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North Korean-sponsored crypto hacks on the rise, experts warn

Cyber experts are warning against the rapid growth of crypto theft led by North Korean state-sponsored hackers following a series of heists targeting blockchain firms.

Nick Carlsen, a blockchain analyst at TRM Labs, said cyber-enabled financial crimes, especially those allegedly conducted by North Korea, have accelerated over the past few years as the East Asian country has become more sophisticated in stealing virtual currency.

“The threat landscape right now is as bad as I think it has ever been when it comes to financial theft,” Carlsen said during a webinar hosted by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) on Monday.

Carlsen was referring to a string of crypto heists this year involving hackers stealing millions of dollars worth of digital assets from blockchain firms.

In the last two months, two California-based crypto firms – Harmony and Nomad – lost over $100 million dollars in virtual currency following hacks from unknown perpetrators. Both companies said that they were working with law enforcement to track down the hackers and retrieve the stolen funds.

A senior administration official told reporters on Monday that there have been seven major crypto hacks in 2022, several of which the U.S. ties to North Korea.

The official’s remarks were in response to the Treasury Department’s announcement on Monday that it was imposing sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash for allegedly helping hackers launder more than $7 billion worth of virtual currency.

The department said Tornado Cash allowed cyber groups, including North Korean-backed hackers, to use its platform to launder the proceeds of cybercrimes. 

The agency also disclosed that the cryptocurrency mixer was used to launder more than $96 million of illicit cyber funds originating from the Harmony bridge heist and at least $7.8 million from the Nomad crypto theft.

The sanctions mean that U.S. entities are forbidden from conducting business with Tornado Cash.

Carlsen said the sanctions against Tornado Cash are “monumental” and a “game changer.” He added that the U.S. has come a long way and is now taking an aggressive stance against cyber criminals exploiting cryptocurrencies for their own gains.

“Shutting down that avenue for criminals to launder money, that’s huge,” Carlsen said, adding that he was eager to see what further actions the U.S. government plans to take when countering crypto-related crimes. 

The Treasury Department also sanctioned another crypto mixer, Blender.io, in May, alleging that it was being used to launder money from hackers backed by North Korea’s government.

U.S. officials have also been worried about North Korea’s increasing use of crypto theft to fund its nuclear and missile programs.

Anne Neuberger, the Biden administration’s deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, recently said that she was “concerned about North Korea’s cyber capabilities,” adding that the country uses “up to a third of [stolen crypto] funds to fund their missile program.”

A United Nations report this year found that between 2020 and 2021, North Korean-backed hackers stole more than $50 million in digital assets to fund the country’s missile program, the BBC reported. The U.N. report also revealed that the attacks targeted at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia.

At the webinar, Carlsen gave a few suggestions on ways the U.S. can be more efficient at countering cyber-enabled financial crimes. He said the U.S. should be more on the offense and proactively disrupt North Korean cyber operations and infrastructure instead of waiting for an incident to occur to then respond.

“That’s something I’d like to see a lot more of,” Carlsen said. 

He also said that there should be increased collaboration between the U.S. and South Korea as they join their cyber forces to combat rising North Korean threats.

“I think [North Korea] has probably gotten used to being in a position of being the hunter and not the hunted,” Carlsen said.

“So, it might be strategically helpful to shift that dynamic a little bit,” he added. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Putin’s war is economic suicide

Historians will write that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fatal miscalculation was his belief that Europe would cave if he invaded Ukraine because of its excessive dependence on Russian energy. But excessive dependence works both ways: Europe relied on Russian oil and gas, but Russia relied heavily on the European energy market.

Given this co-dependency, Putin would have been well-advised to postpone his predation against Ukraine and his customers in the West until he had secured equivalent energy markets in the East. But he did not. Worse, his weaponization of energy has forced Europeans to find new energy suppliers and fossil fuel replacements. Now they are signing long-term energy contracts, and Russia cannot replace these customers.

