President Joe Biden told CNN he would not allow the DOJ to seize records from reporters.

His remarks come after reports said the DOJ covertly obtained email and phone records from journalists with The Washington Post and CNN.

https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-admin-spied-fox-news-reporter-james-rosen-134204299.html

The Justice Department spied extensively on Fox News reporter James Rosen in 2010, collecting his telephone records, tracking his movements in and out of the State Department and seizing two days of Rosen’s personal emails, the Washington Post reported

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/20/ghost-fleet-ship-nomad-transited-panama-canal-headed-to-california

An experimental unmanned surface vehicle has transited the Panama Canal on the way to its new home in California, USNI News has learned.

Nomad, a former offshore patrol vessel retrofitted with systems to allow the ship to operate autonomously, passed through the Panama Canal this week, according to ship spotters tracking data from Marine Traffic.com. A Navy official also confirmed the transit.

Web cameras at the canal’s Miraflores locks showed Nomad en route the Pacific late Tuesday night.

Nomad, formerly known as Riley Claire, is one of two known ships SCO created for its Ghost Fleet Overlord experimentation program to test the viability of at-sea autonomous ships.

The other known Overlord ship, Ranger, completed its own transit to California late last year.

“During this voyage, the vessel traveled over 4,700 nautical miles, 97 percent of which was in autonomous mode — a record for the program. Ghost Fleet Overlord will continue fleet experimentation to inform the Navy’s unmanned concept development,” Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Josh Frey told USNI News at the time.

Did the pipeline hackers screw-up royaly

https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/tackling-cryptocurrency-is-key-for-governments-seeking-to-switch-off-ransomware-1.1227333

Americans queuing up to fill gas canisters as a major pipeline was taken down. An entire nation unable to carry out blood tests for health emergencies after Ireland was targeted by hackers. Barely a week goes by without crisis incidents of computer networks penetrated by criminals, and yet the world appears immobilised on tackling the problem.

The insurance industry has started to sound the alarm on the trend. According to Swiss Re chief executive Christian Mumenthaler, there is a lack of appreciation that, while ransom payments can still be seen in the context of $5.5 billion premiums from cyber insurance policies, the overall fraud in the sector is hundreds of billions a year globally.

The French insurer Axa, meanwhile, was hit by a ransomware attack when it said it would no longer pay out on its policies to cover ransoms. Its Thailand and Hong Kong offices were targeted.

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/hamas-warns-palestinians-dont-talk-about-the-sites-targeted-by-israel-668839

The ISA claimed that Israel has stepped up its intelligence activities “to gather information about the resistance and its movements as part of an effort to update its bank of targets.”

The Hamas security agency also warned the Palestinians against making statements to “suspicious parties impersonating relief or charitable institutions.”

Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip said that the warning was in the context of Hamas’s attempt to hide the damage caused to its tunnels and weapons arsenal during the Israeli air strikes. The sources pointed out that the headquarters of the ISA were completely destroyed by Israel during the fighting.

Other sources predicted that Hamas would soon arrest scores of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on suspicion of “collaboration” with Israel during the fighting.

Bozom said that the Hamas security forces began redeploying after the ceasefire announcement on Friday morning. “We assure our people of the stability of the security situation and the strength of the home front, and we will not abandon our duty, regardless of the sacrifices, and we will remain loyal to the blood of the martyrs,” he added.

https://www.newsweek.com/ammon-bundy-files-idaho-gop-gov-run-hes-banned-state-capitol-1593916?piano_t=1

Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has filed to run in the Republican primary for governor of Idaho despite the fact he remains banned from visiting the state capitol.

Bundy is perhaps best known for leading the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon to protest federal control of public lands. He was arrested and faced federal charges but was later acquitted.

Bundy was banned from visiting the Idaho State Capitol in Boise for a year on August 26, 2020, after being arrested there twice in two days on charges of trespassing and resisting and obstructing officers as part of a protest while the state legislatures considered measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bundy was due to appear in court on the trespassing charge on May 15 along with another man, Aaron Schmidt, but they tried to enter without wearing masks as required in the Ada County Courthouse and consequently were not present when the hearing began. As a result, the judge issued a failure to appear warrant, and the two were arrested outside the courthouse.

https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/cherokee-nation-receiving-1-8-billion-through-american-rescue-plan-act-funds-citizens-to-receive-2-000-directly

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The American Rescue Plan Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden for Covid-19 recovery funds. Overall from the Act's funds, Indian Country will receive a historic $31.2 billion. The Cherokee Nation will receive $1.8 billion of those funds.

Part of the $1.8 billion will be allocated directly to the tribal citizens of the Cherokee Nation spread over two payments.

Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner’s proposed spending plan for the funds will provide every Cherokee citizen with a total of $2,000 in direct relief assistance, allocating $1,000 each year for two years.