June 4, 2021: DeJoy Under FBI Investigation; UN Report: AI Drone Attacked Humans; Biden Boosts Overseas Vaccine Shipments

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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
There’s a new scandal nipping at the heels of Donald Trump’s favorite Postal Service bureaucrat, Louis DeJoy. And – bad news for him – it involves the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Meanwhile, a United Nations report from Libya reveals that, possibly for the first time, a drone powered by artificial intelligence selected, pursued and attacked human targets – all on its own. That’ll be enough about the wonders of technology, thanks.
And lastly, the Biden administration is stepping up US shipments of coronavirus vaccines to foreign countries in a big way. It’s an overdue but welcome measure to fight the virus in places where it’s still spreading out of control.
THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:
He’s one of Trump’s last holdovers, but maybe not for long. The Washington Post reports that the FBI is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in connection with campaign fundraising activity involving his former business. FBI agents in recent weeks interviewed current and former employees of DeJoy and the business, asking questions about political contributions and company activities. Prosecutors also issued a subpoena to DeJoy himself. A DeJoy spokesman confirmed the investigation but insisted DeJoy had not knowingly violated any laws. The inquiries could signal legal peril for the controversial head of the nation’s mail service – though DeJoy has not been charged with any crimes. Asked yesterday whether President Joe Biden believed DeJoy should step down, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would leave the process to the Department of Justice.
The Post says DeJoy – who was appointed to run the Postal Service by its board of governors last May – has been dogged by controversy for almost his entire time in office. Soon after starting in the job, he imposed cost-cutting moves that mail carriers blamed for creating backlogs across the country. Democrats accused the prominent GOP fundraiser, who personally gave more than $1.1 million to Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican
Party, of trying to undermine his own organization because of Trump’s distrust of mail-in voting. And they were totally right about that. But it seems it’ll be other, previously hidden misdeeds that bring down this dastardly saboteur. Hey, whatever does the trick.
UN Report: AI Drone Attacked Humans
This preview of the next Terminator movie comes from the New York Times. A military drone that attacked soldiers during a battle in Libya’s civil war last year may have done so without human control, according to a recent report commissioned by the United Nations. The drone, which the report described as a lethal autonomous weapons systems, was powered by artificial intelligence. It was used by forces backed by the government based in Tripoli, the capital, against enemy militia fighters as they ran away from rocket attacks. The fighters were hunted down and remotely engaged by the drone, according to the report. It did not say whether there were any casualties or injuries. The weapons systems, it said, were "programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect a true fire, forget and find capability.: The Kargu-2 was built by STM, a defense company based in Turkey.
The Times says the report has been sent to a UN sanctions committee for review. The drone, a Kargu-2, was used as soldiers tried to flee. Once in retreat, they were subject to continual harassment from the drone, according to the report, which was written by the UN Panel of Experts on Libya. Zachary Kallenborn, a researcher who studies drone warfare at the University of Maryland, said the report suggested that for the first time, a weapons systems with artificial intelligence capability operated autonomously to find and attack humans. What a landmark. Oh boy.
Biden Boosts Overseas Vaccine Shipments
This global pandemic update co...