These Are The U.S. States With The Most Drug Use
These Are The U.S. States With The Most Drug Use
Drug abuse has long been a serious issue in the United States, with the so-called “War on Drugs” dating back to 1971 under President Nixon.
Despite decades of efforts to fight addiction, the problem remains widespread and deadly. More than 80,670 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12 months ending November 2024. As new threats like fentanyl spread—enough was seized last year for 380 million lethal doses—it’s more urgent than ever for policymakers to act.
But where is the crisis worst? A https://wallethub.com/edu/drug-use-by-state/35150
ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia across key metrics like drug use, overdoses, and access to treatment.
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Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub, explains: “Drug problems can start from multiple sources, like taking illegal substances with friends or getting hooked on a prescription that was originally given for a legitimate medical issue. As states fight drug addiction, they need to consider all angles and make sure they are not just addressing things from a law enforcement perspective but also providing the resources necessary to help people with addictions get clean.”
WalletHub’s https://wallethub.com/edu/drug-use-by-state/35150
compared states using 20 metrics organized into three main categories: drug use and addiction, law enforcement, and drug health issues and rehab. These metrics included measures like the percentage of adults and teens who reported using illicit drugs, overdose death rates, opioid prescriptions, and availability of treatment facilities.
New Mexico tops the list with the biggest drug problem in America. The state has the highest percentage of teens using drugs, the most teens reporting marijuana use before age 13, and the third-highest rate of adult illicit drug use. New Mexico also struggles with high overdose deaths and ranks near the bottom in offering help to those with addiction.
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West Virginia ranks second, with the highest overdose death rate in the country and one of the top college campus drug arrest rates. A lack of addiction treatment resources means many residents have nowhere to turn for help.
Nevada comes in third. Nearly 30% of students there report being offered or sold drugs at school. Nevada also ranks high for teens trying marijuana early and has too few treatment facilities to meet the need.
Other high-ranking states include Alaska, the District of Columbia, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Colorado. Each faces unique challenges, from high rates of opioid prescriptions to limited treatment options.
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The report also highlights troubling data on teen drug use. New Mexico, Arizona, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Alaska have the highest percentages of teenagers who admit using drugs in the past month. Meanwhile, states like Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas report much lower teen drug use.
Students being offered drugs at school is a big concern, too. California, Nevada, Georgia, New Jersey, and Hawaii top the list for that category, while states like Connecticut and South Dakota report much lower numbers.
The crisis shows no sign of ending on its own. Experts recommend a mix of strategies to combat addiction, including making rehab more accessible and expanding education on the risks of drug use. The federal government and states alike must prioritize treatment alongside law enforcement to help communities recover.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 22:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/these-are-us-states-most-drug-use
Wood Pellets: America's Underrated Power Play
Wood Pellets: America's Underrated Power Play
,
In an energy conversation dominated by buzzwords and breakthroughs, it’s easy to overlook the quiet, proven solutions that are already delivering results. Exhibit A: wood pellets.
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These compact cylinders aren’t flashy or trend on social media. For the uninitiated, they are carriers of renewable carbon and energy, sourced from responsibly managed forests; a real, scalable, domestic resource that delivers energy security, climate value, and rural jobs while sustaining and growing forests. Wood pellets are emerging as one of the smartest plays in America’s energy and climate portfolio.
The Math Works
Let’s be clear: climate solutions need to scale. We need terawatts of clean power, gigatons of carbon removal, and a replacement for fossil carbon in sectors where options are limited. Think steel mills, cargo ships, aviation fuel, and cement plants — industries that can’t rely on solar panels and wind turbines.
Enter forest biomass. Every year, America’s 360 million acres of privately-owned forests grow more wood than we harvest. Driven by strong markets for wood products, these forests are powerful carbon sinks that have been growing since the 1950s when regenerative forestry practices became the norm.
Responsible forest management, the kind that thins out fuel for wildfires, not only keeps forests healthy but also supplies feedstock for wood pellets. These pellets burn clean, emit fewer particulates than coal, are carbon-neutral, and have the potential to be carbon-negative when sourced sustainably. In other words, we’re turning forest byproducts into a strategic asset instead of a forest fire risk and ensuring more investment into our nation’s forests.
Valued at $1.75 billion, the U.S. led the world last year in wood pellet exports — heating homes and decarbonizing power grids from Cambridge to Copenhagen. That’s not just a climate win. It’s a geopolitical and economic one. Furthermore, there are ample opportunities to increase use domestically.
The Digital Surge: Data Centers Meet Biomass
Data centers are growing at breakneck pace. From streaming to AI, every click and query demands energy. These facilities already consume nearly 3% of global electricity, and that figure is climbing fast. In the U.S. alone, data center energy demand is expected to double by 2030.
While tech companies make pledges to run on “100% renewable,” achieving this goal is challenging. Intermittent renewables like wind and solar can’t always deliver the 24/7 baseload power data centers require. Wind and power are not the silver bullet many had hoped, because expensive batteries must be manufactured and installed to account for their lack of reliability. Meanwhile, wood pellets offer a firm, dispatchable, renewable fuel that can complement the grid and provide the consistent power backbone data infrastructure needs, without the carbon price tag of fossil fuels.
Speed is also a challenge. AI infrastructure is being developed on start-up timelines, but the grids meant to supply power are often hampered by multi-year planning cycles and limited capacity. Utilizing the existing biomass fleet or retrofitting coal-fired power stations to run on sustainable biomass bypasses these time-intensive and costly barriers. These sites are already grid-connected, often already have relevant permits, and crucially a coal-to-biomass conversion can be completed in under two years.
A Carbon-Negative Future? Biomass is the Feedstock
There’s another dimension to this story. Biomass isn’t just an energy source; it’s a carbon solution. Engineered carbon removal technologies like Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) require a steady, sustainable feedstock to function at scale. That feedstock needs to be renewable, reliable, and available today. Wood pellets fit that bill.
When wood pellets are used in BECCS systems, they generate power and remove CO₂ from the atmosphere at the same time, locking it away underground or turning it into usable materials like concrete, fuels, or even long-lived bioplastics. That’s negative emissions. Not net zero. Below zero.
With private markets pouring billions into carbon removal innovation, the need for biogenic carbon is accelerating. Whether it’s carbon-negative electricity, sustainable aviation fuel or green hydrogen, they all have one thing in common: they start with a reliable renewable carbon stream. Wood pellets and woody biomass are poised to play a major role in supporting these emerging technologies.
Missing the Forest for the Trees
Despite all this, woody biomass, like all energy, eventually finds itself in the crosshairs. Critics claim it’s just “burning trees,” a false narrative that ignores both the science and the forests. Sustainable biomass doesn’t chop down protected, old-growth forests. It’s sourced from working forests, the type that are deliberately selected and sustainably managed to produce our dimensional lumber and furniture. Except biomass utilizes the lowest-value fiber that comes off these tracts.
As America’s pulp and paper industry has declined, shuttering dozens of mills and shedding thousands of jobs over the last decade, wood pellets have offered a new market for low-value wood. This fiber has little economic value and without a buyer will often rot, burn, or get landfilled. Using this wood isn’t deforestation, it’s responsible forest stewardship. In fact, without reliable markets like biomass, private landowners will sell and convert their forests for more lucrative returns like agriculture, golf courses, and residential developments.
Investing in Rural America
The benefits of the wood pellet industry go beyond carbon math. This is a sector that brings real jobs to rural America. It supports forest owners, loggers, truckers, and working forests. This is climate action with a hard hat, not a hashtag.
If we’re going to win the climate war, we have to include the states in America’s wood basket where trees grow, people work the land, and decarbonization isn’t an abstract ideal.
Wood pellets are real, scalable, renewable and a true American resource.
In a world increasingly distracted by hype, maybe it’s time we doubled down on solutions that deliver quietly, reliably, and sustainably. One of the smartest is hiding in plain sight — in our forests.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 22:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/wood-pellets-americas-underrated-power-play
Trump To Deploy National Guard In Los Angeles As Anti-ICE Demonstrations Turn Violent
Trump To Deploy National Guard In Los Angeles As Anti-ICE Demonstrations Turn Violent
The Trump administration will deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles following several violent confrontations between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and protesters, after ICE agents carried out multiple immigration sweeps throughout the county.
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Border czar Tom Homan revealed the plans Saturday night in an interview on Fox News.
BREAKING - Border Czar Tom Homan has just confirmed that the National Guard will be deployed to Los Angeles tonight to reestablish order after Democrats seized control during violent anti-ICE riots. https://t.co/fa2llnUPsP
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) https://twitter.com/Rightanglenews/status/1931484594546639203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Earlier, the Deartment of Homeland Security accused Democratic leaders in California - including Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and Mayor Karen Bass (D) of contributing to the violence.
"The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end," DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
BREAKING: Protesters in Paramount, California have vandalized a U.S. Marshals Service bus during fiery demonstrations against immigration raids. https://t.co/cK02O3CYIR
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) https://twitter.com/allenanalysis/status/1931449763104534583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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BREAKING NEWS:
Paramount, California is ERUPTING into chaos as federal agents are fighting back against a crowd of anti-deportation agitators!
Flash bangs and tear gas is deployed against them.
What is your reaction? https://t.co/FTOnbL2b3g
— AmericanPapaBear (@AmericaPapaBear) https://twitter.com/AmericaPapaBear/status/1931466756805280033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also chimed in, posting on X that protesters who use violence against officers will be prosecuted.
"You will not stop us or slow us down," she https://x.com/Sec_Noem/status/1931456023493308787
on X.
President Trump also blamed 'Newscum' and Bass - saying in a Saturday night 'Truth' that if they can't do their jobs, "then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem."
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White House spox Karoline Leavitt echoed Trump's comments, saying in a post on X: "President Trump will uphold law and order and continue to remove all dangerous illegal alien invaders from our country," adding "The mob violence will be quelled, the criminals responsible will be brought to justice, and operations to arrest illegal aliens will continue unabated."
Left-wing radicals waving foreign flags are viciously attacking ICE and Border Patrol agents and obstructing official law enforcement activities in Los Angeles.
Democrats refuse to condemn this despicable behavior but this will NOT be tolerated by the Trump Administration.… https://t.co/JFzrVhOfjk
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1931508930032660986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The White House issued the following statement:
In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California. These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester. The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs. These criminals will be arrested and swiftly brought to justice. The Commander-in-Chief will ensure the laws of the United States are executed fully and completely.
Newsom responded - saying in a post on X: "The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers. That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions," adding "This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust."
The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers. That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.
LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice. We are in close…
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/1931504803487879617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Stay tuned...
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 21:35
Republican Lawmakers Tee-Up Battle Over Transgender Sports In Oregon
Republican Lawmakers Tee-Up Battle Over Transgender Sports In Oregon
(emphasis ours),
The Oregon House of Representatives rejected a bill on June 5 that would have required Oregon schools to designate school sports teams by biological sex.
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After Democrats blocked the bill, Oregon House Republicans sent an urgent letter to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, urging swift federal intervention and offering full cooperation with an ongoing Title IX investigation into Oregon’s education system.
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/HB2037
would have allowed only females to participate in women’s school sports and enter women’s intimate spaces, such as bathrooms and locker rooms.
The bill failed along party lines despite hearing stories of more than a dozen young female athletes who were present for the vote, including high-jumpers Reese Eckard of Sherwood High School and Alexa Anderson of Tigard High School.
The action marks yet another flashpoint in the battle over transgender participation in athletics.
The legislative showdown followed a weekend in which male athletes identifying as transgender competed in the girls’ division at high school track meets in California, Washington, Maine, and Oregon, “displacing female competitors and confirming the systemic nature of the problem,” according to the Republican letter to Dhillon.
At the Oregon State Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene on May 31, Eckard and Anderson, who had finished third and fourth in the high jump event, stepped down from the medal podium and https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/girls-protest-trans-athlete-in-oregon-state-high-school-track-championships-5866343
in protest of fifth-place finisher Liaa Rose.
Just two years earlier, Rose, who is a senior at Portland-based Ida B. Wells High School, finished in 11th place in the boys JV division.
“What happened last weekend at Hayward Field was heartbreaking,” wrote Oregon Republican Rep. Darin Harbick in a statement sent to The Epoch Times.
“A male athlete took a lane from a girl who trained all year for that moment. This isn’t just unfair—it’s wrong, and it’s exactly why we need federal oversight.”
By rejecting HB 2037, Republican Rep. Ed Diehl said, the Democrat majority chose ideology over fairness, common sense, and compliance with federal law.
“This bill was straightforward: protect female athletes and ensure a level playing field in school sports. Instead, the majority prioritized political agendas over equal opportunity for Oregon’s young athletes.”
Democrat Rep. Rob Nosse said during June 5’s https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/mediaplayer?clientID=4879615486&eventID=2025061013&startStreamAt=2447
that transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in youth sports and warned that such legislation could alienate trans athletes who would be denied the opportunity to use bathrooms that align with their gender identities.
“Mostly what I heard this morning was … just mean,” Nosse said.
Rep. Jules Walters, a Democrat, echoed her colleague, pointing out that many transgender people are on staff at the Capitol.
“When politicians speak callously on matters relating to identity, they’re speaking to their colleagues, their colleagues’ staff and their colleagues’ families,” Walters said.
“This chamber is not a vacuum.”
DOJ Zooming in on Oregon
The DOJ was already focused on Oregon.
Dhillon announced in a May 23 https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/mediaplayer?clientID=4879615486&eventID=2025061013&startStreamAt=2447
that the DOJ would launch a federal investigation into allegations of sex-based discrimination by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), the governing body for Oregon high school sports.
“When males are allowed to compete with girls in female-only sport or events, the protections afforded to female athletes by Title IX are lost, and, quite simply, the law is broken,” Dhillon wrote in her letter to counsel at America First Policy Institute (AFPI).
The institute is a public policy organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, that has filed a Title IX discrimination https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/assets/uploads/Complaint_Signed_OR_DOE.pdf
against OSAA and ODE.
Included with the Republican correspondence to Dhillon was an April 2024 letter from OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber acknowledging that the association’s “gender identity” policies were developed with ODE.
“ODE is set to receive about $1.5 billion in federal funds this biennium,” wrote Republican Rep. Boomer Wright in a statement shared with The Epoch Times.
“Those dollars must not support policies that violate civil rights law.”
The letter urged the DOJ to “carefully review how those funds intersect with policies that may be in violation of federal civil rights law.”
Also enclosed was a Feb. 11, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/keeping-men-out-of-womens-sports/
from Oregon House Republicans to Weber requesting that OSAA immediately align its athletic policies with President Donald Trump’s executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”—a request that remains unanswered.
The executive order suggests that educational institutions that permit transgender athletes to compete in female sports could lose funding.
Although the DOJ letter does not draw any conclusions about the Oregon cases, it signals the beginning of a formal review that could have broader implications for school districts and athletic associations across the country.
If violations are found, the department could mandate changes to policy and enforcement or pursue legal action to ensure compliance.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 21:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/republican-lawmakers-tee-battle-over-transgender-sports-oregon
Conservative Colombian Presidential Candidate Uribe Shot In The Head In Bogota Event
Conservative Colombian Presidential Candidate Uribe Shot In The Head In Bogota Event
Conservative Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in the head on Saturday in an apparent assassination attempt. There was no immediate confirmation from the authorities on the status of his condition.
Urgente 🇨🇴
Aquí está el momento del atentado al Dr Miguel Uribe
Que dolor de Patria
Gobierno miserable !
Imágenes sensibles https://t.co/tA3VWGap5V
— Luis Aníbal Rincón Arguello. ® 🇨🇴 (@Rincon001A) https://twitter.com/Rincon001A/status/1931496099841520084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The 39-year-old senator is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party, founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related.
https://twitter.com/hashtag/ULTIMAHORA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
🚨
🇨🇴El Senador y Precandidato a la Presidencia de Colombia, Miguel Uribe, acaba de ser víctima de un atentado con arma de fuego.
Cómo podemos observar, la bala aparentemente fue directo a la cabeza.
Informes preliminares indican que se trató de un ataque… https://t.co/DcSolcp7pu
— Artvi (@ArturoVillegasQ) https://twitter.com/ArturoVillegasQ/status/1931495046760538574?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when "armed subjects shot him in the back."
The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on his health.
Los zurdos HIJOS DE PUTA atentaron contra Miguel Uribe en Colombia, precandidato presidencial de derechas.
Los zurdos no son adversarios, son enemigos. Hasta que no entendamos eso, seguiremos viendo cómo atentan contra nuestra vida, cómo roban nuestra propiedad y cómo someten… https://t.co/QsaKvI7JeG
— Agustín Laje (@AgustinLaje) https://twitter.com/AgustinLaje/status/1931486290693997001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Unconfirmed video showed the capture of the alleged assassin.
🇨🇴 🚨 🚨 🚨 URGENTE:
El sicario dice que va a entregar la información de quién lo envío a matar a MIGUEL URIBE
Quien cree que dió la orden ❓ https://t.co/JrOfIhjecz
— Misión cumplida (@ojocolombia2026) https://twitter.com/ojocolombia2026/status/1931513403178094726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Colombia's presidency issued a statement saying the government "categorically and forcefully" rejected the violent attack, and called for a thorough investigation into the events that took place.
Uribe's mother, the journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a rescue operation after she was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 20:54
U.S. Auto Sales Mostly Steady In May As Incentive Spending Drops: Deutsche Bank
U.S. Auto Sales Mostly Steady In May As Incentive Spending Drops: Deutsche Bank
In a new report out last week Deutsche Bank analysts led by Edison Yu provided an update on the U.S. auto sector, noting that sales in May reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 15.7 million units.
This figure came in slightly below their estimate of approximately 15.9 million, a result they attributed to a natural moderation following the particularly strong auto buying seen in April. They also pointed out that there may have been some seasonal distortions at play, as the absolute number of vehicles sold in May—1.475 million—still came in higher than the 1.449 million reported in May 2024.
The analysts observed that Ford benefited from stronger-than-expected sales, driven by the continued success of its employee pricing strategy, which helped the company gain 160 basis points in market share. Toyota also performed well, picking up 130 basis points in market share.
Mid-month data suggested that average transaction prices (ATPs) for the industry would decline month-over-month to approximately $46,000, although prices remain up 1.8 percent compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, incentive spending was down 11.5 percent month-over-month, a signal that vehicle demand remains robust even as some price moderation occurs.
As for inventory levels, the Deutsche Bank team reported that they remained stable at 46 days’ supply exiting the month. This is unchanged from April and represents a modest two-day improvement compared to the previous year. Most of the Detroit 3 (D3) and Japanese 3 (J3) automakers saw relatively flat inventories on a month-over-month basis, suggesting that the overall supply environment remains balanced.
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Recall, https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fluid-situation-deutsche-bank-how-auto-oems-are-responding-tariffs
, Deutsche Bank’s note painted a more cautionary picture, centered on the significant uncertainty facing automakers due to the imposition of tariffs.
Just a month and a half ago, the analysts highlighted that automakers were scrambling to adjust their pricing, incentives, and production strategies to cope with a 25% tariff on imported vehicles and parts—effective May 3. The bank warned that despite the possibility of a short-term suspension, investors should assume all imported vehicles were subject to the tariff regime.
The April commentary also described a patchwork of automaker responses: Tesla paused Model X and S sales to China, GM halted operations at its CAMI plant, while Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Subaru took varying measures like absorbing some price increases or stopping U.S. inventory shipments. Ford’s broad employee pricing discounts—cited again in the June note as driving its strong sales—were already seen as part of its tariff-mitigation strategy in April. The bank estimated Ford and GM could each see gross costs rise by over $10 billion, with EBIT hits in the range of $4–7 billion annually, highlighting the potential severity of the tariffs’ impact.
In both notes, Deutsche Bank remained cautious about the broader auto sector. In April, they expected that front-loaded consumer buying (ahead of price hikes) would bolster sales early in the year but that the second half would suffer as tariffs took effect, projecting 2025 U.S. sales at 15.4 million units—down from 16 million in 2024. Interestingly, the June update’s 15.7 million SAAR for May suggests a somewhat stronger-than-feared demand environment—at least in the near term—though the underlying uncertainties around trade policy likely remain.
In other words, the dust appears to be settling and the U.S. auto industry appears to have ridden out the storm and is normalizing somewhat...for now...
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 20:25
Israel Has Sold Record Amount Of Debt In US Since Gaza War Erupted
Israel Has Sold Record Amount Of Debt In US Since Gaza War Erupted
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-has-sold-record-amount-debt-us-war-gaza-erupted-report
Israel has sold a record amount of debt in the US since its Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023, according to a report by Bloomberg on Friday.
The government of Israel’s US-based bond broker, Israel Bonds, says it has sold $5bn worth of debt in the last twenty months. The level of bond issuance is more than double that raised by Israel Bonds, in similar time periods previously.
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Israel’s war on Gaza started after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people. Israel responded by pummeling the Gaza Strip and invading it. A reported more than 54,000 people, mainly women and children, have been killed in the Israeli attacks, and the population is facing "imminent famine", the United Nations says.
Israel Bonds is affiliated with Israel’s finance ministry and sells bonds inside the US to both retail and institutional investors. The starting price for non-tradable retail Israeli bonds is as low as $36.
A five-year Israeli bond has a yield between 4.86 percent and 5.44 percent, according to the Bloomberg report.
Along with its war on Gaza, Israel fought a devastating war with Hezbollah in Lebanon and launched widespread strikes on Syria. In 2024, it engaged in two rounds of direct missile and drone attacks with Iran. Israel’s financing needs have soared as it looks to fund its military.
Local Israeli creditors, including deep-pocketed institutional ones, account for about 80 percent of the government’s lending overall. That leaves just twenty percent to come from international debt sales and what Israel Bonds sells in the US.
According to the group, local US governments at the state and county level are big buyers in places like New York, Texas, Ohio, and Illinois.
Palm Beach County in Florida https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tax-dollars-need-not-genocide-israeli-bond-buying-sparks-backlash
one of the world's largest investors in Israeli Bonds in 2024, with about $700m of its $4.67bn portfolio invested there.
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Israel has faced widespread criticism for its war on Gaza. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes. Meanwhile, public opinion on Israel has turned sharply negative from France to Japan.
However, in March 2024, Israel saw strong demand for its debt among international investors. It sold $8bn in international bonds. Israel enjoys investment-grade ratings from major credit ratings agencies.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 19:50
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/israel-has-sold-record-amount-debt-us-gaza-war-erupted
Texas Yanks Major Perk From Illegal Aliens - After Pioneering It 24 Years Ago
Texas Yanks Major Perk From Illegal Aliens - After Pioneering It 24 Years Ago
Twenty-four years after being the first in the nation to roll it out, a major perk for illegal aliens in Texas has vanished after the Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit to stop it and the Lone Star State's attorney general quickly agreed with the White House stance. Specifically, illegals will no longer be charged the in-state rate for college tuition.
The end came quite suddenly. Within hours of the US Department of Justice filing a complaint in the Northern District of Texas, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Joint%20Motion%20for%20Entry%20of%20Consent%20Judgment.pdf
declaring that discounts favoring illegal aliens over non-Texan American citizens -- in contradiction of federal law -- violate the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, and permanently blocking Texas from giving such discounts.
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Paxton, who's mounting a 2026 https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/08/ken-paxton-john-cornyn-us-senate-texas-republican-primary/
to represent Texas in the United States Senate, raced to take credit for the outcome:
“Today, I entered a joint motion along with the Trump Administration opposing a law that unconstitutionally and unlawfully gave benefits to illegal aliens that were not available to American citizens. Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas.”
In 2001, Texas became the first state to offer in-state tuition to illegals. Back then, Democrats had a slim majority in the state House, but the "Texas Dream Act" had bipartisan support, with https://youtu.be/4bA9m3IG99s?si=ASsGzYem9MuB1LCF&t=98
:
2011: Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry says on a national debate stage if you don’t support discounted tuition for illegal aliens, you don’t have a heart.
2025: President Donald Trump’s DOJ sues Texas for giving discounted tuition to illegal aliens.
How far we’ve come! https://twitter.com/hashtag/txlege?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Brandon Waltens (@bwaltens) https://twitter.com/bwaltens/status/1930346581464666160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Since then, more than 20 other states created their own such rules. The tide is now clearly turning. In February, https://www.phelps.com/insights/florida-ends-in-state-tuition-benefits-for-undocumented-students.html
granting in-state tuition to illegals who attended a Florida high school for three consecutive years before graduating. A bill that would have repealed the practice made it out of a Texas Senate committee earlier this year, but didn't have enough strength to be brought to the full Senate vote. That's all moot now.
For the 2024-25 academic year, in-state tuition discount saved a student attending Texas A&M University in College Station https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/texas-am-university-college-station-10366/paying
, to take just two examples from the state's sprawling higher education system.
“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” said US Attorney General Pam Bondi in a https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-texas-reach-agreement-end-state-tuition-illegal-aliens
. “The Justice Department will relentlessly fight to vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country.”
While the rules vary depending on the student's exact circumstances and status under https://www.usa.gov/daca
the most freewheeling states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
So, Ms. Bondi -- who's next?
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 19:15
Kash Patel Announces New Discovery That Could Finally Take Fauci Down
Kash Patel Announces New Discovery That Could Finally Take Fauci Down
Via https://www.vigilantfox.com/p/kash-patel-announces-new-discovery
FBI Director Kash Patel sat down with Joe Rogan in Austin, Texas, where he dropped a series of revelations about the Bureau’s ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, including a promise to release jail cell surveillance footage and newly uncovered evidence that could implicate Anthony Fauci.
?itok=SKYuJTJI
Kash Patel didn’t waste any time. He opened with a stat that most Americans have probably never heard—and it was a big one.
During Trump’s first term, Patel was in charge of counterterrorism for the White House and National Security Council. In that role, he helped lead one of the administration’s most overlooked achievements.
“Hostages, we can talk about that forever too,” Patel said. “Counterterrorism was a big portfolio, I ran it for the White House and National Security Council in the first Trump administration.”
Then he dropped the number: “We brought home—people don’t know this—President Trump in his first term, brought home and rescued over 50 hostages and detainees from around the world.” He added, “That’s more than every president before him combined.”
Rogan looked stunned. “Wow,” he said.
Patel explained that hardly anyone knows these rescues even happened. The missions weren’t covered in the headlines, and the stories of families being reunited after dangerous operations in places like Africa and the Middle East were mostly ignored.
“Did you hear about the successes of reuniting families with lost loved ones from Africa or the Middle East?” he asked.
He then described how Trump personally signed off on high-risk missions—sending elite forces into hostile territory to bring people home. “These operations, that the president was courageous enough to green light to go into places like Afghanistan and do these hostage rescue ops, and use Seal Team Six and Delta,” he said.
Kash Patel didn’t waste time.
Sitting down with Joe Rogan, he opened with a jaw-dropping stat—one few Americans have ever heard.
During Trump’s first term, Patel ran counterterrorism operations for the White House and National Security Council.
In that role, he oversaw one… https://t.co/RJY3WtbORj
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1931106342300684453?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
From there, the conversation shifted to a very different kind of crisis—one playing out right here in the U.S. and claiming tens of thousands of lives: fentanyl.
Patel didn’t mince words about who’s behind it. “So where’s the root of the problem? The CCP,” he said, pointing directly at the Chinese Communist Party.
This part of the discussion took a darker turn.
Patel explained that while China isn’t producing the fentanyl itself, it’s playing a central role by supplying the raw chemical ingredients used to manufacture it. “The fentanyl precursors, the stuff you need to make fentanyl comes from mainland China. That’s it.”
He said there are hundreds of Chinese companies involved—mass-producing and exporting these precursors around the world. Most of them land in Mexico, where cartels convert the chemicals into fentanyl and smuggle it across the border.
“They’re like ‘we don’t make fentanyl.’ They’re right, they don’t,” Patel said. “They just give you all the ingredients for it and ship it to Mexico.”
In an attempt to polish their global image, Patel said the CCP announced a ban on one specific precursor. But it was a sleight of hand.
“To trick the world, they came out and said: ‘Hey, we’re going to not sell precursor X.’ The problem is, there’s 14 other precursors you can use to make fentanyl and they’re still shipping all of those.”
So while overdose deaths in America continue to soar, China manages to keep its fingerprints off the crisis—at least on paper.
From there, the conversation turned to an entirely different kind of crisis—one claiming tens of thousands of lives on American soil, fentanyl.
Patel didn’t hesitate to name the culprit: the Chinese Communist Party.
“So where’s the root of the problem? The CCP.”
This part is… https://t.co/saL30clFJl
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1931106793767288870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The next revelation sounded like it came straight out of a spy thriller.
When Patel arrived at the FBI, he discovered a secret data room hidden inside the Hoover Building—a room he claimed was deliberately concealed during James Comey’s time at the Bureau.
“Me as the Director of the FBI—when I first got to the Bureau, found a room that Comey and others hid from the world in the Hoover Building, full of documents and computer hard drives that no one had ever seen or heard of.”
Rogan, visibly shocked, blurted out, “Whatttttt….”
Patel described a secure room, locked away and buried deep, with access so tightly controlled that even its existence was unknown to most.
“Locked the key and hid access, and just said, no one’s ever going to find this place.”
Rogan again: “Whaaaaaaat?!”
Patel continued, “Yeah, so my guys are going through that right now.”
Rogan asked: “What’s in there?”
Patel answred. “A lot of stuff.”
The next revelation sounded like something out of a spy novel.
When Patel arrived at the FBI, he uncovered a hidden data room buried inside the Hoover Building—a room, he said, that had been concealed during the James Comey era.
“Me as the Director of the FBI—when I first got… https://t.co/HwkUrAjL19
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1931107362687070694?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Next up was what Patel described as Biden’s border bloodbath.
It’s a crisis that many have brushed off as a result of poor management—but Patel said it’s far more deliberate than that.
Rogan asked the question outright: “Is this [open border] pure incompetence? Or is it malice?”
Patel didn’t hesitate. “No, it’s intentional.”
He explained that the Biden administration made a clear and conscious policy decision—one that opened the floodgates to millions of illegal entrants, fully aware of the consequences.
“When you’re going to let in, what is it, 9 million people? A lot of them are going to be criminals.”
For Patel, the results weren’t just predictable—they were inevitable.
Next on the docket was Biden’s border bloodbath.
