Zelensky Threatens 'Future Of Friendship Depends On Hungary's Stance' After Kiev Attacks Key Pipeline Again
Zelensky Threatens 'Future Of Friendship Depends On Hungary's Stance' After Kiev Attacks Key Pipeline Again
In the wake of Ukraine attacking yet again the Druzbha or “Friendship” pipeline on Aug. 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has come out with a not-so-subtle warning of his own.
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According to the Ukrainian https://ru.interfax.com.ua/news/general/1098837.html
, the Ukrainian president told press on Sunday that Ukraine has always supported friendly relations with Hungary, but that “friendship” really depends on the position of the Hungarian government.
Zelensky did not specify if he was referring to relations between the two countries or “friendship” as in the Friendship pipeline, but Ukrainian media state he was talking about the latter.
Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, posted a clip of Zelensky’s threats on X, writing:
“Zelensky used Ukraine’s national holiday to threaten Hungary. We firmly reject the Ukrainian president’s intimidation.”
.https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
used Ukraine’s national holiday to threaten Hungary. We firmly reject the Ukrainian President’s intimidation.
We regard sovereignty and territorial integrity as fundamental values of international politics. That is why we respect every country’s sovereignty and… https://t.co/oUsgKNgqcV
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) https://twitter.com/FM_Szijjarto/status/1959657523864027327?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Kyiv would then be clearly threatening Budapest that they will continue sabotaging the oil pipeline if the Hungarian government does not support Ukraine in its efforts against Putin, and potentially change its stance on Ukraine’s EU membership, which the Hungarian government opposes.
The Druzbha carries vital energy supplies to both Hungary and Slovakia, and Hungary’s foreign minister, Szijjártó, has repeatedly warned Kyiv not to strike again.
After the latest damage, Hungary expects repairs to take a few days.
Heading into the cold winter months, this issue is sure to escalate, and U.S. President Trump has already expressed his displeasure, saying he was “very angry” about it.
Hungary is also a major supplier of electricity to Ukraine.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 08/27/2025 - 07:20
World's Largest Sovereign Wealth Fund Divests From Caterpillar Over IDF Rights Abuses
World's Largest Sovereign Wealth Fund Divests From Caterpillar Over IDF Rights Abuses
In the latest demonstration of growing Western opposition to Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund on Monday announced it is divesting from Caterpillar, over concerns that the Israel Defense Forces are using Caterpillar bulldozers to violate human rights. Norway's $2 trillion wealth fund -- which springs from the country's oil wealth -- held a 1.17% stake in the Texas-headquartered company, https://www.timesofisrael.com/norway-wealth-fund-divests-from-caterpillar-5-israeli-banks-over-gaza-rights-violations/
as of June 30.
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While Caterpillar's products are classified as "construction" equipment, the IDF regularly uses massive, armored Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers to destroy homes and other civilian infrastructure -- not only in Gaza, but the occupied West Bank as well:
How the fuck can anyone call this self-defense or a strike against Hamas?
An Israeli army D9 bulldozer is blatantly destroying roads right in front of the Jenin Governmental Hospital.https://twitter.com/hashtag/FuckIsrael?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Robert Martin 🇵🇸 (@Robert_Martin72) https://twitter.com/Robert_Martin72/status/1792848384602390867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Sovereign wealth funds are rare among the world's democracies. In Norway, divestment decisions are largely driven by the recommendations of an independent ethics council established by the Finance Ministry. After evaluating Caterpillar, the Council on Ethics reported:
"There is an unacceptable risk that Caterpillar is contributing to serious violation of the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict... Bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar are being used by Israeli authorities in the https://www.ft.com/content/31387962-398d-4809-950a-6353f9178728
..There is no doubt that Caterpillar’s products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law. The company has also not implemented any measures to prevent such use.”
⚡️🇮🇱JUST IN:
An Israeli soldier from the Givati Brigade demolishes homes in Rafah, southern Gaza, and uploads the footage to social media.
The bulldozers used are typically Caterpillar D9 models, or other types supplied by Hyundai or Volvo. https://t.co/DOs9mPvE2c
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) https://twitter.com/SuppressedNws/status/1910955022801576256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Caterpillar has long been one of the principal targets of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which -- echoing the 1980s divestment campaign against South African apartheid -- attempts to use economic pressure on Israel to advance the Palestinian cause. In an infamous 2003 incident, an IDF soldier used a Caterpillar D-9 to https://electronicintifada.net/content/rachel-corries-legacy-highlights-continuing-role-bulldozers-crush-gaza/12286
as she tried to prevent the IDF from destroying homes in Rafah, Gaza.
One of the most striking dimensions of Israel's post-Oct 7 war on Gaza is the systematic, wholesale destruction of entire neighborhoods, villages and cities. Far from an incidental side-effect of the IDF campaign, https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-defense-minister-unveils-plan-concentration-camp-gaza
, as powerful Israeli Finance Minster Bezalel Smotrich told a West Bank settlement conference in May:
“Within a few months...Gaza will be totally destroyed. The Gazan citizens will be concentrated in the south. They will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.”
Ever wonder what genocide looks like? ⬇️ Southern Gaza City, before and after https://t.co/1bGQlmR7qb
— Zachary Foster (@_ZachFoster) https://twitter.com/_ZachFoster/status/1842557630910431378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Alongside US-supplied bombs and controlled demolitions, Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers play a central role in turning Gaza into a vast expanse of rubble. In July, a https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-33fccfbe-abcc-4af1-bdd2-632b2787cf59
used before-and-after satellite imagery to confirm the IDF's methodical obliteration of vast swaths of Gaza, in violation of international law and basic morality. Professor Janina Dill, co-director of Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law & Armed Conflict, told BBC that occupying armies are compelled to supervise held territory in a way that benefits the native population, a charge that is "incompatible with a military approach that simply makes the territory uninhabitable and leaves nothing standing".
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On Monday, Norway's wealth fund announced it was also divesting from five Israeli banks: https://www.timesofisrael.com/norway-wealth-fund-divests-from-caterpillar-5-israeli-banks-over-gaza-rights-violations/
in Bet Shemesh Engines, an Israeli jet-engine firm that serves the IDF. It opened that position one month after the IDF began its assault on Gaza following the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel.
Perhaps the best indication of the centrality of Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers in the IDF arsenal is the high frequency with which they appear as targets in videos showcasing Hamas operations in Gaza:
Hamas targeted a Israeli Merkava Mk4 tank and a D9 Caterpillar dozer with Al-Yassin 105mm rockets in Rafah. https://t.co/J95Z79eXp3
— Mintel World (@mintelworld) https://twitter.com/mintelworld/status/1794435389635129439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Qassam vs IDF in Khan Yunis: Yassin strike with a Tandem-85 warhead vs an IDF D9 armoured bulldozer on 17 June. [Qassam Brigades 27/6] https://t.co/8jJVVXrPJV
— Jon Elmer (@jonelmer) https://twitter.com/jonelmer/status/1938832820471759116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/hashtag/Palestine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
.
The attack was seemingly carried out with an RPG-7 Launcher with locally-made "Al-Yassin 105" Tandem anti-armor rocket. https://t.co/BgP6nzoSH2
— War Noir (@war_noir) https://twitter.com/war_noir/status/1785300777885458483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Allah akbar
Footage shared shared by https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hamas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— mohamed nasir - ناصر محمد (@nasir11991) https://twitter.com/nasir11991/status/1720730733486936280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Saraya al Quds vs IDF in Khan Yunis: Fighters burying the pressure plate detonator connected to a barrel bomb IED that is tripped by an IDF D9 armoured bulldozer shown from two cameras. Final scenes are the medevac and the D9 being towed away by a Namer APC. [Islamic Jihad 31/5] https://t.co/4A02ZzauBf
— Jon Elmer (@jonelmer) https://twitter.com/jonelmer/status/1928906240609894608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Footage of Hamas fighters hitting the cockpit of an Israeli military armored bulldozer Catherpillar D9. https://t.co/0uB4gxmU3x
— Combat Archive (@Zoma3mk) https://twitter.com/Zoma3mk/status/1921548067003678878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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Wed, 08/27/2025 - 06:55
Trump Mulls Travel Ban for EU Officials Over 'Orwellian' Censorship Law
Trump Mulls Travel Ban for EU Officials Over 'Orwellian' Censorship Law
President Donald Trump is weighing a travel ban on European Union officials behind the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping online regulation that the White House claims is designed to censor Americans.
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According to sources familiar with the matter cited by https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-weighs-sanctions-officials-implementing-eu-tech-law-sources-2025-08-26/
, the State Department is considering visa restrictions targeting senior EU policymakers responsible for the legislation. A decision hasn’t been made, but discussions inside the administration intensified after a high-level meeting last week.
The move would directly punish foreign officials for domestic policies Washington says undermine U.S. free speech rights.
The EU’s DSA aims to compel tech giants to crack down on illegal content, but the Trump administration argues the policy amounts to government-driven censorship, accusing Brussels of forcing U.S. companies to muzzle American users under the guise of combating misinformation.
“We are monitoring increasing censorship in Europe with great concern but have no further information to provide at this time” a State Department spokesman told the https://archive.is/uTMhZ
.
An EU Commission spokesman fired back, rejecting the claims as “completely unfounded,” insisting that the DSA "sets out rules for online intermediaries to tackle illegal content, while safeguarding freedom of expression and information online."
Tariffs, Tech, and Tensions
Relations between the Trump administration and the EU have grown increasingly strained, fueled by threats of tariffs and disputes over tech regulation.
Reports earlier this month revealed the U.S. government urged European diplomats to lobby against the DSA, intensifying a battle over who sets the rules for online speech.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously threatened visa bans for people who censor speech by Americans, including on social media, suggesting the policy could directly target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies.
Vice President JD Vance has also repeatedly slammed European regulators, accusing them of “censoring” Americans. In a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, he accused EU leaders of suppressing the speech of groups such as Germany’s Right-wing AfD party.
UK’s 'Orwellian' Online Safety Act
Tensions aren’t limited to Brussels. The Trump administration has also targeted the UK’s Online Safety Act, calling it “Orwellian.”
During Trump’s visit to Scotland last month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the legislation, insisting London remains committed to protecting free speech while tackling online harms.
The debate is expected to intensify next month when Nigel Farage testifies before Congress on threats to free expression in Britain. Farage is set to highlight the case of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months over a social media post related to the Southport attacks, before being released earlier this month.
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For now, no sanctions have been formally imposed. But if the administration follows through, it would represent a historic clash between Washington and Brussels over free speech, tech regulation, and sovereignty.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 08/27/2025 - 05:45
Turkey Is Leading Effort To Suspend Israel From UN General Assembly
Turkey Is Leading Effort To Suspend Israel From UN General Assembly
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-says-israel-should-be-suspended-un-general-assembly
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday urged Islamic nations to work toward suspending https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel
from participating in United Nations General Assembly meetings and activities.
Speaking at an emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Fidan said that Palestinians needed collective action to end Israel's alleged genocide in Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
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“This meeting will focus on three urgent tasks: halting the war, forging a united response of the Islamic Ummah, and mobilizing the international community,” he said.
Fidan stressed that Israel’s “genocidal aggression” continues in Gaza, where half a million people face catastrophic hunger, adding that the UN has now officially declared famine in the territory. He noted that Hamas has already accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by Qatar and Egypt, yet the Israeli government “still seeks the erasure of Palestine”.
“Therefore, we must join our efforts in sustaining and expanding the momentum for Palestine’s recognition, while also launching an initiative within the UN for Palestine’s full membership - and considering the suspension of Israel from the work of the General Assembly,” Fidan added.
On Monday, the OIC foreign ministers meeting issued a statement following the summit that said it "urges the OIC Member States to examine further whether Israel's membership in the United Nations aligns with the UN Charter, given Israel's evident violations of the requirements for membership and its consistent disregard for UN resolutions".
"Additionally, efforts should be coordinated to suspend Israel's membership in the United Nations," it said. Fidan’s call to suspend Israel from the UN General Assembly has precedent.
