By Marcus Lavergne

INTERNATIONAL

Truck containing radioactive material goes missing in Mexico

Central Mexico was put on alert Sunday after a device containing radioactive material was stolen along with the pickup truck transporting it, according to CNN.

Mexican authorities have said the radioactive material, Iridium-192, was part of an industrial radiography device. Such a device would use gamma rays, the strongest possible kind of radioactivity, to detect faults in industrial equipment, such as pipes.

Without its shielding, Iridium-192 and the gamma radiation it produces can be deadly. The theft has put authorities on alert in six Mexican states in addition to the federal highway patrol, all of whom are continuing the search for the truck.

NATIONAL

US soldiers begin covert operation against ISIS

After weeks of preparing, the U.S. Army will send in its elite Delta Force to target, capture or kill top Islamic State operatives.

According to CNN, military officials declined discussing specifics of the Expeditionary Targeting Force, but will replicate the strategy used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan, which involved gathering intelligence for raids on terror compounds and hideouts as well as quick attacks on related targets.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed that the force is in position and “having an effect and operating,” although military officials have not disclosed locations for the ETF’s proceedings. The information collected shows signs that Iraq and Syria are prospective areas of occupation, but expanding the Special Forces presence in Syria is complicated.

Carter also says the U.S. will take up a larger role in helping the Iraqi military take back the city of Mosul where the Islamic State has been operating since June 2014. He also discussed the U.S.’s cyber campaign.

As of Monday, Carter says that when it comes to the fight against ISIS, “Momentum is now on our side.”

LOCAL

Workers leave Tesla Job during union-organized protest

One hundred workers currently working on building the Tesla Gigafactory just east of Reno walked off the job in protest on Monday, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. The protest, organized by the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada, occurred after one of the contractors allegedly brought in workers from out of state.

The contractor at issue, the New Mexico-based Brycon Corp., is a non-union contractor. Even so, protest organizers have said that this issue is a local versus non-local dispute, rather than a union versus non-union issue.

In a statement to the RGJ, Tesla said that it would not treat its workers like this, but that it cannot necessarily control the policies of third-party contractors. In order to qualify for $1.25 billion in tax breaks on the project, at least 50 percent of the workers must be from Nevada. As of now, around 74 percent of the workers are Nevadan, according to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

Marcus Lavergne can be reached at mlavergne@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @mlavergne21. Jacob Solis contributed to this report.