News

Menthol cigarettes are popular amongst the Black communities.

The Biden administration is deliberately delaying its plan to prohibit menthol cigarettes for fears of a political backlash from Black voters, according to an attorney with the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Menthol cigarettes have been in the crosshairs of anti-smoking groups for decades. They argue that menthol cigarettes contribute to disproportionate health burdens on Black communities and play a role in luring young people into smoking.

But a shocking undercover video released by Project Veritas – this time without its founder James O’Keefe – revealed that the Biden White House is deliberately stalling the enforcement of a menthol cigarette ban. In the clip, DOJ attorney Isaac Belfer revealed that the decision to delay the ban is driven by political concerns.

“There are some concerns that you might not want to do something, like criminalize a product that’s used by tons of Black people – especially before an election,” Belfer told the undercover reporter. The DOJ attorney acknowledged that “many thousands of Black people die every year because of menthol cigarettes,” yet the ban is being slow-walked by the White House.

“[President Joe] Biden doesn’t want to pass this regulation because he’s worried he will lose Black voters. Biden used Black people. So we’re being sued, saying, ‘You should pass this regulation now with no excuse to hold it up because your people are dying.’”

He also noted the strong public health reasons for prohibiting menthol cigarettes, emphasizing that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supports the regulation. However, the broader White House, which reviews all regulations, is stalling the process.

(Related: FDA set to BAN MENTHOL cigarettes because it’s the “menthol” that makes it so hard for young people to quit smoking, so don’t worry about all the chemicals or the nicotine.)

Continued delay in the ban causing harm to Black voters

“The undercover video sheds light on the administration’s strategy, revealing that while the effort to ban menthol cigarettes has been ongoing for over a decade, its implementation is being deliberately delayed,” YourNews pointed out.

“The video has sparked outrage and raised questions about the administration’s commitment to public health and the integrity of its regulatory decisions. Critics argue that prioritizing political gains over the health and well-being of citizens is unacceptable, particularly when the stakes involve lives lost to preventable causes.”

Menthol cigarettes account for a third of the industry’s overall market share in the United States. But these highly addictive products have been criticized for their appeal to young smokers, as well as significant health impacts for Black communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 81 percent of Black adults who smoke cigarettes are using menthol varieties, compared with 34 percent of White adults.

Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement that the proposed ban had brought immense feedback, including from parts of the civil rights and criminal justice movement. “It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time,” he said. Based on his statement, Becerra appeared to suggest it would not be sorted before the presidential election in November.

Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said his organization was outraged and disgusted by the political move. “In an election year, politicians should be prioritizing people, not profiteers. Today’s news from the Biden administration is a blow to the Black people, who continue to be unfairly targeted and unjustly killed by Big Tobacco,” he said.

Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, also expressed dismay over the delay. “Two full years after releasing proposed rules backed by extensive scientific evidence – and more than a decade since the FDA began examining menthol cigarettes – the administration has failed to take decisive action to remove these deadly, addictive products from the market.”

---

MESSAGE TO DEEP STATE MINIONS: Don’t Follow Your Orders, Come Out With Your Hands Up, & Join The Resistance

---

Germany’s far-left government banned Compact magazine, seizing electronic devices, vehicles, money, and bank accounts associated with the outlet and shutting down its website and video company, in a move criticized by a former German defense minister.

(LifeSiteNews) — The far-left German government has shut down a conservative, anti-globalist magazine, raiding its offices with a large police force and seizing all of its assets.

On the morning of July 16, more than 300 policemen searched 14 buildings connected to Compact magazine, its management, and employees and confiscated the organization’s belongings.

According to WELT, the government seized electronic devices, data carriers, gold, vehicles, cash, and bank accounts. Compact’s website and social media channels, as well as its video production company, Conspect Film GmbH, were also shut down.

The home of Compact founder Jürgen Elsässer was raided by a police force accompanied by journalists from mainstream media outlets who took pictures of Elsässer in his bathrobe, a process described by some commentators as a “humiliation ritual.”

READ: German doctor sentenced to over 2 years in jail for issuing mask and COVID shot exemptions

The Interior Ministry said in a statement, “In its wide-reaching publications and products, ‘COMPACT-Magazin GmbH’ disseminates anti-Semitic, racist, anti-minority, historical revisionist and conspiracy theory content.”

“Today I have banned the right-wing extremist COMPACT magazine,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced.

