How Many More Luckin Coffees? SEC To Discuss Listed Chinese Firms' Lax Accounting Standards, Fraud

Nasdaq delisted China’s Luckin Coffee over allegations of accounting fraud

Many of the letters to the SEC focused on a Chinese education called GSX Techedu

In May, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that could ultimately delist scores of Chinese stocks

A group of American investors have alleged that some Chinese-based companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges are fraudulent entities without accounting transparency that could harm U.S. investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission planned a roundtable conference on the issue on Thursday.

The conference comes only weeks after Nasdaq decided to delist China’s Luckin Coffee over allegations of accounting fraud related to fabricated sales figures.

In comment letters to the SEC in the past two months, dozens of investors and traders have cited instances of Chinese firms committing various acts of fraud.

For example, Carson Block, founder and chief investment officer of Muddy Waters Capital, an investment research firm based in California, wrote to the SEC: “Chinese-based [stock] issuers have committed and continue to commit fraud on a stunning scale in the [U.S.] capital markets… Protecting individual investors from the devastating financial impact of these frauds requires a profoundly different policy and regulatory approach.”

Block cited the aforementioned Luckin Coffee as an example. While Luckin Chairman Charles Lu was removed from his position, he remains the company’s largest investor wielding heavy influence. Block noted that no auditors of Luckin have resigned since the scandal broke.

Many of the letters to the SEC focused on a Chinese education and language school company called GSX Techedu, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GSX.

GSX shares traded at $81 per share as of midday Thursday and the company has a market cap of $19.3 billion.

“The SEC's continued inaction on known China-based frauds is disheartening,” wrote investor David Monroe. “GSX has been clearly and unequivocally shown to be a fraud, and yet, the SEC has chosen to sit by idly. Please act on GSX and the other half dozen demonstrably fraudulent U.S.-listed companies from China before more investors… pile into these stocks and lose [most or all] of their money during the inevitable collapse.”

Thomas Forrest, a senior consultant of learning and development, also singled out GSX as a fraudulent company “that does not have staff commensurate to its filings to the SEC or compared to its valuation.”

Another investor named Janson You wrote that GSX might be a “Pearl Harbor” moment for U.S. stock markets.

https://www.ibtimes.com/how-many-more-luckin-coffees-sec-discuss-listed-chinese-firms-lax-accounting-3008574

Proposed Settlement with United States and Major Fertilizer Producer will Reduce Acidic Wastewater Generation and Enhance Phosphate Recovery

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/proposed-settlement-united-states-and-major-fertilizer-producer-will-reduce-acidic-wastewater

Michael Cohen Back In Jail After Allegedly Breaking House Arrest To Eat At A Restaurant

Former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is back in jail after allegedly breaking house arrest to dine out at a restaurant, according to reports citing his attorney Jeffrey Levine.

#BREAKING: Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen is re-arrested after pictures surfaced of him dining out in NYC last week.

— Jennifer Franco (@jennfranconews) July 9, 2020

Cohen, who was released from a New York jail on May 20 due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, was captured on camera by the New York Post dining at a Manhattan restaurant last Friday.

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to charges of lying to Congress and campaign finance fraud. He’s set for release in 2021.

https://saraacarter.com/michael-cohen-back-in-jail-after-allegedly-breaking-house-arrest-to-eat-at-a-restaurant/

U.S.-Backed Militants Ambushed By Syrian Army Were Smuggling Weapons To ISIS

U.S.-backed militants who were recently ambushed by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) near al-Tanaf garrison in southeastern Syria were smuggling weapons to ISIS, Mzahem Alsaloum, the former spokesman for the defunct U.S.-backed New Syrian Army, revealed on July 8.

The militants were ambushed by the SAA outside the 55-km zone around al-Tanaf early on July 7. Three were killed and three others were captured alive by the army.

Alsaloum, who is known for having credible sources in al-Tanaf, said the six militants were on their way back from an arms deal with ISIS terrorists. The militants handed over weapons, which were brought from the 55 km deconfliction zone, to the terrorists.

“The regime had a tip about the smugglers group from collaborators into ISIS,” Alsaloum wrote on Twitter.

According to Alsaloum, the militants were working as smugglers for senior leaders in the U.S.-backed Revolutionary Commando Army, known as MaT. The activist didn’t reveal the identity of these leaders.

