By AZFamily Digital News Staff

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — More than 170 people were arrested during a sex trafficking sting that spanned three weeks, according to the Scottsdale Police Department.

Scottsdale police said the operation happened between Jan. 21 and Feb. 14 and was led by the agency’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit, also known as “HEAT.”

Detectives worked with several other Valley and northern Arizona law enforcement agencies to conduct the sting targeting sex buyers, child predators and people involved in illegal sex work.

However, Scottsdale police said they used decoys and that no actual children were placed in danger. Continue reading “173 arrests made during Scottsdale PD’s weeks-long sex trafficking sting”

By Tyler Derden – Zerohedge

Summary:

  • Younger, reportedly more ‘hardline’ Ayatollah takes command as regime stability continues: Military and political elites have pledged allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaces his slain father as supreme leader and is viewed as a figure favored by the IRGC.

Continue reading “Iran Says ‘No Room’ for Talks As US Seeks To ‘Partition Country, Take Oil’ – New Hardline Ayatollah Takes Command”

By Dave DeCamp – Antiwar.com

President Trump said in an interview with Axios on Thursday that he must have a say on who is chosen as Iran’s next leader following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, contradicting other administration officials who say the US’s goal is not regime change. Continue reading “Trump Says He Must Have a Say in Picking Iran’s New Leader”

By Drop Site News

War on Iran

  • U.S. and Israeli airstrikes pound Iran for a fifth day: Heavy waves of U.S.-Israeli airstrikes were reported across several Iranian cities, including Tehran, where explosions were heard near Mehrabad Airport, Azadi Square, Tehransar, and Chitgar in the western part of the capital. Additional strikes were reported in Bandar Abbas, Tabriz, Bushehr, and Qazvin, with officials in East Azerbaijan Province reporting dozens of casualties.

Continue reading “Over 1,300 strikes recorded by Iranian Red Crescent; Senate blocks war powers resolution on Iran; 66,000 displaced in Afghanistan-Pakistan fighting”

By Tyler Derden – Zerohedge

The war has entered its seventh day, but there could be a glimmer of hope for some kind of diplomatic-led offramp as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian indicated Friday that several countries have begun mediation efforts to end the war with the United States and Israel, but insists negotiations must confront those who started the conflict. “Some countries have begun mediation efforts. Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region, yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity and sovereignty,” Pezeshkian wrote on X. Continue reading “Oil Explodes To 29-Month Highs After Trump Says “No Deal” With Iran Except Under “Unconditional Surrender””

By Dave DeCamp – Antiwar.com

The White House is expected to ask Congress for an extra $50 billion in military spending to replenish stockpiles of weapons used in the Iran war and other recent Middle East conflicts, Reuters has reported. Continue reading “White House Expected To Ask Congress for Extra $50 Billion for Iran War”

By Dave DeCamp – Antiwar.com

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday boasted of the “death and destruction” the US military can rain down on Iran, as reports say that US and Israeli airstrikes have killed over 1,000 Iranian civilians in just four days. Continue reading “Hegseth Brags of ‘Death and Destruction’ as US and Israeli Airstrikes Massacre Civilians in Iran”

By blueapples – Zerohedge

The continued fallout from the Epstein Files cover-up has apparently done little to imbue Congress with any sense of shame. The legislative branch continued to show how the upper echelon of the U.S. government is more concerned with protecting sexual predators than providing Americans with a modicum of transparency after the House of Representatives voted to block a resolution that would have forced the release of sexual harassment claims made against lawmakers dating back decades. The resolution brought to a vote by Republican South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace called for the public disclosure of all reports on file with the House Ethics Committee on investigations into members of Congress over allegations of sexual harassment or improper sexual relationships with staff members. The House cunningly maneuvered around advancing the resolution, choosing instead to take the Machiavellian tactic of passing a motion to refer it to the House Ethics Committee in an emphatic 357-65 vote.

