Shocking footage shows thousands of migrants crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas – despite Joe Biden vowing to crack down on the influx.

More than 2,200 people crossed the river from Coahuila into Eagle Pass in a tactic pushed by drug lords to deliberately overwhelm U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

By tying up crucial resources, it leaves Mexico’s cartels free to carry out human trafficking and smuggling operations uninterrupted.

As midnight approached the group could be seen wading through the deep waters to reach the other side, much to the surprise of some local Mexican residents.

One could be heard on camera exclaiming how only a small portion of the group were crossing at that one moment – with hundreds more following behind. 

By the time daylight arrived, the group were being rounded up by Border Patrol as they huddled under a bridge in Eagle Pass.

The footage was shot in Piedras Negras, the Mexican town which lies directly across the river from Eagle Pass.

The flagrant breaking of immigration rules took place next to the port of entry as those crossing the border thumbed their noses at the Biden Administration.

It was March 2021 when Biden pleaded with those thinking of making the journey to the U.S. ‘do not come’ with the threat of  ‘consequences’ for those crossing illegally.

‘I can say quite clearly: Don’t come. We’re in the process of getting set up, don’t leave your town or city or community,’ Biden said.

This latest wave of migrants who are mainly Venezeulan are believed to have travelled up through Panama.

Similar scenes have been witnessed along the border with towns and federal processing centers are now at overcapacity as a crush of crossings cripples the nation.

Last week there were more than 7,000 illegal crossings across the U.S.-Mexico border on several days. 

Nearly 500 miles away from Eagle Pass in El Paso, a similar surge was experiences as 1,700 migrants crossed in a 24-hour period. 

The migrants would then line up along the border wall and surrender to officers to then claim asylum in the US.

About 500 asylum-seekers mainly from Venezuela lined up at El Paso on Monday, reported KVIA.

Over the last week the region has seen a spike in encounters with 1,200 on average coming over each day. 4,200 migrants are being housed in local hotels rather than shelters.

Across the border as a whole, as many 9,400 migrants have crossed into the US in a single 24-hour period – almost equalling figures seen in May before the end of Title 42 which saw 10,000 people come into the country each day. 

‘The way it’s being orchestrated through the cartels, I believe it’s meant to overwhelm the system. The [places] that are being impacted the most are border communities,’ former El Paso City Councilmember Claudia Rodriquez told The New York Post. 

No street releases have been made in the El Paso region unlike in California and Arizona. 

Last week, photos depicted at least three white unmarked Border Patrol buses filled with migrants parked in San Diego.

It led to several hundred people being released onto the streets. One migrant was even told by an agent: ‘You’re free to go on and do wherever you want. You’re free.’

He asked: ‘It’s no problem if I go to Chicago?’

‘You can do whatever you want,’ the official replied. 

Border Patrol in San Diego has reportedly been dealing with 20,000 migrants in custody last week – 5,000 more than facilities can manage.

It can’t accommodate more than 15,000 migrants and migrants are being released onto the streets to fend for themselves after being processed at the border.

Similar migrant releases took place in Tucson, Arizona, with agents coming across 2,000 people a day and dealing with packed shelters. 

In Texas, State Representative Eddie Morales says the migrants made the trek by hopping on trains.

‘It’s obviously a security issue, we have concerns over their safety and we need to address this in the most – expeditious manner,’ Morales said to News4SA. 

‘Under U.S. immigration laws, most non-citizens coming to our border are not eligible to remain in the United States. Asylum laws do not provide for relief solely for economic reasons or for general violence,’ U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) tweeted on Monday.

After the public health order known as Title 42 was lifted in May 11, CBP says the U.S.  ‘returned to fully enforcing Title 8 immigration authorities to expeditiously process and remove individuals who arrive at the U.S. border unlawfully and do not have a legal basis to stay.’ 

Texas Congressman also Terry Gonzales also shared similar frustrations.

‘Eagle Pass is completely overrun right now. El Paso is getting overwhelmed right now. Arizona is getting overwhelmed right now.

‘The only way we can regain control of the southern border is by enforcing the laws that are on the books. That’s exactly what the administration needs to do. That’s exactly what Congress needs to focus on.

‘All Americans deserve to feel safe in their own communities and right now they do no. A lot of folks see it on TV and they think it will never happen to them. Well I’m here to tell you it’s already happening, whether you’re in New York, whether you’re in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles.

‘These folks that are coming over illegally, they’re coming to all parts of the country. It’s only going to get worse.’

One day earlier, a cargo train filled to the brim with migrants was spotted speeding toward the Mexican border with the United States. 

Astounding footage of the FerroMex train was shot as the locomotive with hundreds in tow could be seen coming out of the Central Mexican city of Zacatecas as it made its way northbound on the 750-mile journey toward the U.S.

Container after container could be seen filled with migrants getting an easy ride as the goods train zoomed by. 

There was whistling and cheering from those on board as the group hitched a ride. Some of the travelers could even be seen hanging out from the sides of the train.

The train was headed for the U.S. southern border – where in the southwest, roughly 2 million migrants have already made their way into America in 2023. Border towns have been crushed by the influx thanks to the lax border policies of the Biden administration. 