Articles 5 and 6 of the UN Charter state that a member may be suspended or expelled if it “persistently violates the principles contained in the Charter”.
However, such a move requires a recommendation from the Security Council, where the five permanent members, including the United States, hold veto power.
Historic precedent
There is, however, another route: the General Assembly itself. This was used in 1974 against apartheid South Africa. On September 27, 1974, the UN Credentials Committee rejected South Africa’s credentials, a routine procedure before General Assembly meetings.
Three days later, the General Assembly passed Resolution 3207, urging the Security Council to review South Africa’s membership in light of its constant violations of the Charter.
Although the Security Council vetoed the resolution, in November of that year the president of the General Assembly, https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/algeria
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, ruled that, given the Credentials Committee’s decision and the adoption of Resolution 3207, the General Assembly would refuse to allow South Africa’s delegation to participate in its work.
South Africa remained suspended from the General Assembly until June 1994, following the end of apartheid. Activists https://theconversation.com/gaza-can-the-un-suspend-israel-over-its-treatment-of-palestinians-its-complicated-but-yes-242559
an advisory opinion declaring Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories “unlawful” and its near-complete segregation of populations in the West Bank a breach of international law on “racial segregation” and “apartheid”.
Turkey is tightening its trade ban on Israel
• Ports will turn away Israeli ships
• Won't process cargo linked to Israel
• Turkish ships barred from Israeli ports
Turkey first announced a trade ban in May 2024 & exports have already collapsed (chart)https://t.co/1819v5ZBZD
— Ziad Daoud (@ZiadMDaoud) https://twitter.com/ZiadMDaoud/status/1958816894867128440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The ICJ also stated that Israel’s policies and practices in occupied Palestine amount to segregation or apartheid, in violation of Article 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
Major human rights organizations - including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Israel’s own B’Tselem - have described Israel’s actions against Palestinians as constituting “apartheid” or an “apartheid regime”.
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Wed, 08/27/2025 - 05:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/turkey-leading-effort-suspend-israel-un-general-assembly
Reform's Plan For Dealing With UK Illegal Migrants Is A Good Start
Reform's Plan For Dealing With UK Illegal Migrants Is A Good Start
Authored by Noah Carl via https://dailysceptic.org/2025/08/25/reforms-plan-for-dealing-with-illegal-migrants-is-a-good-start/
,
In a recent https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/reform-mass-deportation-bill-plan-bb375dd0j
with the Times, Reform leader Nigel Farage unveiled his plan for dealing with Britain’s illegal migration crisis. It involves four key elements:
Leaving the ECHR and suspending other relevant treaties
Banning those who arrive through irregular channels from claiming asylum
Moving illegal migrants from hotels and rented accommodation to disused RAF bases, and keeping them there
Striking deals with migrants’ home countries, or failing that, deporting them to third countries or British overseas territories like Ascension Island
Predictably, the plan has been https://news.sky.com/story/reform-uks-new-immigration-plans-wouldve-been-extreme-just-a-few-years-ago-13416752
by Farage’s political opponents. One Tory MP claimed that he “is just recycling many ideas the Conservatives have already announced”. Which would be easier to take seriously if the Tories hadn’t had 14 years in government to implement some of those ideas.
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Meanwhile, both Labour and the Liberal Democrats claimed that Farage’s plan won’t work. Labour called it “pie in the sky” and the Lib Dems insisted it “doesn’t offer any real solutions”. But what would a real solution look like?
The current situation is manifestly preposterous: tens of thousands of migrants turning up uninvited on the South Coast, and then being housed in hotels and private accommodation at taxpayers’ expense – to the tune of billions of pounds per year. And crucially, the overwhelming majority of such migrants are adult men.
).
In other words, the people that British taxpayers are paying to house in hotels all across the country are not desperate women and children with nowhere else to go. They are overwhelmingly drawn from the least vulnerable demographic group.
Even by the Left’s own self-professed values, this is an absurd policy. There are millions of people around the world that are far more needy than the people who turn up uninvited on the South Coast. And we could help them by providing food, medicine and other essentials in situ. Does anyone really believe that covering hotel bills for adult men in Britain is the best way to help the world’s poor?
Even the Economist, long a bastion of pro-migration sentiment, https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/07/10/scrap-the-asylum-system-and-build-something-better
that Europe’s asylum system is not working and should be scrapped. As the magazine correctly notes, “it cannot cope with a world of proliferating conflict, cheap travel and huge wage disparities”.
As far as I can see, neither Labour nor the Lib Dems has any plan that would prevent the continual inflow of illegal migrants into Britain. (Saying that you would “create safe and legal routes” is https://x.com/NoahCarl90/status/1859575221595824539
.) And the current situation is simply not sustainable: of course people don’t want large numbers of adult men being housed in their communities.
The main weakness of Farage’s plan is the difficulty of striking deals with countries like Iran, which is among the biggest sources of illegal migrants.
Britain does little trade with Iran and already imposes sanctions on its government.
In fact, sanctions relief might be the only way to make them take their citizens back.
[ZH: We would be remiss if we did not note that none other than Elon Musk has been focused on the immigration crisis in the UK over the last 24 hours]
He criticized Farage for not going far enough...
Unfortunately, the reality is that Farage will do almost nothing to protect Britain. That is obvious.
Existing law is clear that anyone who was an accessory to aggravated rape or murder, especially of children, is guilty of serious crime and must either serve time in prison if… https://t.co/BVuCM4CC16
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1960388313514148267?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"I would like to help fund legal actions against corrupt officials who aided and abetted the rape of Britain, per the official government inquiry. "
85 cities in Britain where local authorities were complicit in the rape of children … https://t.co/20tp9VFFAv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1960225363327373589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Musk also retweeted Tommy Robinson:
Revolution is coming , nothing can stop it, the silent majority will be silent no longer, join us in our stand against tyranny on September 13th https://t.co/LRRF9neMEK
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) https://twitter.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/1960232418054476040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
And while British media was evidently silent about it, Musk made it very clear how he feels about the Scottish teenager...
Start by condemning the grovelers and collaborators in positions of authority in Britain who aided the rape epidemic of their own people or turned a blind eye to their responsibilities.
Both civil and criminal prosecutions. https://t.co/H4zEpk18hE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1960370872914460995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 08/27/2025 - 03:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/reforms-plan-dealing-uk-illegal-migrants-good-start
Ukraine Belatedly Confirms Russian Troops Have Breached Central Oblast & Industrial Heartland
Ukraine Belatedly Confirms Russian Troops Have Breached Central Oblast & Industrial Heartland
fell to the Russian army in Donetsk at the end of last week, and the battlefield momentum has continued into Tuesday, as Ukraine has acknowledged for the first time that Russian troops have entered the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region.
Dnipropetrovsk is a central oblast which has long been spared from the main fighting. Russian forces have penetrated this strategic area, which suggests the war is still expanding, significantly beyond the annexed four territories. It is known as the industrial heartland and key production hub of the country.
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"Yes, they have entered, and fighting is ongoing as of now," a Ukrainian military spokesman for the Dnipro Operational Strategic Group of Forces https://www.barrons.com/news/ukraine-acknowledges-for-first-time-russia-entered-dnipropetrovsk-region-79c4f8c7
AFP.
Moscow had first announced it breached the region back in July, but Ukrainian officials had not acknowledged it until this week. Russia also says it has fully captured the villages of Zaporizke and Novogeorgiivka - something which Ukraine's military leadership is disputing.
But Reuters is confirming, https://www.reuters.com/world/russian-troops-inch-forward-ukraines-dnipropetrovsk-region-2025-08-26/
, "Russia has captured two villages in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian open-source researchers confirmed on Tuesday, as Kremlin troops press an offensive amid a stalling diplomatic effort to end the war."
"Ukraine's outmanned and outgunned military has struggled to fend off grinding Russian advances in much of the east as Moscow increases pressure on Kyiv to give up territory in any peace negotiations," the report adds.
All that the exhausted Ukrainian military can do at this point is keep sending drones into Russian territory. This again happened overnight as Ukraine's special forces attacked logistical facilities in Crimea.
A Ukrainian military statement said facilities "that ensure the functioning and combat supply of the military units of the Russian army" were damaged and put out of commission.
President Trump is meanwhile still trying to strike a tone of cautious optimism when it comes to peace talks. On Monday he had confirmed speaking again with President Vladimir Putin.
"Every conversation I have with him is a good conversation. And then, unfortunately, a bomb is loaded up into Kyiv or someplace, and I get very angry about it," Trump told reporters.
Russian forces have seized control of two villages in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk oblast – Zaporizke and Novoheorhiivka – making them the first villages in that region to fall to Russia, according to the Ukrainian war tracking group https://twitter.com/Deepstate_UA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1960333357813743738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The White House still doesn't want to fully admit that Russia is winning the war, and that Kiev has no leverage. This means that realistically a swift ending would involve the US pressuring Zelensky to make serious compromises.
But by and large the Europeans are committed to seeing Ukraine stay in the fight. But this is a recipe for more death and destruction, and the war grinding on toward possible escalation with NATO.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 08/27/2025 - 02:45
German Schools 'Dealing With Hell' Due To Mass Migration
German Schools 'Dealing With Hell' Due To Mass Migration
German schools are dealing with “hell.”
That’s the conclusion reached by Die Welt newspaper, as cited by Hungarian outlet https://mandiner.hu/kulfold/2025/08/elszabadult-a-pokol-a-nemet-iskolakban-lehetetlenne-valt-a-tanitas-a-migransok-miatt
.
Based on numerous case studies, it is clear that “far too many children are being sent to school who can barely concentrate and, above all, who do not speak German.”
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Families, children, and teachers are suffering the consequences of the bad policies from politicians. In short, they “have failed.” One major issue is the death of the German language itself, across Germany.
In the Hemshof district of Ludwigshafen, for example, barely a word of German is heard. The students in the district’s Gräfenau elementary school are 98 percent migrants.
Welt indicates that plenty of Asian, African, and Slavic languages present, but as Germany has become a nation of migrants, the German language recedes.
“Italian, Greek, Turkish guest workers since the 1960s, and since 2015, the rest of the world,” Die Welt writes about the progression of immigration waves in the country.
The school principal in the Hemshof district, Barbara Mächtle, has been vocal about the issues.
For example, some 40 first-year students, a third of the year, may not be ready to enter the second grade. According to the newspaper, Mächtle “knows the tricks to cover this up, but he doesn’t use them.” For example, these children are enrolled in the second grade, but then “voluntarily drop out” on the first day of school. Machete refuses to play these games and will force these students to repeat the grade – “not to punish them, but to save them.”
Mächtle also dispels the illusion that being surrounded by German, migrant kids will “absorb it on their own.” She says there is no “language immersion” because children “hear everything except German.”
“No child here is swimming in German waters, they remain in their Arab, Turkish, Afghan pools,” and “at best they develop a basic slang, a German of 50-100 words, which is enough for the street and the schoolyard, but not for a profession that can be understood even partially,” Welt reports.
And then there is the violence inflicting schools, which the paper calls a widespread fire, not just here or there. In 2024, the authorities registered 35,570 school violence incidents, an average of 97 per day; 743 of these involved a knife. Students also express their religion, Islam, “aggressively” in the classroom. As Remix News has reported, https://rmx.news/article/a-direct-result-of-the-irresponsible-mass-immigration-40-of-all-violent-crime-suspects-in-german-schools-are-foreigners-over-2-knife-attacks-a-day/
of all violent crime in the German school system is from foreigners. In addition, many of the German students have a foreign background.
This has created a situation where teachers are expected to be social workers first, taking immense time away from their actual work as teachers. With these students, the parents are not doing their jobs in preparing children to behave properly in the classroom.
It is no wonder teachers are leaving the field, and many are discouraged from entering, which is yet another major issue: a massive teacher shortage.
In Germany, it is no longer possible to provide the current student population with trained teachers. In the countryside, people are not applying for teaching jobs, and in the cities, teachers cannot afford to pay the rent, so many people apply for teaching positions immediately after graduating, only to quickly fail.
