Brazilian Judge Orders Criminal Probe of Elon Musk as They Tussle Over ‘Fake News’ Online

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A Brazilian judge ordered the government to carry out a criminal probe of Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday, according to multiple media reports.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the inclusion of Musk in a probe into alleged “fake news,” accusing Musk of “obstruction,” CBS News reported. Musk announced his intention to defy orders from de Moraes to censor the accounts Saturday, then pinned a post urging users to acquire a VPN app to ensure access to the social media site.

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Meta’s Epidemic of Chinese ‘Spamouflage’ Propaganda

Meta recently took “what appears to be the largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world,” off its platforms, according to the company’s quarterly Adversarial Threat Report released this week.’

The social media accounts that made up the covert influence operation — collectively dubbed “Spamouflage” — were active all over the world, including in America, major U.S. allies, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora.

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Feds in Miami Arrest 18 Criminal Foreign Nationals, Target for Removal

Miami-based agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, working with Border Patrol agents, arrested 18 criminal foreign nationals who they say pose a danger to their communities.

The four-day operation was conducted from June 26 to June 30 by officials working in ICE ERO Miami Stuart suboffice. The majority arrested are Guatemalan citizens, followed by citizens of Mexico, Honduras, Brazil and Saint Lucia.

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International Trade Committee Adopts Plan to Boost Arizona’s Foreign Reach and Business Opportunities

Arizona State Representative David Cook (R-Globe) announced Thursday that the House International Trade Committee had its first official meeting Monday and has adopted a new plan to increase Arizona’s standings in the world’s economy.

“The Great State of Arizona is going through a transformative process in the international arena,” said Cook. “Our economy is growing, and foreign stakeholders are looking at Arizona for opportunities, including foreign direct investment in the semiconductor industry and trade in the EV-market and innovation. Our first International Trade Committee hearing sends a message to the World that Arizona is the place for doing business.”

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Arizona State Rep. David Cook Shares Legislative Goals Following Bipartisan Trade Mission to Brazil

Arizona State Rep. David Cook (R-Globe) recently led a bipartisan team of lawmakers on a trade mission to Brazil to advance Arizona’s position in the global economy and is now sharing legislative goals following the trip.

“I was honored to be joined by such a great group of public servants in a bipartisan trade delegation to Brazil to expand our state’s trade opportunities,” said Cook. “I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues and the great leaders we met to bolster Arizona’s economy.”

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Brazil’s President Bolsonaro Tests Positive for COVID-19

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday he has tested positive for COVID-19 after months of downplaying the coronavirus’s severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country.

The 65-year-old populist who has been known to mingle in crowds without covering his face confirmed the results while wearing a mask and speaking to reporters huddled close in front of him in the capital, Brasilia. He said he is taking hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that has not been proven effective against COVID-19.

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Commentary: Everything You’ve Heard About the Amazon Fires Is Wrong

The international news coverage of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest fires has been a complete disaster. News outlets published inaccurate yet easily verifiable “facts” about the number of fires, declaring the situation “record-breaking” and “unprecedented.” Social media lit up with misleading claims about the loss of planetary oxygen supply (20 percent, said French President Emmanuel Macron) threatening to asphyxiate us all. Stock photos and images of forest fires from the last two decades including Peru and Bolivia were shared widely and wildly. Celebrities and politicians alike heaped condemnation upon Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro leading to an ongoing geopolitical crisis.

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Obama Goes to Brazil And Bashes US Gun Laws

by Whitney Tipton   Former President Barack Obama told a crowd in Brazil Thursday that U.S. gun laws “don’t make sense” because people can buy “any weapon, any time.” Obama‘s remarks came during an interview at VTEX DAY, a conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after he was asked to describe his hardest day as president. “The most difficult day that I’ve had was the day that there was a shooting in a school where 20 small children were shot,” he said. “Some of you may be aware, our gun laws in the United States don’t make much sense. Anybody can buy any weapon, any time without much, if any, regulation. They buy it over the internet. They can buy machine guns.” U.S. Federal firearms laws are stricter than Obama represented. Gun purchasers must be at least 18 for rifles and shotguns, and 21 for handguns, and pass a background check if they buy from a dealer, according to the National Rifle Association. In addition, fully automatic machine guns cannot be sold to private citizens, as written in the National Firearms Act. Obama’s comments about guns are timely for Brazil. In January, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued a temporary decree that…

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