The migrants looked to have prepared themselves for a long journey with many having erected tents and canvas over portions of the containers in a bid to shield themselves from the elements. 

The videos comes as the latest figures from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol show a rise in the number of encounters with migrants at the Southern Border.

In July there were almost 184,000 migrant crossings into the U.S. – up from 144,000 encounters with border patrol from June.

Although the figures rose on a month-by-month basis, the numbers are still well below that of previous years when in 2021 and 2022 more than 200,000 crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.

The U.S. border has seen a flood of migrants from across the world, not just Central and South American nations such as Venezuela and Mexico. There have been migrants from China and other places entering via the porous southern border.

The 2022 fiscal year saw record-breaking numbers of encounters with migrants at the Southwest border with 2,378,944 reported crossings from October to September.

In 2023, through July, there have been 1,973,092 – many of them coming as Title 42 expired.

The number of migrant crossings in August is set to exceed 230,000, according to Fox News.  

Most migrant encounters are single adults, at 64.9 percent, but almost 600,000 are individuals in a family unit and there have been 109,298 unaccompanied minors crossing the border.

Issues of overcapacity are happening all across the southern border. Along with Tucson – street releases are happening in the San Diego sector and in Santa Cruz County, California.

Texas has also been using razor wire to block migrants illegally entering as it battles a challenge from the Biden administration seeking to stop it from building a buoy barrier in the Rio Grande.

The Lone Star State has also been busing migrants to ‘sanctuary cities’ such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles in order to give border towns some relief.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott argues that Texas cities have carried the weight of illegal immigration and ‘sanctuary cities’ need to share that burden.

‘Texas has bused over 35,000 migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities,’ he wrote earlier this month on  Twitter.

‘Over 11,300 to D.C., over 13,300 to NYC, over 6,700 to Chicago, over 2,600 to Philadelphia, over 1,000 to Denver, over 480 to LA.’

 

People from the African nations of Senegal, Mauritania, Ghana, Sudan are part of the migrants who have recently made crossings into the U.S. from Mexico.

Cochise County, Arizona, is being slammed with waves of migrants bussed from other counties after crossing the border amid President Joe Biden‘s lax policies.

‘The intellectual avoidance and abandonment with intended consequences’ by those leaders in Washington, DC, reference our southern border continues to be a slippery slope for those doing everything we can to protect our quality of life here in Cochise County!’ Sheriff Mark Dannels said.

‘The migrants being released are from outside Cochise County but were bussed to Cochise County, processed and then released,’ Daniels noted in a Facebook post.

‘I applaud the local [Customs and Border Protections] agents and their leadership for doing all they legally can during this on-going crisis.’

It’s unclear exactly how many migrants the processing facilities in Tucson can accommodate or how many have been transported to other locations such as Cochise County.

Republican firebrand Lauren Boebert‘s new beau, who was caught on camera fondling her breasts at a Beetlejuice musical, owns a gay-friendly bar that hosts drag shows. 

Boebert has been an outspoken critic of drag, claiming it offends her Christian beliefs and tweeting statements such as ‘Take your children to CHURCH, not drag bars.’ 

But she appears happy to indulge in public heavy-petting with Quinn Gallagher, who is believed to be a Democrat and who cashes in on drag performances. 

The Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar in Aspen, co-owned by Gallagher, staged ‘a winter Wonderland Burlesque & Drag Show,’ according to social media posts. 

Aspen Gay Ski Week hosted ‘an evening of cocktails, appetizers, and laughs’ at Hooch in January 2020 according to a Facebook post. 

The US Representative, who became a grandma earlier this year aged 36, courted controversy for fondling Gallagher at a theater in Denver Sunday night. Toe-curling footage showed Gallagher rubbing Boebert’s breasts as she tugged at his crotch. 

Footage also showed Boebert waving her hands, singing loudly, using flash photography and vaping before being aggressive with staff who removed her from the theater. 

The controversial congresswoman initially denied the claims, claimed the vape smoke was actually from a fog machine and issued a sarcastic statement playing down the anger.

But she made a startling U-turn late Friday night blaming her behavior on her ‘public and difficult divorce.’ 

‘The past few days have been difficult and humbling, and I’m truly sorry’ she wrote in a statement. 

‘There’s no perfect blueprint for going through a public and difficult divorce, which over the past few months has made a challenging personal time for me and my entire family.’ 

Boebert’s divorce from Jason, 36, her husband of 18 years and father to her four children, is ongoing after the couple’s shock split in May.

At the time Boerbert insisted that she had always been faithful throughout her marriage.

DailyMail.com revealed on Wednesday that Boebert, and Gallagher, a divorced father of a 16-year-old son, have been secretly dating for several months.

According to a well-placed source: ‘It’s very surprising. I always thought Quinn was a cool guy and a Democrat. His parents would be horrified because they are definitely blue.’

Pictures obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com show her new boyfriend Gallagher in his hometown on the outskirts of Aspen where he owns Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar with partner Pat Flannigan.

The pair opened the bar billed as ‘rustic and unpretentious,’ in April 2016, and became co-owners last year.