“In the past 20 years, fourth-grade maths assignments were often purely text-based. Today, books are full of pictures to make understanding possible at all,” bemoans Andreas Baudisch, the principal of the Humboldt primary school in Mannheim.
“Basic operations are a great deal of work for many children. Many cannot formulate a complete sentence,” says the principal. There are some bright spots. Children from Indian families learn German better in four months than those born here because ‘they practice at home, they are interested in it,’ and this is something that is lacking in many other people who are second or third generation Germans living here.”
Die Welt warns that no so long ago, these issues could only be found in troubled neighborhoods of Berlin, a situation that “horrified” people in the rest of the country.
“That’s over, Berlin is everywhere,” the paper writes.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 08/27/2025 - 02:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/german-schools-dealing-hell-due-mass-migration
UN Nuclear Chief Given 24/7 Elite Protection Over 'Specified Iranian Threat'
UN Nuclear Chief Given 24/7 Elite Protection Over 'Specified Iranian Threat'
United Nations atomic agency chief Rafael Grossi has been receiving 24/7 protection from a tactical security unit based out of Austria, amid what's been reported as specific threats on his life connected to Iran.
Tuesday reporting in The Wall Street Journal has revealed Grossi has received this protection for weeks. Austria’s Cobra special services unit is providing the security detail. It is part of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior.
"The elite unit of Austria’s security services is protecting Grossi after the country’s intelligence agency received information of a threat to the International Atomic Energy Agency chief from a third party, according to a person involved in the case. The IAEA is based in Vienna."
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Officials are citing a "specified Iranian threat" - but haven't disclosed precise details of the threat. But it was apparently enough to take drastic action, as "The tactical force is deployed to counter the gravest threats, such as terror plots and to secure top-ranking individuals, including the Austrian chancellor."
"In instances of concrete threats against dignitaries, the unit deploys officers armed with submachine guns and at least two bulletproof vehicles around the clock," according to WSJ.
Iranian leaders have blasted the IAEA connected with the 12-day June where, when Israel led a surprise attack, which was ended when the US military dropped huge bunker-buster bombs on three nuclear sites.
Tehran has accused the UN inspectors of essentially spying, and passing sensitive information on to the Israelis. Some Iranian state media reports have gone so far as to label Grossi an Israeli spy.
According to more in https://www.wsj.com/world/u-n-atomic-agency-chief-given-security-protection-over-iran-threat-6fcd010e?mod=hp_lead_pos3
:
A person familiar with the matter said the Austrian authorities acted on intelligence outlining a specific threat to Grossi coming from Iran-linked individuals. A second person said they had been told that the threat was believed to come from Iran and was being taken seriously by authorities.
“We can confirm that Austria provided a Cobra unit but we cannot confirm where the specific threat came from,” said Fredrik Dahl, an IAEA spokesman.
Some veiled threats from top Iranian advisers have actually been articulated quite publicly...
Advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Larijani: “When the war ends, we will hold IAEA Director-General, Rafael Grossi, accountable.” https://t.co/g25czGbYSj
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) https://twitter.com/ariel_oseran/status/1935682585201418306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Grossi, who is a veteran Argentine diplomat is said to be in the running to succeed António Guterres as United Nations secretary-general. Guterres term in the post will end next year.
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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 23:00
Exxon Held Secret Talks To Resume Work In Russia
Exxon Held Secret Talks To Resume Work In Russia
Once upon a time, the braindead puppet in the White House also known as Joe Biden exclaimed that Exxon made "https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/06/11/exxon-made-more-money-than-god---but-far-less-than-apple/
" and while the former president was chronically wrong about everything, he may have been on to something here (even if the market to this day refuses to give Exxon the proper credit or PE multiple to go with its divine moneymaking skills). And there is a simple reason why while others struggle, Exxon prints money: the company isn't afraid to go completely against the grain of conventional wisdom.
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After huddling with President Trump in Alaska, President Vladimir Putin told reporters Russia and the U.S. could do more business together—for example, between their Pacific coastlines. “We look forward to dealing,” Trump replied.
What the two leaders didn’t say is that behind closed doors, their countries’ biggest energy companies had already sketched out a road map to going back into business, pumping oil-and-gas fields off Russia’s far-east coast.
As the FT and https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/exxon-rosneft-russia-oil-talks-f524e81f?mod=djemalertNEWS
report, in secret (well, not so secret) talks with Russia’s biggest state energy company this year, a Exxon Mobil executives discussed returning to the massive Sakhalin project if the two governments gave the green light as part of a Ukraine peace process.
Such was the sensitivity that only a handful of people at Exxon knew the talks had taken place. One of the U.S. oil major’s top executives, Senior Vice President Neil Chapman, led the talks on the Exxon side.
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Under the Biden and Trump administrations, Exxon and other companies have had U.S. permission and licenses from the Treasury Department to hold talks about stranded assets with Russian counterparts, a WSJ source said, noting that the first round of negotiations took place shortly after Exxon’s exit from Russia in 2022.
In parallel, Exxon executives asked the US government for support if the company goes back to Russia, and received a sympathetic hearing, said a senior administration official. CEO Darren Woods discussed Exxon’s possible return with Trump at the White House in recent weeks.
Resuming business in Russia would mark a dramatic rapprochement after Exxon’s messy breakup with Moscow when Putin attacked Ukraine in 2022. The West’s biggest oil producer dived deeper into Russia than most other companies after the fall of the Soviet Union. Its retreat after the invasion was correspondingly more acrimonious.
One of Exxon's biggest investments in Russia, Sakhalin-1, named after a island near the three oil fields, was first agreed in 1995. Exxon ran the venture, and owned 30% alongside state-owned Rosneft as well as Japanese and Indian companies, which are still there.
When Western businesses stampeded out of Russia after the invasion, Exxon reduced output and said it would sell its stake, writing down its value by over $4 billion. Moscow blocked a sale, then wiped out Exxon’s stake. Exxon had described the move as expropriation.
Which is why enticing Exxon back would represent a coup for the Kremlin, which wants to draw Western investment as part of the peace talks to stabilize the economy. A return isn’t guaranteed and depends in part on whether Trump succeeds in brokering an end to the Ukraine war, or instead tightens sanctions if Putin refuses to stop fighting.
While Russia’s oil industry has managed to keep oil production high despite sanctions, analysts warn production capacity will eventually erode by lack of know-how and investment. Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries and pipelines have hampered the country’s domestic fuel supplies in recent weeks.
Discussions between Exxon and Rosneft about rebooting their partnership intensified around the time of Trump’s inauguration this January. In February, senior U.S. and Russian government officials met publicly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to open talks about ending the war. At the time, Russia dangled the promise of investment opportunities for American companies, including in Arctic energy developments.
Privately, Exxon’s Chapman met Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin in the Qatari capital Doh. Sechin, a close ally of Putin, is under blocking sanctions by the U.S., which means Americans are mostly banned from dealing with him without the type of Treasury license obtained by Exxon. Sechin likes to meet foreign business and government leaders in Qatar, whose sovereign-wealth fund has a stake in Rosneft. Qatar has carved out a role as a neutral mediator in global conflicts.
Reuters earlier reported that U.S. and Russian government officials discussed energy deals this month including Exxon’s possible return.
There is a template for Exxon to get involved at Sakhalin: the production-sharing deal the consortium struck with the Russian government in the 1990s. Oil began flowing in 2005. Exports from Sakhalin mostly go to Asian buyers, who kept buying Russian crude after the invasion, in contrast to European companies that forswore it.
Putin removed one obstacle to Exxon’s return the same day as the Alaska summit. He signed a decree allowing foreign companies to own shares in the Russian firm that has operated Sakhalin since Exxon’s departure. Conditions include providing overseas equipment and spare parts, and lobbying for sanctions to be repealed.
Exxon’s re-entrance - which would infuriate Europeans who continue to pretend their actions are tantamount to sanctions on Moscow even though they gladly purchase Indian-refined Russian oil products - will depend on the terms that Russia offers. The company is looking to recoup losses from its Sakhalin exit, at least, and Putin may well indulge it.
Exxon’s close ties with Russia earned then-CEO Rex Tillerson an Order of Friendship from Putin in 2013. Sanctions imposed after Putin annexed Crimea the next year forced Exxon out of some of its Russian ventures, but Sakhalin was unscathed.
Despite the tension after the 2022 invasion, Exxon maintained back-channel communications with state-owned Rosneft throughout the war. That's because Russia’s energy riches remain a big prize for Western companies if the war ends. When Exxon left, Sakhalin accounted for about 3% of its oil production, a small but proven source of crude. The company was also working with Rosneft to develop its natural-gas reserves to be exported as a frozen liquid on tankers. Rosneft hopes to benefit from Exxon’s capital, technology and managerial expertise.
If it goes back, Exxon would find a different environment for doing business. Russia’s economy has slowed under the pressure of sanctions, high interest rates and inflation. Asset seizures by the state are commonplace. And in wartime the Kremlin has taken even greater control of the country’s vast energy industry.
The market for Russia’s oil has changed. Europe has weaned itself off Russian crude, while refiners in India and China have snapped it up. The traders who buy and sell the oil mostly do so through opaque companies in the United Arab Emirates.
Trump appeared to sour on Putin this spring, icing any immediate prospect of Western businesses diving back into Russia, before warming up to him all over again in Alaska this month.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 22:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/exxon-held-secret-talks-resume-work-russia
Comcast Network Horror: Summer Ratings Crash 49%, Advertisers In Major Bind
Comcast Network Horror: Summer Ratings Crash 49%, Advertisers In Major Bind
Building on our previous reporting (https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/audience-erosion-accelerates-across-traditional-tv
) about the summer collapse in traditional TV ratings, Goldman's latest Nielsen tracker delivers yet more evidence of cord-cutting accelerating into the end of August as audiences migrate to streaming. For advertisers, it's another blow: the viewership base is dwindling, leading some marketers to scramble for new, innovative platforms to reach consumers.
On Monday, a Goldman analyst team led by Michael Ng highlighted to clients yet another series of grim data points from traditional TV:
We refresh our Nielsen TV ratings tracker for our US Media coverage (DIS, CMCSA, PSKY, WBD, FOXA) that includes traditional ACM (average commercial minute) prime time and total day ratings across broadcast and cable. This edition focuses on the C3 cable and broadcast ratings through week ending August 10, 2025 (14 day delay), and L3 cable ratings through week ending August 24, 2025.
Prime time commercial ratings for broadcast ex-sports were down 20% yoy in 3Q25-to-date (through week ending August 10).
Prime time commercial ratings decreased 54% for broadcast including sports and declined -28% for cable, in 3Q25-to-date (through week ending August 10).
Through August 24, cable networks continued to lose viewers. In 3Q25 so far, total day ratings fell at Disney (-11%), Paramount Skydance (-22%), Fox (-20%), Warner Bros. Discovery (-26%), AMC Networks (-34%), and Comcast (-49%).
Exhibit 1: Comcast viewership declined the most QTD at -49% y/y C3Q25-to-date
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Additional TV ratings data for the period through August 10:
C3 ratings released
Nielsen released the latest C3 ratings' data for the week ending August 10, 2025. Cable network primetime ratings for 3Q25-to-date (through August 10) are down 28% yoy. For a sequential comparison, in 2Q25 cable network primetime ratings were down 21% yoy. In 3Q25-to-date, broadcast network primetime ratings are down 54% yoy and down 20% yoy excluding sports. For a sequential comparison, ratings for broadcast primetime were down 15% yoy while broadcast primetime ex-sports were down 21% in 2Q25.
Broadcast primetime:
-54% yoy 3Q25-to-date Broadcast network primetime ratings (C3, A18-49 demo) were down 54% yoy for 3Q25-to-date, reflecting declines at ABC (-12%), CBS (-3%), FOX (-34%) and NBC (-80%) (Exhibit 2). For a sequential comparison, ratings in 2Q25 were down 15% yoy, reflecting growth at CBS (9%), offset by declines at FOX (-34%), NBC (-30%) and ABC (-10%).
