Arizona Woman Made $7.2 Million From Human Smuggling In 6 Months: Police
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Arizona Woman Made $7.2 Million From Human Smuggling In 6 Months: Police

Authored by Charlotte Cuthbertson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Tania Estudillo Hernandez, 24, was arrested and charged with crimes related to human smuggling and possession of weapons, in El Mirage, Ariz., on Sept. 23, 2022. (Maricopa County Jail)

A 24-year-old Arizona woman was arrested and charged with crimes related to a human smuggling enterprise on Sept. 23, according to the El Mirage Police Department (EMPD).

Over a six-month period at least, the woman, Tania Estudillo Hernandez, had allegedly held and/or processed 80 to 100 illegal aliens per month at a residence in El Mirage, the police department stated in a Facebook post.

The illegal aliens were charged as much as $15,000 each in smuggling fees, police said. At $15,000 a person, for 80 people per month over six months, that’s a total of $7.2 million.

Police said the department received a report of a person being held for ransom at the El Mirage address on the morning of Sept. 23.

“The complainant stated in the residence there were multiple people kidnapped, including her husband,” the EMPD stated.

Officers stopped a vehicle leaving the residence and discovered Hernandez transporting a Guatemalan national, the report stated.

“EMPD learned that while conducting the traffic stop, two smugglers left the home with 10 Undocumented Immigrants,” the police department noted.

During a subsequent search warrant executed on the home police seized a semi-auto rifle, two handguns (one of which was reported stolen out of Phoenix), and ammunition.

“Ledgers documenting human smuggling, and other evidence of human smuggling was seized, to include evidence that Tania Estudillo Hernandez managed and directed smuggling operations,” the EMPD stated.

A Google maps view of W Dahlia Drive, El Mirage, Ariz., where an alleged human smuggler was holding illegal immigrants on Sept. 23, 2022. (screenshot)

Hernandez was booked into Maricopa County Jail on violations of kidnapping, money laundering, illegally conducting or participation in an illegal enterprise, and conspiracy, police said.

El Mirage is located in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area and is less than 3 hours’ drive to the U.S.–Mexico border.

The Tucson Border Patrol sector in Arizona leads the nation in known gotaways, which are illegal aliens that Border Patrol detects, but fails to capture. Border Patrol reported about 10,000 illegal alien gotaways in the Tucson sector per month during the last several months, according to provisional Customs and Border Protection numbers obtained by The Epoch Times.

Border agents in Arizona have apprehended more than 514,000 illegal aliens in fiscal year 2022, which ends on Sept. 30.

Often, Border Patrol agents are tied up processing large groups of illegal border crossers, which leaves miles of border unpatrolled.

Tyler Durden Tue, 09/27/2022 - 19:40
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Coast Guard Spots Chinese, Russian Warship Formation Off Alaska
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Coast Guard Spots Chinese, Russian Warship Formation Off Alaska

The US military revealed Monday that earlier this month a US Coast Guard had ship embarked on a routine patrol in the Bering Sea and its crew was surprised to come across a Chinese PLA Navy guided missile cruiser.

But more rare and unexpected was that the Coast Guard soon discovered the Chinese ship wasn't alone as it sailed off Alaska's coast, but was accompanied by two additional Chinese military ships and four Russian naval vessels, including a destroyer. The Chinese-Russian patrol group was described as being "in single formation". 

Image: U.S. Coast Guard 

The Coast Guard in releasing a photo of the encounter stated, "The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crew on a routine patrol in the Bering Sea encountered a People’s Republic of China Guided Missile Cruiser, Renhai CG 101, sailing approximately 75 nautical miles north of Kiska Island, Alaska, September 19, 2022."

According to more details by the Coast Guard and reported in the Associated Press: 

The Honolulu-based Kimball, a 418-foot vessel, observed as the ships broke formation and dispersed. A C-130 Hercules provided air support for the Kimball from the Coast Guard station in Kodiak.

“While the formation has operated in accordance with international rules and norms, we will meet presence with presence to ensure there are no disruptions to U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska,” said 17th Coast Guard District commander Rear Adm. Nathan Moore.

The reference to the "presence with presence" patrol strategy is a method of dissuading such enemy foreign vessels from coming near US waters by maintaining frequent naval and coast guard patrol activity.

This latest incident follows something similar a year ago, when in September 2021 Chinese ships were spotted by Coast Guard observers 50 miles off the Aleutian Islands. The Chinese and Russian navies have also been ramping up coordinated activity in the Sea of Japan and near Japanese islands, which Tokyo has protested as an unwarranted intrusion.