If Russia were a business, it would be headed for bankruptcy. For years, Moscow built pipelines to Europe (through Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Turkey and under the Black and Baltic Seas), but it has not built a single pipeline directly linking Russian oil or gas fields to China, the world’s biggest energy buyer and its avowed ally. Putin’s ballyhooed pronouncements before the war about massive Siberian pipelines to China are years away from completion. And post-war, such projects will be impossible, given Western sanctions and the mass exodus of oil and gas companies from Russia in protest. It was these foreign companies and their expertise that built Russia’s oil and gas sector which, in turn, financed its military buildup. Now their departure will not only strand Russian resources but impede development of Russia’s engine of economic growth indefinitely. To boot, China and others buy Russian energy but demand deep discounts because they can.

Putin is clueless when it comes to running an economy. Russia has more natural gas reserves than any other nation on Earth, some 19.9 percent of the total. But it has failed to capitalize on the liquified natural gas (LNG) revolution underway worldwide, which makes it possible to ship gas anywhere in the world. Gas liquefies if cooled to minus 162 degrees Celsius and its volume shrinks by 600 times into a non-toxic liquid that is easy to store and transport.

One LNG ship, more than three football fields long and carrying five cryogenic tanks, can deliver the equivalent of three days’ gas flow from Russia’s biggest gas pipeline. Currently, an estimated 657 of these tankers criss-cross the oceans constantly, and all oil and gas producing nations are quickly building plants to liquefy their gas and export terminals to re-gasify the LNG for customers around the world. But Russia is years behind the rest.

This year, the United States – with only 6.7 percent of the world’s gas reserves – became the world’s biggest LNG exporter, in part because of its stepped-up shipments to Europe since the war began. In fact, the United States has overtaken Russia in LNG shipments to China this year, with a market share of roughly 11 percent compared with Russia’s 6 percent. Australia, Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia have captured the lion’s share of China’s LNG market.

Post-war Europe will transition away from Russian energy altogether because Putin’s blackmail and price shock gambits have created disastrous price hikes and inflation and ruined its reputation as a reliable supplier. European nations currently have 36 LNG ports, and increased their LNG uptake from other suppliers since the war began by 50 percent. Dozens more LNG terminals are under construction, and massive gas supply contracts have been signed by European nations, with Azerbaijan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia as well as with the United States, Australia, Qatar, Nigeria and Norway.

The European Commission recently embarked on an emergency plan to cut gas usage this winter by 15 percent and eventually to replace all Russian fossil fuels. Conservation and substitution measures are being rolled out and will curtail the use of gasoline, home heating, public transportation, street lighting, air conditioning and factory shifts. There will also be shelters made available to house residents in the event of gas curtailment by Russia, which has been threatened.

On the supply side, Germany is burning its own coal again, nuclear facilities in France and Germany will be brought out of mothballs or enlarged, and in a few years, LNG from the U.S., North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East will permanently replace Russian gas.

Russia’s throttling back on gas volumes for the past year to jam up prices has provided it with additional cash flow during the war and bolstered the value of the ruble. But this benefit will be short-lived as Europe weans itself from Moscow’s fossil fuels and as punitive Western sanctions, combined with brain and capital drains, shred Russia’s economic future. More than 1,000 major Western corporations have shuttered operations there, Russian oligarchs have hidden assets and themselves abroad, and hundreds of thousands of young educated Russians, and an estimated 15,000 Russian millionaires, are expected to move offshore this year.

Bluntly speaking, Putin’s war is economic suicide. The late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) once slurred Russia as being merely a “gasoline station masquerading as a country,” but it’s worse than that now. Putin has driven away all the gas station’s customers and employees and will be completely out of business sooner than he imagines.

Diane Francis is a non-resident senior fellow in the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council. She is editor at large of National Post in Canada, a columnist for Kyiv Post and author of 10 books. She writes a twice-weekly newsletter about America on Substack.

Source: TEST FEED1

US to provide $89 million for demining efforts in Ukraine

The State Department announced Tuesday it will provide $89 million to help demining efforts in Ukraine, comparing the scale of unexploded ordnances Russia left behind to tactics ISIS employed in Syria.

