Random News/Current Events



A Senate review led by Sen. Ron Johnson is examining how federal officials handled reports of possible COVID-19 vaccine side effects, including whether safety signals identified through the nation's vaccine reporting system were adequately disclosed to the public.
Questions surrounding the federal government's monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine safety have resurfaced as a Senate review led by Sen. Ron Johnson scrutinizes the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and how reports of potential side effects were handled during the pandemic.


The review is examining the role of VAERS—a national vaccine safety monitoring system jointly managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration—and whether federal health officials responded appropriately to reports submitted during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout
 


Three months after 18-year-old Daniel Erving was found dead in Lake Ray Hubbard, an arrest has been made in connection with the case. NBC 5’s Jala Washington breaks down the timeline of the investigation over the past several months ahead of an expected update from attorneys.


Daniel Erving, an 18-year-old honor roll student and swim team member, died in April 2026 at Lake Ray Hubbard in Texas after jumping from a railroad bridge. The Dallas County Medical Examiner ruled his death an accidental drowning, but Dallas Police arrested Lucas Roper (19) and a juvenile suspect on July 9, 2026, for tampering with physical evidence.

  • The Incident: Erving disappeared on April 13 after going to the lake with Roper and the juvenile; his body was recovered four days later near the Paddle Point area.
  • Alleged Cover-up: Police allege the suspects failed to report the death, discarded Erving’s clothing, threw his cellphone out of a moving vehicle, and Roper deleted text messages to avoid investigation.
  • Family Demands: Erving’s family, supported by the Next Generation Action Network, rejects the tampering-only charges, citing the suspects' lack of urgency and the disposal of evidence. They are calling for murder charges and a grand jury review, arguing the circumstances do not align with an accidental drowning.
 


An ICE agent fatally shot a 26-year-old Colombian national, identified as Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday, July 13, 2026. The Department of Homeland Security stated the officer fired after the vehicle "attempted to flee" and the agent was "fearing for public safety," though Senator Angus King confirmed the victim was not the intended target of the arrest warrant being executed.

Conflicting accounts surround the incident, with the Maine Attorney General's office alleging the driver fled toward an officer while witnesses reported the victim said, "I tried to stop," before being dragged from his car. The involved agent, who was not wearing a body camera, has been placed on leave pending investigations by the FBI, the DHS Office of Inspector General, and state authorities.

  • The shooting occurred around 7:20 a.m. while agents surveilled a residence linked to a different individual with a final removal order.
  • Governor Janet Mills and local officials have demanded a transparent investigation, with protests erupting in Biddeford and Portland.
  • This marks the second fatal ICE shooting in a week, following a similar incident in Houston, Texas.
 


The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, with a bipartisan vote of 308-117 to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. The legislation, which eliminates the biannual clock changes, now heads to the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain due to previous objections regarding winter sunrise times and public safety.

Key provisions and context:

  • The bill establishes the time currently observed from March to November as the permanent standard, though states may opt out to remain on standard time if they act before the law takes effect.
  • President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed the measure, urging Congress to end the "ridiculous" twice-yearly clock adjustments.
  • While the Senate unanimously passed a similar bill in 2022, it stalled in the House; conversely, this House-approved version faces skepticism from some Senators concerned about dark morning commutes in northern states.
  • Arizona and Hawaii, along with several U.S. territories, currently do not observe daylight saving time and would remain on permanent standard time unless they choose to change.
 
www.thedrive.com

How Texas Police Spent $4.5 Million on Four Chevy Tahoes

It's hard to make a 2026 Chevy Tahoe cost more than a million dollars. Until you start packing it with military-grade public surveillance technology.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com

Ominous Israeli surveillance tech is now being deployed on American roads. FalcoNet, brought to you by a company called Cognyte (Israel’s Palantir rival), secretly tracks people by intercepting the connection between your phone and the nearest cell tower. The idea is that you can strap this bad boy to a helicopter, backpack, or Chevy Tahoe and gobble up everybody’s data as you cruise around. It’s already in use in Florida. This year, Texas State Police bought a little fleet of FalcoNet-equipped SUVs for just under $4.5 million. I found the purchase receipt and FalcoNet user guide to learn a little more about it.
Click to expand...

