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Two U.S. Navy Sailors Charged With Helping Chinese

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Two Navy sailors in Southern California were arrested and accused of providing military secrets and sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers, according to a pair of federal indictments unsealed on Thursday.

Jinchao Wei, known as Patrick Wei, 22, was charged with spying for the Chinese under the Espionage Act. Mr. Wei serves aboard the Essex, an amphibious assault ship moored at Naval Base San Diego, which is the home of the Pacific Fleet. As a machinist’s mate, investigators said, he had clearance that gave him access to sensitive national security information.

The second sailor, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, also known as Thomas, was charged with taking bribes in exchange for providing sensitive U.S. military information to a Chinese intelligence officer posing as an economic researcher. Mr. Zhao worked at the Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, which is home to several aircraft squadrons and the service’s naval construction battalions in the Pacific.

The charges appear to reflect the Chinese government’s deep interest in the Navy’s Pacific Fleet and other aspects of the American military’s operations in that region, part of a broader effort by China to steal American corporate and national security secrets. Already, the extent of Chinese spying, including cyberbreaches, has prompted top national security officials to sound the alarm. In testimony before Congress this year, the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray warned, “There’s no country that presents a more significant threat to our innovation, our ideas our economic security, our national security than the Chinese government.”

In a news conference in San Diego on Thursday, Randy S. Grossman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, said that Mr. Wei, 22, a naturalized citizen, chose to “betray his newly adopted country,” rather than report inappropriate contact from a Chinese intelligence officer.

Mr. Grossman said the section of the Espionage Act under which Mr. Wei was charged has been used just a handful of times in the past few years, underscoring the seriousness of the crime. The betrayal was particularly acute in San Diego, he added.

“San Diego indeed has a storied history with the United States Navy,” he said. “That’s why this conduct is personal for San Diego, and we will not stand for it.”

Mr. Wei began working for the Chinese in early 2022, prosecutors said. In serving as a machinist’s mate for the Navy, he is an engineer trained to operate and maintain a range of equipment, from small pumps to refrigerators to large machinery for propelling a ship through the ocean.

He provided his handler with the defense and weapons abilities of U.S. warships as well as their vulnerabilities, communicating via encrypted platforms. In one instance in June last year, the Chinese intelligence officer asked Mr. Wei for information about “the number and training of U.S. Marines during an upcoming international maritime warfare exercise.”

In another instance, Mr. Wei received $5,000 for 30 technical and mechanical ship manuals, the court filing said. Some of the information that Mr. Wei provided to the Chinese was deemed “critical technology” by the U.S. Navy.

In a news release, the Justice Department said that warships like the Essex serve as the “cornerstone of the U.S. Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.”

Mr. Wei was evidently seeking U.S. citizenship while working clandestinely with the Chinese, according to the indictment, with his handler congratulating Mr. Wei when he received it.

In the second indictment, Mr. Zhao, who is from Monterey Park, worked at an unnamed Chinese intelligence officer’s direction from August 2021 through at least May this year.

Among the sensitive details he sent the officer were electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan, as well as operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region. Those plans, prosecutors said, detailed the specific location and timing of naval force movements, amphibious landings, maritime operations and logistics support.

Mr. Zhao was not charged under the Espionage Act, but a Justice Department news release says he faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

Both men earned thousands of dollars secretly working for the Chinese, prosecutors say.

The arrests come a year after the Justice Department ended a contentious initiative begun under the Trump administration to fight Chinese national security threats that critics said unfairly targeted professors of Asian descent and added to a surge in anti-Asian sentiment.

In the news conference, Stacey Moy, the top F.B.I. agent in San Diego, told reporters that he wanted to emphasize that “this is not and will never be an indictment of the Chinese people or ethnically Chinese Americans.”

The men were slated to appear on Thursday before federal judges in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and San Diego.

John Ismay contributed reporting.

Leah Remini claims she was ‘punished’ after Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s wedding in Scientology lawsuit

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David Miscavige, Leah Remini and Tom Cruise
Leah Remini names David Miscavige, left, as a defendant in her lawsuit against Scientology. The actress claims her status in the church changed after Tom Cruise’s wedding to Katie Holmes. (Photos: Getty Images)

A lawsuit filed by Leah Remini on Wednesday against the Church of Scientology contains a number of disturbing allegations against the organization, its practices and high-ranking members.

Along with claims Remini’s been “stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened, intimidated” and is the victim of “intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors” on the internet, the 60-page document made multiple mentions of Tom Cruise as the actress says her life as a Scientologist changed after his 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes. Remini, who labels Cruise as “essentially second in command” in the church, is also suing leader, David Miscavige.