The funding will help set up 100 teams that can defuse and dispose of unexploded ordnances that cover an area of 160,000 square kilometers (nearly 62,000 square miles), roughly the size of Virginia, Maryland, and Connecticut combined.

“Russia’s unlawful and unprovoked further invasion of Ukraine has littered massive swaths of the country with landmines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices,” the State Department said in a statement. 

“The grotesque use of improvised explosive devices in the manner that we are seeing in Ukraine by Russian actors was previously only associated with ISIS in Syria.” 

The demining assistance follows an announcement Monday that the U.S. is providing $1 billion in military equipment to Ukraine, the 18th drawdown of aid and the largest package to be delivered so far, as well as $4.5 billion in economic assistance. 

The $89 million funding will also support a “large-scale train and equip project” to demine and dispose of explosive ordinances in civilian areas like farmland, and that block reconstruction efforts or prevent people from returning to their homes. 

The State Department said that the remaining mines “continue to kill and maim innocent Ukrainian civilians.”

In March, Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky told the Associated Press that it would take years to defuse and dispose of unexploded ordnances left behind by Russia’s invasion, that includes unexploded shells and mines and that also get trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

The U.S. announcement follows an intelligence assessment by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense on Monday that Russia is likely deploying “anti-personnel mines” in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Called the “butterfly mine,” they allegedly maimed high numbers of children in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war between 1979 and 1989. 

The U.K. Defense Intelligence update said that the Russians are likely deploying them to restrict freedom of movement along its defensive lines in Donbas and that the mines are “deeply controversial” and that maim indiscriminately. 

Source: TEST FEED1

GOP pressures DOJ for answers on Trump raid

Republicans are pressuring the Department of Justice to explain its rationale for executing a search warrant on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday.  

House GOP leaders already skeptical of DOJ criticized the search as being politically motivated.  

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), House GOP Conference Chair, called the raid a “dark day in American history” and accused President Biden’s administration of “weaponizing this department against their political opponents.” 

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, said on Fox News Monday night that FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland should testify to his committee on Friday, when the House will be back in session in order to act on the Democrats’ tax, climate, and healthcare reconciliation bill. 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pledged “immediate oversight” of the department if Republicans win the House majority next year, directing attention at Garland. 

“The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization,” McCarthy said in a statement on Monday. “Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.” 

GOP hostility toward DOJ and the intelligence community have both been building amid Trump’s own criticism of the government.  

Republicans decried warrants that allowed the FBI to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page during the 2016 presidential campaign, with the Justice Department later declaring two of the four warrants invalid. 

They also allege a double standard, pointing to Hunter Biden’s business activities and the DOJ’s handling of the probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having classified emails on a private server. The FBI declined to charge Clinton with any crime, and business activity of President Biden’s son is the subject of an ongoing investigation. 

Not all Republicans immediately asserted, though, that the search of Mar-a-Lago was politically motivated when asking for information. 

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to Wray requesting a briefing on the warrant. 

“I am unaware of any actual or alleged national security threat posed by any information, data, or documents in the possession of former President Trump,” Turner wrote. :Congress deserves immediate answers from you as to the actions you ordered.”  

Republicans in the Senate similarly called for explanations from the DOJ. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) called for the department to “quickly and transparently tell the American people who approved this raid and why it occurred.” 

“Transparency brings accountability & if the FBI & DOJ aren’t transparent about raiding a former president’s [sic] home they risk further damaging their credibility,” tweeted Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

The search at Mar-a-Lago appears to be connected to the former president’s failure to turn over some presidential records. Authorities previously retrieved boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago that included classified information. Neither DOJ or Trump has revealed the content of the search warrant. 

Demands for answers stretched across a spectrum of ideological factions in the GOP, and included Republicans who Trump has politically targeted. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Twitter that “the appearance of continued partisanship by the Justice Department must be addressed,” calling for a “full accounting” from Garland. 

Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 attack last year, lost a primary challenge to a Trump-backed opponent last week. But he also expressed concerns about “propriety and politicization” related to the raid. 

“I will not add to baseless speculation, but Director Wray and AG Garland owe transparency on the justification for setting such a striking precedent,” Meijer said in a tweet. 

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been noticeably absent from the GOP debate, and declined to answer a question about the raid at a press conference in Kentucky Tuesday about flooding in the state.

Some Republicans are reacting with caution. 

“As opposed to rushing to judgment, the most important thing that we could do is let it play out,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said on CBS Tuesday morning, while also warning that the FBI’s credibility could be in danger if it can’t show something of “incredible magnitude” that led to carrying out the search warrant. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) issued a warning for those in her party not coming to Trump’s defense. 

“If you’re a Republican with any kind of voice, and not speaking up for President Trump tonight don’t expect any of us to speak up for you when your time comes. You may not realize it yet, but they’re coming for all of us,” Boebert said in a tweet Monday night. 

Republican probes into the handling of the search warrant would come on top of other Congressional GOP investigations into alleged political bias in the DOJ. 

McCarthy has repeatedly brought up the Department of Justice’s handling of strategies to address threats directed at school board members and teachers. House Judiciary Committee Republicans say that according to whistleblowers that have contacted them, the FBI opened investigations into parents. 

Grassley has similarly said that “multiple Justice Department whistleblowers” have approached his office about alleged political bias in the department revolving around election and campaign finance investigations and matters revolving around Hunter Biden. 

Source: TEST FEED1

US moves to stretch limited monkeypox vaccine supply

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a new strategy to stretch the limited available doses of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine by changing how the vaccine is injected.

The new method would split up the doses and use one-fifth as much vaccine per shot. The partial dose of the vaccine would be injected into the upper layer of skin, rather than the full dose into the underlying fat, which is how shots are typically administered.

The strategy was first outlined last week by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, who said the intradermal injection method would allow officials to administer more shots without compromising the safety or effectiveness of the vaccine.

“In recent weeks the monkeypox virus has continued to spread at a rate that has made it clear our current vaccine supply will not meet the current demand,” Califf said in a statement. “By increasing the number of available doses, more individuals who want to be vaccinated against monkeypox will now have the opportunity to do so.”

In order to allow the FDA to authorize the new strategy, the Department of Health and Human Services first issued a determination allowing the agency to take emergency measures based on the information currently available about the monkeypox virus.

The Biden administration is scrambling to try to control the spiraling monkeypox epidemic, which has become both a political and public health concern. More than 8,900 cases have been reported, and experts think that’s likely an undercount. 

The move is aimed at alleviating a major shortage of Jynneos, the only FDA-approved vaccine for monkeypox. The administration has hundreds of thousands of doses available but will need millions in order to vaccinate everyone most at risk.

The Biden administration is under intense criticism for its response to the outbreak. Critics say officials were too slow to ship the vaccine that was ready to use and even slower to recognize the magnitude of the outbreak in order to get more shots ready to use.    

The U.S. has already purchased much of the global supply of Jynneos, but much of it is stored frozen in bulk substance at the manufacturer in Denmark. It needs to undergo a process called “fill and finish” to put the vaccine into usable vials to be shipped and then administered.

Source: TEST FEED1

Campaign Report — GOP stands with Trump after FBI search

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. You can expect this newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday leading up to November’s election.   

Email us tips and feedback: Max Greenwood (mgreenwood@thehill.com), Julia Manchester (jmanchester@thehill.com) and Caroline Vakil (cvakil@thehill.com).  

2024 Republicans blast Mar-a-Lago search

Republicans — including some of Donald Trump’s potential 2024 rivals — are putting the Department of Justice on blast over the FBI search of the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate, calling it a political stunt and a weaponization of the justice system.

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Countless times we have examples of Democrats flouting the law and abusing power with no recourse,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “Democrats continually weaponize the bureaucracy against Republicans. This raid is outrageous. This abuse of power must stop and the only way to do that is to elect Republicans in November.”