Russian journalist Oleg Blokhin identified the three captured militants as “Raed Hamad Ashrihi,” “Jassim Mohammed Al-Ali” and “Abdullah Hussam Al-Din Al-Mashout.”

Blokhin also revealed that the three militants are from the city of al-Bukamal in southern Deir Ezzor. All of them were former members of ISIS who enlisted in the ranks of MaT after having reached al-Tanaf.

ISIS terrorists in central Syria, who intensified their operations in the past few months, are apparently receiving supplies straight from U.S.-occupied al-Tanaf.

The U.S.-led coalition continues to train and arm MaT militants, despite their criminal activities and their close ties with ISIS. This indicates that the coalition itself may be involved in these activities or at least turning a blind eye to them.

https://southfront.org/u-s-backed-militants-ambushed-by-syrian-army-were-smuggling-weapons-to-isis-reports/

Pentagon Chief Esper Confirms Probe in Progress Over 'Taliban Bounties' Intel's Leak to Press

The New York Times' story citing 'anonymous intelligence' on alleged Russian cash rewards to Taliban*-linked militants for the killing of US and coalition troops in Afghanistan sparked a major crisis in Washington, prompting denials from the White House, Moscow and the Taliban itself, and demands by Democrats for new sanctions against Russia.

The Pentagon has ordered a probe investigating the leaks to media of intelligence about the so-called Afghan bounties story, Defence Secretary Mark Esper has announced.

"[There is] an investigation that is underway to go after leaks, whether it's of classified information, or unclassified information that is sensitive and also unauthorized discussions to the media. All those things hurt our national security, they undermine our troops, their safety, they affect our relations with other countries, they affect our national policy. It's bad, and it's happening all over the government - executive branch, legislative branch to some degree, so it's something we need to get control of," Esper said, speaking before lawmakers in House testimony on the bounties allegations on Thursday.

"All the defence intelligence agencies have been unable to corroborate that report," Esper added, referring to the claims themselves.

https://sputniknews.com/us/202007091079840337-pentagon-chief-esper-confirms-probe-in-progress-over-taliban-bounties-intel-leak-to-press/

City of New York Paints 'Black Lives Matter' Mural Outside Trump Tower

The list of reasons George Floyd was killed just keeps growing and growing. First it was blamed on a lack of police reform, which seemed reasonable. But it didn’t stop there. Now, lots of things that liberals have always hated are to blame for that man’s death. Confederate monuments, or any other monument to any other dead white guy, up to and including Abraham Lincoln. White actors playing fictional characters who are African-American. TV shows about police officers. The word “master,” as in “master bedroom” or “Mastercard.” All sorts of stuff that has never bothered a normal person is now responsible for a multiracial group of Minnesota cops killing a black guy. Everything except, y’know, the actual killers.

Now we can add another reason to the list: the lack of a #BlackLivesMatter mural outside Trump Tower.

Jonathan Dienst, Melissa Russo and Hilary Weissman, WNBC:

New York City will start painting “Black Lives Matter” on Fifth Avenue directly in front of Trump Tower on Thursday, picking up a delayed project that President Trump blasted as a “symbol of hate.”

City workers began closing the street Thursday morning and Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to take part in the mural some time Thursday afternoon, sources tell NBC New York…

There is no ‘symbol of hate’ here. Just a commitment to truth,” the mayor wrote. “Only in your mind could an affirmation of people’s value be a scary thing.”

Just think: If they had done this two months ago, George Floyd would still be alive.

Sixty-four people were shot in New York City last weekend. Hundreds of NYC cops are quitting. Over 22,000 New Yorkers have been killed by COVID-19 the Chinese virus. And this is what the mayor is doing. This is how New Yorkers’ taxes are being spent.

How does this help anybody? How does this fix anything? It doesn’t. It’s not supposed to. That’s not the point. It’s being done out of pure spite. If Bill de Blasio can’t solve any of New York City’s problems — and he can’t — at least he can troll the president of the United States. It makes Trump angry, so it’s good. It #OwnsTheCons, it gives libs an endorphin rush, so they cheer it on.

Is such a mural a “symbol of hatred”? I wouldn’t go that far. But for an organization called Black Lives Matter, they sure don’t care about any of the black people who have been killed in the civil unrest these “protesters” have caused. I’m not seeing any nationally televised funerals for the black children being gunned down in New York and Chicago and so many other Democrat-run cities. The only black lives that seem to matter are the ones that can be exploited for political purposes.

