US regime lifts TikTok ban on federal devices

Source: Engadget

“The US Department of Justice has announced that federal employees can now download and install TikTok on electronics provided by the government, explaining that its current version doesn’t pose the risks the previous one did. In 2022, TikTok was outlawed on almost all devices issues by the US federal government due to [fake] national security concerns. … it’s still up to individual agencies to decide whether or not to allow their employees to download TikTok on federal phones.” (07/18/26)

https://www.engadget.com/2218069/us-government-lifts-tiktok-ban-federal-devices/

MN: Gubernatorial candidate is a registered voter … in Texas

Source: Seattle Times

“Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a leader of the election denial movement who was endorsed by President Donald Trump for Minnesota governor this week, acknowledged that he is not registered to vote in the state he seeks to lead. … In Minnesota, voters are allowed to register to vote on Election Day. Lindell, who is registered in Texas, said he was not concerned that he was not yet registered in his home state, something first reported by The Minnesota Star Tribune. Lindell said he was registered to vote in Texas when he moved there for one year in 2024, soon after he married his current wife, Kendra. He said he returned to Minnesota, where he was born and raised, the following year, because he wanted to run for governor.” (07/18/26)

https://archive.is/xeXwi

UK: Chinese firm seeks damages over nationalization of British Steel

Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]

“A Chinese steel giant demanded compensation from the United Kingdom government on Sunday, claiming thetakeover of its subsidiary, British Steel, was ‘outright robbery.’ The UK government took operational control of British Steel last year, after owner Jingye Group warned that Britain’s last factory capable of making steel from scratch was no longer financially viable. … The company noted that nationalization could cost UK taxpayers more than 1.5 billion pounds ($2.02 billion, €1.76 billion) by 2028. Jingye said it had begun a procedure under bilateral investment agreements to seek damages, without expanding further.” (07/19/26)

https://www.dw.com/en/china-firm-seeks-damages-over-state-control-of-british-steel/a-78024119

CO: ICE gang concentration camp contractor accused of shooting protester while driving to workfare shift

Source: Independent [UK]

“An off-duty employee of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement [concentration camp] in Aurora, Colorado, was arrested on Thursday after allegedly shooting a protester. … Brandon Booth, 42, an employee of the government contractor GEO Group, was allegedly waiting in his vehicle with coworkers near the privately run Aurora ICE Processing Center on Thursday night after protesters impeded their ability to start work at the 1,500-bed detention center. Two women who had been part of a protest near the facility earlier that evening approached the group, took pictures of their vehicles and engaged in a ‘verbal confrontation,’ according to a statement from the Aurora Police Department. ‘At that point, Booth retrieved his personally owned pistol and fired a single shot in their direction, striking one of the women on her lower body,’ the department said. ‘Booth then got into his vehicle and drove out of the area before he was detained.'” (07/18/26)

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-shooting-aurora-colorado-brandon-booth-b3017494.html

CA: Pelosi charged with hit-and-run

Source: SFGate

“Hit-and-run charges were officially announced Friday afternoon against Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, after a car crash over the July Fourth holiday weekend. Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley filed a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge against Pelosi, 86, Friday, after he allegedly hit an unoccupied parked Tesla on July 3. Pelosi allegedly drove away from the scene after the crash, according to charging documents obtained by SFGATE. Pelosi was driving down a residential road near his home when he allegedly struck the car in Yountville and kept driving until his car broke down and police came to the scene, according to the New York Times.” (07/17/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/paul-pelosi-hit-and-run-22350057.php

Tanzanian-flagged tanker from Yemen hijacked by suspected Somali pirates

Source: ABC News

“A Tanzanian-flagged tanker was hijacked by suspected Somali pirates off Yemen’s coast, security sources and local officials familiar with the incident said Sunday. The commercial tanker has since been moved to waters off Somalia’s northeastern Bari region, according local officials. The MT ASANA, a general tanker, was seized on Friday after departing from Mukalla, Yemen, according to the sources. The vessel is now being held off the coast of Caluula in the semiautonomous state of Puntland’s Bari region.” (07/19/26)

https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/tanzanian-flagged-tanker-yemen-hijacked-suspected-somali-pirates-134887935

FL: “Manosphere” influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested on rape, sex trafficking charges in Florida

Source: New York Post

“‘Manosphere’ influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Florida Saturday in connection to rape and sex trafficking charges in the UK. … The Tates, who have both British and American citizenship, have faced legal troubles for years, and were nabbed because of a host of new sex crime charges handed down overseas. … The Tates’ attorney, Joe McBryde, disputed the charges and told The Post the arrest should not have occurred until their trials in Romania and a defamation case in Florida concluded. ‘This is like Keir Starmer’s last day in office; it’s obvious that this little petty bastard has nothing better to do than persecute these two guys he wishes he could act like, walk like and talk like,’ he said.” (07/19/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/07/18/us-news/andrew-and-tristan-tate-arrested-by-u-s-marshals-in-florida/

Brazil: Top court denies Bolsonaro home visit by Argentina’s Milei

Source: United Press International

“Brazil’s top court on Saturday denied a request from former President Jair Bolsonaro to be visited by Argentinian President Javier Milei while under house arrest. The attempted visit by Milei, a political ally of the far-right Bolsonaro, was part of a campaign to drum up political support for the son of the former president, who is running against leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for a coup attempt but has been in his home in Brasilia since March due to his health condition. He was already barred from participating in national politics as part of his sentence. But Bolsonaro was placed under further restrictions on Friday for breaching conditions of his house arrest, after he wrote a political letter supporting his son’s candidature for president.” (07/18/26)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/07/18/latam-bolsonaro-milei/7271784410855/

Cuban dissident Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara goes into exile in US

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“One of Cuba’s most prominent dissidents has gone into exile in the US, after leaving Cuba where he had served a five-year prison sentence. Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, 38, is the leader of the San Isidro Movement (SIM), a group of artists, journalists and intellectuals who have campaigned for freedom of speech and democracy in the communist country. He was arrested in 2021 during Cuba’s largest anti-government protests in decades and spent five years ⁠in the maximum-security Guanajay prison near Havana. His whereabouts have been unclear in recent days as Cuban authorities held him in an unknown location while the US approved a parole request. Emerging from the airport in Miami, the 38-year-old was greeted by supporters who sang the Cuban national anthem as he held up his forefinger and thumb in the shape of the letter L to represent ‘Libertad – meaning freedom, a recognised anti-government symbol.” (07/19/26)

https://archive.is/UYbEV

France: Regime orders Internet providers to block access to Polymarket prediction site

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“France said Friday it was blocking access to the online prediction market Polymarket, as punters continued to make bets despite a ban already in place. The national gaming authority ANJ said Friday that Polymarket’s webpage would be blocked on French territory, which adds to a November 2024 ban on financial transactions to the site. Polymarket is one of a number of online prediction markets which allow people to bet on the outcome of future events.” (07/17/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260717-france-orders-internet-service-providers-to-block-access-to-polymarket