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2020–2022 Catalytic Converter Theft Ring
From 2020 to 2022, an Organized crime, organized criminal group stole and then resold catalytic converters through the United States. The regional theft rings sent their stolen catalytic converters to DG Auto Parts in Freehold Township, New Jersey, Freehold, New Jersey, who removed the precious metals from them and ground them into dust. The precious metals were then sold to Dowa Holdings, Dowa Metals and Mining America for refining, after which they were sent to Japan; these sales are believed to have generated approximately $545 million in revenue for DG Auto Parts. The investigation that led to the discovery of the interstate theft ring was prompted by a wave of catalytic converter thefts in the Oklahoma area in late 2020 and early 2021, with similar rises across the United States. On May 2, 2021, police became aware of Tyler Curtis, the owner of Curtis Cores in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, when he was involved in a traffic stop where (among other il ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organized Crime
Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, terrorist groups, rebel groups, and Separatism, separatists, are politically motivated. Many criminal organizations rely on fear or terror to achieve their goals or aims as well as to maintain control within the organization and may adopt tactics commonly used by authoritarianism, authoritarian regimes to maintain power. Some forms of organized crime simply exist to cater towards demand of illegal goods in a state or to facilitate trade of goods and services that may have been banned by a state (such as illegal drugs or firearms). Sometimes, criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts protection racket, protec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vehicle Emissions Control
Vehicle emissions control is the study of reducing the emissions produced by motor vehicles, especially internal combustion engines. The primary emissions studied include hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and sulfur oxides. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, various regulatory agencies were formed with a primary focus on studying the vehicle emissions and their effects on human health and the environment. As the world's understanding of vehicle emissions improved, so did the devices used to mitigate their impacts. In the United States, the regulatory requirements of the Clean Air Act, which was amended many times, greatly restricted acceptable vehicle emissions. With the restrictions, vehicles started being designed more efficiently by utilizing various emission control systems and devices which became more common in vehicles over time. Types of emissions Emissions of many air pollutants have been shown t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kosaka, Akita
is a town located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 4,670 in 2,284 households, and population density of 23 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . In 2016, Kosaka was selected as one of The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan. Geography Kosaka is located in the northern part of the Kazuno Basin in the Ōu Mountains in far northeastern Akita Prefecture, with Aomori Prefecture on the north, and Lake Towada to the northeast. Much of the town is within the borders of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Much of the town area is covered in forest. Due to its inland location, the town is noted for its heavy snowfall in winter. Neighboring municipalities Akita Prefecture * Kazuno * Ōdate Aomori Prefecture * Hirakawa * Towada Climate Kosaka has a cold Humid continental climate characterized by cool short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall and (Köppen climate classification ''Dfa''). The average annual temperature in K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kosaka Mine
The was one of the largest copper, lead and zinc mines in Japan. The mine is located in Tōhoku region of northern Japan in the town of Kosaka, Akita Prefecture. The mine had reserves amounting to 30 million tonnes of ore grading 2.84% lead, 8.48% zinc, 1.1 million oz of gold and 177.3 million oz of silver. History In 1816, development of gold and silver deposits began under the Nambu clan of Morioka Domain, with the mine under the control of the Fujita-gumi mining guild. After the Meiji restoration, in 1871, the mine was nationalized, and in 1873 the foreign advisor Curt Netto was recruited by the Japanese government was placed in charge of modernizing the mine. In 1884 the mine was privatized, and sold to the Fujita-gumi, which later became Dowa Holdings, one of the largest non-ferrous metals producers in Japan. Following 1901, improvements in smelting technology enabled the company to exploit its large deposits of “black ore” (a mixture of copper, zinc and lead). In ord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in New York City. Its newspaper is printed at 37 sites across the United States and at five additional sites internationally. The paper's dynamic design influenced the style of local, regional, and national newspapers worldwide through its use of concise reports, colorized images, informational graphics, and inclusion of popular culture stories, among other distinct features. As of 2023, ''USA Today'' has the fifth largest print circulation in the United States, with 132,640 print subscribers. It has two million digital subscribers, the fourth-largest online circulation of any U.S. newspaper. ''USA Today'' is distributed in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and an international edition is distributed in Asia, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vox (website)
