Over $239 million worth of cocaine, including from a narco-submarine, seized in Pacific last month 9 TONS OF COCAINE

 

Lots of right wingers who access fake news sites blabber endlessly about the threat of migrants bringing drugs into the US and regurgitate the inflammatory propaganda they ingest.

It's tiring to continue to refute their disinformation, but -

9 TONS?

18,000 POUNDS IS 9 TONS!

Over $239 million worth of cocaine, including from a narco-submarine, seized in Pacific last month

The U.S. Coast Guard said it offloaded the more than 18,000 pounds of cocaine in San Diego this week after it seized the drugs in six separate smuggling events.

Over 9 tons of cocaine from six separate drug smuggling events were seized last month and offloaded in San Diego on Wednesday, authorities said.

The cocaine has an estimated street value of more than $239 million. It was recovered off the coasts of Mexico, Central America, and South America by two U.S. Coast Guard ships in November, the USCG said in a press release.

The largest seizure, weighing more than 5,500 pounds, was recovered by Coast Guard Cutter Waesche on Nov. 20. It was found on a narco-submarine.

“Our last interdiction of a semi-submersible vessel was noteworthy since it was the first semi-submersible interdicted in the Eastern Pacific in over three years,” said Captain Robert Mohr, the commanding officer of the Waesche.

Coast Guard Cutter Waesche is a 418-foot-long National Security Cutter, a type of ship used to support maritime homeland security and defense missions. The ship is one of eight in its class operated by the Coast Guard, and has a home port in Alameda, California.

Coast Guard Active, a smaller ship assigned primarily to law enforcement and search-and-rescue missions, recovered nearly 4,000 pounds of cocaine from two of the six operations.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/239-million-cocaine-narco-submarine-offloaded-san-diego-rcna128495

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: In Eng they trust

 