“It is a central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene,” she added. “The ban shows that we are also taking action against the intellectual arsonists who foment a climate of hatred and violence against refugees and migrants and want to overcome our democratic state,” Faeser said.

Faeser, “who claims to defend democracy,” previously wrote an article for the radically leftist publication Federation of Anti-Fascists, which was classified as left-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, shortly before becoming Interior Minister in December 2021, as conservative news outlet Tichys Einblicke pointed out.

Outspoken tech billionaire Elon Musk chimed in on the case, stating on his social media platform X that “Crushing freedom of speech under a jackboot is what that government is doing.”

READ: Major anti-globalist TV station debanked in Germany and Austria

Tichys Einblicke described the ban of Compact as “historically unprecedented.”

Constitutional lawyer and former Federal Minister of Defense Rupert Scholz told the outlet that the ban of Compact is unconstitutional.

“Freedom of expression enjoys such a high constitutional status that it cannot simply be undermined by an executive decision,” he said.

“At most, a medium can be banned if it represents a revolutionary position, i.e., calls for overthrowing the existing order by force. But that would then have to lead to criminal proceedings.”

However, no criminal proceedings have been publicized, and neither Compact nor Elsässer have been criminally convicted in court.

According to Scholz, the “ethnic concept of people” used by Compact – i.e., the distinction between ancestral and naturalized German citizens – is also “not unconstitutional.” For the constitutional lawyer, it is instead the case that “Faeser’s approach is clearly unconstitutional.”

READ: Germany’s vice chancellor refuses to rule out criminalizing anti-globalist AfD party

In a joint statement, the co-leaders of the anti-globalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party condemned the actions taken against Compact magazine:

The ban on Compact magazine is a serious blow to press freedom. We are observing these events with great concern. Banning a press organ means a denial of discourse and diversity of opinion. A ban is always the most far-reaching step. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser is thus abusing her powers to suppress critical reporting. We call on the Minister to respect the freedom of the press.

In recent months, parts of the left-wing German government, mainstream media outlets, and public figures have been seriously pushing to ban the AfD. The reasoning behind the potential ban is similar to that used to justify the prohibition of Compactmagazine.

---

MESSAGE TO DEEP STATE MINIONS: Don’t Follow Your Orders, Come Out With Your Hands Up, & Join The Resistance

---

Joe Biden is not likely to succeed in getting enough support to amend the Constitution for his plan, but talking about it caters to left-wing ire about the Supreme Court over decisions such as overturning Roe v. Wade, affirming presidential immunity, and gutting bureaucratic power.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – Embattled Democrat President Joe Biden is planning to propose a set of dramatic changes to the U.S. Supreme Court meant to appease left-wing rage over its recent ruling in favor of presidential immunity and other outcomes favored by their political foes, according to a new report in TheWashington Post.

The Post reported Tuesday that over the weekend Biden shared with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus the details of his plan, which include term limits for Supreme Court justices and a new and “enforceable” code of ethics.

“I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court, because I’m about to come out — I don’t want to prematurely announce it — but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court,” he reportedly told the left-wing lawmakers. “I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help.”

The plan also includes proposing a constitutional amendment that would “eliminate broad immunity for presidents and other constitutional officeholders,” according to the Post.

The proposals, most of which would require the difficult process of amending the U.S. Constitution, are not likely to become reality even if Biden wins reelection in November, as it would require either a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers of Congress or a convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures, then ratification by popular vote in 38 states.

But they continue Democrats’ catering to liberal activists’ hatred of the Court over a string of high-profile rulings that have gone against their interests, including overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 and this summer affirming some presidential immunity for Donald Trump and overturning the Chevron doctrine that gave significant regulatory discretion to unelected bureaucrats; as well as ongoing attacks on conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

In any event, Democrats continue to question whether they will get an opportunity to try to put such plans into action next year in light of ongoing discontent over Biden’s age, mental ability, and political viability. 

Polling aggregations by RealClearPolitics and RaceToTheWH indicate a slim popular-vote lead for Trump in the November election, and, more important, leads in swing states translating to an Electoral College advantage over Biden.

---

MESSAGE TO DEEP STATE MINIONS: Don’t Follow Your Orders, Come Out With Your Hands Up, & Join The Resistance

---

Anyone who chooses to own modern cars must accept that they will be constantly monitored in hopes of being given a DUI.