Tyler Durden Tue, 09/27/2022 - 19:20
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Russia Confirms 'Sporadic' Contacts With US On Nuclear Weapons
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Russia Confirms 'Sporadic' Contacts With US On Nuclear Weapons

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that the US and Russia have had “sporadic” contact over the issue of nuclear arms as tensions are soaring between the world’s largest nuclear-armed powers.

"There are channels for dialogue at the proper level, but they are of a very sporadic nature. At least they allow for the exchange of some emergency messages about each other’s positions," Peskov said.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization last week, he warned that Russia could use nuclear weapons to protect its "territorial integrity." The warning was significant since Russian territory is set to expand into Ukraine once referendums on joining Russia are completed in Russian-controlled areas.

On Sunday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US warned Russia it would face "catastrophic consequences" if it used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

Sullivan wouldn’t explain what that means but said the US "spelled out in detail" to Russia how it would respond. When asked if Russia had received such a message from the US, Peskov declined to comment.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, there have been virtually no public high-level meetings between US and Russian officials. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in July, but the conversation was focused on a potential prisoner swap.

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U.S. Blew Up Russian Gas Pipelines Nord Stream 1 & 2, Says Former Polish Defense Minister
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U.S. Blew Up Russian Gas Pipelines Nord Stream 1 & 2, Says Former Polish Defense Minister

Authored by Michael Shellenberger via Substack,

A former Polish Defense Minister, Radek Sikorski, has attributed to the United States the sabotage of two pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2, which carry natural gas from Russia to Germany. “Thank you, USA,” Sikorski wrote on Twitter. Sikorski was Minister of National Defense from 2005 - 2007 and served as Deputy Minister of National Defense and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, previously. He is currently an elected member of the European parliament.

Nord Stream 1 and 2 lie on the bed of the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream 2 was finished last year but Germany never opened it because Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Poland’s Secretary of State, Stanisław Żaryn, denounced Sikorki’s claim on Twitter as “Russian #propaganda,” calling it “a smear campaign against Poland, the US, and Ukraine, accusing the West of aggression against #NS1 and #NS2. Authenticating the Russian lies at this particular moment jeopardizes the security of Poland. What an act of gross irresponsibility!”

But it’s not out of the realm of the possible that the U.S. is indeed behind the attack. President Joe Biden promised on February 7 to prevent Nord Stream 2 from becoming operational if Russia invaded Ukraine. "If Russia invades,” said Biden, “then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."

Reporter: "But how will you do that, exactly, since...the project is in Germany's control?"

Biden: "I promise you, we will be able to do that."

Subscribers can continue reading here...

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US Egg Prices Hit Record High As Resurgent Bird Flu Dents Production
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US Egg Prices Hit Record High As Resurgent Bird Flu Dents Production

The unseasonable return of avian influenza or bird flu continues to devastate egg production in the US. As a result, retail prices for a dozen eggs at the supermarket have soared to record highs, fueling breakfast inflation. 

Bird flu's return comes as more than 40 million birds were culled in the first half of the year. The disease usually abates during the hot summer months. The current death toll of birds stands at a whopping 45 million and could dramatically worsen, Beth Thompson, South Dakota's state veterinarian, told Bloomberg. She said the virus is being fueled this fall by the migration of wild birds that fly above commercial farms and leave droppings that get tracked into poultry houses. 

Thompson said bird flu "doesn't seem to have been affected by that hot summer, and in the next probably four to six weeks, we're going to see those migrating birds coming back from Canada, flying over the US." She added, "that may increase the viral load that's out in the environment." 

The culling of millions of birds has dented egg supplies, sending prices sky-high and above 2015 outbreak levels (last major bird flu) to now $3.16 per dozen at the supermarket. Retail prices have doubled since August 2020, straining consumers' wallets as breakfast inflation soars. 

Besides eggs, turkeys sell at a record high price ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. 

According to Urner Barry data, turkey prices were about $1.82 a pound last week, up from $1.42 last year and $1.01 before the pandemic. 

"There's nothing appearing on the horizon to suggest anything new is going to surface to help ease the supply-side pain for Thanksgiving turkeys," said Russ Whitman, senior vice president at commodity researcher Urner Barry.

Consumers can't catch a break as food inflation pressures household budgets. There's nothing the Federal Reserve can do about supply-side food woes because they can't print eggs or turkey meat. Instead, the Fed can aggressively send interest rates higher, denting demand though it comes at a risk of causing household discontent. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 09/27/2022 - 16:40
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