"They're taking our jobs." It's a phrase you hear associated with immigration, especially during election years. But these days, some of the people complaining about jobs being taken are Mexican drug mules. The cartels have figured out a more effective way to get often-deadly fentanyl across the border: hire someone with an American passport to do it. "The teenager practiced driving from his apartment in San Diego down to Tijuana and back, on the orders of the criminals he was working for in Mexico. He rehearsed how he would respond to questions from U.S. border officers. He tracked when the drug-sniffing dogs took a break. The men who were paying him had cut a secret compartment into his car big enough to fit several bricks of fentanyl. When they loaded it up for the first time and sent him toward the border, Gustavo, who was only 19 at the time, began to tremble. At the checkpoint, he steadied himself like he had practiced, and calmly told the border officers that he was just heading home." NYT (Gift Article): The American Drug Mules Smuggling Fentanyl Into the U.S. "In reality, the largest known group of fentanyl smugglers is not made up of immigrants traversing the desert or moving through secret tunnels — they are Americans coming through legal ports of entry. More than 80 percent of the people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking at the southern border are U.S. citizens, federal data shows." That's a statistic you won't hear during an immigrant-demonizing political rally. But the truth is stubborn as a mule. 2Screenage WastelandTeen mental health issues and suicide numbers are on the rise. Is the most obvious explanation the right one? The New Yorker: Has Social Media Fuelled a Teen-Suicide Crisis? "Research paints a complex picture of the role of technology in emotional states, and restricting teens’ social-media use could cause harms of its own. Research accrues slowly, whereas technology and its uses are evolving faster than anyone can fully keep up with. Caught between the two, will the law be able to devise an effective response to the crisis?" Anything "the law" would do at this point would be like tossing of feather in front of a runaway train. 3After Nasrallah"First, Iran’s options for retaliation against Israel are very limited, and it can’t bring about much damage there without risking a destruction of Iranian infrastructure that might take decades to rebuild. Second, Iran has been trying for months to ease tensions and pursue talks with other countries in the region and with the West." Arash Azizi in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Israel Has Called Iran’s Bluff. "Despite the Israeli attack that killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah (and the killing of several other top Hezbollah leaders), "Tehran has many reasons to exercise restraint." 4El El Cool Jane"Riding in a black SUV with tinted windows, lawyer Mariel Colón rolls up to the gates of a remote mansion, strolling past a security guard side-by-side with Emma Coronel, the wife of notorious drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. Sporting suits and sunglasses, the pair stride into a dimly lit room full of slickly dressed men smoking cigars. All to the roar of trumpets. The scene is from 'La Señora,' the latest music video from Colón, who spent several years working as a defense lawyer for Guzmán while he faced trial in a U.S. court. Now, at a time when regional Mexican music is becoming a global phenomenon, the 31-year-old is leveraging her association with the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel to launch her music career under the stage name of 'Mariel La Abogada' (Mariel, the Lawyer)." She defended ‘El Chapo.’ Now this lawyer is using her narco-fame to launch a music career. (I wonder if Alina Habba can sing.) 5Extra, ExtraHelene's Trail of Destruction: North Carolina was hit especially hard by Helene. WaPo (Gift Article): ‘Completely and entirely erased’: How Helene swallowed one mountain town. "Just down the hill, and in every direction, lay almost indescribable scenes of destruction and suffering. Cars sat high in tree limbs by the Swannanoa River. Homes had been tossed and mangled, then deposited far from their foundations — sometimes upside down, sometimes torn in half — wherever the river left them. A thick layer of mud covered the town, leaving many roads impassible and many homes and businesses buried, like some modern-day Pompeii." Helene death toll rises to 120 as millions remain without power. "Many people drowned after not heeding evacuation orders; others were killed in their homes and cars by falling trees and road signs. At least two Georgians were killed when a tornado picked up their car. Deaths were also reported in Florida, South Carolina and Virginia." Here's the latest on the devastation from NBC. 6Bottom of the News"This year marks the 50th anniversary of the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. A game of creativity and imagination, D&D lets players weave their own narrative, blending combat and roleplaying in an immersive gaming experience. And now, psychologists and therapists are working to turn it into a tool by exploring its potential benefits as a group therapy technique."
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Monday, September 30, 2024
Mules Rush In
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