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Taking a cue from Chandigarh Police’s live demonstration showcased to Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi at Punjab Engineering College (PEC), the Uttar Pradesh government plans to set up a similar replica of the demo to showcase the implementation of new criminal laws at the Kumbh Mela scheduled in February next year. The Chandigarh Police will assist the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police in creating this live demonstration, following the PM’s directive to share the model with all states. It has also been decided by the Centre that a similar demonstration will be set up at all major festivals across the country. On December 3, UT police’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) presented a one-hour live demonstration, simulating a murder crime scene investigation as per the new criminal laws to PM Modi. The demonstration, organised in eight stages, provided the PM with a live experience of how law enforcement, forensic teams, judicial authorities and prisons have become more efficient and technology-driven since the laws’ implementation. The demonstration was the brainchild of SSP Kanwardeep Kaur, who spent two months drafting the script and envisioning how the presentation would be delivered in both audio-visual and physical formats to PM Modi. Now, Chandigarh Police plans to produce two audio-visual films explaining the changes in criminal laws - one tailored for investigating officers and the other for the general public. These films will be circulated nationwide to ensure widespread understanding of the legal reforms. Chandigarh was selected as the model state for the implementation of the new laws and became the first in the country to successfully put them into practice. Over 2,300 attended live demo at PEC Over 2,367 attendees, including officials, general public, college students, and police teams, participated in the live demonstration showcasing the complete investigative and trial process under the newly implemented criminal laws at Punjab Engineering College (PEC) from December 4 to December 10. The exhibition was kept open to the public for a week after PM Modi urged UT police to showcase it across the nation. Various stakeholders, including young superintendents of police, senior police officials, vigilance teams, engineering students, delegation from New Delhi, and residents, actively participated to witness the practical implementation of the new investigative and trial mechanisms.
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South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered the transport ministry to carry out an emergency safety inspection of the country’s airline operation system. Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae neither confirmed nor denied reports that a bird strike was the cause of the crash. Song Kyung-hoon, Jeju Air’s head of the management support office, dismissed accusations that mechanical faults or inadequate safety preparations contributed to accident. South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok has ordered the transport ministry to carry out an emergency safety inspection of the country's airline operation system, local news agency Yonhap reported Monday. Choi was speaking at a disaster control meeting in Seoul, after a Jeju Air flight crashed at the country's Muan International Airport on Sunday, leading to 179 fatalities with just two survivors, making it the deadliest air accident in South Korea. "The pilot declared mayday after issuing the bird strike alert," said Joo Jong-wan, director of aviation policy division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Choi pledged that the government would "spare no effort" in supporting the bereaved families, and declared a seven-day mourning period for the country. At a press briefing on Sunday, Jeju Air's head of the management support office Song Kyung-hoon said the airline would support the victims and their families, and that the aircraft was covered by a $1 billion insurance, reported Yonhap. Addressing reports that a bird strike was the cause of the crash, Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae neither confirmed nor denied it. "Currently, the exact cause of the accident has yet to be determined, and we must wait for the official investigation by government agencies," Kim said in a Sunday statement . Song dismissed accusations that mechanical faults or inadequate safety preparations played a role in the crash. "This crash is not about any maintenance issues. There can be absolutely no compromise when it comes to maintaining aircraft," Song said. On Monday, a Jeju Air flight reportedly returned to Gimpo International Airport shortly after taking off because a similar issue with the plane's landing gear was detected. The accident comes at a politically fraught time for South Korea. Choi is the country's second acting president in a month. He assumed the role after acting President Han Duck-soon was impeached on Friday by lawmakers over his reluctance to appoint three justices to the Constitutional Court looking into the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon was impeached a mere just weeks back , after imposing martial law for six hours at the start of the month for the first time since the military coup of 1979. Shares of Jeju Air hit an all-time low Monday, according to FactSet data, and were last down 8.53%. Other Korean airlines' stocks were volatile.Bulls On Tap Tasting Flight: Chicago Bulls News for Nov. 25, 2024
