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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Alien Terrorist Removal court in Washington, D.C. is secretive. It has been around for 30 years and it has never convened until today. The Justice Department asked a federal judge to deport an Afghan woman in Texas on terrorism grounds. In a statement, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accuses Nasira Hajizada of links to a foiled ISIS plot to carry out a mass shooting on election day 2024. The 47 year old son and son in law each pleaded guilty last year to taking part in the plot. However, the government has not criminally charged Zada, a permanent US Resident, opting instead for the untested civil proceeding. Public defender Matthew Farley accuses the government of violating due process. Minnesota's state IT services have disclosed a wide ranging cyber attack against critical infrastructure across the state. Officials have not said who they think is behind it yet, but NPR's Jenna McLaughlin reports they are calling attention to a recent cybersecurity advisory from the government.
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Between July 26th and 27th, hackers targeted more than 30 water and wastewater systems across Minnesota. Currently, there are no requests by local health officials to modify drinking water usage, but the investigation into the attacks is ongoing. The acting director of DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Nick Anderson, tells NPR that they are aware of the potential incidents in Minnesota and are helping to provide support along with the epa. While Anderson did not attribute the activity to any specific hacking group, he said in a statement that organizations should review a federal advisory published just days ago about Iranian hackers targeting technology used by water utilities. Jenna McLaughlin, NPR News.
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The war between the U.S. and Iran threatens to draw in more countries in the Middle East. Egypt might be the latest. Local authorities say an unidentified drone caused an explosion at a port yesterday, amplifying risks to the crucially vital Suez Canal trading route. The French interior minister says the country is still fighting 12 major wildfires. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports. 275 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting blazes.
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Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 3,300 firefighters and 24 planes and helicopters are battling the biggest blazes near Bordeaux. The fires are now mostly contained but not extinguished. Numerous countries have contributed planes and firefighters. Munya Mostafawi, a climatologist and expert on climate change, says solidarity is needed in the short and long term because the fires are only going to get worse.
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We need everybody to fight against climate change because it's a global enemy and we all have interests. We need to be all together and we hope that America is coming back
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Eleanor Beardsley with that story. This is NPR News. The members of the K pop global sensation BTS are apparently boycotting next year's Grammy Awards over the ceremony's new Asian pop category. NPR's Seung Gong reports from Seoul that some artists have criticized the Grammy's genre categories as means for exclusion.
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BTS didn't specify the reason for their decision in a social media post, but they said they hope music is heard and loved by what it is and not divided by region or language. Last month, the Grammys announced a new category for songs with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. Some black artists have accused the Grammys of pigeonholing them into certain categories and keeping them from the general field's record of the Year, album of the Year and Song of the year. Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. Said he respects the decision by BTS, but defended the new category, saying it doesn't exclude any artists from general field's consideration. Se Hyun Kung, NPR News, Seoul.
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The US Economy is coming off a sluggish period as inflation remains elevated. Today, the Commerce Department reported that in the second quarter, April through June, the economy expanded at a 1.5% pace. Gross domestic product growth in that period was lower than the than the 2.1% recorded in the first three months of the year. However, consumer spending increased at a 3.2% annual pace. Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of this country's economic activity. This is NPR News.
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