A tech startup is developing an artificial intelligence-powered in-vehicle camera that can assess a driver’s level of intoxication as soon as they get into the car.

The new system, which seeks to reduce drunk driving accidents, was presented in a paper published on April 9 at a joint conference by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Computer Vision Foundation.

According to the presentation, the in-development AI algorithm utilizes a single color camera to monitor variables such as gaze direction and head position. It incorporates 3D and infrared footage of the driver’s face, rearview videos showing driver posture, steering interactions, event logs and screen recordings of driving behavior.

The researchers, along with the South African software company MiX by Powerfleet, used video footage of drivers of various ages, drinking habits and driving experience, as well as simulators under three levels of intoxication: sober, low intoxication and severely intoxicated. The algorithm identified common visual cues of intoxication, such as bloodshot eyes, a flushed face, droopy eyelids and a dazed look to assess the driver’s intoxication level as soon as they get into the car. 

(Related: Government developing AI-powered surveillance program that can keep an eye on people in smart cities.)

“Our system has the capability to identify intoxication levels at the beginning of a drive, allowing for the potential prevention of impaired drivers from being on the road,” said Ensiyeh Keshtkaran, a project contributor and doctoral student at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Western Australia.

As of now, the AI-powered in-vehicle camera can only assess with 75 percent accuracy. But Syed Zulqarnain Gilani, the project lead and a senior lecturer at ECU’s School of Science, said they are enhancing the resolution of the image data to improve the accuracy of the predictions.

“If low-resolution videos are proven sufficient, this technology can be employed by surveillance cameras installed on the roadside,” Gilani stated.

WHO: Driving under the influence of alcohol a major contributor to road traffic injuries

A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report has revealed that approximately 1.19 million people worldwide lose their lives each year due to road traffic crashes. Driving under the influence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances is a major contributor to road traffic injuries, with the risk of accidents rising considerably with higher blood alcohol concentrations in drivers.

In fact, a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that even a small amount of alcohol can affect driving ability. In 2022, 2,337 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes where an offending driver had blood alcohol concentrations of between .01 to .07 grams per deciliter – below the benchmark of .08 grams per deciliter that is illegal in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the American territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

In 2022, a total of 13,524 people in the United States died from alcohol-impaired driving deaths, which amounts to 37 people per day, or one person every 39 minutes.

Visit FutureTech.news for more stories on how artificial intelligence is shaping the world.

---

MESSAGE TO DEEP STATE MINIONS: Don’t Follow Your Orders, Come Out With Your Hands Up, & Join The Resistance

---

Ireland is reeling from a migration crisis, and the government’s answer may be to move more and more newcomers to the countryside — whether locals like it or not.

In a strategy seen in many Western countries, Ireland’s government is looking to move more and more migrants into the countryside, with one of the latest schemes focusing on shifting 280 asylum seekers to Dundrum, a village in Tipperary County with a population of only 165.

The move has sparked outrage from the local community, which is embroiled in controversy over the new refugee center. If all migrants are relocated as planned, their population would be 70 percent higher than the local population.

The government plans to convert the Dundrum House hotel into an accommodation complex that will house 280 migrants, with similar plans sparking widespread protests and riots in the Dublin suburb of Coolock just yesterday, with locals there setting fire to construction equipment and battling with police.

Residents expressed shock at the scale of the proposal, and a public meeting to discuss the community’s concerns saw 300 attendees show up from other towns in Tipperary County, according to a report from the Irish Independent.

This controversy also comes after major battles in towns such as Roscrea and Clonmel over large-scale refugee centers, which resulted in headline-grabbing incidents, including several arson attacks on the Clonmel site. 

Dundrum residents have called for “common sense” in determining the scale of local accommodation plans. Local politicians are also enraged by the proposal, noting that the town does not have the resources or infrastructure to house so many new people, especially when local services are already stretched to their limit. 

Independent city councilor Liam Browne said he was “dismayed” by the lack of communication with residents, while Fine Gael city councilor Declan Burgess described it as “deeply concerning” that the community is kept uninformed. 

However, pro-immigration Integration Minister and new Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman showed no signs of backing down. He said the Department of Integration plans to proceed with the accommodation at the Dundrum House hotel despite local protests.

However, some politicians are noting that as pressure grows in Dublin to house migrants, including large-scale protests, the government appears to be pushing migrants into the countryside. 

