[JustTheNews] The seizures were part of a joint federal operation in Chicago.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the seizure Wednesday of 4.7 million illegal e-cigarette products with an estimated retail value of $86.5 million – the largest-ever seizure of its kind.
The seizures were part of a joint federal operation in Chicago. Nearly all the illegal shipments uncovered by the operation originated in China. FDA and CBP officials found that many shipments contained vague and misleading product descriptions with incorrect values – an apparent attempt to evade import duties and the review of products for import safety concerns.
"We will never allow foreign actors to threaten the health of America's children," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "Today we took decisive action to protect kids from illegal vape products."
The seizure is part of a broader strategy to curb childhood vaping. Federal authorities are also going after the practice of "port shopping," where importers repeatedly move products between ports to avoid taxes and scrutiny.
"The FDA and our federal partners are taking strong actions to shore up America’s borders and stop the flow of illegal vaping products into our country," said FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. "Americans – especially our children – should not be using potentially dangerous, addicting products that have been snuck into the U.S. If a product has not been authorized by the FDA, CBP will seize, detain or destroy it."
In total this year, the FDA and CBP have stopped more than 6 million unauthorized e-cigarettes worth over $120 million from entering the country.
All e-cigarette products seized in this operation lacked the mandatory premarket authorization orders from the FDA and therefore cannot be legally marketed or distributed in the U.S.
In addition to the seizures, the FDA contacted 37 importers and import entry filers regarding their actions.
"These firms were responsible for importing these illegal e-cigarettes and were advised that it is a federal crime to make false statements or entries to the U.S. government," according to the federal agency. "The FDA reminded the firms of their responsibility to ensure the products they import comply with U.S. requirements and that their import entries must contain complete and accurate information moving forward."
The FDA requested the firms to respond to the letters within 30 days with the requested information.
[DM] The suspect in the brutal murder of a beloved college professor was previously charged with a gun-related felony, but soft prosecutors let himserve just 60 days in jail, it has been revealed.
Harold Rashad Dabney III, 26, the alleged killer of veterinarian professor Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, in Auburn, Alabama, was previously arrested in December 2023 in Virginia on gun charges.
According to an arrest warrant first shared by Fox News, Dabney was homeless at the time when cops were called to reports of him trespassing in a business parking lot in Virginia Beach.
Dabney was caught sleeping in the driver's seat of a car and told an officer he was 'f***ed up' before refusing to say anything more.
When the officer searched the car, they found a handgun under the driver's seat with its serial number removed, a sawed-off shotgun in the backseat, and white pills, the arrest affidavit said.
He was charged with felony possession or use of a shotgun and misdemeanor removing or altering serial number or other identification on a firearm, unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon, public intoxication, and trespassing.
According to court records, the alleged would-be killer was handed a lenient deal where he pleaded guilty to several misdemeanors if prosecutors dropped the felony charge, which would have resulted in a prison sentence of two-to-10 years if convicted.
He was instead handed a sentence of 12 months unsupervised probation and 60 days behind bars, which would have ended nine months before he allegedly killed Schnuelle this month.
The prosecutor in charge of Virginia Beach at the time that Dabney was let free on felony gun charges was Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Colin Stolle, a Republican.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Stolle's office said that Dabney's felony charge of Possession of a Sawed-Off Shotgun 'didn’t meet the statutory requirements because the barrel length was determined to be within the legal requirements; therefore, we were prohibited from being able to proceed on that charge.'
Schnuelle was a professor emerita at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine from 2003 until her retirement in 2021.
In grisly details released by cops, officials said that Schneulle was walking her dog in Kiesel Park in Auburn when Dabney allegedly dragged her several hundred yards into the woods and stabbed her multiple times.
Dabney, 28, has now been charged with two counts of capital murder — murder during a kidnapping and murder during a robbery.
He was arrested the next day around 8:30am after cops received reports of a 'suspicious person' in the area.
Officers said they 'made observations that led them to believe Dabney had involvement with the homicide' of Schnuelle the day prior.