In her statement, the sophomore congresswoman said: ‘It is with a heavy weight on my heart that I have filed for divorce from my husband.

‘I am grateful for our years of marriage together and for our beautiful children, all of whom deserve privacy and love as we work through this process.

‘I’ve always been faithful in my marriage, and I believe strongly in marriage, which makes this announcement that much more difficult.’

It is not clear when Gallagher and Boebert’s relationship became romantic, but the bar owner originally comes from the congresswoman’s hometown of Rifle, Colorado, and still has family there.

It is just a stone’s throw from the controversial congresswoman’s home in Silt.

Surveillance footage from Sunday night’s incident shows Boebert, wearing a tight, low-cut gold dress and high heels, making a considerable fuss as she and Gallagher left – taking a selfie as she leaves the auditorium and angrily baring her teeth at staff.

She also gave ushers the finger. The Denver Post spoke to a pregnant woman who says she was sitting behind Boebert, but who was too scared to give her name for fear of MAGA-reprisals. 

The woman claims Boebert said ‘no,’ when asked to stop vaping, sang with her hands in the air, blew vape smoke at her, kissed her date and took repeated videos during the show. Boebert is also said to have told the complainer she was a ‘miserable’ person.

The eyewitness claims she asked to move seats in the intermission – and that staff at the theater said theirs wasn’t the only complaint about the erratic lawmaker. 

The woman also told the Post that Boebert’s lover Gallagher offered to buy them cocktails as a peace offering, which she had to decline because of her pregnancy.

An incident report noted the two received a warning at intermission about their behavior.

But five minutes into the second act, security officials received another complaint about a person being loud and recording the show.

‘They told me they would not leave,’ an usher said, according to the report.

‘I told them that they need to leave the theater and if they do not, they will be trespassing.

‘The patrons said they would not leave. I told them I would (be) going to get Denver Police. They said go get them.’

Afterwards, Boebert and her smartly-dressed date were caught on camera walking off through the empty nighttime streets of Denver.

Once outside Boebert’s indignation quickly dissipates as she holds her new lover’s hand, dances coquettishly and twirls for him in the street as they make their way through the city – a three-hour drive from Gallagher’s home near Aspen and even further from Boebert’s home in Silt, Colorado.

The Department of Justice pulled a last-minute maneuver to block an FBI agent allegedly involved in Big Tech’s suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story from testifying before Congress. 

The House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether Hunter Biden’s laptop was downplayed by social media companies. As part of the probe, Chairman Jim Jordan uncovered that an FBI agent involved in the saga – Elvis Chan – lied about the computer.

Chan had agreed to voluntarily appear Friday to provide the committee testimony and be represented by his personal counsel. 

Agency witnesses are allowed to bring either agency counsel or personal counsel to committee interviews, but not both. The rule is set up so agency witnesses can be more candid in testimony without fear of professional retribution, according to the committee.

But two sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell DailyMail.com that DOJ derailed the testimony because agency counsel also showed up Friday morning. As a result, Chan’s interview did not take place as planned.

Now, an official subpoena is expected to be issued later Friday for Chan to appear for a transcribed interview next Thursday, Sept. 21. 

The FBI disputed the claim that DOJ blocked Chan from testifying, calling it a ‘significant departure’ from normal procedures. And the DOJ said the committee blocked the interview, not them.

‘Today, after an FBI employee traveled across the country to voluntarily participate in a scheduled interview, he was denied the right to have his chosen legal counsel accompany him,’ an FBI spokesperson told DailyMail.com.

‘Upon arrival at the Capitol, Committee staff directed agency counsel to leave the premises, and the interview was unable to proceed. This is a significant departure from normal procedures and an unnecessary escalation of this Committee’s treatment of FBI officials. The FBI employee remains willing to take part in a voluntary interview with appropriate legal representation.’

‘The FBI recognizes the importance of congressional oversight and will continue to proceed in accordance with the long established accommodations process,’ the spokesperson continued.

The spokesperson also noted that more than a dozen other FBI employees have participated in interviews with the committee with no incident.

A Justice Department official told DailyMail.com that ‘DOJ did not block the interview, the Committee did.’

‘Agent Chan chose to be represented by both agency and personal counsel. He went to the Capitol this morning to testify and, instead of asking him questions, Committee staff turned him away and threatened to throw agency counsel out of the room.’ 

Last month, Jordan published excerpts of the testimony given by Chan, who served as one of the FBI’s liaisons with tech companies, and Laura Dehmlow, the current FBI section chief of the Foreign Influence Task Force.

Chan testified in November 2022 as part of Missouri and Louisiana‘s lawsuit against the federal government and the Biden administration for colluding with social media companies to censor speech.

Jordan said that Chan held a repeat meeting with Facebook about the laptop, but testified he had only had one session. He also testified that he was not aware of internal debate about the laptop, but told a colleague he was ‘up to speed.’

Dehmlow spoke to Jordan’s committee earlier this summer without incident. 

Jordan said that Dehmlow revealed how the FBI knew the laptop was not a forgery or plant, but refused to confirm its authenticity to social media companies. 