Administrator Guzman Launches SBA's AI for Small Businesses Resource Hub, Participates in Summit Fireside Chat ATLANTA, Dec. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Tuesday, Dec. 10, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman , head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden's Cabinet for America's more than 34 million small businesses, traveled to Atlanta to host the inaugural SBA AI Small Business Summit and officially launch SBA's AI for Small Businesses Resource Hub . SBA's first AI Small Business Summit, held in conjunction with Georgia Tech and in collaboration with leading technology companies, innovators, and investors, highlighted the launch of SBA's AI for Small Businesses Resource Hub - a space for small business owners to learn about AI and AI innovators to learn about the resources available to them at the SBA and across the federal government. "Artificial intelligence has the capacity to drive exponential growth for the United States economy and for small businesses across the country,” said Administrator Guzman. "From Main Street shops to manufacturers, staying up to date with the latest technology is essential for business growth and resilience. And it is our nation's innovative startups that will help deliver AI for the future. So, whether you are creating the next tech solution or leveraging it, SBA's AI for Small Businesses Resource Hub can provide you with a launch point to access partners, tools and resources for a seamless integration of AI.” In addition to SBA Administrator Guzman, the AI Small Business Summit's speakers included Microsoft, Google, Mailchimp, and OpenAI, as well as small businesses and experts from co-host Georgia Tech. The summit discussions were an opportunity for small business owners to hear from experts and gain a greater understanding of the possibilities AI has within the daily operations of their businesses. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the country has seen more than 20 million new business applications filed nationwide - including over one million in Georgia alone. The SBA just released new data showing significant spikes in SBA lending including a continued upward trend doubling small dollar loans under $150,000 and increased lending to underserved communities: Black-, Latino-, minority, rural and women-owned small businesses, as well as lending in rural communities . ### About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov . CONTACT: SBA HQ Press Team U.S. Small Business Administration [email protected]None
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A new Channel 4 documentary has revealed the negative impact of mobile phones on children's mood and sleep patterns. The two-part series, Swiped, explores the effect of smartphones on children's behaviour. Presenters Matt and Emma Willis teamed up with The Stanway School in Colchester to challenge a group of Year 8 students – and themselves – to abandon their smartphones for 21 days. This experiment, carried out in partnership with The University of York, involved 26 students undergoing a series of tests, with experts closely observing their behavioural changes over the three weeks. The tests were repeated at the end of the period to determine the effects of giving up your phone on aspects such as sleep and attention. A survey was also conducted among 1000 students about their phone habits. The tests included cognitive tasks to assess attention, reaction times and memory. Students also completed questionnaires on sleep, anxiety, depression, mood, stress, loneliness, enjoyment and social connectedness. Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter The results will be unveiled in the second episode of the series. Show hosts Matt and Emma Willis commented: "The statistics on children's smartphone use are beyond worrying so the time feels absolutely right for the issue to be addressed. We really hope the results of the experiment can spark change and have a lasting and positive impact on everyone.", reports the Mirror . Channel 4 conducted a survey with 1149 students at Stanway School, revealing that 17% reported being cyberbullied, 42% said they've been contacted by a stranger and 32% have encountered explicit content (this includes strong language, violence, and sexual behaviour), with 11% seeing this daily or weekly on their phone. In terms of sleep, only 11% stop using their phones by 8pm and 38% use their phones after 10pm. Students in the phone ban group experienced notable improvements in their sleep quality. On average, they were falling asleep 20 minutes faster than before the ban, and getting a full hour of extra rest each night. Professors Lisa Henderson and Emma Sullivan of the University of York's Department of Psychology remarked: "The academic community has a real responsibility to gather and synthesise evidence on this critically important topic. A rapid response is crucial here, given the ever-changing digital environment. Our goal here was to demonstrate the kind of study that is needed to influence policy and educate young people on the benefits of smartphone abstinence. We hope that the stats reported in the documentary and the findings of the study itself will spark conversations and solutions on how to better integrate smartphones as part of a healthy