The Church of Scientology responded to Remini’s lawsuit in a statement to Yahoo Entertainment Thursday, calling it “ludicrous” and “frivolous,” characterizing her allegations as “pure lunacy.”

“[Scientology] is not intimidated by Remini’s latest act of blatant harassment and attempt to prevent truthful free speech,” the statement said.

Here are the seven biggest bombshell’s from Remini’s lawsuit.

1. Remini filed an internal report after TomKat’s wedding — and it’s a “high crime” to “criticize” the actor “in any way”

Remini believes her status within the church changed after Cruise’s 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes. In the lawsuit, the actress refers to the Top Gun: Maverick star as Miscavige’s “best friend” who “is essentially second in command in Scientology.”

“It is a High Crime in Scientology to criticize [Tom] in any way,” the filing claims, noting that in 2004, Miscavige supposedly told an audience of Scientologists at a gala in England that Cruise was “the most dedicated Scientologist I know.” (Yahoo reached out to a rep for Cruise regarding the lawsuit, but did not immediately receive a response.)

The event was billed as “the wedding of the century,” so Remini says she was surprised when Miscavige’s wife, Michele (“Shelly”) Miscavige, “was nowhere to be found.” Shelly’s “job was to constantly record everything” David said “so that a team of secretaries could later transcribe his words and orders for dissemination throughout Scientology.”

“When Ms. Remini asked a group of Scientology executives and Tom Cruise’s personal handlers … ‘Where is Shelly?’ she was immediately admonished by the group, despite the fact that she and Ms. Miscavige were good friends,” the lawsuit claims.

“Ms. Remini witnessed other behavior at the wedding that set off red flags for her, including unethical contacts between various Scientology executives and others at the wedding which she understood to be forbidden by Scientology teachings,” per the document.

Remini shared her concerns in a written “Knowledge Report” and it was submitted within the church — “Ms. Remini had been brainwashed into believing that by filing reports like this, she was helping Scientology and saving her religion” — and that apparently didn’t go well.

2. Remini claims she was punished and held at a Scientology facility for 4 months after TomKat wedding

After Italy, Remini alleges she was ordered to go to Clearwater, Fla., to the Flag Land Base building (known as “FLAG”) which “is considered the spiritual headquarters of Scientology.” The actress claims she was forced to “undergo a quick ‘ethics cycle,’” which as a decades-long Scientologist, “was one of her life’s worst nightmares.”

“Upon arrival, Ms. Remini was presented with dozens of internal reports from Scientologists complaining about her behavior at the wedding. It was clear to Ms. Remini that she was being punished for asking where Shelly Miscavige was and for filing reports on David Miscavige and others. Ms. Remini was held at FLAG for four months while she was put through a process that cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars and nearly led her to have a psychotic breakdown,” the lawsuit alleges.

“After months of psychological torture, Ms. Remini was nearing the point of psychotic breakdown. She finally gave in, rescinded all of her reports, and admitted that she was the problem in this situation (despite it not being true),” it continues.

Remini ultimately left FLAG and returned to L.A. “where she was forced to lie to her colleagues, friends, and family about what happened while she was in Florida.”

3. In order to make ‘amends’ to Cruise, Remini claims she donated money to Scientology causes

Remini alleges she had to make peace with David and Cruise. “For example, she was forced to donate money to name a seat in a theater after Suri Cruise and was to raise money for donation to Scientology causes led by Tom Cruise,” the lawsuit reads.

The actress estimates that during her more than 35 years as a Scientologist, she spent around $5 million.

4. Remini alleges she was reprimanded for looking up rumors about Scientology online

Scientology’s international base, Golden Era Productions, in Riverside County, Calif. was accused of horrific abuse in 2009. (The church has denied these claims.) “Remini endured another six months of punishment for looking on the Internet and asking questions about the abuse,” the lawsuit alleges.

After her alleged punishment, Remini resigned from Scientology in 2013 and filed a missing persons report on Shelly, who has not been seen in public for 17 years.

5. CNN was allegedly harassed by members of the church and ultimately didn’t run an interview with Remini

In 2015, Remini says she was supposed to promote her book Troublemaker on Anderson Cooper’s show — but the interview didn’t make it to air.

“Due to Scientology’s history of aggressive litigiousness, the interview was pre-taped so that it could be vetted by CNN’s legal department. Before the interview began, Mr. Cooper warned Ms. Remini that the interview might not air. Mr. Cooper told Ms. Remini that when he aired a five-part series on physical abuse being perpetrated by David Miscavige (Scientology: A History of Violence), he and his producers faced so many [Office of Special Affairs] attacks that they might not be willing to face a new storm of harassment,” the lawsuit claims. “Since Cooper’s series aired in 2010, he has never broadcast another story about Scientology. To this day, defendants continue to maintain attack websites against Mr. Cooper and his producers.”