By the way, those Trump supporters in Martinez, CA who painted over a BLM mural have been charged with a hate crime. After months of chaos, Democrats have finally found an act of vandalism they won’t applaud.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/jim-treacher/2020/07/09/city-of-new-york-paints-black-lives-matter-mural-outside-trump-tower-n624146

Military Situation In Libya On July 9, 2020 (Map Update)

A brief overview of the recent developments in Libya:

According to Tripoli local sources, Turkish Army sent a new batch of air defense systems to al-Watiyah airbase;

According to the LNA spokesman, Turkey is the one who is leading the battle in Libya and the GNA is nothing but a puppet and the real battle is between the Libyan people and the Turkish invaders;

According to the head of Libyan National Oil Company, foreign forces entered the al-Sadra port and are changing it into a military base;

According to the UN envoy to Libya, the landmines planted by Gen. Haftar forces led to killing and wounding of 81 civilians and 57 others, including the mine detecting and neutralizing teams.

https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-libya-on-july-9-2020-map-update/

Terrified Academics Withdraw Study Showing White Cops Aren't Killing More Blacks

The authors of a 2019 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that examined “917 fatal police shootings of civilians from 2015 to test whether the race of the officer or the civilian predicted fatal police shootings” was withdrawn by the authors after being cited by noted conservative author and essayist Heather MacDonald.

Psychologists Joseph Cesario of Michigan State and David Johnson of the University of Maryland say they stand behind their work, which concludes there was “no significant evidence of anti-black disparity in the likelihood of being fatally shot by the police.” But they objected to its “misuse.” MacDonald cited the study in congressoinal testimony last September and again in an article for City Journal. But it wasn’t until her June 3 op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that cited the study when there were “complications” on campus and outraged wokesters demanded that the profs be flogged — or something.

Wall Street Journal:

My June 3 Journal op-ed quoted the PNAS article’s conclusion verbatim. It set off a firestorm at Michigan State. The university’s Graduate Employees Union pressured the MSU press office to apologize for the “harm it caused” by mentioning my article in a newsletter. The union targeted physicist Steve Hsu, who had approved funding for Mr. Cesario’s research. MSU sacked Mr. Hsu from his administrative position. PNAS editorialized that Messrs. Cesario and Johnson had “poorly framed” their article—the one that got through the journal’s three levels of editorial and peer review.

Mr. Cesario told this page that Mr. Hsu’s dismissal could narrow the “kinds of topics people can talk about, or what kinds of conclusions people can come to.” Now he and Mr. Johnson have themselves jeopardized the possibility of politically neutral scholarship. On Monday they retracted their paper. They say they stand behind its conclusion and statistical approach but complain about its “misuse,” specifically mentioning my op-eds.

“Publish or perish” is now passe. It’s “Publish and pray you don’t offend the snowflakes” that matters now.

The authors don’t say how I misused their work. Instead, they attribute to me a position I have never taken: that the “probability of being shot by police did not differ between Black and White Americans.” To the contrary, I have, like them, stressed that racial disparities in policing reflect differences in violent crime rates. The only thing wrong with their article, and my citation of it, is that its conclusion is unacceptable in our current political climate.

You want to tell the spineless academics that they deserve whatever they get from the mob but the realities of today’s academic world make conforming to orthodoxy an absolute career necessity. Even at the cost of being intellectually dishonest and groveling before the mob, it’s not like liberals are bucking a conservative academic environment.

If that were the case, the liberal professor could dramatically hand his resignation to the president of the university, make some grandiose statement about academic freedom, and then make the rounds of Sunday talk shows and even late-night TV, all in preparation for the blockbuster book deal he would sign.

I have faith that the small cadre of conservative thinkers and writers on and off campus will keep the spirit of open scholarship alive. Otherwise, the history of the world will look a lot different in 100 years than it does to us today.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/07/09/terrified-academics-withdraw-study-showing-white-cops-arent-killing-more-blacks-n624928

Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham Is Preparing New Chemical Provocation In Greater Idlib: Russia Warns

Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is plotting to carry out a new provocation with chemical weapons in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib, Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria revealed on July 8.

Alexander Shcherbitsky, chief of the reconciliation center, said that the group had prepared at least fifteen improvised explosive devices packed with unknown toxic substances in order to stage the false flag attack.