The RNC did not stop at that statement. The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman tweeted a screenshot of a fundraising text message that appears to be from the RNC, reading “THIS IS NOT A DRILL: UNPRECEDENTED move Biden’s FBI raids Pres. Trump’s home.”

Trump’s allies close ranks: Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee also appeared to get in on the action, blasting out their own fundraising email with a letter from the former commander-in-chief. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) went so far as to threaten an investigation into Attorney General Merrick Garland in the case that Republicans take back the House in November.

The efforts illustrate how Trump’s allies are working to paint him as a martyr-like figure and the victim of a politicized attack from Democrats and the Biden administration. Trump even touched on the political implications it could have on his decision whether to run for president again in his statement announcing the raid, claiming the search was being spearheaded by Democrats who do not want him to run in 2024.

Potential 2024 Republican presidential contenders, who would likely benefit if Trump did not run for president in two years, also condemned the raid. Former Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that he shares “the deep concern of millions of Americans” over the raid, while South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem called the raid “an unprecedented political weaponization of the Justice Department.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the FBI raid was evidence of a “banana republic.”

Wisconsin headlines another primary night

Voters in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin are heading to the polls today as all four states hold their respective primaries.

Our Max Greenwood breaks down six key races for us to watch for tonight, with Wisconsin perhaps featuring some of the most closely watched ones.

In the Badger State’s gubernatorial race, watch for the Republican primary between former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleesfisch and businessman Tim Michels. Considered a bit of a Trump-Pence proxy war (former Vice President Pence has backed Kleefsich while former President Trump has endorsed Michels), the primary will be the latest test of whether a Trump-endorsed candidate can prevail in their race.

The primary comes a week after a separate Trump and Pence sided with different candidates in Arizona’s GOP gubernatorial race, which ultimately handed the former president a win when his preferred candidate, Kari Lake, won.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans this Senate cycle, has one primary challenger, though the incumbent is expected to prevail. Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) is considered the presumptive Democratic Senate nominee given several competitive challengers cleared the field for him.

In the North Star State (for all you trivia folks, that’s Minnesota), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is fending off challenges from four different Democrats, with former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels considered her most competitive challenger. While Omar has a competitive fundraising advantage, Samuels has still received some notable endorsements from the Star Tribune’s editorial board, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) and former Minnesota Secretary of State Joan Growe.

And in Vermont, key an eye on its at-large district, which has attracted several challengers after Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said he would be running to fill retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) Senate seat. The race has drawn and divided some of the most high-profile Vermont names, with Leahy endorsing House candidate and Lt. Gov. Molly Gray while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has backed state Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint. A WCAX 2022 Vermont Election Survey released by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center earlier this month found that 63 percent likely Democratic primary voters would back Balint, followed by 21 percent for Gray.

POLL WATCH

A new poll out from Monmouth University shows that recent hearings from the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot’s haven’t changed Americans’ views much on the attack. Polling conducted before the bombshell testimony offered by former Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson found 65 percent considered Jan. 6, 2021 a riot; 50 percent considered it an insurrection and 34 percent said it was a legitimate protest.

Polling conducted after the last hearing held by the select committee said that 64 percent still considered it a riot; 52 percent considered it an insurrection and 35 percent considered it legitimate protest. The poll also found 4 percent fewer people believed former President Trump was directly responsible for the attack.

That raises the question: How much of Americans’ opinions on Jan. 6 will be shaped by the committee hearings? The panel has already said it will kick off more hearings in September, but the poll indicates that people’s views on the attack may already have been formed at this point. The revelations they have exposed might have bigger implications, however, for what it might mean for Trump and those name-checked by the committee.

AD WATCH

Democrats’ Senate campaign arm is out with three ads hitting Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), considered one of the most vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection in November, over 2017 tax legislation passed under the Trump administration, which Johnson supported and says his business benefited from.