CNN declined to comment when contacted by Yahoo.

6. Conan O’Brien purportedly stunned by Scientology tactics

In 2017, the actress appeared on Conan to promote her Emmy-winning A&E docuseries Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. She claims the defendants were continuing “their campaign to harass and discredit her,” so O’Brien was sent “a personal letter criticizing Ms. Remini and claiming that Remini was only speaking out against Scientology for the fame, money and attention.”

“Mr. O’Brien commented that he has never before received a letter of this character in his 24 years of hosting late-night talk shows,” the document claims.

Yahoo reached out to a rep for O’Brien, but did not immediately receive a response.

7. Remini alleges she was stalked by a mentally ill man who wanted to break into her home

The actress claims she’s been stalked, surveilled and harassed for years — and still is. She details a disturbing incident from 2020 in which she claims a man with “a history of mental illness and a violent criminal record” was often parked outside her home.

“Upon information and belief, provided by former top Scientology operatives, Defendants armed this man with a vehicle and money to stalk and surveil Ms. Remini. Over the course of several weeks, at Defendants’ behest, this man rammed his car into the security gates of Ms. Remini’s community and asked residents for Ms. Remini’s address, saying he was waiting to get into her house, falsely claiming he had been there several times before, and that he needed to get a bigger ladder in order to reach her bedroom window,” the lawsuit reads. “He was eventually arrested and then released, at which point he called the police to allege that Ms. Remini was holding hostages at her home. After police responded to Ms. Remini’s house, he was again arrested.”

Remini alleges Scientology operatives typically seek out “individuals with mental illness or who are homeless or addicted to drugs, and other vulnerable people in order to harass its enemies.”

“As recently as 2023, an unidentified male was recorded on video surveillance arriving at Ms. Remini’s gated community in a vehicle armed with a hammer,” the document adds. “This unidentified man drove to Ms. Remini’s residence and smashed her mailbox, which she has to keep locked, to illegally seize Ms. Remini’s personal mail. Police responding to Ms. Remini’s call surmised that he had been sent by Scientology and, upon information and belief, he was sent by Defendants.”

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Aug. 2, 2023, and has been updated with new information.

South Korea Sends Germany Out, Letting Morocco Move On

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It had been more than an hour since Anissa Lahmari had scored the goal that put Morocco in front, the one that was poised to deliver another historic win for her team at its first Women’s World Cup.

But it was not over yet. And so Morocco’s players had to wait.

They huddled together around a staff member’s cellphone as Germany bombed balls upfield, as it tried to thread passes through a stingy South Korea defense and as it lofted hopeful ones over it. A Germany goal, any goal, would save its World Cup and dash Morocco’s improbable dream of advancing to the knockout rounds. The minutes ticked on, and on, and then suddenly, it was over.

Morocco had beaten Colombia, 1-0. Germany had not beaten South Korea, 1-1. And after all the minutes, and all the waiting, that was all it took: Morocco, a team in its first World Cup, a team that had never won a game in the tournament a week ago but now has won two in a row, was through. And it didn’t seem to know what to do.

When the referee’s whistle blew in the Germany game, Morocco’s players broke their huddle and ran. They ran in search of hugs. They ran to find teammates. A few ran just to run.

Morocco had already won, of course. The first North African team to qualify for the Women’s World Cup, and the first to field a player in a hijab, its mere presence in the tournament had been an achievement, and an inspiration. Yet Morocco was interested in more than mere participation.

As one of eight first-time entrants in this year’s expanded tournament, it had arrived with a squad that was little known even to most Moroccans before it qualified on home soil last July. It had won fans and respect in its qualification journey, but even its coach knew the next step would be a big one.

“They showed us that they can fill stadiums and make Moroccans happy,” the team’s French coach, Reynald Pedros, had said before the tournament. “They did it on the African stage. Now we are hoping to do the same on the international one.”

Now that they had, Pedros didn’t seem to know what to do. He burst into tears on the field as his team and his staff celebrated their achievement. Players dropped to their knees in thanks. Others embraced. In the center of it all, seemingly lost and uncertain where to go, or who to hug next, was Pedros.

Back home, joy took over Morocco, where only seven months ago fans had filled the streets to cheer the men’s team as it made a run to the World Cup semifinals. Now, the nation may soon be cheering for its women’s squad.

