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🎯‘Jurassic Narcs’: The Vietnam Vets Who Supersized the War on Drugs. If a sledgehammer is a blunt tool for solving a problem, the DEA’s first agents were wrecking balls. Motivated by a hatred of drugs and often tormented by wartime demons, these agents became crusaders, a ’70s and ’80s version of The Untouchables. Daily Beast
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🔸Tether’s Banking Relationships, Commercial Paper Exposure Detailed in Newly Released Legal Documents. Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China Hong Kong, Bank of Communications, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, and more all issued commercial paper and securities that Tether used to back its token. CoinDesk
🔸Russia’s Grim ‘Fashion Colony’: Americans Describe Harsh Life in Remote Labor Camp. In addition to dealing with dangerous working conditions and scant medical care, American inmates at IK-17 say they face corrupt administrators, severe retribution for perceived infractions and barely enough food to get by. WSJ
🔸Biden administration won't acknowledge Iran deal explicitly to skirt Congress. Legally, the president may enter into an executive agreement without approval from Congress, so in that sense, INARA-based congressional review can’t stop President Joe Biden from doing what he wants. Jerusalem Post
🔸Eric Schmidt Buys Abandoned Alfa Nero Superyacht for $67.6 Million. The yacht was linked to Andrey Guryev, who made his money in the fertilizer business and was sanctioned last year by the US Treasury Department following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Bloomberg
🔸He Went After Crypto Companies. Then Someone Came After Him. Mr. Roche was felled by his own loose lips and his overly cozy relationship with a client. But he also was the victim of an elaborate international setup. NY Times
🔸Sanctions-hit Huawei demands royalties from Japanese companies. It is highly unusual for a major manufacturer to directly negotiate with smaller clients regarding patent fees, but Huawei is facing an increasingly tough business environment as U.S. sanctions make it difficult to sell products overseas. Nikkei
🔸China bankers told to shun flashy clothes, 5-star hotels in austerity drive. China's top graft-busting watchdog earlier this year vowed to eliminate ideas of a Western-style "financial elite" and rectify the hedonism of excessive pursuit of "high-end taste". Reuters
🔸Binance, SEC reach agreement to keep US customer assets in country. The defendants, which include CEO Changpeng Zhao, agreed to repatriate assets held for the benefit of US customers. The agreement makes sure those assets are protected and remain in the United States to prevent them from moving offshore. CNN
🔸Biden & Co. keep funding Palestinian terror in defiance of Congress. Congress clearly determined that PA terror payments encourage violence, which is why it passed the Taylor Force Act, barring economic assistance that “directly benefits the Palestinian Authority” until it “stops all payments incentivizing terror.” NY Post
🔸More Republicans want to take the fight to Mexico’s cartels. Experts say it’s a bad idea. A fringe idea to directly take on the Mexican cartels with the U.S. military is gaining some traction in the Republican party — even as critics warn that any unilateral action would endanger relations with Mexico and fail to alleviate the flow of drugs across the border. The Hill
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