Patel confirmed what many in the media have dismissed as a conspiracy theory.
Was the crisis at the southern border just incompetence, or something more calculated?
Rogan posed the question directly.
“Is this [open border]… https://t.co/849w1rUzac
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1931108584743633174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Eventually, the conversation turned to one of the most hotly debated topics of the last decade: Jeffrey Epstein.
Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino had recently made waves by stating unequivocally that Epstein died by suicide—an explanation many Americans still don’t accept.
The public has been demanding answers for years. Where are the files? Is there any footage? Were the powerful protected?
Rogan pushed Patel for clarity.
Patel promised transparency, but with a clear boundary. “We’re going to give you everything that we can and people have to remember, we’re not going to revictimize women,” he said. “We’re not going to put that shit back out there.”
Then came the question everyone was waiting for: “Is there video from the island?” Rogan asked.
Patel was direct. “Not of what you want… If I had it, I’d be the first guy to bring this case hard and fast.”
He emphasized that he and his team combed through every file they were legally allowed to access—and what they found didn’t support the popular narrative. “I got here 100 days ago. I can’t be held to account for 20 years of failures,” he said.
And if any damning evidence ever did exist, Patel admitted it’s entirely possible it was wiped out long ago.
Eventually, Epstein came up.
Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino had made headlines recently by saying definitively that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide—something many Americans still question.
The public has long demanded answers: Where are the files? Is there any video?… https://t.co/MRkpl2GxZW
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1931109505556771132?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But the most explosive moment of the interview came when Patel shifted his focus to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
This was the bombshell.
After years of stonewalling, vanishing records, and unanswered questions, a major breakthrough had finally arrived: Fauci’s COVID-era phones and hard drives—once thought to be missing—had been found.
“We just had a great breakthrough this week on Fauci,” Patel revealed.
The FBI had been investigating the origins of COVID, but a key problem remained: Fauci’s communications during the most pivotal months of the pandemic were nowhere to be found.
“And nobody had found it… till two days ago.”
Now, the original hard drives are in hand. And Patel made the mission clear: “Did that guy lie? Did he intentionally mislead the world and cause countless deaths?”
He stressed that this isn’t about politics—it’s about accountability. “The best evidence is always the people’s evidence,” he said.
“We’re going to exploit those hard drives… We’re not done. We’re on the case.”
If there’s evidence Fauci manipulated data, covered up dissent, or shaped the narrative to fit a political agenda, Patel believes it could be sitting right there on those devices.
And this time, he says, the truth won’t be buried.
But the most explosive moment of the interview came when Patel turned to Fauci.
This was a bombshell.
After years of delays, excuses, and missing records—his COVID-era phones and devices were finally found.
“We just had a great breakthrough this week on Fauci,” Patel said.… https://t.co/uF7r46Wjjg
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1931110088883761557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Before wrapping up, Patel shared one final surprise—and this time, it was good news.
According to the latest data, the U.S. is on track to hit its lowest murder rate in decades.
Rogan, clearly surprised, asked how that could be possible.
Patel credited a simple but effective shift in leadership: giving law enforcement the room and resources to do their jobs without political interference.
“Let good cops be cops,” he said. “I’m gonna let you, the agents, the police officers, the sheriffs, go out there and do the work you so badly want to do. And I’m gonna give you the resources you need to do it. And I’m gonna take away the politicization and weaponization… and that’s what we’ve done.”
Sometimes, real change doesn’t come from reinventing the system, but from removing the roadblocks and letting professionals do what they were trained to do.
Before wrapping, Patel offered one more surprise—but this time, it was good news.
According to current data, America is on track for its lowest murder rate in decades.
Rogan, surprised, asked how that was possible.
Patel pointed to a simple but powerful change in leadership… https://t.co/jztoaoyk3U
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1931110959684141160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Watch the full conversation below:
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 18:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/kash-patel-announces-new-discovery-could-finally-take-fauci-down
Iran Purchases Enough Fuel Materials From China For Up To 800 Ballistic Missiles
Iran Purchases Enough Fuel Materials From China For Up To 800 Ballistic Missiles
This week a report in The Wall Street Journal said Iran ordered large quantities of ammonium perchlorate—a key component for solid-fuel ballistic missiles—from China, despite the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile program being under Western scrutiny amid ongoing sensitive nuclear negotiations with the US.
The material could be used to produce up to 800 missiles and was placed by Pishgaman Tejarat Rafi Novin Co. from Lion Commodities Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong. The report indicated the parts are to arrive in the coming months.
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The WSJ raises the likelihood that some or much of the material could be transferred to Iran-backed proxy groups in the Mideast region, foremost among them Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been launching repeat ballistic missile attacks directly on Israel, even threatening cities as far away as Tel Aviv.
The deal with the Chinese company was likely finalized before Trump's offer to restart nuclear talks, which was kick-started in March.
China's Foreign Ministry has rejected the allegations, or is at least saying China is not aware of the transfer.
"The Chinese side has always exercised strict control over dual-use items in accordance with China’s export control laws and regulations and its international obligations," a spokesperson said.
:
Iran has been looking for ways to rebuild its so-called Axis of Resistance network of militias after Israel pummeled Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza and the Assad regime fell in Syria. U.S. and Israeli strikes on the Houthis damaged the group’s capabilities, though they still threaten Israel.
Iran recently transferred ballistic missiles to Shia militia groups in Iraq, who could target Israel and U.S. forces in the region they have previously attacked, the people confirmed. The missile transfers were previously reported by the Times of London.
It goes without saying that the fall of Assad's Syria was a huge blow to the 'Axis of Resistance' which previously linked Iran, Iraq, and Hezbollah in Lebanon via crucial Syrian logistics.
Israel has meanwhile resumed its aerial attacks on southern Beirut suburbs, where Hezbollah is a dominant faction, while Lebanese civilians suffer...
The owner of two buildings destroyed by Israel last night in Beirut's southern suburb said on television that the structures, which are quite old, were rented from the Maronite Church and that his family lives there.
He stated that a warehouse in one of them, which Israel… https://t.co/KtKcEYgImR
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) https://twitter.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1930953068813713541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Syria under the Jolani (Sharaa) regime will now be Sunni Islamist in orientation, and is already doing deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. Iranian troops have been completely booted from Syria, and pro-Iranian militias in Western Iraq have been relatively quiet of late, also as the Pentagon has drawn down some key bases in northeast Syria (though the US occupation will remain for now).
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 18:05
'Very Disrespectful': Trump 'Assumes' Musk Relationship Is Over
'Very Disrespectful': Trump 'Assumes' Musk Relationship Is Over
Update (1720ET): Here's the latest in the Trump-Musk feud.
Trump told NBC News that there would be "serious consequences" if Musk turns around and backs Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who support the 'Big Beautiful Bill' (no doubt a loaded question from NBC).
"If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that," Trump https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-elon-musk-consequences-funds-democratic-candidates-rcna211605
the outlet. "He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that."
When asked if he had a desire to repair the relationship, Trump said "No," and he "would assume" it's over between the two.
"I’m too busy doing other things," Trump said, adding "I have no intention of speaking to him."
Trump was also frank, accusing Musk of being 'very disrespectful,' saying
"I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President."
Musk, meanwhile, was a mix of de-escalation and pushing his 'America Party' - described as his "vision to dismantle the establishment.
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While continuing to express concern over US debt levels.
Alarming https://t.co/sU8imDEK2P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1931146964164559356?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Solving the deficit will require divine intervention
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1931426856634605978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Cool
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1931408747139944925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
We're running low on https://store.zerohedge.com/zerohedge-waxed-canvas-hat
but more are on the way!
https://store.zerohedge.com/zerohedge-waxed-canvas-hat
It was a turbulent week in American politics as the Trump–Musk feud https://www.zerohedge.com/political/im-very-disappointed-elon-trump-responds-musk-opposition-big-beautiful-bill
in the near term, though both men appear to have simmered down.
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Speaking to reporters Friday evening, Trump weighed in on Musk, saying: "I just wish him well."
.https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1931126688542552467?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
That said, he also reiterated a threat to 'look at everything' in regards to Musk's government contracts.
🚨 President Trump on canceling Elon Musk's contracts:
"We'll take a look at everything. He's got a lot of money. He gets a lot of subsidy, so we'll take a look at that only if it's fair for him and for the country. I would certainly think about it yeah but it has to be fair." https://t.co/KPBtVJB8PY
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) https://twitter.com/cb_doge/status/1931180153775825288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on "This Past Weekend w/Theo Von"
"I’m always going to be loyal to the president and I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold," said Vance, adding "Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear, but I hope it is."
JD Vance on the Elon - Trump feud:
President Trump took a bullet for this country. He is doing more than anyone to bring the American Dream back & this bill is a big part of the agenda he promised. War between them isn’t good for America https://t.co/QZH550Oc8Z
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1931319644054307317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Vance also gave credit to DOGE for rooting out waste, fraud and abuse (which the BBB does nothing about):
🚨 JD Vance says DOGE found that for "every dollar we were spending on humanitarian assistance, $0.12 was actually making it to people who needed it." https://t.co/2J2Reu6DWs
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1931295355494146477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Musk Deletes Posts
In the overnight hours, Jerry Dunleavy, chief investigative reporter at Just The News, cited now-deleted X posts from Elon Musk, in which Musk said he would "apologize" to the president for mean tweets "as soon as there is a full dump of the Epstein files."
Elon Musk has now deleted all of these tweets. https://t.co/9BRuEvGLbw
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) https://twitter.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1931178764374864068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It was unclear on Saturday morning whether a genuine détente had developed between Musk and the president, who had feuded throughout the day on Thursday.
To recap the week (read more https://www.zerohedge.com/political/day-after-trump-not-interested-talking-musk-continues-make-case-against-bbb
):
Earlier in the week, Musk https://www.zerohedge.com/political/disgusting-abomination-elon-musk-slams-massive-outrageous-pork-filled-bill-trump-goes
- depending on who you believe, and fails to address any of the waste, fraud and abuse found by DOGE.
Thursday morning, Trump was asked about Musk's opposition to the bill, https://x.com/PolymarketIntel/status/1930657979218493820
on Thursday that he's 'very disappointed in Elon,' and that Musk only opposes the bill because they eliminated electric vehicle tax credits from it.
Trump then suggested he might pull government funding from Musk's companies such as SpaceX, which owns the only operational US spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station. "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!" -President Donald Trump via Truth Social
Musk went ballistic - announcing he would 'https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930718684819112251
,' which is why they haven't been released.
?itok=3gMgjsS2
The optics of what happened last week between Musk and the president are wild, with Musk standing up for MAGA ideals that Trump campaigned on, and Trump peddling the Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBB) that came from the swamp.
Musk's key issue is that BBB raises the debt ceiling by another $5 trillion, while - and this part is in contention - https://www.zerohedge.com/political/cbo-finds-big-beautiful-bill-raises-us-deficit-24-trillion-saddles-next-president-fiscal
, depending on who you believe. We note that it also makes little to no effort to address the waste, fraud, or abuse identified by DOGE.
What's very concerning about some in the MAGA Republican team is the failure to codify DOGE spending cuts in a way that safeguards taxpayer dollars from wasteful and fraudulent spending. MAGA campaigned on this and has yet to act.
Musk appears to be set on breaking away from the two-party duopoly and creating a new party.
The America Party https://t.co/hO5S8Kjb5O
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1931112942495523014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The people have spoken. A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!
And exactly 80% of people agree 😂
This is fate. https://t.co/JkeOlG7Kl4
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1931111047408369863?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Yeah, pretty much 🤣🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1931255811755655573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
We're guessing the BBB will still pass - no doubt with some modifications.
For better or worse, the BBB will pass. Instead of clashing over what is autopilot spending to satisfy legacy obligations, focus on how to generate the biggest GDP growth https://t.co/bw6DQ4pBVa
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1930680195087794377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
At least it's going to be a quiet weeke-- https://www.zerohedge.com/political/riots-erupt-la-ice-facility-mexican-blm-clone-unleashes-color-revolution-operation
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 17:24
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/musk-ties-trump-apology-full-dump-epstein-files
FBI Foils Teen's Bomb And Mass Shooting Plot At Oregon Mall
FBI Foils Teen's Bomb And Mass Shooting Plot At Oregon Mall
Last month, the FBI foiled a planned mass shooting and bombing at Three Rivers Mall in Kelso, Washington, about 50 miles north of Portland off I-5, https://mynorthwest.com/local/fbi-oregon-teen-plot-wa-mall-shooting/4096597
.
On May 22, Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a teenager—whose name is withheld due to his age—after the FBI received a tip about the planned attack on May 19.
“This plot was as serious as it gets,” said FBI Portland Special Agent in Charge Doug Olson. “We, along with our partners, moved swiftly to interrupt this violent plan and to protect our community.”
?itok=wZ1i0VyU
The https://mynorthwest.com/local/fbi-oregon-teen-plot-wa-mall-shooting/4096597
says that the suspect, a Columbia County resident, embraced a nihilistic, violent ideology and shared his plans online. Authorities placed him under surveillance.
“The suspect demonstrated the intent and means to carry out their plan, which included precise details such as a map of the mall, a route the shooter would follow, a plan to use an improvised explosive device commonly known as a chlorine bomb to incite panic, and then to shoot mall patrons as they were exiting the movie theatre before ultimately committing suicide at a pre-determined location in the mall,” the FBI said.
During a search, investigators found annotated schematics, weapons, and clothing he planned to wear, along with three handguns, ammunition, four knives, and five digital devices, according to The Oregonian.
The Columbia County District Attorney’s office is prosecuting the case.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 16:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fbi-foils-teens-bomb-and-mass-shooting-plot-oregon-mall
When Ideas Become Too Dangerous To Platform
When Ideas Become Too Dangerous To Platform
https://brownstone.org/articles/when-ideas-become-too-dangerous-to-platform/
Economist Professor Gigi Foster delivered a TEDx talk titled The Manipulators’ Playbook at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in October 2024.
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It was a bold examination of how, in times of crisis, fear and conformity can be deliberately harnessed by those in power to manipulate public behaviour and silence dissent.
Her message was a call to defend the freedom to question, to challenge authority, and to think independently.
The local TEDxUNSW team, who had worked closely with Foster to ensure her talk met TEDx standards, described it as “insightful and important.”
But when the video was submitted to TED’s US headquarters for publication on the organisation’s official YouTube channel, it was rejected.
The reason? The talk “did not adhere to the TEDx content guidelines.”
A Defence of Dissent—Silenced
Foster’s talk drew on the Covid-19 experience, arguing that during the pandemic, the space for critical thought collapsed. Dissenters were vilified, and dialogue gave way to dogma.
She described how critics of mainstream Covid responses were smeared with labels—“a danger to public health…a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist…probably a prepper or a cooker…almost surely a far-right extremist and probably racist to boot.”
Drawing comparisons with the Cultural Revolution and the rise of Nazi Germany, she warned that the marginalisation of dissent has deep historical roots—where enemies of the state are manufactured to maintain social control.
Foster recalled being labelled a “granny killer,” defamed online (despite never having a Twitter account), and receiving death threats for questioning lockdown policies.
“Well, I didn’t shut up,” she said. “And today, more than four years on… hundreds of books, academic papers, and tragic personal stories confirm I was right.”
“The lockdowns didn’t save lives. They were rather a massive human sacrifice induced by fear, politics, and money,” she added.
A Bureaucracy That Cannot Handle Dissent
By December 2024, with the video still unpublished, TEDxUNSW informed Foster that the US team had flagged her talk for further review.
She was asked to submit additional evidence to substantiate her claims—particularly those relating to lockdowns, mass vaccination, and censorship.
Foster complied, providing a detailed annotation backed by peer-reviewed studies, public health data, and academic commentary. But it wasn’t enough.
On 22 December, the local team relayed a list of statements TED deemed “potentially contentious,” including her description of lockdowns as a “massive human sacrifice,” her comparisons to authoritarian regimes, and her criticisms of public health leaders.
Despite acknowledging that her arguments were “compelling,” TEDx informed Foster on 21 March 2025 that the talk had been formally rejected—and could not be published on any platform.
“We were truly disappointed that TEDx did not approve your talk,” the organisers wrote to Foster, “especially given how insightful and important your message is.”
Surprised—particularly after months of collaboration—Foster asked for an official explanation. TED’s US office responded:
Supporting open dialogue, thoughtful debate, and critical thinking about issues affecting local communities is an important part of TED and TEDx’s mission…[However] talks should not attack political and public health leaders, promote their own initiatives or business endeavours, denigrate those who don’t share the speaker’s own beliefs, use polarising ‘us vs. them’ language and divisive rhetoric, or broadly dismiss peer-reviewed research around science and health. Upon further review of the associated materials and talk content, we therefore determined that Foster’s talk did not adhere to the TEDx content guidelines and will not be added to our YouTube channel.”
Foster pushed back, arguing that her talk aligned with TED’s stated mission to “spread ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding, and drive meaningful change.”
She said the rejection misrepresented her content and stressed that her statements were “backed by studies of high intellectual and scientific rigour.”
She provided citations covering everything from censorship and vaccine mandates to excess deaths and lockdown impacts.
But TED never responded—and still refuses to publish the talk on its platform.
TED Abandons Its Own Mission
The implications extend far beyond one speaker or one talk.
TED, a platform that built its reputation on hosting challenging, uncomfortable—even radical—ideas, now appears unwilling to engage with narratives that challenge institutional power.
Foster’s talk was not incendiary. It was measured, historically grounded, and supported by evidence. But it questioned the public health consensus—and that, it seems, is now off-limits.
This isn’t just ironic; it’s an abandonment of TED’s own mission.
TED has previously published talks on alien intelligence, psychic phenomena, and utopian futures. Yet a sober, data-driven critique of pandemic policies by a respected economist? That, apparently, was too dangerous to air.
And TED is not alone. Across the digital landscape, we’re witnessing a broader pattern. Platforms once celebrated for fostering open dialogue are quietly narrowing the boundaries of acceptable thought.
Foster’s message was a warning—about how powerful institutions can manipulate public perception, weaponise fear, and suppress dissent, all while cloaking themselves in the language of public good.
She urged audiences to stay alert to manipulation disguised as altruism and to “celebrate forums at which people are allowed and encouraged to think, discuss, critically analyse, and ponder aloud.”
Instead, TED became the very thing she warned against: a gatekeeper of permissible opinion, enforcing orthodoxy behind the smokescreen of “community guidelines.”
For a platform that once prided itself on promoting bold thinking, TED’s censorship of Foster’s talk is a moment of institutional retreat—and intellectual cowardice.
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-manipulators-playbook/
Republished from the author’s https://blog.maryannedemasi.com/p/when-ideas-become-too-dangerous-to
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Sat, 06/07/2025 - 16:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/when-ideas-become-too-dangerous-platform
Russian Military Accuses Ukraine Of Halting Agreed-To Prisoner Swap
Russian Military Accuses Ukraine Of Halting Agreed-To Prisoner Swap
The only bright spot or mutually agreed-upon deal to come out of two rounds of Istanbul peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has been the large-scale prisoner swaps. An initial one-thousand total POWs were returned during a record first swap following the phase one Istanbul talks.
But even this single area of agreement is now under threat, as the Russian government is currently accusing Ukraine of halting a previously agreed prisoner swap.
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The second round of face-to-face negotiations in Istanbul on June 2 resulted in agreement for another 1,000 total POW swap, to also include the repatriation of over 6,000 bodies of deceased Ukrainian soldiers.
But on Saturday, Russian defense ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, has https://www.rt.com/russia/618774-ukraine-halts-prisoner-return-russia/
, "Russia handed over to the Ukrainian side a list of 640 names, but the latter is so far refraining from setting a date for the return of these individuals," according to state media translation.
"We confirm our full readiness to implement the Istanbul agreements. We are prepared to transfer all bodies and proceed with the prisoner exchange as agreed," Zorin emphasized.
Negotiators and backers of the process in Istanbul hoped that these so far successful prisoner swaps could be the basis for an expanded ceasefire.
Russia has been pressing Kiev to agree to a two or three day truce in order to allow for the swap process to go smoother, but Ukraine has instead demanded a 30-day ceasefire without conditions.
The Kremlin has alleged that a fuller 'temporary' ceasefire would only be used by Ukraine forces to rearm and regroup along the front line positions in the Donbass.
According to the latest on the prisoner swap progress (or lack thereof) https://www.rt.com/russia/618774-ukraine-halts-prisoner-return-russia/
:
According to Zorin, Moscow began the repatriation on Friday, with a convoy containing 1,212 bodies reaching the exchange point. He added that four other convoys, each carrying 1,200 sets of remains, are ready for transfer.
Russia decided to return the remains of over 6,000 slain Ukrainian soldiers in a unilateral humanitarian gesture during the talks in Istanbul on Monday. Both sides also agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners each.
But Ukraine has rejected these latest Russian allegations as wartime propaganda: "Unfortunately, instead of a constructive dialogue, we are once again faced with manipulation and attempts to use sensitive humanitarian topics for informational purposes," a statement from Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.
Russian media previously hailed the swaps as a main tangible result of engagement in peace talks, but neither side has offered much else in the way of compromise:
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to conduct the biggest prisoner exchange since start of conflict, Vladimir Medinsky has told RT in Istanbul.
Exchange will be conducted on parity terms and will include up to 1,200 people from both sides.
Priority to the wounded, sick and soldiers… https://t.co/ptoCec4bXh
— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/1929556920785920041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
President Zelensky has of late characterized the Istanbul talks thus far as largely fruitless and meaningless, saying that the Kremlin is using it as cover to buy more time for major aerial strikes on Ukrainian cities, also in order to pacify President Trump.
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Sat, 06/07/2025 - 15:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russian-military-accuses-ukraine-halting-agreed-prisoner-swap
Walmart's Drone Delivery Coming To 5 More US Cities
Walmart's Drone Delivery Coming To 5 More US Cities
https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/walmarts-drone-delivery-coming-to-5-more-us-cities-5868883
(emphasis ours),
Walmart is set to launch its drone delivery service in five more U.S. cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa, the company said in a June 5 https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2025/06/05/walmart-takes-flight-with-drone-delivery-expansion-to-5-new-cities-redefining-fast-flexible-retail
.
?itok=-Y01RAC_
The retailer already operates drone delivery services in the Dallas–Fort Worth area and northwest Arkansas. With the addition of the new cities, Walmart said it will become “the first retailer to scale drone delivery across five states: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas.”
The expansion will cover 100 stores across the five cities, with millions of customers receiving their orders in minutes, the company said.
“We’re pushing the boundaries of convenience to better serve our customers, making shopping faster and easier than ever before,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of Walmart U.S. Transformation and Innovation.
The service is being offered through an agreement with Wing, a drone company https://x.company/projects/wing/
by Google’s parent, Alphabet.
When a customer places an order, Wing’s system automatically chooses a safe and efficient route to deliver the package while avoiding obstacles such as aircraft, according to the Wing https://wing.com/technology
.
Drones are overseen by pilots from a central location who monitor air traffic and weather to ensure safety. The drones are “built to operate in a wide range of weather conditions, including windy days and moderate rain.”
When the drone reaches its destination, it initially checks for obstacles in the delivery zone, steers to avoid them, and eventually lands to deliver items.
The drone https://wing.com/walmart
at 65 miles per hour and has a range of 6 miles one-way or 12 miles on a round trip.
Commenting on Walmart’s latest expansion, Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said this was “real drone delivery at scale.”
“People all around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex have made drone delivery part of their normal shopping habits over the past year,” he said. “Now we’re excited to share this ultra-fast delivery experience with millions more people across many more U.S. cities.”
In Dallas-Fort Worth, Walmart uses Wing drones to service customers from 18 of its facilities. More stores are expected to get drone delivery service, Wing https://wing.com/news/wing-and-walmart-announce-world-s-largest-drone-delivery-expansion-ever
in a June 5 statement.
The company said Walmart’s announcement of adding more cities was the “world’s largest drone delivery expansion.” Wing and Walmart launched drone delivery in 2023.
According to Wing, Walmart currently completes thousands of deliveries each week using the drone system, with an average fulfillment time of less than 19 minutes.
“The popularity of drone delivery in [Dallas-Fort Worth] is a testament not just to its convenience, but to the way this technology quickly becomes a part of everyday life,” Woodworth said.
In addition to Walmart, Wing has partnered with other companies to deliver items via drones.
In March last year, online food ordering company DoorDash https://ir.doordash.com/news/news-details/2024/DoorDash-and-Wing-Announce-Drone-Delivery-Pilot-in-the-US/default.aspx
it was launching drone delivery in Christiansburg, Virginia, through Wing’s services.
On May 14, Wing https://wing.com/news/wing-and-doordash-tee-off-first-ever-drone-delivery-service-in-charlotte
that its drone delivery for DoorDash was expanding into Charlotte, North Carolina.
Amazon also operates drone delivery. The service https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-drone-delivery-arizona
in 2022.
Amazon currently delivers products in the Phoenix Metro Area in Arizona and College Station in Texas.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 15:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/walmarts-drone-delivery-coming-5-more-us-cities
Iran Furious At 'Racist' US Travel Ban Targeting Muslim Nations
Iran Furious At 'Racist' US Travel Ban Targeting Muslim Nations
At a moment both sides are still engaged in highly sensitive nuclear negotiations, Iran has strongly condemned US President Donald Trump’s new travel ban, blasting it as "racist" and indicative of Washington's deep hostility toward Iranians and Muslims.
The executive order restricts travel from 19 countries, primarily in Africa and the Middle East, in a new 'Muslim travel ban' of sorts - given it mirrors similar policies from Trump’s first term in office, and will take effect Monday. There are outright bans imposed on a dozen of the nations.
?itok=XkT9kYbk
Iranian official Alireza Hashemi-Raja criticized the move as reflecting a "supremacist and racist mentality" among American policymakers.
According to more via https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/7/iran-condemns-racist-mentality-behind-us-travel-ban
:
Hashemi-Raja argued that the policy breaches international legal norms and denies millions the basic right to travel, based solely on nationality or faith. He said the ban would “entail international responsibility for the US government”, without elaborating.
The ban heavily features Mideast and North African countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and others - but is not limited to countries with Muslim majority populations.
Among the countries listed are also Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti. There are 'partial bans' and some new visa restrictions for Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
President Trump had explained this week in https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/restricting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats/
posted to the White House: "The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security."
And further:
I directed the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, to identify countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a full or partial suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries pursuant to section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(f). After completing that process, the Secretary of State determined that a number of countries remain deficient with regards to screening and vetting. Many of these countries have also taken advantage of the United States in their exploitation of our visa system and their historic failure to accept back their removable nationals.
?itok=53L4QjeL
Interestingly, Syria was on the controversial ban during Trump's first term, but is notably absent this time around - despite the fact that the decade-plus long proxy war saw foreign jihadists flow there from around the world. There are even foreign jihadists who hold government positions in the Jolani (Sharaa) regime, in the wake of Assad's December ouster.
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Sat, 06/07/2025 - 14:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-furious-racist-us-travel-ban-targeting-muslim-nations
Trump Signs Orders On Deregulating Flying Cars, Supersonic Flight
Trump Signs Orders On Deregulating Flying Cars, Supersonic Flight
(emphasis ours),
President Donald Trump signed executive orders on June 6 to deregulate and open research and development into flying cars and supersonic aviation technology.
?itok=E8dHu6n_
Trump signed the two orders alongside others on Friday that target American drone capabilities, technology, and regulations.
One order instructs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin testing flying cars, also known as electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), according to a senior White House official.
Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the order will establish a pilot program working in conjunction with both public and private stakeholders.
“Flying cars are not just for the Jetsons, they are also for the American people in the near term,” he said during a White House press call.
Kratsios said, “eVTOL promises to revolutionize transportation as well as cargo delivery and logistics ... blazing a trail to new frontiers as part of the golden age of American innovation.”
Regarding supersonic flight, Trump’s order repeals regulations that hindered the technology’s development while instructing the FAA to create a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification, a senior White House official said.
The order also advances research coordination between the FAA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and promotes international engagement through the FAA and other agencies to “align global supersonic regulations and bilateral agreements for international operations.”
“Together, these executive orders will accelerate American innovation in drones, flying cars, and supersonic aircraft, and chart the future of America’s skies for years to come,” Kratsios said.
He said Trump is looking to revolutionize supersonic aviation in the United States after years of regulations that have prevented airlines from using the technology for commercial air travel.
“The reality is that Americans should be able to fly from New York to L.A. in under four hours,” Kratsios said, adding that recent advances in aerospace engineering, material science, and noise reduction have made domestic supersonic flight safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.
“But for the last 50 years, outdated and overly restricted regulations grounded supersonic passenger flight and weakened our global competitiveness in aviation,” he added.
“The market is here and the technology is here.”
The government has already begun issuing contracts and agreements with major commercial airlines, which have agreed to purchase supersonic jets, to push the industry forward.
“Our message is simple: American innovation belongs in American aerospace,” Kratsios said.
Sebastian Gorka, who serves as both deputy assistant to the president and senior director of counterterrorism at the National Security Council, said Trump’s June 6 executive orders are about “restoring sovereign control of our airspace.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 14:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/trump-signs-orders-deregulating-flying-cars-supersonic-flight
Consumer Debt Surges In April As Student Debt Soars
Consumer Debt Surges In April As Student Debt Soars
At a time when conventional media "wisdom" claims that US consumers are panicking ahead of a looming recession and aggressively reducing their spending, moments ago we got the latest consumer credit data from the Fed which confirmed none of that. In fact, one month after consumer credit came in line with expectations, the latest update of the https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/
showed that in April, consumer credit growth more than doubled, from a revised $8.6 billion to $17.9 billion, the single biggest monthly increase of 2025 and the second highest going back to November 2023. In other words, far from being concerned about a recession, the US consumer is doing what they do best: spend.
?itok=PbiiFUVB
The composition was familiar: revolving credit (i.e., credit card debt) rose by $7.6BN, much more than the $1.7BN increase in March and the highest since December.
?itok=c62b8p0K
Meanwhile, non-revolving credit jumped by $8.3 billion, the second highest monthly increase since June 2023.