In Casablanca on Thursday morning, people (mostly men) had filled cafes quietly to watch the game. There was little hope for Morocco entering the day, since Colombia led the group and Germany was widely expected to join it in the knockouts. But when South Korea scored early, and Morocco took the lead against Colombia just before halftime when Lahmari banged in the rebound of a missed penalty kick for the opening goal, fans started to hope.

In one cafe, the men inside checked their phones repeatedly, updating the score in the Germany game. A few said quiet prayers.

As a stunning victory, and an even more shocking possibility — advancement out of the group stage in the team’s first World Cup — crept closer, the stress mounted. Across the Mediterranean in France, Kenza Haloui, 34, had left work in Nice to watch the match alone while texting with her cousins in Morocco. She had grown up in Fez and played soccer her whole life before moving to Europe. When Morocco finally won, she said, “I felt so many emotions.”

At the final whistle, though, the celebrations were muted: briefs shouts of joy, some honking of car horns. And then people move on with their day.

Soumia Idba, 39, watched the game at the office in Casablanca, but couldn’t help but notice how difficult it had been to view it. “It was very hard to find a way to watch a game,” Idba said. “It wasn’t like in Qatar. Most Moroccans watch online.”

If the celebrations were subdued, though, the team’s next game may stoke more emotions: By advancing, Morocco earned a date with France in the round of 16 on Tuesday. It is the same matchup that, in December at the men’s World Cup, brought fans into the streets of Casablanca and Marrakesh and dozens of cities across North Africa and Europe. France won that day, ending the dream of Morocco’s men’s team.

The country now has a second chance. Its women’s team has something no one expected: its first.

— Aida Alami and Andrew Das

Enslaved Black People in Maryland Linked to 42,000 Living Relatives

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A construction team working on a highway expansion in Maryland in 1979 discovered human remains on the grounds of an 18th-century ironworks. Eventually, archaeologists uncovered 35 graves in a cemetery where enslaved people had been buried.

In the first effort of its kind, researchers now have linked DNA from 27 African Americans buried in the cemetery to nearly 42,000 living relatives. Almost 3,000 of them are so closely related that some people might be direct descendants.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., a historian at Harvard University and an author of the study, published on Thursday in the journal Science, said that the project marked the first time that historical DNA had been used to connect enslaved African Americans to living people.

“The history of Black people was intended to be a dark, unlit cave,” Dr. Gates said. With the new research, “you’re bringing light into the cave.”

In an accompanying commentary, Fatimah Jackson, an anthropologist at Howard University, wrote that the research was also significant because the local community in Maryland worked alongside geneticists and archaeologists.

“This is the way that this type of research should be performed,” Dr. Jackson wrote.

The cemetery was located at a former ironworks called the Catoctin Furnace, which started operating in 1776. For its first five decades, enslaved African Americans carried out most of the work including chopping wood for charcoal and crafting items like kitchen pans and shell casings used in the Revolutionary War.

Elizabeth Comer, an archaeologist and the president of the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, said that some of the workers were most likely skilled in ironworking before being forced into slavery.

“When you’re stealing these people from their village in Africa and bringing them to the United States, you were bringing people who had a background in iron technology,” she said.

Upon their discovery, some of the remains were taken to the Smithsonian for curation. In 2015, the historical society and the African American Resources Cultural and Heritage Society in Frederick, Md., organized a closer look.

Smithsonian researchers documented the toll that hard labor at the furnace took on the enslaved people. Some bones had high levels of metals like zinc, which workers inhaled in the furnace fumes. Teenagers suffered damage to their spines from hauling heavy loads.

The identities of the buried African Americans were a mystery, so Ms. Comer looked through diaries of local ministers for clues. She assembled a list of 271 people, almost all of whom were known only by a first name. One family of freed African Americans, she discovered, supplied charcoal to the furnace operators.

From that list, Ms. Comer has managed to trace one family of enslaved workers to living people and one family of freed African Americans to another set of descendants.

At Harvard, researchers extracted DNA from samples of the cemetery bones. Genetic similarities among 15 of the buried people revealed that they belonged to five families. One family consisted of a mother laid alongside her two sons.

Following Smithsonian guidelines, the researchers made the genetic sequences public in June 2022. They then developed a method to reliably compare historical DNA to the genes of living people.

Éadaoin Harney, a former graduate student at Harvard, continued the genetic research after she joined the DNA-testing company 23andMe, focusing on the DNA of 9.3 million customers who had volunteered to participate in research efforts.

Dr. Harney and her colleagues looked for long stretches of DNA that contained identical variants found in the DNA of the Catoctin Furnace individuals. These stretches reveal a shared ancestry: Closer relatives share longer stretches of genetic material, and more of them.

