Los Angeles-area mayor to plead guilty to acting as Chinese propaganda agent

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://interaksyon.philstar.com/politics-issues/2026/05/13/313354/los-angeles-area-mayor-to-plead-guilty-to-acting-as-chinese-propaganda-agent/

PBS NewsHour - The Latest | Federal authorities arrest 2 dozen Mexican Mafia members and associates in California by Associated Press

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

More than two dozen members and associates of the Mexican Mafia were arrested Thursday in a coordinated early‑morning raid across Southern California, primarily in Orange County, after federal, FBI and local agents executed warrants at about 30 locations. A total of 43 individuals have been indicted on charges that include murder, kidnapping, extortion, running an illegal gambling operation and drug trafficking. Authorities seized roughly 120 lb (54 kg) of methamphetamine, over 8 lb (4 kg) of fentanyl, 25 firearms and more than $30,000 in cash. Prosecutors say the gang, which originated in a 1950s juvenile jail and now controls smuggling, drug sales and extortion from inside California’s prison system, used contraband cell phones to direct kidnappings, assaults and drug sales—including fentanyl, meth, heroin and cocaine—from a leader’s prison cell between June 2024 and April 2026. The indictment also alleges the group ran illegal gambling enterprises in strip malls and residences, collected extortionate “taxes,” and is suspected of a murder at a gang‑controlled motel in Anaheim. The defendants are scheduled to make their initial federal court appearances Thursday in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/federal-authorities-arrest-2-dozen-mexican-mafia-members-and-associates-in-california

#MexicanMafia #BillEssayli #U.S.Attorney’sOffice #OrangeCounty #organizedcrime

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

Caught In The Crackdown: As Arrests At Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/04/20/caught-in-the-crackdown-as-arrests-at-anti-ice-protests-piled-up-prosecutions-crumbled/

Il Tempo: Usa, arrestata trafficante di armi iraniana che acquistava bombe dai Pasdaran e le spediva in Sudan

Il trafficante di armi super ricercato era una donna iraniana che viveva in California e trattava con i Pasdaran l'acquisto di bombe da inviare in Sudan. Shamim Mafi, 44 anni, è stata arrestata all'aeroporto di Los Angeles con l'accusa di traffico di armi per conto di Teheran, secondo quanto riferito dal Dipartimento di Giustizia statunitense. Secondo i magistrati americani la donna "ha fatto da intermediario nella vendita di droni, bombe, spolette e milioni di proiettili fabbricati dall'Iran e venduti al Sudan". Il procuratore statunitense Bill Essayli ha scritto sul social network X che Mafi viveva nel sobborgo di Woodland Hills, a Los Angeles, e "aveva ottenuto la residenza permanente legale negli Stati Uniti nel 2016". L'iraniana ora rischia una pena massima di 20 anni di reclusione in una prigione federale in caso di condanna.
Una denuncia penale datata 12 marzo sostiene che Mafi e un complice non identificato gestivano una società in Oman, la Atlas International Business, attraverso la quale venivano trafficate armi e munizioni. La società avrebbe ricevuto pagamenti per oltre 7 milioni di dollari nel 2025. Separatamente, secondo i documenti del tribunale, Mafi e il complice hanno intermediato la vendita di 55.000 spolette per bombe al Ministero della Difesa sudanese. "In relazione alla transazione, Mafi ha presentato una lettera d'intenti al Corpo delle Guardie Rivoluzionarie Islamiche iraniane (IRGC) per l'acquisto di spolette per bombe destinate al Sudan", si legge nella denuncia.
Le Nazioni Unite hanno recentemente avvertito che il Sudan rischia di precipitare in una "carestia su vasta scala e nel collasso" per via della guerra tra l'esercito e le Forze di Supporto Rapido, un gruppo paramilitare. Guerra in corso da ormai quattro anni. Denise Brown, responsabile delle Nazioni Unite in Sudan, ha dichiarato giovedì che il Sudan sta affrontando la più grande crisi umanitaria al mondo e che le armi provenienti dall'estero sono in parte responsabili. L'Onu ha chiesto alle potenze straniere di smettere di alimentare la guerra, ma non hanno accusato alcuno Stato in particolare. Da un lato, l'esercito sudanese è stato sostenuto da Egitto e Arabia Saudita e ha impiegato droni di fabbricazione turca e iraniana. Mentre gli Emirati Arabi Uniti negano di aver fornito armi alle forze paramilitari.

Arrested arms trafficker Iranian who was buying bombs from the Pasdaran and sending them to Sudan.

