INTERNACIONAL
Flock executive defends crime-fighting cameras as ACLU attorney questions company’s motives amid backlash
Flock Safety, which operates controversial Flock cameras now in 49 states, is touting crime clearance rates in cities that use the cameras compared to cities that don’t — as a nationwide battle over the surveillance tool rages.
«It’s used for any kind of crime really,» Phil Arnold, a public affairs manager for the company, told Digital. «It’s very helpful for hit-and-run accidents, also stolen vehicles, property crimes, crimes against people as well.»
Arnold is a retired law enforcement officer who served his community in Shorewood, Illinois, for 40 years. He was the chief police executive in the town for 27 years.
FORMER PENTAGON AI CHIEF WARNS FLOCK CAMERAS COULD CREATE ‘CHINA-LIKE SURVEILLANCE STATE’ IN THE US
Arnold told Digital that for the last seven years of his career, his department used automatic license plate reader (ALPR) technology, which Flock Safety operates, to help solve crimes, describing the innovation as nothing short of revolutionary.
«Let me give you an example. Before we had this technology, someone would say, ‘Hey, I just got robbed, and it was a white Chevy Tahoe,’» Arnold explained. «We would then put out this information, a BOLO [be on the lookout] so to speak, and police officers would stop every white Chevy Tahoe trying to find the offender.»
Now, in a similar situation, Flock surveillance cameras narrow the searches to a specific geographic location where a reported crime has occurred, and then photographs of license plates matching the vehicle description can be used to identify possible suspect vehicles.
«So it narrows down the search,» Arnold said. «It doesn’t inconvenience the people who are just getting stopped because of the car they’re driving.»
LICENSE PLATE CAMERAS ARE TRACKING DRIVERS EVERYWHERE
Flock provided Digital data from an internal report regarding crime solving rates in cities that use Flock cameras, compared to cities that don’t.
For example, in Tennessee, Nashville cleared only 7% of motor vehicle thefts in the first half of 2026, versus 40% in Flock-equipped Hendersonville, a smaller city about 16 miles away, according to the data.
«Aggravated assault clearance followed the same pattern: 41% vs. 95%. Only 3% of vehicle break-ins were solved in Nashville, compared with 50% in Hendersonville.
Those patterns, according to Flock, hold true in places all over the country.
Where Hillsborough, North Carolina, which does not use Flock, cleared 0% of vehicle thefts in the time studied, nearby Burlington cleared 46% of the same cases.
In Flock-less Ann Arbor, Michigan, solve rates were lower than in nearby Van Buren Township.
FLOCK CEO, TECH RIVAL CALLED OUT TO TESTIFY BEFORE SENATORS OVER AI CAMERA PRIVACY CONCERNS
Flock described Eugene, Oregon, as «the most telling case.»
«Flock cameras ran through October 2025, then were removed,» the report says. «Motor-vehicle-theft clearance fell from 15% to 9%; burglary clearance dropped from 21% to 15%.
«Nearby Medford, still running Flock, cleared 29% of vehicle thefts & 25% of burglaries over the same period.»
But not everyone is singing Flock’s praises.
Skeptical communities nationwide have petitioned their local governments to do away with the technology. Some argue that it is intrusive and unnecessary, while others say it’s unconstitutional.
On Thursday, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that a police deputy who used Flock to access a woman’s driving history over the previous month, and then used the historical data to pull her over, violated her Fourth Amendment rights. She was in possession of 91 pounds of methamphetamine at the time of the stop.
FORMER SECRET SERVICE CYBERCRIME EXPERT WEIGHS IN ON PRIVACY AFTER HACKERS BREACH STOLEN FLOCK CAMERA
Chad Marlow is a senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where his focus is privacy and surveillance.
He argued there’s not necessarily causation between implementing Flock cameras and solving crimes.
«It’s a different city. It’s a different size. What were the auto theft rates beforehand? What are the poverty rates in that city?» he asked. «What are the philosophies of the police department? Like, how many police are dedicated to trying to prevent or solve car thefts in one city versus the other?»
Privacy is a major question surrounding Flock cameras, and many places are having a robust debate on the level of surveillance they want on their streets, and whether their data should be collected by a private company working in tandem with the police.