lifestyle. The effects of smartphones on the likes of sleep are particularly notable, given sleep is critical to an array of developmental outcomes from how children perform at school to their mental and physical health." In a startling revelation from the programme, when hosts Emma and Matt posed as 13 year olds with new phones on TikTok, they encountered suicide content and violence against women within just four hours. Emma shared her dismay during the show, expressing: "It's just not what I thought it would was. I know you hear stories about what can be found on there but finding and searching for something is very different from it being served to you the first time you go on there as a 13 year old." Matt added his thoughts on the dire situation by highlighting that some of the material accessible to kids on their phones is "terrifying". Dr Rangan Chatterjee, speaking on the programme, expressed his concern: "I think there's no question at all, we're giving children smartphones far too young. As a doctor I have seen time and time again that teenagers and adolescents have their mental health problems get significantly better when they cut out the smartphone. I think we as parents are going to have to help our children reset their relationship with technology.In terms of some common principles, I would suggest adopting screen-free mealtimes and no technology in bedrooms." The show's host, Matt, 41, who is a recovering drug addict, shared his own struggles with phone addiction: "I used to belittle it in my head. But when I think about it, I am addicted to my phone. When I'm without it I crave it. I act the same way about this device as I have about substances in the past." He further added: "When I think about the idea of a smartphone ban to the age of 14, I think that's a very wise decision. We are exposing them to so much stuff that they can't process or they shouldn't be seeing, and we are allowing that to happen. The Government can't turn a blind eye to this anymore. You've got to look at this and go, this is a massive problem." ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities. We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all! To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. 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What does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump?Japan is making arrangements for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to visit Malaysia and Indonesia in early January, as part of Tokyo's efforts to confirm the importance of a rules-based international order, government sources said. The prime minister has decided to give up on his initially envisaged trip to South Korea around the same time due to the confusion caused by a short-lived declaration of martial law there last week, the sources said. It would be the first foreign trip for Ishiba, who took office in October, besides those on the occasions of international gatherings. Japan has been deepening ties with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes both Malaysia and Indonesia, at a time when China's influence in the region continues to rise. The trip would also provide an opportunity to exchange views on the situation in the East and South China seas, according to the sources. Some ASEAN members have overlapping territorial claims with China in the South China Sea, a key sea route. Indonesia is one of the designated recipients in fiscal 2024 through March of official security assistance intended by Japan to help beef up defense capabilities. Ishiba is expected to explore different timing to visit South Korea, the sources said, as both nations mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties next year.
The expansion of the Philippines’ total debt from foreign creditors continued outpacing the growth of its total foreign assets during the third quarter of 2024, according to the central bank. Data on the country’s net international investment position (IIP) revealed that the net liability clocked in to $74.2 billion by the end of September, mainly due to a 10.1 percent increase in external financial liabilities, exceeding the 4.8 percent growth in external financial assets. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that as of end-September, the country’s foreign debts totaled $328.9 billion, while external financial assets reached $254.7 billion. As per the BSP, foreign portfolio investments (FPI), also known as “hot money”—which can quickly exit an economy during times of uncertainty—was the main driver to the external debt hike. Net hot money expanded by 18.7 percent to $104.4 billion, driven by a 14 percent increase in government debt investments and a 26 percent rise in local company stocks. “The high demand for the newly issued government securities at competitive pricing reflected continued investor confidence in the country’s economic resilience, despite global challenges,” the BSP said in a statement released on Friday, Dec. 27. Meanwhile, nonresidents’ investments in equity securities increased, driven by higher valuations and inflows, reflecting the rise in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi). Investor confidence grew due to the country’s strong economic outlook, supported by interest rate cuts, a strong consumer sector, and healthy external payments. Foreign direct investment (FDI) also increased by 6.8 percent to $132.1 billion as foreign investors put more money into local