“According to the intelligence data, militants have manufactured at least 15 improvised explosive devices replete with unknown toxic substances in a special laboratory located in the town of Sarmada,” the Russian TASS news agency quoted Shcherbitsky as saying.

Citing local informants in Greater Idlib, Shcherbitsky said the false flag attack could take place in the towns of Sfuhon, Fatira and Flaifel.

The three towns were likely chosen by the terrorist group because they are shelled by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on a regular basis. Most civilians abandoned the towns during the last battle. HTS and its allies built a series of military positions there.

Over the past two years, Russian, Syrian and Lebanese sources have reported a number of attempts by HTS to stage false flag chemical weapons attacks in Greater Idlib.

HTS’ plots are nothing but a desperate attempt to provoke a U.S.-led attack on the SAA. The U.S. launched missile strikes on the SAA in 2017 and 2018 in response to alleged chemical attacks. Since then, terrorist groups in Syria have been attempting to provide a pretext for new attacks.

https://southfront.org/hayat-tahrir-al-sham-is-preparing-new-chemical-provocation-in-greater-idlib-russia-warns/

Sputnik Deutschland Says Berlin Unable to Explain News Agency's Inclusion in Intel Reports

The German authorities are unable to clearly justify the inclusion of the Sputnik news agency into the country’s annual intelligence reports, Sputnik Deutschland chief Sergey Feoktistov said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and counter-intelligence chief Thomas Haldenwang presented the 388-page 2019 Report on the Protection of the Constitution, which says that RT Deutsch and Sputnik play a "central role" in exerting pro-Russian influence in Germany.

According to Feoktistov, both in 2018 and 2019, Sputnik was mentioned in the report’s section on espionage and other subversive activities.

"Last year, we sent an official request for clarification and justification of Sputnik Deutschland’s inclusion in this section. Because Sputnik Deutschland certainly does not conduct any espionage, intelligence or subversive activities on the country’s soil. We have not received any response," Feoktistov said.

At a press conference on Thursday, a Sputnik Deutschland correspondent asked Haldenwang to explain Berlin’s stance.

"The only thing he could say was that we cover protests in Berlin and inflate the numbers of participants," Feoktistov said.

The journalist went on to argue that the news agency has always "used only the official figures of either the police or the organizers."

Over the past several years, Russian media, especially RT and Sputnik, have faced significant pressure in the United States and the European Union over the alleged spread of propaganda and fake news. RT and Sputnik refute the accusations as a campaign against alternative viewpoints, saying that no credible proof of them spreading fake news has ever been provided.

https://sputniknews.com/world/202007091079840405-sputnik-deutschland-says-berlin-unable-to-explain-news-agencys-inclusion-in-intel-reports/

Chuck Baldwin: Human Enslavement is a Money Maker

"The one lesson we have learned from the corona hoax is that virtually everything BIG is in bed with the forces of global tyranny. I'm talking about big business, big media, big medicine, big pharma, big entertainment, big industry, big technology, big politics, big government, and big religion. It's all controlled by the forces of global tyranny."

The Biggest Global Hoax in History

I'll say it straight out: The propaganda about COVID-1984 is the biggest global hoax in history. Corona poses zero threat to 99.9% of the population. Masks are a joke. Social distancing is a joke. Business closures are a joke. Church closures are a joke. Theater closures are a joke. Sporting event cancellations are a joke. All of the corona-based television commercials are a joke. All of the fearmongering by radio disc jockeys and television news broadcasters is a joke. All of the theatrical grandstanding by politicians on Capitol Hill is a joke.

Of course, by joke, I don't mean funny (it would be funny if it wasn't so deadly serious). I mean stupid, idiotic, moronic, asinine, senseless, imbecilic, dumb, etc. Then again, what it really shows is the pure evil and wickedness of the people fomenting all of this fear and the crass gullibility and slavish spirit of a sizable percentage of the American population.

The one lesson we have learned from the corona hoax is that virtually everything BIG is in bed with the forces of global tyranny. I'm talking about big business, big media, big medicine, big pharma, big entertainment, big industry, big technology, big politics, big government and big religion. It's all controlled by the forces of global tyranny.

The corona scare has absolutely nothing to do with health and safety and everything to do with money, politics, and power. And almost everybody wants in on the action. And almost no one gives a tinker's dam about Liberty.