Jordan recently publicized internal Facebook documents have resulted in bombshell revelations about Hunter Biden’s laptop, arguing that it illustrated the FBI knew the laptop was authentic and belonged to him – but refused to confirm the fact to Facebook and Twitter.

That decision led to the New York Post’s report about the laptop being blocked by the social media companies, who labelled it as disinformation.

‘Internal FB docs reveal that an FBI Special Agent made false statements in testimony about the FBI’s role in the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story,’ tweeted Jordan last month.

Jordan explained in a Twitter thread how, on October 14, 2020, The New York Post published its first story about the laptop, which Biden had left behind in a Delaware repair shop.

The laptop contained damning pictures of Hunter doing drugs and enjoying the company of prostitutes. 

It also contained emails and massive amounts of information about his business dealings. 

On the day the Post published its story, Chan and Dehmlow met with representatives of Twitter and then Facebook.

Twitter’s team asked whether the FBI thought Hunter Biden’s laptop was real: one FBI representative replied yes, and then another quickly said: ‘No comment.’

Dehmlow told Jordan’s committee that there was then internal deliberations, and it was decided that the answer would be ‘no comment’ from then on.

At the next meeting, with Facebook, Dehmlow herself told Facebook ‘no comment’ when asked if the laptop was real.

‘It was an ongoing investigation, and we generally don’t comment on ongoing investigative matters when asked,’ she told Jordan’s committee.

Jordan on Monday declared: ‘Did Dehmlow know that the FBI had the laptop and it was real? Yes.

‘Did other key members of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force know? Yes.

‘The FBI knew the laptop was real and yet decided it would say ‘no comment.’

‘We know what happened next.

‘Twitter and Facebook censored the @nypost story.

‘The Biden campaign secretly set in motion the events that led to the 51 former intel officials discrediting the story as Russian disinformation.’

Jordan and his allies are convinced that the FBI was working to discredit the story, in a bid to downplay it and help Joe Biden’s electoral chances.

Jordan then singled out extracts from Chan’s testimony at the end of last year.

Chan was asked by the Missouri and Louisiana officials whether he had been involved in any meetings after October 14 with Facebook, where the Hunter Biden laptop was discussed.

Chan replied that he did not believe so.

‘I was confident that I was not a party to any meeting with social media companies where Hunter Biden was discussed outside of the one incident that I told you about,’ said Chan.

However, Jordan said that his committee ‘recently obtained an internal Facebook document PROVING that Agent Chan had a secret ‘follow up’ call with Facebook about the Hunter Biden laptop story on October 15, just one day after the @nypost story and the first Facebook meeting!’

Jordan noted that Chan also claimed that he had ‘no internal knowledge of [the FBI’s] investigation’ involving Hunter Biden’s laptop, but according to internal Facebook documents told a colleague he was ‘up to speed on the current state of the matter within the FBI.’

Jordan added: ‘Is there any wonder why the Biden DOJ has so far stonewalled the Committee’s efforts to interview Agent Chan?’

The committee still plans to get to the bottom of the ‘lie’ when Chan sits down with them next week.  

Drew Barrymore‘s suspected stalker Chad Michael Busto was released from prison after being arrested for trying to break into Emma Watson’s dressing room – as a hapless prosecutor said the celebrity prowler’s offense was not eligible to have bail set.  

Busto, 43, was arrested on Friday night after he tried to bust into Watson‘s dressing room during New York Fashion Week, but the alleged creeper is already out on supervised release.

The move comes less than a month after Busto was freed by a Southhampton judge after he was arrested and charged with fourth-degree after stalking actress Drew Barrymore. 

Busto turned up at the star’s Hamptons home on August 23, two days after confronting her at a live event at the 92nd Street Y. 

Busto, who failed to show for a fitting for his GPS monitor earlier this month now has an active warrant for his arrest, a Suffolk County representative confirmed with DailyMail.com.

Social media users have claimed Busto is known to target female celebrities including Amber Heard. Someone named ‘C. Michael Busto’ was booted from a Facebook fan group for the actress for ‘sexual harassment,’ ‘threats’ and ‘stalking,’ the Daily Beast reported.

Busto has a long criminal history, including an arrest in California, Georgia, Minnesota, Florida, and Wisconsin for disorderly conduct, trespassing and other crimes, according to Santa Monica Daily Press.

According to multiple police reports, Busto’s criminal record dates to June of 1999 and as recently as January of 2022. 

On August 21, Busto confronted Barrymore at an event at New York City’s 92nd Street Y during an interview with Reneé Rapp.

At the event, according to the New York Post, Busto shouted at Barrymore, ‘You know who I am! I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York!’

Busto was restrained from the stage by a guard on the premises as Rapp led Barrymore off the stage.

Two days later, he was taken into custody after he trespassed at the talk show host’s nearby luxury $6 million property in Sagaponeck.

Officials said he was seen scouring the Hamptons neighborhood looking for Barrymore’s home. The 48-year-old actress was not at the residence at the time he was apprehended, sources said. 

In an August 25 hearing at Southampton Town Justice Court, Judge Barbara Wilson released Busto – who was charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree stalking in the incident – under the condition he be fitted with a GPS tracker.

