All posts tagged: Dumping

ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database

ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database

Published by skeptic

An explosive and newly partially unsealed court filing alleges that the US Department of Homeland Security built up dossiers on ICE observers—including their photos, license plate numbers, and other information—and stored them in a system called the Investigative Case Management database, which was built by Palantir. Palantir did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for DHS calls the case “meritless” and says that “the underlying lawsuit is based on the lie that there is a database of ‘domestic terrorists’ run by DHS.” Plaintiffs allege in the filing, which is heavily based on documents produced by the government and depositions of DHS agents, that agents had a practice of intimidating protesters and observers. They did this, the filing says, by doing drive-bys of the observers’ homes and, in the case of at least one observer, requiring that she be referred to secondary inspection any time she tries to cross the border until at least January 2027. “The government is treating people who exercise their First Amendment rights and seek to hold it accountable …

Fly-tipper caught repeatedly turning town into ‘personal dumping ground’

Fly-tipper caught repeatedly turning town into ‘personal dumping ground’

Published by Sam Flores

A serial fly-tipper was caught on dashcam and CCTV repeatedly turning Gloucester into his ”own personal dumping ground”. John Sheridan received a 30-week jail sentence suspended for two years. In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Sheridan was ordered to complete up to 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days under the supervision of the Probation Service. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a victim surcharge of £187. A council spokesperson said Sheridan had repeatedly blighted the city and fly-tipped his rubbish in broad daylight. Source link

Mexico Pushes Back on US Ruling on Strawberry Dumping

Mexico Pushes Back on US Ruling on Strawberry Dumping

Published by Sam Flores

MEXICO CITY, Aug 19 (Reuters) – The ⁠Mexican ⁠government expressed its “serious ⁠concern” after learning of a preliminary ​ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce that found ‌dumping in Mexican strawberry ‌exports throughout the winter. The Mexican Ministry of ⁠Economy ⁠said on Tuesday night in a statement that ​the Commerce Department found Mexico was selling the product at a price between 3.37% and 5.28% below ​the normal value, depending on the company, and that ⁠it ⁠had set the average ⁠dumping ​margin at 4.83%. The case originated on December 31, 2025, ​when Florida ⁠producers filed a petition with Commerce and the International Trade Commission requesting antidumping duties. The move could affect nearly 5,000 Mexican strawberry growers — 97% of ⁠whom are small- or medium-scale farmers with up to 10 ⁠hectares (25 acres) of land — and 151,000 jobs linked to strawberry cultivation. In 2025, Mexico exported 263,000 metric tons of strawberries to the U.S., worth $1 billion. Mexico said it will monitor the process alongside producers and exporters until the ITC’s final ruling, expected in early ⁠2027, …

A call about illegal dumping in Palmdale leads to 800-pound meth bust

A call about illegal dumping in Palmdale leads to 800-pound meth bust

Published by Sam Flores

Code enforcement officers in the city of Palmdale made an extraordinary discovery this week while responding to an illegal dumping complaint at a vacant lot — a narcotics lab and more than 800 pounds of methamphetamine inside a cargo container. The drug bust prompted multiple law enforcement agencies to descend on the vacant lot near the corner of 110th Street East and Ave M-8 in the unincorporated area of Lake Los Angeles, about 36 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. There, authorities uncovered what appeared to be a drug lab nestled in the cargo container. Alejandro Hernandez Gutierrez, 22, was arrested on suspicion of manufacturing a controlled substance, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department news release. Palmdale officials said the discovery was one of the most significant drug busts in recent years. “This case is a powerful example of the important work our code enforcement team does every day to protect Palmdale neighborhoods,” said Mayor Eric Ohlsen in a statement. “What started as an illegal dumping investigation led to the removal of a …

Pope Leo meets families of youth lost to illegal toxic waste dumping in Italy’s ‘Land of Fires’

Pope Leo meets families of youth lost to illegal toxic waste dumping in Italy’s ‘Land of Fires’

Published by Sam Flores

ACERRA, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday greeted one by one families who lost loved ones to illegal toxic dumping in an area near Naples, tied to a multi-billion criminal racket run by the mafia. Many paused to share photographs and other mementos of children and young people who have died or are battling cancer because of the pollution. Leo’s visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, came on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo’s commitment to carry on his predecessor’s environmental agenda. “I have come first of all to gather the tears of those who have lost loved ones, killed by environmental pollution caused by unscrupulous people and organizations who for too long were able to act with impunity,” Leo said in remarks to family members and local clergy inside Acerra’s cathedral. The pontiff recalled that the area now dubbed the Land of Fires was once called “Campania felix,” Latin for blessed or fruitful countryside, …

Two arrested for illegally dumping waste at six sites across England | Science, Climate & Tech News

Two arrested for illegally dumping waste at six sites across England | Science, Climate & Tech News

Published by skeptic

Two people have been arrested in Essex for allegedly illegally dumping waste at six different illegal spots across England, the Environment Agency has said. The pair are suspected of trashing spots across Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Buckinghamshire, as the country grapples with a proliferating black market in illegal waste, dubbed the “new narcotics”. Earlier this week, the 54-year-old male and 50-year-old woman, both from Essex, were arrested in a joint raid by the Environment Agency (EA) and the Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit. The suspects were interviewed and then released as the agencies still needed to gather further information. The EA said the action was part of a “large-scale, active investigation” into waste crime, fraud and money laundering. On Tuesday, a fourth person was arrested over a massive waste site in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, leaching pollution into the countryside and waterways. Image: The illegal site near Kidlington. Pic: PA The EA’s enforcement and investigations manager Emma Viner said: “Waste crime is completely unacceptable, and we are clear that those responsible will be pursued.” But the agency has …

Investors Dumping American Stocks as the Country Bets Everything on AI

Investors Dumping American Stocks as the Country Bets Everything on AI

Published by José Betancourt

For decades, the United States stock market has been a juggernaut on the international stage. The US dollar has been — and still is — the de facto currency globally. But for how much longer that will be the case is now looking uncertain. As the New York Times reports, investors are starting to look elsewhere as the Trump administration continues to threaten the independence of its central bank, start a trade war with Europe, and implement self-conflicting monetary policies. As a result of it all, the US dollar continues to weaken, making foreign investments in Europe and Asia far more lucrative. Meanwhile, Wall Street continues to make enormous bets on artificial intelligence, a highly risky gambit, as tech companies still have plenty to prove and a return still appears to be many years out. The AI boom has sent tech company valuations soaring: the Magnificent Seven (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, NVIDIA, and Tesla) now account for just over a third of the entire S&P 500, with experts warning that the industry could be …

The House | Illegal Waste Dumping Is Becoming More Sophisticated. Can It Be Stopped?

The House | Illegal Waste Dumping Is Becoming More Sophisticated. Can It Be Stopped?

Published by Sam Flores

9 min read13 December Illegal waste dumping is a growing criminal enterprise in the UK. Sophie Church explores what government can do to combat it Walking around the fields behind his house one day five years ago, Peter saw some yellow machinery lying on the ground and heard the buzz of chainsaws. The farmer must be doing some work on the land, he assumed, and walked on. Only later – when he heard that tonnes and tonnes of rubbish had been illegally dumped in the nearby woods – did he realise what these tools had been for. “Whoever went in there went in with diggers and chainsaws, and were the ones that felled that area that the waste had been dumped in,” Peter, whose real name has been protected, tells The House today. “I only saw after the fact that it was something illicit.” Peter lives near Hoad’s Wood, an ancient bluebell woodland and site of special scientific interest (SSSI) in Kent. A spot once famed for its beauty, it is …