I have already documented in this column how hospitals and medical professionals are being paid to NOT treat people; how they are being paid to keep hospitals empty; how they are being paid to fabricate and exaggerate corona cases and deaths; and how they are being paid to go along with the phony CDC narrative.

Here is Dr. Ron Paul exposing the lies about corona.

But what is most disconcerting (at least to me) is the way pastors and churches grovel before these tyrants. For years, I have tried to warn Christians about the evils of the 501(c)(3) non-profit government churches.

In order to stay on the smiley side of the Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3), churches have sold their spiritual birthright and Bible convictions. They are happy to crawl on the floor and eat the crumbs that fall from the king's table, like dogs on a chain.

Do you want to know why so many of these government "churches" are STILL closed? I'll tell you why: They are being paid by the government to stay closed. That's why.

Megachurches and other religious organizations with ties to vocal supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump were approved for millions of dollars in forgivable loans from a taxpayer-funded pandemic aid bailout, according to long-awaited government data released this week.

https://www.henrymakow.com/2020/07/chuck-baldwin-human-enslavemen.html

US Navy reverses unlawful order banning troops from indoor Mass, religious services

'This proves' that 'there is no pandemic exception to the First Amendment,' said Mike Berry, First Liberty Institute General Counsel.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 9, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The United States Navy has revised its policy prohibiting active service members from attending in-person religious services. Those who disobeyed and attended church services had risked court-martial.

The move is seen as an important victory on behalf of religious liberty by Navy personnel affected by the previously enacted ban, and by those who fought on their behalf.

The change comes just days after First Liberty Institute sent a letter on behalf of active duty officer Daniel Schultz and several other service members affected by the order, asking the U.S. Navy to grant an accommodation so that he could attend indoor religious services.

The rollback also comes after LifeSiteNews launched a petition on June 30 which quickly garnered more than 18,000 signatures asking President Donald Trump – who had previously declared religious services to be essential – to intervene.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, issued a statement on July 5 in which he called the ban “odious to Catholics.”

On June 24, the Navy issued an order banning troops from attending indoor religious services, although other activities such as using mass transit, hosting social gatherings of any size, and participation in protests were all permitted.

The order specifically stated that “service members are prohibited from visiting, patronizing, or engaging in … indoor religious services.”

The Navy has now walked back the order, which religious liberty advocates said was a most egregious overstepping of military personnels’ freedom to worship.

A memo from Acting Undersecretary of the Navy Gregory Slavonic sent to the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Chief of Naval Operations offered new guidance concerning the order stating that nothing contained in previous instructions “should be construed to restrict attendance at places of worship where attendees are able to appropriately apply COVID-19 transmission mitigation measures, specifically social distancing and use of face covering.”

“I am directing you … to inform Commanders to incorporate this clarification allowing attendance at religious services where COVID-19 transmission mitigation measures may be appropriately applied,” added Slavonic.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/victory-us-navy-reverses-unlawful-order-banning-troops-from-indoor-mass-religious-services

Chinese companies warn cutting projects will hurt ties with Beijing

The Israel Builders Association petitioned the High Court in May, accusing Chinese construction and engineering companies of behaving like a monopoly.

Reducing Chinese companies’ involvement in infrastructure projects can hurt Israel’s diplomatic and economic interests, lawyers for the Chinese Enterprises Association in Israel (CEAI) said, responding to an antitrust suit in the Supreme Court, in a document obtained by The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

CEAI is a group of major Chinese businesses working in Israel in several fields. The Israel Builders Association petitioned the High Court in May, accusing Chinese construction and engineering companies of behaving like a monopoly.

Citing bilateral agreements between the country and calling for the Prime Minister’s Office, National Security Council and Foreign Ministry to get involved, CEAI said “Israel’s diplomatic and economic interests can be severely harmed by this discussion.”

CEAI argued that strong Sino-Israeli economic relations – with annual trade over $13 billion – lean on diplomatic relations developed since 1992.

“The ramifications of accepting the petitioners’ stance in relation to the Law for Promoting Competition and Reducing Market Concentration are mega-global, politically and diplomatically,” CEAI’s response reads. “They go beyond the Israeli market into the world geopolitical plane and are expected to change Israel’s status in the international arena and influence its foreign relations.”

CEAI’s attorneys brought up past court cases in Israel involving Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard and others to show that there is a precedent by which judges decline to intervene in cases that can harm Israel’s foreign relations.