«I think a common misconception is that when the car goes past the camera, and it captures the image of the back of the vehicle and the license plate, which is all it does, you can’t see who’s driving the car, you can’t see who the passenger is. It just captures the back of the car and the license plate,» Arnold explained.
INNOCENT WOMAN SAYS POLICE USE OF FLOCK CAMERA LED TO 13 DAYS IN JAIL
He added that the data is not accessed except when law enforcement is searching for a suspect, and that police officers need a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) report or a case report number to access any data. The data is retained for 30 days, according to Arnold.
But cases of police officers using ALPR technology for purposes outside its law enforcement scope are piling up. A Washington Post analysis identified at least 50 cases of rogue officers abusing the tool, with many cases involving stalking of ex-lovers.
Meanwhile, the constitutionality of the surveillance remains up for debate.
«The Constitution establishes our right to privacy, and it establishes that people’s personal effects and their private information cannot be accessed by the government without a warrant, without probable cause,» Marlow said, noting that it’s not just Flock Safety using ALPR technology, and that companies like Axon and Motorola sell the technology, too.
«But it’s very fair for Americans to look out and be like, ‘You know what, If I’m not accused of doing anything wrong, I don’t want the government tracking everywhere I go in my vehicle for days, weeks, months, or even years. I don’t want that happening, and even if the Constitution says it’s allowed, I don’t want my laws saying it’s allowed.’»
Arnold told Digital that Flock is open to government regulation of the tools.
«We want legislation passed,» he said. «Our CEO, Garrett Langley called, gosh, probably a month-and-a-half ago, asking legislators to please … put the laws in place that will regulate this.
«We want it regulated. We don’t want people misusing the system. We’ve seen this in the news.»
He added: «Nobody dislikes a bad officer more than a good officer.»
Marlow says the company is asking for regulation to save its business amid the backlash it has recently received.
«Flock suddenly coming to the table now is because they have no choice,» he said, noting that company only recently declared that it would drop the standard data retention period to 30 days. «Flock didn’t do that because it suddenly got a conscience, [or] it’s suddenly decided to be ethical. It did it because it needed a PR bump.»
The bottom line for Arnold is that the tool helps police officers, and that help is desperately needed.
«It’s so good for the manpower of a police department, you know? Most police departments across the country are a little shorthanded. Not everybody wants to be the police anymore. So it truly does help in those cases,» Arnold said. «It is a tool that is a force multiplier for sure, and I’ve seen that firsthand being a chief of police using the technology.»
security, cameras, topics, crime world, privacy, police and law enforcement, politics
INTERNACIONAL
Honduras: Represa Los Laureles alcanza casi el 100% de su capacidad y UMAPS prueba trasvase hacia La Concepción
La represa Los Laureles alcanzó el 95.52 % de su capacidad tras las lluvias registradas en las últimas semanas, una recuperación que contrasta con la situación de La Concepción, que apenas almacena el 40.24 % de su volumen total, según el informe hidrológico del sábado 10 de octubre.
Ante la diferencia entre los niveles de ambos embalses, la Unidad Municipal de Agua Potable y Saneamiento (UMAPS) comenzó las pruebas preliminares de un sistema de trasvase que permitirá trasladar agua acumulada en Los Laureles hacia el sistema de abastecimiento vinculado con La Concepción.
La medida busca aprovechar el excedente de agua disponible en la primera represa y fortalecer las reservas de la segunda, con miras a mejorar la disponibilidad del recurso durante los próximos meses.
Los datos de la UMAPS muestran una recuperación significativa de Los Laureles, que llegó al 95.52 % de su capacidad volumétrica máxima y se ubicó en la categoría de riesgo bajo.
La situación de La Concepción es diferente. Aunque las lluvias han contribuido a mejorar las condiciones hídricas de la capital, el embalse mantiene un almacenamiento equivalente al 40.24 % de su capacidad, por lo que continúa clasificado en riesgo alto.
Esta diferencia representa un desafío para la administración del agua potable en Tegucigalpa y Comayagüela, debido a que las reservas disponibles no se han recuperado de manera uniforme en los principales sistemas de captación.
¿Cómo funcionará el trasvase de agua?
El gerente de la UMAPS, Raúl Lanza, confirmó que ya comenzaron las pruebas preliminares de la infraestructura destinada a trasladar agua entre ambos sistemas.