?itok=LTbVfw8-
Why? Well, the answer is rather bizarre because while auto loans shrank by $10 billion in Q1, the biggest quarterly decline in a decade, it was student debt, that debt which is now causing widespread defaults as millions can not afford to pay it as the moratorium is over, that unexpectedly surged by $22BN in Q1 to $1,797 billion, a new all time high.
?itok=hgEXWOu_
And as an aside, for those asking whether the recent Fed rate cuts have translated into lower interest APRs on credit cards, the answer is in the next chart. Unfortunately, the answer is no, because as we said back in September while the Fed is slashing rates, none of this is translating into lower rates on consumer liabilities.
?itok=fokgx5GI
So how realistic is it that in a time when millions of former "students" are about to start defaulting en masse, that it is student loans which are again propelling consumer spending, we keep a close eye on this series because while many expect that the student loan bubble bursting will accelerate the recession, we may be getting just the opposite as Trump takes another page from the Biden playbook and starts firehosing "student" loans to anyone with a pulse who can fog a mirror.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 13:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/consumer-debt-surges-april-student-debt-soars
USSS Ordered Destruction Of White House Cocaine Day After Closing Case
USSS Ordered Destruction Of White House Cocaine Day After Closing Case
,
Two years after the U.S. Secret Service discovered a bag of cocaine in the White House in July, 2023, documents showing orders for its destruction within 24 hours after the agency closed the case are raising new questions about the scrupulousness of the investigation.
?itok=h6MWr6yc
A U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency document titled “Destruction” states that the bag of cocaine was sent to the Metropolitan Police Department for incineration. That document, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, doesn’t display a date for the destruction. But other internal Secret Service records show that the cocaine was tested by the Secret Service, the D.C. Fire Department hazmat technicians, and the FBI before being sent back to the Secret Service for storage on July 12. Two days later, it was transferred to the D.C. police department for destruction. The Secret Service shut down the cocaine investigation 11 days after discovering it.
The destruction of narcotics evidence must comply with environmental and safety regulations, and the D.C. police department has an Environmental Protection Agency-approved incinerator that federal agencies often use to destroy narcotics that are not involved in active legal cases.
D.C. police officials referred all questions about the cocaine’s apparent destruction to the FBI. There’s no entry or date for the cocaine’s actual destruction.
Early last week, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced that he was re-opening the investigation into the cocaine found in the White House, as well as the leak of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade and the discovery of a pipe bomb at the Democratic National Committee headquarters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Bongino reiterated his commitment to getting to the bottom of those cases in a Wednesday night interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“Well, I get a kick out of it on social media,” Bongino said. “People say, ‘This case isn’t a big deal. I don’t care.’ Well, I care. … You don’t care that a [potentially] hazardous substance made its way into the White House? We didn’t know what it was, and we don’t seem to have answers? Well, we’re going to get them. I’ve got a great team on it.”
While the cocaine bag found in the White House appears to have been destroyed, internal Secret Service documents show that the agency retained and stored a second piece of evidence, an envelope of three tubes of DNA that the FBI attained from the plastic bag of cocaine. It’s unclear how much DNA those tubes contain, though the Secret Service has stood by its statements that the FBI found insufficient DNA to pursue any investigative leads.
When the Secret Service closed its investigation into who left the cocaine in the White House on July 13, the agency issued a statement explaining its decision. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi asserted that camera surveillance footage didn’t provide any “investigative leads or any other means for investigators to identify who may have deposited” the cocaine in the White House, adding that FBI laboratory results “did not develop latent fingerprints and insufficient evidence was present for investigative comparisons.”
But neither the FBI nor the Secret Service has publicly released the FBI laboratory results, and DNA experts say the only fool-proof way to demonstrate whether sufficient DNA existed on the baggie now to run against hits in national and state criminal DNA databases is to test it again.
“The only way to really tell, is to test it again and see what happens,” Gary Clayton Harmor, chief forensic DNA analyst at the Serological Research Institute in Richmond, California, told RCP. “Some labs will test anything, and others are more reluctant if they think it’s not a good enough sample to [test against national DNA databases]. The FBI, knowing them, they’re probably very conservative, and it may be that they said, ‘Nope, there’s not enough here to do anything meaningful with.’ It really depends on who’s doing the testing and how they did it.”
RealClearPolitics over the last week submitted a FOIA request for the FBI laboratory findings on the cocaine bag to the FBI and the Secret Service, but so far, the Secret Service FOIA office has denied RCP’s request for expedited service and the FBI’s counterpart has yet to respond.
Two sources tell RCP that Secret Service surveillance video clearly shows all the White House staff and other individuals who entered through the West Wing entrance, where the agency says the cocaine was found inside a locker in a vestibule leading to a lobby area down the hall from the Situation Room. The Secret Service, however, never interviewed that group of individuals, citing the FBI’s alleged inability to find sufficient DNA evidence to link the cocaine to anyone.
There are strict narcotics evidence retention policies for many federal law enforcement agencies. Department of Justice agencies, including the DEA and the FBI, must retain the narcotics evidence for two months before destroying it unless it is deemed abandoned or no longer needed as evidence.
The Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Secret Service, has no specific publicly documented policy for destroying abandoned narcotics. The Secret Service also did not respond to a request for any written policy it followed when it sent the cocaine bag to D.C. police for destruction.
The push to quickly destroy the cocaine factors into allegations RCP reported last fall in which three sources alleged that former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and others in top agency leadership positions wanted to destroy the cocaine quickly but faced internal resistance from the Secret Service Uniformed Division and the Forensics Services Division.
The Uniformed Division, which is charged with protecting the facilities and venues for presidents, was a key player in the decision-making because one of its officers had discovered the cocaine on July 2, 2023, a quiet Sunday when President Biden and his family were at Camp David in Maryland. On Sunday night, after Secret Service Technical Services Division officers couldn’t identify the white substance, the Uniformed Division locked down the White House and called in the D.C. Fire Department hazmat teams to ensure that it wasn’t anthrax or ricin.
The discovery of the bag of cocaine posed a problem for Cheatle, who resigned in the face of bipartisan pressure after the July 13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
Hunter Biden had a well-documented addiction to cocaine, crack cocaine, and other substances for many years but repeatedly claimed to be sober since 2021, an assertion that had prompted former President Biden to often proclaim how “proud” he is of his son. While neither Joe nor Hunter Biden were at the executive mansion when the cocaine was found, it was discovered after a period when Hunter had been staying there.
Cheatle became close to the Biden family while serving on Vice President Joe Biden’s protective detail – so close that Biden tapped Cheatle for the director job in 2022, in part because of her close relationship to first lady Jill Biden.
During the feverish speculation in the days and weeks after the cocaine’s discovery, the White House refused to answer whether the cocaine came from a Biden family member and labeled as “irresponsible” reporters who asked about a possible link to Hunter or another Biden family member.
It’s unclear exactly when Cheatle and other top officials tried to persuade the Forensics Services Division to destroy the evidence. At some point during the brief investigation, Matt White, the vault supervisor, received a call from Cheatle or someone speaking on her behalf asking him to destroy the bag of cocaine because agency leaders wanted to close the case, according to two sources in the Secret Service community.
White’s boss, Glenn Dennis, head of the Forensics Services Division, then conferred with the Uniformed Division, which first discovered the cocaine.
At some point, Cheatle appears to have overruled Richard Macauley, who appears to have paid a price in his Secret Service career – at least temporarily – for standing his ground.
At the time of the cocaine’s discovery, Macauley was serving as the acting chief of the Uniformed Division after the recent retirement of Alfonso Dyson Sr., a 29-year veteran of the agency. When Dyson left his position, Macauley, who is black, and was named the Secret Services Uniformed Division Officer of the Year in 2018, became acting director. Despite Cheatle’s push to hire and promote minority men and women, Macauley was passed over for the job of Uniformed Division chief in what some in the agency suspected was an act of retaliation for supporting those who refused to dispose of the cocaine. Cheatle brought in Mike Buck, an agent who was in retirement, to serve in the top U.D. role instead of Macauley.
After Trump chose Sean Curran to lead the agency, however, Buck left, and Curran tapped Macauley to replace him.
Shifting Secret Service public statements, overly redacted documents, and media misinterpretations have contributed to an avalanche of lingering questions about the cocaine. Several major media outlets initially reported that the Secret Service had discovered the drug in the White House library, citing a D.C. Fire EMS dispatch call that appeared to state that the substance was found there. This information was based on early communications from a firefighter on the hazardous materials team who radioed into headquarters about a “yellow bar saying cocaine hydrochloride” and another statement about “no match found in the library” during the response to the incident.
Several hazmat experts tell RCP that the reference to the “library” was not a physical location in the White House but a reference to the chemical library from a handheld device known as a “Gemini” that fire departments and others use to identify substances.
Mike Parsons, a product manager for Thermo Fisher Scientific, the company that manufactures the Gemini handheld device, said the term “library” is used to identify the collection of chemical spectra that the Gemini can identify and display on its screen.
“The library is built on known samples and substances,” Parsons said in an interview. “It’s going to compare the spectra collected in the field to the spectra in the library and make an identification match.”
After correcting mistaken reports that the cocaine was found in the White House library, media reports then cited a Guglielmi statement that the cocaine was found in a “West Wing workspace.” Days later, Guglielmi clarified further that it was found in a small locker in a vestibule near the West Executive Avenue entrance to the West Wing, a heavily trafficked area where visitors and lower-level staff store electronics before VIP tours.
A FOIA-released internal Secret Service document further muddied the waters by claiming that the cocaine was found in the “[redacted] lobby floor,” creating even more suspicion surrounding the location where the cocaine was first discovered. Sources familiar with the statement in a Secret Service Protective Division document said it was not a reference to the physical floor of a room, but the lobby level of the West Wing where the lockers were located in a vestibule leading into it.
The Secret Service has confirmed that “locker 50,” where the cocaine was allegedly left, has a missing key.
Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics' national political correspondent.
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Sat, 06/07/2025 - 12:50
Ukraine Just 'Gave Putin A Reason To Bomb The Hell Out Of Them,' Trump Says
Ukraine Just 'Gave Putin A Reason To Bomb The Hell Out Of Them,' Trump Says
On Friday Trump was asked whether Ukraine's drone strikes deep inside Russia changed his view of Zelensky's "cards". For months, Trump has said that Kiev has no cards to play, but reporters wondered if last Sunday's 'Operation Spider's Web' - which involved Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia and damage at five key airbases, including destruction of strategic bombers - has changed where things stand in Trump's mind.
Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvm43EdK0Vc
to reporters aboard Air Force One by saying, "Well they gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night. That’s the thing I didn’t like about it."
?itok=sUTX9GuM
"When I saw it I said, ‘Here we go, now it’s going to be a strike'" - Trump continued, in reference to what has become major nightly tit-for-tat strikes this past week. Ukraine has lately scored direct drone hits on https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-scores-more-hits-airbase-defense-factories-deep-inside-russia
.
A reporter then asked: "Are you worried that Russia-Ukraine could spiral into a nuclear conflict?" And Trump responded: "I don’t… I hope not. I hope not."
The US President was then questioned on where he stands regarding Graham's Russia sanctions bill. Trump said the following:
"We’re going to see. I think Russia will not be making a deal stopping …. Thousand a week soldiers being killed and people being killed, not just soldiers. People being killed…I'll use it if it’s necessary."
Trump then denied reports that he is seeking to intervene with the Senate in order to water down the Graham bill. "No, I haven’t spoken to them about it. They have the bill, it’s going to be up to me. It’s my option. They made it that way….its a very strong bill," he said.
"They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night. That's something I didn't like about it when I saw it. I said, here we go now."
Getting bombed was always part of Kiev's plan. Their inability to manufacture a warcrime out of Russia's response is where… https://t.co/XqSUIVeIhz
— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) https://twitter.com/M_Simonyan/status/1931154170536505480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Graham, who authored the legislation, has provocatively https://news.antiwar.com/2025/06/06/white-house-urges-sen-graham-to-weaken-russia-sanctions-bill/
it as "the most draconian bill I’ve ever seen in my life in the Senate" - and many analysts fear it could reverse current Trump progress toward restoring US-Russia bilateral relations, and it might kill the chance of a future Trump-Putin sit-down meeting.
Over 80 Senators have signed on as cosponsors of the current form of the legislation, but some Republican senators have held off to give Trump-backed negotiations a chance.
As for the overnight Thursday, or early Friday morning hours attack on Ukraine by Russia, The NY Times has https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/world/europe/russia-missile-attack-ukraine-kyiv.html
:
Over the course of some five hours after midnight, Russia launched 407 drones and decoys, nearly 40 cruise missiles and six ballistic missiles from land, air and sea at towns and cities across the breadth of the nation, the Ukrainian Air Force said in https://t.me/kpszsu/35833
. It appeared to be the second-largest drone assault of the war, after Russia launched nearly 500 drones last weekend.
New footage showing what was either an Iskander-M ballistic missile strike, or a massive secondary detonation in Kyiv yesterday. https://t.co/Fb8Y0mBevK
— AMK Mapping 🇳🇿 (@AMK_Mapping_) https://twitter.com/AMK_Mapping_/status/1931004232817090907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But interestingly, Trump's aforementioned response to all these developments could invite more such attacks, given the president has framed it as merely the expected retaliatory response in war. Europe, however, has been seeking more vehement and direct condemnation of Moscow from the White House. Yet Trump is expressing a 'realist' position.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 12:15
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-just-gave-putin-reason-bomb-hell-out-them-trump-says
The Current Nuclear State Of Affairs
The Current Nuclear State Of Affairs
Authored by Peter Hussey via https://realclearwire.com/articles/2025/05/30/the_current_nuclear_state_of_affairs_1113411.html
,
With the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and for now the passing of the immediate danger of a nuclear conflict in South Asia, it would make sense to review the current world-wide nuclear state of affairs, especially as we honor those who sacrificed to protect our freedoms.
Much of the recent news has concentrated on the buildup of China’s nuclear forces and the Russian threats to use their nuclear forces against Ukraine and its allies. In addition, there have been reviews of North Korean missile tests and to what degree Iran has enriched uranium.
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Although all serious developments, what is missing is an appreciation of what these four rogue states wish to do with their nuclear capability, whether numbering in advance centrifuges or dozens, hundreds, or thousands of nuclear warheads.
As has been often argued, numbers do matter in the nuclear balance. And thus, increasing numbers should be of growing concern to U.S. security analysts.
But what is it that these states wish to do with these nuclear weapons?
That’s where the rubber meets the road.
Three of the four are seeking to build “empires” of sorts while the fourth (North Korea) is a cooperative adjunct of the other three and undertakes whatever the three require.
President Putin has said he does not wish to re-create the Soviet Union. However, he apparently does want to re-create Russia as an empire, including and particularly incorporating Ukraine, the Baltics, Finland, and much of Eastern Europe. Russia is not only terrorizing Ukraine with drones and missiles but also engaging in sabotage and cyber war against nations in eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
China sees its rightful place in the international firmament as the world’s hegemon having a right under heaven to be the world’s premier power, even as Gordon Chang has cautioned, including dominion over outer space, the moon, and even Mars to achieve these goals. China has unleashed unrestricted warfare against the United States and its allies especially in the economic field and harms our social cohesion with what Xi calls a reverse opium war.
Iran is guided by its constitutional mandate to export its violent and terrorist Islamic doctrine through the use of multiple proxy, terror organizations, such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
After 56 years of such terror, Iran has caused the death of tens of thousands at a cost of multiple trillions of dollars. Contrary to popular belief, Iran’s terror campaigns are not going to be settled with the adoption of an unattainable but pretend two state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Iran seeks to build an Iranian condominium of allies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria as well as Gaza and the West Bank with which to attack Israel and U.S. interests in the Middle East. That Israel and the United States have seriously eroded this Iranian objective is good news, but the bad news remains that Iran fiercely holds onto this objective.
As long as the United States maintains military forces in the Republic of Korea, North Korea will probably not invade. However, North Korea’s role is to pin down American resources in and around the Republic of Korea and Japan, in order to force the United states to provide resources in the area while Chinese created conflict is initiated elsewhere in the western Pacific, particularly with respect to Taiwan. You can be sure that the CCP will cleverly use North Korea as a proxy force to make it all the more difficult for the United States to defend its other allies in the region.
In addition, it is well known North Korea and Iran cooperate on missile and nuclear technology developments. North Korea and Russia cooperate similarly, as well as having the former provide troops for Russia’s war against Ukraine. In addition, North Korea serves as China’s agent whenever the CCP decides to create military mischief somewhere against American interests. And China buys Iran and Russia energy, helps Iran arm the Houthis piracy, and underwrites most of the North Korean economy.
These enemy forces in Europe, the Middle East and Asia confront the United States with serious military threats that cannot be thwarted by any U.S. quick pivot to Asia. All our allies must pivot as well to all three geographic areas as the United States cannot deter these threats alone. That is why the administration as far back as 2017 pushed hard to get NATO to the 2 percent\GDP defense level and why now in 2025 that goal has rightly extended to 5 percent.
Europe has a GDP closing in on $20 trillion, with a population of 449 million, and a per capita income of $62,000. America’s Indo-Pacific allies number two billion people, with a GDP of $20 trillion and a per capita income reaching $34,000 in the Republic of Korea and Japan, $84,000 in Singapore and $10,000 in India.
All can contribute to freedom’s collective security which is precisely what the Administration is seeking, and putting America first is not putting the U.S. alone. The U.S. investment in defense is now approaching $1 trillion which is necessary to protect our security and deter bad “hombres.” When measured in what it would cost the United States to buy the military fielded by China and Russia, the U.S. defense spending matches but does not exceed Moscow and Beijing. Given the United States has global obligations and security requirements, the resources applied to defense and security make sense but cannot be expected to meet all our collective and joint security needs. Real allies pull their own weight and do not depend solely on their friends for security.
Together America and her allies can pivot to the growing dangers. And if proceeding with the moral clarity of peace through strength, we can protect our security through deterrence and welcome indeed many future decades of peace and prosperity.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 06/07/2025 - 07:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/current-nuclear-state-affairs
Globalists Go Radio Silent As NATO Flirts With World War III
Globalists Go Radio Silent As NATO Flirts With World War III
Where have all the globalists gone? Yes, unfortunately they’re still out there free when they should be rotting in a frozen gulag or fertilizing an unmarked field somewhere. I get that. However, if you’ve been tracking the elitist cabal as long as I have you might have noticed a sudden and abrupt shift in public activity among the most prominent globalist institutions.
From at least 2019 onward the mask had come completely off. The elites were flooding western media with woke propaganda through their NGO operations. You couldn’t go anywhere without being bombarded with multiculturalism, DEI and LGBT nonsense. There was a clear attempt to engineer a massive cultural shift in the western world; an expedited progressive coup.
Conservatives were relentlessly targeted as “insurrectionists” and a “threat to democracy”. Pandemic hysteria opened the door to an array of mandates as well as legislation designed to erase constitutional protections in the name of “health safety”. The plan was openly admitted: An endless cycle of covid lockdowns and vaccine passports. A perpetual loop of medical tyranny. Globalists were ecstatic, reveling in the fear and calling for the implementation of forced vaccinations, covid tracking apps and even covid camps for people who refused to comply.
In the midst of the frenzy the WEF and other organizations pushed their economic agenda, asserting that the world needed to go cashless, that carbon controls and “climate lockdowns” needed to become normalized. They wanted what they called a “Great Reset” of the global financial framework. Everything was admitted, they barely tried to hide their intentions. It was the New World Order we “conspiracy” analysts had been warning about for decades.
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In the past they would mention details of the plan in obscure white papers or in moments of unguarded discussion. Over the past five years the globalists were essentially dancing in the streets and advertising the NWO for all too see. Why? Because they thought they had already won.
Fast forward to 2025 – The covid mandates and lockdowns are defeated and abandoned. The multicultural invasion is being reversed with a majority of the American population in support of secure borders and deportations. Bans on the transing of kids are being established across the US and LGBT propaganda is being removed from schools. DOGE and Trump instituted cuts which have greatly damaged the government-to-NGO revolving door (which is why many DEI programs are disappearing).
BLM is dead. Pride Month is a dud (so far). Covid is being exposed as the nothingburger it always was. The climate change agenda is fading. The masses are generally suspicious of organizations like the WEF and no one supports a cashless CBDC based system. The globalist ideal has been relegated to the garbage heap and we didn’t even need to fire a shot. Is this what winning looks like?
Not quite.
We have won the information war in the US (for the most part). Europe is taking longer, but conservatives movements are gaining ground; so much ground, in fact, that the elites are arresting people for speech, not to mention arresting their political opponents for being right leaning. This is a sign of panic, not power.
The globalists flew too close to the sun too fast and they got burned. Nearly every major elitist institution has stopped openly promoting “Great Reset” related policies. They’ve limited their media interviews and their think tanks have stopped releasing revealing white papers. Some globalists have suggested in media encounters that globalism is dead. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink even used a Financial Times op-ed to argue https://www.ft.com/content/a348fd6e-cfc4-41e7-a37a-1786495d8538
.
I’ve never seen them back off from their agenda so completely, and I’m highly suspicious of the radio silence.
As I warned in my article https://alt-market.us/world-war-iii-is-now-inevitable-heres-why-it-cant-be-avoided/
, the globalist plan for a Bolshevik coup has failed, but this only means they will move on to more historically predictable tactics. Meaning, exponential economic crisis and world war.
European political leaders have made it nearly impossible to negotiate a legitimate ceasefire in Ukraine because they continue to give Kyiv hope that NATO will step in with boots on the ground. Even if the US completely pulls all support, the Ukrainians believe Europe will fill the gap. This is ridiculous, of course; the EU has no capacity to fight an attrition war with the Russians and they are much more likely to trigger a nuclear event than liberate Ukraine.
What concerns me more, though, is a specific strategy being used by NATO and Kyiv: I’m talking about the deliberate targeting of Russian nuclear infrastructure. This has been an ongoing problem since the beginning of the conflict and it seems to me as if the elites WANT some kind of catastrophic escalation.
Ukraine has used multiple drone attacks to strike nuclear power plants, including its OWN Zaporizhzhia and Chernobyl plants. The Kursk offensive (now failed) pushed towards a nuclear power plant in the region and Russia accused Ukraine of trying to hit the plant with drones. In early 2024, Ukraine long range drone and missile attacks hit two separate Russian “over the horizon” early warning nuclear radar installations.
The Voronezh-DM stations were positioned outside the city of Orsk and the region of Krasnodar (Armavir); far away from the front lines in Ukraine. I warned about this development in June of last year in my article https://alt-market.us/false-flag-on-the-horizon-the-strange-case-of-the-destroyed-russian-nuclear-radar/
.
This past week confirmed my suspicions when Ukraine initiated a complex covert strike on a base holding Russian long range bombers. These bombers were primarily nuclear readiness aircraft and are not generally used to launch FABs or other weapons against Ukrainian targets. The attack could not have been achieved without NATO aid and once again follows the odd pattern of targeting Russian nuclear infrastructure.
There are two obvious dangers attached to this scenario: First, Russia responds with a devastating bombardment of population centers to prove the strike on the bombers did nothing to prevent them from hitting Ukrainian cities from afar. Second, Russia assumes that NATO’s plan is to weaken their nuclear readiness in preparation for European troops entering the war, or in preparation for a nuclear exchange.
In either case, WWIII is the result. Establishment commentators have tried to spin the bomber attack as a Ukrainian victory without consequence, but they deliberately omit the primary purpose of the aircraft. Best case scenario, Russia pounds a few Ukrainian cities with massive ordnance. At worst, the nuclear threat becomes tangible and we edge towards a missile exchange.
I continue to believe that the globalists want to avoid full spectrum nuclear war. Why would they deliberately vaporize the very control grid it took them decades to build? But I do think we will see a limited nuclear event in the near future (perhaps a limited nuke event in Ukraine).
The continuing attacks on nuke related armaments and infrastructure suggest to me an attempt by Kyiv and NATO to create a situation so chaotic that it opens the door to troop deployments and direct confrontation with Moscow before anyone can catch up to what is happening.
Without war, the globalists have nothing. Maybe they can pull off an economic crisis (all the pieces are certainly in place), but in a vacuum they could get the blame. War offers a valuable distraction for the masses and an ever adaptable scapegoat. People broke and starving? Well, that’s just war. The dollar crashing? Currencies are at risk during war. Freedoms being curtailed? Hey, people need to set aside their liberties for the sake of “security”.
There’s a reason why multi-nation wars almost always occur just after historic economic declines. The two crises feed into each other, but the wars also provide cover for extensive centralization schemes. Each successive world war brings us a step closer to world government and a centrally controlled global economic system.
The globalists in Europe are doing everything in their power to prolong the conflagration. They know Ukraine is never going to get their lost territory back. They know that Russia is generating a massive breakout on the front lines in the east. They have no peace plan. Their purpose is to force a direct confrontation between NATO forces and Russian troops. It’s the only explanation for the attacks on Russian nuclear armaments. It’s a provocation designed to end all chances of a ceasefire and take the war to the next level.
The unsettling quiet from normally boisterous NWO reps within think tanks and the media suggests to me that a memo has been posted from on high. All other programs have been scrapped and all eyes are on Ukraine and Russia. Perhaps the globalists have suddenly gone quiet because they’ve set Plan B in motion, and this time they don’t want any of their people talking out of turn until total war is accomplished?
As the old saying goes, loose lips sink ships…
Of course, there’s always the chance we see escalation in Iran, or a Chinese move on Taiwan. There are more than a few precarious powder kegs in place right now. What I see, though, is an inordinate amount amount of financial and political energy going into the Ukraine affair. The elitists are mostly tight lipped about it, but an inordinate amount of financial and political energy is flowing into the region. It’s clear that the next couple of months will be highly unstable as tensions mount.
Diplomatic pathways are fading fast.
Most likely scenario? Ukraine cities get hammered in a relentless Russian bombardment and Europe vows to deploy its forces to intervene. Even if Trump cuts off all US ties to Ukraine and walks away, there’s little that can be done to prevent the disaster that comes next.
It’s not necessarily a scorched earth option for the globalists, but it certainly seems like a last resort – Conjuring a calamity big enough to distract the masses while total centralization is instituted. I’m not saying the plan will work, I’m just saying that this is their most viable strategy.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 06/06/2025 - 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/globalists-go-radio-silent-nato-flirts-world-war-iii
The Ongoing Fight Against US Child Labor
The Ongoing Fight Against US Child Labor
Child https://www.statista.com/topics/775/labor/
law violations in the United States rose in recent years in a manner the Department of Labor has called "alarming".
https://www.statista.com/chart/34594/number-of-child-labor-law-violations-in-the-us/
in the fiscal year of 2024, there were more than 4,000 of these infractions recorded, down from a recent peak of almost 5,800 in FY 2023.
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/child-labor/child-labor-report-congress_2023-2024.pdf
the general increase might have been in connection with more effective enforcement and awareness.
https://www.statista.com/chart/34594/number-of-child-labor-law-violations-in-the-us/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
The peak was at least in part connected to a https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230217-1
which has now been found to have employed more than 100 minors in hazardous, overnight cleaning operations in Nebraska and Minnesota.
The case that opened the eyes of many for the harsh realities of present-day child labor ended in February 2023 when Packers Sanitation Services Inc. paid $1.5 million in civil penalties on top of taking mandated steps to strengthen compliance within the company. Meat packing is an industry that has been notorious for employing children in hazardous conditions in the United States, with 145 compliance actions taken in the fiscal years 2023 and 2024 combined. A much bigger general violator of child labor laws is the hospitality industry at more than 1,100 compliance actions over the two given years. Other industries with many infractions were janitorial services and retail, where like in hospitality children run the risk of working inapproriate hours.
Human trafficking is another aspect that is sadly intertwined with child labor and in the fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the DOL notified the Department of Health and Human Services in relation to the suspected human trafficking of 43 workers they suspected were minors as well as making 11 other referrals.https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2024/april/child-labor-trafficking-is-ensnaring-both-us--and-foreign-born--0.html
that around 60 percent of youths affected by child labor trafficking were form other countries, while around 40 percent were from the United States. The research found that victims commonly knew their trafficker and that in 40 percent of cases they were a family member. This could lead in some cases to the problem being overlooked, the report found. It also advocated for providing official and appropriate vocational opportunities for minors as well as safe housing for all young people in the country to make them less vulnerable to laboral exploitation.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 06/06/2025 - 23:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/ongoing-fight-against-us-child-labor
Japan's iSpace Spacecraft Crashes On Moon, Shares Crater Back On Earth
Japan's iSpace Spacecraft Crashes On Moon, Shares Crater Back On Earth
Tokyo-based ispace Inc.'s second uncrewed lunar landing attempt ended in failure on Friday, as its Resilience lander crashed during the final descent phase. The lunar mishap marks another setback for the Japanese firm.
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"As of 8:00 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers have determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored and therefore completing Success 9 is not achievable. It has been decided to conclude the mission," ispace wrote on X.
As of 8:00 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers have determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored and therefore completing Success 9 is not achievable. It has been decided to conclude the mission.
“Given that there is currently no… https://t.co/IoRUfggoiQ
— ispace (@ispace_inc) https://twitter.com/ispace_inc/status/1930816234188365871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The mission, which was positioned as a pivotal moment for Japan's entry into lunar exploration and a cornerstone for its commercial space ambitions, has sidelined moon missions from the company for now. The loss follows a failed 2023 mission due to a software error.
Meanwhile, Texas-based rivals Intuitive Machines Inc. and Firefly Aerospace Inc. have already achieved lunar landings. Firefly became the first private company to successfully land a functioning spacecraft on the moon in March, while Intuitive Machines managed a hard touchdown—but its lander lost functionality just hours later.
Ispace provided color on the sequence of events that led to the failed landing:
ispace engineers at the HAKUTO-R Mission Control Center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, transmitted commands to execute the landing sequence at 3:13 a.m. on June 6, 2025. The RESILIENCE lander then began the descent phase. The lander descended from an altitude of approximately 100 km to approximately 20 km, and then successfully fired its main engine as planned to begin deceleration. While the lander's attitude was confirmed to be nearly vertical, telemetry was lost thereafter, and no data indicating a successful landing was received, even after the scheduled landing time had passed.
Based on the currently available data, the Mission Control Center has been able to confirm the following: The laser rangefinder used to measure the distance to the lunar surface experienced delays in obtaining valid measurement values. As a result, the lander was unable to decelerate sufficiently to reach the required speed for the planned lunar landing. Based on these circumstances, it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface.