CEAI members are all owned, directly or indirectly, by the Chinese government, and are able to offer much lower prices for their services than Israeli companies.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/chinese-companies-warn-cutting-projects-will-hurt-ties-with-beijing-634535

Durham Under Pressure to Wrap Up Spygate Investigation, Could ‘Punt it to After the Election’ … And President Trump is Furious!

John Durham, the US Attorney from Connecticut appointed to investigate the origins of Spygate, is reportedly under pressure to wrap up his probe by the end of summer.

However, according to two sources who spoke to Fox News, Durham could wait to initiate prosecutions or reveal his findings until after the 2020 presidential election.

Via Fox News:

Two sources familiar with Durham’s investigation told Fox News this week that Durham is working expeditiously to try to finish the probe by the end of summer, but that several lines of investigation are not yet complete.

“He believes it’s critical to do them,” one source said. “He is feeling more pressure to get this done and wrapped up.”

The source also told Fox News that Durham “does not want this to be viewed political,” and the closer it gets to November, Durham could “punt it to after the election.”

What we know so far:

Award-winning investigative reporter John Solomon told Sean Hannity back in April that he knows of a few witnesses who have appeared before a DC grand jury.

John Solomon told Hannity he believes that Durham’s charges will start with Kevin Clinesmith, the lawyer who fraudulently changed a document to deceive the FISA court.

Durham has added to his investigative team and is reportedly focusing on the Intel Community’s assessment that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election.

CNN reported a few months ago that Durham and his team have been reviewing highly classified documents inside of a SCIF [Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility] and in recent weeks added FBI agents to his team of investigators.

What good is all of this work if Durham is going to punt prosecutions until after the election?

President Trump is furious that ‘nothing is happening’ to the coup cabal who illegally spied on him and tried to remove him from office.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/report-durham-pressure-wrap-spygate-investigation-punt-election-president-trump-furious/

DELAYING JUSTICE DUE TO AN ELECTION IS IN AND OF ITSELF ELECTION INTERFERENCE - JUSTICE IS SUPPOSED TO BE BLIND

Migrant Apprehensions at Border Jump for Second Straight Month

The apprehension of migrants illegally crossing the Mexican border into the United States jumped from May to June by 41 percent. This represents the second consecutive month of increases.

Border Patrol agents apprehended or arrested 30,300 migrants in June who illegally entered the United States from Mexico. This represents a jump of nearly 41 percent over the previous month’s apprehension of 21,498, according to the June Southwest Border Migration report released on Thursday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

“In June 2020, CBP’s enforcement encounters with people crossing the border illegally totaled less than 33,000 encounters, 65 percent lower than the more than 104,000 encounters during the same month last year,” CBP Acting Commissioner Mark A. Morgan said in a statement provided to Breitbart. “Single adult Mexican nationals, who are generally seeking economic opportunities, accounted for almost 80 percent of the encounters.” Commissioner Morgan’s numbers combine both Border Patrol apprehensions and CBP encounters at ports of entry.

The largest demographic increase in terms of numbers came in the category of single adults. This number jumped from 19,567 in May to 27,178 in June — an increase of 7,611 (38.9 percent). Family Unit Aliens increased from 971 in May to 1,558 in June — an increase of 587 (60.5 percent). The apprehension of Unaccompanied Alien Children jumped from 960 in May to 1,564 in June — an increase of 604 (62.9 percent).

The increase comes at a time where migrants are likely to be exposed to the Coronavirus as they are transported and warehoused in human smuggling stash houses, Border Patrol officials previously told Breitbart Texas.

“While the number of encounters last month are not a surprise, this increase is still extremely concerning as we continue to battle the invisible enemy: COVID-19,” Morgan explained. “Therefore, it is imperative that we continue to build the border wall system and enforce CDC policies aimed at protecting the health of Americans. At the end of the day, CBP will continue to prevent and deter illegal crossings that endanger the life of the American public.”

Under Title 42 Coronavirus protection policies implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly all migrants are expelled to Mexico after being medically screened and the completion of a biometric criminal background investigation.

“The Title 42 CDC order has allowed our agents on the border to swiftly expel illegal aliens back to Mexico to minimize contact with other migrants, CBP personnel, and U.S. communities,” CBP officials told Breitbart in response to an inquiry. “The order is working just as it was intended: to keep Americans safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. CBP had more than 3,400 individuals in custody in early March and now averages around 200 at any given time because of this initiative and other travel restrictions. This is a significant improvement to normal border security operations.”