The researchers found 41,799 people in the 23andMe database with at least one stretch of matching DNA. But a vast majority of those people were only distant cousins who shared common ancestors with the enslaved people.

“That person might have lived several generations before the Catoctin individual, or hundreds or thousands of years,” Dr. Harney said.

The researchers also found that the people buried at the Catoctin Furnace mostly carried ancestry from two groups: the Wolof, who live today in Senegal and Gambia in West Africa, and the Kongo, who now live 2,000 miles away in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

About a quarter of the individuals in the cemetery had only African ancestry. DNA from the rest typically showed traces of ancestry from Britain — the legacy of white men who raped Black women, as the authors noted in their study.

Most of the living people with links to the furnace reside in the United States. Almost 3,000 people had especially long stretches of matching DNA, which could mean they are direct descendants or can trace their ancestry to cousins of the Catoctin Furnace workers.

A strong concentration of these close relatives is in Maryland, Dr. Gates noted. That continuity contrasts with the Great Migration, which brought millions of African Americans out of the South in the early 20th century.

“The thing about Maryland is that it’s a border state,” Dr. Gates said. “What this means is that a lot of people didn’t leave, which is quite interesting.”

In advance of the publication of their paper, the researchers shared the results with the two families that Ms. Comer identified through her own research, as well as with the African American Resources Cultural and Heritage Society.

Andy Kill, a spokesman for 23andMe, said that the company was willing to share genetic results with relatives who participated in the new study. So far, the company hasn’t been asked.

But 23andMe does not have plans to notify the thousands of other customers who have a connection to the enslaved people of the Catoctin Furnace. When customers consent for their DNA to be used for research, the data is stripped of their identities to protect their privacy.

“We still have work to do on thinking about the best way to do that, but it’s something we would like to do at some point,” Mr. Kill said.

Jada Benn Torres, a genetic anthropologist at Vanderbilt University who was not involved in the research, said rushing out the results would be a mistake.

“To take this process slowly gives us time to think about what the different repercussions might be,” she said, “in terms of opening these boxes and looking in and finding answers that we didn’t even know we had questions about.”

The Catoctin Furnace is only one of many African American burial grounds scattered across the country. Alondra Nelson, a social scientist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., said that similar studies could be carried out with the remains found in them, so long as scientists partner with the people caring for the cemeteries.

“If these kinds of projects go forward, it is going to require researchers to have a real engagement with these well-established communities,” Dr. Nelson said.

E.U. Official Accuses Russia of Using Grain as Geopolitical Tool: Ukraine Live Updates

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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visiting the White House earlier this year.Credit…Sarah Silbiger for The New York Times

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil has pitched his country as a peacemaker in Russia’s war with Ukraine. But he now seems to have accepted that neither side is ready to lay down arms anytime soon.

Brazil “is trying to find some way to use the word peace,” he told foreign correspondents during a breakfast on Wednesday. Later, referring to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, he said, “For the time being, both of them are in that phase that ‘I will win, I will win, I will win.’”

Brazil — Latin America’s largest nation, which has long pursued a foreign policy of neutrality — believes it is well positioned to help bring an end to the war. Mr. Lula said that Brazilian officials have had conversations with counterparts in China, India, South Africa and Indonesia, as well as in other countries in Latin America and in Africa, about brokering peace negotiations.

He said he has made his chief foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, his “special war envoy” and dispatched him to meetings with Mr. Putin in Moscow and Mr. Zelensky in Kyiv.

And he has blocked Brazil from selling any weapons that could end up being used in the war.

But none of those efforts have yielded much progress, he said.

Still, Brazil is not giving up. Mr. Amorim, who will appear remotely at a meeting on Ukraine’s peace plan scheduled on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, said in an interview on Wednesday that his strategy is to respect both Ukraine and Russia, even if one invaded the other.

“Territorial integrity of states must be respected,’’ he said. “Security concerns, including Russia’s, also must be respected by everyone.”

Mr. Amorim said he believed that Brazil has more influence with Russia than it does with Ukraine, in part because of its place in a bloc known as BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

China, he said, has already helped tamp down Moscow’s rhetoric about nuclear weapons. He said that the United States could also play a key role in persuading Ukraine to seek peace.

Brazil’s stance that Russia’s concerns must be heard has frustrated Ukraine and its Western allies. When a planned meeting between Mr. Lula and Mr. Zelensky on the sidelines of the Group of 7 Summit in Japan in May failed to happen, the leaders blamed each other.