In the hearing, Busto told the court he was bankrupt and looking to live at a shelter. He said he was due to appear at a September 3 hearing in Texas in a federal court. 

Fourth-degree stalking is not a bail-qualifying offense in New York.

On Friday night, Busto was arrested again after he went looking for British star, Emma Watson, 33, at one of the fashion shows during New York Fashion week, TMZ reported. 

Busto reportedly entered a room at the Brooklyn Navy Yard located at 63 Flushing Avenue around 7:40pm demanding to see the Harry Potter star in a room bustling with models and makeup artists.

He shouted at onlookers as he pledged his love for the A-list celebrity.

‘I want to marry Emma Watson. Let me speak to Emma Watson,’ he reportedly said. ‘Let me take a photo with Emma Watson.’

Management called police and Busto was taken into custody and charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, one counts of trespassing and one count of criminal trespass in the third degree, according to a complaint obtained by DailyMail.com.

Several fashion shows were being held at the Navy Yard on Friday including, famed designer Ralph Lauren.

Though it is unclear if Watson was in the dressing room or at the fashion show during the ambush, the news outlet reported.

The Brooklyn DA’s office said Busto was held overnight at central booking after his arrest and was arraigned this week at Brooklyn Court before his release.

Busto is being represented by Jessica Kovac, an attorney with Legal Aid Brooklyn. Brooklyn Justice Initiative is handling Busto’s supervised release.

Kovac she did not respond to MailOnline.com requests for comment.

A Suffolk County representative told DailyMail.com on Thursday they were aware of Busto’s latest offense.

‘Brooklyn is out of our jurisdiction and we were unable to pursue the defendant due to the bail laws on a misdemeanor,’ a rep said.

They did confirm the warrant for his arrest on was still active. 

 Busto’s next court date is October 10 at Kings County Criminal Court in Brooklyn, for the Watson case, The New York Post reported. 

Busto told DailyMail.com he had crossed paths with Barrymore around 10 years ago, and was hoping to be in a romance with her. 

A source close to Barrymore said that the actress was not rattled by the disturbing series of events.

‘Drew feels good, feels safe, and even at the moment, it happened so fast she was OK and didn’t stress about it,’ the source said. ‘She has moved on from the incident as she knows that people were there to protect her.’

The source continued: ‘The one thing she didn’t want to happen was to make the incident the thing that was remembered for the night, so she forgot about it as soon as it was over, and she continued talking to Renee and revert the attention back to the conversation, that is what was important for Drew.

‘She is not going to change the way she runs her life and protects herself, all those things are and have been set for her during her entire life, and she doesn’t want anyone to worry about her wellb

Though it is unclear what Barrymore’s reaction is in wake of the latest news on Busto, a source told DailyMail.com during last month’s incident that Barrymore is in good spirits and does not want to change the way she lives her life after the scary incident.

‘Drew feels good, feels safe, and even at the moment, it happened so fast she was OK and didn’t stress about it. She has moved on from the incident as she knows that people were there to protect her,’ the source said.

When DailyMail.com reached out to Barrymore’s agent and legal team on Thursday to find out how the star was doing in wake of the latest news on her alleged-stalker they did not hear back.

Everyday devices like smart speakers, doorbell cameras, TVs and even washing machines are spying on families, it has been revealed.

Research shows that standard household amenities are capturing and sharing private information with big tech firms such as Google, as well as Amazon, Facebook and TikTok.

It is believed the firms and their business partners are using the information to target people with advertising on smartphones and other devices.

The findings by Which? found companies appear to gather far more data than is needed for the product to function.

Google Nest smart home products, which include security cameras, smart speakers, doorbell cameras, heating control systems, gather a huge amount of location information on people who connect via smartphones using its Android operating system.

By contrast, these same Nest products gather much less information when the users connect to them via Apple’s iPhones.

Which? said: ‘It is not known why this additional data is collected. However, Google’s primary business is advertising and marketing, whereas Apple currently focuses on selling hardware.’

Experts looked at what information the devices require to set up an account, what data permissions their apps request and what activity marketing companies are tracking on people’s products.

Smart speakers are only supposed to listen when you want them to, but this is not always the extent of data collection.

For example, Bose smart speakers share user data with Meta, the parent company of Facebook.

Ezviz smart cameras and doorbells, which are sold by major retailers including Argos, had by far the most active tracking software.

This included sharing information with TikTok’s business marketing unit, as well as Pangle, which is a leading video advertising platform, Huawei, Google and Meta.

Every single smart camera and doorbell brand used tracking services from Google, while Blink and Ring also connected to parent company Amazon.

Which? said the spy and tracking functions are automatically activated by default. Consumers can opt out, but this requires changing the settings and could lead to aspects of the device or app no longer working.

Most smart TV menus are flooded with adverts, some personalised based on user data. While tracking is optional, Which? found that LG, Samsung and Sony bundle this up into an ‘accept all’ button.

LG wanted the most data of all the washing machine brands, including the customer’s name, date of birth, email, phone contact book, precise location and phone number.

Hoover wanted users’ contacts and phone numbers on Android devices. With Miele, tracking of precise location is enabled by default, and required to use its app.

A Which? survey found the data people were most concerned about being shared were their contacts and background location. This was followed by photos, phone number and precise location.

Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), companies must be transparent about the data they collect and how it is processed. The data collected must also be relevant and limited to what is necessary for the processing to take place.

However, the reasons for taking information are often too broad for consumers to appreciate, with companies claiming ‘legitimate interests’.

Which? policy director Rocio Concha said: ‘Firms should not collect more data than they need to provide the service that’s on offer, particularly if they are going to bury this important information in lengthy terms and conditions.

‘The Information Commissioner’s Office should consider updating guidelines to better protect consumers from accidentally giving up huge swathes of their own data without realising.’

Manufacturers argued they are transparent with customers about the use of their data. They argued that the data collected is used to improve devices and services.

Google said: ‘Google fully complies with applicable privacy laws and provides transparency to our users regarding the data we collect and how we use it.’

Amazon said: ‘We design our products to protect our customers’ privacy and security and to put our customers in control of their experience.

‘We never sell their personal data, and we never stop working to keep their information safe. We use data responsibly to deliver what our customers expect: products that they love and are always getting better.’ Other firms contacted by Which? did not respond.

A British couple on holiday in Crete have been accused of walking out of at least three tavernas without paying.

The couple whose identity is not known are reported to have happily tucked into food and drinks before complaining loudly about their meals and refusing to pay.

They are said to have stormed off without settling their bills in at least three restaurants on separate nights around the village of Koutouloufari in the north of the idyllic Greek island.

The couple are believed to have last struck at the Ariadni Apartments restaurant which is acclaimed for its fine pizzas, seafood and traditional Greek food.

An outraged member of staff posted their picture on Facebook, along with message stating: ‘Keep an eye on this couple. After finishing their meal, they refuse to pay the bill.

‘We are third restaurant so far where they have tried this tactic. It’s good restaurant owners in the village communicate with each other so we know what to expect.’

The post on the Facebook group Koutouloufari For Ever attracted more than 200 comments including many from outraged British holidaymakers and ex-pats accusing the couple of heaping shame on the UK.

One woman rushed to defend the restaurant, posting: ‘Such beautiful people and place!! Shame on you.’

Another furiously posted: ‘How disgusting. How could anyone do such a thing to the lovely people around the area.

‘It’s people like that who give us English a bad name. I see it has been shared on the posts that I am a member of. I hope they rot in hell for what they have done.

‘They are probably on their way back home by now. So sorry to all those lovely people who have been affected x’.

A third Brit added: ‘Why can’t the taverna owners join forces and bring a few hefty brothers/cousins/mates in to the village as an “encouragement” for these lowlifes to pay up, if the cops won’t do anything?’.

One holidaymaker from Newcastle suggested that the couple may be from Liverpool in a comment saying: ‘There (sic) Scousers. I was actually there tonight when it happened. By the way, not bad mouthing Scousers. Good people etc, but ya always get a bad egg.’

But another holidaymaker added to confusion over the identity of the couple, saying: ‘I was sitting opposite them. Sounded like Cockneys to me, or was it Mancs?’

Former Ministry of Defence worker Mark Flynn, 59, who has lived in Crete for 16 years accused the couple of ‘taking advantage of the kindness of Greek people’.

He added: ‘It looks like they have been going into restaurants to eat. It is the custom here for places after a meal to provide a free dessert and a glass of the local raki firewater.

‘They then apparently started complaining in each place about the service and meal they had been given even though they had eaten and drunk everything.

‘As far as restaurants are concerned, it is often just easier for them to let people like that walk away, and forget about it, because most diners are very honest.

‘But in this case, it seems that this couple have gone too far and have tried the same stunt repeatedly in at least three places.

‘It is extremely unusual for local restaurants to post something like this because they don’t like to cause a scene, and it is a sign that they must have been very upset.’

Mr. Flynn who is from Plymouth, Devon, added: ‘It is the first time I have heard of Brits doing this in all my time here.

‘When it has previously happened, it has been Russians or Israelis. Everyone is really angry about it because the behaviour of one couple is giving all British people a bad name.

‘It is not a very nice thing to do at all. The Greeks are wonderful people and do not deserve to be abused like this.’

A woman posted on Facebook that she believed the couple had returned back to the UK on Tuesday last week.

After seeing the picture of the couple, she said that she had seen the man around the former Roman port town of Hersonissos which is near Koutouloufari and renowned for its peaceful beaches and ancient ruins.

The woman posted: ‘We were in Hersonissos until the 29th August. I’m certain I saw him at least once in Hersonissos during the week we were there, and on the last day (29th), I ‘m sure my partner spoke to him while we waited outside down town restaurant (bus stop 22) for our transfer.

‘He was very drunk and eating and drinking in the restaurant, and mentioned his transfer was later in the day.’

The Ariadni Palace Apartments have not yet responded to a request for comment.

A dance music-loving grandfather paid Ryanair £23 to fly 1,500 miles to the party island of Ibiza to go clubbing with friends before returning home in under 24 hours.

Andy Armstrong, 63, said there was nothing on the television and he couldn’t think of anything better to do – so hatched the madcap plan to visit the White Island in double quick time.