After communication with the lander was lost, a command was sent to reboot the lander, but communication was unable to be re-established.
In markets, iSpace shares in Tokyo crashed on Friday, closing down nearly 29%... What goes up must come down.
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Earlier, Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada held a news conference following news of the failed landing attempt. He compared iSpace to SpaceX: "SpaceX has also failed several times, but now SpaceX occupies the launching market."
Ispace CFO Jumpei Nozaki recently told CNN that the company has already secured funds for a third attempt at landing a craft on the lunar surface.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 06/06/2025 - 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/japans-ispace-crashes-moon-shares-crater-back-earth
Germany Considers Implementing Retirement Accounts For Kids As Young As 6 Years Old
Germany Considers Implementing Retirement Accounts For Kids As Young As 6 Years Old
Because what six-year-old doesn’t want to start planning for retirement?
Germany’s government is floating an “early start pension” for kids aged 6 to 18, https://fortune.com/2025/06/02/boomers-forced-to-work-unretire-affordability-not-gen-alpha-6-year-olds-germany-retirement-accounts/
.
Instead of relying on your own paycheck (which, at 6, probably isn't that robust), the government would pony up 10 euros ($11) a month per child. Over 12 years, that’s a whopping 1,440 euros—plus whatever compounding interest the Tooth Fairy manages to generate.
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Once they hit 18, these kids can add their own cash and get tax-free gains—but no withdrawals until they’re 67. Because nothing says “carpe diem” like waiting six decades to cash in.
that this is all part of Germany’s plan to reform pensions, bolster private saving, and generally get people thinking about the unaffordable retirements that plague modern life. With people living longer and working well past 65, retirement is looking less like a golden sunset and more like a second job. The share of Americans over 65 who are still working has doubled since the 1980s—because that beach house just won’t buy itself.
Financial gurus like Suze Orman say Gen Z could retire millionaires if they start investing early enough. She crunches the numbers: just $100 a month at 12% growth could net them over a million bucks by 65. Now imagine starting at age 6 instead of 26—who knows, maybe they’ll be sipping umbrella drinks while their parents are still on the clock.
That is, if a million bucks even buys you a coffee in America decades from now...
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 06/06/2025 - 02:45
Netanyahu's Rule In Peril As Ultra-Orthodox Move To Dissolve Knesset Over Conscription Of Haredim
Netanyahu's Rule In Peril As Ultra-Orthodox Move To Dissolve Knesset Over Conscription Of Haredim
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling government coalition is under a new threat of being toppled after the largest opposition party introduced a measure to dissolve the parliament -- and key ultra-Orthodox political and spiritual leaders, angered over the prospect of ultra-Orthodox youth being included in the country's military draft, are supporting the move to force new elections.
Since Israel was created in 1948, ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews have been exempted from the military conscription that's imposed on almost all other men and women. Haredi men typically dedicate their entire lives to religious study in seminaries called Yeshivas. With Israel waging a multi-front war encompassing Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, the exemption has become increasingly unpopular with the other segments of Israeli society that must heed the call.
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In June 2024, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the government must start drafting the Haredi. "At the height of a difficult war, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-supreme-court-rules-religious-seminary-students-must-be-drafted-military-2024-06-25/
is more than ever acute," wrote the court in a unanimous decision. The Haredi erupted in protests -- some of which turned violent. Since last summer, ultra-Orthodox politicians, including the non-Haredi variety, have been pushing for the Knesset to overcome the high court ruling by codifying the exemption.
On Wednesday, leading opposition party Yesh Atid advanced a bill calling for the Knesset's dissolution. The first vote on the measure is expected next week. https://www.ft.com/content/f916f22c-9b51-42ae-8ccd-1fbc886c104c
of a faction of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Party, Rabbis Dov Lando and Degel Hatorah, instructed members to move forward with an attempt to topple Netanyahu's government over the draft issue.
?itok=LQQMjzad
There are 120 seats in the Knesset, and Netanyahu's coalition controls 68 of them. Of his coalition, 18 come from Israel's two main ultra-Orthodox parties. They've already been boycotting votes for several weeks. Though he's proven his ability to dodge political bullets time and time again, Netanyahu would likely be ousted in a new election: A new survey projected https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-bennett-led-bloc-would-triumph-over-pms-coalition-if-elections-held-today/
, compared to 62 to 72 for an opposition bloc led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has repeatedly opposed the draft exemption.
The ultra-Orthodox have rattled their Knesset-dissolution sabers before, but this move is being perceived as far more serious -- as a measure is on the table with the backing of the parties' religious advisors. On Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu's office assured that a crisis can be averted, saying "https://www.ft.com/content/f916f22c-9b51-42ae-8ccd-1fbc886c104c
.” However, any such bridging threatens to trigger outrage among the non-Haredi whose young family members continue facing death and loss of limbs in Gaza and elsewhere as they're forced to serve.
?itok=oF2O45i2
The internal division comes as the country is steadily treading deeper into international-pariah territory, owing to growing convictions that the country's military campaign in Gaza has inflicted a wildly disproportionate toll on civilians. In the latest indicator of that dynamic, YouGov reports that support and sympathy for Israel among Western Europeans have reached the lowest levels the firm has recorded in its nine years of polling. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/03/public-support-for-israel-in-western-europe-lowest-ever-recorded-yougov
of tracking that sentiment.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 06/05/2025 - 13:00
"Worse Than The 2008 Financial Crisis" – Germany Becomes A Nation Of Bankruptcy With No End In Sight
"Worse Than The 2008 Financial Crisis" – Germany Becomes A Nation Of Bankruptcy With No End In Sight
Germany is bracing for a continued surge in major insolvencies throughout 2025 and even 2026, according to a recent analysis by credit insurer Allianz Trade. This all comes after a disastrous 2024, which saw a record-breaking number of bankruptcies in the country.
?itok=Ly6p9yW-
Allianz Trade forecasts an overall increase of 11 percent in corporate insolvencies in Germany this year, reaching approximately 24,400 cases. A further 3 percent rise to 25,050 cases is anticipated for 2026. These insolvencies put an estimated 210,000 jobs at risk across Germany.
In the first quarter of this year, 16 large German companies—those with revenues of €50 million or more—filed for insolvency. While this is a slight decrease of three cases compared to the same period last year, it’s double the number recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
She predicted Germany's economic demise 3 years ago.
Now, the German economy, run by the left and Greens, is in shambles.
Volkswagen plans to close 3 plants and cut 30,000 workers. https://twitter.com/Alice_Weidel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1851987156236980715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Milo Bogaerts, CEO of Allianz Trade in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, expressed concern over the persistently high number of major insolvencies, attributing it partly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. He warned that no respite is expected, even after 2024, which was a record-breaking negative year for insolvencies.
“Given the bleak economic outlook both in Germany and in global trade, and the many uncertainties caused by the tariff storm, we expect many major insolvencies and thus significant losses to continue in 2025,” Bogaerts stated. He added that these large-scale insolvencies will likely have a ripple effect on supplier companies, potentially creating “particularly large holes in their coffers” and impacting supply chains.
However, alarm bells are ringing across the country. The Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) published a declaration by more than 100 associations at the beginning of April where they directly addressed the ruling CDU and SPD. At the time, they were still working on a coalition agreement.
The BDI stated: “In the past few weeks, the economic situation has deteriorated dramatically. The facts are undeniable. Germany is in a serious economic crisis. A comparison with other countries shows that this crisis is primarily homemade.”
The BDI is also apparently unhappy with the coalition’s details on tax policy.
“In terms of tax policy, the coalition lags behind what is necessary. In the future, every scope must be used to relieve companies in order for the tax burden to quickly become internationally competitive,” said Tanja Gönner, BDI’s general manager. “The contract rightly formulates an ambitious modernization agenda for the state and administration, which must now also be followed by a determined implementation…. The bottom line is that we will measure the federal government by whether it will make the state more efficient and modernized.”
🇩🇪🚨 Ford Germany plans to cut 4,000 jobs as Berlin's economic disaster continues to unfold.
"The entire automotive industry is in crisis all over the world, in Europe and especially in Germany. This transition to electro-mobility is hitting us very, very hard." https://t.co/oeqkDg0TBi
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1859958094174019766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Sectors particularly affected include textile-related retail, the automotive supply industry, and healthcare. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, three German hospitals and three large textile companies filed for insolvency, alongside two automotive suppliers and two chemical companies.
In 2024, Germany saw a negative record of 87 major insolvencies, a 36 percent increase from the previous year. The combined turnover of these affected companies reached €17.4 billion, marking a 55 percent jump compared to 2023.
In an article for https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/insolvenzen-112.html
, reporters spoke to Jürgen Philippi, a publicly appointed auctioneer who also writes court reports for bankruptcy advisors. He has been working in the business for 30 years.
“There was a lot going on in the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent years. But now it’s worse. More and more industries are affected. I haven’t seen that yet,” said Philippi, who is so overburdened with bankruptcies that he has turned many clients away.
He also says there are fewer and fewer buyers willing to try and turn companies around.
“I am increasingly observing that managing directors do not want to continue their battered companies, although there are still market opportunities. Their reasoning? Taxes that are too high, too much bureaucracy,” said Philippi.
“‘I don’t want to do that anymore,’ I hear that more and more,” he added.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 06/05/2025 - 03:30
Trump Bans Citizens Of 12 Countries From Traveling To The US
Trump Bans Citizens Of 12 Countries From Traveling To The US
Having previously hinted he might crack down on foreign visitors, late on Wednesday President Trump https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/restricting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats/
banning nationals from 12 countries from traveling to the US, and introduced travel restrictions on seven others, reintroducing a controversial immigration policy that came to define the early days of his first term.
The ban will completely bar travel to the U.S. by citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Chad, The Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Citizens from an additional list of countries will be barred from permanently immigrating to the U.S., along with applying for tourist or student visas; those countries are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Citizens from these seven countries will still be eligible for other temporary visas, such as the H-1B or other temporary work visas.
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The ban only applies to people currently outside the U.S., though anyone currently in the U.S. who leaves could get stuck abroad as a result of it. It also excludes any nationals of these countries who hold green cards, along with anyone traveling to the US for coming major sporting events, including the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028. Afghans who receive special immigrant visas, a special visa reserved for Afghans who worked alongside the U.S. military during its two-decade presence in Afghanistan, are also exempt.
The administration justified the restrictions in a number of ways. Several of the countries, it said, had unacceptably high temporary visa overstay rates, necessitating a ban. Others, it said, couldn’t be relied upon to issue valid passports to verify a person’s identity. Haiti, the only country in the Western Hemisphere to face a complete ban, was included because “hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the U.S. during the Biden administration,” the White House said.
That said, today's decision is hardly a surprise: Trump repeatedly promised during the campaign that, if re-elected, he would bring back an expanded version of his first travel ban, though the issuance of the ban took months longer than expected. In anticipation, numerous universities and businesses advised their students and employees to remain in the country after Trump’s inauguration to avoid being ensnared.
Citizens of many of the countries on the final list have been on high alert for months, after earlier lists circulated in several media reports. It isn’t likely, then, that the new ban would create scenes of https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trumps-immigration-ban-sows-chaos-1485748079?mod=article_inline
across the country, as the first travel ban did when Trump signed it in a surprise move a week after taking office.
After several years of litigation, the Supreme Court in 2018 https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-upholds-trump-travel-ban-1530022794?mod=article_inline
of Trump’s travel ban, so long as the administration could articulate a rationale for why countries are included. That will make it tougher for immigration advocates to challenge this new ban. Still, it isn’t clear how the administration included certain countries when others that meet similar criteria were left off the list.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 06/04/2025 - 23:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/trump-bans-citizens-12-countries-traveling-us
Biden's Press Secretary Leaves The Democrat Party, Announces New Book
Biden's Press Secretary Leaves The Democrat Party, Announces New Book
https://headlineusa.com/bidens-lesbian-press-secretary-leaves-the-democrat-party-announces-new-book/
(emphasis ours),
Former White House press secretary https://headlineusa.com/tag/karine-jean-pierre
has a book out this fall that promises a close look at former President Joe Biden’s decision not to run for reelection and calls for thinking beyond the two-party system.
Jean-Pierre herself has switched her affiliation to independent after working in two Democratic administrations, according to Legacy Lit, a Hachette Book Group imprint that will publish “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines” on Oct. 21.
“Until January 20, I was responsible for speaking on behalf of the President of the United States,” Jean-Pierre, the first Black woman and openly gay person to hold the position of White House press secretary, said in a statement released Wednesday.
🚨 NEW — Karine Jean-Pierre is LEAVING the Democrat Party, as outlined in her new book "Independent."
She tells her story of feeling disillusioned with Democrat politics after serving in two Democrat administrations, and calls for thinking "outside the party lines."
The first… https://t.co/epziFJ61QC
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1930269508481986893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“At noon on that day, I became a private citizen who, like all Americans and many of our allies around the world, had to contend with what was to come next for our country. I determined that the danger we face as a country requires freeing ourselves of boxes. We need to be willing to exercise the ability to think creatively and plan strategically.”
Jean-Pierre, 50, succeeded Jen Psaki as press secretary in 2022 after previously serving as deputy press secretary and also working as a senior adviser during Biden’s victorious 2020 campaign. During President Barack Obama’s first term, she was a regional political director.
Jean-Pierre was criticized at times for being evasive about Biden’s physical condition. Her book comes at a time when CNN’s https://headlineusa.com/tag/Jake-tapper
and other mainstream media figures are finally admitting that they and the Democrats knew all along that Biden was unfit to serve.
Wednesday’s announcement from Legacy Lit says that she will take readers “through the three weeks that led to Biden’s abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision.”
“She presents clear arguments and provocative evidence as an insider about the importance of dismantling the torrent of disinformation and misinformation that has been rampant in recent elections and provides passionate insight for moving forward,” the announcement said.
KJP: The White House was broken, I had nothing to do with it.
Also KJP: The Biden videos are cheap fakes. https://t.co/mxLlKql2pW
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1930298497888362673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Jankyman (@GA_Optimal) https://twitter.com/GA_Optimal/status/1930296523096568006?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Tease image via https://x.com/CorruptMM/status/1802810646440067297
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 06/04/2025 - 13:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bidens-press-secretary-leaves-democrat-party-announces-new-book
Bitcoin Becomes Safe Collateral: JPMorgan To Offer Loans Financed With Crypto Assets
Bitcoin Becomes Safe Collateral: JPMorgan To Offer Loans Financed With Crypto Assets
Less than 8 years ago, when bitcoin was trading at $4,000 (compared to $104,000 today), Jamie Dimon demonstrated once again that he may be an ok big bank CEO (after all, without TARP JPMorgan would not exist today), but he is a terrible visionary when he warned his traders that anyone caught trading bitcoin"would be fired."
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Fast forward to today, then, when not only will Jamie (who at almost 70 should really be thinking succession) not fire anyone at JPM for trading the best performing asset of the millennium, if not all time, but according to Bloomberg JPM will soon allow trading and wealth-management clients use some cryptocurrency-linked assets as collateral for loans, a major step by the biggest US bank to make inroads into an industry President Donald Trump has pledged to support.
According to the report, the firm will start providing financing against crypto exchange-traded funds, beginning with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said. The move marks the latest effort involving crypto among the biggest US banks after the Trump administration started removing regulatory barriers.
Just as importantly, JPMorgan - which until now refused to add crypto to the calculation of net worth - will also begin taking wealth-management clients’ crypto holdings into account when assessing their overall net worth and liquid assets, the people said, asking not to be named as the plans aren’t public. That means cryptocurrencies will be given similar treatment to stocks, cars or art when calculating how much a client can borrow against their assets.
Which, incidentally, is precisely what we predicted last November when we said that Bitcoin is about to become "safe collateral."
Bitcoin is about to become "safe collateral"
Cantor Fitzgerald is discussing receiving support from Tether for its planned multibillion-dollar program to lend dollars to clients who put up Bitcoin as collateral: BBG
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1860728633259704327?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
JPMorgan was one of the first major banks to start using blockchain technology for services like payments, and counts crypto exchanges like Coinbase among its clients. Which is ironic because its CEO remains a vocal crypto skeptic, and while he won't fire the firm's bitcoin traders, he said as recently as the firm’s investor day in May that he’s “not a fan” of Bitcoin, but that JPMorgan would allow clients to buy it.
“I don’t think we should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke,” Dimon said at the time. “I defend your right to buy Bitcoin, go at it.”
And starting in the next few days, Dimon will start issuing cigarette-backed loans... pardon bitcoin-backed.
The fact that IBIT - and soon all other crypto assets- will be eligible collateral, means that large holders no longer need to sell when they need access to liquidity, but can simply pledge their IBIT for immediate funding needs, breaking the loop of forced liquidations which until recently allowed coordinated short attacks to pressure the market at will. In fact, with IBIT pledgable, it will allow what many have called a perpetual cycle of buying bitcoin, using it to issue loans, then using the loan proceeds to buy even more bitcoin, a cycle which was responsible for much of the cryptocurrency surge in the 2020-2021 period.
Big banks have been making plans to give clients access to crypto this year, responding to client demand and a more favorable regulatory environment. Rival Morgan Stanley is working on a plan to add cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade platform, Bloomberg reported last month.
It's not just bitcoin: the overhaul at JPM will also benefit holder of Ether as other crypto ETFs are expected to be included after the change is made.
Spot-Bitcoin ETFs were introduced in the US in January 2024 and have swelled to oversee a combined $128 billion, making them one of the most successful launches ever. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency itself has skyrocketed since Trump won the presidential election last November, reaching an all-time high of $111,980 in May. The Bloomberg report helped push the price of both bitcoin and ether near session highs.
As for what happens next, we predicted that as well last December when we said that it is just a matter of time before the "creative" bank that came up with Credit Default Swaps issues a bitcoin SPV that offers institutional buyers a 5% coupon (before leverage).
We are probably weeks away from JPMorgan offering a bitcoin SPV to institutions which pays a 5% coupon (before leverage)
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1864727941843734773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
We are confident that this will very soon happen.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 06/04/2025 - 12:05
Nvidia's Revenue Pipeline Tops $1 Trillion, UBS Tells Clients
Nvidia's Revenue Pipeline Tops $1 Trillion, UBS Tells Clients
Following Nvidia's https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/nvda-jumps-3-after-solid-q1-results-despite-25bn-lost-sales-china
last Wednesday, UBS analysts were inundated with investor inquiries, primarily focused on the chipmaker's near-term growth visibility and the durability of its long-term revenue pipeline.
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Below, UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri addressed the most frequently asked questions, unpacked key commentary from the earnings call, and provided expanded visibility into a multi-year AI infrastructure boom.
Visibility to data center revenue doubling yet again?
An area where we have received a few investor inbounds, but still seems somewhat overlooked is NVDA's commentary on its pipeline. The company noted on its FQ1:26 earnings call that it has visibility into "tens of gigawatts" of AI infrastructure projects in the "not too distant future". Assuming a "low case" pipeline of 20GW and NVDA's stated range of ~$40-50B per GW, this puts its total revenue opportunity for this pipeline at a minium of ~$1T. While the company did not specify a timeframe for this pipeline, based on our conversations, we believe these projects are likely to be rolled out over a 2-3 year period. Using the average of this timeframe, this suggests the company may effectively have "visibility" to ~$400B/yr in data center revenue, or about 2x our $233B data center revenue estimate for C2026. This is obviously very heady, but we did note in UBS' deep dive on OpenAI's Abilene AI Factory that Crusoe alone has ~20GW in project pipeline and this is just one digital infrastructure project developer. The upshot of this is that we believe investor concerns around growth sustainability should be allayed by some of this commentary from the earnings call.
The math around the rack numbers given on the call
One of the main investor questions we got coming out of the call was what NVDA was trying to imply by the GB200 rack numbers it provided on the call - which were so far above conventional wisdom that it spurred some confusion. The company said "on average major hyperscalers are each deploying nearly 1,000 NVL72 racks or 72,000 Blackwell GPUs per week and are on track to further ramp output this quarter". Taken at face value, this implies a GPU run rate of nearly 1MM/Q for each hyperscaler - so far above most consensus estimates that it was hard to foot. Therefore, we believe the company was not trying to communicate a revenue "run-rate" but simply trying to reassure investors that GB200 rack issues are resolved and a large quantity of racks are moving from the ODMs and OEMs now to customers - consistent with our commentary into the call that investor concerns about supply chain inventory were overblown. We would not try to do anything more with these numbers as we think the company meant this to be more illustrative than quantitative.
NVLink bolsters growth in Networking.
Networking revenue grew to ~$5B in FQ1:26 (+64% Q/Q), $1B of which NVDA attributed to NVLink revenue which was up substantially Q/Q. We believe this is almost entirely tied to the ramp in shipments of GB200 NVL72 rack scale systems, each of which includes a 72-GPU NVLink domain (vs an up to 8-GPU domain for HGX systems). NVDA is recognizing NVLink revenue separately for these NVL72 systems, which is/was not the case for HGX boards where revenue has been consolidated into the Compute sub-segment of Data Center. As such, we would expect Networking revenue to track more closely to NVL72 rack shipments going forward, albeit maybe with a little bit of a lag.
Gaming growth driven by… gamers.
The sharp improvement in Gaming revenue in FQ1 (up nearly 50% Q/Q and well ahead of expectations) has prompted many investors to question whether there was some component of 50-series RTX cards being pulled into China for AI workload purposes. Though this cannot be completely discounted, we suspect any such pull-in was likely very limited due to: 1) availability of Blackwell-based RTX GPUs being still too limited in the gaming channel to enable larger-scale deployment, 2) RTX 50-series GPUs are PCIe based and do not support NVLink for scale-up, and 3) NVDA had to some degree starved the gaming channel for Blackwell out of the gate as it prioritized capacity for data center applications so the FQ1 (April) growth was driven by back-filling the channel following these severe supply shortages.
Gross margin drivers for 2H.
General improvement in Blackwell profitability and cost downs remain the primary driver to get margins back to the mid-70%s target by FYE26. Part of this, we believe, is GB300 - for which NVDA may actually recognise a small amount of revenue inside of FQ2 with the real ramp being FQ3. Longer-term, we believe pricing to value remains the key function for NVDA's margins - this comes down to both hardware and the software overlay of which the release of Dynamo at GTC is a prime example (accelerates inference on NVDA hardware by >30x).
Taken together, Nvidia's earnings, along with expanding visibility into a multi-year AI infrastructure boom via UBS, suggest that this boom is less about product cycles and more about exponential infrastructure scaling.
Last week, UBS analysts Steven Fisher, Amit Mehrotra, and others noted that the construction boom of AI data centers is not expected to show up in the real economy or provide structural tailwinds until the second quarter of 2026.
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"More slowing before reacceleration in 2026," https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ubs-identifies-start-trump-era-construction-boom-ai-grid-goldman-sees-upside-used-machinery
, "We expect stimulus and structural forces to drive the rebound, while cyclical factors remain weak."
Another UBS note outlined the https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/no-mystery-here-ai-data-center-boom-requires-lot-natural-gas
on data center-driven power demand, particularly for natural gas-linked utilities and midstream names.
The AI data center buildout could be viewed as the digital-age cousin of the 1930s "New Deal"—but instead of highways and dams, it's GPUs and megawatts. It's reshaping American infrastructure but with Big Tech at the helm.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 06/04/2025 - 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/nvidias-data-center-revenue-pipeline-tops-1-trillion-ubs-tells-clients
Beijing Furious After Europe Uses "International Procurement Instrument" For First Time In Escalating Trade War With China
Beijing Furious After Europe Uses "International Procurement Instrument" For First Time In Escalating Trade War With China
When it comes to its trade war with the US, Brussels is quick to parade just how anti-Trump it is, how unfair US trade practices are (just ignore the fact that Europe was far more protectionist for decades) and how much it loves free trade, honest. But in Europe's growing trade war with China (you don't really hear much about it because the media would rather public attention be soaked up by the far less important transatlantic feud, and away from the far more important Chinese trade war) thing are rapidly disintegrating.
As Rabobank's Michael Every points out, the "We Love Free Trade" EU just used its International Procurement Instrument for the first time to freeze Chinese medical devices out of its public procurement markets for five years unless China opens its market to EU equivalents. As Every notes, "that’s economic statecraft with muscle, underlining that there are lots of tools in the mercantilist toolkit besides tariffs."
In response, Beijing took some time away from its constant criticism of US trade policy to also criticize as protectionist the European Union’s plan to curb Chinese medical device manufacturers’ access to public procurement contracts, and vowed to take action to protect the country’s interests, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-03/chinese-firms-warn-eu-procurement-curb-could-hurt-trade-ties?srnd=homepage-americas
reports.
China urged the EU to handle any differences through dialog and cooperation to safeguard trade relations, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “China will closely monitor the EU’s follow-up actions” and will take measures to protect the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, the ministry said.
Beijing’s comments come after EU member states overwhelmingly agreed to the curb, which would represent the first use of its International Procurement Instrument, a 2022 law that’s meant to promote reciprocity in access to public procurement markets, and represents a unique slant on how creative mercantilists can and will get when their markets are threatened. It allows the EU’s executive arm to impose various restrictions on firms seeking to participate in procurements, ranging from score adjustments in tenders to an outright ban from public contracts above €5 million ($5.7 million).
The dispute adds another irritant to relations and comes just as Beijing seeks to shore up ties with the EU, positioning itself as a more reliable partner as Donald Trump alienates the bloc over issues from tariffs to defense. In reality, when it comes to capturing market share, the only thing mercantilists are "reliable" in doing is slashing prices to boost exports.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is due to meet with EU trade officials early this month in Paris, where he may address the bloc’s trade grievances including a lack of fair access to China’s own procurement market. European leaders will travel to Beijing for a summit next month with their Chinese counterparts.
“At first glance recent EU moves relating to China seem a bit contradictory, reviving senior level interaction while taking measures against unfair imports,” said Wendy Cutler, a former senior US trade negotiator now at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
“But, in light of different types of pressures from member states, Brussels needs to navigate carefully when it comes to China,” she said. “It has no choice but to look for avenues of cooperation while sending a clear signal that the EU will stand up for European companies that are facing unfair competition.”
Only problem is that from China's point of view, the competition is completely fair, and it will retaliate accordingly.
Indeed, a Chinese business lobby group warned earlier that EU’s plans would hurt trade ties and the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU expressed “profound disappointment” over the move, according to a statement on Monday.
“Its targeted application against Chinese enterprises sends a troubling signal—not only adding new complexity to China-EU economic and trade relations, but also contradicting the EU’s stated principles of openness, fairness, and non-discrimination in market access,” said the organization, whose members include the Bank of China, Cosco Shipping Holdings Co. and BYD Co.
“Beijing appears to be sending a warning to all advanced economies that actions against China will have consequences,” said Gerard DiPippo, associate director of the RAND China Research Center. “The odds of an EU-China rapprochement are lower than some speculated after the trade war with the US started.”
Which, of course, will be music to Trump's ears, even if it will be difficult for the mainstream media to explain to its naive audience how the global trade war which it had repeatedly portrayed as "Trump against everyone", was really "everyone against everyone."
In response to a question on the EU’s move, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Tuesday called on the bloc to stand by its commitment to market rules.
The EU launched an investigation into China’s procurement of medical devices last April, with the probe finding in January that Beijing discriminated against foreign firms. Consultations failed to find alternative solutions, Bloomberg previously reported.
The Chinese commerce chamber argued that market reciprocity must be based on “an accurate understanding of historical and practical realities.”
“For years, European medical device companies have enjoyed significant access to the Chinese market, playing a key role in supporting the modernization of China’s healthcare system and achieving substantial growth,” it said. “The EU’s current decision fails to acknowledge this context and undermines the spirit of balanced engagement and mutual benefit.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 06/03/2025 - 23:25
55 Tons Of Meth Ingredient From China Bound For Mexican Drug Cartel Seized In California
55 Tons Of Meth Ingredient From China Bound For Mexican Drug Cartel Seized In California
By Noi Mahoney of https://www.freightwaves.com/news/meth-ingredient-bound-for-mexican-drug-cartel-halted-in-california-ice-says?oly_enc_id=4913D6598389I7Y
Authorities at the Port of Long Beach on Friday seized 55 tons of dicumyl peroxide, a chemical used to make methamphetamine.
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The shipment originated in China and was destined for the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico, according to a https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-cbp-seize-50000-kilograms-meth-precursor-chemicals-destined-sinaloa-cartel
from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The dicumyl peroxide was identified as a result of an initiative launched by ICE in 2019 to identify suspicious shipments of chemical precursors from China, India and other source countries that are destined for drug cartels in Mexico.
Since the initiative was launched, it has led to the interdiction of almost 1,900 tons of chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamines and fentanyl.
In March, it led to the seizure of about 44 tons of glacial acetic acid at Port Houston, which was also destined for the Sinaloa cartel, ICE said.
“This initiative provides Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with a game-changing method to stay one step ahead of the cartels by disrupting the flow of chemicals that they depend on to produce illicit narcotics,” Chad Plantz, ICE HSI-Houston special agent in charge, said in a statement.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 06/03/2025 - 23:00
Everyone Was Just Doing Their Job: How Specialization Enables Systemic Evil
Everyone Was Just Doing Their Job: How Specialization Enables Systemic Evil
https://stylman.substack.com/p/everyone-was-just-doing-their-job
The world's a screaming match—doctors, economists, influencers, all clawing for their slice of truth. Nobody's listening, and nobody's seeing the whole damn picture. We have more information than ever, but we're dumber where it counts, stuck in a loop of shouting past each other. This isn't just politics or algorithm nonsense; it's the cult of specialization—our worship of experts who know everything about nothing. Doctors pushing Covid shots didn't see the fraud. Economists missed the heist. Engineers built surveillance without blinking. Each turned their screw, blind to the machine they were feeding—a Moral Assembly Line where systemic evil thrives. The system's not broken; it's built to break us, and we're all complicit until we start connecting the dots. As I explored in https://brownstone.org/articles/the-illusion-of-expertise/
, we've confused credentials with wisdom, compliance with intelligence. Now we see the deadly consequences: we're not failing because of bad experts—we're failing because specialization itself has become the operating system of institutional evil.