businesses and bonds. At the same time, other investments grew by 6.1 percent to $92.1 billion, as locals took out more foreign loans. The country’s external financial assets grew by 4.8 percent to $254.7 billion, driven by a 7.1 percent increase in reserve assets to $112.7 billion. Additional growth came from higher investments in foreign debt papers, direct debt instruments, and equity capital of foreign affiliates. Despite a 9.5 percent rise in external financial assets, the country’s net external liability position grew by 60.1 percent year-on-year to $74.2 billion due to a 17.9 percent increase in external financial liabilities. As of September, the BSP held the largest share of external financial assets at $117.8 billion, driven by a 7.1 percent increase in gross international reserves (GIR). Other sectors held 39.7 percent of the assets, while the banking sector accounted for 14.1 percent. As for the external financial liabilities, Other Sectors held the largest share at $193.0 billion, driven by increased foreign investments. The government’s liabilities grew to $88.6 billion, while the banking sector and BSP held smaller shares.Here at the port of Nogales, on the southern edge of the United States, deadly drugs hide among the $22 billion in goods that enter annually. A high-stakes sorting game plays out every day: discerning what needs more inspection without grinding global commerce to a halt. Last fiscal year, the 12,000 pounds of fentanyl that customs officers seized in Arizona was more than at the rest of the country’s ports and border sectors combined. And within Arizona, the government says, the port of Nogales seized the most. “I think we’re doing a great job, but we can always use more people,” says Michael Humphries, the port director. But to conquer the epidemic, he says, “It’s going to take more than law enforcement.” Fentanyl, up to 50 times more potent than heroin, is what the Drug Enforcement Administration calls the country’s “greatest and most urgent drug threat.” It’s also an issue President-elect Donald Trump says he’ll tackle through tariffs, terrorist designations, and military might. Meanwhile, individuals tasked with tracking down the synthetic opioid are testing a range of solutions, from incorporating facial-scanning technology at ports of entry to investigating money laundering by criminal groups that traffic fentanyl in bulk. Beneath the blaze of the Arizona sun, a customs official unboxes flour tortillas. He bends them back and forth, and their soft middles give. Proof that the stack hasn’t been hollowed out to hide drugs. Across the border region in this state, powder and pills have been found inside the panels of cars. Stuffed in spare tires. Strapped to a teenager’s thighs with tape. Here at the port of Nogales, on the southern edge of the United States, the deadly drugs hide among the $22 billion in goods that enter annually. A high-stakes sorting game plays out every day: discerning what needs more inspection without grinding global commerce to a halt. Last fiscal year, the 12,000 pounds of fentanyl that customs officers seized in Arizona was more than at the rest of the country’s ports and border sectors combined. And within Arizona, the government says, the port of Nogales seized the most. “I think we’re doing a great job, but we can always use more people,” says Michael Humphries, the port director. But to conquer the epidemic, he says, “It’s going to take more than law enforcement.” He cites “the whole of government, along with the medical community, along with counseling – and really, everybody” as stakeholders. The synthetic opioid is so strong that the port stocks an overdose-reversing spray for its staff, the public, and its drug-detection dogs. It’s true: Arizona port authorities are catching prodigious amounts of fentanyl, making these ports responsible for more than half the seizures across the country by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It’s also true: Fentanyl, and the chemicals that make it, gets in between the ports. Driven up interstates. Flown overhead on cargo flights. And still: No one knows how much illicit fentanyl enters the U.S. all told. But synthetic opioids are linked to tens of thousands of deaths each year, of people addicted and not. Some fentanyl isn’t found at all. Not until it appears in coroner reports. Fentanyl, up to 50 times more potent than heroin, is what the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) calls the country’s “greatest and most urgent drug threat.” It’s also an issue President-elect Donald Trump says he’ll tackle, through tariffs, terrorist designations, and military might. On Truth Social, he’s said he’ll work on a “large scale United States Advertising Campaign” on the dangers of the drug. Supporters say imposing new penalties on enablers of the supply is justified, given the unrelenting stakes. Despite recent progress, the U.S. tracks more deaths involving synthetic opioids each year than the country’s deaths from the Vietnam War. Critics say it’s unfair for Mr. Trump to link illegal migration at the southern border with drug smuggling, given the bulk of fentanyl that is seized is found at official ports. Plus, they point out, most sentenced fentanyl traffickers are U.S. citizens. Mr. Trump enters his second term at a time when Border Patrol encounters of unauthorized immigrants along the southern border are hovering around four-year lows, after historic