Feds bust $545 million catalytic converter theft ring

Feds crack down on catalytic converter theft network; Ethiopia and Tigray end a two-year civil war.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

DOJ takes down catalytic converter theft ring

Victor Hilitski/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

• Wednesday, the Justice Department arrested 21 individuals suspected of operating a nationwide catalytic converter theft ring. [CBS News]
• Law enforcement executed search warrants and seizures in nine states, recovering millions in cash, homes, and cars in an unprecedented crackdown. [Los Angeles Times / Gregory Yee]
• Catalytic converters help reduce harmful emissions from cars. The devices contain precious metals like rhodium and platinum and pull in $1,000 each at scrap yards. [Fox Business / Paul Best]
• Officials say 15 defendants bought stolen converters and shipped them to New Jersey, where the precious metals were extracted and sold to a refinery in a $545 million scheme. [NPR / Ayana Archie]
• The suspects now face charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to receive the stolen catalytic converters. [The Hill / Olafimihan Oshin]

Ethiopia and Tigray agree to end civil war

• Ethiopia and Tigray officials on Wednesday reached a deal to end two years of brutal civil war. [BBC / Cecilia Macaulay and Anne Soy]
• Under the deal, Tigrayan forces agreed to disarmament. Ethiopia will restore services for millions in the region who need access to humanitarian aid. [Associated Press / Mogomotsi Magome and Cara Anna]
• War broke out two years ago over territorial and political disputes between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Tigrayan forces who ruled the East African country for decades. [Reuters / Estelle Shirbon]
• Negotiators cautioned the truce is just the first step in achieving long-term peace. Millions are now displaced and at risk of starvation. [New York Times / Declan Walsh, Abdi Latif Dahir, and Lynsey Chutel]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Jen Kirby explains why the hunger crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region is human-made. [Vox / Jen Kirby]

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Republicans are using voters’ fears about crime to attack Democrats ahead of next week’s midterms — and it’s working. [Vox / Li Zhou]

• According to a UNESCO report released Thursday, glaciers in a third of the UN World Heritage sites will melt by 2050 because of climate change. [BBC / Patrick Hughes]
• US immigration officials say the man suspected of attacking Paul Pelosi last week is illegally in the country and could face deportation to Canada. [CNN / Priscilla Alvarez]
• Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot in the leg at a rally on Thursday. [Al Jazeera / Robert Kennedy and Federica Marsi]

“This national network of criminals hurt victims across the country. They made hundreds of millions of dollars in the process — on the backs of thousands of innocent car owners.”

[FBI Director Christopher Wray’s statement on the arrests / The Hill]

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