OUR PICKSIntegral Cyber Security | Shield Americans' Sensitive Data from Foreign Foes | Trump’s International Fan Club Descends on Maryland, and more

Published 28 February 2024

·  Killing of Georgia Nursing Student at Center of US Immigration Debate
The arrest of a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case put the tragedy at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign

·  Biden Issues Executive Order to Better Shield Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Foes
Biden’s move targets commercial data brokers, the shadowy companies that traffic in personal data and that may sell information to foreign adversaries or U.S. entities controlled by those countries

·  Suspicious Powder Sent to Offices of Trump Judge and Attorney General
An envelope with white powder was found at a courthouse where Justice Arthur F. Engoron has offices. A similar letter was received at the offices of Attorney General Letitia James.

·  Supreme Court Appears Split Over Ban on Bump Stocks Enacted Under Trump
In a wide-ranging argument, the justices wrestled with the mechanics of gun triggers and the larger implications of the ban both for bump stock owners and the public

·  Trump’s International Fan Club Descends on Maryland
The annual CPAC event has become an obligatory stop for the global far right

·  Integral Cyber Security
Comparing the world of George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New Word”, Neil Postman concluded that the present reality leans toward Huxley’s dystopia

Killing of Georgia Nursing Student at Center of US Immigration Debate  (AP / VOA News)
Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student out on her morning run at the University of Georgia when authorities say a stranger dragged her into a secluded area and killed her, sending shockwaves through campus as police searched for a suspect.
The arrest of a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case put the tragedy at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign.
The debate over the nation’s broken immigration system has emerged as a major campaign issue amid an unprecedented migration surge that has strained budgets in cities including New York, Chicago and Denver and divided some Democrats.
Trump has dialed up his anti-immigrant rhetoric to say migrants are “poisoning the blood” of the country. And he and other Republicans have suggested migrants are committing crimes more often than U.S. citizens, even though the evidence does not back up those claims.
Biden has criticized Republicans for turning against a bipartisan border security deal after Trump decried it. He will visit the Texas border city of Brownsville on Thursday, while Trump will be in another Texas border city, Eagle Pass.

Biden Issues Executive Order to Better Shield Americans’ Sensitive Data From Foreign Foes  (AP / VOA News)
President Joe Biden on Wednesday is signing an executive order aimed at better protecting Americans’ personal data on everything from biometrics and health records to finances and geolocation from foreign adversaries like China and Russia.
The attorney general and other federal agencies are to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans’ personal data to what the White House calls “countries of concern,” while erecting safeguards around other activities that can give those countries access to people’s sensitive data.
The goal is to do so without limiting legitimate commerce around data, senior Biden administration officials said on a call with reporters.
Biden’s move targets commercial data brokers, the sometimes shadowy companies that traffic in personal data and that officials say may sell information to foreign adversaries or U.S. entities controlled by those countries.