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A Society Talking Past Itself
Step into any barroom debate, X thread, or YouTube comments section, and it's chaos—facts flying, no one landing. We've outsourced our brains to specialists who slice reality into bits too small to mean anything. A cardiologist can't talk vaccines. An economist reduces geopolitics to models, blind to the real forces at play. Everyone's got their PhD in one inch of the world, and we're dumber for it. Specialization doesn't just fracture understanding; it's the architecture of control, ensuring no one sees the crimes—medical fraud, wealth theft, digital chains—unfolding in plain sight. We're not arguing because we're stupid; we're arguing because the system keeps us siloed, complicit, and clueless.
Medical Blindness: Expertise Without Vision
In my medical freedom work, I've seen doctors—smart, caring people—trapped in their own expertise. One, a family physician friend of mine, said https://x.com/jstylman/status/1504861667980890113
, which, since the 1900s, turned healers into assembly-line technicians—prescribe, cut, bill, repeat.
During Covid, this enabled a fraud of historic scale. This isn't just about doctors being wrong—it's about a system that rewards institutional obedience over critical thinking. The shots got Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) on rotten data: trials rigged to show symptom relief, not transmission prevention; myocarditis risks buried; long-term safety ignored. Most people don't realize that if there were effective treatments for Covid, these experimental drugs couldn't have been approved under emergency authorization—but that's exactly what happened. https://x.com/jstylman/status/1522610360016162821
while doctors didn't read her BMJ report and media publications never told her story—they trusted the FDA's "safe and effective" stamp. A restaurant owner I know enforced mandates even after it became clear the shots didn't stop transmission, still trusting the authorities despite rules that made no sense—customers had to mask walking to their table but could remove them while sitting, as if the virus respected dining etiquette. She wasn't malicious; she was compartmentalized, her role so narrow she couldn't see the crime—a coerced, harmful rollout sold as salvation.
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Covid: A Masterclass in Fragmented Fraud
Covid was a crime scene where every expert played their part, blind to the whole.
Medical Compartmentalization
The fraud started with PCR tests. Kary Mullis, PCR's inventor, said in the 1990s it's not a diagnostic tool—it amplifies anything, not just active virus. His voice would have been important during the pandemic since the whole thing was based on his invention. Sadly, he died in August 2019.
Yet it was used to inflate cases, driving fear and lockdowns. Public health ignored immunologists warning of weakened immunity from isolation. Doctors, trusting the CDC, didn't question flawed tests or mandates. The shots were the centerpiece: trials manipulated (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Pfizer-Papers/The-WarRoom-DailyClout-Pfizer-Documents-Analysts/9781648210389
study showed HCQ cut mortality when used early, but the FDA smeared it as 'dangerous.' A hospital administrator I’m friendly with enforced deadly protocols—Remdesivir and ventilators—that harmed patients. Overwhelmingly, people died in hospitals, not at home. Curious. He followed "protocols," not committing a crime—or so he thought.
No one read the data; no one minded the store. In fact, FDA advisor Dr. Eric Rubin, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, openly admitted: "We're never going to learn about how safe this vaccine is unless we start giving it. That's just the way it goes." They were experimenting on children in real time, and saying it out loud.
Economic Compartmentalization
Lockdowns crushed small businesses while Amazon and Pfizer raked in billions—a $4 trillion heist disguised as relief. Economists, buried in GDP models, missed the human toll. Gold bugs and bitcoiners warned of inflation and a widening wealth chasm, but they weren't credentialed economists, so no one listened. Even many libertarians abandoned their framework, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27402886/
, but economists didn't study monetary control. They enabled theft, oblivious to their role.
Psychological Compartmentalization
Lockdowns spiked depression, addiction, and child developmental delays, yet behavioral scientists were absent from task forces. Public health dismissed mental health as "non-essential." A school counselor I know saw teen suicides soar but had no policy voice. She saw the damage but still enforced closures, believing she was following "expert" guidance. The trauma wasn't her department.
Technological Compartmentalization
Engineers built vaccine passports and contact-tracing apps, sold as "public health." They didn't ask how these fed https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/05/emerging-digital-identity-models-secure-and-seamless-travel
or CBDCs' programmable money. A tech developer I met saw his app as "innovation," not surveillance infrastructure. His job was to code, not question geopolitics. Each layer deferred upward, building a control grid no one claimed. Innovation divorced from consequence is how surveillance states are born in beta.
"Just Doing My Job": The Moral Assembly Line
Specialization doesn't just split knowledge—it splits guilt. This is the Moral Assembly Line: everyone turns a screw, no one owns the machine, and when it crushes lives, they say, "It wasn't me." In the Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann scheduled trains, not murders. During the https://stylman.substack.com/p/unveiling-mkultra
, psychologists dosed subjects with LSD, just following CIA orders. During Covid, doctors pushed shots, HR fired the unvaccinated, and journalists parroted identical phrases across every network—'safe and effective,' 'no one is safe until everyone's safe.'
Friends enforced vaccine requirements at parties, thinking they were protecting people, not coercing choice. No one felt like a criminal, but the outcome was fraud, harm, and eroded freedom. Evil hides by breaking itself into pieces too small to feel.
The Design of Disintegration
This is by design. Universities churn out specialists, not synthesizers—papers, not questions. The corruption runs deeper than most realize. Universities don't just churn out specialists—they create a credentialed class psychologically invested in defending the system that elevated them, even when that system causes harm. Medical boards punish doctors who stray, like those who prescribed ivermectin. Funding rewards obedience, not curiosity. Peer review is peer pressure, silencing dissent. Algorithms on X, Instagram, and TikTok feed you your niche, not the truth. This creates epistemic capture: experts know only what their field allows. A virologist might doubt a shot's efficacy but not its funding. A journalist might report mandates but not trial fraud. They're cogs in a machine they can't see, ensuring we stay complicit and clueless.
Blind Spots of the Highly Educated
Specialization blinds even the sharpest to the big picture. Doctors enforcing passports didn't see their connection to https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf
is public, yet most doctors never read it. Intelligence without context isn't just useless—it's a weapon for power.
The most educated became the most complicit. While PhD epidemiologists enforced lockdowns and cardiologists pushed shots, plumbers and mechanics saw through it immediately. They didn't need peer review to recognize bullshit—they fix things that actually work. The people who make stuff understood: if the solution doesn't match the problem, something's wrong. Meanwhile, the credentialed class defended every policy failure because their status depended on institutional trust.
The Mockingbird Media: Silencing the Truth
Media seals the trap. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird#:~:text=Operation%20Mockingbird%20is%20an%20alleged,media%20organizations%20for%20propaganda%20purposes.
, a documentary I produced with talented filmmaker Jennifer Sharp, were banned from YouTube. She poured her soul into showing real people—mothers, teachers, children—harmed by shots, but algorithms erased it.
The silence runs deeper. https://x.com/TexasLindsay_/status/1670121181662400515
, to the shot. He worked for Stephen Colbert, who mandated it for his staff. Pamela begged her stepson not to get it, but he needed to keep his job. A young man, dead from something sold as "safe and effective"—killed by a mandate from the same man who turned vaccines into dancing entertainment. While Colbert's show produced the cringe-worthy "Vax-Scene" skit with dancing syringes, real people were dying from his workplace requirements.
Pamela screamed from the rooftops, but no reporter would touch her story. Yet you can be sure—if her stepson had died from Covid, they'd have been fighting for the exclusive. Instead, we got montages of "safe and effective" while they buried the bodies. The people trying to warn us sounded crazy because the media made them invisible.
Pamela's story, as tragic as it is, isn't rare. I personally know dozens. We all have stories. The true number is totally unknown. What makes it worse? It's accelerating. As more shots get pushed on the vulnerable, as boosters become routine, the Pamelas will multiply, their stories will remain untold, and the machine will keep grinding forward.
Journalists didn't cover these stories—not their beat. The public stays clueless, fed a media diet of propaganda. This isn't incompetence; it's control, ensuring we only see what the system allows, keeping us talking past each other.
Covid wasn't an exception—it was a perfect example of how compartmentalized systems commit coordinated harm. But the same pattern repeats everywhere: in finance, education, climate policy, and tech. Everyone plays their role. No one owns the outcome. Let's widen the lens.
Beyond Medicine: Complicity Everywhere
This pattern is universal, enabling harm while absolving guilt.
Finance (2008): Traders chased derivatives, missing the housing bubble. Contrarians warned, but they weren't "in the room." They weren't stealing—they were working, blind to the crash.
Education: School boards implemented Common Core without consulting child development experts, or administrators pushed digital learning without understanding its psychological impact on students.
Climate: Climatologists model emissions while ignoring weather modification. Policy experts implement Davos agenda while ignoring that https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/13/private-jet-emissions-quadrupled-davos-2022
. No one owns the dysfunction.
AI/Tech: Engineers build addictive algorithms, ignoring polarization. CEOs chase profit, not sociology. They fracture society, feeling nothing.
Military: Analysts tout drones, ignoring cultural fallout. Bureaucrats plan wars without local knowledge. No one's a war criminal—just a professional.
The Generalist: Breaking Free from Spectator Culture
We need generalists—people who refuse to be watchers in their own lives. Before industrialization, healers and polymaths wove together physical, spiritual, and social knowledge. Today, we're consumers of expertise, not creators of understanding. We've become a https://stylman.substack.com/p/forging-the-spectator-class
, watching life happen while trusting someone smarter has it handled. But the price of convenience is competence. We can't change a tire, grow food, read a study, or think without calling an expert. The more educated we are, the more we defer to credentials over judgment.
E.O. Wilson's consilience—uniting knowledge—isn't academic; it's survival. Nassim Taleb saw fragility (though he was tragically wrong about Covid); Ivan Illich saw institutional harm. They knew outsourcing thinking is outsourcing agency. We must become intellectual sovereigns, thinking across fields, seeing patterns specialists miss. A doctor should understand pharmaceutical economics. An economist should grasp human psychology. Pattern recognition is what separates participants from observers, thinkers from consumers of thought. It's how you stop being a cog and start becoming a sovereign.
Escaping the Machine: From Cogs to Sovereign
This isn't politics—it's cognition. We've become passive observers, outsourcing not just tasks but basic thinking. We can't fix a car, preserve food, or question a medical mandate without feeling unqualified. A generation ago, people solved problems themselves. Now, we call authorities, and the smarter we think we are, the more we defer. But what happens when the system leads us astray—not through the malice of its participants, but through the malice of its designers? The doctors recommending drugs, the engineers building apps, the journalists reporting stories—they're not evil. But the system they serve was designed by those who are.
Specialization has made us passive, watching life happen while trusting the credentialed. But they're cogs too, trapped in a machine they don't see. Understanding this reveals the deeper architecture: specialization connects to other systems of manufactured dependency—fiat currency that separates us from real value, digital convenience that erodes our capabilities, spectator culture that makes us passive consumers. Each system reinforces the others, creating a web that requires seeing the whole picture to break free.
The way out is radical responsibility. Stop outsourcing your thinking. The path forward begins with recognizing that what we've been taught to value as 'expertise' has been weaponized against us. Questioning institutional narratives isn't a sign of ignorance but a necessary act of intellectual sovereignty. When an expert tells you something, ask: Who benefits? What's hidden? What would another field say? Read outside your lane—doctors, study economics; economists, learn biology. Check primary sources yourself—read Brook Jackson's BMJ report, examine VAERS data, trace the funding. Follow researchers like Catherine Austin Fitts, who https://missingmoney.solari.com/
—not million, trillion—with no accountability. This isn't normal corruption; this is systemic looting that makes you wonder what they're really building with our money. Connect with those who think differently. The goal isn't to master everything, but to see the spaces between experts—where truth hides—and to know who to trust.
The Incalculable Cost: Generational Harm and the Illusion of Reform
The damage is generational, hiding in plain sight. MAHA celebrates that the White House quietly removed Covid shots from healthy people's schedules, but critics rightfully point out the deeper problem: there's lots more coming on the vaccine schedule. Yes, the trend line may be in the right direction, but how many more unsuspecting people are going to suffer between now and then? Those who don't understand this system is rotten to the core will still listen and get injected. More immunocompromised people getting jabbed, more unhealthy kids having their genetic code rearranged and their immune systems weakened. I appreciate that maybe there's a political game going on, but I don't understand what we're talking about—we're talking about people's lives. The system worked perfectly—create the illusion of reform while continuing the harm to the most vulnerable. It's in VAERS, with over 30,000 deaths reported; in insurance data showing rising claims; in stories like Pamela's that never make the news. The system distributed the harm so widely no one can see it whole.
Nobody's minding the store. So we have to.
Be the generalist. See the system. The truth depends on it. The future won't be saved by the most credentialed. It'll be saved by those who can see clearly—and refuse to look away.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 06/03/2025 - 22:35
Remaking K–12 Classes For A Healthier America
Remaking K–12 Classes For A Healthier America
America’s kids are navigating a health crisis, and our outdated K–12 health classes aren’t helping.
With childhood obesity at 20 percent, teen mental health issues doubling, and chronic diseases looming, the current curriculum—think food pyramids, anti-drug lectures, and awkward sex-ed—is woefully inadequate.
It’s time to transform these classes with a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) approach, empowering students with practical, science-based tools for lifelong wellness.
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Nutrition education needs a complete overhaul. Ditch memorizing calorie counts for hands-on lessons in reading labels, spotting hidden sugars, and cooking affordable, nutrient-dense meals. Schools could partner with local farmers or chefs to make it fun, showing kids that real food isn’t just for influencers. Imagine middle schoolers mastering a stir-fry or high schoolers debating ultra-processed foods’ impact on their bodies. These skills build confidence and independence, setting kids up to make smarter choices in a world of fast-food traps.
Mental health demands equal focus. Anxiety and depression rates among teens have surged, yet coping strategies are rarely taught. A MAHA curriculum would introduce age-appropriate mindfulness, stress management, and sleep science. Elementary students could practice breathing exercises; high schoolers could explore how social media algorithms hijack their attention. Teaching kids to set tech boundaries isn’t coddling—it’s equipping them for a digital world where mental resilience is non-negotiable.
Physical activity must evolve beyond dodgeball and humiliating fitness tests. Only 24 percent of kids meet daily exercise guidelines. Health classes should inspire movement through yoga, strength training, or outdoor challenges. Schools could use wearable tech to gamify fitness, rewarding effort over athletic talent. The aim? Make exercise a joy, not a chore, fostering habits that stick into adulthood.
Prevention ties it all together. Kids need to grasp how lifestyle shapes their future, from cutting diabetes risk to boosting heart health. Lessons could use real data—like how 10,000 steps a day lowers disease risk—or feature doctors sharing relatable stories. This isn’t about scaring kids; it’s about showing they hold the reins.
Skeptics might call this overhaul costly or unrealistic, but poor childhood health habits fuel billions in healthcare costs annually. MAHA classes are an investment, like building roads—do it right, and the benefits compound. Start with pilot programs, retrain teachers, and tap community resources. This isn’t partisan—it’s common sense. Every parent wants their kid to thrive. By remaking health classes, we give students the tools to build healthier bodies, minds, and futures.
Let’s stop lecturing kids on health and start teaching them how to live it.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 06/03/2025 - 17:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/remaking-k-12-classes-healthier-america
Romanian Man Pleads Guilty To 'Swatting' US Officials, Including A Former US President
Romanian Man Pleads Guilty To 'Swatting' US Officials, Including A Former US President
A man from Romania has pleaded guilty to felonies after he made false reports to elicit tactical police responses—known as “swatting”—against a former U.S. president, several members of Congress, federal judges, and state officials.
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“Swatting” derives its name from “Special Weapons and Tactics” (SWAT) teams that are organized by police departments across the world, who respond to particularly dangerous emergencies, such as terrorist attacks, mass shootings, and other weapons of mass destruction.
The phenomenon of “swatting”—i.e., falsely reporting such an emergency to elicit a SWAT response—has emerged in recent years as a means of intimidation or to drain national resources.
Several high-profile individuals have been the victims of such “swatting” in recent years, many of them due to Thomas Szabo, a 26-year-old resident of Romania and citizen of that country, who filed many such reports against senior U.S. government officials while outside the United States, which led to an internet group encouraging others to do so.
Szabo was extradited to the United States in 2024 and, on June 2 of this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that he had pleaded guilty to two felony charges for the acts.
“Beginning on Dec. 24, 2023, and continuing through early January 2024, subordinate members of Szabo’s group perpetrated a spree of swatting and bomb threats that included, as its victims, at least 25 Members of Congress or family members of Members of Congress; at least six then-current or former senior U.S. Executive Branch officials, including multiple cabinet-level officials ... multiple members of the federal judiciary; [and] at least 27 then-current or former state government officials,” https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/romanian-citizen-pleads-guilty-swatting-numerous-members-congress-churches-and-former-us
a DOJ press release announcing the guilty plea.
The release also noted that Szabo threatened, in January of 2021, to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol and kill President-elect Joe Biden. The “former U.S. President” threatened by Szabo was not named in the release, though the phrase likely referred to Biden.
Szabo’s leadership of the unnamed group allegedly led to many subsequent incidents. The press release quotes a message to Szabo from one of his followers: “I did 25+ swattings today ... creating massive havoc in [A]merica. $500,000+ in taxpayers [money] wasted in just two days.”
Szabo pleaded guilty to two felony charges: criminal conspiracy and the issuance of threats involving explosives. Both charges carry prison sentences of five and ten years, respectively.
“This defendant’s targeted and ruthless behavior put countless people in danger, including law enforcement, public officials, and ordinary citizens,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said.
“Swatting attacks, that is, falsely reporting an ongoing threat of violence at a victims’ home address for the purpose of provoking a police response there, drain precious resources and can result in major injury or even death. Anyone who hijacks police resources for senseless crimes like these will have to answer for their actions.”
The rise in “swatting” has occurred alongside the prominent depiction of such SWAT teams in film and television. A television series named “S.W.A.T.” ran for eight seasons from 2017 to 2025 and was influenced by the popular 2003 film, starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson, of the same name.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 06/03/2025 - 15:00
Egyptian Charged In Fire Attack On Boulder 'Zionists' Planned Attack For A Year
Egyptian Charged In Fire Attack On Boulder 'Zionists' Planned Attack For A Year
The Egyptian man charged with launching Sunday's ghastly fire attack on a group of people promoting awareness of hostages still held in Gaza told police he planned the attack for a year and would do it again, according to an FBI affidavit. Mohammed Sabry Solimon told investigators that his attack sprang from his anger toward the State of Israel and hatred of "Zionists." Charged with attempted murder, assault, possession of incendiary devices and a federal hate crime, he's being held on $10 million bond.
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According to the statement of an FBI agent, Solimon repeatedly said he "hated the Zionist group and did this because he hated this group and https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/02/us/boulder-colorado-antisemitic-attack-mohamed-soliman-invs
participants. Sunday's crowd was estimated at 30. One regular participant said the group has endured some occasional heckling.
Founded by https://www.berliner.com/professionals/shany-klein
, "We can disagree on political issues and we can disagree on how the Israeli government or the American government is reacting to what is going on in the Middle East and in Israel. But that's not what we're here for. What we're here for is to continue to raise awareness of the fact that there's 50 people being held hostage."
That's not to say participants portray neutrality: Photos of the group's events in Boulder and elsewhere show crowds of people waving Israeli flags and draped in them. Further muddying widespread attributions of the attack to "pure antisemitism," an FBI agent's affidavit said Solimon is likely guilty of a hate crime because he "[threw] Molotov cocktails into https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1402301/dl?inline=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
."
During his attack at Boulder's Pearl Street Mall -- a pedestrian shopping zone -- Soliman reportedly yelled "Free Palestine!", "End Zionist!" and "How many children killed?" According to the Gaza Health Ministry, https://www.ochaopt.org/content/reported-impact-snapshot-gaza-strip-21-may-2025
spread in the media."
According to the FBI, Soliman told investigators he wanted to "kill all Zionist people." He said he contemplated an attack for more than a year, but https://www.reuters.com/world/us/colorado-attack-suspect-charged-with-assault-use-explosives-2025-06-02/
reviewed what it believes to be Solimon's Facebook account, which included images of Mohammed Morsi, Muslim brotherhood leader and Egypt's first democratically-elected president -- until he was ousted by a military coup that came with at least implicit encouragement of the US government.
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The FBI says that, to achieve close proximity to the walk participants, Soliman disguised himself as a gardener, complete with an orange vest and flowers he'd purchased. He was also wearing a commercial-grade weed sprayer that he'd filled with gasoline and planned to use as a blowtorch to self-immolate. Authorities said https://www.wsj.com/us-news/boulder-colorado-attack-mohamed-sabry-soliman-disguise-b065ff73?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAheYsNnWUGWr0SI6AX21XM1iG6ztI7Fm-JWU2UsGLL3KfZueyD0MY2XcbpxgjQ%3D&gaa_ts=683e8e30&gaa_sig=Z7sxsQKRoTYTTMN9XlCsyDOUSbkkFhRkcB70OTzOZkUCmCj5Cd4onlNmmHwfL2_feyE0w80ICWkcR3uqjq0-2w%3D%3D
" charging documents say. Solimon said he's researched how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube, and found his target after reading about them online.
Soliman had wanted to attack the group with a firearm, but his status as an illegal alien precluded him from buying one. He did, however, take a concealed-carry class and fired an unspecified firearm. Given his alternate choice of weapon, the casualty count was certainly lower than it might have been: Eight people between 52 and 88 years old were taken to hospitals. The unnamed 88-year-old victim has been varyingly described as a "Holocaust survivor" or "Holocaust refugee," with a local rabbi saying she'd fled Europe for America.
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One of Sunday's march participants, Ed Victor, said his first realization of what was unfolding came in the form of intense heat:
"There was somebody there that I didn't even notice, although he was making a lot of noise, but I'm just focused on my job of being quiet and getting lined up. And, from my point of view, all of a sudden, I felt the heat. It was a Molotov cocktail equivalent, a gas bomb in a glass jar, thrown...[somone else saw] a big flame as high as a tree, and all I saw was someone on fire." -- https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/run-for-their-lives-organization-boulder-colorado-attack/
The Egyptian-born, 45-year-old Solimon lived in Kuwait for 17 years before moving to Colorado Springs in 2022. He was in the country illegally, as https://www.wsj.com/us-news/boulder-colorado-attack-mohamed-sabry-soliman-disguise-b065ff73?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAheYsNnWUGWr0SI6AX21XM1iG6ztI7Fm-JWU2UsGLL3KfZueyD0MY2XcbpxgjQ%3D&gaa_ts=683e8e30&gaa_sig=Z7sxsQKRoTYTTMN9XlCsyDOUSbkkFhRkcB70OTzOZkUCmCj5Cd4onlNmmHwfL2_feyE0w80ICWkcR3uqjq0-2w%3D%3D
in February 2023. He'd applied for asylum upon arrival. "He came in through Biden's ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly," President Trump posted on Truth Social. "He must go out under 'TRUMP' Policy.”
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Up until the attack, Soliman and his wife were raising five children in a Colorado Springs apartment, and he said he kept his plan a secret from his family. He was most recently working as an Uber driver -- the company helpfully announced that Solimon's account has been cancelled, so you needn't worry about him breaking out of jail and then picking you up at Denver International Airport.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 06/03/2025 - 13:05
"Tether Will Be The Biggest Bitcoin Miner In The World", CEO Paolo Ardoino Said
"Tether Will Be The Biggest Bitcoin Miner In The World", CEO Paolo Ardoino Said
On Friday at the https://bitcoinmagazine.com/conference/bitcoin-conference-2025-las-vegas-livestream-day-3
in Las Vegas, the CEO of Tether Paolo Ardoino talked about the investments, inventions and Bitcoin mining of Tether.
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Paolo Ardoino began his speech by saying, “last year we made $13 billion in profit. We keep a $120 billion blast in US treasuries as of now. We have committed to bring re-invest a lot into Bitcoin. We now have more than 100,000 Bitcoin that we own as a company.”
JUST IN: Tether announces it owns over 100,000 https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1928166935537058181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“Bitcoin is perfect, gold is imperfect,” said Paolo
Ardoino explained a little of their history with https://bitcoinmagazine.com/guides/what-is-bitcoin
.
“We are a company that was born with Bitcoin,” stated.
”We are all Bitcoiners at heart. Everyone in our company loves Bitcoin.”
El Salvador has been a supporter of Bitcoin and Paolo mentioned, “we have our headquarters in El Salvador, the original Bitcoin country. We support el Salvador.”
During his speech, he made a big announcement of Tether becoming the biggest Bitcoin miner in the world.
“We invested 2 billion in energy production and bitcoin mining actually is a bit more than that. Something that we have been very shy to say, but I think that it’s very realistic that by the end of the year, Tether will be the biggest Bitcoin miner in the world, even including all the public companies.”
Ardoino mentioned their new AI system made for society and not for corporations.
“I want my AI agent to have a non-custodial wallet, so I can grant him some money. The money is kept by the AI agent and the AI agent will work for me. Will not work under the rules and conditions of someone else,” announced Ardoino. “We have announced our AI platform recently. It’s called QVAC.”
Closing, Ardoino talked about their investment with Rumble and their new project.
He stated, “we are collaborating to launch a Rumble Wallet that will be Bitcoin first and a little bit of stable coins wallet for the people.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 06/03/2025 - 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/tether-will-be-biggest-bitcoin-miner-world-ceo-paolo-ardoino-said
Is Birthright Citizenship A National Suicide Pact?
Is Birthright Citizenship A National Suicide Pact?
https://realclearwire.com/articles/2025/06/02/citizenship_and_that_pesky_constitution_152863.html
,
On the day of his second inauguration, President Donald Trump issued an executive order entitled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.”
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Sounds innocent enough, right? But this is the infamous order declaring that birthright citizenship does not extend to children of parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily.
“Not so fast,” said attorneys for illegal aliens and their children. “Our clients snuck across the border fair and square and they want the prize promised them by the Constitution – U.S. citizenship for all children born after they crossed the border.”
But is that really what the Constitution says? Here are the words from the 14th Amendment:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
As President Trump noted in his executive order, the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” have always been used to exclude certain classes of people from birthright citizenship. That included, for instance, children of diplomats, who enjoy immunity in their host country. For several decades, it also included Native Americans of certain tribes that had entered into treaties that provided at least partial sovereignty. Those exclusions are not in the Constitution, but they are in the law. So why can’t there be an exclusion for illegal immigrants?
Trump’s executive order correctly recognizes that the higher purpose of the 14th Amendment was to guarantee citizenship for the children of former slaves, who had not only been subject to the jurisdiction of the American government, but even subject to sale. They had earned citizenship through hardship, pain, and suffering – not through an accident of birth. Obviously, the authors of the amendment recognized the high value of citizenship, and it seems unlikely they would just hand it out willy-nilly.
Which brings us back to “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Were citizenship to be granted simply on the basis of where you were born, that phrase would not have been necessary. Yet there it is. As a matter of law, there is no formal, writ-in-stone definition of what “subject to jurisdiction” means. And that’s what the Trump administration hopes will provide enough ambiguity that the Supreme Court will agree that the president has the authority to declare under his executive powers that the children of illegal immigrants should not be considered birthright citizens because they fail the jurisdiction test.
Three district court judges have already ruled against Trump and issued “temporary nationwide injunctions” to prevent the executive order from being carried out. On May 15, the Supreme Court heard the case, partly to resolve whether district courts should have the authority to apply their rulings nationwide and, ultimately, to make its own determination on the legality of the executive order.
But even if the high court should reject presidential authority to interpret the Constitution, the argument does not end there. Section 5 of the 14th Amendment provides that “Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” In other words, the rare trifecta of a Republican House, Republican Senate and Republican president offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Congress to establish once and for all that U.S. citizenship does not hinge on the ability of one’s parents to sneak past the Border Patrol before you are born.
Unfortunately, the Senate’s current filibuster rules would not allow for a simple majority to define “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in such a way that it excludes the children of illegal immigrants. But since senators in recent years have allowed filibuster exemptions for confirmation of presidential nominations and for votes on budget “reconciliation” bills, there is no reason why some smart parliamentarian could not carve out a new exception narrowly tailored to allow a simple majority to define citizenship.
If that seems like using brute force to impose a nation-changing mandate upon the American people, so be it. As Justice Arthur Goldberg wrote in 1963, the Constitution is “not a suicide pact.” Yet allowing the children of well over 20 million illegal immigrants to become citizens of a country whose customs they ignore, whose language they often don’t understand or choose to learn, and whose laws their parents broke even before they were born, is an invitation to chaos and collapse.
If that’s not a national suicide pact, I don’t know what is.
Frank Miele, retired editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Mont., is a columnist for RealClearPolitics. His book https://www.amazon.com/Media-Matrix-Everything-Heartland-Diary/dp/1732963339
or follow him on Facebook @HeartlandDiaryUSA and on X/Gettr @HeartlandDiary.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 06/02/2025 - 23:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/birthright-citizenship-national-suicide-pact
Dr. Marty Makary Shatters The Vaccine Narrative Live On CBS
Dr. Marty Makary Shatters The Vaccine Narrative Live On CBS
Via https://www.vigilantfox.com/p/dr-marty-makary-shatters-the-vaccine
On Tuesday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a historic course correction from the Biden-era vaccine policy.
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Standing alongside NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, Kennedy announced that COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women were officially removed from the CDC’s immunization schedule.
“Hi, everybody. I’m Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., your HHS secretary. And I’m here today with NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule.”
It was an unmistakable shift away from coercive one-size-fits-all medicine, and a clear signal that data, not politics, is now leading the conversation.
On Tuesday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a historic course correction from the Biden-era vaccine policy.
Standing alongside NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, Kennedy announced that COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for… https://t.co/ZWueGdQRyV
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1929262024904540260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Today, Dr. Marty Makary took the fight straight into the lion’s den—appearing on CBS to dismantle the network’s go-to vaccine talking points.
When host Margaret Brennan tried to paint the updated guidance as confusing, Makary didn’t flinch.
“Can you clearly state what the policy is? Because this is confusing,” she asked.
Makary responded without hesitation: “Yeah, we believe the recommendation should be with a patient and their doctor.”
That’s when the real shift came into focus.
“So we’re going to get away from these blanket recommendations in healthy young Americans.”