BY KELLY GARRITY AND LISA KASHINSKY THE TED LASSO OF THE T — Phil Eng has a fan club. The MBTA general manager is getting some hype online from supporters who have turned his photo into a meme and his name into a hashtag as he grinds away at what's usually one of the most thankless jobs in Massachusetts. The trend appears to have started from within the Healey administration . But it’s since grown to include transit advocates and even some seeming critics . Eng has also drawn comparisons to Ted Lasso, the ceaselessly cheery protagonist in the eponymous Apple TV+ series. Gov. Maura Healey, who appointed Eng earlier this year after an international search, noted the connection during a recent radio interview. Like the fictional football-turned-soccer coach , Eng seems to have brought an indefatigable optimism to the task of turning around a woebegone franchise more associated with failure than success. Unlike Lasso, Eng is no neophyte — he brings nearly 40 years of transit experience from New York, where he was president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Long Island Rail Road and interim president of New York City Transit. “Sometimes a fresh face will come in and offer solutions to things. But they've never been through the wringer before. And as a result, there's no basis for what they're saying, and [all you can do is] hope,” Jay Ash, former secretary of housing and economic development, told Playbook. “With Phil, there’s more than hope. He’s actually done this stuff.” MBTA GM Phil Eng has a fan club | Mary Altaffer/AP Eng is aware of his online admirers. He told Playbook his daughters have shared the posts with him. "My goal is to never embarrass the family," Eng joked. But, he said more seriously, "from Day One, the residents and the folks I've encountered in the system, on the streets, have all been very supportive. Whether it's social media, or in person, they are rooting for our success." Still, endearment for Eng could ebb if he can’t get the T back on track quickly. He faces a pricey list of fixes that includes mending defective tracks along the Green Line Extension and removing more than 100 speed restrictions across the subway system — though he checked a dozen of those slow zones off his list Wednesday. For now, “we’re all believers,” Ash said. “Because we believe that he not only wants the same thing [as MBTA riders], but can deliver.” GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. It’s too soon for another Patriots game. TODAY — Healey is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m. Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speak at a menorah lighting at 4:30 p.m. on the Boston Common. Wu attends the Jackson Mann tree lighting at 6 p.m. DATELINE BEACON HILL — “Changes to Section 8 in Mass. aim to improve housing choice for low-income residents,” by Tréa Lavery, MassLive: “Massachusetts is working to make it easier for more than 100,000 housing choice voucher holders to find homes through changes to the voucher program and a media campaign targeting housing discrimination.” THE RACE FOR CITY HALL RECOUNT IN REVERE — Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe remains the winner of Revere’s mayoral race by more than 300 votes after the recount that former mayor and current City Councilor Dan Rizzo requested. “While the results were far from dramatic … the efforts of these City workers hopefully helped to bring more transparency, clarity and closure to everyone about the results of this election,” Keefe said in a statement on X. DAY IN COURT — “SJC weighs officer privacy against public records rights,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Magazine: “The Supreme Judicial Court is wading into a drawn-out public records fight stemming from the Bristol County district attorney’s refusal to release documents, recorded interviews, and the names of officers involved in the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Anthony Harden — a Black man who was shot and killed in his bedroom by a Fall River police officer responding to a domestic assault complaint in late 2021.” FROM THE DELEGATION SEND HELP — The Bay State’s congressional delegation is pressing the Biden administration for more money for the state’s emergency shelter system. Rep. Lori Trahan led the delegation’s letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell asking for a more "equitable" share of federal Shelter and Services Program funds. Massachusetts has received about $2 million from the program this year. But the governor said back in August the state spends roughly $45 million a month on shelter services. President Joe Biden has requested another $1.4 billion for the federal program, an amount the delegation members said is only "a fraction of the collective need" and remains tied up in Congress . HARVARD DILEMMA — Reps. Jake Auchincloss and Seth Moulton slammed Harvard President Claudine Gay after she cited free speech protections during a tense exchange with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) over Harvard students calling for “intifada” while protesting the war between Israel and Hamas. “We embrace a commitment to free expression , even of views that are objectionable, offensive, hateful,” Gay said during a House hearing on campus antisemitism. Auchincloss and Moulton, both Harvard alumni, rebuked Gay's response in a statement: "Harvard ranks last out of 248 universities for support of free speech. But when it comes to denouncing antisemitism, suddenly the university has anxieties about the First Amendment. It rings hollow,” they wrote. — “More than 1,000 professors call for cease-fire in Gaza in open letter to New England senators,” by Maggie Scales, The Boston Globe. IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN — “State charts a new energy future for Mass., beyond natural gas,” by Sabrina Shankman, The Boston Globe: “State officials on Wednesday laid out a new regulatory strategy to move utilities away from natural gas as part of a broader effort to effectively zero out emissions from fossil fuels by 2050. Though in general terms instead of specific instructions, the order from the Department of Public Utilities offers this vision for the state in the mid 21st century: minimal gas pipelines; buildings powered by solar and wind, and warmed by heat pumps; and people cooking on electric stoves.” — “As EV sales growth slows, Mass. car dealers ask Biden to ‘tap the brakes’ on electric transition,” by Hiawatha Bray, The Boston Globe: “In all, the owners of 111 Massachusetts dealerships signed off on the letter, which calls on the administration to ‘tap the brakes’ on new, tougher auto emissions standards that would effectively compel carmakers to use electric drivetrains in two-thirds of all new cars in the next decade.” FROM THE 413 — “Holyoke council rejects mayor’s $1M public safety initiative Ezekiel’s Plan, named after slain newborn,” by Aprell May Munford, Springfield Republican: “With nine votes needed to pass, and questions still looming around the plan’s sustainability, details and outcomes, councilors voted seven in favor and six opposed, halting the measure named after a newborn killed by a stray bullet in October.” THE LOCAL ANGLE — “He’ll make a mark as Quincy’s Black, gay city council president — but don’t ask him about it,” by Gintautas Dumcius, CommonWealth Beacon: “The first Black person and openly gay person to serve in elected office in Quincy, [Ian] Cain scoffs at the identity politics of the left, and appears to fit more comfortably in the mold of a Charlie Baker Republican as he talks up the nuts and bolts of getting things done and avoiding the pitched battles of the political extremes.” — “Massachusetts town meeting interrupted by antisemitic ‘Zoombombing,’ person displays swastika and gives Nazi salute,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “A [Winthrop] town meeting was interrupted by a hateful outburst on Tuesday when someone reportedly shouted an antisemitic slur, displayed a swastika on their Zoom screen and appeared to give a Nazi salute, according to police who are investigating.” — “Is School Street bridge Brockton's Mass and Cass? What can be done?” by Christopher Butler, Brockton Enterprise: “Downtown Brockton has seen an influx of people experiencing homelessness, many of whom come from nearby towns to utilize the shelter system and other social services Brockton offers. … Meanwhile, open drug use and violence under and around the School Street bridge has become increasingly more common.” 2024 WATCH THERE'S ALWAYS A MASS. CONNECTION — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis named Massachusetts' own Calvin Coolidge as his favorite former president during Wednesday night's GOP presidential debate. Chris Christie defended Nikki Haley , who's standing in his way in New Hampshire, against attacks from Vivek Ramaswamy , but then dinged her for praising former President Donald Trump (who wasn't there) on trade. There was also some confusion about who invented the swivel chair . Key moments and takeaways from the throwdown in Tuscaloosa. HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Candy Glazer , chair emeritus of the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee and a longtime activist; Jerry Berger, Rick Pozniak, Noam Chomsky and Chris Moran. NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: LONG DARK NIGHT OF THE POLLS — MassINC Polling Group's Rich Parr joins hosts Jennifer Smith and Steve Koczela for a polling extravaganza. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and SoundCloud . Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .   Follow us on Twitter Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky Kelly Garrity @KellyGarrity3   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters FOLLOW US

