Russia's "Acoustic Weapon" is Real?!, Diddy Used J. Lo as "Gun Mule," Oregon Re-Criminalizes Drugs, Two NATO Nations Now Drafting Soldiers (The Five for 04/02/24)
Plus, California raises the minimum wage of fast food workers, and the price tag of a Big Mac could skyrocket.
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication covering the stories that matter.
[Please read in the voice of Stephan from SNL]
This issue has everything…Gun Running Media Moguls! Terrorist Sound Weapons! (Legal, Then Illegal) Drugs! WWIII!
With that joke out of the way, let’s dive into the news…
[one]
Entertainment mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is being investigated for a laundry list of crimes, including accusations of raping both male and female business associates, as well as minors…and now could face one more charge…using popstar J. Lo (his then-girlfriend) as a gun mule over two decades ago…claiming Lopez hid a gun on her person in a New York nightclub when police arrived after Combs allegedly shot three people.
Almost 25 years ago, just after 2:30 a.m. on a cold winter night, three NYPD detectives were called to the Midtown North precinct.
Rap impresario Sean Combs, then known as Puffy, his girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, his bodyguard, Anthony “Wolf” Jones, and rapper Jamal “Shyne” Barrow had been arrested following a shooting inside a Times Square club that wounded three bystanders.
The cops found Lopez, then 30, cuffed in “the cage.” Combs was also in the stationhouse on West 54th Street, his plans for a spectacular celebration of the new millennium a few days later temporarily on hold.
Now the events of that night and the sensational trial that followed it in early 2001 are back in the spotlight.
Two law enforcement sources tell The Post that the infamous shooting and the trial could possibly be reinvestigated as part of a sweeping federal probe into Combs, now 54 and called Diddy — whose past includes more than one mysterious shooting.
On Monday, Homeland Security agents swarmed Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in raids that law enforcement sources told The Post were prompted by sex-trafficking allegations.
“They got eyes on him in Miami and the feds are talking to witness after witness,” New York criminal defense attorney Michael Discioarro, who is familiar with the case, told The Post.
“They’re corroborating everything they can. But everything past and present is on the table with Mr. Diddy right now.”
One of those wounded was Natania Reuben, who was hit in the face by a stray bullet allegedly fired by Combs.
Diddy has a LOT of alleged crimes to answer for in court…but if the facts can be proven, this one deserves to see the light of day along with the rest of them. If his alleged crimes from 20 years ago, while lesser than the main charges he’s facing, can be proven, he should still face them in court.
[two]
A joint report from American, Latvian and German media companies point to Russia utilizing a new “sound weapon” against their enemies.
A former senior CIA officer who was forced to retire over a brain injury caused by a suspected “Havana Syndrome” attack has called for congressional hearings after a new report linked Russia to mysterious neurological symptoms that have plagued U.S. diplomats and spies for nearly a decade.
The report comes a little more than a year after the U.S. intelligence community concluded it was “very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible” for the sometimes-debilitating headaches, dizziness, memory loss and buzzing in the ears reported by dozens of American personnel.
“It's not conclusive, but it's certainly compelling that the Russians are involved in it,” former intelligence officer Marc Polymeropoulos told USA TODAY, reacting to the new report. Polymeropoulos has become a public face and advocate for current and former U.S. officials who say they suffer from Havana Syndrome.
“How do you reconcile that with the analytic assessment” downplaying foreign hostile actors, he asked. “It makes absolutely no sense.”
A joint investigation by “60 Minutes,” the Latvia-based news site The Insider, and the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday that senior members of Unit 29155 of the Russian GRU military intelligence agency have received awards and promotions for their work related to the development of "non-lethal acoustic weapons."
American personnel stationed in in Cuba, China, Vietnam, Germany and other countries have reported Havanna Syndrome symptoms.
[three]
The nation’s biggest experiment in decimalizing drugs, which was approved by a majority of the state’s voters, has been reversed.
Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday signed into law a bill that recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of drugs, ending a first-in-the-nation experiment with decriminalization that was hobbled by implementation issues.
The new law rolls back a 2020 voter-approved measure by making so-called personal use possession a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. It also establishes ways for treatment to be offered as an alternative to criminal penalties by encouraging law enforcement agencies to create deflection programs that would divert people to addiction and mental health services instead of the criminal justice system.
In a signing letter, Kotek said the law’s success will depend on “deep coordination” between courts, police, prosecutors, defense attorneys and local mental health providers, describing them as “necessary partners to achieve the vision for this legislation.”
[four]
If you’re trying to quit fast food in 2024…good news if you live in California…the drive through is about to get pretty dang expensive.
CNN reports:
As of Monday, about half a million fast food workers in California are making at least $20 per hour, $4 higher than the overall state minimum wage.
The new rate applies to restaurant chains with more than 60 nationwide locations and is a result of a years-long fight by workers to establish better wages and working conditions, specifically in California’s fast-food industry.
The law also creates a fast-food council, a first of its kind in the US, with representatives from both the restaurant industry and workers, who can increase the wage annually for the rest of the decade, in pace with inflation or up to 3.5%, whichever is higher. This council can also recommend standards for fast-food worker safety and work with existing state agencies to investigate issues like wage theft.
“I definitely think it’s a very big deal,” said Jaylene Loubet, who works as a McDonald’s cashier. “What we’re fighting for is not unreasonable. We’re just asking for what’s fair.”
But owners of some fast food franchise locations say in anticipation of this extra cost, they have already increased menu prices in the past few months, cut worker hours - or both. And many affected owners own only one restaurant location.
As with Oregon’s drug laws…this is a good thing for the country, because the other 49 states can watch and see how this affects California’s people and economy.
[five]
So, about that Third World War…
Norway is to increase the number of conscripted soldiers from the present 9,000 to 13,500, the Norwegian government said Tuesday.
“We must have enough people with the right skills at the right time,” Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said. “We will need more people with professional military expertise going forward.”
The country’s armed forces will see a gradual increase in the number of conscripts for initial service each year, Arild Gram said, adding that several billion kroner (several hundred million dollars) will be invested in the Norwegian Armed Forces’ facility at Terningmoen, north of Oslo, where the NATO member will gather all new recruits. He did not specify precisely how much oil-rich Norway will spend.
Norwegian news agency NTB said the aim was to reach 13,500 conscripts by 2036.
The move by the Scandinavian NATO member comes after neighboring Denmark last month said it wants to increase the number of young people doing military service by extending conscription to women and increasing the time of service from four months to 11 months.
The Danish government wants to increase the number of conscripts by 300 to reach a total of 5,000.
Both Denmark and Norway are staunch supporters of Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion.
Until the next one,
-sth