“On the COVID vaccine schedule, we don’t want to see kids kicked out of school because a 12-year-old girl is not getting her fifth COVID booster shot.”
“We don’t see the data there to support a young, healthy child getting a repeat infinite annual COVID vaccine.”
He then laid out the sheer absurdity of where the old policy was heading.
“There’s a theory that we should sort of blindly approve the new COVID boosters in young, healthy kids every year in perpetuity, and a young girl born today should get 80 COVID mRNA shots or other COVID shots in her average lifespan.”
“We’re saying that’s a theory, and we’d like to check in and get some randomized controlled data. It’s been about four years since the original randomized trials. So we’d like an evidence based approach.”
And then came the knockout line—delivered with facts no one could deny.
“That is a decision between a parent and their doctor—I don’t know if you know these statistics, but 88% of American kids, their parents have said no to the COVID shot last season. So America, the vast majority of Americans are saying no.”
Today, Dr. Marty Makary took the fight straight into the lion’s den—appearing on CBS to dismantle the network’s go-to vaccine talking points.
When host Margaret Brennan tried to paint the updated guidance as confusing, Makary didn’t flinch.
“Can you clearly state what the… https://t.co/R7Gv4lE655
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1929262852109631859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Brennan tried to shift gears—falling back on CDC data to argue that even healthy kids remained at risk.
“So the CDC data said 41% of children aged 6 months to 17 years hospitalized with COVID between 2022 and 2024 did not have a known underlying condition. In other words, they looked healthy,” she said.
“And COVID was serious for them.”
But Makary was ready.
Calm and precise, he dismantled the claim with surgical clarity.
“So first of all, we know the CDC data is contaminated with a lot of false positives from incidental positive COVID tests with routine testing of every kid that walks in the hospital.”
“We know that data historically under the Biden administration did not distinguish being sick from COVID or an incidental positive COVID test.”
He shared what he’s heard from the people who actually run the ICUs in America.
“When you go to an ICU in America and you ask how many people are in the ICU that are healthy, that are sick with COVID? The answer I get again, again is we haven’t seen that in a year or years.”
That’s why, he warned, making universal recommendations based on flawed data isn’t just wrong—it’s dangerous.
“And so the worst thing you can do in public health is to put out an absolute universal recommendation in young, healthy kids.”
“And the vast majority of Americans are saying, no, we want to see some data. And you say, forget about the data, just get it anyway.”
Brennan tried to shift gears—falling back on CDC data to argue that even healthy kids remained at risk.
“So the CDC data said 41% of children aged 6 months to 17 years hospitalized with COVID between 2022 and 2024 did not have a known underlying condition. In other words, they… https://t.co/DhIkeoHmZB
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1929263163222216944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But it was the final exchange that landed like a sledgehammer.
When Brennan questioned why the HHS bypassed the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the new policy shift, Makary landed a haymaker.
“That panel has been a kangaroo court where they just rubberstamp EVERY single vaccine put in front of them.”
He said the committee hadn’t been focused on science, but on messaging and marketing.
“You look at the minutes of the last couple of years, they say, we want a simple message for everybody just so they can understand it. It was not a data based conversation. It was a conversation based on marketing and ease.”
And without real evidence, he warned, these recommendations become little more than guesswork.
“If there’s zero clinical data, you’re opining. I mean—it’s a theory.”
“And so we don’t want to put out an absolute recommendation for kids, with no clinical data to support it.”
The implication was unmistakable: public health decisions should be based on evidence and transparency—not rubber stamps and slogans.
For the first time in years, someone on national television was calling out the system.
But it was the final exchange that landed like a sledgehammer.
When Brennan questioned why the HHS bypassed the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the new policy shift, Makary landed a haymaker.
“That panel has been a kangaroo court where they just… https://t.co/jG04k9Tz2s
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1929263828337852914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 06/02/2025 - 13:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dr-marty-makary-shatters-vaccine-narrative-live-cbs
Palantir's Deepening Government Ties Spark Fears Of Centralized Surveillance
Palantir's Deepening Government Ties Spark Fears Of Centralized Surveillance
On Friday the https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html
published a report highlighting the Trump administration's increasing use of software from data analysis firm Palantir, which has been deployed across at least four federal agencies for the stated purpose of increasing operational efficiency through data modernization.
?itok=5zPRmVAz
For now, each deployment of Palantir software is focused on department-specific services, but the fact that they're now embedded across multiple agencies - combined with Trump's March https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/
.
https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/1ea8a9a4-3726-3491-9040-66950bb67606-C/latest
we noted that Fannie Mae, the quasi-government financial firm overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced a partnership with Palantir to detect mortgage fraud using the firm's proprietary technology, which includes some elements of artificial intelligence.
According to the report, since Donald Trump took office Palantir has received over $113 million in government spending - which doesn't include a https://finance.yahoo.com/news/palantir-wins-big-795m-army-150903583.html
from the Department of Defense (DoD) awarded last week. According to the Times report (citing six alleged government officials and Palantir employees), the company is also in discussions with the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service (the latter of which contracted with Palantir during the Biden administration).
Former Employees Revolt
Palantir was founded in 2003 by Alex Karp and Trump ally Peter Thiel, and specializes in finding patterns in data and streamlining it into easily presentable formats. While Thiel is clearly a conservative, Karp - a self-described "socialist" who voted for Hillary Clinton, bragged about stopping the "far right" in Europe.
CIA agent and head of Palantir Alex Karp says his company’s software “single-handedly” stopped the “far right” in Europe.
Founded in 2003 with funding from the CIA’s In-Q-Tel program, Palantir’s only client before 2008 was the CIA. https://t.co/Shq0uA5x16
— Reed Cooley (@ReedCooley) https://twitter.com/ReedCooley/status/1928890292041568697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Via https://x.com/ReedCooley/status/1928890292041568697
And so it's of little surprise that employees would flip out and leave over Palantir's recent https://www.fpds.gov/ezsearch/fpdsportal?q=PIID:%2270CTD022FR0000170%22&s=FPDS.GOV&templateName=1.5.3&indexName=awardfull&x=0&y=0&sortBy=SIGNED_DATE&desc=Y
(IDF) to identify and track Hamas targets).
This month, 13 former employees https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25930212-the-scouring-of-the-shire/
urging Palantir to stop its endeavors with Mr. Trump. Linda Xia, a signee who was a Palantir engineer until last year, said the problem was not with the company’s technology but with how the Trump administration intended to use it.
“Data that is collected for one reason should not be repurposed for other uses,” Ms. Xia said. “Combining all that data, even with the noblest of intentions, significantly increases the risk of misuse.”
...
Ms. Xia said Palantir employees were increasingly worried about reputational damage to the company because of its work with the Trump administration. There is growing debate within the company about its federal contracts, she said.
“Current employees are discussing the implications of their work and raising questions internally,” she said, adding that some employees have left after disagreements over the company’s work with the Trump administration.
Last week, a Palantir strategist, Brianna Katherine Martin, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7331081206781968386/
that she was departing the company because of its expanded work with ICE. -NY Times
According to Xia's https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25930212-the-scouring-of-the-shire/
, "We no longer believe Palantir’s executives are upholding these values. By supporting Trump’s administration,Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative, and dangerous expansions of executive power, they have abandoned their responsibility and are in violation of Palantir’s Code of Conduct."
"As Musk’s DOGE operation dismantles U.S. government institutions under the guise of exposing corruption, opposition remains silent. Companies are placating Trump’s administration, suppressing dissent, and aligning with his xenophobic, sexist, and oligarchic agenda.Government databases are already erasing references to transgender people and gender-affirming care.These injustices could be facilitated by the very software infrastructure we help build."
Palantir Responds
In response to the Times, Palantir pointed to a https://blog.palantir.com/palantir-is-not-a-data-company-palantir-explained-1-a6fcf8b3e4cb
on how the company handles data, which reads: "We act as a data processor, not a data controller."
"Our software and services are used under direction from the organisations that license our products: these organisations define what can and cannot be done with their data; they control the Palantir accounts in which analysis is conducted."
What say you?
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sun, 06/01/2025 - 22:45
Will Russia's Retaliation To Ukraine's Strategic Drone Strikes Decisively End The Conflict?
Will Russia's Retaliation To Ukraine's Strategic Drone Strikes Decisively End The Conflict?
https://korybko.substack.com/p/will-russias-retaliation-to-ukraines
Ukraine carried out strategic drone strikes on Sunday against several bases all across Russia that are known to house elements of its nuclear triad. This came a day before the second round of the https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/the-balls-in-trumps-court-after-the-latest-istanbul-talks
Putin that “bad things..REALLY BAD” might soon happen to Russia. It therefore can’t be ruled out that he knew about this and might have even discreetly signaled his approval in order to “force Russia into peace”.
?itok=L881_N6K
Of course, it’s also possible that he was bluffing and the Biden-era CIA helped orchestrate this attack in advance without him ever finding out so that Ukraine could either sabotage peace talks if he won and pressured Zelensky into them or coerce maximum concessions from Russia, but his ominous words still look bad. Whatever the extent of Trump’s knowledge may or may not be, Putin might once again https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/putin-is-finally-climbing-the-escalation-ladder
on Ukraine, which could risk a rupture in their ties.
Seeing as how Trump is being left in the dark about the conflict by his closest advisors (not counting Witkoff) as proven by him https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/trumps-latest-angry-post-about-putin-is-his-most-significant-one-yet
Russia’s retaliatory strikes against Ukraine over the past week as unprovoked, he might react the same way to Russia’s inevitable retaliation.
His ally Lindsay Graham https://www.rt.com/news/618200-graham-sanctions-afghanistan-withdrawal/
for imposing 500% tariffs on all Russian energy clients, which Trump might approve in response, and this could pair with ramping up armed aid to Ukraine in a major escalation.
Everything therefore depends on the form of Russia’s retaliation; the US’ response; and – if they’re not canceled as a result – the outcome of tomorrow’s talks in Istanbul. If the first two phases of this scenario sequence don’t spiral out of control, then it’ll all depend on whether Ukraine makes concessions to Russia after its retaliation; Russia makes concessions to Ukraine after the US’ response to Russia’s retaliation; or their talks are once again inconclusive.
The first is by far the best outcome for Russia.
The second would suggest that Ukraine’s strategic drone strikes on Russia’s nuclear triad and the US’ response to its retaliation pressured Putin to compromise on his stated goals.
These are Ukraine’s withdrawal from the entirety of the disputed regions, its demilitarization, denazification, and restoring its constitutional neutrality. https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/will-putin-agree-to-a-ceasefire
with it, could cede Russia’s strategic edge.
Not only might Ukraine rearm and reposition ahead of reinitiating hostilities on comparatively better terms, but uniformed Western troops might also https://korybko.substack.com/p/radio-liberty-let-the-cat-out-of
, however, but his recent posts suggest that he won’t.
Overall, Ukraine’s unprecedented provocation will escalate the conflict, but it’s unclear what will follow Russia’s inevitable retaliation. Russia will either coerce the concessions from Ukraine that Putin demands for peace; the US’ response to its retaliation will coerce concessions from Russia to Ukraine instead; or both will remain manageable and tomorrow’s talks will be inconclusive, thus likely only delaying the US’ seemingly inevitable escalated involvement. Tonight will therefore be fateful for the conflict’s future.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sun, 06/01/2025 - 21:00
DOGE Is Working: Continuing Jobless Claims In 'Deep TriState' Surge To 4 Year Highs
DOGE Is Working: Continuing Jobless Claims In 'Deep TriState' Surge To 4 Year Highs
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first rose to 240k last week - the most in a month and more than expected...
?itok=9lUXT1NC
Source: Bloomberg
The 240k print was 6 standard deviations above expectations (and above the highest estimate)...
?itok=-Nxc1HAZ
Source: Bloomberg
Michigan (and an estimated California) saw the biggest jump in initial claims while Illinois and Texas saw the biggest drop in initial claims last week...
?itok=CcBV7LtA
Continuing claims rose further to 1.919 million Americans - the most since November 2021...
?itok=cdk4eNv2
Source: Bloomberg
It seems like DOGE is working as continuing jobless claims in the 'Deep TriState' continues to surge
?itok=TrFeCksB
Source: Bloomberg
And initial claims remain elevated in the DC, VA, MD region...
?itok=Sl7bUCXO
Source: Bloomberg
So, while Musk is rightly disappointed at the lack of spending cuts in the budget, he can be proud that some of the waste in employees is finally being drained from the swamp.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 05/29/2025 - 08:39
Trump: I Warned Netanyahu Against Iran Strike
Trump: I Warned Netanyahu Against Iran Strike
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not attack Iran, or at least to hold off any preemptive action to give more time for Washington and Tehran to forge a nuclear agreement.
“Well, I’d like to be honest. Yes, I did. Next question, please?”...and also: "I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now because we're very close to a solution," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about the issue.
Q: "On Iran, did you warn Prime Minister Netanyahu against taking some sort of actions that could disrupt the talks there in a phone call last week?"
President Trump: "Well, I'd like to be honest. Yes I did." https://t.co/yoXB3t90SZ
— CSPAN (@cspan) https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1927768776885354877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"It’s not a warning," Trump added. "I said, ‘I don’t think it’s appropriate.’ I just said I don’t think it’s appropriate. We’re having very good discussions with them, and I don’t think it’s appropriate right now."
The question to Trump was prompted by an Axios report published the https://www.axios.com/2025/05/27/trump-netanyahu-not-bomb-iran-nuclear-talks
:
President https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump
, a White House official and a source familiar with the details tell Axios.
Trump's message was "he doesn't want him to antagonize at a time when he is trying to solve problems," the official said.
Trump also repeated his tone optimism on the talks, telling reporters, “We’re doing very well with Iran.”
The White House's messaging to Israel has been to say "stay united and let this process play out" - and that the process needs some time. Of course, Trump has still warned that "other options" are on the table should Tehran refuse to make progress.
The Iranians have said they are willing to guarantee (and allow monitoring) that uranium enrichment is only for peaceful nuclear energy production, and will pledge no development of nukes. Critics of Trump point that this was essentially the 2015 JCPOA nuclear which the first Trump administration pulled out of in April 2018.
Plenty of indirect 'threats' were peppered into Trump's Wednesday Iran comments:
He seems to suggest that his conditions for a deal with Iran include the US being allowed to come in and “take whatever we want, we can blow up whatever we want.” Seems unlikely that Iran would consent for the US to come in and “blow up” its infrastructure https://t.co/jxHUM8oljw
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1927795875268469075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Also on Wednesday, the head of the United Nations' atomic watchdog, the IAEA's Rafael Mariano Grossi, said that "the jury is still out" on negotiations. "For the moment, the jury is still out. We don't know whether there's going to be an agreement or not," Grossi told journalists in Vienna.
"I think that is an indication of a willingness to come to an agreement. And I think that, in and by itself, is something possible," he added of ongoing meetings.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 05/28/2025 - 18:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-i-warned-netanyahu-against-iran-strike
Trump Media Adopts Crypto Treasury In $2.5 Billion Raise, Calls Bitcoin "Apex Instrument Of Financial Freedom"
Trump Media Adopts Crypto Treasury In $2.5 Billion Raise, Calls Bitcoin "Apex Instrument Of Financial Freedom"
Update:
The Financial Times report turned out to be correct.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) announced just moments ago a $2.5 billion private placement offering to fund the creation of one of the largest Bitcoin treasuries by a public company.
The raise includes $1.5 billion in common stock and $1 billion in 0.00% convertible senior secured notes, with commitments from around 50 institutional investors.
The offering is expected to close by Thursday, pending standard closing conditions.
"The Company intends to use the proceeds for the creation of a Bitcoin treasury. One of the largest Bitcoin treasury deals of any public company, the move closes Trump Media's previously announced special acquisition fund, which is one of numerous ways, including through potential mergers and acquisitions, that the Company is aiming to expand its reach throughout the America First economy," Truth Social wrote in a press release.
Trump Media's CEO and Chairman Devin Nunes stated:
"We view Bitcoin as an apex instrument of financial freedom, and now Trump Media will hold cryptocurrency as a crucial part of our assets. Our first acquisition of a crown jewel asset, this investment will help defend our Company against harassment and discrimination by financial institutions, which plague many Americans and U.S. firms, and will create synergies for subscription payments, a utility token, and other planned transactions across Truth Social and Truth+. It's a big step forward in the Company's plans to evolve into a holding company by acquiring additional profit-generating, crown jewel assets consistent with America First principles."
Here are additional details about the deal:
The $2.5 billion Offering, comprising approximately $1.5 billion in Trump Media common stock at the last market price and $1.0 billion in convertible notes at a conversion price equal to a 35 percent premium, will place Bitcoin on Trump Media's balance sheet alongside existing cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaling $759.0 million as of the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Yorkville Securities, LLC and Clear Street LLC acted as Co-lead placement agents, with BTIG, LLC and Cohen & Company Capital Markets acting as Co-placement agents (collectively, the "Placement Agents"). Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as financial advisor. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Company. Reed Smith LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Placement Agents.
Crypto.com and Anchorage Digital will provide custody for Trump Media's Bitcoin treasury.
In markets, Bitcoin jumped to the $11k handle, nearing record-high territory.
?itok=ZrA0H57V
* * *
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the Trump family-controlled company behind Truth Social, jumped in premarket trading in New York after the https://www.ft.com/content/cc55d091-0b28-40bb-a11c-e32d4e121ca3#comments-anchor
reported the company plans to raise up to $3 billion through a mix of debt and equity to purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
According to the report, TMTG plans to raise $2 billion in equity and an additional $1 billion through a convertible bond, citing six people familiar with the matter. However, the terms and size of the capital raise are still subject to change.
?itok=WknWAhxS
TMTG's capital raise could be announced as early as this week, coinciding with a major Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, which runs from Tuesday through Thursday. Scheduled speakers include Trump's sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, Trump's crypto adviser, David Sacks, and Vice President JD Vance.
FT reached out to TMTG for comment, receiving this statement in return: "Apparently, the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources."
In a separate report, https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-media-raise-3-billion-spend-cryptocurrencies-ft-reports-2025-05-26/
asked TMTG for comment regarding the FT story. The Trump family-controlled company responded by calling the FT "fake news."
TMTG's strategy is similar to that of MicroStrategy (now operating as "Strategy") and Twenty One Capital, both of which have converted their corporate treasuries into Bitcoin using a mix of equity and debt, framing it as a superior long-term store of value compared to cash.
In April, TMTG reached a binding agreement to roll out a range of retail investment products, including cryptocurrencies and exchange-traded funds.
"We look forward to bringing ETFs to the market for investors who believe both the American economy and digital assets are poised for tremendous growth," said TMTG CEO Devin Nunes last month.
FT noted that industry insiders have said a wave of crypto-focused deals via blank check companies is expected to hit the market in the coming weeks.
There are several advantages to a corporate treasury diversified with Bitcoin...
Bitcoin is often viewed as "digital gold" due to its fixed supply (21 million coins).
It offers protection against fiat currency devaluation and central bank-driven inflation.
Particularly attractive during periods of aggressive monetary easing or high national debt.
Ahead of the US cash open, Bitcoin trades around $109.5k.
?itok=2WsFIVP3
. . .
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 05/27/2025 - 12:05
Father Of DC Shooting Suspect Was Democrats' Honored Guest At Trump Congressional Address
Father Of DC Shooting Suspect Was Democrats' Honored Guest At Trump Congressional Address
,
The father of the suspected gunman in the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday, was the honored guest of a far-left lawmaker at President Trump’s joint address to Congress back in March, https://nypost.com/2025/05/23/us-news/dc-jewish-shooting-suspect-elias-rodriguez-father-eric-rodriquez-invited-to-trump-address-by-far-left-lawmaker-chuy-rodriguez/
reported.
?itok=7SM7abmR
Eric Rodriguez is an anti-Trump SEIU member who also spoke at a Democrat press conference ahead of Trump’s address.
His son, accused killer Elias Rodriguez, 30, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after allegedly gunning down Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who were about to become engaged.
“Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” a spokesperson for Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) told the Post Thursday night.
García in March had described Rodriguez as “an outspoken advocate against attacks on veterans’ services and the rights of unionized federal employees.”
His mention of “attacks on veteran services” appeared to be a reference to the Department of Government Efficiency’s work eliminating of waste fraud and abuse from the system.
“Eric represents the very best of our community — someone who has served his country, continues to serve his fellow veterans and fights every day to protect the dignity of working people,” the congressman said in https://chuygarcia.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-garcia-to-spotlight-attacks-on-veterans-and-workers-rights-at-presidential-joint-address
“His presence at the Joint Address is a powerful statement: we will not sit back while veterans and workers are treated as political pawns.”
According to the Post, Rodriguez also appeared in a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) video that same day, speaking as an Iraq War vet and an employee with the Veterans Affairs Department.
https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/organizations/service-employees-international-union-seiu/
one of the largest labor unions in North America, donates millions of dollars to left-wing Democrat politicians who promote government expansion and higher taxes.
“I’ve been with the VA for three years, and the reason why I’m in Washington, DC, is because I’m concerned about what Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE are doing to the VA system,” he said in https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1153962276435857
Rodriguez was also a featured speaker at an emotional Democrat press conference on March 4.
Flanked by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and other Democrat lawmakers, Rodriguez appeared on the verge of tears as he decried the DOGE cuts.
?itok=_I7_iczm
“Right now the Trump administration is trying to cut the VA, frontline workers, and let billionaires steal our healthcare. Veterans, we’re under attack. Last week, 1,400 workers got fired illegally,” he said.
“They’re slashing staff, crushing unions, and selling out the VA—for what? So billionaires can make more money while Veterans sit on a waitlist. Or worse, get no treatment,” Rodriguez added.
That video was shared on social media by the left-wing veterans group “VoteVets.”
His son Elias on Wednesday unleashed nearly two dozen rounds on the young Jewish couple, and shouted “Free, free Palestine” when he was taken into custody.
[ZH: And while we're down the rabbit hole - CIA contractor and big data expert Tony Seruga says GPS puts the elder Rodriguez at Barack Obama's Washington DC residence for 32 minutes back in March]
GPS—put the Israeli capital Jewish Museum shooter’s father at Barack Hussein Obama II’s Washington, D.C. residence (which is a quick 4 minute walk from The Islamic Center of Washington D.C..) back in March for 32 minutes.
And now we find out Democrats invited accused terrorist… https://t.co/H1DKcOQkCC
— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) https://twitter.com/TonySeruga/status/1925927103268041059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Rep. García condemned the murders in a statement posted on social media Thursday.
“I strongly condemn this horrible, senseless act of antisemitism. My heart is with the victims and everyone impacted by the attack,” García postedhttps://x.com/RepChuyGarcia/status/1925583516596572291
“We mourn the lives lost and reject the idea that justice can be won through violence.”
?itok=GbKzB_Ea
And now we find out Democrats invited accused terrorist (Elias) killer's DAD (Eric Rodriguez) to Trump address just weeks before heinous crime https://t.co/dgGQ6ZX5Af
— Joni Job (@jj_talking) https://twitter.com/jj_talking/status/1925971978806046766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 05/23/2025 - 15:40
FDA No Longer Recommends COVID Vaccine For Healthy Babies
FDA No Longer Recommends COVID Vaccine For Healthy Babies
Via https://headlineusa.com/subscribe/
,
The U.S. government no longer recommends the https://headlineusa.com/tag/vaccines
for healthy babies thanks to new guidelines from the Trump administration, which said Tuesday it will limit approval for seasonal COVID-19 shots to seniors and others at high risk pending more data on everyone else.
?itok=6j9M74FZ
Top officials for the Food and Drug Administration laid out new standards for updated COVID shots, saying they’d continue to use a streamlined approach to make them available to adults 65 and older as well as children and younger adults with at least one high-risk health problem.
But the FDA framework, published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, urges companies to conduct large, lengthy studies before tweaked vaccines can be approved for healthier people.
Previously, federal policy recommended an annual COVID shot for all Americans six months and older.
In the paper and a subsequent online webcast, the FDA’s top vaccine official said more than 100 million Americans still should qualify for what he termed a booster under the new guidance.
Dr. Vinay Prasad described the new approach as a “reasonable compromise” that will allow vaccinations in high-risk groups to continue while generating new data about whether they still benefit healthier people.
“For many Americans we simply do not know the answer as to whether or not they should be getting the seventh or eighth or ninth or tenth COVID-19 booster,” said Prasad, who joined the FDA earlier this month. He previously spent more than a decade in academia, frequently criticizing the FDA’s handling of drug and vaccine approvals.
It’s unclear what the upcoming changes mean for people who may still want a fall COVID-19 shot but don’t clearly fit into one of the categories.
Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 47,000 Americans died from COVID-related causes last year. The virus was the underlying cause for two-thirds of those and it was a contributing factor for the rest.
Health experts say there are legitimate questions about how much everyone still benefits from yearly COVID vaccination or whether they should be recommended only for people at increased risk.
In June, an influential panel of advisers to the CDC is set to debate which vaccines should be recommended to which groups.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 05/21/2025 - 14:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/fda-no-longer-recommends-covid-vaccine-healthy-babies
US Shale Output Nearing Peak As Oil Prices Stagnate
US Shale Output Nearing Peak As Oil Prices Stagnate
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Shale-Output-Nearing-Peak-as-Oil-Prices-Stagnate.html
Low oil prices and economic uncertainty are causing U.S. oil production, particularly in shale basins, to plateau or decline earlier than anticipated.
Major oil companies acknowledge the accelerated peak in U.S. oil output, with the Permian Basin being the last major area still showing growth potential.
Forecasts for U.S. crude supply are being revised downward as the profitability of shale production is challenged by current oil prices.
The decline in oil prices and the prevailing uncertainty about the economy, trade, and supply chains are accelerating the peak in U.S. oil production despite President Donald Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ slogan.
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With the U.S. benchmark https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/#WTI-Crude
at $60 per barrel, it’s mostly “hold, baby, hold” in the American shale patch, where output in the major basins except the Permian has already started to level off or drop.
The U.S.-China 90-day tariff pause and the start of trade talks did little to erase the crash in oil prices from April, and even less to restore confidence or wipe out the high uncertainty regarding the economy and the cost of supply with unknown levels of tariffs. The shale patch has historically been immediately responsive to changing market conditions, but living in 90-day cycles of tariffs, no-tariffs, reduced tariffs, or surprise U.S. geopolitical moves could be too much for the oil industry, especially the smaller companies.
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The big ones, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Occidental, and ConocoPhillips, aren’t voicing publicly concerns about doing business and doing it as usual at $60 oil. But some of them have already said that the peak in U.S. oil production is being accelerated and could be sooner than previously expected.
The peak, whenever it occurs, does not mean a steep decline afterwards—it would rather be a long plateau of leveling off of U.S. crude oil production in which the slowdown in shale would be partly offset by rising output from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, executives and analysts say.
“As you know that most of the shale basins now have either plateaued or starting to decline, except for the Permian,” Vicki Hollub, President and CEO of Occidental Petroleum, https://www.oxy.com/siteassets/documents/investors/quarterly-earnings/oxy1q25transcript.pdf
on the Q1 earnings call.
“If companies continue to talk about dropping activity levels, I think the Permian could plateau sooner than we expected - and we had expected the Permian to continue growth through 2027,” Hollub added.
Oxy had expected that U.S. production overall would peak between 2027 and 2030.
“It's looking like with the current headwinds or at least volatility and uncertainty around pricing and the economy and recessions and all of that - it's looking like that peak could come sooner,” Hollub said, adding that the Permian would grow very little this year, if at all.
Ryan Lance, the chief executive of ConocoPhillips, https://static.conocophillips.com/files/resources/cop-usq_transcript_2025-05-08.pdf
on the company’s earnings call that at $60 oil, “the folks that don't have the kind of cost of supply sitting in their portfolio are going to find themselves cash-strapped and returns-strapped.”
“Obviously, the balance sheets are in pretty good shape across the industry, better than we were in the last downturn, but you'll see a lot of activity cut back,” Lance added.
At current prices, ConocoPhillips doesn’t expect a lot of things to change for the company, although there would be changes if WTI sinks to $50 per barrel. However, “that's not our view today and doesn't represent where we think the market is going to be for the next few years,” Lance noted.
The current mantra at ConocoPhillips is “don't whipsaw this thing too hard right now…so don't overreact, but don't put your head in the sand either.”
Earlier this month, Diamondback Energy said onshore oil production in the U.S. https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shale-Major-Sees-US-Oil-Production-Peaking.html
.
“We currently estimate that the U.S. frac crew count is already down ~15% this year, with the Permian Basin crew count down ~20% from its January peak, and both are expected to decline further,” Diamondback said in a https://www.diamondbackenergy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/letter-stockholders-issued-diamondback-energy-inc-7
to investors.
Liberty Energy, the fracking company founded by now-Energy Secretary Chris Wright, is also prepping for a https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Fracking-Company-Forecasts-Major-Shale-Slowdown.html
.
?itok=ZCfsg-WY
U.S. crude oil supply will rise more slowly than expected for the rest of 2025 and in 2026 and https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Crude-Oil-Output-to-Peak-Sooner-Than-Expected.html
, as WTI prices at $60 per barrel are testing the breakeven point of shale production, energy flows intelligence firm Kpler said last week.
With the low oil prices, Kpler https://x.com/Kpler/status/1919355178756559254
its U.S. crude supply forecast by 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 170,000 bpd for the rest of 2025 and into 2026, “as weaker prices threaten to slow shale production.”
Despite steady near-term activity, growth is slowing in the U.S. shale patch, and U.S. crude output is set to peak this year, Kpler noted.
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Tue, 05/20/2025 - 14:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/us-shale-output-nearing-peak-oil-prices-stagnate
Nuclear Names Oklo And NuScale Move Forward With SMR Permitting, Plans
Nuclear Names Oklo And NuScale Move Forward With SMR Permitting, Plans
Sam Altman-backed Oklo says it is navigating what CEO Jacob DeWitte calls “good uncertainty” as potential Trump administration executive orders could accelerate Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing, expand military and Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear roles, and boost U.S. nuclear fuel supply chains, according to https://www.utilitydive.com/news/oklo-trump-nuclear-permitting-reactor-regulatory/748357/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202025-05-16%20Utility%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:73241%5D&utm_term=Utility%20Dive
.
