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Hello!  It’s April 23, and we’re tracking today's top stories: TikTok digs in to fight U.S. ban with 170M users at stake, how corrupt clerics crippled the Islamic Republic, Venezuela to accelerate crypto shift as oil sanctions return, U.S. takes aim at Chinese banks aiding Russia war effort, and much more...    

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Featured Story

🎯 TikTok Digs In to Fight U.S. Ban With 170M Users at Stake. For now, it appears neither side is willing to budge. But ByteDance has seen how quickly the tides can turn in Washington. Bloomberg 

Top Stories

🌎 ‘Iran is broke’: How clerics crippled the Islamic Republic. Decades of sanctions and corruption put a limit on Tehran’s war posturing. Telegraph

🌎 Venezuela to accelerate cryptocurrency shift as oil sanctions return. PDVSA plans to increase digital currency usage in its crude and fuel exports. Reuters

🌎 U.S. Takes Aim at Chinese Banks Aiding Russia War Effort. The U.S. is drafting sanctions that threaten to cut some Chinese banks off from the global financial system. WSJ

🌎 UnitedHealth says Change hackers stole health data on ‘substantial proportion of people in America’. UnitedHealth hasn’t seen evidence that doctors’ charts or full medical histories were exfiltrated from its systems. TechCrunch

🌎 German regulator fines Commerzbank over AML non-compliance. According to BaFin, the bank did not update customer data on time or provide proper security measures. Reuters

🌎 The US is expected to block aid to an Israeli military unit. What is Leahy law that it would cite? AP

🌎 Patriots owner Robert Kraft pulls support for Columbia amid ‘virulent hate’ on campus. The decision by the former student and major donor adds to pressure on the university. Politico

💃 Anti-Israel hunger strikers at Yale decry capitalism – with sushi and salsa dancing NYP

🌎 U.S. Unlikely to Enforce Iran Sanctions in Election Year. Iran has increased shipments over the past year, helping keep oil price rises in check amid a war in the Middle East. Bloomberg

📌 Iran's foreign minister calls new EU sanctions 'regrettable' Reuters

🌎 The Cass Review Won’t Fade Away. How youth gender medicine broke almost every liberal institution it touched. Dispatch

🌎 Russian Who Bankrolled Trump’s Truth Social Set Up Dodgy Pill Sites. Backing Trump wasn’t his only controversial project. Daily Beast

IN THE NEWS

Russia

🇷🇺 Russian FSB Counterintelligence Chief Gets 9 Years in Cybercrime Bribery Scheme Krebs

🇷🇺 Russia funneling weapons through Libyan port, eying gateway to Africa Defense News

🇷🇺 Russia's Nornickel moves closer to biggest buyer with plan for copper plant in China Reuters

🇷🇺 Russia designates Meta an extremist organization Independent

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China

🇨🇳 TikTok cracks down on social media influencers pushing Ozempic, Wegovy NYP

🇨🇳 China sees foreign threats ‘everywhere’ as powerful spy agency takes center stage CNN

🇨🇳 Lavrov Says Russia, China Almost De-dollarized Their Trade Bloomberg

🇨🇳 How Chinese networks clean dirty money on a vast scale Economist

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Corruption & Financial Crime

💸 Two SEC Lawyers Resign Following Debt Box Sanctions Fiasco CoinDesk

💸 Venezuela to Monitor Bancamiga on PDVSA Corruption Ties Bloomberg

🚩 FinCEN Reminds Financial Institutions to Remain Vigilant to Environmental Crimes FinCEN

💸 Why Doesn't The EU Sanction Corrupt Politicians? RFE

💸 Malta May Revoke Passport from Russian Who Laundered Money in UK OCCRP

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Crypto

🔐 Escaped Binance Exec Arrested in Kenya, Faces Extradition to Nigeria Decrypt

🔐 Unanswered questions about the Binance Industry Recovery Fund Protos

🔐 ZKasino launch leads to widespread outrage as $33M promised to investors is sent to Lido Block

🔐 Thailand will block unlicensed crypto exchanges ‘to solve online crimes’ Cointelegraph

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Cyber

🔑 Promoting Accountability for the Misuse of Commercial Spyware U.S. State Dept

🔑 Russia-linked hacking group claims to have targeted Indiana water plant CNN

🔑 Documents found on a North Korean server suggest US studios may have unknowingly outsourced animation work CNN

🔑 North Korean Hackers Turn to AI-Fueled Cyber Espionage Hacker News

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Trafficking

🚚 Honduras seizes 2.7 tons of cocaine smuggled by sea AFP

🚚 How Chinese firms are using Mexico as a backdoor to the US BBC

🚚 Biden’s DHS taps anti-ICE activist to scrutinize detention of illegal immigrants NYP

🚚 In potential blow to cartel, Mexico nabs brother of drug lord 'El Mencho' CNN

"There's no system foolproof enough to defeat a sufficiently great fool." --Edward Teller

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