In a shocking article published Tuesday by the Verge, it was revealed the FBI has been quietly collecting hundreds of thousands of iris scans as part an experimental program referred to as the "FBI Iris Pilot." Working together with local police departments, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Pentagon, the FBI has discreetly amassed 434,000 iris scans.

The surveillance technology, used primarily by airports and private security companies, was pitched in 2013 as a way to help police departments catch criminals in a safer and more efficient manner. At that point, the FBI already had 30,000 scans and was looking to coordinate with local and national agencies to develop a searchable database of scans taken by police departments across the nation. The iris scan, which can be taken from a distance and requires no physical contact, was to be taken upon arrest and submitted whether charges were pressed or not.

John Kerry's visit to Moscow has aroused great interest in mass media and on social networks. Once again the "everything-has-failed-ers" have activated and echoed Ukrainian propaganda in positing that Putin is being brought a "black mark" from Washington and that John Kerry himself will personally hand it to the Russian president. Once again. This is not even funny anymore. When the head of the State Department comes to Russia (and he has been flying in quite often recently), conspiracy theories about this "black mark" and some kind of horrifying ultimatum to be given to the Russian president appear online. If this were true, then Putin would probably already have a whole wall in his office hung with these ultimatums and his collection of "black marks" could be made into a museum of the Kremlin. These conspiracy theories, of course, help collect a bunch of likes and comments, but in reality they don't hold any water.

The reality before us is that even the State Department itself is in the midst of a fierce conflict between Kerry and the majority of the department's employees whom he inherited from Hillary Clinton. They are supported by the hawks in the American intelligence services and also the US Democratic Party. As a result of this conflict, funny situations take place. For example, 50 high-ranking diplomats from the State Department wrote a letter to Obama demanding that he start bombing Assad, and John Kerry said that this letter was a private opinion which, considering everything, is his own, but at the same time he has made clear that no one is going to be bombed. Just recently, Kerry public admitted that two groups of Syrian rebels considered by the Americans to be the "moderate democratic opposition" are in fact Islamic terrorists, as was repeatedly claimed by Russian diplomats. Then the State Department apparatus tried to take back Kerry's words while the American publication Business Insider called Kerry's speech "pro-Russian."

A news agency linked to Islamic State, Amaq, has claimed that Abu Omar al-Shishani, reported to be the group's chief military strategist, has been killed south of Mosul. Previous media reports of his death later proved to be unfounded.

Al-Shishani, better known as Omar the Chechen, reportedly "died in combat" near the Iraqi city of Shirqat, 100km from the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.

Iraqi government forces say they have almost encircled Shirqat, as they drive their offensive northward into the heart of ISIS territory.

The Pentagon is verifying whether al-Shishani died in a US drone strike carried out earlier this month, officials told CNN. Washington previously boasted that it took out al-Shishani, who has a $5 million bounty on his head, in Syria in March, only to backtrack when Islamic State said he survived his injuries.

The 30-year-old al-Shishani, famous for his distinctive red-tinted beard, was born into a mixed Georgian-Chechen family, and served in a spec ops unit in the Georgian army, before volunteering to join Islamic State three years ago.

Does the US really want to cooperate with Russia to defeat terrorists in Syria, or is this another ploy to re-arm Al Qaeda/Al Nusra?

How many times have we been down this road?

The US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia provide weapons, cash and training to ISIS/Al Qaeda, "moderate, friendly rebels" in Syria.

Russia, Iran, and the legal, internationally recognized Syrian army pound ISIS/Al Qaeda the "moderate, friendly rebels" into the ground.

Barack Obama sends John Kerry to Moscow to offer some sort of cooperation/ceasefire.

Moscow accepts, as its ultimate goal is to keep Syria whole, and rid the country of ISIS/Al Nusra/Al Qaeda terrorists.

The US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia use the lull in fighting, from the agreed upon ceasefire, to re-arm, re-fund and re-train to ISIS/Al Qaeda, "moderate, friendly rebels" in Syria.

Russia, Iran, and the legal, internationally recognized Syrian army pound ISIS/Al Qaeda the "moderate, friendly rebels" into the ground.

Rinse and repeat...

The "Queen of Surveillance," UK Home Secretary Theresa May, has assumed the office of prime minister. May is a longtime champion of every form of intrusive surveillance that ever came before her desk at the Home Office. For Britain, what is already the world's leading high-tech surveillance state will now move closer to George Orwell's dystopian futuristic Britain, a country he dubbed "Airstrip One."