Broadcast primetime (ex-sports):
-20% yoy 3Q25-to-date Excluding sports, broadcast network primetime ratings (C3, A18-49 demo) for 3Q25-to-date were down 20% yoy, reflecting declines at ABC (-6%), CBS (-5%), NBC (-20%) and FOX (-45%) (Exhibit 3). For a sequential comparison, ratings for 2Q25 decreased 21% yoy, reflecting declines at FOX (-37%), ABC (-13%), CBS (-15%) and NBC (-19%).
Cable primetime:
-28% yoy 3Q25-to-date Aggregate cable network primetime ratings (C3, A18-49 demo) were down 28% yoy in 3Q25-to-date, worse than 21% decline in 2Q25. In 3Q25-to-date, total day ratings (C3, target demos) declined at DIS (-3%), PSKY (-18%), WBD (-20%), CMCSA (-44%), AMCX (-28%), and FOX (-23%). FNC was down 18% yoy in the same period. For a sequential comparison, in 2Q25 ratings declined at DIS (-17%), PSKY (-21%), WBD (-19%), CMCSA (-25%), and AMCX (-17%), while FOX (18%) grew.
Broadcast primetime ratings (including sports) by broadcast network
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Broadcast primetime ratings (excluding sports) by broadcast networks
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Cable network ratings by parent company
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Earlier this summer, analysts from UBS, led by John Hodulik, marked the point in May where the share of streaming consumption surpassed traditional TV (https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/consumption-wars-streaming-overtakes-traditional-tv-may
).
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The larger issue here is that declining traditional TV ratings create a massive headache for advertisers, because the entire ad-buying model was built on TV's ability to deliver large, predictable, mass audiences. This means advertisers must entirely overhaul their strategies and move ad dollars into streaming, digital, and or the world of alternative news media.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 22:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/summer-tv-ratings-collapse-puts-advertisers-bind
Jackson Hole's Parting Advice: Accept Even More Migrants To Offset Demographic Collapse, Or Else
Jackson Hole's Parting Advice: Accept Even More Migrants To Offset Demographic Collapse, Or Else
It was first tried in Europe and it was a catastrophic failure as millions of Syrian refugees and various radicalized Islamist overran the continent, sparking a historic right-wing backlash. It was then tried in the US and the record flood of illegal aliens at the southern border cost the Democrats the 2024 election. And now, with the entire world on edge against the growing wave of migrant aliens originating from Africa and the Middle East, the world's money printing megabrains at Jackson Hole have decided that third time will be the charm.
While doing everything in their power to avoid discussing the Lisa Cook elephant in the room (and literally kicking out anyone who dared to ask how someone who is i) either a criminal or ii) has no idea how to fill out a mortgage is allowed to set the price of the world's reserve currency) top central bankers gathered at Jackson Hole warned that the world’s largest economies will lack the workers they need to power growth and keep prices stable in the coming decades unless they attract more foreigners. And this calculus doesn't even include the hundreds of millions of jobs that will be lost to hallucinating chatbots.
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Speaking at an annual gathering of leading policymakers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the heads of the Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and Bank of England all sought to highlight the challenge to economic growth posed by ageing populations. The BOJ's Kazuo Ueda told the Kansas City Federal Reserve’s annual symposium that his country’s rapidly ageing society had made labor shortages one of the country’s “most pressing” economic issues. Of course, far be it for Japan - notoriously racist and militantly hostile to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaijin
foreigners - to actually go ahead and accept some of the millions of Guatemalan "refugees" who voted for Kamala in the 2024 US election. But "at least" he is throwing out rubberstamped by his globalist overlords now that they can no longer congregate in Davos where WEF fuhrer Klaus Schwab is dealing with the legal fallout from a life of (alleged) sexual harassment.
While foreign workers accounted for just 3% of the labor force in Japan, Ueda said, they had been responsible for half of the recent rise in labor force growth. “Further increases will surely require a broader discussion,” he said. Only problem with that is that Japan, which is the opposite of an immigrant nation, literally treats foreign workers and asylum seekers as an https://www.dw.com/en/japans-hidden-darkness-the-detention-of-unwanted-immigrants/a-51410108
of humans.
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Which is not to say that there is some easy solution: there isn't one in a world where central banks have destroyed the middle class and where having children is prohibitively expensive for most potential parents (and then they wonder why there is a global demographic crisis). Across rich economies birth rates are at historically low levels, while people are living much longer. That has raised so-called dependency ratios, meaning that a far higher share of the population is no longer of working age.
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But it's not just Japan: ECB president Christine Lagarde also said an influx of foreign workers would play a “crucial role” in countering the negative impact of demographic trends on economic growth. As if that wasn't tried by Germany and most of Europe during the mid-2010s when millions of Syrian refugees swept across Europe sparking a historic influx of Muslims, who refuse to - how should one put it politely - integrate culturally.
Lagarde noted that without an influx of foreign workers, the euro area would by 2040 have 3.4 million fewer people of working age, the https://www.ft.com/content/8bfdf5d7-3584-444d-849e-b75adc2e07ed?segmentId=b0d7e653-3467-12ab-c0f0-77e4424cdb4c
. The Eurozone’s labor market came through the pandemic in “unexpectedly good shape”, partly because of more older workers, but “even more” importantly due a rise in the number of foreign workers, she said.
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“Although they represented only around 9 per cent of the total labor force in 2022, foreign workers have accounted for half of its growth over the past three years,” Lagarde said. “Without this contribution, labour market conditions could be tighter and output lower.”
BoE governor Andrew Bailey said that the “acute” challenge that demographics and declining productivity posed to the UK economy had not been emphasized enough.
It gets better: proving just how disconnected from the real world economists really are, they believe that attracting foreign workers (many of whom prefer to not actually work but merely laze about all day draining a host nation's welfare funds as much of Europe is finding out) to fill labor shortages will be essential in keeping growth on track in the coming decades... despite the rising pressures of populism and public sentiment souring on immigration.
Central bankers predict population ageing will not only lower output but also risks pushing up inflation, as workers would be able to demand higher wages in an environment where labor shortages were widespread. By 2040, 40% of the UK population would be older than the standard working age group of 16 to 64, Bailey added.
The UK has also been hit by a fall in labor force participation rates, driven by a rise in the number of people defined as “long-term sick” and a significant drop in young people in work, two factors that Bailey suggested might be intertwined. In other words, as we said - most prefer to pretend work as opposed to actually, you know, work.
The BoE had become “much more focused on [measuring] inactivity” than on unemployment, Bailey said — although he acknowledged that labour force participation, and the reasons for its decline in the UK, were harder to measure than headline unemployment data.
While more older women continued to work, the same was not the case for men, he added.
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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 21:45
Australia Expels Iranian Ambassador In Historic First, Blames IRGC For Anti-Jewish Attacks
Australia Expels Iranian Ambassador In Historic First, Blames IRGC For Anti-Jewish Attacks
Australia has on Tuesday expelled the Iranian ambassador from the country, which marks the first time it has booted a foreign ambassador of any nation in the post-World War II period. The government has blamed Iran and its intelligence apparatus for directing two antisemitic attacks against Australia's Jewish community - especially a shocking firebomb attack on a Melbourne synagogue last December.
There was also a fire set at a kosher food business in Sydney in October, prior to the synagogue fire. The Adass Israel synagogue in southeast Melbourne, which is in a heavily Jewish area, was utterly destroyed by the fire.
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The government has singled out Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as the 'likely' culprit behind the attacks, though specific evidence hasn't been made public.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday, "These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil" and that "They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable."
"Strong and decisive action" is needed he said, which will also include legislation officially proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organization. However, Australian officials have stated their beliefIran's diplomats in Australia were not involved in the anti-Jewish attacks.
"The actions of my government send a clear message, a message to all Australians that we stand against antisemitism, and we stand against violence," Albanese continued. "And a message to nations like Iran who seek to interfere in our country, that your aggression will not be tolerated."
But again, there doesn't seem to be anything in the way of a smoking-gun related to these attacks. Australian officials have only said the IRGC "used a complex web of proxies to hide its involvement, and that Australia would list it as a terrorist organization. Iran’s diplomats in Australia weren’t involved, Australian officials said."
Still, the drastic action includes shuttering all Australian embassy operations in Tehran, and diplomats are being called home. This is something of the hardline approach of the United States.
Israel is happy, with its embassy in Australia stating, "Today, it became clear that this threat has reached Australian soil." And that "The international community can no longer be complacent. Australia has taken a principled stand, others should consider following suit."
The Associated Press identifies one of the men arrested in the attacks https://apnews.com/article/australia-iran-antisemitism-attacks-fad2dc76125807a643bfe14cae33d2c8
:
Sayed Mohammed Moosawi, a 32-year-old Sydney-based former chapter president of the Nomads biker gang, has been charged with directing the fire bombings of the Sydney café as well as the nearby Curly Lewis Brewery. The brewery was apparently confused for the café and mistakenly targeted three days earlier for an antisemitic attack.
Interestingly, the https://www.wsj.com/world/australia-blames-iran-for-antisemitic-attacks-expels-ambassador-bd63cfe6?mod=hp_lead_pos11
has noted "Iran has called the plots it has been accused of false-flag operations or fabrications by Israel, dissident organizations and Western intelligence services."
The Iranian Government decided in the midst of getting bombed by the US and israel, for their non-existent nuclear program, to hire junkie-criminals to target Australian synagogues, to undermine Australia’s social cohesion.
Have I understood that correctly? https://t.co/u3GFpvj9Dk
— Ben Schalman (@OfficialT_P_V) https://twitter.com/OfficialT_P_V/status/1960244174340718683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
And the AP has featured Iran's rebuttal in the https://apnews.com/article/australia-iran-antisemitism-attacks-fad2dc76125807a643bfe14cae33d2c8
:
Iran denied Australia’s allegations through its Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, who tried to link it to the challenges Australia faced with Israel after announcing it would recognize a Palestinian state.
“It looks like that the action, which is against Iran, diplomacy and the relations between the two nations, is a compensation for the criticism that the Australians had against the Zionist regime,” Baghaei claimed.
The move against Iran came a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded Albanese a “weak politician who had betrayed Israel” by recognizing a Palestinian state.
Both the IRGC and Iran-allied Hezbollah have long been a favorite bogeyman of the Western allies, which have accused them running global narco-terror organizations, for example in South America. However, evidence is often thin - and to date it remains that https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-islam.html
is responsible for most terror incidents in the West, and globally.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 21:20
Female Students Seeking Bathroom Privacy Required To Fill Out 'Mental Health Accommodation' Form
Female Students Seeking Bathroom Privacy Required To Fill Out 'Mental Health Accommodation' Form
A California school district has enacted a new rule for young girls who are uncomfortable sharing a bathroom with biological males pretending to be girls, requiring the girls to file a mental health accommodation request.
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The Temecula Valley Unified School District TVUSD https://nevadanewsandviews.com/want-privacy-girls-fill-out-this-mental-health-form-says-california-school-district/
that tells female students who feel uncomfortable sharing bathroom space with biological males must file a mental health accommodation request under federal law if they want privacy.
The move has prompted outrage from parents and others who say that the rule treats those girls who object to sharing private space with biological males as the problem and treating their request for privacy as a type of disability.
The form, required by the school district, falls under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and California Education Code § 56000.
UNREAL. Temecula Valley Unified School District (https://twitter.com/TVUSD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
) is reportedly forcing young girls to fill out a "mental health accommodation" form to declare they have a mental health issue if they don't want boys invading the girls' restrooms at school.
The boys pretending to be girls… https://t.co/s0LAUKCX6Y
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1960047945199288457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
That law is intended to accommodate children with authentic disabilities, including epilepsy, severe anxiety disorders and diabetes.
The policy is raising concerns among parents who say that school officials or special interest groups pushing gender ideology should not be allowed to redefine basic rights, such as privacy, as “accommodations.”
Sonja Shaw, who is running for California State Superintendent in 2026, https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNzHUYmwrmh/
as “pure madness,” adding, “The girls are treated as the problem. This is upside-down, dangerous, and exactly what we warned would happen.”
The move by TVUSD officials is just the latest skirmish in a larger battle over biological males in women’s private spaces taking place throughout the nation.