Since the beginning of the Title 42 protocols during late March, 69,210 migrants were expelled across the southwestern U.S. border into Mexico. Border Patrol officials said these expulsions do not count as deportation or removal for purposes of prosecuting illegal aliens who re-enter the U.S.

Including all of March (the Title 42 program began on March 2) Border Patrol agents apprehended a total of 98,079 migrants who illegally entered the U.S.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/07/09/migrant-apprehensions-at-border-jump-for-second-straight-month/

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: 50 Cent Throws Table & Chairs During Fight In New Jersey

50 Cent flew into a rage, throwing a table and chair, after getting into it with a guy he’s beefed with in the past.

https://breaking911.com/caught-on-camera-50-cent-throws-table-chairs-during-fight-in-new-jersey/

Police: Md. Mother Admits To Starving Her Toddler To Death, Discarding Body In Dumpster

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have arrested and charged Kiearra Tolson, age 23, of November Circle in Silver Spring, with the first-degree murder of her approximately 15-month-old daughter, Blair Niles.

On Wednesday, July 8, an acquaintance of Tolson called the Emergency Communications Center (911) to report that she was currently with Tolson and Tolson told her that she had killed her child.

Officers responded to their location and Tolson was taken into custody.

During a police interview, Tolson told investigators that she had starved her daughter (Blair Niles) for approximately three and a half weeks in the apartment on November Circle where she and her child lived. Tolson stated that after her child died, she placed the child’s body in a pillowcase and trash bags and on June 17, discarded the child’s body in a dumpster located on the grounds of the apartment complex.

During a search of Tolson’s apartment, investigators located evidence corroborating her account of these events.

Blair Niles’ father was interviewed and stated that he last saw his daughter on April 17, 2020, and has not had any contact with Tolson since that time.

Tolson was transported to the Central Processing Unit and charged with first-degree murder. She will have bond review today at 1:00 p.m. in Rockville.

The child’s body has not been recovered.

https://breaking911.com/police-md-mother-admits-to-starving-her-toddler-to-death-discarding-body-in-dumpster/

TikTok goes down, prompting speculation that it's been banned

Users in North America and Europe reported that the popular video-sharing social network TikTok went down after 2pm ET, according to Downdetector and multiple complaints on Twitter.

The Chinese app has been in the crosshairs of US authorities for a while, which has prompted speculation that the outage might be a sign of a ban.

On Wednesday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was "certainly looking at” banning TikTok and other Chinese apps, following the lead of India, which banned 59 Chinese apps after border skirmishes with Beijing, and Australia, which has threatened to do the same.

https://www.rt.com/news/494312-tik-tok-down-ban/

How the House Armed Services Committee, in the Middle of a Pandemic, Approved a Huge Military Budget and More War in Afghanistan

While the country is subsumed by both public health and an unemployment crisis, and is separately focused on a sustained protest movement against police abuses, a massive $740.5 billion military spending package was approved last week by the Democratic-controlled House Armed Services Committee. The GOP-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee will almost certainly send the package with little to no changes to the White House for signing.

As we reported last week, pro-war and militaristic Democrats on the Committee joined with GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney and the pro-war faction she leads to form majorities which approved one hawkish amendment after the next. Among those amendments was one co-sponsored by Cheney with Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado that impeded attempts by the Trump administration to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, and another amendment led by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Cheney which blocked the White House’s plan to remove 10,000 troop stationed in Germany.

While those two amendments were designed to block the Trump administration’s efforts to bring troops home, this same bipartisan pro-war faction defeated two other amendments that would have imposed limits on the Trump administration’s aggression and militarism: one sponsored by Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to require the Trump administration to provide a national security rationale before withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) signed with the Soviet Union in 1987, and another to impose limits on the ability of the U.S. to arm and otherwise assist Saudi Arabia to bomb Yemen.

NPR website

Perhaps most remarkable is the amount of the military budget itself. It is three times more than the planet’s second-highest military spender, China; it is ten times more than the third-highest spender, Saudi Arabia; it is 15 times more than the military budget of the country most frequently invoked by Committee members as a threat to justify militarism: Russia; and it is more than the next 15 countries combined spend on their military. They authorized this kind of a budget in the midst of a global pandemic as tens of millions of newly unemployed Americans struggle even to pay their rent.