Dabney also allegedly stole Schnuelle's Ford F-150 truck during the killing.
Dabney was arrested Sunday afternoon and made his first appearance in court on Monday. He is being held in Lee County Jail without bond, and if convicted he faces the possibility of the death penalty.
The coroner pronounced Schnuelle dead at the scene, with investigators yet to offer a motive for the killing.
It is also unclear if Dabney personally knew Schnuelle – who is understood to have visited the park daily – or if he targeted her at random.
Another former student told the news outlet Schnuelle was 'amazing' and a 'force' to be reckoned with, despite being relatively small in stature.
'She was only a little bit over 5-foot-2, not your typical large animal veterinarian,' Destinee Bearden Patterson said. 'She was a force in this world, such a bright, bright light, just an all-around wonderful human being that is going to be missed terribly.'
Posted by: Skidmark ||
09/11/2025 07:29 ||
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[NYPOST] Three teens have been hospitalized at death's door after a shooting at a suburban Denver high school, authorities said Wednesday.
The shooting happened around midday at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, about 30 miles west of Denver, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said.
All those taken to the hospital are believed to be students, Kelley said. She did not immediately have details on their injuries.
All three teens were either in the emergency room or undergoing surgery as of mid-afternoon at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, CEO Kevin Cullinan said.
He said he does not believe there were any other victims from the shooting.
It's not clear who the shooter was or how many shooters may have been involved in the shooting, Kelley said.
[FoxNews] Silicon Valley is stepping in after the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska shocked the nation.
Eoghan McCabe, CEO and founder of Intercom, committed $500,000 to commission murals of Zarutska’s face in major U.S. cities.
"I am offering $500k in $10k grants to paint murals of the face of Iryna Zarutska in prominent US city locations," McCabe wrote.
Those who want to participate in or donate to the initiative are encouraged to contact McCabe’s chief of staff, Katie Brenske Tolstedt.
McCabe’s post caught the attention of billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who replied with an offer to contribute $1 million. Musk has also been vocal about Zarutska’s case, particularly media coverage of the killing and public reaction.
A person working with the campaign who spoke with Fox News Digital under the condition of anonymity said that they are currently in talks with more than 1,000 artists across the country and are looking for the right locations for the murals. There are also poster campaigns in the works, which will appear in major U.S. cities.
The person also said that McCabe was inspired by a desire to not let Zarutska be forgotten or ignored by mainstream media after her life was taken in such a brutal way. The person also cited a realization about the failures of leftist policies.
Notably, after George Floyd’s 2020 killing, murals and statues in his honor appeared across U.S. cities.
Surveillance video of Zarutska's stabbing has gone viral, sparking debate about how criminals are handled and public safety. The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., had 14 prior arrests when he allegedly stabbed Zarutska to death on a train in Charlotte, N.C.
President Donald Trump, who has taken a controversial tough-on-crime approach to cities across the country, condemned the murder and said the video was "horrific." He also questioned why the suspect, who he called a "mentally deranged lunatic," was allowed to walk free despite a lengthy criminal record.
"I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic. The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP," Trump said.
Zarutska came to the U.S. in August 2022 to escape the Russia-Ukraine war. She was working at Zepeddie's Pizzeria and was in her uniform when she was killed.
"This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night. We are committed to making sure this never happens again," Zarutska’s family said in their first statement since she was murdered.
Zarutska was on a Lynx Blue Line train in Charlotte when she sat in front of a man in a red hoodie later identified as Brown. After a few moments of sitting behind Zarutska, Brown is seen in the video standing up and stabbing the young woman.
Brown was arrested soon after the attack and has been charged with first-degree murder. The Justice Department on Tuesday added a charge of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
#1
Garbage in, garbage out. Call it AI if you will but it is in fact mere software and as such it is no more exempt from that rule than the software of the 1960s.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/11/2025 15:24 Comments ||
Top||
[FoxNews] 'The Board has called for immediate and decisive steps to ensure that what happened this week will not be repeated,' statement reads
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents released a statement Wednesday calling for an audit of all of its courses after a student was allegedly removed from a class for questioning transgender-related course content.