highs under the Biden administration. Deaths involving fentanyl nationally also appear on the decline. Still, the ubiquity and lethality of the human-made drug remain a critical U.S. challenge. “There is no single solution to this problem,” says David Luckey, a Rand senior researcher. He led a team that drafted a 2022 commission report on combatting fentanyl trafficking. What’s required, he says, is a “concerted effort across all three dimensions: supply reduction, demand reduction, and harm reduction.” How did we get here? Some analysts trace the opioid crisis back decades. Back to a five-sentence note. The New England Journal of Medicine published a brief letter to the editor in January 1980. The authors wrote that, based on data they examined on painkiller use in hospitals, “The development of addiction is rare in medical patients with no history of addiction.” Experience taught Americans that isn’t true. Researchers have found that the letter, a single paragraph, was “widely invoked” and “uncritically cited” as evidence that minimized risk of opioid addiction. An oversupply of prescription opioid pain medication followed in the mid-1990s, exposing millions of Americans to the drugs. Strong synthetic opioids, mostly illicit fentanyl, began to flood U.S. drug markets by around 2014, notes the commission report from Mr. Luckey’s team. As American demand for opioids spread, international actors cashed in. Fentanyl used to come primarily from China, authorities say, but a 2019 crackdown there led producers to pivot. Now, they say, precursor chemicals shipped from China are used to make fentanyl in Mexico, which is then brought into the U.S. The DEA says two Mexican criminal networks are largely responsible for funneling in fentanyl – the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. Part of the problem: Production is cheap. Fentanyl, which is synthetic, doesn’t require growing seasons like poppy-based heroin does. And its potency allows small quantities to yield high returns for criminal groups. Drug overdose deaths peaked in the U.S. in 2022 with over 111,000, a figure higher than the deaths that year from car crashes and guns combined. Modest progress, based on provisional data, was announced this spring. The federal government estimates that 2023 saw 107,543 drug overdose deaths – a 3% decline from the year prior. Though 7 in 10 of those deaths still involve synthetic opioids, last year’s decrease in overdose deaths was the first since 2018. Additional data through part of 2024 seems to support this downward trend. Expanded access to naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversing drug, is credited with helping lower deaths. The DEA has touted arrests of Mexican criminal leaders and a dip in the potency of fentanyl-laced pills. Despite growing social awareness of fentanyl’s risks, stigma persists. Some people who’ve lost loved ones prefer the term “poisoning” to “overdose,” to shift blame off victims who may have assumed a pill was safe. That was the case for Weston, says Anne Fundner. In 2022, the California mother lost her high schooler son to a drug poisoning involving fentanyl, following what she says was peer pressure. Ms. Fundner repurposed her grief to speak at the Republican National Convention in support of Mr. Trump. She has amplified his call for heightened border security and urged families to be on alert. Without sufficient action from the government, she says, it’s fallen on parents to do what they can. “I was very angry for a while,” she says. Now, through her activism, she points to a feeling of peace. “My son’s life is saving other lives.” At the port of Nogales, the search for the hidden drugs churns on. Mr. Humphries watches trucks heave to a halt at checkpoints, and then growl past. He ambles by towers of avocado crates pulled aside for more inspection – if not for drugs, then for pests and disease. At the port of Nogales, tens of millions of pounds of produce enter every day. Customs and Border Protection employs what it calls “layered enforcement,” a series of possible points of inspection. That includes license plate scans, X-rays, sniffing canines, and undercarriage mirrors. The agency, along with the wider Department of Homeland Security, has also explored uses of artificial intelligence, including a pilot of face-scan technology at the port of Nogales. A government watchdog has raised potential privacy concerns around the agency’s use of tech. Still, old-school observation plays a role. Mr. Humphries’ staff looks for drivers who appear nervous or maintain a “death grip” on the steering wheel. Court records detailing cases of alleged drug “mules” – people who transport drugs through the border – underscore the signs officials seek. One American “would not make eye contact” with a customs officer at inspection, reads a criminal complaint. U.S. citizens like her make up the vast majority of people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking – 86.4% in fiscal year 2023, reports the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Traffickers take advantage of low-income, struggling Americans whose passports might help them pass through a port easier, experts say. But some contraband is coming through the air. A Reuters investigation found that fentanyl precursor chemicals – the substances used to make the drug – often arrive to the U.S. as air cargo in packages small enough to evade a certain threshold of inspection. From