On Oklo’s Q1 2025 earnings call, DeWitte confirmed the company is engaged in a “pre-application readiness assessment” with the NRC, aiming to smooth its formal license submission for a newly upsized 75-MW reactor design in Q4 2025. The company still targets late 2027 or early 2028 for first power production at its Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site.
DeWitte noted the recent departure of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as Oklo board chair removes a potential conflict of interest should OpenAI become a future power customer. Oklo already holds about 14 GW in nonbinding agreements with data centers and industrial operators.
The White House is weighing four nuclear-related executive orders, including directives to overhaul NRC licensing with an 18-month deadline for new applications, reconsider radiation exposure limits, and authorize military and DOE property for reactor deployments—potentially bypassing standard NRC approvals.
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These efforts aim to boost U.S. nuclear capacity to 400 GW by 2050, up from about 100 GW today. While the NRC is already implementing changes from last year’s ADVANCE Act, further reforms could shorten Oklo’s expected 24- to 30-month licensing timeline.
says that Oklo is also among eight companies eligible for the military’s Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program, enabling on-base reactor deployments. It’s developing nuclear fuel fabrication facilities capable of reusing spent fuel that would otherwise sit in long-term storage.
Meanwhile, NuScale Power is actively pursuing contracts for its small modular reactor (SMR) technology, targeting a firm customer order by the end of 2025. CEO John Hopkins said the company could deliver an operational power plant by 2030 “if we get closure on a deal here soon.” NuScale is awaiting expected NRC approval in July for its uprated 77-MW design and has 12 modules in production through manufacturing partner Doosan, capable of delivering up to 20 per year.
Hopkins emphasized NuScale’s focus on finalizing real contracts rather than nonbinding agreements, stating, “We’re actually in the process of submitting and negotiating term sheets. We’ve got customers that [want] to … touch steel.” Potential buyers include data center operators, heavy industry, and utilities. CFO Ramsey Hamady added that a signed deal would likely involve multiple parties, including plant operators and tier-one data center or AI developers.
Unlike Oklo’s build-own-operate model, NuScale provides SMR technology and plant services, likening its role to “the chip in the Dell computer.” While NuScale has courted data center customers similar to Oklo, it also promotes its reactors for hydrogen production, desalination, carbon capture, and petrochemicals.
NuScale has about two years of financial runway but expects a committed project to significantly improve its outlook. “We’ll be in a great place if our biggest challenge is keeping up with orders,” Hamady said.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 05/17/2025 - 15:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/nuclear-names-oklo-and-nuscale-move-forward-smr-permitting-plans
New York Tops London As World's Leading Financial Center In 2025
New York Tops London As World's Leading Financial Center In 2025
Financial centers are a core pillar of the modern economy, channeling capital, facilitating trade, and driving innovation across the world.
In this graphic, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-worlds-top-financial-centers-in-2025/
.
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Data & Methodology
The GFCI 37 was compiled using 140 quantitative measures from sources like the World Bank, OECD, and UN.
These measures are combined with assessments collected by respondents to the GFCI online questionnaire. In total, the GFCI 37 used 31,314 assessments from 4,946 respondents.
The data we used to create this graphic is listed below.
City
GFCI 37 Rank
GFCI 37 Rating
🇺🇸 New York
1
769
🇬🇧 London
2
762
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
3
760
🇸🇬 Singapore
4
750
🇺🇸 San Francisco
5
749
🇺🇸 Chicago
6
746
🇺🇸 Los Angeles
7
745
🇨🇳 Shanghai
8
744
🇨🇳 Shenzhen
9
743
🇰🇷 Seoul
10
742
🇩🇪 Frankfurt
11
741
🇦🇪 Dubai
12
740
🇺🇸 Washington DC
13
739
🇮🇪 Dublin
14
738
🇨🇭 Geneva
15
737
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
16
736
🇫🇷 Paris
17
735
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
18
734
🇺🇸 Boston
19
733
🇨🇳 Beijing
20
732
🇨🇭 Zurich
21
731
🇯🇵 Tokyo
22
730
🇨🇦 Toronto
23
729
🇰🇷 Busan
24
728
🇯🇪 Jersey
25
727
🇺🇸 Miami
26
726
🇨🇦 Montreal
27
725
🇦🇺 Melbourne
28
724
🇬🇧 Edinburgh
29
723
🇦🇺 Sydney
30
722
🇨🇦 Vancouver
31
721
🇬🇧 Glasgow
32
720
🇨🇭 Lugano
33
719
🇨🇳 Guangzhou
34
718
🇨🇳 Qingdao
35
717
🇺🇸 San Diego
36
716
🇩🇪 Berlin
37
715
🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi
38
714
🇨🇳 Chengdu
39
713
🇯🇵 Osaka
40
712
Areas of Competitiveness
The quantitative factors used in the GFCI model are grouped into five areas of competitiveness:
Business environment: Transparency and stability of systems, regulatory complexity
Human capital: Access to skill professionals, investment in education
Infrastructure: Quality of physical and digital infrastructure
Financial sector development: Accessibility to clients, development of digital solutions
Reputation: Trustworthiness of legal and regulatory systems
Regional Insights
We’ve summarized the main highlights from each GFCI region below.
North America
North America has four centers in the top 10: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/us-cities-by-gdp-map/
, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The most improved within North America are Miami and Vancouver, which both climbed over 10 places in the ranking.
Western Europe
London is the region’s dominant center, with seven other cities featuring in the top 20. The average rating across Western Europe increased by 2.14%.
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific has six centers in the top 20, with four belonging to China (Hong Kong SAR, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing). Looking elsewhere, Hangzhou, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila all rose six or more places.
Middle East & Africa
The region’s leading centers are Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with Dubai climbing four places to 12th in GFCI 37. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv, Kuwait City, and Johannesburg each fell more than 10 places.
Latin America & The Caribbean
São Paulo rose seven places this year, making it the leading financial center in the region.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out https://www.voronoiapp.com/markets/Billion-Dollar-Companies-by-Country-in-2025--4925
on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.
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Thu, 05/15/2025 - 20:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/new-york-tops-london-worlds-leading-financial-center-2025
UnitedHealth Shares Plunge Continues On Reported DoJ Probe For Medicare Fraud
UnitedHealth Shares Plunge Continues On Reported DoJ Probe For Medicare Fraud
And the hits just keep on coming...
UNH shares are plunging after hours (down 6% and back below $300 for the first time since September 2020) following a https://www.wsj.com/us-news/unitedhealth-medicare-fraud-investigation-df80667f?mod=hp_lead_pos1
that, according to people familiar with the matter, the DOJ is investigating UnitedHealth Group for possible criminal Medicare fraud related to its Medicare Advantage business.
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While the exact nature of the potential criminal allegations against UnitedHealth is unclear, the people said the federal investigation is focusing on the company’s Medicare Advantage business practices.
The Justice Department’s criminal healthcare fraud unit focuses on crimes such as kickbacks that trigger higher Medicare and Medicare payments.
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UnitedHealth’s latest annual securities filing says the company “has been involved or is currently involved in various governmental investigations, audits and reviews,” and flags involved agencies including the Justice Department.
It doesn’t specifically mention the criminal, civil and antitrust probes the https://www.wsj.com/us-news/unitedhealth-medicare-fraud-investigation-df80667f?mod=hp_lead_pos1
has reported.
The probe adds to a list of government inquiries into the company, including investigations of https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/u-s-launches-antitrust-investigation-of-healthcare-giant-unitedhealth-ff5a00d2?mod=article_inline
of its Medicare billing practices, including at its doctors offices.
All of this comes as the Trump administration and Congress look to cut federal health spending, a key source of UnitedHealth’s success.
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Wed, 05/14/2025 - 19:15
Stocks, Yields, Dollar Soar On US-China Trade War Truce
Stocks, Yields, Dollar Soar On US-China Trade War Truce
US equity futures and the dollar soared after China and the US agreed to slash tariffs and de-escalate a trade war that had sparked turmoil in global markets. Treasuries and gold tumbled after the US cut China tariffs from 145% to 30% while China slashed US tariffs from 125% to 10% for 90 days. With the countries agreeing that they do not want to de-couple, there is optimism that a longer-term deal can be reached. As of 8:00am, S&P futures surged 3% and Nasdaq futures spiked almost 4%. JPM writes that while Trade War 1.0 tariffs remain, as do sectoral tariffs but, this is an unambiguous positive for all global risk assets and will allow markets to look through any near-term weakness in macro data but if CPI, PPI, and Retail Sales surprise to the upside, then that will provide another tailwind to risk assets. Premarket Mag7 names are higher with many up more than 3%, Semis/Cyclicals are also higher as the market will need to reset its growth expectations higher. Commodities are higher, led by Energy, despite a spike in bond yields/USD.
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In premarket trading, Magnificent Seven stocks jumped as trade tensions ease: Apple rises 6.3% after the WSJ reported that the company is considering raising iPhone prices (Amazon +7%, Tesla +7.9%, Meta Platforms +5%, Nvidia +4.8%, Alphabet +2.8%, Microsoft +2.2%). Pharmaceutical plunged fall after US President Donald Trump said he planned to order a cut in US prescription drug costs to bring them in line with other countries, prompting concern that profits will take a hit (Eli Lilly -4%; Pfizer -2.7%, Bristol-Myers Squibb -2%, Merck -3%). Semiconductor, travel, shipping and consumer stocks also rally on trade news (Advanced Micro Devices +7%, Delta Air Lines +7%, United Parcel Service +4%, Nike +6%, Estee Lauder +6%). Precious metals mining stocks dropped as gold falls, with demand for haven assets declining as the US and China agree to lower tariffs on each other’s products for 90 days (Barrick Mining Corp. -5%, Coeur Mining -6%). Here are some other notable premarket movers:
ACI Worldwide (ACIW) rises 4%, rebounding from a two-day rout, after DA Davidson & Co upgraded the stock to buy, citing the application software company’s “strong” first-quarter results.
Johnson Controls (JCI) gains 2% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the company to buy, seeing a “rare opportunity” to own a stock with significant potential for operating margin improvement that’s not reflected in current consensus forecasts.
NRG Energy (NRG) gains 6% after agreeing to acquire natural gas-fired power assets from LS Power Equity Advisors LLC for about $12 billion including debt.
Shopify’s US-listed shares (SHOP) jumps 8% after Nasdaq announced on Friday that the Canadian e-commerce platform will replace MongoDB in the Nasdaq-100 Index prior to market open on May 19.
Risk appetite erupted across the globe after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed the trade discussions as “very robust and productive.” US megacap tech stocks, which had been hard hit this year, were on track to tally some of the biggest gains, pushing Nasdaq 100 futures up 4%, with the index set to re-enter a bull market. The dollar topped a one-month high. Gold fell more than 3%. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed seven basis points to 4.45% as traders pushed back the timing of possible interest-rate cuts.
The breakthrough in the China-US talks delivers a shot of relief to investors who were bracing for the possibility that a spiraling trade war between the world’s biggest economic powers might cause a global recession. The countries will lower tariffs on each other’s products for 90 days, according to a joint statement released in Geneva.
“The risk of a deep and protracted US recession has gone,” said Guy Miller, chief market strategist at Zurich Insurance Co. “From a company earnings perspective the headwind to revenues has clearly diminished.”
The trade war has been the biggest driver in markets this year and investors went into the weekend talks eager for clear signs the rebound from Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of tariffs on April 2 could be sustained. Rounds of retaliation had raised US levies on imports from China to 145%, while the Chinese put in place a 125% duty on US goods. That stoked fears of stagflation and recession, even though calmer minds warned that all of this was just negotiating strategy by the White House.
“In our view, equity markets are returning to where they would have moved to if Liberation Day had not happened and Trump had just applied the 10% universal tariff,” said Roberto Scholtes, head of strategy at Singular Bank. “Corporate fundamentals are healthy, first quarter results have substantially surprised on the upside, and there’s plenty of cash to be invested.”
Not everyone was celebrating however: pharmaceutical companies missed out on the broader rally as drug-company stocks fell across the world after Trump said he planned to order a cut in US prescription costs to bring them in line with other countries, prompting concern that profits will take a hit. Trump said in a social media post that he’ll sign the executive order at 9 a.m. Monday in Washington. Novo Nordisk A/S, AstraZeneca Plc and Roche Holding AG slid, while in Asia, the pharmaceuticals subgroup in Japan’s Topix Index posted its biggest one-day loss since August. Shares in US drugmakers were also weaker, with Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck all down in premarket trading in New York.
Elsewhere, shares in India jumped almost 4% and those in Pakistan rallied 9% after the two nations agreed to an immediate ceasefire after four days that saw the worst fighting between the countries in half a century. And after a weekend of hectic diplomacy, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he will travel to Istanbul on May 15 where Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct negotiations between the two countries.
In Europe, the Stoxx 50 rallied 1.7%. Miners, consumer products and tech are the strongest-performing sectors in Europe. FTSE 100 lags, adding 0.4%, as shares of pharmaceutical companies fall globally after President Donald Trump’s plan to cut US drug prices. Here are the biggest movers Monday:
European mining shares are the best performing sector in the Stoxx 600 benchmark on Monday, driven by a surge in copper and most other industrial metals, after China and the US agreed to lower tariffs for 90 days in a sign of easing trade tensions
MTN Group shares rise as much as 2.2% in Johannesburg, after the telecommunications company reported first-quarter results that analysts at Avior said were “mixed”
European pharmaceutical stocks drop after US President Donald Trump said he plans to order a cut in US prescription drug costs by mandating that Americans pay no more than people in countries that have the lowest price
European defense stocks slide on cooling geopolitical tensions as Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to hold direct talks with Ukraine, while India and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire mediated by the US. The sector remains sharply higher this year
Earlier in the session, stocks in Asia jumped after the US and China said they will temporarily lower tariffs on each other’s products, a move that gives the world’s two largest economies more time to resolve their differences. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced as much as 1.2% Monday, headed for its highest close since October. Chinese tech sector leaders Tencent and Alibaba, as well as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, offered the biggest boosts to the benchmark. The risk-on rally was evident from the opening in the region’s markets, with investors remaining optimistic that the US and China would reach a deal after they touted “substantial progress” on their trade discussions. The combined 145% US tariffs on most Chinese imports will be reduced to 30%, while the 125% Chinese duties on US goods will drop to 10%, according to a statement and officials in a briefing Monday.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index eyes its best day since April 4 as it climbs by as much as 1%. The euro falls as much as 1.5% to $1.1084, on track for its worst day this year. Haven currencies and assets underperform; JPY and CHF lag G-10 peers.
In rates, front-end bonds lead a broad selloff. Bund, Treasury and gilt curves all bear-flatten. The US 10-year yield climbs 7 basis points to 4.45%, its highest in nearly a month. Japan’s 30-year government bond yield climbs to its highest level in almost 25 years.
In commodities, oil leads a commodity rally. Brent crude added as much as 3.7% in London to above $65 a barrel and copper rose 1.4%. Most base metals trade in the green while spot gold falls roughly $100 to near $3,229/oz. Spot silver loses 1.6% near $32. Bitcoin fades gains after failing to break above its January record high, trading around $104,535.
Today's US data slate includes April Federal budget balance at 2pm; besides CPI, retail sales, PPI and University of Michigan sentiment are ahead this week. Fed speaker slate includes Kugler at 10:25am. Chair Powell is scheduled to give remarks on the framework review at the Thomas Laubach Research Conference on Thursday
Market Snapshot
S&P 500 mini +3.2%
Nasdaq 100 mini +4.%
Russell 2000 mini +4.0%
Stoxx Europe 600 +1%
DAX +1.1%
CAC 40 +1.6%
10-year Treasury yield +8 basis points at 4.45%
VIX -1.8 points at 20.1
Bloomberg Dollar Index +0.7% at 1236.4
euro -1% at $1.1138
WTI crude +3.2% at $62.99/barrel
Top Overnight News
US and China agree to bring down reciprocal tariffs by 115ppts for 90 days, sparking immediate risk on price action; DXY, ES, Crude bid; XAU & Fixed hit
US President Trump said there was a very good meeting with China on Saturday and many things were discussed and much agreed to, while he stated a total reset was negotiated in a friendly but constructive manner. Trump also said great progress was made and they want to see for the good of both China and the US, an opening up of China to American business.
USTR Greer said differences are not as great as previously thought, and Treasury Secretary Bessent said he looks forward to sharing details on Monday morning.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said trade talks were constructive and they made substantive progress, while both sides reached an important consensus and agreed to establish a China-US trade consultation mechanism with a joint statement to be issued on May 12th. Furthermore, He said the atmosphere was candid, in-depth and constructive, and noted that the nature of relations is mutual win-win, and they are going to provide more certainty and stability in the world economy.
Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang said any deal to be reached will be in China’s development interest and that they reached an important consensus with the two sides to have regular contact, while Li added that they are not in a position to release more substance on what they agreed on and declined to answer when asked about the timing of the statement but said it will be good news for the world.
US President Trump’s administration opened a Section 232 investigation on whether imports of aircraft, engines and components are a threat to national security, while the Commerce Department is also investigating the impact of imported medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks on national security.
White House Economic Adviser Hassett said the Chinese are ‘very, very eager’ to engage in trade talks and rebalance trade relations with the US, while he added that more trade deals could be coming as soon as this week. Furthermore, he said Commerce Secretary Lutnick briefed him about 24 deals that Lutnick and USTR Greer are working on, according to Fox News Sunday Morning Futures.
US President Trump is reportedly seeking USD 1tln in deals during his Gulf trip. The Qataris are also expected to announce USD 200-300bln in deals and investments, including a "huge" commercial aircraft deal with Boeing (BA) and a USD 2bln deal to purchase MQ-9 Reaper drones, according to a source: according to Axios.
US President Trump posted on Truth Social “IN JUST THREE MONTHS, TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS (and therefore, record numbers of JOBS!) HAVE BEEN POURING INTO THE USA. THIS IS BECAUSE OF MY TARIFF POLICY, and our great November 5th Election WIN!”.
US President Trump posted that his next TRUTH will be one of the most important and impactful he has ever issued and later posted that he will sign an executive order on Monday at 09:00EDT with prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices to be reduced almost immediately by 30%-80% and the US is to pay the same price as the nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the world."
Fed’s Cook (voter) said a less productive economy could need higher interest rates to contain inflation and that tariff policies could lower productivity, limit potential output and increase inflationary pressure, while Cook said less investment and higher costs could lower the economy’s potential output.
Fed’s Musalem (2025 voter) said economic activity has moderated and sentiment has declined, while he added that they should not commit to rate cuts until the impact of tariffs on inflation becomes clear and rate cuts are still possible if increased inflation proves short-lived, expectations remain anchored, and the economy becomes meaningfully weaker.
Fed’s Hammack (2026 voter) said on Friday that it is reasonable to take a wait and see approach and she would rather be slow and move in the right direction than be fast and wrong, while she said they will be ready to move on rates when there is clear and convincing evidence. Furthermore, she would like to be pre-emptive and action-oriented when possible, but noted it is hard given uncertainty over tariffs and other policies.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent urged Congress to raise the debt limit by mid-July and expects the debt limit to be hit in August.
Punchbowl Reports that US Clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act are in for a massive overhaul as part of the GOP tax bill.
Tariffs/Trade: In one line: US and China agree to bring down reciprocal tariffs by 115ppts for 90 days, sparking immediate risk on price action; DXY, ES, Crude bid; XAU & Fixed hit
US-CHINA JOINT STATEMENT: US to cut tariffs of Chinese goods to 30% from 145% for 90 days; China to cut tariffs on US goods to 10% from 125% for 90 days.
US will modify the application of rate of duty on articles of China by suspending 24ppts of that rate for an initial period of 90 days.
US will retain the remaining rate of 10% on those articles; China to retain the remaining ad valorem rate of 10% and remove modified rate.
CHINA'S STATEMENT ON U.S.
China's Statement on US: Commerce Ministry says it is to suspend 24% of additional ad valorem tariffs for an initial period of 90 days on trade talks with the US; says it will retain the remaining additional ad valorem rate of 10% China will adopt all necessary administrative measures to suspend or remove the non-tariff countermeasures taken against the United States since April 2. China says two sides will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations. Parties commit to take the actions by May 14.
China on trade talks with US: Parties will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.
US TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT
US Treasury Secretary Bessent says neither the US or China want to decouple.
Says they have come to an agreement on a 90-day pause and substantially moved down tariff levels. Both sides on reciprocal tariffs will move down by 115ppts Very good personal interactions.
Says there was no discussion on currency with China.
Says the UK and Switzerland have moved to the front of the queue; EU is much slower.
USTR GREER
USTR Greer says both sides committed to the 90-day pause period. Effective embargo was not a sustainable practice for both sides.
Fentanyl issue remains unchanged as it stands. On a positive track, having very constructive conversations.
Final result is very good for the US and China. Constructive path forward for a positive conversation with the Chinese.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks began the week with mild gains amid hopes related to a US-China trade deal after substantive progress was said to have been made during talks in Switzerland over the weekend, but with gains capped given a lack of details announced so far and with the sides to provide a joint statement later today. ASX 200 was led higher by the commodity-related sectors with outperformance in energy after the recent oil rally. Nikkei 225 advanced at the open with the help of a weaker currency but then briefly wiped out all of the gains with pressure seen in pharmaceuticals after US President Trump announced he will sign an executive order on Monday with prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices to be reduced almost immediately by 30%-80%. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were underpinned following US-China trade talks over the weekend in which both sides noted that progress was made and they agreed to establish a China-US trade consultation mechanism, although further upside was capped given the actual lack of details and after Y/Y Chinese CPI and PPI remained in deflation.
Top Asian News
Japanese PM Ishiba said the government was ready to take further measures to cushion the economic impact from higher US tariffs but suggested that a cut in Japan's consumption tax was unlikely, according to Reuters.
China April vehicle sales +9.8% Y/Y (prev. +8.2%); Jan-April +10.8% Y/Y (prev. 10.2%)
European bourses are broadly in positive territory with sentiment in Europe boosted after the US and China agreed to lower tariff levels by 115ppts each for a period of 90-days. The announcement sparked immediate upside across the equities complex, and now currently resides just off highs; DAX 40 +1.2%, Europe paring given Bessent's "EU is much slower" language. To recap the main points; 1) US to cut tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% (prev. 145%) for 90 days, 2) China to cut tariffs on US goods to 10% (prev. 125%) for 90 days, 3) Bessent said both sides came to an agreement, 4) there was no discussion on currency with China, while fentanyl remains an issue. European sectors are mostly firmer, with the risk-tone boosted after the aforementioned US-China talks. The typical cyclical sectors outperform today, with the likes of Basic Resources and Autos leading whilst Utilities is towards the foot of the pile. Healthcare underperforms in Europe today, with pharma names broadly in the red after US President Trump said he will sign an executive order on reducing the price of prescription drugs, by 30-80%. Roche (-3.2%), AstraZeneca (-3.5%).
There is some underperformance in Novo Nordisk (-5.9%) after Eli Lilly’s study suggests Zepbound outperforms Novo’s Wegovy for weight loss.
Top European News
BoE's Lombardelli says underlying inflation pressure for the UK have continued to fall; sensible to continue gradual pace of cutting rates "When thinking about the process of disinflation, my focus is on wages, as they are the largest component of the prices set by domestic services firms, and so a key driver of moves in underlying inflation. Wage growth is still too high to be consistent with inflation at target." "Productivity growth has been very low over the past couple of years... but that hasn’t been reflected in a substantial decline in wage growth." "caution remains appropriate. I’ll be more comfortable when I see material deceleration in the data over a longer period." Domestic inflation progress, not US tariffs, was the main factor behind the vote in May to cut by 25bps; though, US tariffs added to the reasoning.
ECB’s Schnabel said the ECB should keep a steady hand and rates should be held close to where they are now.
ECB's Vujcic expects inflation to slow the ECB's 2% target by year-end, according to Bloomberg.
FX
DXY is stronger after the US-China deal. Immediate upside seen on the release of the US-China joint statement following trade talks over the weekend, with the two sides agreeing to slash reciprocal tariffs by 115ppts each for a period of 90 days, marking a 30% levy on China (from 145%), and a 10% levy on the US (from 125%). DXY has spiked to a 101.81 intraday peak at the time of writing from a 100.50 base overnight, with the index eyeing its 50 DMA (101.94) ahead of 102.00. USD/CNH slumped under its 200 DMA (7.2213) to a 7.1983 trough from a 7.2400 intraday peak.
EUR is bearing the brunt of the dollar's strength, alongside some loss of the appeal it gained during the loss of US confidence earlier this year. Furthermore, US Treasury Secretary Bessent noted that talks with the EU on trade are slow. EUR/USD slipped to a 1.1083 low from a 1.1242 peak, eyeing its 50 DMA (1.1074) to the downside.
Traditional havens slumped amid a broader outflow from safety and into risk assets following the aforementioned constructive US-Sino updates. USD/JPY shot higher to a 148.22 peak (vs 145.71 low), with the 200 DMA seen at 149.69.
GBP has been hit by the Dollar strength on the aforementioned US-China news, with no reaction seen to BoE's Lombardelli, who suggested it is sensible to continue the gradual pace of cutting rates, but caution remains appropriate. Several BoE speakers due today with BoE's Greene on monetary policy with a text release at 11:30 BST, BoE's Mann with a text release at 13:50 BST, and BoE's Taylor at 17:00 BST.
Antipodeans are subdued by the surge in the Dollar, but losses are largely cushioned by the antipodeans' high-beta properties and amid optimism as China receives a 115ppts reprieve on reciprocal tariffs.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.2066 vs exp. 7.2429 (Prev. 7.2095).
Fixed Income
Today’s session began with a bearish bias as APAC trade was focussed on the initial language coming out of the US-China talks and source reporting around it, remarks/reports pointed to a positive outcome.
Thereafter, the US-China joint statement and accompanying separate press conferences saw 115ppts of reciprocal measures removed by both sides (US now 30%, China now 10%) for a 90-day period. An update which sparked immediate and continuing pressure in the fixed income space.
Specifically, USTs down to a 110-06 trough from 110-13+ pre-release.
Bunds reacted to the above, sending Bunds lower by over 30 ticks at/just after the joint statement. Since, it hit a 129.92 low vs 130.49 open levels. However, as the European risk tone comes off best and equity bourses/futures in the region give back much of the upside, EGBs have lifted off lows by around 15 ticks. A lifting in EGBs that has seemingly occurred as participants digest the language from US officials regarding the EU. Specifically, Bessent said that while the UK and Switzerland have moved to the front of the queue, the EU “is much slower”.
Gilts are in-fitting with the above, gapped lower by 58 ticks as the statement coincided with the open itself. Thereafter, slipped to a 91.69 base in-fitting with broader price action. Remained in very close proximity to that low since.
Commodities
Immediate upside in crude benchmarks on the US-China joint statement, which, in short, reduced reciprocal tariffs by 115ppts each; the US to cut tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145%, and China to cut tariffs on US goods to 10% from 125%; both for 90 days.
Precious metals hit by the surge in the Dollar alongside outflows out of safe havens on the back of the aforementioned US-China trade updates, with the yellow metal unwinding much of the risk premium that was woven in during the tit-for-tat tariff increases between the US and China earlier this year. Spot gold slipped from a USD 3,324.73/oz peak to a USD 3,215.76/oz low at the time of writing.
Base metals are boosted by sentiment amid the aforementioned positive US-China joint statement, with not much more to add, although upside is somewhat hampered by the surge in the Dollar and relatively subdued Chinese inflation data released over the weekend. 3M LME copper resides towards the upper end of a USD 9,577.00-9,577.00/t.
Morgan Stanley downgrades European Energy sector to Cautious from In Line.
Saudi Aramco reported Q1 (USD) profits fell 4.6% Y/Y to 26bln, and rev. rose to 108.1bln (prev. 107.2bln Y/Y), while it stated that global trade dynamics affected energy markets in Q1 with economic uncertainty impacting oil prices.
Geopolitics: Middle East
"Israeli media: The army will cease fire in Gaza as of 12 noon local time [10:00 BST]", via Al Arabiya.
Senior Palestinian official said Hamas was in talks with the US administration regarding a Gaza ceasefire and aid. It was later reported that Hamas said it will release the last US hostage in Gaza as part of efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid.
Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office said the US informed Israel of Hamas’s intention to release Edan Alexander without any compensation or conditions and the US informed Israel that the move is expected to lead to negotiations for the release of further hostages, while Israel’s policy is that negotiations will be conducted under fire with a continued commitment to achieving all war objectives. PM Netanyahu later said that Israel has not committed to any ceasefire or prisoner release with Hamas, but only to a safe corridor for release of Edan Alexander, and negotiations for the release of other hostages will continue while preparations are made to intensify fighting in Gaza.
Israeli army carried out major bombing operations in the city of Rafah, Southern Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel’s military issued evacuation warnings to people present in three Yemeni ports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and Salif, while the Houthi interior minister said that Israel conducted an attack on Hodeidah.
US envoy Witkoff held direct and indirect talks with Iran in Oman and an agreement was reached to move forward with talks to continue working through technical elements, according to a senior administration official.
The fourth round of Iran-US nuclear talks was conducted in Oman which Iran’s Foreign Minister Araqchi said were more serious compared to previous rounds and talks are moving forward, while he stated that “now both sides have a better understanding from each others’ views” but added that Tehran’s uranium enrichment program is non-negotiable.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araqchi said Tehran continues nuclear talks with the US in good faith and Iran will not back down from and of its rights if the US goal of talks is to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights, while he added a nuclear agreement is possible if the US aim is non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and Oman’s Foreign Minister noted that the next round of talks will take place after both sides have consulted with their respective capitals.
PKK, Kurdish militant group, has decided to dissolve itself and conclude the armed conflict with Turkey, via Reuters citing a group-affiliated agency.
Geopolitics: Ukraine
Ukraine and European leaders said they agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire on sea, land and air starting on May 12th and peace negotiations will start in that period if there is a ceasefire, while they said if Russia fails to comply, they will respond with massive sanctions and increased military aid.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said it is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war and the very first step in truly ending the war is a ceasefire. It was separately reported that Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to meet and he expects Russia to confirm a ceasefire beginning May 12th. Furthermore, Zelensky said Ukraine awaits a full ceasefire starting on Monday to provide a necessary basis for diplomacy and he will meet with Russian President Putin on Thursday in Turkey, and noted that the ceasefire beginning on Monday remains on the table and that Ukraine is awaiting a response from Russia but also noted that Ukraine will be ready to respond symmetrically if Russia violates the ceasefire.