"The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents will not tolerate actions that damage the reputation of our institutions," the school system said. "The Board has called for immediate and decisive steps to ensure that what happened this week will not be repeated. To that end, the Regents have asked the Chancellor to audit every course and ensure full compliance with all applicable laws."
In a post Monday on X, Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, shared video of what he said showed a Texas A&M student being removed from class after objecting to transgender content.
Harrison included a video recorded by a female student who interrupted the lecturer and asked if it was legal to be teaching gender ideology, citing former President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
"I just have a question because I'm not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching, because according to our president, there [are] only two genders, and he said that he would be freezing agency's funding programs that promote gender ideology," a student was heard saying in the video. "And this also very much goes against not only myself, but a lot of people's religious beliefs, and so I am not going to participate in this because it's not legal, and I don't want to promote something that is against our president's laws as well as against my religious beliefs."
"You are under a misconception that what I'm saying is illegal," a woman responds, before later adding, "and it's time for you to leave."
Harrison said in a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that a Texas A&M student whistleblower provided his office with video evidence of being removed from a children’s literature class after objecting to what he called persistent transgender and DEI indoctrination.
In the letter, Harrison alleged that students were "forced to learn the ‘gender unicorn,’ which propagandizes extreme transgender ideology." He claimed the professor encouraged "criminal child grooming" and distributed instructional materials suggesting childhood is a time to explore gender.
Fox News Digital previously reached out to Texas A&M University for comment and was referred to a statement from university President Mark A. Welsh III. He addressed the controversy in a post Monday on Texas A&M’s X account.
"I learned this afternoon that key leaders in the College of Arts and Sciences approved plans to continue teaching course content that was not consistent with the course’s published description," Welsh said. "As a result, I directed the provost to remove the dean and department head from their administrative positions, effective immediately."
"Our students use the published information in the course catalog to make important decisions about the courses they take in pursuit of their degrees. If we allow different course content to be taught from what is advertised, we let our students down. When it comes to our academic offerings, we must keep our word to our students and to the state of Texas."
Glenn Hegar, the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, issued his own statement Tuesday, saying, "I commend President Welsh on the action he has taken to terminate a faculty member who failed to follow instructions to align her course description with the actual content of her class.
"His action shows insubordination and indoctrination have no place on our campus or in our classrooms," Hegar added.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] A sudden, difficult to explain magnetic storm was observed on Earth on the night of September 10. The geomagnetic index jumped sharply without external influences, the press service of the solar astronomy laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAS) reported.
The storm was absent from the forecasts made the day before, the color scale was completely green. After midnight Moscow time, the magnetosphere disturbance rose almost to the G2 mark, which means a storm of medium strength.
“Even in hindsight, it is completely impossible to understand what happened on Earth or near Earth that could have caused such a violent reaction of the magnetic field,” the experts noted.
Magnetic storms are usually caused by external impacts from the Sun, when plasma clouds or streams of fast solar wind from coronal holes reach the Earth. However, nothing came to the planet [from the sun]
last night, the scientists explained.
They suggested that an unusually large substorm had occurred on Earth. In such a phenomenon, magnetosphere energy is released without any apparent external cause. As a rule, a substorm is caused by a spontaneous imbalance in the magnetosphere tail, which stretches behind the planet for more than 100 thousand km in the direction opposite to the Sun.
The version about a substorm is confirmed by spontaneous polar lights observed on Earth, the laboratory added.
Index for final demand edged down 0.1 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices advanced 0.7 percent in July and 0.1 percent in June. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand rose 2.6 percent for the 12 months ended in August.
The August decrease in the final demand index is attributable to a 0.2-percent decline in prices for final demand services. In contrast, the index for final demand goods inched up 0.1 percent.
Prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services rose 0.3 percent in August, the fourth consecutive increase. For the 12 months ended in August, the index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services moved up 2.8 percent, the largest 12-month advance since climbing 3.5 percent in March 2025.
====
The CPI comes out tomorrow at 830 EDT, but even if it bumps up the Fed will almost certainly lower the Federal fund rate given the Treasury bond prices/rates.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
09/11/2025 00:00 ||
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[1757 views]
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#1
CPI came out about an hour ago. It bumped up a bit but by much. Tomorrow the employer cost number comes out.
Next week the Fed funds rate will almost certainly come down by 25 (or maybe 50) basis points. That will help job growth during the fall.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
09/11/2025 9:38 Comments ||
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#2
Thank you for watching this for us, Lord Garth.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A Canadian police chief offered up bizarre advice for citizens handling home invasions - suggesting that people should 'just comply.'
York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween advised in a news conference on September 3 that residents shouldn't take matters into their own hands if they are a victim of a home invasion.
'The best defense for most people is to comply,' MacSween said at the conference.
'My advice is to rely on our police service, call 911 immediately and let us take it from there. We saw more often than not when people comply that injuries are not happening.'
But MacSween was quickly forced to defend himself two days later after he was repeatedly slammed by celebrities, as well as the public, for his bizarre advice just weeks after a father of three was killed defending his family during a break-in.
American actor, producer and director Kevin Sorbo refuted MacSween's advice with two examples of tragic victims of recent home invasions.
'A man was just executed in front of his family during a home invasion,' Sorbo wrote on X.
'A 3-year-old girl was just raped by an intruder. Canadian police chief Jim MacSween told his citizens that “your best defense is to just comply."'
Comments tore into the Canadian Police Chief, as one wrote: 'So you’re supposed to just let them come into your home and steal everything and r@pe the women? Thank God we have the second amendment!'
Another replied to Sorbo and said: 'Kevin, these are just 2 examples in Canada in the past month. Crime is truly out of control up here. And yes, the Police Chief told Canadians to just comply.'
'No Chief MacSween, their best defense is not to comply, rather it is to shoot the rapists/intruders dead and protect their families and their homes. But your government took the guns from citizens, didn't you? You prevented Canadians from defending their most basic rights' another commenter angrily wrote.
One added: 'Comply to what? The invaders If your government and police force tell you to comply with this, your country is falling.'
'We are the laughing stock of the world. That statement from the police chief just told the criminals to go ahead, nothing will be done. In rural places, there's no such thing as home invasions,' another declared.
Days after the conference, MacSween said in a statement that his advice was 'suggested as a tactic in the hopes of preserving lives.'
'When I told citizens not to take matters into their own hands, it had nothing to do with politics, or with concern over force used against the perpetrators of home invasions,' he added.
'It was suggested as a tactic in the hopes of preserving lives, should citizens be confront with an armed intruder. When it comes to defending property, material items can be replaced - but lives cannot.'
'There is no one piece of advice to offer to citizens who are faced with an intruder in their home - but calling 9-1-1 immediately and avoiding engagement with the suspects has proven to be an effective course of action,' MacSween continued.
'These situations are dynamic, chaotic, and difficult to assess in the moment.'
[FoxBusiness] The FDA declared a nationwide amoxicillin shortage in 2022
The United States is set to increase its manufacturing of amoxicillin — a widely used prescription antibiotic that recently faced a national shortage — after Walmart and medical supply and distribution company McKesson inked a deal with the nation's lone manufacturer of the drug.
"We are thrilled to work with Walmart and McKesson to bring domestically manufactured antibiotics directly to American families," Patrick Cashman, president of USAntibiotics, said in a press release of the announcement on Monday.
"We extend our deepest gratitude to Walmart and McKesson for their leadership in supporting U.S. manufacturing of critical generic medicines. This collaboration represents more than a business relationship — it's a commitment to America’s health security."
