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US transfers Mexican border lands to the Army to prevent crossings

(Reuters) — The Trump administration announced an emergency transfer of nearly 110,000 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border to the Army to help prevent illegal immigration, the Interior Department said on Tuesday.

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The move is part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown. He declared illegal immigration a national emergency in January and tasked the U.S. military with aiding in border security.

The land, which crosses Hidalgo, Luna and Dona Ana counties in New Mexico, will be transferred to the Department of the Army for three years, the agency said, allowing for patrols by federal personnel and construction of infrastructure to prevent illegal crossings.

This is not the first time Trump has made such a move. In 2019, during his first term as president, the Interior Department made a similar transfer of 560 acres along the southern border to the Army to build a wall.

Notorious internet messageboard 4chan has been hacked

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The notorious internet messageboard 4chan has been hacked, according to posts circulating online, some of which said that a the hacker involved had revealed identifying details of the site’s moderators to the public.

The alleged hack first came to light when a defunct section of the site sprang back to life with the words “U GOT HACKED” emblazoned across the top, according to Wired magazine.

Alon Gal, co-founder of Israeli cybercrime monitoring company Hudson Rock, said the claim of a hack “looks legit,” citing the publicly circulating screenshots purporting to show 4chan’s backend infrastructure.

Sparely designed, aggressively irreverent and lightly moderated, 4chan has for years served as an incubator for some of the internet’s most viral memes, as well a range of subcultures. The amorphous internet vigilante group Anonymous coalesced on 4chan, as have extreme misogynists colloquially known as “incels” and elements of America’s extreme right. It has long been notorious as a place to share gory videos, and more recently became known for hosting AI-generated nonconsenual pornography.

19 big cats rescued in Spain as police raid animal smuggling ring

(NYT) — Spanish police say they rescued 19 exotic felines from a home on the island of Mallorca that were bound for sale on the growing illegal world market for big cats, and they arrested the Russian couple who owned them.

With demand for large felines such as lions and tigers high in some quarters — some consider them a status symbol — there is a brisk business for criminal rings that traffic in them, even if the animals are protected or endangered species.

In a statement Monday announcing the arrests, Spanish authorities said the two suspects were tied to a smuggling ring that works on multiple continents. “The detainees sold various animal species internationally through internet portals, including white tigers, black leopards, hyenas, and pumas,” they said.

When the police raided their home, they said, they found a caracal — a cat notable for its elongated ears — and two servals, as well as 16 hybrids. International travel documents from Russia, Belarus and China for more than 40 others animals were also discovered, the police said.