Earlier this year, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals https://www.ohioedlaw.com/11th-circuit-court-of-appeals-rules-exclusion-of-transgender-students-from-restrooms-not-a-violation-of-title-ix-sets-stage-for-ruling-at-the-high-court
a Florida school policy requiring students to use bathrooms based on their biological sex.
The court’s ruling stated that protecting privacy and safety was not discrimination under Title IX.
Other courts have ruled exactly the opposite, possibly setting the stage for a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 20:55
Cracker Barrel Nukes Woke Logo, Brings Back "Old Timer" In MAGA Cultural War Victory
Cracker Barrel Nukes Woke Logo, Brings Back "Old Timer" In MAGA Cultural War Victory
Update (2020ET):
Hats for sale soon! https://t.co/e75AU3mrqg
— Steak 'n Shake (@SteaknShake) https://twitter.com/SteaknShake/status/1960411746889249039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Update (1954ET):
Trump responds on Truth Social:
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MAGA logs another victory in the cultural war against woke corporate America.
* * *
Update (1922ET):
Hours after President Trump commented on the Cracker Barrel logo, the restaurant chain released a statement bowing to popular demand, announcing it would revert to its old logo of the "Old Timer."
"Our new logo is going away and our "Old Timer" will remain," Cracker Barrel wrote in an X post.
Here's the full statement:
We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our "Old Timer" will remain.
At Cracker Barrel, it's always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family. As a proud American institution, our 70,000 hardworking employees look forward to welcoming you to our table soon.
We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our “Old Timer” will remain.
At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm… https://t.co/C32QMLOeq0
— Cracker Barrel (@CrackerBarrel) https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel/status/1960475658116632865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The world is healing.
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Now what happens to the CEO?
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Hmm.
Are you going to end your racist DEI policies?
Or is it just lip service? https://t.co/qNb029zU7n
— State Leadership Initiative (@RedStatesLead) https://twitter.com/RedStatesLead/status/1960488396687860200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Update (1045ET):
President Trump has https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115095579197949665
:
Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before.
They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today.
Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again.
Remember, in just a short period of time I made the United States of America the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World. One year ago, it was “DEAD.” Good luck!
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* * *
Cracker Barrel’s stock price tumbled by almost 14 percent last week after the company rolled out a new and extremely bland and soulless logo.
Critics accused the company of undergoing a ‘woke’ make over, with the removal of the “Uncle Herschel” logo—a white man sitting on a barrel, a iconic part of the brand since 1977.
The new sterile logo is completely devoid of character and has little link to the nostalgia of the long standing logo.
JUST IN: Cracker Barrel stock nosedives over 14% after they unveiled their new bland logo.
The company decided to ditch its iconic logo as part of its new rebrand, prompting harsh backlash, but CEO Julie Felss Masino is convinced people love the changes.
The company is also… https://t.co/V5eJDJhSJ9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1958555617054089711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The company also announced plans to remodel its restaurants, to do away with the country-store type décor including trinkets, dark wood, and front-porch rocking chairs.
The new restaurants will be brighter and have modern aesthetics, according to Julie Felss Masino, Cracker Barrel’s CEO since late 2023.
Felss claims that Cracker Barel is not abandoning its roots, but is “evolving” in order to cater for modern diners.
The damage was done, however, and the backlash was swift.
WTF is wrong with https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1958279379408372204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is what Cracker Barrel looked like before. https://t.co/x0mhpqwr5v
— DeepState Illuminate (@TheDeep_State6) https://twitter.com/TheDeep_State6/status/1958558892146745479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Mrs B (@attackdogX) https://twitter.com/attackdogX/status/1958562222893846907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567358114705555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Bud Light moment imminent. https://t.co/Cchj06JXPp
— Haikus From Underground (@HaikusFromUnder) https://twitter.com/HaikusFromUnder/status/1958556224141599080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567364251005199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It’s all her fault. Another white liberal woman destroyed a company. https://t.co/K4EgLUsJoQ
— Grass💚 (@DewyGrassBlades) https://twitter.com/DewyGrassBlades/status/1958556163399704589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Preview of upcoming Cracker Barrel ad campaign https://t.co/r35Dst623b
— NO CONTEXT MEME (@ssmb291_) https://twitter.com/ssmb291_/status/1958559180652270015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Cracker Barel Shares plunged more than 14 percent, a loss of around $200 million in market value. Prices eventually settled at $50.84 per share, a drop of around 13.9%.
Since that time, some value has been salvaged, evening out at about a $143 million loss.
Chief marketing officer Sarah Moore claimed that the changes are what customers want.
Clearly they don’t.
The resulting plunge in market value has forced the company to issue a further statement titled, “A Promise to Our Guests,” walking back the plan to remodel.
“We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices. You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” Cracker Barrel wrote on Facebook.
The company further asserted that, “The things people love most about our stores aren’t going anywhere: rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
There was an assurance that the “old timer” figure of founder Uncle Herschel will still be seen on menus and in stores. Obviously they’ve realised the change was disastrous, but can’t walk it fully back because they’ve already financed the terrible logo rebrand.
“We know we won’t always get everything right the first time, but we’ll keep testing, learning, and listening to our guests and employees,” the statement said, adding “At the end of the day, our promise is simple: you’ll always find comfort, community, and country hospitality here at Cracker Barrel.”
That old man and his barrel are destined to return to that logo, it’s not if it’s when.
— First Words (@unscriptedmike) https://twitter.com/unscriptedmike/status/1958555945899827332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 20:20
San Francisco Has A Black Market For Housing... That's As Bad As It Sounds
San Francisco Has A Black Market For Housing... That's As Bad As It Sounds
Authored by Chris Calton via https://mises.org/power-market/san-francisco-has-black-market-housing-thats-bad-it-sounds
The owners of three single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels in San Francisco’s Chinatown recently settled a lawsuit with the city, agreeing to pay a hefty fine of more than $800,000. https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/chinatown-sro-settlement-20265097.php
was that they “illegally converted, combined or added unauthorized housing units” to their properties.
?itok=zABwNt68
The allegations expose something that should be humiliating for San Francisco: the development of a black market for housing.
The lawsuit was not San Francisco’s only effort to combat the underground housing market. In recent years, to name a few examples, https://www.kqed.org/news/11999481/sf-sues-man-for-illegally-packing-3-bedroom-home-highlights-desperate-housing-need
for constructing an apartment complex with triple the residential units that city planners had approved.
Even Jack “Ziz” LaSota—leader of the Zizians, a cult-like group of transgender vegan programmers linked to several murders—https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/ziz-rationalist-killings-tugboat-20138991.php
.
LaSota had purchased a used tugboat for $600 and sailed it to San Francisco with plans to evade housing regulations by anchoring it offshore and renting its rooms to like-minded tenants.
“Unauthorized dwelling units” have proliferated in San Francisco for decades. Unpermitted “in-law suites” attached to single-family homes are so commonplace that locals sometimes call them “outlaw suites.” As far back as 1993, the city faced a scandal after the head of the Bureau of Building Inspection was caught operating two of these outlaw suites for 10 years. https://missionlocal.org/2021/08/dbi-adu-san-francisco/
involving a senior building inspector came to light in 2021.
In 2014, the city created a pathway to legalize units built before 2013, but it has had lackluster results. According to https://sfplanning.s3.amazonaws.com/commissions/cpcpackets/2017-000565CWP_101719.pdf
, the average cost of bringing an unauthorized unit up to code was $60,000, and only 140 of them had been legalized in the previous two years. The memo estimated that as many as 50,000 unauthorized units still existed in the city.
How is it possible to create such an extensive black market for housing?
Contrary to common misconception, black markets are not free markets. Free markets are characterized by secure private property rights and are primarily regulated by competition. By contrast, black markets emerge where the state no longer recognizes property rights and impose laws that restrict legal trade and suppress market competition.
This is why the producers of illicit drugs operate as cartels. Economist Bruce Yandle, as executive director for the Federal Trade Commission, came up with the https://techliberation.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/v7n3-3.pdf
after noticing that bootleggers had joined evangelicals to support alcohol prohibition because they wanted to stifle legal competition.
Excessive taxes and overbearing regulations can produce outcomes similar to prohibition. Limitations on foreign trade have led to particularly Orwellian examples of black-market activity, https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-37166353
after Russia banned food imports from Europe (a warning, perhaps, for those cheering on President Trump’s trade war).
Black markets expose a regulatory paradox. Sensible governmental regulations are not designed to undermine the regulatory mechanism of the market, but to complement it with quality controls, usually to ensure that the competition to lower prices does not come at the expense of safety. Regulatory excess, though, ironically upends the price-quality tradeoff even more than too little regulation. The drug market illustrates this well—fentanyl and other dangerous contaminants have made the black market drug supply cheaper and far more lethal than the https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/sears-roebuck-bayer-heroin/580441/
.
Black market housing works similarly, with desperate residents choosing dangerous homes because legal rents are unaffordable. The city evicted a man from his $400 “apartment” after discovering it was just https://www.fastcompany.com/4003148/san-franciscos-box-apartment-ruled-a-fire-hazard-2
, and it did not impede rebuilding efforts. But when an oppressive regulatory environment creates black markets, all regulations go out the window—even the most sensible ones.
San Francisco’s black market for housing is the direct outcome of the city’s abandonment of private property rights. San Franciscans can still own property, to be clear, but the rights traditionally attached to it are wholly subject to the whims of the populace. In addition to oppressive zoning regulations, San Francisco subjects every building permit to discretionary review. Discretionary review hearings invite every city resident to weigh in on what a person should be allowed to do with his or her property.
These policies have made housing in San Francisco artificially scarce.
The existing housing stock is consequently divided between a licit housing market strangled by governmental regulations on the one hand and an illicit housing market protected from competition on the other.
If San Francisco truly wants to stamp out its black market in housing, it must return https://www.independent.org/article/2025/06/27/housing-institutional-investors/
to the free-market principles of secure property rights and market competition.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 20:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/san-francisco-has-black-market-housing-thats-bad-it-sounds
Cracker Barrel Nukes Woke Logo, Brings Back "Old Timer" In MAGA Cultural War Victory
Cracker Barrel Nukes Woke Logo, Brings Back "Old Timer" In MAGA Cultural War Victory
Update (1954ET):
Trump responds on Truth Social:
?itok=qiVqJ57K
MAGA logs another victory in the cultural war against woke corporate America.
* * *
Update (1922ET):
Hours after President Trump commented on the Cracker Barrel logo, the restaurant chain released a statement bowing to popular demand, announcing it would revert to its old logo of the "Old Timer."
"Our new logo is going away and our "Old Timer" will remain," Cracker Barrel wrote in an X post.
Here's the full statement:
We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our "Old Timer" will remain.
At Cracker Barrel, it's always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family. As a proud American institution, our 70,000 hardworking employees look forward to welcoming you to our table soon.
We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our “Old Timer” will remain.
At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm… https://t.co/C32QMLOeq0
— Cracker Barrel (@CrackerBarrel) https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel/status/1960475658116632865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The world is healing.
?itok=oJTWvQCO
Now what happens to the CEO?
?itok=szBoEkuk
Hmm.
Are you going to end your racist DEI policies?
Or is it just lip service? https://t.co/qNb029zU7n
— State Leadership Initiative (@RedStatesLead) https://twitter.com/RedStatesLead/status/1960488396687860200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Update (1045ET):
President Trump has https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115095579197949665
:
Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before.
They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today.
Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again.
Remember, in just a short period of time I made the United States of America the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World. One year ago, it was “DEAD.” Good luck!
?itok=PHINI-Oi
* * *
Cracker Barrel’s stock price tumbled by almost 14 percent last week after the company rolled out a new and extremely bland and soulless logo.
Critics accused the company of undergoing a ‘woke’ make over, with the removal of the “Uncle Herschel” logo—a white man sitting on a barrel, a iconic part of the brand since 1977.
The new sterile logo is completely devoid of character and has little link to the nostalgia of the long standing logo.
JUST IN: Cracker Barrel stock nosedives over 14% after they unveiled their new bland logo.