He booked a flight with Ryanair, jetting out from Newcastle at 5.20pm on Monday and landing three hours later.

He met friends in San Antonio, before heading to dance club Pacha in Ibiza Town, raving through the night, sleeping on a sun bed and heading to outdoor club Ushuaia for breakfast.

He then caught a 1pm return flight and was back on his own sofa 24 hours later having spent about £300.

The steel worker drew admiration from fellow clubbers when he detailed his escapade on Facebook, saying ‘YOLO’ and adding: ’63 and growing old disgracefully!’

Many said he was an inspiration.

Andy, a widower, said he first visited Ibiza with his friends in 1981 and has loved it ever since, going there on family holidays with his wife and daughters Tiffany, 33, and Ellie, 24, when they were little.

it ever since, going there on family holidays with his wife and daughters Tiffany, 33, and Ellie, 24, when they were little.

In fact, it was Tiffany who got him hooked on the island again recently when she took him to Ushuaia at the age of 58, telling him she’d seen plenty of older tourists there and he shouldn’t feel self-conscious about his age.

Andy, of Yarm, North Yorkshire, said he first hatched the plan to visit in under 24 hours with mates on his oil rig, where he works offshore as a steelworker for weeks at a time.

He explained: ‘I’ve been to Ibiza three or four times this year already, it’s my happy place.

‘I was there a month ago and did three nights in Pikes and four in Ushuaia.

‘I love all types of music and saw Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta and Fat Boy Slim.

‘I went back to work and was chatting with the lads, they were asking me how my holiday was, and I just said “You know what, I could just go for a night if I wanted to”.

‘They all laughed and said “No, you couldn’t do that”. But I thought “Yes I could”.

‘It started as a bit of banter, but then there was nothing on TV one night so I thought I’d just do it.’

Andy packed his passport, wallet and a spare shirt into an Asda carrier bag before heading for the airport for his £23 flight out of Newcastle.

On landing, he hitched a cheap cab to San Antonio with some people he had met on the plane, then had a few hours to kill before Pacha opened so went to meet some friends.

From there he got the ‘disco bus’ to Ibiza Town and went into the superclub’s Flower Power night, spending £26 on two beers and £23 on a gin and tonic.

He danced the night away, leaving the club when it shut at 6am and walking to Playa d’en Bossa, where he waited for beach hotel Ushuaia to open.

He then grabbed a £50 breakfast from there and sat on a sun lounger before making his way back to the airport, where he had booked a £130 return with Jet2 at 1pm.

He even asked a passerby to take a picture of him at the famous airport Burger King – known as a haunt of knackered returning clubbers – before boarding.

Three hours later, he was back in Newcastle – and an hour’s drive took him home.

The whole mini break lasted a staggering 24 hours almost exactly.

‘It was more of a challenge than anything else. I’d definitely do it again,’ Andy added.

One person who saw his exploits said ‘Excellent work sir’.

Another added: ‘Pure class.’

One added: ‘On the island and inspired by this post this morning, changed some admittedly loose plans and headed into Flower Power at Pacha. It did not disappoint!

‘Salute to you sir as I head back to the floor for one last boogie!’

And another fan said: ‘This is how you do it. I’m jealous, my friend. Maybe we need to start taking a leaf out of your book. Be more random and spontaneous.’

By Matthew Phelan For Dailymail.Com

Updated: 20:13 EDT, 1 September 2023

Facebook has found itself in hot water after wading into the debate over whether off-shore wind farms are responsible for a surge in whale deaths across the east coast.

Environmentalist Michael Shellenberger has accused the internet giant of ‘censoring accurate information’ after it slapped a content warning on a post about the beaching of 300 whales since 2017.

Officials admit there has been an ‘unusual mortality event’ on the east coast in the last six years with strandings reported from New York to North Carolina, but have insisted the string of new wind farms are not responsible.

The controversy blew up days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was threatened with contempt of Congress amid claims the social media firm removed posts at the direction of the Biden White House.

‘Facebook is censoring accurate information about the relationship between industrial wind energy development and the increase in whale deaths off the East Coast,’ Shellenberger said.

‘Why is Facebook censoring accurate information and spreading disinformation?’

Construction is underway on two new wind farms off Rhode Island and Massachusetts after the White House pledged to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes.

Two are already operating off Rhode Island and Virginia Beach despite fury from conservationists and commercial fishing operators, and the $10billion Virginia development is expected to feature more than 175 wind turbines by 2026.

In January, the Clean Ocean Action environmental group asked President Joe Biden to step in and halt the wind farm projects, saying there was evidence it was related to the whale deaths.

‘We’ve gone too far, too fast,’ Clean Ocean Action executive director Cindy Zipf said.

‘Over 2.2 million acres is being allocated to offshore wind and 10,000 miles of cables.

‘This alarming number of deaths is unprecedented in the last half century, the only unique factor from previous years, is the excessive scope, scale, and magnitude of offshore wind powerplant activity in the region.’

The latest dead whale washed ashore on Takanassee Beach in New Jersey on Saturday, and this year is on course to be the worst on record for fatal strandings on the east coast.

Shellenberger has called the issue the ‘biggest environmental scandal in the world’ and delivered a series of angry posts to his thousands of Facebook followers this week.

