. Aurora — a quiet bedroom community with a population of 390,000 directly east of the Mile-High City — has become a base of operations for the brutal Tren de Aragua gang, which has seized multiple apartment complexes and set off a wave of violent crime… In February, Aurora City Council passed a resolution 7-3 emphatically stating that it will not provide resources and support to migrants or others brought into the community from neighboring cities. But Denver’s largesse has become Aurora’s problem anyway — forcing the community to grapple with increasing gang violence as Tren de Aragua has moved into town, taking whatever they can get their hands on, according to police, officials and law enforcement sources.