The company decided to ditch its iconic logo as part of its new rebrand, prompting harsh backlash, but CEO Julie Felss Masino is convinced people love the changes.
The company is also… https://t.co/V5eJDJhSJ9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1958555617054089711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The company also announced plans to remodel its restaurants, to do away with the country-store type décor including trinkets, dark wood, and front-porch rocking chairs.
The new restaurants will be brighter and have modern aesthetics, according to Julie Felss Masino, Cracker Barrel’s CEO since late 2023.
Felss claims that Cracker Barel is not abandoning its roots, but is “evolving” in order to cater for modern diners.
The damage was done, however, and the backlash was swift.
WTF is wrong with https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1958279379408372204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is what Cracker Barrel looked like before. https://t.co/x0mhpqwr5v
— DeepState Illuminate (@TheDeep_State6) https://twitter.com/TheDeep_State6/status/1958558892146745479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Mrs B (@attackdogX) https://twitter.com/attackdogX/status/1958562222893846907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567358114705555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Bud Light moment imminent. https://t.co/Cchj06JXPp
— Haikus From Underground (@HaikusFromUnder) https://twitter.com/HaikusFromUnder/status/1958556224141599080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567364251005199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It’s all her fault. Another white liberal woman destroyed a company. https://t.co/K4EgLUsJoQ
— Grass💚 (@DewyGrassBlades) https://twitter.com/DewyGrassBlades/status/1958556163399704589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Preview of upcoming Cracker Barrel ad campaign https://t.co/r35Dst623b
— NO CONTEXT MEME (@ssmb291_) https://twitter.com/ssmb291_/status/1958559180652270015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Cracker Barel Shares plunged more than 14 percent, a loss of around $200 million in market value. Prices eventually settled at $50.84 per share, a drop of around 13.9%.
Since that time, some value has been salvaged, evening out at about a $143 million loss.
Chief marketing officer Sarah Moore claimed that the changes are what customers want.
Clearly they don’t.
The resulting plunge in market value has forced the company to issue a further statement titled, “A Promise to Our Guests,” walking back the plan to remodel.
“We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices. You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” Cracker Barrel wrote on Facebook.
The company further asserted that, “The things people love most about our stores aren’t going anywhere: rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
There was an assurance that the “old timer” figure of founder Uncle Herschel will still be seen on menus and in stores. Obviously they’ve realised the change was disastrous, but can’t walk it fully back because they’ve already financed the terrible logo rebrand.
“We know we won’t always get everything right the first time, but we’ll keep testing, learning, and listening to our guests and employees,” the statement said, adding “At the end of the day, our promise is simple: you’ll always find comfort, community, and country hospitality here at Cracker Barrel.”
That old man and his barrel are destined to return to that logo, it’s not if it’s when.
— First Words (@unscriptedmike) https://twitter.com/unscriptedmike/status/1958555945899827332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
.
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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 19:54
Watch Live: SpaceX Attempts Third Launch Of Starship Megarocket
Watch Live: SpaceX Attempts Third Launch Of Starship Megarocket
Update (Tuesday):
SpaceX is attempting the third launch of the Starship megarocket.
Watch Live
Third time the charm?
. . .
Update (Monday):
Scrubbed.
Standing down from today’s flight test attempt due to weather. Starship team is determining the next best available opportunity to fly
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1960130754714935426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
. . .
Update (Monday):
Just one day after the tenth Starship flight was delayed due to a ground-systems troubleshooting issue, the countdown clock is now at T-minus 12 minutes and ticking down.
Weather conditions are currently 55% favorable.
Counting down to Starship's tenth flight test. Weather is currently 55% favorable for launch at the start of the window → https://t.co/UIwbeGoVS9
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1960081665453408742?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Watch Live:
. . .
Update (0715ET):
"Standing down from today's tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems," SpaceX wrote on X.
Standing down from today's tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1959755893324865963?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
No timeframe was given for when the test flight would be rescheduled.
. . .
The tenth flight test of SpaceX's Starship megarocket is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at the company's Starbase launch site in southern Texas, just outside Brownsville. The stakes are high for Elon Musk and the SpaceX team after investigations into the Flight 9 loss found a static fire anomaly that led engineers to push for hardware fixes and operational upgrades. That's the entire point of these test flights, pushing reliability higher in preparation for future missions to the Moon and eventually Mars.
Starship 10 launching tonight https://t.co/EOgGbS3Om7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1959730865140871323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Here are the goals of today's flight test of Starship:
Super Heavy Booster Objectives:
Conduct multiple landing burn experiments, including disabling one central engine to test backup performance.
Transition to a two-engine hover before shutting down and dropping into the Gulf of America (no return attempt).
Continue testing new flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios to refine reusability.
Starship Upper Stage Objectives:
Attempt first payload deployment with eight Starlink simulators (expected to burn up on reentry).
Perform a Raptor engine relight in space.
Conduct reentry stress tests, including:
Removing heat shield tiles to probe vulnerable areas.
Testing metallic tiles, including one with active cooling.
Evaluating catch fittings and new tile edge designs.
Forcing structural stress on rear flaps during peak reentry pressure.
Roadmap of test flight:
?itok=LhYLo_Zg
Watch the 400-foot-tall megarocket with 33 engines, known as the Super Heavy, blast Starship into space and back:
. . .
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 19:22
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/watch-starship-megarocket-prepares-10th-test-flight
Cracker Barrel Nukes Woke Logo, Brings Back "Old Timer" In MAGA Cultural War Victory
Cracker Barrel Nukes Woke Logo, Brings Back "Old Timer" In MAGA Cultural War Victory
Update (1922ET):
Hours after President Trump commented on the Cracker Barrel logo, the restaurant chain released a statement bowing to popular demand, announcing it would revert to its old logo of the "Old Timer."
"Our new logo is going away and our "Old Timer" will remain," Cracker Barrel wrote in an X post.
Here's the full statement:
We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our "Old Timer" will remain.
At Cracker Barrel, it's always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family. As a proud American institution, our 70,000 hardworking employees look forward to welcoming you to our table soon.
We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our “Old Timer” will remain.
At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm… https://t.co/C32QMLOeq0
— Cracker Barrel (@CrackerBarrel) https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel/status/1960475658116632865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The world is healing.
?itok=oJTWvQCO
Now what happens to the CEO?
?itok=szBoEkuk
* * *
Update (1045ET):
President Trump has https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115095579197949665
:
Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before.
They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today.
Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again.
Remember, in just a short period of time I made the United States of America the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World. One year ago, it was “DEAD.” Good luck!
?itok=PHINI-Oi
* * *
Cracker Barrel’s stock price tumbled by almost 14 percent last week after the company rolled out a new and extremely bland and soulless logo.
Critics accused the company of undergoing a ‘woke’ make over, with the removal of the “Uncle Herschel” logo—a white man sitting on a barrel, a iconic part of the brand since 1977.
The new sterile logo is completely devoid of character and has little link to the nostalgia of the long standing logo.
JUST IN: Cracker Barrel stock nosedives over 14% after they unveiled their new bland logo.
The company decided to ditch its iconic logo as part of its new rebrand, prompting harsh backlash, but CEO Julie Felss Masino is convinced people love the changes.
The company is also… https://t.co/V5eJDJhSJ9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1958555617054089711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The company also announced plans to remodel its restaurants, to do away with the country-store type décor including trinkets, dark wood, and front-porch rocking chairs.
The new restaurants will be brighter and have modern aesthetics, according to Julie Felss Masino, Cracker Barrel’s CEO since late 2023.
Felss claims that Cracker Barel is not abandoning its roots, but is “evolving” in order to cater for modern diners.
The damage was done, however, and the backlash was swift.
WTF is wrong with https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1958279379408372204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is what Cracker Barrel looked like before. https://t.co/x0mhpqwr5v
— DeepState Illuminate (@TheDeep_State6) https://twitter.com/TheDeep_State6/status/1958558892146745479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Mrs B (@attackdogX) https://twitter.com/attackdogX/status/1958562222893846907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567358114705555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Bud Light moment imminent. https://t.co/Cchj06JXPp
— Haikus From Underground (@HaikusFromUnder) https://twitter.com/HaikusFromUnder/status/1958556224141599080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567364251005199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It’s all her fault. Another white liberal woman destroyed a company. https://t.co/K4EgLUsJoQ
— Grass💚 (@DewyGrassBlades) https://twitter.com/DewyGrassBlades/status/1958556163399704589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Preview of upcoming Cracker Barrel ad campaign https://t.co/r35Dst623b
— NO CONTEXT MEME (@ssmb291_) https://twitter.com/ssmb291_/status/1958559180652270015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Cracker Barel Shares plunged more than 14 percent, a loss of around $200 million in market value. Prices eventually settled at $50.84 per share, a drop of around 13.9%.
Since that time, some value has been salvaged, evening out at about a $143 million loss.
Chief marketing officer Sarah Moore claimed that the changes are what customers want.
Clearly they don’t.
The resulting plunge in market value has forced the company to issue a further statement titled, “A Promise to Our Guests,” walking back the plan to remodel.
“We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices. You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” Cracker Barrel wrote on Facebook.
The company further asserted that, “The things people love most about our stores aren’t going anywhere: rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
There was an assurance that the “old timer” figure of founder Uncle Herschel will still be seen on menus and in stores. Obviously they’ve realised the change was disastrous, but can’t walk it fully back because they’ve already financed the terrible logo rebrand.
“We know we won’t always get everything right the first time, but we’ll keep testing, learning, and listening to our guests and employees,” the statement said, adding “At the end of the day, our promise is simple: you’ll always find comfort, community, and country hospitality here at Cracker Barrel.”
That old man and his barrel are destined to return to that logo, it’s not if it’s when.
— First Words (@unscriptedmike) https://twitter.com/unscriptedmike/status/1958555945899827332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 19:22
US Proposes Adding Copper, Potash, 4 Others To Critical Minerals List
US Proposes Adding Copper, Potash, 4 Others To Critical Minerals List
The United States Department of Interior is proposing to add six “mineral commodities” to the list of critical minerals as part of the Trump administration’s effort to incentivize domestic production and processing of metals, minerals, and rare earth elements vital to the nation’s economy and national defense.
?itok=HF98vW-w
Potash, silicon, copper, silver, rhenium, and lead are recommended by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for inclusion on the list, which will be formally posted in the https://www.federalregister.gov/
on Aug. 26.
Arsenic and tellurium, defined as critical minerals on the USGS’s https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/media/files/2022%20Final%20List%20of%20Critical%20Minerals%20Federal%20Register%20Notice_2222022-F.pdf
posted Aug. 25.
If adopted as proposed after a 30-day public comment period, the nation’s 2025 Critical Mineral List will expand to 54 “mineral commodities” from 50 three years ago and 35 in 2018.
Of those 50 minerals cited as critical by the USGS in 2022, China-based processors dominate the global market https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025.pdf
, an increasingly urgent concern.
Since 2023, China has https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/china-to-ban-critical-mineral-exports-to-us-5769874
.
“The U.S. relies heavily on imports of critical minerals and their derivative products that are essential for the manufacturing, energy, transportation, and national security sectors,” National Mining Association Executive Vice President Katie Sweeney said in her May 21 https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118291/witnesses/HHRG-119-IF02-Wstate-SweeneyK-20250521.pdf
before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“Unfortunately,” she said, “for some of these minerals, the U.S. is dependent on a small group of countries—both allies and geopolitical adversaries. This presents considerable risk in supply chain disruptions for many reasons including … foreign government policies creating outright competitive disadvantages for U.S. companies.”
To reduce reliance on imported critical minerals, President Donald Trump issued https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/immediate-measures-to-increase-american-mineral-production/
requiring federal agencies to help expedite projects by streamlining permitting, opening more public lands for mining, and including critical mineral development under the regulatory auspices of the Defense Production Act.
In the past month, the Energy Department announced that it would shift $1 billion from programs established under 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act into funding critical mineral projects. According to Reuters, the Trump administration is also considering reallocating at least $2 billion from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act into critical mineral mining and processing.
