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Greetings! It’s September 17, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: Leaked files from Putin’s troll factory show how Russia manipulated European elections, the new Gangs of New York, hundreds of Hezbollah fighters wounded when pagers explode, federal loopholes let China buy U.S. land near sensitive national security sights, and much more…

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Featured Story

🎯 Leaked Files from Putin’s Troll Factory: How Russia Manipulated European Elections. Leaked internal documents from a Kremlin-controlled propaganda center reveal how a well-coordinated Russian campaign planted disinformation across social media platforms to undermine Ukraine. VSQUARE

Top Stories

🌎 The New Gangs of New York. As a corruption probe swirls around Mayor Eric Adams’s administration, two former firefighter chiefs are charged with taking bribes. WSJ 

🌎 Hundreds of Hezbollah fighters wounded when their pagers all explode. Detonation of the devices is the “biggest security breach” the group has experienced in the current war with Israel. Reuters 

💥 The Crude System of Coded Messages Keeping Hamas’s Leader Alive WSJ

🌎 Federal Loopholes Allow China To Buy Land Near Sensitive Ports, Labs, and Coast Guard Facilities.  'There still remains significant gaps in our national security screening regime for land purchases.' Free Beacon 

🌎 UK Targets London Outpost of Iran Oil Kingpin ‘Hector’. The UK is cracking down on an oil trading empire led by Hossein Shamkhani, whose web of firms help move Iranian and Russian crude around the world. Bloomberg 

🌎 Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested following raids, human trafficking investigation. The music mogul has been under mounting scrutiny since a 2023 lawsuit was filed by his former girlfriend. NYP 

🌎 The Chinese Chipmaker at the Heart of the U.S.-China Tech War. Efforts by the Beijing-backed SMIC to break through innovation barriers have landed it in a geopolitical tech battle. NYT 

🚩 China exerts new restrictions on exports of minerals critical to US weapons making Fox 

🌎 Lawmakers Tap Taxpayer Expense Accounts to Run Reelection Ads.  Democrats and Republicans alike brazenly ignore ethics rules to use government money for ads clearly designed to influence voters. Lee Fang 

🌎 Ex-MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud Conspiracy After Taking Plea Deal. He was one of the architects of the company's monthly subscription plan in which subscribers could see unlimited movies with no blackout dates for a flat fee. Hollywood Reporter

🌎 Justice Department Announces Five Cases Tied to Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Strike Force is co-led by the DOJ and Commerce Department to counter efforts by hostile nations to illicitly acquire sensitive U.S. technology to advance their authoritarian regimes. DOJ

Malign interference has a crypto nexus. Learn how!

Russia

🇷🇺 Meta bans Russian state media outlets over ‘foreign interference activity’ Guardian 

🇷🇺 EU plans up to $44B in Ukraine funds, regardless of US involvement Semafor

🇷🇺 Russian National Arrested in US for Illegal Export of Drone Technology to Russia Reuters

China

🇨🇳 US and Japan near deal to curb chip technology exports to China Reuters

🇨🇳 PwC Probe Spotlight Shifts to Hong Kong After Record China Fine Bloomberg

🇨🇳 DOJ indicts Chinese national for spear phishing campaign against NASA, FAA, Air Force Record 

🇨🇳 US can’t ban TikTok for security reasons while ignoring Temu, other apps Ars

Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Government To Probe Race-Based Medical Care Programs at Cleveland Clinic Free Beacon

💸 DOJ Fires Up Criminal Probe of Banks Hurt by Archegos Debacle Bloomberg 

💸 New Delhi's top elected official resigns after being released on bail in a bribery case AP 

💸 Trial begins in Florida election conspiracy that tilted a Miami Senate race Miami Herald

Crypto & Cyber

🔐 More than 40 Firms Join Central Bank Group to Explore Tokenization for Cross-Border Payments CoinDesk

🔐 Trump launches another business full of potential risks and conflicts if he wins CNN 

🔐 CZ Set to Be Released From Prison on September 29 CoinDesk 

🔐 Owner of only US platinum mine confirms data breach after ransomware claims Record

Trafficking

🚚 Malaysia freezes bank accounts linked to GISB after child abuse allegations Reuters 

🚚 An industrial chemical is showing up in fentanyl in the U.S., troubling scientists LAT 

🚚 Six Members of a Former Cult Convicted of Forced Labor in Years-Long Scheme that Included Minors DOJ

“Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist.” —Frederick Douglas

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