🇺🇸 🇨🇺A group of US Cuban activists are marching throughout the country to protest against Washington’s longtime embargo on the island nation and draw attention to the suffering it has caused, group leader Carlos Lazo tells Sputnik.

The White House has slammed the Cuban government for its crackdown on protests amid the country's economic crisis and on Tuesday even threatened to sanction officials. President Joe Biden last week said the US would not allow Americans to send money to relatives in Cuba.

The US FBI has used at least 12 "informers" in an alleged conspiracy to kidnap the Michigan governor.

Defense lawyers said it was the agents who “prompted or persuaded” the defendants to agree to the kidnapping scheme.

Social media users provided their own views, suggesting the kidnapping scheme was allegedly designed to harm the image of American conservatives and put the blame on ex-president Trump in particular.

😏 It appears that in the case of the Whitmer kidnapping, the FBI could have stopped the scheme before it ever began. The question is, if this is true, then why didn't they?

🔥Nothing special, just a diabolically red Sun in the skies over Southampton, New York.

Check out some news you may have missed:

▪️A massive Oregon wildfire has grown so large and intense that it is beginning to change weather patterns, and prompt air quality alerts for individuals on the East Coast.

▪️Hunter Biden reportedly planned to establish a DC-based consultancy firm jointly with his brother Beau and father Joe Biden in 2014, the Daily Mail reported, citing emails from Hunter’s alleged laptop.

▪️A senior US clergyman has resigned following a report that he used a dating app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people and went to gay bars.

▪️The Biden administration has "quietly urged" Ukraine not to criticise a US-German agreement on Nord Stream 2, a report by Politico says.

▪️Texas Democrat Michelle Beckley has been slammed over a tweet praising her own bravery – she fled to DC to deny the GOP a quorum on voting rights bills.

#URGENT: Sanctions against Nord Stream 2 project are inefficient at the current stage as the pipeline is almost complete, State Department adviser Derek Chollet told RBC Ukraine in an interview published on Wednesday.

According to the adviser, Washington and Berlin will soon announce an agreement on Nord Stream 2, noting that the two sides are working to ensure that Ukraine remains a transit country for years to come.

#URGENT: UK citizen arrested in Spain over 2020 Twitter hack - US Justice Department

British man Joseph O’Connor was arrested by authorities in Estepona, Spain on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old is facing “multiple charges in connection with the July 2020 hack of Twitter that resulted in the compromise of over 130 Twitter accounts, including those belonging to politicians, celebrities and companies,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

His charges also include computer intrusions related to takeovers of TikTok and Snapchat user accounts and for cyberstalking a juvenile victim.

If convicted, O’Connor will be sentenced in the US.

😳 This California Democrat sure has a taste for the high life.

Representative Eric Swalwell’s campaign spent tens of thousands of dollars on expensive restaurants and hotels, liquor delivery and limo services during the second quarter of this year, data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reveals.

Here are some numbers:

🔸The Democrat spent more than $10,000 on 26 rides from various limousine and luxury car providers, and more than $26,000 on stylish hotels.

🔸As for his amazing thirst for alcoholic stimulants, in nine consecutive orders ranging from $5.79 to $124.86, the lawmaker spent $566 on "Food & Beverage" in Boston, Massachusetts, through the liquor delivery service Drizly.

🔸The 40-year-old also spent $1,151 on "Refreshments" from seven excursions to Capitol Hill Wine and Spirits, and more than $4,400 on "Catering" and "Refreshments" at two California wineries on the same day.

🔸Another $7,000 was spent in Washington, DC at restaurants and steakhouses. Swalwell allegedly ate at Charlie Palmer Steak, O-Ku Sushi, STK Steakhouse in downtown New York City, and other exclusive restaurants for a total of 13 meals.

Overall, the campaign shelled out more than $500,000 – all for just a second quarter of 2021.

⚡️🇺🇸🇩🇪Under the new Nord Stream 2 agreement, Germany will press the EU to take measures, including sanctions, to limit Russian exports in Europe, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland says. Under the deal, Berlin will seek a 10-year extension of the gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine that expires in 2024.

NASA officials present early science and a preview of a sample collection from Mars.

Watch #LIVE: https://sptnkne.ws/GQ3r

#BREAKING | US State Dept on Nord Stream 2 deal with Germany: It was not worth risking bilateral relations with key ally

🤔 Israel’s NSO Group has claimed that its surveillance technology doesn’t work against smartphones based in the US.

Edward Snowden thinks differently.

DETAILS: https://sptnkne.ws/GQrX

Harvey Weinstein, who is serving his 23-year sentence, pleaded not guilty to crimes for which he faces an additional 140 years.

Harvey's lawyers nevertheless accuse the court of bias, and also say that the current term is already life imprisonment, as he is 69 years old and his health is deteriorating