News Information and Media Site: Hacked Oath Keeper records uncover far-right military ties

THE BIG STORY

Hacked Oath Keepers records show active members of law enforcement and the military tried to join the group after Jan. 6

Rioters breach the Capitol on Jan. 6. (Mihoko Owada / Mihoko Owada/STAR MAX/IPx)

Leaked emails from the right-wing extremist group Oath Keepers reveal a number of police officers and military officials reaching out to the organization after the Capitol riots, in some cases ignoring strict policies prohibiting their membership in such groups.

"I'm not liking what the world is coming to and have a growing concern for our nation," one soldier wrote to the group's main email address on Jan. 19. "Please let me know how I can get involved."

The emails were obtained by BuzzFeed News after an anonymous group claimed to have hacked the Oath Keepers' servers and released the records to a group called Distributed Denial of Secrets, which posted much of the data publicly and shared some additional files with journalists and researchers.

BuzzFeed News' analysis of the newly leaked data found over 500 people associated with the Oath Keepers who were identified in internal files as military or law enforcement personnel or whose email addresses indicated they may be or previously were employed by US military or law enforcement. When contacted by BuzzFeed News, some on the email rolls acknowledged having been members of the Oath Keepers in the past but said they had since left the group.

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

A judge asked why Texas didn't enforce its own abortion ban if it's "confident" the law is constitutional

Here's what's going on with the US Justice Department's legal battle to block Texas's six-week abortion ban:

—The Justice Department argued on Friday that SB 8, the Texas ban, is "unambiguously" unconstitutional. It's asking US District Judge Robert Pitman to block the law from taking effect while the rest of the case goes forward.

—On Friday, Pitman questioned why the Texas law goes "go to such great lengths" to avoid enforcing the six-week abortion ban directly if it's so confident that SB 8 is constitutional. SB 8 deputizes individuals to sue anyone they suspect of aiding an abortion; in the past, courts have repeatedly struck down state laws that ban abortions early in a pregnancy and leave enforcement to government officials.

—Though he didn't say how he'd rule, Pitman's question suggests a skepticism of Texas's insistence that SB 8 wasn't intended as an attempt to end-run legitimate legal challenges to the law. Texas's defending lawyer disputed Pitman's claim that the way SB 8 is enforced is "unusual."

—However — and whenever — Pitman rules, the party that loses is expected to appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

SNAPSHOTS

"I am not a baby-making machine": Thousands marched for abortion rights in protest of Texas's new law. It was the first Women's March of the Biden administration, and it came a month after the Supreme Court took no action to block Texas's six-week abortion ban.

The newest iPhone takes incredible photos of piglets. This is an iPhone 13 Pro review. It's also a collection of some of the best piglet photos you'll see all day.

These poignant photos show the real football team behind Friday Night Lights. "It's like having your senior yearbook memorialized as a New York Times bestselling book, a celebrated movie, and an award-winning TV show."

COASTLINE CATASTROPHE

Oil is washing up on Southern California beaches after a major offshore spill

A seagull flies over oil washed up along the coast in Huntington Beach, California, on Oct. 3. (Ringo Chiu/AP)

Dead birds and fish washed ashore Sunday at Huntington Beach and Newport Beach after a major oil spill off the West Coast. The spill was reported Saturday morning several miles offshore and was estimated by Huntington Beach officials at 126,000 gallons. The US Coast Guard is still investigating the cause of the spill.

Beach destruction caused by oil damage is prompting widespread concern among California residents, with one Orange County official saying that the environmental impact of the spill is already "irreversible." As of early Sunday morning, the leak had not been completely stopped, a Huntington Beach press release said.

NETFLIX AND THRILL

Squid Game works because the despair of capitalism transcends borders

Lee Jung-jae in Squid Game (Youngkyu Park)

Light Squid Game spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

The dizzying success of Squid Game, and the triumph of other non-English shows like Lupin and Money Heist, may finally kill the unfounded idea that North American viewers — the largest share of Netflix's audience — are not interested in watching foreign shows. That is significant by itself.

But these shows also share a common throughline, says Elamin Abdelmahmoud: They all deal with inequality, capture the despair of poverty, and dissect class anxiety. Regardless of the country or language, capitalism is the shared villain in Netflix's global successes. It's a villain viewers everywhere can identify.

The games are made up, the pot of money is fictional, and Squid Game is a drama, but its honest exploration of the weight of debt and inequality could not be more timely. Squid Game fully understands the crushing consequences of being in debt, and it's easy for viewers to see themselves in it. "We are simply here to give you a chance," the masked villains say, and you understand their meaning to be more sinister than that.

Let go of one thing that holds you back today,

Alexa

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