El mecanismo consiste en aprovechar los excedentes almacenados en Los Laureles y conducirlos mediante una tubería de interconexión hacia el sistema relacionado con La Concepción, en lugar de permitir que parte del agua salga por el canal de alivio sin ser aprovechada para el abastecimiento.
Según la información proporcionada por la institución, la tubería se encuentra en fase experimental y opera con un caudal de 518 litros por segundo.
“Debido a la rápida y contundente recuperación de los niveles de los embalses por el temporal lluvioso, estamos iniciando de forma responsable las pruebas preliminares del trasvase”, explicó Lanza.
El funcionario agregó que el objetivo es aprovechar el agua acumulada en Los Laureles para fortalecer el sistema de La Concepción y contribuir al equilibrio del abastecimiento en los hogares de la capital.
La operación busca mejorar el aprovechamiento del recurso hídrico disponible en los embalses, especialmente cuando uno de ellos registra niveles elevados mientras el otro mantiene reservas considerablemente menores.
La UMAPS informó que continuará con el monitoreo de las represas durante las próximas 48 horas, debido a la persistencia de las condiciones lluviosas y las alertas climáticas.
La vigilancia permitirá dar seguimiento a la evolución de los niveles de almacenamiento y a las condiciones operativas de las estructuras hidráulicas, mientras avanzan las pruebas del sistema de interconexión.
El aprovechamiento del excedente de Los Laureles también busca reducir la cantidad de agua que sale por el canal de alivio cuando el embalse alcanza niveles elevados. No obstante, la operación deberá desarrollarse conforme a las condiciones técnicas y de seguridad de la infraestructura.
Las pruebas preliminares serán determinantes para evaluar el funcionamiento del trasvase y establecer las condiciones necesarias para su operación.
El traslado de agua hacia La Concepción representa una alternativa para mejorar la distribución de las reservas entre los sistemas que abastecen el Distrito Central.
La medida podría contribuir a estabilizar progresivamente los calendarios de distribución de agua potable en más de 800 colonias de Tegucigalpa y Comayagüela, aunque los resultados dependerán del funcionamiento del sistema, de la evolución de las lluvias y de la recuperación de La Concepción.
corresponsal:Desde Tegucigalpa, Honduras
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More than two decades after being elected to what was supposed to be a four-year term, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has once again postponed elections, extending a nearly 20-year wait for voters to choose a new legislature.
Abbas issued a decree Friday pushing Palestinian Legislative Council elections from next month to Sept. 11, 2027, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. Presidential elections, which have not been held since Abbas’ 2005 victory, are also scheduled for that date.
The delay allows Palestinian leaders to remain in power without facing voters and could further damage the credibility of the Palestinian Authority, which has faced criticism over corruption and its security cooperation with Israel.
NICARAGUA’S ORTEGA SAYS COUNTRY WILL ‘NEVER AGAIN’ HOLD ELECTIONS, SHUTTING OUT OPPOSITION
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends the inauguration ceremony of the Innovation and Excellence Compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
The Palestinian Authority, dominated by Abbas’ Fatah party, governs parts of the West Bank under agreements reached in the 1990s.
Palestinian officials cited conditions in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem as reasons for postponing the vote. The Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, which Abbas heads, claimed Israel had blocked election materials and international observers from entering Gaza, according to The Associated Press.
An Israeli army vehicle patrols along the border with the northern Gaza Strip, seen from the Israeli side in southern Israel on Jan. 16, 2026. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected the claim, accusing Abbas of trying to shift blame for the delay.
Abbas’ «attempt to drag Israel into this, falsely claiming that Israel imposed obstacles to holding elections, is yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability,» Saar wrote on X.
Hamas, meanwhile, welcomed the postponement, calling it «a step in the right direction» and urging further talks on rebuilding Palestinian institutions before holding elections.
Palestinians last held legislative elections in 2006, when Hamas won a majority of seats. Israel and Western countries subsequently boycotted the Hamas-led government, fueling unrest that ended with Hamas taking control of Gaza in 2007.
IRAN REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR HAMAS AS TRUMP PUSHES TO DISARM TERROR GROUP
Since then, Hamas has controlled Gaza while Abbas’ Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority has governed parts of the West Bank.
