News from the South - Texas News Feed

New DEA Chief’s Background Includes Surveillance Tech and Border Misinformation

Published

3 months ago

February 6, 2025

www.texasobserver.org – Francesca D’Annunzio – 2025-02-06 07:15:00

Derek Maltz, Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, served in a leadership role at a surveillance tech company that has won over $200 million in federal contracts.

After retiring from the DEA in 2014, Maltz went to work for Nebraska-based PenLink, which sells surveillance tools to law enforcement, including a software that can track cell phones without a warrant. That software has been purchased by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DEA, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and sheriffs’ offices and city police departments, among other agencies, according to public records.

While at PenLink, Maltz’s title was executive director of government relations, but he did not register as a lobbyist with the federal government, records show. In an October email to the Texas Observer, Maltz described his role at PenLink as interacting with the firm’s U.S. government and foreign customers. He wrote that he had not registered as a lobbyist because his position did not involve lobbying.

“I assist the company by networking and building relationships with our customers around the globe as part of the Federal Team,” Maltz wrote. “My role with PenLink is mostly with federal agencies in the U.S., but have worked with foreign customers when asked to help my company.”

Someone with a title like “executive director of government relations” can use a loophole in the law to avoid registration, said Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project. “Many people can slip under the requirements to register as a lobbyist, even if their work would be colloquially understood as lobbying,” Hauser said.

The ethics law regulating lobbying is outdated, he added. “Many, many of the people involved in influencing policy in Washington D.C. are not registered as lobbyists. The most important people tend not to be registered as lobbyists.”

During campaign season, Maltz also was a member of border czar Tom Homan’s nonprofit Border 911, a team of former law enforcement agents who traveled around the country to promote propaganda about elections, the U.S.-Mexico border, and immigration, according to a joint report by the Observer, the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, Lighthouse Reports, Palabra, and Puente News Collaborative. Several Border 911 team members have received key positions in the incoming Trump administration, including Homan, Maltz, and former Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott, who was selected to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Shortly after Maltz joined PenLink in 2014, the company’s federal contracts more than doubled. In 2013, the firm had $12.2 million in contracts with federal agencies. The following year, that number increased to $25.2 million, according to usaspending.gov. PenLink has earned contracts from a number of federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service, the DEA, and ICE.

Maltz, PenLink, and the DEA did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

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April 30, 2025

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www.youtube.com – KHOU 11 – 2025-04-30 22:28:50

SUMMARY: The Magnolia siblings are thriving as youth entrepreneurs, running successful local businesses with determination and creativity. Fifteen-year-old Aruro Era sells his secret recipe chamoy and taheen seasoning, branded as “Kay,” at farmers markets and events, earning hundreds on Saturdays. He manages time carefully despite distractions like video games. Inspired by Aruro, 11-year-old Angel creates and sells jewelry through “Angel’s Creations,” keeping detailed sales records and enlisting help from their younger sister Mila, aged six. Their proud parents support the ventures and invest in cryptocurrencies. This family exemplifies youth-driven business success in Magnolia’s local markets.

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News from the South - Texas News Feed

Murder suspect caught on camera shooting ex-brother-in-law

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Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – KPRC 2 Click2Houston – 2025-04-30 22:10:27

SUMMARY: A man caught on camera shooting and killing his ex-brother-in-law on Whittingham Lane has a criminal history and is in the U.S. illegally. Andreas Fernandez de Laaz, 36, shot Ediesi Insensio Pinero, 34, who died at the hospital. Fernandez de Laaz, a Cuban national, was under FBI investigation for credit card skimming before the murder. He was arrested in 2023 with skimming devices and had been released despite an ICE detainer, as Cuba refused to accept his removal. The judge denied his bond, and the family seeks the maximum sentence for justice. The FBI has not confirmed its role in investigations.

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News from the South - Texas News Feed

Woman sues American Airlines for midflight sex assault

Published

9 hours ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth – 2025-04-30 22:02:07

SUMMARY: A woman is suing American Airlines after being sexually assaulted by a man on a flight from San Francisco to Dallas in April last year. The suspect, Sheranne Abraham, had previous allegations of assault on American Airlines flights, but was still allowed to fly. Abraham was arrested by the FBI last month after allegedly groping a woman on another flight. The FBI confirmed Abraham had touched other passengers inappropriately before. The lawsuit accuses American Airlines of ignoring prior complaints and failing to take sexual assault reports seriously. The airline defers to law enforcement but claims safety is its top priority.

A woman is suing American Airlines after she says she was assaulted by a man on the flight. Barbara Morgan says the man had already been accused of assaulting another woman on a flight but was still allowed to fly.

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