the U.S., the precursor chemicals are often sent into Mexico, and then reenter the U.S. ready for consumption. When fentanyl first came on the radar of the federal postal service, a decade ago, it was mostly seized in international mail. That trend shifted in 2019, when China banned production of the drug. As of fiscal year 2024, nearly all of the 3,844 pounds of suspected synthetic opioids seized by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service came in domestic mail. Postal inspectors partner with other federal agencies in southwest border states to stave off the drug’s journey into the interior. “We don’t want to be the unwitting accomplice to narcotics being delivered to anywhere in this country,” says Daniel Adame, inspector in charge at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. State and local law enforcement are another line of defense. In Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Mark Dannels says his team finds fentanyl two ways. The first is through “proactive policing,” such as at traffic stops, says the sheriff. “The second part is when we respond to a death.” The head of the Border Patrol, which operates between official ports of entry, said this month that fentanyl is a top priority. (That along with the southern border arrival of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, which officials across the country say is committing violent crime.) Jim Chilton tracks a fraction of all border crossers evading the Border Patrol. The Arizona rancher has seen a surge under the Biden administration – at least 3,700 people, by his count – through his motion-activated trail cameras. They enter through a gap in the border wall, often in matching camouflage, and pass through saguaros and mesquite trees on his land. He says he’s learned from the Border Patrol that some pack drugs; an agency spokesperson says they can’t confirm. “You really don’t know who all’s coming across the border, including the possibility of terrorists,” says Mr. Chilton. Along with the installation of more patrols and surveillance, he says, “I hope that Trump finishes the wall.” Beyond more border wall, Mr. Trump has signaled what else may come. He’s called for designating major drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. He’s also threatened new tariffs against China (10%) along with Mexico and Canada (25% each) unless those countries do more to stop outflows of fentanyl – and migrants, from the latter two. Faced with claims of enabling fentanyl supply, officials from both China and Mexico have reprimanded the U.S. for enabling the drug’s demand. “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” said a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. In an emailed statement, they pointed to resumed communication between the countries’ counternarcotics authorities since a presidential summit in 2023 . Addressing fentanyl trafficking requires bilateral cooperation that is “respectful of the sovereignties of Mexico and the United States,” a spokesperson for the Mexican Embassy in Washington said in an emailed statement. They also noted the creation of a new national intelligence system in Mexico to enhance targeting of clandestine labs and supervision at ports. Mr. Trump’s supporters have endorsed his approach ahead of inauguration and say it’s already having an effect. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago. A Trump call with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was followed by what Mexican officials said was the largest fentanyl seizure in their history. The Mexican Embassy spokesperson, however, says the operation was not a direct response to the tariff threat, but rather part of a domestic security effort. At The Heritage Foundation, Steve Yates, a senior research fellow, says funds from tariffs could be put toward expanded interdiction or families who’ve lost ones to the drug. The epidemic is personal for him; in 2023, his daughter died from a drug poisoning involving fentanyl. Regarding China, “The surest way to fail is to fall short of taking heavy action against what we know they’re doing now, without stopping,” says Mr. Yates, an informal adviser to the Trump campaign and transition team. He points to a bipartisan report released in April from the House of Representatives’ select committee on China. The report concludes that, by subsidizing fentanyl chemical exports, China is fueling the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. Such claims run “completely counter to facts and reality,” said the Chinese Embassy spokesperson. Mr. Yates says domestic drug demand needs attention, too. But he says the U.S. is playing defense “unless you can do something significant about the supply chain.” Trump critics, including several economists, argue retaliatory tariffs could harm U.S. consumers. Peter Andreas, a political scientist at Brown University, chalks Mr. Trump’s tariff talk up to “recklessly irresponsible diplomacy,” especially regarding Mexico, whose economy is dependent on the U.S. “Nothing would actually put more pressure on the border and stimulate migration more than if Mexico’s economy went south,” says Professor Andreas, author of “Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America.” At various points in history, U.S. administrations have alternately prioritized drug enforcement or migration control, says Professor Andreas. That may soon change, as the next president signals