In March of 2026, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Criminal Investigations Division asked for approval to spend $4,487,500 on a Cognyte surveillance setup. Actually, what they requested was “approval for emergency purchase necessary to protect the safety and welfare of state personnel and property. Delaying the procurement process could result in unacceptable safety risks to personnel and compromise operational readiness.”

The request memo is chock-full of urgency and dramatic language—peppered with terms like “emergency” and “immediate.” But no specifics are mentioned. “Any delay in procuring would compromise employee safety, public safety, operational readiness, and overall mission success,” the memo states, without saying how or why this brand-new, very expensive technology is suddenly essential to operations.

Naturally, it wasn’t just $4.5 million for four 2026 Chevy Tahoes, though the SUVs themselves were still bizarrely expensive at $150,000 a piece. Here’s how the purchase order breaks down:

  • FalcoNet Core System (x4): $2,850,000
  • Unlicensed FalcoNet core system: $200,000
  • Delta 5G Perpetual license for FalcoNet V (x4): $280,000
  • 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe (x4): $600,000
  • FalcoNet Backpack core V2 – 6 x BTS (2G/3G/4G/5G): $355,500
  • Flexable [sic] antenna kit: $27,000
  • Cognyte PA Ranger: $105,000
  • Unlicensed FalcoNet Backpack core V2 – 6 x BTS (2G/3G/4G/5G): $70,000
  • Total PO Amount: $4,487,500
So, yeah, that’s how (and why) Texas police spent $4.5 million on four Tahoes. They’re bristling with really expensive peeping equipment.
Click to expand...

As for the FalcoNet system itself, the core principle people are rightfully freaking out about is the fact that it can hoover up private data from unsuspecting people en masse and in secret. I don’t consider myself a person with anything to hide, but I still hate this with a passion. Just the other day, a member of our very own staff was wrongfully detained by corporate-controlled cop tech!

And as Cybernews pointed out, the legality of such things is still questionable. In fact, the Supreme Court ruled (Chatrie v United States) “that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in location data revealing their movements, and that even short-term tracking of that kind counts as a search under the Fourth Amendment.”

We have been and will continue to cover the rapidly evolving corpo-surveillance state we’re all driving around in, because it affects infrastructure and road travel (driving) in such a major way.

Cognyte-1.jpg
Cognyte-2.jpg
FalcoNet hardware Cognyte
But we can also get into the specifics of this technology, too, since I found the FalcoNet user guide and thought you might be curious about how it works exactly. GM has a standard cop loadout for the Tahoe: Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicles come with a V8, big brakes, robust suspension, secondary battery, and 250-amp alternator.

The FalcoNet system itself breaks down thusly:

  • Dimensions & Form Factor: The core module measures 563mm x 200mm x 86mm (designed as a 2U half 19” rack drawer) and weighs 8kg.
  • Hardware Interface: The module features RJ45 LAN ports, a 4-way Amphenol Power connector, SMA panel connectors for GPS and clock synchronization, and QN-Type connectors for RF input and antenna output.
  • Power: It requires a DC power input of 24v to 36v, drawing about 35 watts at idle and 260 watts at full power transmission.
  • Kits: Government purchase orders (such as one from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) show that the system is modular and sold in “Deployment Kits” packaged in SKB Pelican cases containing the core Software Defined Radio (SDR) base stations, power distribution units, and directional antenna kits
From the outside, I suspect these Tahoes will look pretty regular. Standard antenna-hiding tactics include making a slightly raised false roof, hiding them in what looks like a Thule ski box, or using little pucks. But for $4.5 million, I’m sure Cognyte will be able to make these SUVs look as scary or nondescript as Texas DPS wants.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top