Mr. Lula has said that both Russia and Ukraine caused the war. And Mr. Zelensky has criticized Mr. Lula’s call for peace talks, saying the Brazil leader just wants to be “original.”

But Mr. Zelensky seemed to encourage improving relations recently when he suggested that Brazil host a summit for Latin American nations that Ukraine could attend.

Mr. Amorim, Brazil’s chief foreign policy adviser, said Brazil would welcome Mr. Zelensky for a visit — but would not host meetings for him.

“Brazil does not have to be a stage for anyone, not for Zelensky, not for Putin,” he said. “We want peace, we want the Ukrainian people to live in peace, to end the war in which they are the main victims. But for that, we also have to have credibility with the other side.”

Paulo Motoryn contributed reporting.

— Jack Nicas reporting from Brasília

American Security Screens Expand Footprint With New Sales Office in Atlanta

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Atlanta, GA – August 3, 2023 – American Security Screens, a leading provider of innovative security solutions, is proud to announce the grand opening of its new sales office in Atlanta. This expansion marks a significant milestone for the company and demonstrates its commitment to serving customers in the southeastern region of the United States.

The new Atlanta office will be headed by Carlyon “Carl” Christian, a highly accomplished entrepreneur with a proven track record of success. In addition to his role as the owner of Atlanta Green Maids, a prominent eco-friendly cleaning service, Carl brings extensive expertise in business development and customer relations to American Security Screens. His exceptional leadership skills and deep understanding of the local market make him the ideal choice to spearhead the growth of the company in Atlanta.

American Security Screens is renowned for its cutting-edge security solutions that provide homeowners and businesses with peace of mind. With a wide range of products designed to enhance safety and protect against intruders, the company has gained a reputation for superior quality and reliability. By establishing a presence in Atlanta, American Security Screens aims to bring its top-of-the-line products and exceptional customer service directly to the residents and businesses in the area.

“We are thrilled to open our new sales office in Atlanta,” said Elena Ledoux, CEO of American Security Screens. “This expansion represents a significant step forward in our mission to provide advanced security solutions to customers across the nation. With Carl Christian leading our Atlanta office, we are confident in his ability to build strong relationships and drive the growth of our business in this important market.”

The Atlanta sales office will serve as a hub for American Security Screens’ operations in the region, offering a comprehensive range of products and services tailored to the unique needs of Atlanta residents and businesses. From state-of-the-art security screens for windows to custom-made security doors, the company will provide a full suite of solutions to ensure the safety and well-being of its customers.

To celebrate the opening of the Atlanta sales office, American Security Screens will be hosting an exclusive launch event on August 26, 2023. Local dignitaries, business partners, and members of the community are invited to attend and experience firsthand the company’s commitment to excellence and innovation.

About American Security Screens:

American Security Screens is a leading provider of advanced security solutions, dedicated to safeguarding homes and businesses. With a wide range of innovative products, the company offers superior quality, exceptional customer service, and unmatched reliability. By staying at the forefront of technological advancements, American Security Screens continues to lead the industry in providing peace of mind to customers across the nation.

For complete information, visit: www.americansecurityscreens.com

Media Contact:

American Security Screens
Attn: Elena Ledoux, CEO
Atlanta, GA
(800) 429-2799
elena@americansecurityscreens.com

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‘Attenzione, Pickpocket!’ A Voice on TikTok Warns Tourists in Italy

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You probably don’t know Monica Poli’s face, but you might recognize her voice. Deep, booming and coming from your phone during a late-night TikTok scroll.

“Attenzione, borseggiatrici! Attenzione, pickpocket!”

Ms. Poli, 57, who lives in Venice, has become prominent on social media for patrolling the streets of her hometown, calling out would-be pickpockets to tourists.

She is part of a group known as the Cittadini Non Distratti — the undistracted citizens — who wander the city shouting at people whom they believe to be thieves plucking wallets, passports and other items from the pockets of passers-by. Ms. Poli is also a member of the League, a hard right political party, and has served on Venice’s municipal council.

Sometimes Ms. Poli and her fellow amateur watchdogs will report these suspected pickpockets to the police. In 2019, The Economist reported that the group was responsible for a third of all pickpocket arrests made in Venice.

The civilian group has been active for decades but only recently joined TikTok and Instagram, where hundreds of thousands of people now follow along, thanks in large part to Ms. Poli’s unmistakable voice. Her shouts of “Attenzione, borseggiatrici! Attenzione, pickpocket!” have become a meme. (She has even been remixed, her voice front and center in a dance track.)

In a typical video, Ms. Poli films a crowded area, like the city’s train station. Then she begins shouting. In some clips, the suspected pickpockets can be seen fleeing from her lens. Others who have been seemingly caught in the act will hold up bags or hats to hide their faces.