both are front-burner issues, he adds. The catch: The prior Trump and Biden administrations put drug trafficking “on the back burner,” he says, “because they needed Mexican cooperation on stopping migration.” Analysts credit Mexico’s increased immigration enforcement with helping lower illegal border crossings over the past year. At his office, Mr. Humphries displays a symbol of one of Mexico’s challenges: ammunition for a .50-caliber gun. His officers regularly seize the military-grade weaponry heading south, for presumed use by cartels. Mexico has sued U.S. gun companies with accusations that they’ve fueled illegal arms trafficking to violent criminal groups. It’s a case the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear. Mr. Humphries holds the bullet up, half the length of his face. “If we’re tasked with going after the cartels, we have to work both inbound and outbound,” he says. Beyond shifts in diplomacy, though, the military may come into play. Mr. Trump’s campaign website says he “will impose a total naval embargo on cartels.” The Republican Party platform , meanwhile, calls for “the U.S. Navy to impose a full Fentanyl Blockade on the waters of our Region – boarding and inspecting ships to look for fentanyl and fentanyl precursors.” The Trump transition team did not directly address clarifying questions about his fentanyl plans, including the use of the Navy. In response to an interview request, the Navy referred the Monitor to the U.S. Coast Guard. Essentially, the Coast Guard – not the Navy – has law enforcement authority for drug interdiction at sea, like apprehensions of suspects or vessels, says Comdr. Cory Riesterer at the Coast Guard’s Maritime Law Enforcement program. (The Navy, as part of the Defense Department, can support the law enforcement activities of the Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security.) However, says the commander, “We don’t see fentanyl or precursors being smuggled much in the maritime environment.” In fact, Coast Guard data reviewed by the Monitor shows zero fentanyl seizures in fiscal year 2024. And only one seizure of fentanyl – roughly a quarter of a pound – was reported since fiscal year 2017. Throughout that span of years, the agency says, it administered naloxone during its operations six times. Though the numbers are small, that means the Coast Guard responds to suspected opioid overdoses more often than it seizes fentanyl. When batches of fentanyl manage to get past the port of Nogales – or come through other routes – the enforcement efforts shift into interior states. Some corners of the country have not yet seen a reduction in overdose deaths involving fentanyl. That includes Colorado, whose health department reports a record 1,097 such overdose deaths in 2023, though initial 2024 data shows signs of a downward trend. As of early December, Denver police say they’ve seized more than 170 pounds of fentanyl in 2024. At the state level, meanwhile, the Colorado State Patrol reports seizing more than 300 pounds of fentanyl – largely along two interstates that crisscross the state. Regionally, the DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division, which covers Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado, says it has seized a record of around 2.7 million fentanyl pills in 2024. Put another way, that’s more than three per every Denver resident. Again, the profit margins are steep. The regional DEA office says fentanyl pills produced for 2 cents to 4 cents in Mexico can sell for $1 to $5 in Colorado. In northern Montana, the price can ratchet up to $60 a pill. Sellers have even sold to minors, sometimes through social media apps, after marketing pills cut with fentanyl as legitimate prescription drugs. Cartels “don’t care,” says Jonathan Pullen, special agent in charge. “It’s about greed.” Some in the state are trying to chase criminal drug money. In a high-rise office in downtown Denver, a poster above the printer reads as a morale boost. “Only an Accountant Could Catch Al Capone.” This is the Internal Revenue Service unit focused on investigating crimes. And officials here see themselves as on the front lines of deterring illicit drug flows. They are keen to tout how the IRS brought down the Chicago gangster on tax evasion nearly a century ago. Their work today has direct parallels, as they investigate activity such as money laundering by drug criminals. The idea is to target what they care about most. “There is no one peddling fentanyl without the motivation of money,” says Johnathan Towle, assistant special agent in charge for the IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office. The agency has partnered here with the DEA on an outreach campaign to money-services businesses for help investigating drug proceeds. The IRS is part of a broader initiative with the Treasury Department to educate regional and local banks on the digital fingerprints that fentanyl trafficking can leave on accounts. Another complication comes from the use of common phone apps and cryptocurrency to buy and sell drugs like fentanyl. That said, the IRS has special expertise to “decode the funding,” says Mr. Towle. The belief that cryptocurrency is anonymous – and can’t be tracked by the government? “That’s wrong,” he says. “We can.”Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen returns to a tournament after a dispute over jeans is resolved
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