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POLITICO Nightly: Chris Christie’s debate dilemma

 

BY MIA MCCARTHY AND LISA KASHINSKY Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks alongside former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley during the NBC News Republican Presidential Primary Debate on November 8, 2023 in Miami, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images LAST STAND — Chris Christie needs a strong showing in New Hampshire. Nikki Haley is standing in his way. Until recently, it hasn’t been much of an issue. But Haley’s surge in the polls — particularly in New Hampshire — suddenly makes her a serious threat to Christie’s prospects, adding a level of strategic intrigue to tonight’s Republican primary debate in Alabama. In past debates, the two former governors functioned as near-allies on the stage, operating as policy realists, united in their disdain for bomb-throwing foe Vivek Ramaswamy. Their attacks were directed toward the other candidates. They had similar answers on increasing the age eligibility of Social Security and leaving abortion decisions in the hands of state governments. When asked in one recent debate about the question of whether America should continue to fund Ukraine, Christie not only backed up Haley’s position, he highlighted her expertise as a former U.N. ambassador. “The fact is, this alliance is not just with Russia and China — Governor Haley knows this, Iran is in the middle of this as well and so is North Korea. They are all working to support Russia right now,” Christie said in his answer, underscoring a point Haley outlined less than a minute before about an “unholy alliance.” In the third debate, viewers got an especially revealing glimpse at the Christie-Haley alliance: Their side-by-side placement on the stage made it easy to catch one of them nodding in agreement while the other spoke. DON'T BELIEVE THE POLLS!  NO ONE WITH CALLER ID ANSWERS THEIR PHONES! NIKKI HALEY IS A LOSER, PROMOTED BY DIRTY ENERGY KOCH - ANOTHER BOUGHT & PAID FOR CANDIDATE!   But the former New Jersey governor is staking his campaign on New Hampshire, where he crashed and burned in 2016. He likely needs a top-two finish to have any shot at moving forward next year. Right now, the 538 polling average shows him in third place, trailing Haley but ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. As elsewhere, former President Donald Trump remains far and away the frontrunner in the state. All of this means that, in order to emerge as the alternative to Trump and get the one-on-one match-up he craves, Christie has to go through Haley. So he’s recently started ramping up the attacks on her on the campaign trail. Dire warnings about nominating Trump for a third time still feature in Christie’s stump speeches, as do the knocks about Trump peddling 2020 election fraud theories and not finishing the southern border wall. But in the weeks since the Nov. 8 debate, his speeches have turned primarily into vehicles for Christie to draw sharp contrasts with Haley. Christie, for instance, seized on Haley’s recent remark in Iowa that she would have signed a six-week abortion ban if it hit her desk when she was still governor of South Carolina. “You cannot be a truth-teller and say one version of the truth in Iowa when you’re in front of a very conservative group, and then when you’re here in New Hampshire, with a libertarian audience, a ‘live free or die’ audience, you have a different answer that you’ll think they’ll like,” Christie told around 100 people crammed into a restaurant event space in Concord last week. Christie’s stump-speech revamp reflects the conundrum his campaign faces: Christie is rising in polls of likely GOP primary voters in the Granite State, but so is Haley, a rival whom he clearly respects. While they have a longstanding relationship that dates back to when both served as governors together, she stands directly in his path. Which brings us to tonight — the fourth debate that could be Christie’s last. He can continue the alliance and hope that voters find him a more compelling choice. Or he can follow the more traditional campaign path, which is to attempt to tear Haley down. But it comes with a risk: damaging her future chances of knocking off Trump, if the anti-Trump vote ends up consolidating around her. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at mmccarthy@politico.com and lkashinsky@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Reporter_Mia and @lisakashinsky .   Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of new episodes – click here .     WHAT'D I MISS? — McCarthy plans to resign from Congress by end of year: Kevin McCarthy is officially leaving Congress. The ousted speaker is resigning from the House at the end of the year , according to an op-ed he wrote for the Wall Street Journal, concluding a nearly two-decade congressional career long-marked by his open aspirations to the chamber’s top spot, only to lose it after nine turbulent months. — Targeting costly meds, Biden admin asserts authority to seize certain drug patents: The Biden administration has determined that it has the authority to seize the patents of certain high-priced medicines , a move that could open the door to a more aggressive federal campaign to slash drug prices. The determination, which was described by three people familiar with the matter, represents the culmination of a nearly nine-month review of the government’s so-called march-in rights. Progressives have long insisted that those rights empower the administration to break the patents of pricey drugs that were developed with public funds, in an effort to create more competition and lower prices. — Nevada brings criminal charges against pro-Trump false electors: A Nevada grand jury indicted the six Republicans who falsely pledged the state’s electoral votes to Donald Trump in 2020 as Trump sought to reverse his loss to Joe Biden in the state. The so-called alternate electors, one of whom is the head of the Nevada Republican Party, are each charged with two Nevada felonies related to the documents they signed purporting to be the state’s legitimate electors. The charges are for “offering a false instrument for filing” and “uttering a forged instrument.” Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, announced the grand jury’s indictment today. NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 NOT THE ONLY ONE — President Joe Biden said today that he is not the only Democrat who can defeat former President Donald Trump , reports POLITICO. “I’m not the only one,” Biden said at the White House in response to a question from a reporter. “But I will defeat him.” The case that Biden was uniquely positioned to defeat Trump was central to his campaign four years ago. DESANTIS SUPER PAC REGROUPS — Veteran Republican strategist Phil Cox is joining Never Back Down , a super PAC supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid, as the PAC looks to regroup following a series of leadership changes, reports POLITICO. Cox will be senior adviser to the group, according to three people familiar with the move. A longtime DeSantis ally, he will advise the board of directors and oversee the PAC’s field and budget strategy, said the people, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. AROUND THE WORLD A Jordanian humanitarian aid convoy enters the Gaza Strip from Egypt in Rafah on Nov. 20, 2023. | Hatem Ali/AP SECOND PATH — The Biden administration is urging Israel to open a second Gaza crossing so more humanitarian aid can reach Palestinians, three U.S. officials and three aid group leaders said — but Israel has so far rebuffed those requests, reports POLITICO. Top administration figures raise the opening of Kerem Shalom — a vital throughway that Israel has kept closed over military and political concerns — “in every meeting,” a senior U.S. official said. Critics say the closure keeps essential food, water, medicine, winter clothing and other aid from reaching Gaza’s 2.3 million people. The outreach comes as international aid organizations have pushed the administration in private meetings, including with national security adviser Jake Sullivan, to use its leverage with Israel to open the crossing. “We have been engaged with Israel to enable a surge of humanitarian assistance through multiple mechanisms and options, including Kerem Shalom,” confirmed a second U.S. official, like others granted anonymity to detail a sensitive diplomatic discussion. A third administration official said such urgings have been delivered behind closed doors “for weeks.” The U.N. and aid agencies have long pressed Israel to open Kerem Shalom, but the simultaneous U.S. effort behind closed doors had not been reported. The only current operational throughway into Gaza is at Rafah on the Egyptian border, but that route isn’t equipped to handle a large influx of vehicles delivering aid. Kerem Shalom, situated at the intersection of Gaza, Egypt and Israel, is far more suitable to let in hundreds of aid trucks per day, the officials and humanitarian groups say. Among other things, it is equipped with robust inspection capabilities to ensure that only humanitarian assistance gets through. But Israel is resisting American pleas on military and political grounds, the latest in a series of pushbacks that has occasionally put Washington and Tel Aviv at odds on the conduct of the war, particularly how much to prioritize civilian harm reduction. The rebuff on Kerem Shalom has made it nearly impossible for humanitarian groups operating inside Gaza to distribute much-needed medical and food supplies. Many of those organizations have amassed aid on the Egyptian side of the border at Rafah in trucks that are stuck waiting in long lines to cross.   GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK : Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW .     NIGHTLY NUMBER $2 million The amount of money that advocacy organizations supporting Israel in its war with Hamas have spent on Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram in the last month. That’s roughly 100 times more than groups aligned with Palestinians and Arabs, according to an analysis by POLITICO. RADAR SWEEP DISINFORMATION ERA — A new disinformation campaign has put phony, pro-Russia quotes in front of 7.6 million Facebook users since November — quotes allegedly made by some of the most well known celebrities in the world. None of these quotes were said by the celebrities, who include Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, Cristiano Ronaldo and even TIME’s Person of the Year Taylor Swift. But their placement with quotes such as “The Ukrainians behave like charlatans and we continue to pay,” next to Swift’s face, and “Every time the Ukrainians get money, everything goes wrong,” on a poster with Selena Gomez, makes it appear these celebrities said these statements. The campaign is linked to Russia’s GRU military spy agency and has also made its way on X, formerly known as Twitter. In this story for WIRED, David Gilbert unpacks the scheme and how it is spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1992: A militant Hindu fundamentalist holds a brick and another one holds a sword as thousands storm the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, India. Thousands of militants razed the 430-year old Muslim mosque to clear the site for a proposed Hindu temple. The incident resulted in several months of nationwide Hindu-Muslim violence in the country, causing the death of at least 2,000. | Udo Weitz/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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