How does this happen? How do Democrats succeed in presenting an image of themselves based on devotion to progressive causes and the welfare of the ordinary citizen while working with Liz Cheney to ensure that vast resources are funneled to the weapons manufacturers, defense sector and lobbyists who fund their campaigns? Why would a country with no military threats from any sovereign nation to its borders spend almost a trillion dollars a year for buying weapons while its citizens linger without health care, access to quality schools, or jobs? Who are the people in Congress doing this, and why?

These are questions that are rarely examined in media venues. News sites, op-ed pages and especially twenty-four hour cable news are obsessed with trivialities: Trump’s latest tweet or offhand remark in a rally; symbolic culture war distractions in which Congress plays little role; the offensive remarks of people who wield little power. As a result, what the U.S. Government really does — in the bowels of the Congress and in the underbelly of sub-Committee proceedings — receives little substantive attention.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/77413/how-the-house-armed-services-committee-in-the-middle-of-a-pandemic-approved-a-huge-military-budget.html

NYPD limits retirement applications amid 400 percent surge this week

New York’s Finest are putting in for retirement faster than the NYPD can handle — while citing a lack of respect and the loss of overtime pay, The Post has learned.

A surge of city cops filing papers during the past week more than quadrupled last year’s number — as the city grapples with a surge of shootings — and the stampede caused a bottleneck that’s forcing others to delay putting in their papers, officials and sources said.

The NYPD said Wednesday that 179 cops filed for retirement between June 29 and Monday, an astounding 411-percent increase over the 35 who filed during the same time period in 2019.

The astonishing rush for the door came as 503 cops filed for retirement between May 25 — the day George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, sparking anti-cop protests around the country — and July 3, the NYPD said.

That number represents a 75-percent increase over the 287 who filed for retirement during the same time last year, the NYPD said.

Sources said that the deluge of applications had overwhelmed the department — due to cancellation of overtime for the workers who process them — and that the number of daily applicants was being limited as a result.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/77411/nypd-limits-retirement-applications-amid-400-percent-surge-this.html

UK police arrest four terrorism suspects in London and Leicester

The Met police carried out an operation to arrest three terrorist suspects in the east of the British capital, another man was detained in Leicestershire.

The police said that four men were arrested for “preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism” as part of a proactive investigation.

Three suspects were detained at two separate addresses in East London, with one more apprehended in Leicestershire.

The Counter Terrorism unit making an arrest in Maygoods in London, England, Thursday 9th July 2020. pic.twitter.com/qcxg8q4PIZ

— John Evans ✝ 🇦🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪 (@JohnEva73484270) July 9, 2020

Video on social media showed armed officers from the Counter Terrorism Command breaking into a home in Goodmayes and escorting two men outside.

“No shots were fired” during the operation, according to the law enforcers, but one man was bitten on the foot by a police dog and taken to hospital.

Witnesses told local media that loud bangs, which resembled gunshots, were heard.

The loud noises weren’t gunshots, but “part of distraction tactics used by officers,” a police spokesman clarified later.

The suspects were aged between 17 and 32, the police said, adding that the officers have been conducting searches at four locations in East London.

The neighbors at one of the addresses where the arrests were made told the UK media that they were “a little bit shaken” by what had happened.

They also said they didn’t know the inhabitants of the home, which the police raided, too well because “they don't speak very good English.” The locals added that it was a “mystery” for them, who actually lived in the house, due to people always coming and going.

https://www.rt.com/uk/494301-london-leicestershire-arrest-terrorism-charges/

ISRAEL AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY

Illinois Department of Health Director Admits Anyone with Coronavirus at Time of Death is Counted as a Coronavirus Death

This is why you can’t trust the national coronavirus numbers.

Illinois Department of Public Health officer Ngozi O. Ezike, MD., explained to reporters recently how the state determines their coronavirus numbers.

The state of Illinois counts ANYONE who has the coronavirus at time of death regardless of how they died as a coronavirus death.

Anyone.

This is fraud.

I’m just going to leave this here! WTF? They finally admitted it.

Posted by Lesa Fisher Patten on Tuesday, June 23, 2020

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/illinois-department-health-director-admits-anyone-coronavirus-time-death-counted-coronavirus-death-video/

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