Hello Monday! It’s May 12, and we’re tracking top stories to start the week: Traders Rebrand Venezuelan Oil for China as Brazilian, Pam Bondi's Qatar Links Under Scrutiny Over Trump's Luxury Plane Gift, Federal Probe Started Into Muslim-Centered Community EPIC City, The Underground Hunt for Mexico’s Most Wanted Drug Kingpin, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

Traders Rebrand Venezuelan Oil for China as Brazilian.  This has enabled tankers to sail directly from Venezuela to China, skipping the stop-over in waters off Malaysia and shortening the voyage by about four days. Reuters

🔥 TOP STORIES

Pam Bondi's Qatar Links Under Scrutiny Over Trump's Luxury Plane Gift Newsweek 

Journalism or Jihad? Courage.Media 

Federal probe started into Muslim-centered community EPIC City CBS

The Underground Hunt for Mexico’s Most Wanted Drug Kingpin WSJ

U.S. Sanctions Related to Iranian Nuclear-Related Research with Military Applications U.S. Department of State

Baby Oil, Bribery, and Real Danger: The Disturbing Details from Day One of Diddy’s Bombshell Sex-Trafficking Trial NYP 

100 Amtrak Employees Involved in Fraudulent Insurance Scheme CBS

Extradited Austrian Banker Pleads Not Guilty to U.S. Charges Bloomberg

After Sierra Leone's President Took Office, His Wife and Her Family Went Real Estate Shopping OCCRP

Deepfakes, Scams, and the Age of Paranoia WIRED

PKK Kurdish terror group ends 40-year war with Turkey Telegraph 

Why This Harvard Economist Is Worried About the U.S. Dollar WSJ

💥 RUSSIA & CHINA

Trump Floats Traveling to Turkey This Week for Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Politico

China’s Sinister Back Door Threatens US National Security Hill

European Commission Working on Tougher Russia Sanctions Reuters

Axis of Illusion: How Russia and Iran Are Partnering to Manipulate Trump Hill

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

ICC Set Plan to Charge Netanyahu Just After Prosecutor Was Accused of Sexual Assault WSJ

Trump Energy Sec Hints at Canceling Billions of Dollars of Biden’s Green Energy Loans Free Beacon

As Equatorial Guinea Burned Through Oil Riches, Millions Were Funneled to a Company Owned by Its ‘Playboy Prince’ ICIJ

Crime Rings Using Stolen Identities to Steal Billions in Taxpayer Money from Federal, State Governments CBS 

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Which Crypto Founders Are Seeking Pardons From President Trump? Decrypt

Tech companies have a big remote worker problem: North Korean operatives Politico

SEC Chair Atkins Unveils Vision for Crypto Regulation as Agency Charts a Friendlier Approach Block

Malaysia Power Theft by Illegal Crypto Miners Rose 300% Since 2018 CoinDesk

🚚 TRAFFICKING

Chinese App Sits at the Center of Fentanyl Epidemic The Charlotte Observer

Why Mexico is banning drug war ballads LAT

Oil Tycoon Busted at Lavish Utah Mega-Mansion, Accused of Working with Cartels in $300M Scheme NYP

Nigeria Rescues 78 from Sex Trafficking Syndicate OCCRP

“It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.” —Confucious

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