Discord Scrutinized In Kirk Assassination, Used By Canadian Far-Left Networks To Circulate Political Target Files, Lawyer Says

Discord, the communications platform now under scrutiny as U.S. investigators examine chat room messages involving the alleged assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is also being used by left-wing Antifa-aligned networks in Canada to organize and share dossiers on political targets, according to Toronto lawyer and independent journalist Caryma Sa’d.

In a wide-ranging interview for The Bureau Podcast, Sa’d, who has covered a proliferation of street protests in Canada, alleged that Antifa-aligned networks rely on gated Discord servers to coordinate harassment campaigns and “dox-style” targeting of foes. Even more alarming, she said, is that some of the information shared would not be publicly available, suggesting that government, legal, or union insiders may have leveraged sensitive data.

What makes her claims especially relevant in the current climate is her belief that the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN), a federally funded nongovernmental organization, has been involved in what she perceives as Antifa’s targeting activity in Canada. Because Canada’s Liberal government has directed nearly $1 million to CAHN, and because the group liaises with public safety agencies to disseminate its perception of extremist threats, Sa’d argues this has skewed the state’s focus, overlooking the growing threat of violence from Antifa.

Sa’d says that both she and some of her clients have been singled out, and she describes Antifa as a loosely aggregated, cell-like organization that transcends the U.S.–Canada border, operating simultaneously in online forums and in street collectives. These protests, she says, often coalesce under a “solidarity” banner that brings together activists for trans rights, Indigenous rights, migrant rights, encampment movements, safe-supply campaigns, and pro-Palestine demonstrations.

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Backlash over Stagwell’s Israel work puts PR ethics in the spotlight

Stagwell, the US-based holding group that owns agencies including agencies Assembly, 72andSunny, Allison+Partners and Anomaly has come under scrutiny following reports of a major research and messaging program conducted for the Israeli government.

According to leaked documents first reported by Drop Site news website, the project involved research across more than 13,000 people and tested campaign messages designed to improve perceptions of Israel internationally. The recommendations included emotional storytelling, messaging around terrorism, and connecting Islamic radicalism to the conflict.

The presentation also recommended the “notion of radical Jihadism” being “universally effective” for conservative audiences. It said connecting radical Jihadism to a desire to dominate other religions was effective as communications means. The report also said that Mark Penn, chairman and chief executive of Stagwell, has long-standing links to Israel.

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, the holding group confirmed a small team had worked on the project, but stressed that each agency in the network operates with autonomy and that its portfolio spans clients “across the political and issue spectrum.” Still, the revelations have prompted strong reaction across the PR and advertising industry.

Strategy consultant Zoe Scaman called on talent within Stagwell-owned agencies to “walk away,” with her LinkedIn post attracting almost 1,000 likes and more than 140 reposts. A follow up post also read:

This industry has a problem with selective blindness.

“We’re brilliant at seeing every nuance of consumer behaviour, every shift in cultural sentiment, every emerging trend. But somehow we develop convenient myopia when it comes to examining our own moral architecture.”

Other agency leaders also voiced criticism, highlighting growing concerns about the role of communications firms in politically charged work.

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House passes bills giving president power to choose D.C. judges, loosen police pursuit rules

The Republican-led House approved legislation on Wednesday that would give the president greater authority in choosing D.C. Superior Court judges and would relax pursuit restrictions for the Metropolitan Police Department, further overriding the District’s control over its criminal justice system.

The bills’ passage followed the House’s approval on Tuesday of legislation that seeks to lower the age at which juveniles can be charged as adults in the District and revoke the sentencing leniency that young adult convicts can receive in court.

The four proposals are part of a package of more than a dozen bills aiming to curtail public safety laws enacted in the District. House Democrats accused their Republican colleagues of being too eager to trample on the District’s autonomy, but the GOP members were unfazed.

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America’s wokest DA launches shocking new soft-on-crime policy set to make Minneapolis even more dangerous

A District Attorney dubbed the ‘wokest’ in the country has launched a new ‘soft-on-crime’ policy that is set to make her city even more dangerous.

The controversial change introduced by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty takes effect October 15.