The ads, which include one TV ad and two digital ads, will be running statewide in Wisconsin and are part of $33 million that they set aside for advertisements ahead of November. The ad launches come on the same day as the state’s primary. Though Johnson has one primary rival, he’s expected to prevail and take on the presumptive Democratic candidate, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

His race against Barnes, however, is less certain. There’s been little recent polling of the Wisconsin Senate race. A Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin released in June found that Barnes received 46 percent in a hypothetical matchup with Johnson, who received 44 percent, but the polling fell within the margin of error, effectively tying the two.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you Thursday. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Albuquerque police arrest 'primary suspect' in slayings of four Muslim men

Albuquerque police say they have detained the “primary suspect” in the killings of four Muslim men in New Mexico’s largest city.

Police Chief Harold Medina on Tuesday announced the update on Twitter. The killings have sent ripples of fear through Islamic communities in New Mexico and beyond and fueled a race to find who was responsible.

“We tracked down the vehicle believed to be involved in a recent murder of a Muslim man in Albuquerque. The driver was detained and he is our primary suspect for the murders,” the tweet said.

No other information was immediately available. Police say they will provide an update on Tuesday afternoon.

Naeem Hussain was killed Friday night, and the three other men died in ambush shootings.

Hussain, 25, was from Pakistan. His death came just days after those of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, who were also from Pakistan and members of the same mosque.

The earliest case involves the November killing of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, from Afghanistan.

Authorities on Monday sought help searching for a vehicle that appeared to be the one discovered on Tuesday. The common elements in the deaths were the victims’ race and religion, officials said, and police in Albuquerque are trying to determine if the deaths are linked.

Debbie Almontaser, a Muslim community leader in New York, said that a female friend who lives in Michigan and wears the hijab head covering shared with her over the weekend just how rattled she was. “She’s like, ‘This is so terrifying. I’m so scared. I travel alone,’” Almontaser said.

Aneela Abad, general secretary at the Islamic Center of New Mexico, described a community reeling from the killings, its grief compounded by confusion and fear of what may follow.

“We are just completely shocked and still trying to comprehend and understand what happened, how and why,” she said.

Some people have avoided going out unless “absolutely necessary,” and some Muslim university students have been wondering whether it is safe for them to stay in the city, she said. The center has also beefed up its security.

Police said the same vehicle is suspected of being used in all four homicides — a dark gray or silver four-door Volkswagen that appears to be a Jetta or Passat with dark tinted windows. Authorities released photos hoping people could help identify the car and offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Investigators did not say where the images were taken or what led them to suspect the car was involved in the slayings. Police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in an email Monday that the agency has received tips regarding the car but did not elaborate.

“We have a very, very strong link,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Sunday. “We have a vehicle of interest … We have got to find this vehicle.”

Gallegos said he could not comment on what kind of gun was used in the shootings, or whether police know how many suspects were involved in the violence.

President Biden said he was “angered and saddened” by the killings and that his administration “stands strongly with the Muslim community.”

“These hateful attacks have no place in America,” Biden said Sunday in a tweet.

The conversation about safety has also dominated WhatsApp and email groups that Almontaser is on.

“What we’ve seen happen in New Mexico is very chilling for us as a Muslim minority community in the United States that has endured so much backlash and discrimination” since the 9/11 attacks, she said. “It’s frightening.”

Few anti-Muslim hate crimes have been recorded in Albuquerque over the last five years, according to FBI data cited by Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and a professor of criminal justice at California State University at San Bernardino.

From 2017 through 2020, there was one anti-Muslim hate crime a year. The highest recent number was in 2016, when Albuquerque police recorded six out of a total of 25 hate crimes.

That largely tracks with national trends, which hit the lowest numbers in a decade in 2020, only to increase by 45% in 2021 in a dozen cities and states, Levin said.

Albuquerque authorities say they cannot determine if the slayings were hate crimes until they have identified a suspect and a motive.

Louis Schlesinger, a forensic psychology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said bias killings are often perpetrated by a small group of people, typically young white men. A lone perpetrator is rare.

“These are basically total losers by every dimension, whether it’s social, economic, psychological, what have you,” he said. “They’re filled with hatred for one reason or another and target a particular group that they see, in their mind, to blame for all their problems in life.”

