Daily Digest: Social media posts draw FBI heat
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Here's the Digest.
1. FBI uses Facebook posts in refugee deportation case.The investigation and arrest of an Iraqi refugee in Rochester, Minn., last year provide a rare window into how federal investigators use Facebook and other social media tools to identify targets and establish connections. The FBI had been investigating the refugee, Farass Ali, 34, since early last year for allegedly making a false statement to its investigators. But the agency never arrested Ali or charged him with any crime. As part of its investigation, the FBI began surveilling Ali's Facebook account last spring. Within a few days investigators found a photo of ISIS fighters on his Facebook page. That same day — May 10, 2017 — agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him. Ali, who came to the United States as a refugee in January 2014 and whose application for legal permanent residency was approved in July 2015, is now facing deportation to the country he fled more than four years ago. (MPR News)
2. Minneapolis police to carry anti-overdose drug. Minneapolis police want every officer to be trained by the end of the year in how to administer a medication called Narcan, which can reverse an opioid overdose. The program is rolling out as the city faces a big increase in reported overdoses in the first few months of 2018. Fifteen Minneapolis officers were the first to learn how to administer Narcan, which is also known as naloxone, at a training at the American Indian Center in south Minneapolis. They'll be followed by about 100 more officers in the next two weeks. Mayor Jacob Frey said equipping officers is just the first step in a comprehensive response to opioids in the city, which he says will include expanding access to treatment options. He also plans to work with the city's legislative and congressional delegations to access funding to fight the epidemic. (MPR News)
3. Minnesotan hobnobs with the president. Mike Lindell, founder of Chaska-based MyPillow, joined President Trump and other supporters for dinner Saturday in Florida. While other guests at the Florida estate reportedly spent the weekend pressing the president to take a harder stance on issues like immigration, Trump and Lindell focused on softer topics. “The President shook my hand and told me, ‘You are doing a great job, Michael.’ He also said he is sleeping great on his MyPillow,” Lindell said by e-mail. “I told him, ‘People come up to me all the time to tell me what a great job you are doing and that you are in their prayers.’ It was an honor to be at Mar-a-Lago on Easter weekend.” It’s not the first time Lindell, an ardent Trump supporter, has talked pillows with the Customer In Chief. (Star Tribune)
4. The arguments for and against a constitutional amendment for transportation. The Minnesota Legislature is considering a proposal that would let voters decide to dedicate sales tax revenue collected on vehicle parts and repairs to fund state roads and bridges. A bill sponsored by Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, would put the question to voters as a constitutional amendment in the upcoming general election. “If it goes forward, it will affect every single person in Minnesota,” Newman said. His proposal recently cleared the Senate transportation committee he chairs 8-7, and needs to pass one more panel before it can receive a full Senate vote. If the House and Senate back the amendment, it would go straight to voters in November. Governor Mark Dayton, of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, has no official say in the proposal. (Forum News Service)
5. Medical marijuana may help people avoid opioid addiction. Medical marijuana appears to have put a dent in the opioid abuse epidemic, according to two studies published Monday. The research suggests that some people turn to marijuana as a way to treat their pain, and by so doing, avoid more dangerous addictive drugs. The findings are the latest to lend support to the idea that some people are willing to substitute marijuana for opioids and other prescription drugs. Many people end up abusing opioid drugs such as oxycodone and heroin after starting off with a legitimate prescription for pain. The authors argue that people who avoid that first prescription are less likely to end up as part of the opioid epidemic. "We do know that cannabis is much less risky than opiates, as far as likelihood of dependency," says W. David Bradford, a professor of public policy at the University of Georgia. "And certainly there's no mortality risk" from the drug itself. (NPR)
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