Instead of "Big Brother," May will become the consummate "Big Mother." As home secretary, May drastically increased the powers of the Security Service, also known as MI-5, to spy on people in Britain. May has had plenty of time to implement her Orwellian society. Home secretary since 2010, May has served as home secretary longer than any predecessor since the 19th century. As prime minister, May's zeal to spy will extend to the Secret Intelligence Service, MI-6, and Britain's NSA counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

The US leadership appears to have finally understood that Washington and Moscow should join efforts to stop the bloodshed in and bring lasting peace to Syria, James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst, told PressTV. But although US State Secretary John Kerry's visit to Moscow is a good sign, it might not be definitive, he added.

"I am not sure of the notion that there is a real change here. There is a history of Mr. Kerry going to Moscow, meeting with Mr. Lavrov or Mr. Putin, saying conciliatory things and then saying the exact opposite when he gets back to Washington," Jatras observed.

​Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin have repeatedly urged Washington to work together in Syria, but US policymakers have largely been reluctant. The latest developments indicate that this could be changing. Jatras referred to it as "a change in the landscape."

In his opinion, Turkey's U-turn on Russia has played a major role in this process.

In an unusual move, FBI agents working the Hillary Clinton email case had to sign a special form reminding them not to blab about the probe to anyone unless called to testify.

Sources said they had never heard of the "Case Briefing Acknowledgment" form being used before, although all agents must initially sign nondisclosure agreements to obtain security clearance.

"This is very, very unusual. I've never signed one, never circulated one to others," said one retired FBI chief.

An FBI agent currently on the job admitted, "I have never heard of such a form. Sounds strange."

Meanwhile, FBI agents expressed their "disappointment" over FBI Director James Comey's decision not to recommend charges against Clinton, sources close to the matter told The Post.

"FBI agents believe there was an inside deal put in place after the Loretta Lynch/Bill Clinton tarmac meeting," said one source.

Another source from the Justice Department was "furious" with Comey, saying he's "managed to piss off right and left."

The US House of Representatives has passed legislation barring dozens of tons of heavy water to be purchased from Iran as part of a landmark nuclear deal, despite President Obama's threats the law will be vetoed to keep the agreement with Tehran in place.

The legislation was passed on Wednesday by 249-176, with support mostly coming from the Republican majority.The 'No 2H2O from Iran Act' literally prohibits purchase or licensing of the purchase of heavy water produced in Iran.

Heavy water is an important by-product of producing nuclear weapons and energy, but it is not radioactive. In April, the US Department of Energy said it will buy 32 metric tons of heavy water from Iran worth $8.6 million.

Countries across Europe are strengthening security following the Nice terror attack which claimed the lives of at least 84 people. It comes as France extends its state of emergency for an additional three months. In a Thursday television address following the fatal attack, French President Francois Hollande announced that the current state of emergency, which was set to expire on July 26, would be further extended.

Now other European Union countries - including Belgium, the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic - are taking measures in an attempt to combat the threat of terror. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said following a morning meeting of the country's Security Council that additional "appropriate measures" would be taken for next week's National Day celebrations, scheduled to take place on July 21, AP reported.

"We have already taken a certain number of steps in connection with preparations for July 21, as you can imagine, and our security services are permanently evaluating the measures that are necessary,'' Michel said in a radio interview. "It's certain that our security services are going to include information resulting from this act committed last night in Nice in their analyses.''

The US missile defense system deployed in Alaska and California does not work, suffers from "fundamental flaws," and endangers the country by encouraging reckless foreign policy, the Union of Concerned Scientists says.

In a new 60-page report, Shielded from Oversight: The Disastrous U.S. Approach to Strategic Missile Defense, the union takes aim at the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, set up under President George W. Bush but later embraced by the Obama administration.

The report, signed by UCS researchers Laura Grego, George Lewis and David Wright, "found fundamental flaws throughout the missile defense program, from its administration and oversight procedures to the tough technical realities of defending against a nuclear strike."

As part of the efforts to de-escalate the Cold War, the ABM treaty of 1972 outlawed missile defense research. In 2002, the US withdrew from the treaty and established the Missile Defense Agency. The GMD system was intended to defend the US from a "limited" nuclear attack by non-superpowers, such as North Korea or Iran, the report noted. To make it operational as quickly as possible, the MDA was exempted from Pentagon procurement and testing requirements, drawing funding from research and development budgets.