It was not clear whether the victims knew their attacker or attackers.

The most recent victim was found dead after police received a call of a shooting. Authorities declined to say whether the killing was carried out in a way similar to the other deaths.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain had worked as a field organizer for a local congresswoman’s campaign.

Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury issued a statement praising him as “one of the kindest and hardest working people” she has ever known. She said the urban planner was “committed to making our public spaces work for every person and cleaning up legacy pollution.”

As land-use director for the city of Española — more than 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Albuquerque — Hussain worked to improve conditions and inclusivity for disadvantaged minorities, the mayor’s office said.

Dazio reported from Los Angeles and Fam from Winter Park, Florida. Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington and AP news researchers Rhonda Shafner and Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.

Source: TEST FEED1

Older Americans need action on mental health and behavioral health crises

Many older Americans face age-related mental health issues and substance abuse disorders that were exacerbated by COVID-19. This is fueling a national health crisis that requires action by policymakers, health care providers and insurers. 

Older adults commonly reported depression, anxiety and trouble with sleep during the pandemic. Since March 2020, one in five adults ages 50-80, or 19 percent, reported worse sleep patterns than before the pandemic.

The pandemic made it increasingly difficult for older Americans and people with disabilities to connect with family and friends. This may have contributed to higher substance use, dangerous overdoses, and even suicide for some people with substance use disorders.

Before the pandemic, one in four people older than 65 experienced social isolation, putting them at greater risk of loneliness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Research shows social isolation has the same detrimental effect on the body as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Evidence reveals that social isolation and loneliness hinder good health — putting older adults at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and even death.

As a gerontologist, I have seen firsthand how timely and affordable behavioral health care can have a significant impact on people’s lives. People need behavioral health care to stay healthy and, in some situations, save their lives — yet there is not a standardized package or process to address this looming problem. 

The Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing in May, “Mental Health Care for Older Adults: Raising Awareness, Addressing Stigma, and Providing Support,” at which committee chairman Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and ranking member Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) highlighted the disparities among integrated mental health care in older Americans. 

In 2020, individuals 85 and older had the highest suicide rate of all age groups. Challenges in fragmented health care systems, systemic ageism and lack of integration between Medicare and Medicaid programs have caused roadblocks for older adults in accessing quality health care. 

The 117th Congress proposed the Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2021, but it has not passed. It would allow mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists to bill Medicare for counseling services. The addition of counselors and marriage and family therapists would give Medicare beneficiaries access to over 225,000 licensed behavioral health providers. 

This legislation would close the gaps in Medicare to provide strengthened integration and accessibility of care, as well as more services to those in rural and critically underserved areas.  

To combat the behavioral health crisis in this country, mobilizing the behavioral health workforce is essential.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) advises Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program, including payments to providers in Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service programs and private health plans. MedPAC is still accepting suggestions/ideas to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2023 from elected officials, private citizens, think tanks and nonprofit organizations. Any changes the fee schedule would need be voted on by the commission’s 17 members.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) states it will change oversight and coordination rules “to ensure that behavioral health practitioners across the country can practice to the full extent of their license.” The rule proposes four major supervision and coordination changes to improve behavioral health access for Medicare patients. The rule also proposes to change the type of physician supervision required for marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, addiction counselors, and certified peer recovery specialists from “direct” to “general.” In addition, the rule requires psychologists and social workers to participate in managing patient health within primary care teams. 

For the first time, Medicare is introducing a new payment plan for team-based, comprehensive management and treatment of chronic pain. CMS also proposes that opioid treatment and recovery services will be covered by mobile units, such as vans, so that Medicare recipients who live in rural areas or are homeless can access these services. It also calls for an increase in payment rates to opioid treatment programs to cover the costs of counseling services and the costs of starting the opioid drug buprenorphine via telehealth, as it does with in-person treatment.  