Continue reading “House Of Representatives Resoundingly Votes Against Releasing Files On Sexual Misconduct Of Members Of Congress”

By Tyler Derden – Zerohedge

The United States and Israel continue their history-shaping shock and awe style military campaign against Iran, with Israeli forces also now intensifying strikes in Lebanon. Since Saturday, at least 1,230 people have been killed in what’s clearly morphed into a regime change operation on Tehran, according to official numbers, which are expected to climb by the day. The war is expanding to nearby countries like Azerbaijan, and possibly even Turkey – in addition to the Gulf states. Continue reading “Massive Wave Of Iranian Missiles Pummeled Israel Overnight, As Trump Hopes Of ‘Quick Victory’ Fading”

By Jason Ditz – Antiwar.com

A growing number of civilians are flooding out of towns and villages in southern Lebanon over the past 48 hours. Some 30,000 civilians were displaced already Monday, and the number is expected to grow markedly as Israeli troops launched a new ground invasion of the country. Continue reading “Evacuations Soar as Israel Launches New Ground Invasion of Lebanon”

By Drop Site News

Link to video

Jeremy Scahill, Murtaza Hussain, and Sharif Abdel Kouddous discuss the latest developments in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran with Karim Makdisi, an associate professor at the American University of Beirut and a co-host, with his brothers, of the Makdisi Street podcast. With Hezbollah entering the war and Israel slowly moving troops into Lebanon, they discuss the spreading conflict in the context of Israel’s broader agenda in the region. Continue reading “U.S.-Israeli Bombing and Assassination Campaign Intensifies in Iran as Israel Threatens Wider War Against Hezbollah”

By Wyatt Reed and Max Blumenthal – Grayzone

Emails show sex trafficking billionaire Jeffrey Epstein worked Israeli connections to help his lawyer’s daughter join an elite IDF unit. The woman, who Epstein wrote would make a “fantastic ambassador for Israel” at Columbia University, served on the board of Hillel International.

Continue reading “Epstein Army: Jeffrey Epstein helped place 18-year-old woman in ‘elite IDF unit’”

By Tyler Derden – Zerohedge

On Day 5 of the Trump-ordered Operation Epic Furry targeting Iran for regime change, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth declared the US is “winning” against Iran, signaling that additional American forces are en route and vowing Washington will take “all the time it needs” to secure ‘victory’. But the instances of blowback are piling up at rapid pace. Continue reading “Iran Latest: Tehran Denies Making ‘Secret’ CIA Outreach; Hegseth Declares ‘Winning’ Despite US Comms Infrastructure Severe Damage”

By Reza Sayah and Murtaza Hussain – Drop Site News

TEHRAN, IRAN—As groups of families and others gathered Sunday evening at cafes around Niloofar Square—a middle-class area in eastern Tehran—after breaking their fast for Ramadan, a series of explosions struck the area, leveling several buildings and killing over 20 people, according to witnesses at the scene and later reports from local news sources. Continue reading “Witnesses Describe Horror Scene After “Double-Tap” Bombing Kills Over 20 at Popular Tehran Square”

By Dave DeCamp – Antiwar.com

US Central Command said on Monday that the number of US troops killed since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran has risen to six as senior US officials continue to warn that more American casualties are expected. Continue reading “At Least Six US Troops Killed in Iran War as Trump Officials Tell Americans More Casualties Are Coming”

By Chris Menahan – Information Liberation

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday tried to wiggle out of responsibility for starting a war with Iran by saying Israel was going to attack Iran whether the US wanted it or not, and Israel’s attack would trigger Iran to attack America—therefore, the US had to join the attack to preempt Iran’s retaliation. Continue reading “Secretary Rubio Suggests Israel Forced U.S. Into War With Iran”

By Tyler Derden – Zerohedge

Here are the most critical developments unfolding in the US-Iran conflict: 

  • Iraq’s crude oil output is being significantly curtailed. An update from Iraq specifies a shutdown of 460,000 bpd at West Qurna 2 and a cut of 700,000 bpd at Rumaila, while warning that more than 3 million bpd could be forced offline in the coming days if tanker access remains limited.

Continue reading “Oil Spikes To Session High As Iraq Starts Shutting Output At Massive Oil Field”

By Dave DeCamp – Antiwar.com

President Trump said in an interview with the Daily Mail on Sunday that he expects his new war with Iran to last “four weeks or so” as US and Israeli strikes continue to pound Iran and Iranian missiles and drones continue to make an impact in Israel and target US bases in the region. Continue reading “Trump Expects His Iran War To Last ‘Four Weeks or So’”

By mahmoud aslan – Drop Site News

LAMERD, IRAN—Dozens of teenage girls were attending their regular training sessions of volleyball, basketball, and gymnastics in the main sports hall in Lamerd, a city near the Persian coast, when a missile slammed into the building at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Additional strikes hit two nearby residential areas and a hall adjacent to a school, as the U.S. and Israel pounded targets across Iran on the first day of what President Donald Trump declared as a regime change war. According to local officials cited in Iranian state media, the strikes on Lamerd killed at least 18 civilians and wounded scores more. Continue reading “After a Sports Hall in Iran Was Bombed, Witnesses Describe Chaos and “Continuous Screaming””