If you’re watching these videos with headphones, you’ll want to turn the volume down: Ms. Poli has to be loud enough to get the attention of not only the supposed wrongdoers, but also tourists.

In a recent interview, Ms. Poli, a lifelong Venetian, discussed her sudden brush with internet fame and why she’s still out roaming the city’s streets after all these years. The conversation has been edited and condensed.

How long have you been doing this?

We are a group of about 50 persons. The first time we caught a pickpocket was in Venice about 30 years ago. I think it’s the first group in Italy. The oldest.

Are there other anti-pickpocket groups?

In Milan. I think there is one in Rome. In Spain, Barcelona.

Why did you join social media?

We opened TikTok and Instagram to let the people of the world know that when you come to Venice, be careful.

How often do you patrol the streets?

Depends. Sometimes all day after work, because I work in the morning. I clean offices. After, I spend my time protecting the tourists. It can be three, four, five, six hours.

What do you look for?

They stop in the station. The way they look at people, the way they look at bags. I have a sixth sense.

Are you ever concerned that you’re calling out a person who is not actually a pickpocket?

No. When I see them, I know they are pickpockets. It is so strange to say … I have something inside me and I recognize immediately.

This morning, I was on the bus to Venice. From the bus, I see two men and one woman in the street. I had never seen them before. I went out from the bus and I caught them. I look at the woman and she has a bag open. There were two police, and I say, “Stop them!” They were pickpockets. In one minute, they stole wallets from three families.

Are the political positions of the League reflected in what you do for Cittadini Non Distratti?

Cittadini’s volunteers do not adhere to any political party, nor does politics affect our objective, which is to help local law enforcement when possible.

Have the police ever asked you to stop?

No, never.

How do the pickpockets react? Do they ever get violent?

There was an episode about five years ago. Four girls fought me, and people stopped to see the scene. I was alone. People stopped to see the action and never helped. It was terrible. I had a neck collar for 20 days.

Did that make you want to stop?

It doesn’t matter. I will continue to do this work.

Do the pickpockets recognize you? Do they know to run away from you now?

They recognize me. The men, they affront me with the middle finger. They take pictures of me. The girls, they run away. I think they think I’m crazy, maybe?

You are famous on TikTok now.

It was so strange for me. My voice is everywhere! I am happy because the message arrived where we wanted. We want the tourists, people coming to Venice and Milan, to pay attention. The pickpockets are so quick.

Have any tourists started recognizing you?

This morning, I was in the street and a tourist looked at me. He said, “You are … ‘attenzione, pickpocket!’” He was with a little girl. I said, “Yes.” “I found you! Can we take a picture?” He was from Denmark, I think.

How do tourists react when you start shouting? You are impressively loud.

At first they look at me for a few seconds, and then they watch what happens. “Attenzione, borseggiatrici!” After, they say thank you, because they understand.

Tourists, particularly American tourists, don’t have the best reputation. Why defend them?

I protect all the tourists. Tourism in Italy is very important. We live with the tourists. I want people who come to Italy to have respect, and we must respect them.

Alex Vadukul contributed reporting.

Canada Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, Separates From Wife, Sophie Grégoire

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada announced on Wednesday that he and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, had separated after 18 years of marriage.

The Trudeaus, who have three children, have “signed a legal separation agreement,” according to a statement released by the prime minister’s office.

“As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build. For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our privacy and their privacy,” Mr. Trudeau said in a post on Instagram.

He added that they had decided to separate “after many meaningful and difficult conversations.”

Mr. Trudeau’s wife and children have played a prominent role in his political career, often accompanying him on trips overseas after he was elected prime minister in 2015. Their children are Xavier, 15, Ella-Grace, 14, and Hadrien, 9.

His young children have helped craft an image of Mr. Trudeau, now 51, as a youthful, vigorous leader. His wife, 48, is a former television presenter and helped burnish his image further with a touch of glamour.

The prime minister’s office said that the couple “are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment.” It added that they “will be a constant presence in their children’s lives” and that the family planned to vacation together next week.

“Canadians can expect to often see the family together,” the office said.

The couple met in Montreal in 2002 and were married three years later, after Mr. Trudeau, who had spent years teaching in Vancouver, returned to Montreal.

Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said that while Ms. Grégoire Trudeau prominently accompanied her husband at public events after he became prime minister, her appearances had more recently decreased notably.

Even though the role of family man was an integral part of Mr. Trudeau’s carefully crafted image, Mr. Wiseman said he foresaw no political fallout from the separation.