In a study conducted by the University of Southern California in 2021, one in 10 adults were at risk of overdose, and older Americans were more likely to use high doses of opioids than younger adults. It is important that states embrace policies that ensure older adult addiction programs are accessible, patient-centered, integrated with medical and mental health services, and offer services tailor-made to their populations to promote quality, effective and equitable addiction care.

Behavioral health care providers could make considerable progress in this country through these Medicare reforms. Policymakers, administrators, providers, insurers, patients and families need to work together to solve mental and behavioral health challenges. But Congress must act to pass the Mental Health Access Improvement Act before more older Americans suffer.

Michael Pessman is a gerontologist and community engagement coordinator at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and a Public Voices Fellow through The OpEd Project. Follow him on Twitter @agernation.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump campaign won't enforce NDAs, attorneys say

Lawyers representing former President Trump’s campaign said that it will no longer enforce confidential or non-disparagement agreements, according to court documents filed on Tuesday.

“Specifically, the Campaign has unequivocally sworn in the enclosed declaration that it ‘shall not ever enforce or attempt to enforce any confidentiality or non-disparagement provisions contained in any written agreements signed by any employees, independent contractors, or volunteers who worked for the Campaign on the 2016 Presidential Election,’” lawyers for the campaign told a federal judge in New York in a letter dated Tuesday.

The lawyers also said that the campaign had contacted former volunteers and employees of the 2016 Trump campaign by mail to let them know that NDAs and confidentiality agreements were no longer applicable to them.

The campaign submitted documents providing proof that they had contact people to make them aware of the development.

“We understand that you signed an NDA in connection with your working for the Campaign during the 2016 Presidential Election,” one letter signed by Make America Great Again PAC treasurer Bradley Crate said, according to the filing.

“We are writing to advise you that you are no longer bound by the confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in your NDA. The Campaign has determined that it will not enforce these provisions.”

Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman prevailed against her own nondisclosure agreement last year when an arbitrator ruled in her favor after she published a book “Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House.” The campaign claimed it violated the confidentiality agreement she signed.

John M. Phillips, a lawyer who represented Manigault Newman during her successful bid against the NDA agreement, praised the development.

“After @OMAROSA publicly defeated the Trump Campaign and substantial attorneys fees were awarded and the Campaign’s NDA was held unenforceable, the Campaign has officially given up and is releasing everyone from the NDA. Kudos to AJ, Jessica and all who faught these NDAs,” Phillips tweeted. 

The Hill has reached out to a lawyer representing Trump’s campaign for comment.

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden signs measure for Sweden, Finland to join NATO

President Biden on Tuesday officially signed off on documents to admit Finland and Sweden to NATO, hailing it as a “watershed moment” for the transatlantic alliance.

Biden, in the East Room of the White House, signed off on the accession protocols for the two European nations, a move precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“It was and is a watershed moment, I believe, in the alliance. And for the greater security stability not noly of Europe and the United States but of the world,” Biden said at an event attended by the ambassadors of Finland and Sweden.

“At a moment when Putin’s Russia has shattered peace and security in Europe, when autocrats are challenging the very foundations of a rule-based order, the strength of a transatlantic alliance and America’s commitment to NATO is more important than it’s ever been,” the president added.

With Biden’s signature, the United States is the 23rd NATO ally out of 30 members to approve Finland and Sweden’s admission to the group. Joining NATO is viewed as a deterrent against potential Russian aggression toward Finland and Sweden amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Finland shares an 800-mile border with Russia. Sweden does not but shares a strategic interest with Russia in the Baltic Sea, which gives Russia’s naval fleet access to the Atlantic.  

The Senate last week voted 95 to 1 to approve the resolution, with every member of the Democratic caucus and most Republicans voting in support.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who argued in a recent op-ed that the United States should focus on containing China instead of expanding NATO, was the only Republican to vote “no.”  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted “present” on the resolution.  

Support for NATO has generally won bipartisan support in the months since Russia first invaded Ukraine, with Biden, U.S. lawmakers and world leaders arguing that strengthening the alliance is a key way to prevent Putin from targeting other nations in eastern Europe.

Source: TEST FEED1