The wanted arms dealer was an Iranian woman living in California who was brokering the purchase of bombs to be sent to Sudan for the Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran). Shamim Mafi, 44, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on charges of arms trafficking on behalf of Tehran, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. According to U.S. prosecutors, the woman “served as an intermediary in the sale of drones, bombs, detonators, and millions of rounds manufactured in Iran and sold to Sudan.” U.S. prosecutor Bill Essayli wrote on the social network X that Mafi lived in the Woodland Hills suburb of Los Angeles and “obtained legal permanent residency in the United States in 2016.” The Iranian woman now risks a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.

A criminal complaint dated March 12 alleges that Mafi and an unidentified accomplice managed an Oman-based company, Atlas International Business, through which weapons and ammunition were trafficked. The company received payments of over $7 million in 2023. Separately, according to court documents, Mafi and the accomplice facilitated the sale of 55,000 bomb detonators to the Sudanese Ministry of Defense. “In relation to the transaction, Mafi submitted a letter of intent to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Guard Corps for the purchase of bomb detonators intended for Sudan,” the complaint reads.

The United Nations recently warned that Sudan risks falling into a “large-scale famine and collapse” due to the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. The war has been ongoing for four years. Denise Brown, the UN’s representative in Sudan, stated on Thursday that Sudan is facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and that foreign arms are partly responsible. The UN has called on foreign powers to stop fueling the war, but has not accused any particular state. Egyptian and Saudi Arabian support has backed the Sudanese army, which has used Turkish and Iranian-made drones. The United Arab Emirates deny providing arms to the paramilitary forces.

#Iranian #Pasdaran #Sudan #California #ShamimMafi #Tehran #BillEssayli #WoodlandHills #LosAngeles #theUnitedStates #GuardCorps #TheUnitedNations #DeniseBrown #Egyptian #SaudiArabian #Sudanese #Turkish

https://www.iltempo.it/esteri/2026/04/20/news/usa-arrestata-trafficante-di-armi-iraniana-che-acquistava-bombe-dai-pasdaran-47360874/

undefined | Arson suspect in California warehouse fire allegedly compared himself to Luigi Mangione by Daniella Silva

Chamel Abdulkarim, a 29‑year‑old resident of Highland, California, was arrested on federal and state arson charges after allegedly setting fire to a 1.2‑million‑square‑foot Kimberly‑Clark paper‑goods warehouse in Ontario, Calif., on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors say Abdulkarim, who worked for third‑party distributor NFI Industries, intentionally ignited multiple pallets of paper with a lighter and filmed the act, later posting the video to Instagram. The federal charge of arson of a building used in interstate and foreign commerce carries a mandatory five‑year minimum sentence and up to 20 years in prison; state prosecutors added one count of aggravated arson and six additional arson counts, with penalties ranging from ten years to life.

Authorities reported that roughly twenty people were present in the warehouse when the flames broke out, but no injuries were reported. The fire destroyed paper products valued at about $500 million and a facility worth roughly $150 million, with total damages exceeding $10.1 million, triggering a special‑circumstance aggravating factor under California law. Court documents show Abdulkarim sent a text to a coworker after the blaze saying, “All you had to do was pay us enough to live…pay us more of the value we bring,” reflecting a claimed hostility toward capitalism and corporations.

During a news conference, U.S. Assistant Attorney Bill Essayli disclosed that Abdulkarim repeatedly compared himself to Luigi Mangione, a notorious Italian Mafia figure, in a phone call and in the Instagram video, where he shouted, “All you had to do was pay us enough to live” and, as the fire spread, “There goes your inventory.” Abdulkarim is scheduled to be arraigned on the state charges later Friday.

Read more: undefined

#luigimangione #kimberly-clark #instagram #billessayli

Gun Rights Activists Briefly Pause MAGA Cheerleading To Half-Assedly Defend Rights Of Murdered Minnesotan

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/01/28/gun-rights-activists-briefly-pause-maga-cheerleading-to-half-assedly-defend-rights-of-murdered-minnesotan/

Welcome To The Resistance… Grand Juries?

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/01/16/welcome-to-the-resistance-grand-juries/

Jury Dumps Criminal Charges Against Tow Truck Driver Who Towed An ICE Vehicle During An Arrest

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/12/30/jury-dumps-criminal-charges-against-tow-truck-driver-who-towed-an-ice-vehicle-during-an-arrest/

DOJ Prosecutor Says He’ll Just Keep Prosecuting Despite Court Ruling He Was Illegally Appointed

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/04/doj-prosecutor-says-hell-just-keep-prosecuting-despite-court-ruling-he-was-illegally-appointed/