“Canadian voters don’t care about that,” he said. “Once upon a time, they did. But the culture and times have changed.”

Mr. Wiseman pointed out that even Mr. Trudeau’s father, Pierre, did not suffer politically after he separated in 1977 from his wife, Margaret, the current prime minister’s mother. Pierre Trudeau served as prime minister nearly continuously from 1968 to 1984.

The announcement came as Mr. Trudeau overhauled his cabinet last week, shuffling ministers in key portfolios to inject what he called “fresh energy” into the team. Political analysts say it’s an attempt to get his party in fighting form for the next scheduled election in 2025, with recent polls showing that Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal Party is lagging behind the Conservatives.

People being targeted in Central Florida after withdrawing money

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Residents in Central Florida have lost more than $100,000 to a rising criminal trend called “bank jugging.”

Investigators say people are following drivers after they withdraw money from a bank, then smash into the person’s car to take the money.

There have been three elderly victims so far, including a 90-year-old. Police say they pull up in a tinted car, typically to a handicapped spot, wait for that person to get the cash and follow them to their next destination, where they steal the item and leave right away.

“It’s become a crime trend since February in Orlando,” Orlando police detective Aaron Goss said.

READ: Florida set to execute man who strangled wife, killed Brevard County nurse with hammer

Police arrested Shawn Glenn Sr. for his involvement in at least two jugging cases from April and May. Investigators say he worked with his son and his girlfriend to rob people across the Orlando area.

Police said they were part of what’s known as the Glenn Crew, believing they could be connected to as many as 13 different jugging cases that have happened in the area, including the three seniors.

“The elderly obviously tugs at the heartstrings a little more than the regular victims,” Goss said.

READ: Crocodile nabs pet pug in Brevard County, wildlife officials investigating

Bank jugging cases are also open in Ocoee, Winter Garden and in Osceola County.

Goss is warning everyone to be on the lookout on their next trip to the bank.

READ: FBI looks for more possible victims after woman escapes from cinderblock cage in Oregon

“They all have serious criminal records that are violent. They all have firearm charges,” he said. “They all have very serious, violent backgrounds. So even though this hasn’t escalated to violence yet, the propensity is always there.”

Goss said one of the best ways to be wary is to just overall be aware of your surroundings. And if you do take the money out, put it in your pocket before you leave the doors. If you have another errand to run after you stop at the bank, take that money with you.

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Leprosy May Be Endemic in Central Florida, Scientists Report

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Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. About 95 percent of people are genetically resistant to the bacteria.

There were 159 new cases in 2020, the most recent year for which national data are available. New cases are reported most commonly in Florida, California, Louisiana, Hawaii, New York and Texas. Central Florida accounts for 81 percent of the cases reported in that state.

The bacteria are thought to be transmitted by droplets from the nose and mouth of an infected patient, but only after close, sustained contact. Armadillos famously carry the bacteria, and people may become infected through contact with the animals.

Caught early enough, leprosy can be cured with standard antibiotic drugs taken over a year. Treatment can make patients noninfectious within a week.

But, left untreated, the bacteria can damage nerves and lead to permanent disabilities including paralysis and blindness. The physical changes associated with the disease can also lead to the enduring stigmatization and isolation of infected people.

“The fact that this patient had never traveled outside of the state of Florida was something that we just wanted to bring to light to those clinicians and physicians that are in the area,” said Dr. Rajiv Nathoo, a dermatologist and senior author on the study.

M. leprae may damage skin, peripheral nerves, the upper respiratory tract and the eyes.

The disease starts with either discolored, numb patches on the skin or with tiny nodules under it. Early symptoms can easily be mistaken for other skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema. Symptoms can develop as many as 20 years after exposure, making it even more challenging to diagnose the disease.

Left untreated, the bacteria slowly destroy nerves and muscles, leading to striking deformities in the hands and feet, sometimes referred to as claw hands and hammer toes.

The disease was first described thousands of years ago. While it may seem like a thing of the past, roughly 200,000 new infections continue to crop up all over the world each year, with a majority in Southeast Asia and India, according to the World Health Organization.

Eliminating the disease in some countries like India has proved to be much more challenging than public health officials expected.

Researchers have identified a second type of bacteria that leads to leprosy. Both pathogens are close cousins of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

None of these bacterial species can easily be cultured in the lab, leaving many questions unanswered about the disease’s transmission and progression.

New cases of leprosy were often diagnosed in people who had traveled to other parts of the world. But since 2015, more than one-third of the cases in the United States have been locally acquired.

Many new patients report no travel or contact with armadillos that would explain their infection, according to the researchers.

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