This week’s guide to government and politics in under 10 minutes

Happy Monday. It’s National S’mores Day, the one time it’s good to be in a sticky situation. 🍫🔥⛺

Voters in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin have primaries this week. 

I AT LEAST 50 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS CHARGED FOR MISUSING FLOCK CAMERAS

A Washington Post investigation found at least 50 law enforcement officers nationwide have been charged with misusing Flock surveillance cameras to spy on wives, girlfriends, exes, exes’ new partners, or women they wanted to meet in 29 of those cases. Flock has more than 120,000 cameras in more than 6,000 communities, scanning and recording 20 billion license plates each month. The company’s quick-start leasing deals cost around $3,000 per camera per year. The Post’s investigation found that Flock gives departments wide latitude regarding settings designed to protect privacy and that many departments conduct limited oversight of officer searchers. Company documents from Flock show the company told agencies they could set their “own written rules for who can access the system and how it can be used.” Officers don’t need a warrant to search the Flock database, just a license plate number. 

>> Dig deeper into the debate about Flock cameras here. 

I NEW BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER

President Donald Trump signed two new executive orders limiting birthright citizenship last week. The first prohibits babies born to members of foreign terrorist groups or employees of foreign governments from being eligible for birthright citizenship. The second removes automatic citizenship for babies whose parents engaged in “birth tourism,” a term referring to pregnant foreigners visiting the U.S. to give birth so their babies can have U.S. citizenship. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 0.3% of U.S. births are attributed to mothers listing their primary address outside the country. The orders follow a 6-3 Supreme Court decision rejecting a previous executive order that would have excluded babies born to parents in the country illegally from receiving automatic citizenship. 

>> Find out more about the Supreme Court’s decision here.

 I GLOBAL FOOD PRICES AT THREE-YEAR HIGH

Summer heatwaves and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have pushed global food prices to their highest level in three years, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO index tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities. It found cereal prices rose by 3.4% month over month in July, including a 5.4% increase in wheat costs and a 3.6% increase in corn prices. Sugar prices increased 5.6%, and vegetable oil prices rose by 2%. 

>> Explore the connection between extreme weather and the cost of food here.

I SPACEX-ROCKET CRASHES INTO THE MOON

An 8,800-pound SpaceX rocket booster crashed into the surface of the moon last Wednesday. The crash was not planned. The rocket hit the lunar surface at a speed of around 5,400 miles per hour. The collision has sparked discussion about the rise in space debris as the number of space launches increases. There were about 300 rockets launched last year, about four times as many as happened 10 years ago. 

>> Find out more about the collision and space debris here.

I ICE SAYS BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE TO BE RELEASED ONLY WHEN IN AGENCY’S BEST INTERESTS

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will equip officers with body cameras over the next two months. However, the agency’s body camera policy could mean much of that footage will be kept in the dark. The policy says that ICE will release video of shootings and other encounters in which agents cause death or serious injury only after determining “it is in the best interests of the agency” to do so, giving its director wide discretion on when to release footage. The policy requires officers to activate cameras during enforcement activities, including while making arrests, responding to emergencies, and executing search warrants. The agency spent $30.9 million to purchase body camera equipment in July. ICE says that about half of its officers already have cameras and the rest will have them by the end of September. 

>> Understand your rights when interacting with ICE agents here.

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