Ice Obtains Access to Israeli-Made Spyware that can Hack Phones and Encrypted Apps

Trump administration contract with Paragon Solutions gives immigration agency access to one of the most powerful stealth cyberweapons

from the Guardian

"US immigration agents will have access to one of the world’s most sophisticated hacking tools after a decision by the Trump administration to move ahead with a contract with Paragon Solutions, a company founded in Israel which makes spyware that can be used to hack into any mobile phone – including encrypted applications.

"It means that one of the most powerful stealth cyber-weapons ever created – which was produced outside the US – is now in the hands of an agency that has repeatedly been accused by civil and human rights groups of violating people’s due process rights."

The American Dictator

from Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

"Tonight, we have the specter of an American president trying to take control of an American city for thinly veiled political reasons. Not for the first time, or even the second, but for the third. This time, Donald Trump lacks even the veneer of justification he asserted in Los Angeles, when he claimed anti-ICE protests were out of control. He lacks the unique status he holds in D.C. as the head of the National Guard, which gives him greater latitude to act than anywhere else in the country.

"'I love the smell of deportations in the morning,' Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday morning, an off-base reference to the famous line in the Vietnam film Apocalypse Now, 'I love the smell of Napalm in the morning.' 'Chicago about to find out why it’s called the DEPARTMENT OF WAR, followed by three helicopters. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was quick to point out 'This is not a joke. This is not normal.'"

The Sooknanan Monologue

The trump administration attempted to remove 600 terrified unaccompanied minors to Guatemala in the middle of the night on a holiday weekend until Judge Sooknanan entered an order to stop it.

from The Breakdown (Allison Gill)

"Judge Sparkle Sooknanan made the same clarification with the government over its attempt to disappear approximately 600 unaccompanied minors to Guatemala in the middle of the night during a holiday weekend. Her salvo came in what I’m calling the Sooknanan Monologue:

"'... absent action and intervention by the court, all of those children would have been returned to Guatemala, potentially to extremely dangerous situations. And even now that the government has appeared, you're telling me that even though you think you have the authority to do this, and that what you're trying to do here is unify families, not violate the law, you need five days to respond...'"

Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.

from ProPublica

"Cutbacks have gutted the staff at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Severe spending limits have made it difficult to purchase ordinary equipment for processing samples, such as filters and containers. Remaining staff plans to launch large data-collecting buoys into the water this week, but it’s late for a field season that typically runs from April to October.

"Multiple people who have worked with the lab also told ProPublica that there are serious gaps in this year’s monitoring of algal blooms, which are often caused by excess nutrient runoff from farms. Data generated by the lab’s boats and buoys, and publicly shared, could be limited or interrupted, they said.

"That data has helped to successfully avoid a repeat of a 2014 crisis in Toledo, Ohio, when nearly half a million people were warned to not drink the water or even touch it."

Beyond the Fringe: Why Majorities of Voters Believe Conspiracies About Power and Institutions

from Change Research

"A Conspiracy theories are often dismissed as fringe ideas, but new Change Research data shows they’re anything but. In a national survey of 1,590 registered voters (August 20–26, 2025), majorities endorsed many conspiracy claims—especially those rooted in deep mistrust of government, media, business, and technology. By conspiracy theory, we mean a belief that some secret but influential individual or organization is responsible for an event or phenomenon. Importantly, we make no judgment here about whether such theories are true or false; our focus is on how widely they are held and what they reveal about public trust.

"Key Findings"

"Institutional Distrust Dominates: Large majorities believe powerful institutions act in secret against the public interest. For example, 83% say U.S. leaders excuse human rights abuses to protect political or business interests, 82% believe the CIA has assassinated foreign leaders, and 75% think Jeffrey Epstein was murdered to shield elites.

• "Widespread Belief in Modern Conspiracies: 60% say government agents instigated the January 6th riot, 56% believe COVID-19 was deliberately created in a lab, and 52% think big tech companies censor conservatives.
• "Fringe Claims Still Draw Minority Support: About four in ten voters buy into disproven or extreme ideas like election fraud in 2020 (42%), government foreknowledge of 9/11 (41%), or vaccines hiding dangerous ingredients (39%). More outlandish theories—flat Earth (23%), fake moon landing (22%), or “birds aren’t real” (2%)—have less support."