“President Trump has made clear that strengthening America’s economic and national security means securing the resources that fuel our way of life,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/department-interior-releases-draft-2025-list-critical-minerals#:~:text=%E2%80%94%2520The%2520U.S.%2520Department%2520of%2520the%2520Interior%252C%2520through,supply%2520chain%2520disruptions%2520could%2520affect%2520the%2520U.S.%2520economy
accompanying the USGS draft list.
A 2017 executive order issued by Trump requires the USGS, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Interior to analyze and address the vulnerability of domestic supply chains for critical minerals. The Energy Act of 2020 requires the list to be updated every three years.
The 2025 three-year update was developed using a new methodology that assessed potential effects of more than 1,200 “trade disruption scenarios” involving 84 mineral commodities on 402 individual industries and the U.S. economy overall.
The modeled economic impacts were then weighted by the probability of the disruption scenario, the USGS said. “Probability weighting combines the likelihood of a scenario occurring with the impact of the scenario,” the survey said in an https://zenodo.org/records/16538520
.
USGS acting Director Sarah Ryker said the proposed new draft list reflects “advances in forecasting potential mineral supply chain disruptions” that provide “a next generation risk assessment that can be used to prioritize securing the nation’s mineral supply chains.”
“Minerals-based industries contributed over $4 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2024,” she added, “and with this methodology we can pinpoint which industries may feel the greatest impacts of supply disruptions and understand where strategic domestic investments or international trade relationships may help mitigate risk to individual supply chains.”
The top 10 mineral commodities, in descending order by the estimated probability-weighted impact of supply disruptions on the U.S. economy, are samarium, rhodium, lutetium, terbium, dysprosium, gallium, germanium, gadolinium, tungsten, and niobium.
The Energy Act of 2020 gives the Interior secretary broad authority to designate additional minerals for inclusion on the Critical Minerals List.
Metallurgical coal and uranium are cited by the Trump administration as preferred entries onto the list, and “the USGS intends to analyze and provide information to the secretary on the potential for including them on the 2025 List of Critical Minerals,” the agency said.
The Interior Department encouraged Americans to make their views known during the 30-day comment period.
“Public comment is specifically welcomed on inclusion of metallurgical coal and uranium, whether other minerals should be added,” it said.
The proposed list “provides a clear, science-based roadmap to reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries, expand domestic production and unleash American innovation,” Burgum said.
“By working with industry and state partners,” he concluded, “we are ensuring that the minerals powering our energy, defense, and technology supply chains are produced and processed in the United States by American workers.”
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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 19:15
Australian 'Experts' Propose Tax On Spare Bedrooms To Ease Housing Shortage
Australian 'Experts' Propose Tax On Spare Bedrooms To Ease Housing Shortage
In a brainstorm that has leftist central planners around the world salivating, an Australian market analytics firm has proposed that the country start imposing a tax on spare bedrooms. The aim: To ease the country's housing shortage by incentivizing those who have more housing than they "need" to sell and downsize.
https://www.cotality.com/au/insights/articles/the-great-mismatch-smaller-households-bigger-homes
notes that 61% of the country's households comprise just one or two people, yet the housing stock is dominated by three- and four-bedroom homes. Cotality says that, to "fix" this discrepancy, "governments could make it more expensive to have more housing than you need, and cheaper to live in smaller housing."
?itok=W2-DD_IX
“It’s perfectly acceptable and desirable for people to have spare bedrooms, [but] you could ask them to pay for it through land tax," Cotality Australia head of research Eliza Owen told the https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/call-for-desirable-spare-bedrooms-to-be-taxed-to-help-fix-housing-20250820-p5moe3.html
is an Australian tax on property transfers that's paid by buyers. Depending on factors that include location and purpose -- for example, whether the buyer is going to live in the home or use it as an investment -- it usually falls between 3 and 5% of the property's value.
Voices on the Australian right are firing back, among them Alexandra Marshall at https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/08/labors-looking-at-your-family-home-and-that-spare-bedroom/
:
"In the interests of ‘saving the economy’...we’ve witnessed the start of open season on private assets as part of the intellectual discussion to provide equity. The government didn’t just run out of other people’s money, it’s run out of other people’s houses.
It’s not the fault of Australians that the government started importing millions of foreigners into the country or that the government turns a blind eye when millions more refuse to leave after their visa has expired...How wildly unfair and sinister it is to turn around to Australians and say, I see you have an extra bedroom in that house you worked your arse off to pay for… Move or we’ll tax you."
Meanwhile, Australian redistributionists are busy cooking up other means of extracting wealth from homeowners. In a new paper, university professors Peter Siminski and Roger Wilkins assail Australia's capital gains tax exemption for owner-occupied housing, by which the government foregoes the coercive collection of $50 billion a year. They also urge the imposition of a tax on "imputed rental income" -- the value of owning a home and not having to pay rent. In a manifestly Marxist sentence, the academics complain that favorable treatment of owner-occupied housing is "a major driver of inequality, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-13/australia-is-a-homeowners-welfare-state-making-inequality-worse/105620522?utm_source=abc_news_web&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_web
"
If Australia is considering a tax on unused bedrooms in your home, there is no doubt Canada is considering a tax on unused bedrooms in your home. Either fill those rooms up with immigrants or pay the piper. This should excite boomers. https://t.co/c7cUdavAb3
— Ryan Gerritsen🇨🇦🇳🇱 (@ryangerritsen) https://twitter.com/ryangerritsen/status/1959623301455646991?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 18:50
California Republicans File 2nd Lawsuit Against State Redistricting Push
California Republicans File 2nd Lawsuit Against State Redistricting Push
California Republicans on Aug. 25 filed a second legal challenge against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s congressional redistricting plan, which will go before voters as Proposition 50 in November.
?itok=TgxklU_J
The lawsuit argued that the plan violates the state Constitution, which requires that maps be drawn by the politically neutral California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
“This is an issue about good governance in the state of California,” Corrin Rankin, chairwoman of the California Republican Party, said at a press conference announcing the legal action. “Californians deserve to have the right to choose our legislators.”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/what-to-know-about-californias-redistricting-ballot-measure-5905579
, authorized after the California Legislature quickly passed legislation to approve the Nov. 4 ballot measure, will ask voters to accept a temporary overriding of the independent commission.
Newsom and state Democrats say the move is meant to counter efforts in Texas to change maps in Republicans’ favor.
The Texas https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/texas-senate-passes-redistricting-bill-5905166
would strengthen Republicans’ position in five congressional districts currently held by Democrats. President Donald Trump voiced support for redistricting in the Lone Star State and other Republican states, such as Florida and Ohio.
Texas Republicans said their redistricting proposal is legally justified and is needed to correct problems with existing districts in response to a https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/what-to-know-about-texas-gops-redistricting-plans-5892633?ea_src=author_manual&ea_med=related_stories
by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in early July.
The DOJ said that some Texas districts may be “coalition districts” drawn based on racial demographics to form a majority by combining minority groups and thus violate the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment.
Democrats said the plan to redraw the districts unfairly targets districts led by black and Latino lawmakers and undermines decades of progress under the Voting Rights Act.
Newsom and California Democrats have described their plan as “fighting fire with fire” against Texas Republicans. If approved by voters, it would threaten https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/here-are-the-5-republican-seats-at-risk-in-californias-redistricting-5903543
on the U.S. House of Representatives currently held by five California Republicans.
Republicans on Aug. 25 filed an emergency petition before the state’s high court against the California Legislature and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
“The Constitution’s guardrails on redistricting are essential to ensuring that Californians are spared from the political influence and inherent turbulence of perpetual map-drawing in the hands of the Legislature,” the lawsuit read.
California Republicans already filed one lawsuit against Prop. 50, citing rules requiring a 30-day review period for new legislation before lawmakers can act on it. The suit was shot down by the state’s Supreme Court.
The second lawsuit challenges the measure on constitutional grounds.
In 2008, California voters backed the creation of the Citizens Redistricting Commission through an amendment to the state’s constitution, and the independent body is popular among both parties in the state.
A Politico/Citrin Center/Possibility Lab https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000198-a50a-d204-a5bb-b56fc79c0000
found that 64 percent backed the independent commission, and only 36 percent supported returning authority over the process to state legislators.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s main campaign arm, also accused Newsom of violating the California Constitution.
Trump on Monday raised the possibility in comments to reporters that his administration could also bring suit against California’s redistricting push.
In a post on X, Newsom responded in all capital letters, “Bring it.”
Three California Republicans—U.S. Reps. Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, and Ken Calvert—are particularly endangered by the change, as their districts are on track to be inundated by voters who backed Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
Kiley has criticized both Texas and California’s efforts at mid-decade redistricting. A bill introduced by the congressman would ban mid-decade redistricting entirely.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 17:40
"Make Cracker Barrel A WINNER Again" - Trump Chimes In After CEO Issues Groveling Statement After 'Woke' Rebrand
"Make Cracker Barrel A WINNER Again" - Trump Chimes In After CEO Issues Groveling Statement After 'Woke' Rebrand
Update (1045ET): President Trump has https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115095579197949665
:
Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before.
They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today.
Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again.
Remember, in just a short period of time I made the United States of America the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World. One year ago, it was “DEAD.” Good luck!
* * *
Cracker Barrel’s stock price tumbled by almost 14 percent last week after the company rolled out a new and extremely bland and soulless logo.
Critics accused the company of undergoing a ‘woke’ make over, with the removal of the “Uncle Herschel” logo—a white man sitting on a barrel, a iconic part of the brand since 1977.
The new sterile logo is completely devoid of character and has little link to the nostalgia of the long standing logo.
JUST IN: Cracker Barrel stock nosedives over 14% after they unveiled their new bland logo.
The company decided to ditch its iconic logo as part of its new rebrand, prompting harsh backlash, but CEO Julie Felss Masino is convinced people love the changes.
The company is also… https://t.co/V5eJDJhSJ9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1958555617054089711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The company also announced plans to remodel its restaurants, to do away with the country-store type décor including trinkets, dark wood, and front-porch rocking chairs.
The new restaurants will be brighter and have modern aesthetics, according to Julie Felss Masino, Cracker Barrel’s CEO since late 2023.
Felss claims that Cracker Barel is not abandoning its roots, but is “evolving” in order to cater for modern diners.
The damage was done, however, and the backlash was swift.
WTF is wrong with https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1958279379408372204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is what Cracker Barrel looked like before. https://t.co/x0mhpqwr5v
— DeepState Illuminate (@TheDeep_State6) https://twitter.com/TheDeep_State6/status/1958558892146745479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Mrs B (@attackdogX) https://twitter.com/attackdogX/status/1958562222893846907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567358114705555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Bud Light moment imminent. https://t.co/Cchj06JXPp
— Haikus From Underground (@HaikusFromUnder) https://twitter.com/HaikusFromUnder/status/1958556224141599080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567364251005199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It’s all her fault. Another white liberal woman destroyed a company. https://t.co/K4EgLUsJoQ
— Grass💚 (@DewyGrassBlades) https://twitter.com/DewyGrassBlades/status/1958556163399704589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Preview of upcoming Cracker Barrel ad campaign https://t.co/r35Dst623b
— NO CONTEXT MEME (@ssmb291_) https://twitter.com/ssmb291_/status/1958559180652270015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Cracker Barel Shares plunged more than 14 percent, a loss of around $200 million in market value. Prices eventually settled at $50.84 per share, a drop of around 13.9%.
Since that time, some value has been salvaged, evening out at about a $143 million loss.
Chief marketing officer Sarah Moore claimed that the changes are what customers want.
Clearly they don’t.
The resulting plunge in market value has forced the company to issue a further statement titled, “A Promise to Our Guests,” walking back the plan to remodel.
“We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices. You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” Cracker Barrel wrote on Facebook.
The company further asserted that, “The things people love most about our stores aren’t going anywhere: rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
There was an assurance that the “old timer” figure of founder Uncle Herschel will still be seen on menus and in stores. Obviously they’ve realised the change was disastrous, but can’t walk it fully back because they’ve already financed the terrible logo rebrand.
