According to Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), nearly 200 Islamic boarding schools have ties to terrorist networks. On January 25, BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar announced the discovery at a meeting with the parliament, saying the assessment was a result of the agency’s terrorism prevention efforts last year. The dataContinue Reading
New polling commissioned by the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) shows Florida voters are concerned over the impact of COVID-19 and pocketbook issues. As Florida continues to feel the impact of the pandemic, voters strongly prefer that the state expend resources on struggling families, businesses, schools and healthcare systems (63% support) ratherContinue Reading
Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book introduced and advanced legislation in the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee today that aims to curb the growing endemic of “cyber trafficking”, a practice where both real and stolen images are uploaded to the Internet for people to buy, sell, trade, and exploit. Additionally, the legislationContinue Reading
Boko Haram terrorists abducted 17 girls in the Chibok area of Borno state on Thursday, January 20th. The ISIS affiliated group made a statement on Friday claiming responsibility for the attack, adding that they killed ‘many Christians’, set fire to two churches, and burned down two homes. Eyewitness and localContinue Reading
Massachusetts will require its public schools to cover the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century following a decision by state legislators. This makes Massachusetts the sixth state in the United States to mandate education on the genocide, during which the Ottoman Empire killed or displaced around 2 million Armenian Christians.Continue Reading
Canadian officials announced Friday the recall of Evive brand Immunity Super Functional Smoothie due to the risk of cyanide poisoning. The company says they are recalling because this smoothie brand contains raw elderberries. Raw elderberries naturally contain cyanogenic glycosides, which can release cyanide after being eaten. The human body can eliminate smallContinue Reading
Grammy-winning Songwriters Hall of Fame member Don McLean celebrates the 50th anniversary of his global hit “American Pie” reaching #1 on the Billboard chart, where it stayed for four weeks! To commemorate the anniversary, McLean has coined his international 50th Anniversary “American Pie” World Tour which will visit multiple destinations in N.Continue Reading
Fraudulent driver’s licenses, which can be used for criminal activity or fraud, continue to be found by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Express Consignment Operations hub across the nation. Last week Indianapolis CBP detained three shipments that were arriving from Hong Kong. The contents were described asContinue Reading
On Tuesday, January 11, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBPOs) at the port of New Orleans targeted three international shipments for inspection. Each shipment contained boxes with hundreds of the popular pop fidget toys. The toys had copyright and trademark infringements. Some of the counterfeit trademarked items included toysContinue Reading
UPDATE: The discovery of four bodies, including a baby and a teen, in Canada near the U.S. border in what’s believed to be a failed crossing attempt during a blizzard has led to the arrest of Steve Shand. “The investigation into the death of the four individuals in Canada isContinue Reading
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took two actions this week to expand the use of the antiviral drug Veklury (remdesivir) to certain non-hospitalized adults and pediatric patients for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease. This provides another treatment option to reduce the risk of hospitalization in high-risk patients. Previously,Continue Reading
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) officers and agriculture specialists are often the nation’s last line of defense against illicit drugs and prohibited plants, pests and animal products. In Fiscal Year 2021 alone, CBP issued 73,917 emergency action notifications for restricted and prohibited plant and animal products entering the UnitedContinue Reading
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that DeAnna Marie Stinson (50, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to court documents, on June 24, 2021, Stinson created an account onContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge James Moody has sentenced Mary Kathryn Marr (42, Miami) to 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The Court also ordered Marr to forfeit various assets, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense and, as part of her sentence, entered a moneyContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway today sentenced Johnson W. Eustache to five years in federal prison for wire fraud and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. The court also ordered Eustache to forfeit approximately $700,000 seized from several bank accounts, as well as real propertiesContinue Reading
As Olympians from around the world prepare to travel to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, they have received an eerie warning from Chinese officials, indicating that if they speak out in a manner critical of China, they may be subject to punishment under Chinese law. In what is a clearContinue Reading
Finland and the European Union have condemned the sentencing of Pastor Zafar Bhatti. Bhatti is a Pakistani man, who has been sentenced to death for allegedly sending a series of blasphemous text messages in 2012. Pakistan has one of the most notorious blasphemy laws in the world, with three levelsContinue Reading
Rabies, a virus typically spread by exposure to saliva from an infected animal, made a resurgence in the United States last year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that five people from across the country passed away from rabies complications, marking the highest total in 10Continue Reading
In a follow-up to a report last week, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reports confirming H5N1 avian influenza- highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds in Colleton County, South Carolina (2) and Hyde County, North Carolina (1). These findings areContinue Reading
With about 200,000 migrant farmworkers in Florida, UF/IFAS Extension and the UF College of Medicine will screen as many as possible for various health conditions and give them nutrition information to help improve access to much-needed health care. First stop, Wimauma. Then, they hope, the rest of Florida. As partContinue Reading
The Burmese Army (Tatmadaw) has continually targeted churches and civilians in Myanmar’s predominantly Christian regions where thousands of people have fled since the February coup last year. According to UCA News, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Doukhu Parish of Loikaw township in Kayah state was hit by military airstrikesContinue Reading