Under the new policy, if police pull someone over for a minor issue like a broken taillight and then find illegal drugs or a gun, the county attorney’s office will no longer press charges. 

Moriarty is unapologetic, claiming the stops disproportionately target black and brown drivers, rarely result in serious convictions and are ineffective at recovering contraband or improving safety.

‘Non-public-safety traffic stops do not protect public safety, and they actively harm our community,’ Moriarty said on Wednesday. ‘This policy is grounded in research and best practices.

‘This policy is grounded in research and best practices that clearly demonstrate these stops deeply undermine community trust, which has a significant negative impact on law enforcement’s ability to investigate crime and our ability to prosecute cases.’

Under the new policy, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will decline to prosecute felony charges, including weapons or narcotics possession, if they result from stops based solely on infractions like a broken headlight, missing side mirror, or cracked windshield. 

Exceptions will be made only in cases involving clear public safety threats.

Other infractions that will now be overlooked include, expired plates, a broken tail light, items dangling from the rearview mirror, excessively tinted windows, failure to signal a turn and a dim license plate light.

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RFK Jr. Plans to Change Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Ousted CDC Director Says

Susan Monarez said during a Senate Health Committee hearing in Washington that Kennedy said during an Aug. 25 meeting that the childhood vaccine schedule would be changed in September.

“We got into an exchange where I had suggested I would be open to changing childhood vaccine schedules if the evidence or science were supportive, and he responded that there was no science or evidence associated with the childhood vaccine schedule,” Monarez said.

“Any potential changes to the childhood vaccine schedule will be based on the latest available science and only after the ACIP recommends it and the Acting CDC Director reviews and approves those recommendations,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC’s parent agency, told The Epoch Times in an email.

Monarez said, “The childhood vaccine schedule has been vetted and validated through science and evidence.”

Every vaccine on the schedule is important, she said.

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Polish missile caused ‘Russian drone attack’ damage – media

The only confirmed damage from what Poland claims was a Russian drone incursion into its airspace was actually caused by a Polish missile fired from a NATO F-16 which struck a residential building, the Rzeczpospolita outlet has reported, citing sources.

Polish officials last week reported at least 19 violations of the country’s airspace by drones, saying up to four UAVs had been downed. Warsaw accused Moscow of being behind the incident. Russia has rejected the accusation and insisted its drones only strike Ukrainian military-related facilities.

Western leaders, according to Moscow, “accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis, most often declining to offer any arguments.” 

Rzeczpospolita reported on Tuesday that most of the drones involved in the incident were not carrying explosives and caused no damage. However, one exception was in the village of Wyryki Wola near the border with Belarus, where what was described by Poland as an “unidentified flying object” crashed into a private home, damaging the roof but without causing casualties.

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Woman charged in shooting at Illinois state senator’s home; attack not politically motivated, police say

A woman has been charged with firing shots that damaged two homes Tuesday morning in Chicago’s southwest suburbs, including the home of Illinois state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel

Dana Thompson, 32, of Hammond, Indiana, has been charged with two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, and one count of aggravated possession of a firearm in a vehicle.

Police said the shootings were not politically motivated, and no one was injured.

Shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a report of gunfire in the area of Ca Crest Drive and Highland Drive, but were not able to locate anyone who had been shot, or any evidence of damage.

About two hours later, police received a call from the 500 block of Bethany Drive, a short distance away from the first call, where a house had been damaged by gunshots. Police found three bullet holes from a small caliber firearm. No one in the home was injured.

Police then received a call that Cappel’s home, about a half mile away, had been damaged by a single gunshot.

Based on surveillance video footage from several homes and license plate reader technology, detectives were able to identify the vehicle used in the shooting, and Thompson was taken into custody within 30 minutes in south suburban Lansing, near the Indiana state line.

During questioning, Thompson confessed to the shootings, and said her intended target was an estranged relative who lives in the area. Police said the shooting was not politically motivated, and Thompson was not at the home she intended to target.

Cappel said she’s relieved the accused shooter is in custody.

“I’m able to speak about this because I’m an elected official, and I really wanted to talk about it first and foremost because the rumor mill is going,” she said. “The first thing we think about now is that it could be a politically motivated thing. So, to know that it’s not is a total relief. And actually what’s more of a relief for our family is that they caught the person.”

