Here are some pictures of the inside of the tunnel that went between Chapo's prison shower and the house over a mile away.

Here's one with showing the light:

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I'm sure everyone has seen this video by now of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman pacing in his cell before disappearing while bending down over the hole in his shower floor.

Two questions: Why did they release this photo of him when he clearly has hair in the video?

The photos of his jail cell are very disturbing. It is a filthy horrid place. Who wouldn't want to escape from this hellhole prison? [More....]

I'm busy at work, and in my spare moments, only following news about El Chapo. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

President Obama has issued 46 grants of clemency to drug offenders.

“These men and women were not hardened criminals. But the overwhelming majority had to be sentenced to at least 20 years,” he said, noting that in his letters to them he made sure they needed to make different choices now that they were free.”But I believe that at its heart, America’s a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve their second chance.”

This isn't even on my front page of Google News, I had to search for it. Google needs a new algorythm or whatever they use to decide what's important enough for the front page and top stories.

Blog de Narco has received three photograghs purporting to show Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera after his escape from Altiplano prison in Almaloya de Juarez. While it cannot verify the photos, it did use software that established they were not edited or photo-shopped.

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Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has done it again! He's escaped from the high security prison in Altiplano, through a tunnel. Several prison workers are being held.

The articles say if he makes it home to Culiacan in the mountains, he's unlikely to be captured. [More...]

The tunnel was built from a 50 centimeter hole in the shower. It then widened, and extended for a mile. It was about 33 feet deep.

President Nieto is in France, and his Administration will be very embarrassed by this.

Our last open thread is full, here's a new one, all topics welcome. Please try not to hog the thread so everyone has the opportunity to start new discussions. There's no reason for anyone to comment 20 or 30 times in a single thread. It's called blog-clogging. And no insults to each other please.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of news site Rai al-Youm and the author of several books on Islamic extremism including this new book on ISIS, has a column today about how the West still doesn't comprehend ISIS.

He says The West and the invasion of Iraq are responsible for the creation and expansion of ISIS. ISIS is a bigger threat than al Qaida ever was, but we cannot defeat ISIS militarily.

The defense has wrapped up its case in the Aurora theater shooting trial of James Homes. The jury will decide whether he was insane at the time of his killing rampage.

After playing jurors a video of the defendant naked and running head-long into a cell wall, and another of him thrashing around in restraints at a hospital, the defense rested.

The prosecution said it would not present any rebuttal case. Attorneys from both sides will make closing arguments on Tuesday

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the corruption convictions of Virginia former Governor Robert McDonnell. The opinion is here. McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison and has been free pending appeal. What he did:

Over the course of five weeks of trial, federal prosecutors sought to prove that former Governor of Virginia Robert F. McDonnell (“Appellant”) and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, accepted money and lavish gifts in exchange for efforts to assist a Virginia company in securing state university testing of a dietary supplement the company had developed. The jury found Appellant guilty of eleven counts of corruption and not guilty of two counts of making a false statement.

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Busy at work. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Tunisia is building a border fence on its border with Libya to keep out ISIS.

The barrier will cover 168 kilometers (105 miles) — about one-third of the border — and will include fencing, a sand wall, trenches and surveillance posts.

The U.S. has partnered with the UAE to launch a new online messaging campaign called the Sawab Center to counter ISIS' message.

The Sawab Center will use direct online engagement to counter terrorist propaganda rapidly and effectively, including messages used to recruit foreign fighters, fundraise for illicit activities, and intimidate and terrorize local populations. The Sawab Center will increase the intensity of online debate by presenting moderate and tolerant voices from across the region and amplifying inclusive and constructive narratives.

The UK is asking British citizens to leave Tunisia as another attack is feared.