Ticker Security Last Change Change %
WMT WALMART INC. 100.42 -1.90 -1.85%
MCK MCKESSON CORP. 705.91 +0.34 +0.05%
USAntibiotics is located in Bristol, Tennessee, and expects to "produce enough amoxicillin products to meet 100 percent of the nation’s demand for these essential medications" under the deal. Walmart pharmacies will offer the U.S.-made amoxicillin, while McKesson will provide the antibiotic through its massive national distribution services, according to the press release.
[BBC] US space agency Nasa has blocked Chinese citizens with valid US visas from its facilities - a move that effectively bars them from working at one of the most respected space research centres.
Chinese nationals, who could only work at Nasa as contractors or students contributing to research, found out on 5 September that they had lost all access to Nasa's systems and facilities, Bloomberg news reported, citing sources.
Nasa then confirmed this, saying Chinese nationals would be restricted from using the agency's "facilities, materials and networks to ensure the security of our work".
China's accelerated space programme has alarmed the US and ramped up the race between the two biggest economies.
Chinese astronauts are already excluded from the International Space Station (ISS) because Washington has barred Nasa from sharing its data with China.
The latest restriction from Nasa only adds to the decline in scientific collaboration between the two sides because of national security concerns.
As they compete to gain a technological edge, Beijing and Washington have also grown increasingly wary of each other.
The suspicion has made it harder for some Chinese students, especially those studying science and tech, to get visas, or even enter the US, once they have secured a visa.
There have also been several cases in the US recently of alleged espionage by Chinese nationals, and scientists in particular have come under the scanner.
It's unclear how much notice Nasa gave Chinese nationals who were working for the agency. Bloomberg News reported that they had suddenly found they were denied access to the agency's data systems, and were barred from participating in meetings relating to their work - both in-person and virtual.
Nasa's press secretary Bethany Stevens told news outlets that Nasa had indeed taken "internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals - including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities".
China has made no secret of its space ambitions, with both Beijing and Washington competing to send their crew to the moon.
"We're in a second space race right now," Nasa's acting administrator Sean Duffy told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday where he spoke about US discoveries on Mars.
"The Chinese want to get back to the moon before us. That's not going to happen."
The director of the general technology bureau of China's Manned Space Agency last year said US concerns were "unnecessary", calling China's space exploration a "collective mission for humanity".
At a US Senate hearing last week, lawmakers stressed the need for the US to put its boots on the moon before China.
"China has made no secret of its goals," said Republican senator Ted Cruz. "[If] our adversaries achieve dominant space capabilities, it would pose a profound risk to America... [the] stakes could not be higher."
The race is not just about getting to the Moon. It's also about who can control its resources once they are there.
The Moon contains minerals, including rare earths, metals like iron and titanium - and helium too, which is used in everything from superconductors to medical equipment.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] NASA scientists have discovered possible traces of ancient life forms in samples collected by the American Mars rover Perseverance. This was announced on September 10 by the head of scientific programs of the American agency Nicola Fox.
According to NASA, the device discovered unique textured spots on the rocks in the Neretva Valley with a coloration reminiscent of a leopard. After studying the images and data, scientists suggested that the spots may form as a side effect of microbial activity.
"It's a kind of leftover trace. It's not life itself. And it certainly could have been associated with ancient life. It could have existed billions of years ago, but it certainly wasn't today. And you know, as we say, it could have been created by ancient life," Fox said during a press conference.
On September 5, NASA announced the launch of a simulation in which four volunteers will spend a year in conditions simulating life on Mars. They will be located in a 3D-printed module located at NASA's Space Center in Houston. The simulation participants will find themselves in conditions as close to reality as possible, with limited resources, possible equipment failures, communication delays, isolation, and various stress factors. The experiment should provide data that will be used in future studies of the Moon, Mars, and other planets.
Earlier, Chinese scientists confirmed for the first time the existence of a solid core on Mars. Specialists from China and the United States noted that this discovery creates an important basis for comparing the evolution of Mars, Earth and other terrestrial planets.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A Canadian police chief offered up bizarre advice for citizens handling home invasions - suggesting that people should 'just comply.'