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President Trump Rebukes Colombia Over Drug Trafficking Cooperation

The United States has placed Colombia on its list of countries that “fail to co-operate” in fighting drug trafficking — the first time since 1997 — blaming President Gustavo Petro’s government for record cocaine output, according to the Financial Times.

In a statement to Congress, Donald Trump said Colombia’s “coca cultivation and cocaine production have reached record highs” and that the government “failed to meet even its own vastly reduced coca eradication goals.” He argued Bogotá had undermined “years of mutually beneficial co-operation between our two countries against narco-terrorists.”

Colombia, the world’s top cocaine producer, had 253,000 hectares of coca under cultivation in 2023, yielding more than 2,600 tonnes, according to UN figures.

Petro, a former guerrilla who has floated legalising cocaine, denounced the US move: “Decades of our police, soldiers and civilians [dying] . . . in order to stop drugs reaching North American society,” he said, insisting “Everything we do really isn’t about the Colombian people — even if they get affected. It’s about stopping North American society from smearing its noses.”

The Financial Times writes that while criticising Petro’s approach, Trump praised Colombia’s security forces, who he said “continue to show skill and courage in confronting terrorist and criminal groups.” Washington also issued a waiver allowing continued programs that “advance US interests,” potentially preserving military co-operation.

The move reflects rising tensions. For years, Colombia was Washington’s closest anti-narcotics ally, receiving more than $10bn in US military aid under Plan Colombia (2000–2016). But Petro has shifted focus from eradication campaigns to intercepting drug shipments at sea, while violence and production have grown under his “Total Peace” policy.

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Cicero megachurch pastor charged in connection with alleged child sex trafficking operation

A west suburban megachurch pastor is facing federal charges connected to an alleged child sex trafficking operation.

Neighbors told ABC7 that Cicero’s Light of the World Church at 1400 South 58th Court is popular. It is part an international church known by its Spanish name, La Luz Del Mundo.

But the church was closed on Tuesday after federal agents arrested Pastor Joram Núñez Joaquin last Wednesday during a 5 a.m. service, his attorney told ABC7.

Núñez Joaquin’s attorney provided photos in a court motion to try and get the pastor released from federal detention. He is named in a federal case involving California church leaders.

Federal prosecutors claim Núñez Joaquin, from the church’s Cicero branch, posed as an attorney and tried to coerced victims in California to not report alleged incidents. Nuñez Joaquin has pleaded not guilty.

Also last week, Naasón Joaquín García, an alleged relative of Núñez Joaquin, was taken into federal custody.

A newly unsealed indictment out of New York alleges García and co-defendants exploited the church for decades to enable the systemic sexual abuse of children and women for the sexual gratification of García and his father, who died in 2014.

García had been serving a more than 16-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2022 to two state counts.

In Chicago, Núñez Joaquin was in a courtroom in the Dirksen Federal Building on Monday, charged with racketeering conspiracy.

His attorney told the judge that Núñez Joaquin is a 37-year-old married father of three children who is not charged with any violence or sex abuse and should be released.

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FDA Warns Companies Against False and Misleading Drug Ads

Federal regulators sent dozens of letters to companies in September warning them that their advertisements for drugs are misleading and could lead to repercussions unless fixed.

The Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 16 released 65 letters it sent on Sept. 9 to companies, including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that day directing officials to enforce existing rules surrounding direct-to-consumer advertising for drugs.

In letters to Eli Lilly, FDA officials said that advertisements for weight loss products, including one that originally appeared in a special held by Oprah Winfrey, did not present people with accurate information about possible side effects.

The ad that aired during the Oprah special “creates a misleading impression regarding the safety of Zepbound and Mounjaro, which are drugs with multiple serious, potentially life threatening risks,” officials with the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said in one of the letters. They said that people who seek medical treatment for obesity or Type 2 diabetes “should receive truthful and non-misleading information.”

An Eli Lilly spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email: “FDA’s correspondence to Lilly addresses three interviews conducted by independent media outlets. These interviews were not advertisements, and Lilly had no editorial control over them.

“We remain committed to providing patients with accurate, reliable information that empowers them to make informed healthcare decisions in partnership with their physicians.”

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