“We have been saying from the start that there are too many people in too small an area,” Browne told Tipp FM. He criticized the lack of a local needs assessment and the absence of plans for essential services, questioning how families of international protection seekers would integrate, especially concerning childcare and healthcare. “The doctor has already told Dundrum that he will not take on new patients, he simply does not have the capacity to do so.”

“The government seems to think that we have to take these people out of Dublin, bring them down into the country, put them in a rural area… but this is not an effective immigration or asylum-seeking policy. The situation is becoming a real disaster,” he added.

Similar plans are being launched in a wide variety of countries, including France, with local protests there sometimes proving effective against migrant relocation plans. In many cases,the French government looks to transfer large numbers of migrants into isolated towns, with locals voicing concerns about integration, demographic displacement, and severe burdens on local services.

These large-scale pushes to move migrants into the countryside have often been used to support assertions that the Great Replacement is indeed happening in Europe, which posits that native European populations are demographically declining while foreign populations from Asia, Africa, and other nations are slowly displacing Europeans.

---

MESSAGE TO DEEP STATE MINIONS: Don’t Follow Your Orders, Come Out With Your Hands Up, & Join The Resistance

---

Upon investigation, both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the DOJ determined that both national security and public safety were put at risk by the breach.

At least 109 million people living in the United States were hacked by UNC5537 after hackers from the group stole the call records of “nearly all” of AT&T’s mobile phone subscribers.

According to reports, not only were pretty much all of AT&T’s 109 million subscribers affected, but so were all of the people they interacted with between May 1 and October 21, 2022.

The hack specifically impacted AT&T’s Snowflake storage system, which facilitates large-scale data warehousing and analytics in the cloud. Snowflake is now under scrutiny for a number of security lapses in recent years, including multiple instances in which users’ credentials were stolen by hackers.

Security firm Mandiant is credited with outing UNC5537 as the culprit in the latest Snowflake breach. Snowflake has since implemented stricter security measures, including mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrators.

Reclaim the Net reported that the stolen data includes all call and text metadata transmitted through the AT&T system between the aforementioned dates. UNC5337 hackers stole said data between April 14 and April 25 of this year.

“This metadata encompasses telephone numbers, interaction counts, and aggregate call durations, affecting not only AT&T’s direct customers but also those of various mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs),” the watchdog reported.

(Related: Did you know that all of the major cellphone carriers in the United States allow Big Government to rig and steal elections?)

Be careful: It’s an ugly, dangerous world out there

Upon discovering the breach, AT&T is said to have taken immediate action. The carrier engaged with cybersecurity experts as well as contacted the FBI, which along with the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an official statement about the matter.

Upon investigation, both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the DOJ determined that both national security and public safety were put at risk by the breach.

“We have taken steps to close off the illegal access points,” the two federal agencies announced. “We are working with law enforcement in its efforts to arrest those involved in the incident. We understand that at least one person has been apprehended.”

AT&T customers are encouraged to take “several proactive steps to protect their personal information and reduce potential risks.” Those steps include:

1) Paying close attention to suspicious calls and texts that could be phishing attempts.

“Customers should be cautious about unsolicited communications asking for personal information or urging them to click on suspicious links.”

2) Using MFA, which while required for administrators remains optional for everyone else.

“Avoid using text messages as a form of account verification. This is when a company sends you a code by text message that you have to use to access your account. It’s much safer to use a 2-factor authentication app.”

3) Stick with app-based calling and texting rather than standard phone calls and SMS text messaging.

“Phone carriers, by virtue of their central role in facilitating communications, inherently collect and store vast amounts of metadata related to phone calls and text messages. This metadata, which includes details such as call times, durations, and the numbers involved, can be highly sensitive. Despite its non-content nature, metadata can reveal intricate details about a person’s life, habits and social networks.”

Reclaim the Net recommends using what are known as E2EE (end-to-end encryption) apps that ensure all messages, calls and files are encrypted on the sender’s device, and that can only be decrypted on the recipient’s device.

“This means that no one in between, not even the service providers or potential interceptors, can read or listen to the content,” the watchdog says. “This is crucial when the metadata (like call logs and contact numbers) is exposed, as the content of the communications remains secure.”

By the way, if you are interested in purchasing a smartphone that is “Google-less” and encrypted at the operating system level, check out Above Phone.

More related news coverage can be found at CyberWar.news.

---

MESSAGE TO DEEP STATE MINIONS: Don’t Follow Your Orders, Come Out With Your Hands Up, & Join The Resistance

---