‘The government says it’s not because of the wind industry’s high decibel pile driving and boat traffic in previously pristine waters,’ he wrote.

‘They’re lying. And now we have the proof.’

That triggered Facebook watchdogs to slap a warning, claiming the post was ‘missing context and could mislead people’.

It also linked to an article by Facebook partner Factcheck.org insisting there is no reason to believe wind farms are to blame.

‘Several factors, experts and officials have said, could be increasing the risk of these hazards,’ the checkers wrote.

‘For one, climate change is warming oceans and changing the distribution of prey that marine species depend on.

‘As a result, whales are altering their migration routes and moving out of protected areas and closer to the shores, where they are more vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglement with fishing gear.’

It pointed to autopsies carried out by the official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggesting that 40 per cent of dead humpbacks were killed by hitting boats or getting tangled in ropes.

But they admit: ‘The causes for the other 60 per cent have been inconclusive, in part, officials say, because the carcasses decompose quickly, making it difficult to determine a cause of death.’

Facebook automatically moves reduces the visibility of posts flagged by its fact-checking partners, including AFP, reducing the visibility of false or misleading content.

But earlier this month its parent company Meta changed its settings allowing users to partially disable the fact-checking that they see.

‘We’re giving people on Facebook even more power to control the algorithm that ranks posts in their feed,’ a Meta spokesman told AFP.

We’re doing this in response to users telling us that they want a greater ability to decide what they see on our apps.’

‘For the last 20 years, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that his social media company is the “digital equivalent of a town square,” committed to factual accuracy, and protecting the natural environment,’ Shellenberger said.

‘Facebook knows its “fact checks” are just their “opinion”.

‘Thus, labeling FactCheck.org, which in this case is simply repeating US government misinformation, as a “fact-checker” is disinformation.’

An Ecuadorian congressional candidate survived an assassination after a gunman shot at her just one day after a presidential candidate was murdered following a campaign event.

Estefany Puente revealed that she was driving a vehicle with her father and a campaign staffer when two men aboard a motorcycle opened fire on Thursday in Queveo, a city in the province of Los Ríos.

Shots fired by one of the suspects grazed Puente’s left arm and also shattered the car’s front shield window. Her father and a campaign staffer were in the car as well and were not injured.

‘Today I have been the victim of an attack against my integrity,’ Puente wrote on her Facebook.

The politician, who is running for a National Assembly seat, said the attack was the latest example of what residents in Quevedo, Los Ríos and in all of Ecuador are experiencing because they ‘have been forgotten by an inoperative government, wrapped in corruption, mafias, the result of previous governments (of the fugitives) and the current one, of those who negotiate with criminal groups and are protected by such.’

DailyMail.com reached out to Puente for comment. 

Authorities were reviewing surveillance cameras in the area in hopes of identifying the suspects, who were still on the run as of Friday afternoon.

Puente, who previously sought office in the Quevedo city council, is running under the Popular Unity Movement, said she remained determined to continue to work with the party’s presidential candidate Yaku Pérez to root out corruption from public institutions and jailed ‘white collar’ criminals.

The attack comes as Ecuador was still reeling from the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio on Wednesday.

The 59-year-old, who was running under the Build Ecuador Movement, was being escorted out of a school gym in Quito when he was shot moments after he stepped inside a vehicle.

President Guillermo Lasso said the suspects threw a grenade into the street while escaping. but it did not explode. Police later destroyed the grenade with a controlled explosion. 

One Colombian suspect died following a shootout with the police and six others were arrested. A judge ordered them held in preventive custody for 30 days.

Court records showed that the six suspects were charged with illicit trafficking of substances. Two of the defendants were charged July 5 with reception of stolen goods.

All the men had previous criminal records in Ecuador and Colombia, an Ecuadorean police spokesperson said.

A search of the public records database run by the Colombian police listed three of the men as having no criminal record, while the remaining three were listed as ‘currently not required by any judicial authority.’

A week before his murder, Villavicencio participated in a virtual interview with Colombian television news network NTN24 and revealed that he had been threatened by the Sinaloa Cartel, the notorious Mexican criminal organization founded by the jailed drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, and one of its main associates in Ecuador, José ‘Fito’ Macías, the jailed boss of Los Choneros gang.

Villavicencio, a married father of five, said the menaces were the byproduct of a campaign pledge to tear down criminal organizations who were linked to political figures.

‘What these threats that come from the Sinaloa Cartel do is demonstrate is that our government program is a program that precisely aims to break and dismantle these criminal drug trafficking structures in collusion with political actors, and this is perhaps the most important thing,’ he said.

Ecuador’s Interior Minister Juan Zapata said the killing was a ‘political crime of a terrorist nature’ seeking to disrupt the August 20 elections. 

Lasso declared three days of national mourning and a state of emergency that involves deploying additional military personnel throughout the country.

In his final speech before he was killed, Villavicencio promised a roaring crowd that he would fight corruption, including among police forces, and imprison more criminals.

‘Here I am showing my face. I´m not scared of them,’ Villavicencio said in a statement before his death, naming Macías by his alias, ‘Fito.’