Russian drone attack on Ukraine rail infrastructure targets civilian freight train, injures locomotive driver, according to Ukrainian Railways which added that Russia is not observing Ukraine's proposal for ceasefire.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said President Zelensky and visiting European leaders had a phone call with US President Trump on Saturday, which was constructive and they discussed peace efforts.
Russian President Putin offered Ukraine to resume direct negotiations and talks will begin on May 15th in Istanbul with no pre-conditions. It was also reported that Kremlin aide Ushakov said proposed peace talks in Turkey will take into account the situation on the ground and 2022 negotiations.
Russian President Putin held a call with Turkish President Erdogan and they discussed in detail an initiative to resume direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul, while Turkish President Erdogan told French President Macron in a phone call that Turkey is ready to host negotiations for a ceasefire and permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Russian Defence Ministry said Russian troops continued the special military operation after the Victory Day ceasefire ended and Ukrainian troops made five attempts to break through the border in Kursk and Belgorod regions during the ceasefire. It was also reported that Russia launched an air attack on Kyiv and that a Ukrainian missile attack injured three in the town of Rylsk in Russia’s Kursk region.
US President Trump posted on Truth that Ukraine should agree to meet with Russian President Putin on Thursday to negotiate, while he stated that he was starting to doubt that Ukraine would make a deal with Russian President Putin.
Polish PM Tusk said the Russian secret service was behind the fire that almost completely destroyed a Warsaw shopping centre in May 2024.
Geopolitics: India-Pakistan
India’s Foreign Ministry said Pakistan’s Director General of military operations called on Saturday and it was agreed that both sides would stop firing, while Pakistan’s Foreign Minister said this is not partial and it is a full-fledged ceasefire understanding between the two countries.
India’s Foreign Secretary said Pakistan violated the ceasefire and that Indian armed forces responded, while the official said they call on Pakistan to halt the violence and India’s armed forces have been given the instruction to deal with violations along the border.
Pakistan’s military said dozens of its armed drones hovered over major Indian cities including Delhi and 26 military targets and facilities were hit in India during operations carried out on Saturday.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Dar spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang and China reaffirmed it will continue to stand by Pakistan in upholding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
US President Trump said he will increase trade substantially with both India and Pakistan, while he said he will work with both to see if a solution can be reached concerning Kashmir.
US event calendar
2:00 pm: Apr Federal Budget Balance, est. 256b, prior -160.53b
Central Banks (All Times ET):
10:25 am: Fed’s Kugler Speaks on Economic Outlook
DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
I'm off to the West Coast this morning. LA and San Fran rather than Cornwall or Wales, although I think the latter two are warmer than the former two at the moment. I coached my first U8 cricket match over the weekend in glorious sunshine and my record as coach is now 100% positive. I saw enough weaknesses though to suggest that record might not last forever. Hopefully the board give me time to work my own ideas into the team.
Let's start with all the weekend news which includes "positive" US/China trade talks, a Ukrainian and European (and US backed according to Macron) 30-day ceasefire plan for the war, and an Indian/Pakistan ceasefire (mediated by the US). The US/China talks seemed to go well but remember with tariffs currently at 145% and 125% it doesn't take much to improve the situation. Treasury Secretary Bessent and Greer (US Trade Representative) suggested "substantial progress" was made even if neither side has announced any specific measures. China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng stated that both sides had reached an "important consensus" and agreed to launch another new economic dialogue forum. Bessent had indicated that the US and China will jointly provide details on the progress at some point today so we will see if we get this.
On the war in Ukraine, Zelenskiy and European leaders have demanded a 30-day ceasefire from today to allow for negotiations. If this doesn't happen Russia will face new sanctions that the US has seemingly approved according to Macron. Putin in return has countered and agreed to talks in Turkey with Ukraine on Thursday without addressing the ceasefire issue. Rather ambiguously Mr Trump said that Ukraine should “IMMEDIATELY” agree to the talks, as “at least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible”. So we do seem to be moving towards talks but it's unclear on what terms.
Elsewhere, after four days of tense clashes that pushed India and Pakistan close to war, a ceasefire appears to be holding after being announced on Saturday. The US played a role in encouraging a de-escalation, facilitating behind-the-scenes talks that led to the agreement between the two nuclear-armed nations. The NIFTY 50 has surged +2.88% as I type in early trading.
Moving to broader Asian markets, equities are edging higher on all the weekend news. Chinese stocks are outperforming with the Hang Seng (+0.93%) leading gains while the CSI (+0.62%) and the Shanghai Composite (+0.37%) are also trading in positive territory. Elsewhere, the KOSPI (+0.65%) and the S&P/ASX 200 (+0.22%) are also trading up while the Nikkei (+0.04%) is fairly flat. S&P 500 (+1.46%) and NASDAQ 100 (+1.95%) futures are rallying harder on the trade progress though with 10yr USTs +2.7bps higher, at 4.406% as we go to print.
In terms of economic data over the weekend, China's factory-gate prices (-2.7% y/y) posted the steepest drop in six months in April, worse than a -2.5% decline in March while "better" than Bloomberg’s forecast for a -2.8% decline. At the same time, consumer prices eased -0.1% y/y last month, matching a -0.1% drop in March and the Bloomberg forecast.
Staying with inflation, the main event this week will be US CPI tomorrow but generally we start the April hard data reporting cycle now and it'll be interesting to see any early impact of Liberation Day. It might be a bit too soon but watch CPI and PPI (Thursday), US Retail Sales (also Thursday) and Consumer Confidence and Housing Starts and Permits (both Friday), alongside some regional manufacturing surveys in the US. Within the Consumer Confidence data the inflation expectations will continue to be very important and something the Fed are looking at. Talking of which, Powell speaks on Thursday.
Moving on to European data, this week's highlights include March's monthly GDP (Thursday) and labour market indicators (tomorrow) in the UK and the May ZEW survey in Germany (also tomorrow). Over in Asia, Japanese Q1 GDP (Friday) is the highlight (DB expect -0.4% QoQ annualised) but the BoJ summary of opinions from the April meeting is also out tomorrow. The full day-by-day week ahead is at the end as usual.
Looking into the main US upcoming data in more detail, for US CPI tomorrow, DB expect the headline (+0.26% forecast vs. -0.05% previous) number to be slightly below that of core (+0.29% vs. +0.06%) with consensus for both at 0.3%. Both DB and consensus expect the YoY rate to remain unchanged at 2.4% and 2.8%, respectively. One of the main reasons our economists are expecting a firm core goods print is due to strong gains in vehicle prices after robust new vehicle sales in recent months. The risk to this month though is that dealers refrained from price rises in April knowing that with tariffs coming they will have to raise them soon. So we know auto price rises are coming but it may not be April.
Indeed April overall may be too early for tariff price rises to show up but our economists advise looking out for any early signs in some of the import-heavy categories such as apparel and household furnishings and supplies. In addition food prices could be another place to look for any early signs of the tariffs that went into place in February. Our economists note, that the effects from the washing machine tariffs in early 2018 took about two months to start showing up in the CPI data. Regular readers will note that perhaps I need to buy my new tumble dryer quickly.
For PPI on Thursday, DB and the consensus expect a 0.3% monthly print on headline and core but we'll pay more attention to the components that feed into core PCE as usual. Retail sales on the same day will be the other big release of the week. Our economists expect slight dips in auto sales and gasoline prices to weigh on headline (unch. vs. +1.5%) and ex-autos (+0.2% vs. +0.6%) sales. However they expect retail control (+0.4% vs. +0.4%), which feeds into GDP, to remain solid. The potential curveball is if consumers have front loaded purchases ahead of tariffs and we get strong data. Thursday is a busy day as Powell speaks and this will provide him with an opportunity to comment on the data if he's sees anything meaningful within it. So one to watch especially given that Powell said last week that "we don't know which way this is going to shake out".
Quickly rounding out events in politics, there will also be Eurogroup (today) and Economic and Financial Affairs Council (tomorrow) meetings in Brussels. An informal gathering of NATO foreign ministers will take place in Antalya on May 14-15. In Asia, APEC trade ministers meet in South Korea on May 15-16 and the sixth meeting of the European Political Community will take place in Albania on Friday.
Recapping last week now and the risk-on tone continued at a global level, with markets mostly seeing a further unwind of their moves since Liberation Day. That was driven by several factors, including hopes for a de-escalation between the US and China, not least given the news that they’d be starting talks in Switzerland. That was further support by the deal the US reached with the UK, raising hopes that further agreements might follow shortly. Then on top of that, several data releases continued to point away from a recession, which gave a further boost to support risk appetite. For instance, the ISM services index unexpectedly rose to 51.6 in April, whilst the weekly initial jobless claims fell back to 228k as well.
That backdrop generally proved supportive for markets, with several equity indices moving higher last week. That included the DAX, which hit a new record as it posted a fourth consecutive weekly advance, rising +1.79% (+0.63% Friday). Similarly in Japan, the Nikkei also posted a fourth weekly gain, up +1.83% (+1.56% Friday). However, the main exception to this pattern were actually US equities, with the S&P 500 down -0.47% over the week (-0.07% Friday).
More broadly, there were several other signs that stability was returning to markets. For instance, the VIX index of volatility fell to its lowest level since Liberation Day, closing at just 21.90pts on Friday. Credit spreads tightened further, with US HY down -9bps last week (+1bps Friday) to 343bps. Other risk assets climbed as well, and Bitcoin ended Friday at $103,195, which was its highest level since January. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices recovered from their 4-year low at the start of the week, moving up +4.27% over the week as a whole to $63.91/bbl.
Finally, the risk-on move put sovereign bonds under pressure, and yields moved higher as the Fed’s latest meeting signalled they weren’t in a rush to cut rates. That helped push the 10yr Treasury yield up +7.0bps (flat on Friday) to 4.38%, and the 2yr yield also rose +6.7bps (+1.6bps Friday) to 3.89%. Over in Europe, the 10yr bund yield also rose +2.9bps (+2.9bps Friday) to 2.56%. And over in Japan, the 10yr bond yield was up +10.5bps, closing at 1.37%.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 05/12/2025 - 08:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/market-recaps/stocks-yields-dollar-soar-us-china-trade-war-truce
Most US States Return To Population Growth
Most US States Return To Population Growth
According to the latest data released by the Census Bureau, most U.S. states have returned to population growth in 2024.
While in 2023, eight states were shrinking, this was down to just three last year.
Notably, https://www.statista.com/chart/12484/population-growth-in-the-united-states-by-federal-state/
that three economically successful states - California, Illinois and New York - returned to growth, as did Hawaii, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.
This is despite the fact that New York and Illinois had started to see their populations decline https://www.macrotrends.net/states/illinois/population
since 2016 and 2014, respectively, while California experienced a stagnating number of inhabitants in 2019 and started losing population in 2020 as the pandemic disrupted regular migration patterns and caused 19 states to shrink at the height of the trend in 2022.
https://www.statista.com/chart/12484/population-growth-in-the-united-states-by-federal-state/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
https://www.city-journal.org/article/new-york-population-immigration-census-bureau
concludes that changes in border enforcement under the Biden administration caused the swings for the city, which is a hub for immigrants from all over the world.
In fact, shrinking U.S. states typically experience domestic out-migration and positive international in-migration, with the latter often having to outweigh the former in order to create growth. In the case of New York and Chicago, domestic out-migration that boomed in the Covid era softened over time, aiding in this process.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/chicago-region-and-cook-county-growth-path-census
its methodology to better capture all immigrants, including humanitarian ones like refugees from Venezuela or Ukraine. For the latter, Illinois is traditionally a popular destination.
West Virginia was the only state that shrunk in 2023 and 2024, while in the last year, Mississippi and Vermont also started to lose population.
Americans resettling because of high cost of living do play a role in domestic outmigration, but changes in immigration into the U.S. have also had a big part in the state's ongoing population decline as https://www.axios.com/2022/12/08/immigrants-moving-top-us-cities
their destinations in the U.S., favoring - like domestic migrants - the Sun Belt states, but also smaller cities.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 05/09/2025 - 23:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/most-us-states-return-population-growth
Arizona Becomes Second State To Establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Arizona Becomes Second State To Establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/arizona-becomes-second-state-to-establish-strategic-bitcoin-reserve
Arizona has made history by becoming the second state in the U.S. to create a https://bitcoinmagazine.com/glossary/strategic-bitcoin-reserve
.
?itok=RSMYgeX2
On Thursday, https://x.com/GovernorHobbs
into law, officially launching the Arizona Bitcoin & Digital Assets Reserve, a pioneering move that channels profits from unclaimed property into Bitcoin and other top-tier digital assets.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Arizona enacts new law to establish a Strategic https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1920280492781322280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The bill outlines several key features:
Redirection of unclaimed-property profits toward Bitcoin and other digital assets
Use of interest, staking rewards, and airdrops from abandoned property to fund strategic acquisitions
Strong diversification rules, ensuring Bitcoin supplements — but doesn’t dominate — Arizona’s investment portfolio
Mandated U.S.-regulated custody for the assets
Clear implementation steps that allow the state to begin purchasing digital assets and “stacking sats”
Native Bitcoin redemption, which means lost Bitcoin can be returned in BTC rather than U.S. dollars
The law positions Arizona alongside https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/new-hampshire-becomes-first-state-to-pass-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-bill-into-law
in transforming idle state assets into potentially appreciating stores of value. By putting otherwise unused funds to work, the state is taking a strategic, forward-looking approach to safeguard its treasury without raising taxes or using the general fund.
“Arizona just showed the country how to turn forgotten assets into a fortress against inflation,” said https://x.com/Dennis_Porter_/status/1920270813506290100
, CEO and Co-Founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, a key advocate for the bill.
“With HB 2749, lawmakers converted dormant dollars into digital gold — without touching the taxpayer’s pocket. It’s a win for fiscal responsibility and for every Arizonan who believes in sound money.”
Cryptocurrency exchange https://www.coinbase.com/
also played a role by offering expert testimony that helped propel the bill through legislative hurdles, according to Satoshi Action Fund. Their involvement gave lawmakers a clearer understanding of the financial and technological implications of Bitcoin-based reserves.
ARIZONA SIGNS STRATEGIC BITCOIN RESERVE INTO LAW! 🇺🇸 https://t.co/xQXsm2fEXQ
— Dennis Porter (@Dennis_Porter_) https://twitter.com/Dennis_Porter_/status/1920270813506290100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
(R-Chandler), the bill’s sponsor, was credited with tirelessly shepherding the legislation from its early draft stages through multiple committee hearings, stakeholder meetings, and floor votes, ultimately securing bipartisan support and ensuring its successful passage into law.
“Digital assets aren’t the future—they’re the present,” said Weninger.
“This law ensures Arizona doesn’t leave value sitting on the table and puts us in a position to lead the country in how we secure, manage, and ultimately benefit from abandoned digital currency. We’ve built a structure that protects property rights, respects ownership, and gives the state tools to account for a new category of value in the economy. It’s exactly the kind of policy we should be leading on—modern, precise, and built with an understanding of where technology and finance are heading.”
The https://www.satoshiaction.io/
, which helped draft and advocate for HB 2749, has become a leading voice in Bitcoin policy. To date, the organization has contributed to the passage of eight pro-Bitcoin laws and inspired more than 20 additional legislative efforts across the country.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 05/09/2025 - 13:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/arizona-becomes-second-state-establish-strategic-bitcoin-reserve
Biden's Floating Pier Debacle In Gaza Was Even Worse Than We Thought; IG Report
Biden's Floating Pier Debacle In Gaza Was Even Worse Than We Thought; IG Report
Joe Biden’s floating aid pier in Gaza, which was only operational for 20 days in the summer of 2024, was a much bigger failure than initially reported, according to new Pentagon Inspector General https://media.defense.gov/2025/May/06/2003704499/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2025-091_FINAL.PDF
?itok=aF1og_j4
The ill-fated pier system, dubbed “Operation Neptune Solace” and operated by an Army and Navy outfit known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS), took about 1,000 U.S. forces to execute at a cost of $230 million.
More than 60 service members were injured and one died during non-combat duties on the mission, according to the Pentagon IG, although the manner of the injuries was not clear.
“Based on the information provided, we were not able to determine which of these 62 injuries occurred during the performance of duties or resulted off duty or from pre-existing medical conditions,” the report said.
Army Sgt. Quandarius Stanley was “critically injured in May when high winds and heavy seas damaged the pier, causing four Army vessels to become beached,” https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-military/2025/05/06/ill-fated-gaza-pier-mission-lacked-sufficient-training-equipment-ig/
reported. Stanley died from the injuries he sustained months later.
The Navy reported damage to 27 boats and (Improved Navy Lighterage System) INLS equipment totaling about $31 million, according to the Times.
The Army’s damage assessment is redacted.
Plagued by bad weather, the 1,200-foot-long floating pier reportedly had to be removed multiple times due to high winds and sea.
The Pentagon IG found that mission planners failed to identify such environmental factors, and that Army and Navy equipment malfunctioned because it was “not interoperable.”
Lack of training and resources also reportedly hindered the operation’s success.
The Inspector General said that the U.S. military under Biden failed to “organize, train, and equip their forces to meet common joint standards.”
The pier debacle became a major embarrassment to the Biden administration, with congressional Republicans branding it a political stunt to placate the Democrats’ pro-Hamas base during an election year.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 05/07/2025 - 20:05
Crackdown On Student Loan Defaulters To Begin With Benefit Seizure, Then Wage Garnishment
Crackdown On Student Loan Defaulters To Begin With Benefit Seizure, Then Wage Garnishment
The U.S. government will begin seizing federal benefits from 195,000 student loan defaulters in June, with wage garnishment notices set to reach 5.3 million borrowers later this summer, the Education Department https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-reminds-colleges-and-universities-of-their-obligations-help-struggling-borrowers
on May 5, marking the formal restart of involuntary collections after a years-long pause.
?itok=aJQQRhC1
The renewed enforcement effort begins with the Treasury Offset Program, which allows the federal government to intercept tax refunds, Social Security checks, and other federal payments to recover unpaid student debt. Borrowers affected by the program began receiving notices this week, the department said.
“Starting today, approximately 195,000 defaulted student loan borrowers will begin receiving an official 30-day notice from the U.S. Department of Treasury notifying them that their federal benefits will be subjected to the Treasury Offset Program,” the Education Department said in Monday’s announcement.
Following the notice period, administrative wage garnishment will begin later this summer for all 5.3 million borrowers who remain in default. Guaranty agencies have also been authorized to resume involuntary collections on defaulted loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the department added.
The move officially ends a pandemic-era freeze first imposed in March 2020 under President Donald Trump and extended multiple times under the Biden administration. Although payments officially resumed in fall 2023, most collection efforts remained paused—until now.
previewing the shift, the department said the decision was necessary to “restore common sense and fairness” and protect taxpayers, citing data that only 38 percent of the 42.7 million federal student loan borrowers were current on their loans, while nearly 10 million were delinquent or in default. The remainder were in forbearance, deferment, or grace periods.
“Student and parent borrowers–not taxpayers–must repay their student loans,” the Education Department said at the time.
“There will not be any mass loan forgiveness.”
As of early 2025, https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/almost-10-million-student-loan-borrowers-at-risk-of-significant-credit-score-drops-fed-warns-5831665
5 million borrowers were already in default and another 4 million were in late-stage delinquency, defined as 91 to 180 days behind on payments. The New York Federal Reserve estimated that delinquent student debt reached $250 billion by the end of 2024.
To help borrowers avoid wage garnishment or benefit offset, Federal Student Aid (FSA) has launched direct outreach and expanded support services, encouraging borrowers to enroll in income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, make voluntary payments, or begin loan rehabilitation.
Alongside the repayment restart, the Education Department also issued a Dear Colleague https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2025-05-05/request-institutions-provide-repayment-information-former-students-prevent-defaults
to colleges and universities on May 5, warning that schools must act quickly to avoid federal penalties tied to rising default rates.
The letter reminded institutions that the cohort default rate—the share of former students who default soon after leaving school—must stay below 40 percent in a single year or 30 percent for three years in a row, or the school risks losing access to Pell Grants and federal student loans.
To mitigate that risk, the department urged schools to immediately contact former students with reminders of their loan obligations and information on repayment plans.
“As we begin to help defaulted borrowers back into repayment, we must also fix a broken higher education finance system that has put upward pressure on tuition rates without ensuring that colleges and universities are delivering a high-value degree to students,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.
“For too long, insufficient transparency and accountability structures have allowed U.S. universities to saddle students with enormous debt loads without paying enough attention to whether their own graduates are truly prepared to succeed in the labor market.”
The department also said it plans to publish institution-level nonpayment rates later this month to increase transparency and accountability across the higher education sector.
The enforcement restart follows the collapse of former President Joe Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan, which aimed to cancel hundreds of billions in debt through executive action. The Supreme Court struck down the plan in 2023, ruling that the administration lacked the authority to cancel loans without congressional approval.
In April, McMahon made clear that the department would no longer pursue blanket debt forgiveness.
“American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies,” McMahon said in April.
“The executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear.”
While supporters of Biden’s proposal argued that widespread forgiveness would reduce inequality and stimulate economic growth, critics said it was fiscally reckless and unfair to borrowers who had already repaid their loans—or never borrowed at all.
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Wed, 05/07/2025 - 12:40
Chinese Space Program Copying Elon Musk's Starlink
Chinese Space Program Copying Elon Musk's Starlink
Eric Berger, the senior space editor at Ars Technica, https://x.com/SciGuySpace/status/1919371812711858667
a post on X from a China space observer detailing how Beijing appears to be copying Elon Musk's Starlink space internet company, operated by SpaceX.
"The Chinese space program copying SpaceX? Well, I never …," Berger wrote.
Berger quoted https://x.com/ChinaSpaceGuy/status/1919180581075554642
, founder of Orbital Gateway Consulting and an expert on China's space industry, who identified SpaceSail—a Chinese space company backed by the Shanghai municipal government—as having unveiled its "commercial" version of Starlink satellites at China Space Day 2025.
The Chinese space program copying SpaceX? Well, I never … https://t.co/3QNaLuUno4
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/1919371812711858667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The only problem China has is its launch cadence. For the year, SpaceX has 50 launches. This includes 48 Falcon 9 launches and 2 Starship launches. They have also launched 17 non-Starlink missions and 45 reused boosters.
The latest count of Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit has surpassed 7,000, delivering high-speed internet to five million customers across 125 countries, territories, and other global markets.
SpaceX's third quarter 2024 launch report showed the US leading the global space race, launching 84% of all mass to orbit globally. This is 15 times all Chinese launches combined in the quarter, according to data from https://www.brycetech.com/
.
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Goldman turned bullish on Starlink earlier this year. Read the note https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/goldman-turns-bullish-starlink-satellite-parts-supplier-space-race-accelerates
.
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Mon, 05/05/2025 - 21:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/chinese-space-program-copying-elon-musks-starlink
Zombie Tankers Emerge In Venezuelan Oil Trade
Zombie Tankers Emerge In Venezuelan Oil Trade
An increasing number of "zombie" or "phantom" oil tankers—vessels that assume the identities of scrapped ships—have emerged off Venezuela's coast, allowing dark fleet operators to circumvent U.S. trade restrictions on global oil transport.
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According to a https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-30/oil-traders-brace-for-another-saudi-led-opec-oil-supply-surge
report, one of these zombie tankers was recently spotted off the waters of Malaysia after a two-month voyage from Venezuela, raising many red flags.
The report describes how dark fleet operators transform tankers into floating zombies:
The vessel raised some red flags: it was 32 years old, past the age at which it would normally have been scrapped, and it was sailing under the flag of Comoros, a popular flag of convenience that makes ships harder to monitor.
For all intents and purposes, though, it seemed like any other so-called dark fleet tanker that carries barrels of sometimes sanctioned oil from producers like Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Except it wasn't.
The real Varada, which wasn't sanctioned, had actually been demolished in Bangladesh in 2017. This vessel was what's known as a zombie or phantom ship, which take on the identities of scrapped tankers to appear legitimate and avoid scrutiny from authorities in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Bloomberg investigators obtained ship-tracking data and satellite imagery showing that at least four zombie tankers have been involved in the Venezuelan oil trade with Asia. At the same time, the Trump administration ramped up maximum pressure, forcing Western oil firms to withdraw from the country.
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Last week, John Hurley, a hedge fund veteran who's been nominated to lead the Treasury Department's terrorism and financial intelligence arm, warned about "consequences" for any nation that purchases Venezuelan oil.
Hurley would enforce President Trump's executive order, which could impose 25% tariffs on countries that purchase crude from Venezuela.
"President Trump is sending a clear message that access to our economy is a privilege, not a right, and countries importing Venezuelan oil will face consequences," Hurley wrote in responses to questions from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.
Bloomberg first reported zombie tankers in September and November last year, and maritime intelligence analysts have been paying attention.
"Zombie ships are the third way," Starboard analyst Mark Douglas said, adding, "The thinking is like: 'I can't afford to run my own system, so I'll use another ship's identity to get that oil from point A to point B.'"
Using a dark fleet network and zombie tankers, China has quietly become the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil. Perhaps tariffs alone will fall short—maybe Hurley's strategy will involve slapping Beijing in the face with sanctions.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 04/30/2025 - 22:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/zombie-tankers-emerge-venezuelan-oil-trade
Bezos-Backed Startup Debuts Pickup Truck Reminiscent Of 1980s Toyota Hilux
Bezos-Backed Startup Debuts Pickup Truck Reminiscent Of 1980s Toyota Hilux
A Jeff Bezos-backed startup unveiled on X a cheap electric truck priced at roughly half the cost of the average new American pickup. The catch: it lacks power windows, infotainment screens, and self-driving features.
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"The people spoke. We built. Meet the radically simple, radically affordable Slate," Slate Auto wrote in the post on X on Thursday.
The people spoke. We built. Meet the radically simple, radically affordable Slate. Reserve yours at https://t.co/Y5RkOIFCRo
— Slate Auto (@slateauto) https://twitter.com/slateauto/status/1915591929200340998?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"A radically simple electric pickup truck that can change into whatever you need it to be — even an SUV," the Slate Auto website says, adding, "Made in the USA at a price that's actually affordable (no really, for real)."
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At 14.5 feet long, the customizable EV is more akin to a Toyota pickup (Hilux) from the mid-1980s.
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The range of the EV truck is abysmal, at 150 miles - or 240 miles with a longer-range battery pack - the vehicle in our minds is not a serious truck - instead, similar to mini trucks Americans are importing from Japan to run around town.
Any serious work, whether towing or hauling actual weight, in the EV space will be done by the Tesla Cybertruck or the Rivian truck, or a diesel-powered truck by Dodge, Ford, or Chevy for long-haul towing.
Again, the Slate Auto vehicle isn't a serious pickup truck, but it does look like fun to run around town.
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Tue, 04/29/2025 - 04:15
Houthis Claim US Airstrike Killed 68 Africans At Migrant Detention Center
Houthis Claim US Airstrike Killed 68 Africans At Migrant Detention Center
A Houthi-controlled ministry https://www.saba.ye/en/news3472323.htm
on Monday that a U.S. airstrike killed at least 68 Africans at a migrant detention center in northern Yemen.
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The Yemen News Agency (Saba) said it received a statement from the civil defense department of the Ministry of Interior, reporting that the strike in Saada governorate, a Houthi stronghold, killed at least 68 and wounded 47 African migrants.
The Epoch Times reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, and other African countries often cross the Bab el-Mandab Strait to Yemen en route to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, seeking work.
Graphic footage broadcast by the Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies.
The Epoch Times was unable to verify the claims or the footage.
On March 15, President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen, vowing to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Iran-backed terrorists end their attacks on a critical sea lane.
U.S. aircraft have been consistently hitting targets across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen over the last six weeks in what is known as Operation Rough Rider.
“Since March 15, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces have conducted an intense and sustained campaign targeting the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen to restore freedom of navigation and American deterrence,” U.S. Central Command said in an April 27 https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RELEASES/Press-Release-View/Article/4167047/uscentcom-forces-continue-to-target-houthi-terrorists/
.
“These operations have been executed using detailed and comprehensive intelligence ensuring lethal effects against the Houthis while minimizing risk to civilians.”
‘Minimizing Risk to Civilians’
“To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations. We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do.”
The statement said Central Command has struck over 800 targets since the start of Operation Rough Rider. These strikes have killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders, including senior Houthi missile and UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] officials, according to Central Command.
Iran has supplied drones and drone technology to its allies in the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes the Houthis in Yemen and the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Both have used drones against Israel, although the Houthis have tended to target shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandab Strait.
In Oct. 2024, Central Command sent B-2 Spirit https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/us-b-2-stealth-bombers-target-houthi-weapons-storage-bunkers-in-yemen-5742853
to target underground bunkers in Yemen which it said were used by the Houthis to store missiles and drones.
The Houthi terrorist group draws members from northern Yemen’s Shiite Muslim Zaydi community.
Officially known as Ansar Allah, they have controlled the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and a swath of territory in north and west Yemen since 2014.
On March 4, Ansar Allah was formally designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State.
announcing the designation, the State Department said, “Since 2023, the Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as U.S. service members defending freedom of navigation and our regional partners. Most recently, the Houthis spared Chinese-flagged ships while targeting American and allied vessels.”
On April 18, a U.S. strike on the port of https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/us-strikes-target-fuel-port-in-yemens-houthi-controlled-northwest-5843972
killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others.
In its latest statement, Central Command said, “U.S. strikes destroyed the ability of Ras Isa Port to accept fuel which will begin to impact Houthi ability to not only conduct operations, but also to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their terror activities.”
Last year, the State Department published a status report on human trafficking in Yemen, part of which country is controlled by the Saudi-backed Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG). The ROYG fought a long war against the Houthis, paused in 2022 after the United Nations brokered a cease-fire.
The report https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/yemen/
, “The sustained insurgency by the Houthis continued to be a significant obstacle to the ROYG’s ability to combat all forms of human trafficking, including the recruitment or use of child soldiers.”
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Mon, 04/28/2025 - 09:20