''Vox'' () is an American news and opinion website owned by Vox Media. The website was founded in April 2014 by Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, and Melissa Bell (journalist), Melissa Bell, and is noted for its concept of explanatory journalism. Vox's media presence also includes a YouTube channel, several podcasts, and a show presented on Netflix. ''Vox'' has been described as left-leaning and Liberalism in the United States, liberal. History Prior to founding ''Vox'', Ezra Klein worked for ''The Washington Post'' as the head of Wonkblog, a public policy blog. When Klein attempted to launch a new site using funding from the newspaper's editors, his proposal was turned down and Klein subsequently left ''The Washington Post'' for a position with Vox Media, another communications company, in January 2014. ''The New York Times'' David Carr (journalist), David Carr associated Klein's exit for ''Vox'' with other "big-name journalists" leaving newspapers for digital start-ups, such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of the longest-running newspapers in the United States, the ''Times'' serves as one of the country's Newspaper of record, newspapers of record. , ''The New York Times'' had 9.13 million total and 8.83 million online subscribers, both by significant margins the List of newspapers in the United States, highest numbers for any newspaper in the United States; the total also included 296,330 print subscribers, making the ''Times'' the second-largest newspaper by print circulation in the United States, following ''The Wall Street Journal'', also based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' is published by the New York Times Company; since 1896, the company has been chaired by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, whose current chairman and the paper's publ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scrap Dealer
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recovered metals, and non-metallic materials are also recovered for recycling. Once collected, the materials are sorted into types – typically metal scrap will be crushed, shredded, and sorted using mechanical processes. Metal recycling, especially of structural steel, ships, used manufactured goods, such as vehicles and white goods, is an industrial activity with complex networks of wrecking yards, sorting facilities, and recycling plants. The industry includes both formal organizations and a wide range of informal roles such as waste pickers who help sorting through scrap. Processing Scrap metal originates both in business and residential environments. Typically a "scrapper" will advertise their services to conveniently remove scrap metal fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clean Air Act (United States)
The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the United States' primary federal air quality law, intended to reduce and control air pollution nationwide. Initially enacted in 1963 and amended many times since, it is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws. As with many other major U.S. federal environmental statutes, the Clean Air Act is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with state, local, and tribal governments. EPA develops extensive administrative regulations to carry out the law's mandates. Associated regulatory programs, which are often technical and complex, implement these regulations. Among the most important, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards program sets standards for concentrations of certain pollutants in outdoor air, and the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants program which sets standards for emissions of particular hazardous pollutants from specific sources. Oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exhaust Gas
Exhaust gas or flue gas is emitted as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel blends, or coal. According to the type of engine, it is discharged into the atmosphere through an exhaust pipe, flue gas stack, or propelling nozzle. It often disperses downwind in a pattern called an ''exhaust plume''. It is a major component of motor vehicle emissions (and from stationary internal combustion engines), which can also include crankcase blow-by and evaporation of unused gasoline. Air pollution from burning fossil fuels is estimated to kill over 5 million people each year. Motor vehicle emissions are a common source of air pollution and are a major ingredient in the creation of smog in some large cities. Composition The largest part of most combustion gas is nitrogen (N2), water vapor (H2O) (except with pure-carbon fuels), and carbon dioxide (CO2) (except for fuels without carbon); these are not toxic or noxiou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1802 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas (formally 2 Pallas), which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired by her when she slew Pallas. Palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium form together a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGMs). They have similar chemical properties, but palladium has the lowest melting point and is the least dense of them. More than half the supply of palladium and its congener platinum is used in catalytic converters, which convert as much as 90% of the harmful gases in automobile exhaust (hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide) into nontoxic substances (nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor). Palladium is also used in electronics, dentistry, medicine, hydrogen purification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhodium
Rhodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isotope, which is 103Rh. Naturally occurring rhodium is usually found as a free metal or as an alloy with similar metals and rarely as a chemical compound in minerals such as bowieite and rhodplumsite. It is one of the rarest and most valuable precious metals. Rhodium is a group 9 element (cobalt group). Rhodium is found in platinum or nickel ores with the other members of the platinum group metals. It was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston in one such ore, and named for the rose color of one of its chlorine compounds. The element's major use (consuming about 80% of world rhodium production) is as one of the catalysts in the three-way catalytic converters in automobiles. Because rhodium metal is inert against corrosion and mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
