http://uawire.org/kremlin-tests-disconnecting-russia-from-world-internet

Russian authorities held exercises to isolate the Russian internet segment (Runet) from the global internet, RBC news agency reports, citing sources and materials of the working group "Information Security" under Russia’s Digital Economy national program.

The exercises, which took place between June 15 and July 15, were attended by Russia’s "big four" internet providers (MTS, Beeline, Megafon and Tele2), as well as Rostelecom, Transtelecom and ER-Telecom Holding.

"The possibility of physical shutdown of the Russian segment of the Internet was tested," a source in the telecommunications market told RBC news agency .

According to another interlocutor of the news agency, "the exercises were successful." The official completion of the tests is scheduled for August 31.

In November 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that an autonomous Internet governance system be developed that would remove the Russian internet segment out of the "dominance" of the United States.

https://www.ntd.com/doj-launches-strike-forces-in-5-cities-to-fight-illegal-gun-trafficking_647309.html

Attorney General Merrick Garland is on Thursday officially launching five cross-jurisdictional strike forces to disrupt illegal firearms trafficking in key regions across the country, according to officials.

Merrick, along with deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco, will on Thursday visit the Washington headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for the official launch of the program, before traveling to Chicago—one of the five strike force cities—later in the day, officials said.

“All too often, guns found at crime scenes come from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. We are redoubling our efforts as ATF works with law enforcement to track the movement of illegal firearms used in violent crimes,” Garland said in a statement. “These strike forces enable sustained coordination across multiple jurisdictions to help disrupt the worst gun trafficking corridors.”

“This new approach that links law enforcement and prosecutors and locations where violence is occurring with the law enforcement and prosecutors in the jurisdictions where the firearms originate broadens our focus to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated response in both of those areas,” the official added.

The funding for the strike forces comes from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, according to the White House.

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2021/07/22/gun-violence-task-force-wants-to-keep-public-out-of-meetings-n47974

We’ve seen a number of cities announce adopt working groups or task forces to come up with ways to combat violent crime over the past couple of months, but how easy is it to monitor what these groups are actually doing? In the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois, the answer is “not easy at all,” because a task force established by Davenport, Iowa Mayor Mike Matson have decided to keep all of their deliberations closed to the public.

Matson says he quizzed the members of the task force (which include local school board members, community activists, police officers, pastors, and a few politicians) to see if they wanted to open their meetings to the general public, and the answer was a resounding “no.”