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Hello Wednesday!  It’s June 26, and we’re tracking today's top stories: U.S. Treasury goes soft on Russia and Iran sanctions, PetroChina to pay $14.5M fine for U.S. export violations, Trump's Bitcoin embrace shakes industry, DHS identifies 400 migrants brought to the U.S. by ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network, and much more...

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Featured Story

🎯 U.S. Talks Tough on Russia and Iran – So Long as It Doesn’t Raise Gas Prices. Softer than expected sanctions on major oil producers frustrate some Treasury Department staffers. WSJ 

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Top Stories

🌎 PetroChina to pay $14.5M fine for U.S. export violations. Authorities discovered evidence the company reported inaccurate information in an electronic database used to declare international exports. Reuters

🌎 Bitcoin’s Trump Card: Dividing is the Wrong Move. Why polarization and politicking at Bitcoin's expense may get worse before it gets better. Bitcoin Mag

🌎 DHS identifies over 400 migrants brought to the U.S. by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network. Over 150 have been arrested, but the whereabouts of over 50 remain unknown. NBC

🚩 The Southern Border, Terrorism Fears and the Arrests of 8 Tajik Men NYT

🌎 Huawei’s Secret Ally in the US-China Tech War: A Science Nonprofit Based in DC. Optica corporate records shows the alliance ran far deeper than publicly known. Bloomberg

🇨🇳 Hearing Today: Combatting the PRC's Strategy to Dominate Semiconductors, Shipbuilding, and Drones Select Committee on CCP

🌎 The inside view of spyware’s 'dirty interference,' from two recent Pegasus victims. Six of seven new victims received Apple threat notifications – warnings that say an iPhone may have been targeted by spyware. Record

🌎 Venezuela resorts to dark fleet to supply oil to ally Cuba. Operated by third parties, dark fleet vessels often lack western insurance and send false location signals to disguise their movement. Reuters

🌎 SCOTUS corruption case could have big implications for Illinois. Former Ald. Ed Burke was sentenced to two years in federal prison, presumably closing the book on one of the most notorious political careers in Chicago history. Axios

🌎 Honduras ex-President Hernandez faces long prison term after US drug conviction. Hernandez faces a mandatory minimum 40-year prison sentence for accepting millions in bribes to protect U.S.-bound cocaine shipments. Reuters

🌎 Puerto Rico sues former officials accused of corruption to recover more than $30M in public funds. Among those sued is María Milagros Charbonier, who was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for theft and bribery. AP

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Billionaire Putin Ally Dodges Ukraine Sanctions Newsweek

🇷🇺 EU Agrees on Belarus Sanctions to Target Russia’s Circumvention Bloomberg

🇷🇺 Russia Dealt Payments Blow by Top China Bank Newsweek

🇷🇺 Finland's Gasum to end Russian LNG imports in line with EU sanctions Reuters

🇷🇺 Russia’s Oil Exports Drop the Most in Three Months on Port Works Bloomberg

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China

🇨🇳 U.S. sanctions against China's AI chip efforts seem to be working Quartz

🇨🇳 Feds probing Eric Adams’ use of private email addresses, trips to China NYP

🇨🇳 OpenAI Taking Steps to Block China’s Access to Its AI Tools Bloomberg

🇨🇳 British tech boss ‘felt like he was bribed’ to move company to China Telegraph

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Singapore Seized $4.4B in Dirty Money Since 2019 Bloomberg

💸 Hungary launches investigation into anti-corruption watchdogs Reuters

💸 Second suspect identified in European Investment Bank corruption probe Politico

💸 How Venezuela’s Leader Could Stay in Power, No Matter What Voters Want NYT

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Crypto & Cyber

🔐 Why it took the U.S. nearly 10 years to ban a Russian cyber vendor Axios

🔐 Two Men Sentenced for Orchestrating Multimillion-Dollar Cryptocurrency Securities Fraud DOJ

🔐 Ken Griffin’s Data Leak Suit Against IRS Ends in Settlement Bloomberg

🔐 Neiman Marcus says 64,000 affected by breach of Snowflake customer account Record

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Trafficking

🚚 MSG boss James Dolan racks up a win in California federal court in massage therapist assault case NYP

🚚 U.S. Designates Belarus 'State-Sponsor' Of Human Trafficking In 2024 Report RFE

🚚 Massive displacement latest sign of fear in Mexican state disputed by cartels AP

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