Ring expands its reach
 THE BIG STORY
Ring now has 350 fire departments in its neighborhood surveillance program
In the last few years, Ring — the Amazon-owned security camera company — made headlines for its established relationships with some 1,800 police departments. Those relationships have prompted Senate investigations and activist campaigns.
But the company is expanding its neighborhood surveillance network partnerships to include 350 fire departments. According to documents obtained via public record requests, Ring touts its network of home security cameras as a useful tool in arson investigations, since it allows agencies to request footage directly from civilians without a warrant.
Ring is hardly alone in the space — it's facing competition in the intersection of private home security, public surveillance, and law enforcement from companies like Nextdoor and Citizen.
The consequences for all of this are significant. Consider this: A Ring camera owner can refuse a request for footage from a firefighter or police officer. However, the agency can just contact the company directly and ask for it in the case of an "uncooperative or unavailable" camera owner.  Flickr / slgckgc (Creative Commons) STAYING ON TOP OF THIS
The Keystone XL pipeline is officially dead
It took a long time to get to this resolution, but the Keystone XL pipeline is officially not moving forward. The controversial pipeline was first proposed in 2008 to expand the transport of oil from Alberta, Canada, into the US.
The proposal immediately sparked outrage from environmental activists, Indigenous tribes, and other landowners living along its proposed route.
The project's status was frequently in limbo. Initially, the Obama administration signalled its support for the pipeline, before ultimately rejecting it in 2015. The Trump administration reversed that position, issuing a presidential permit for the pipeline, but many court challenges followed.
President Biden revoked the pipeline's permit on his first day in office. SNAPSHOTS
A man was accused of stealing more than 500 vaccine cards from a COVID vaccination site. Police said Muhammad Rauf Ahmed stole blank vaccine cards while working as a nonclinical contract employee at a Los Angeles County site.
Six women said a California surgeon raped them. They may never get their day in court. The story of the charges made national headlines. Nearly three years later, the criminal case has been kicked around the court system after years of local political squabbling.
Police did not violently clear protesters from Lafayette Square for Trump's photo op, an investigation found. The violent dispersal of protesters outside the White House as Trump prepared for a now-infamous photo op was a defining moment in his presidency. An investigation said police did it to install fencing.
The Congressional Black Caucus is blocking a Black Republican from joining the group. Rep. Byron Donalds, who voted against certifying Joe Biden's election win, hasn't heard back from the powerful CBC. EXTREMISTS ARE ONCE AGAIN RECRUITING
An international neo-Nazi group thought to be dissolved is recruiting again in the US
The first thing you need to know about the Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) is that it was founded in 2018 by a 13-year-old boy from Estonia. Its first iteration didn't exist for a long time — mostly, it was composed of young men, and it announced its dissolution in February 2020.
Now, the FKD has resurfaced once again on the messaging app Telegram in May. Members of the group announced that they were ready to "embrace chaos" and "invoke terror" in hopes of destroying modern society.
The international neo-Nazi group once boasted dozens of American members, including two who allegedly plotted mass-casualty attacks, political assassinations, and the bombing of a major media outlet. And now, it is again actively recruiting extremists in the United States and Europe.
FKD also announced on Telegram that it had forged a partnership with the US-based Injekt Division, a neo-Nazi community founded by a Texas man arrested last month for allegedly planning a mass shooting at a Walmart. SMALL PRESS, NO STRESS 18 amazing small press books to add to your summer reading list
Shout out to small presses, we see you doing the work of putting out exciting books that deserve attention! We compiled a list of books from small presses that you need to know. Family secrets, popular culture, literary experimentation, and more to love in these new and forthcoming books. Wishing you access to the most courageous version of yourself, Elamin 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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