The postponed election also threatened to bring new challenges to Abbas’ leadership. Before the delay, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and a faction led by Mohammed Dahlan, a former Fatah security chief who fell out with Abbas, had been discussing an unlikely political alliance.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas holds leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the West Bank, April 23, 2025. (Reuters/Mohammed Torokman)
«Abbas is terrified by the electoral alliance bringing our faction together with opposition factions and forces within Fatah that reject his leadership,» Dimitri Dilliani, a spokesperson for Dahlan’s faction, said in a statement.
The decision comes as the Palestinian Authority’s future role in Gaza remains uncertain under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan reached last year.
The plan calls for the authority to eventually play a role in Gaza, but its immediate responsibilities remain unclear. Hamas continues to govern the territory, while a committee of Palestinian technocrats remains in Cairo awaiting permission to enter Gaza and oversee a transition of power.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
world politics, middle east, elections, hamas, world
INTERNACIONAL
Hollywood jobs flee overseas as Congress scrambles to stop production exodus — with Trump’s blessing
Congress is scrambling to stop one of the United States’ most iconic industries from fleeing overseas and taking thousands of jobs along with it.
The U.S. TV and film industry has been hemorrhaging work for years as production companies and movie studios flee to places like Europe and Canada for friendlier tax regimes and other attractive financial policies. It prompted President Donald Trump to publicly call on Congress to pass legislation aimed at incentivizing entertainment studios to bring their production back home — and an unlikely alliance of lawmakers is heeding the call.
A new bill that could potentially end up in a bipartisan tax package at the end of this year would push film and TV studios to bring their productions back to the U.S. via new tax incentives, with extra support if they choose to bring development to rural communities.
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«Since I was a child, I was moved and inspired by the stories of America’s greatness, by living out the American dream, and by the notion that I could do and achieve anything in this world, if I set my mind to it, and most of that was driven by a whole lot of American-made movies,» Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, told Digital. «I want this next generation to be inspired the same way, and I do not want American storytelling to go overseas, to be diluted by values from overseas.»
Moran’s East Texas congressional district is largely rural and a far cry from the Sunset Strip that was home to much of America’s filmmaking history.
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He’s one of the House lawmakers leading the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, a bill aimed at bringing film and TV jobs back to the U.S. by creating a federal tax credit for domestic productions. It would further incentivize studios to film in rural areas with added financial benefits in areas deemed to be federal opportunity zones.
«This bill is extremely important to send a message that American storytelling does not just happen in California or New York. It happens all over America, including rural America,» Moran said.
The bill is notably led in the Senate by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a top Trump foe, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., one of the president’s biggest supporters in the chamber.
Moran’s House colleagues who are helping to spearhead the bill include Reps. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, Brian Jack, R-Ga., Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y.
‘AMERICAN IDOL’ DITCHES HOLLYWOOD FOR GEORGIA AFTER TWO DECADES AS CALIFORNIA LOSES ANOTHER PRODUCTION
Suozzi told Digital that his home state was «watching good-paying jobs and production move overseas,» adding, «We can’t let that happen.»
«Democrats and Republicans agree we need to keep these jobs here,» Suozzi said.
FILM PRODUCER SAYS ‘MADE IN AMERICA’ MOVIES CAN HELP REVIVE HOLLYWOOD’S STRUGGLING INDUSTRY
But some, particularly on the right, might bristle at the prospect of awarding more lenient tax policies to an industry they perceive as having a longtime liberal bias — something Moran pushed back on.
Moran said his state, for example, was home to «conservative,» «faith-based,» and «patriotic» entertainment production that was also creating jobs and stimulating local economies.
«So I would say to those that are challenging this, I would say, well, do you want to see the stories and the movies and the TV productions that we watch go overseas, and be influenced by the culture and the values of other countries, somewhere else that do not love freedom like we do in America?» he posed.
But the end of this congressional term is fast approaching, and getting anything passed after the November election will be an uphill battle.
«I feel confident that there will be some kind of bipartisan tax package during the lame-duck session, and my hope would be that this, or a version of this bill, makes it into the final text,» Moran said.
politics, entertainment, republicans elections, congress
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Abbas delays Palestinian elections again, making more than two decades without vote
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