“We know we won’t always get everything right the first time, but we’ll keep testing, learning, and listening to our guests and employees,” the statement said, adding “At the end of the day, our promise is simple: you’ll always find comfort, community, and country hospitality here at Cracker Barrel.”
That old man and his barrel are destined to return to that logo, it’s not if it’s when.
— First Words (@unscriptedmike) https://twitter.com/unscriptedmike/status/1958555945899827332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 11:00
"Make Cracker Barrel A WINNER Again" - Trump Chimes In After CEO Issues Groveling Statement Following 'Woke' Rebrand
"Make Cracker Barrel A WINNER Again" - Trump Chimes In After CEO Issues Groveling Statement Following 'Woke' Rebrand
Update (1045ET): President Trump has https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115095579197949665
:
Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before.
They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today.
Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again.
Remember, in just a short period of time I made the United States of America the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World. One year ago, it was “DEAD.” Good luck!
* * *
Cracker Barrel’s stock price tumbled by almost 14 percent last week after the company rolled out a new and extremely bland and soulless logo.
Critics accused the company of undergoing a ‘woke’ make over, with the removal of the “Uncle Herschel” logo—a white man sitting on a barrel, a iconic part of the brand since 1977.
The new sterile logo is completely devoid of character and has little link to the nostalgia of the long standing logo.
JUST IN: Cracker Barrel stock nosedives over 14% after they unveiled their new bland logo.
The company decided to ditch its iconic logo as part of its new rebrand, prompting harsh backlash, but CEO Julie Felss Masino is convinced people love the changes.
The company is also… https://t.co/V5eJDJhSJ9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1958555617054089711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The company also announced plans to remodel its restaurants, to do away with the country-store type décor including trinkets, dark wood, and front-porch rocking chairs.
The new restaurants will be brighter and have modern aesthetics, according to Julie Felss Masino, Cracker Barrel’s CEO since late 2023.
Felss claims that Cracker Barel is not abandoning its roots, but is “evolving” in order to cater for modern diners.
The damage was done, however, and the backlash was swift.
WTF is wrong with https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1958279379408372204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is what Cracker Barrel looked like before. https://t.co/x0mhpqwr5v
— DeepState Illuminate (@TheDeep_State6) https://twitter.com/TheDeep_State6/status/1958558892146745479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Mrs B (@attackdogX) https://twitter.com/attackdogX/status/1958562222893846907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567358114705555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Bud Light moment imminent. https://t.co/Cchj06JXPp
— Haikus From Underground (@HaikusFromUnder) https://twitter.com/HaikusFromUnder/status/1958556224141599080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Patriotflyer (@Patriotflyer24) https://twitter.com/Patriotflyer24/status/1958567364251005199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It’s all her fault. Another white liberal woman destroyed a company. https://t.co/K4EgLUsJoQ
— Grass💚 (@DewyGrassBlades) https://twitter.com/DewyGrassBlades/status/1958556163399704589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Preview of upcoming Cracker Barrel ad campaign https://t.co/r35Dst623b
— NO CONTEXT MEME (@ssmb291_) https://twitter.com/ssmb291_/status/1958559180652270015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Cracker Barel Shares plunged more than 14 percent, a loss of around $200 million in market value. Prices eventually settled at $50.84 per share, a drop of around 13.9%.
Since that time, some value has been salvaged, evening out at about a $143 million loss.
Chief marketing officer Sarah Moore claimed that the changes are what customers want.
Clearly they don’t.
The resulting plunge in market value has forced the company to issue a further statement titled, “A Promise to Our Guests,” walking back the plan to remodel.
“We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices. You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” Cracker Barrel wrote on Facebook.
The company further asserted that, “The things people love most about our stores aren’t going anywhere: rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
There was an assurance that the “old timer” figure of founder Uncle Herschel will still be seen on menus and in stores. Obviously they’ve realised the change was disastrous, but can’t walk it fully back because they’ve already financed the terrible logo rebrand.
“We know we won’t always get everything right the first time, but we’ll keep testing, learning, and listening to our guests and employees,” the statement said, adding “At the end of the day, our promise is simple: you’ll always find comfort, community, and country hospitality here at Cracker Barrel.”
That old man and his barrel are destined to return to that logo, it’s not if it’s when.
— First Words (@unscriptedmike) https://twitter.com/unscriptedmike/status/1958555945899827332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
.
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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 11:00
French Bonds, Stocks Tumble As Government Risks New Collapse In Weeks
French Bonds, Stocks Tumble As Government Risks New Collapse In Weeks
And just like that, Europe is gripped by another political crisis (but... but... the euro is soaring) after French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called a confidence vote that may topple France’s government as soon as September 8, prompting a selloff in French assets as investors hedged for more political uncertainty.
The conservative National Rally party, the leftist France Unbowed and the Greens all said they would vote against the Sept. 8 motion while even the Socialists - so pretty much the entire political spectrum in France - said they wouldn’t back the government. If a majority of lawmakers vote against Bayrou, which now appears to be the case, he’ll be forced to submit his government’s resignation. This would be overdue for a government which should have been bounced long ago.
The failure of another French government — the previous prime minister, Michel Barnier, lasted only 90 days — would underscore the tenuous position of President Emmanuel Macron, whose party and its allies lost any semblance of a parliamentary majority in 2024. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, which became the largest party in the lower house in that vote, is calling for a new election
Here is a recap of all the latest developments:
French PM Bayrou has called for a Vote of Confidence (Article 49.1) to take place on Sep 8th
This vote requires a simple majority of votes cast, which is different to a Vote of No-Confidence (Article 49.3) which require an absolute majority in parliament
This makes it harder for the PM to win the vote, as abstentions do not help him – he will need MPs to explicitly vote for his government’s survival
If Bayrou loses the vote, Macron will have the option to dissolve parliament and trigger new parliamentary elections or to appoint a new PM
Speaking last week, Macron rejected the prospect of a second snap parliamentary election in as many years
Even if the PM wins the vote, there is still the issue of passing the budget which would likely trigger several votes of no confidence over October / November
This has put French risk back into the spotlight and we are now likely to see continued headlines and volatility in the region over the coming months. Indeed, for the second day in a row, France's Cac 40 has tumbled more than 1%, Europe's worst performing index, and the biggest 2-day drop for the Cac since the Liberation Day plunge.
?itok=msSeF-iP
It's not just stocks: French bonds are also getting hammered with 10Y OAT yields spiking since the announcement...
?itok=8uJaPvoc
... which is to be expected: as these Goldman charts show, French domestic stocks have performed well in recent months despite a widening in sovereign spreads which may well have sensed that this showdown is coming.
?itok=JULFoS84
While Goldman naturally sees French domestic stocks as the most sensitive slice of the market to French political risks, the bank shows in the chart below other European indices and their long-term correlation with sovereign spreads (French and Peripheral spreads). Southern European indices, Banks, CAC 40, Cyclicals and the EUR tend to be most sensitive, while Consumer Staples, Healthcare, Low vol stocks and FTSE 100 are most positive positively correlated (in terms of relative performance) when sovereign spreads widen.
?itok=Zw0tWhSd
So how to hedge a worst case outcome? Below we lay out some ideas from Goldman's Thilo Deller, writes that implied vols have moved higher in the front-of the curve, albeit from low levels. With the CAC vol term structure now slightly inverted here...
?itok=fVrhPdIp
... Goldman prefers owning vol in Dec, where the likelihood of capturing a potential election is higher. While the implied move for the 8th of September has moved higher (~1.1% in SX5E), the options market has started to price increased volatility in the months following the vote on the back of potential elections and budget uncertainties.
?itok=tlScsEX6
Separately, for traders seeking broad French equity protection, these are the trades:
CAC Dec25 95%/85% Put Spread costs 1.35% [20-delta | 7.4x pay-out]
For more targeted French exposure Deller likes the bank's French domestic basket. This has >50% domestic exposure vs ~15% for CAC. We can see that historically and on a day like today, it exhibits a high beta to French risk (today CAC -1.8% vs basket -3.8%).
As a hedge ::
GSXEFRDO Dec25 95%/80% Put Spread costs 2.4% [24-delta | 6.2x pay-out]
For reversion ::
GSXEFRDO Oct25 105%/110% Call Spread costs 0.95% [19-delta | 5.2x pay-out]
Finally, here is an excerpt from a Goldman Q&A on the French Confidence Vote (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/m04cjgmye1e20d51byrjs/European-Daily_-France-Q-A-on-the-Confidence-Vote-Stott.pdf?rlkey=otik1a6pxjsapsb5bl6vhvuym&dl=0
to pro subs)
Q1. What happened?
French Prime Minister Bayrou held a press conference yesterday (August 25) in which he announced that he would call a confidence vote on September 8.
The announcement was unexpected, as there had been no leaks or hints ahead of the press conference. The decision to call for a confidence vote is all the more surprising because the government does not have a majority in parliament, and because the upcoming budget vote was in any case likely to lead to several no-confidence votes.
Q2. How likely is the government to collapse?
The confidence vote will follow Art 49.1 of the Constitution, which requires a simple majority of votes cast (for or against, but excluding abstentions) against the government for it to collapse. This makes for a lower bar than a no-confidence vote under Art 49.3 of the Constitution, which requires an absolute majority of all votes (including abstentions) against the government.
At the time of writing, a majority of opposition parties in Parliament have announced they would vote against the government. These include RN (far-right), LFI (far-left), as well as the socialist, green, and communist parties (left), totalling close to 330 seats in Parliament. In comparison, the government is supported by the parties allied to President Macron and LR (centre-right), amounting to around 210 seats.
The government could survive the confidence vote if some of the opposition parties flip their vote in support or end up abstaining in large enough numbers. It could also be that turnout on the day of the vote is surprisingly favourable to the government, as only the votes cast for or against the government will count towards the tally.
But the most likely outcome at this point is that the government loses the confidence vote and is forced to resign. Prediction markets accordingly assign more than an 80% chance of PM Bayrou leaving office by September 30.
Q3. What would be the next steps?
If the government were to collapse, President Macron would have the choice between appointing a new government under the current Parliament or calling for new parliamentary elections.
The current Parliament makes for limited government options, because coalitions that include LFI (far-left) and RN (far-right) are unlikely to reach a majority. We think the most viable option remains the broad centrist majority spanning President Macron’s allies (centre), LR (centre-right), and the socialists (centre-left). President Macron could therefore re-appoint a centrist or centre-right PM (similar to current PM Bayrou or former PM Barnier), appoint a centre-left PM, or appoint a more technocratic PM. In that case, the change in government could be relatively swift, such as when Bayrou took office 9 days after Barnier was forced to resign.
The key difference to when the government collapsed last December is that early parliamentary elections are now possible again. President Macron has until now expressed a preference not to call early elections. But he might have to if a majority of parties in Parliament call on him to do so (in practice, by pledging to veto any government until elections take place).
Opinion polls have not changed significantly since last year and continue to show voters split roughly three ways between the far- and centre-left, President Macron’s allies and the centre-right, and the far-right. But three important differences are that the alliance between the far- and centre-left has collapsed again, that far-right leader Marine Le Pen is now banned from running for office, and that local elections are scheduled for March 2026.
Q4. What would be the implications for the budget?
The potential collapse of the government underscores that the targeted deficit reduction (from 5.4% of GDP this year to 4.6% next year) looks too ambitious. We had already assumed that the government would make concessions to opposition parties and eventually raise the deficit target for next year to 5%.
If President Macron were to appoint a new government under the current Parliament, political parties could still have time to find a compromise and pass a budget before year-end. But the initial budget proposal would probably be less ambitious and still require concessions during parliamentary debates. In that case, we would look for a deficit of 5.2% of GDP next year and we are raising our baseline forecast accordingly. We expect the government debt-to-GDP ratio to increase from 116% this year to 122% by 2030.
If President Macron were to call for new parliamentary elections, the content of the budget would depend on the composition of the new Parliament. Given that current polls still point to a political deadlock, the most likely budgetary outcome might not look very different from that under the current Parliament. But there would be two important differences. First, the range of possible budgetary outcomes would become wider, because one of the three main political groups might secure a majority. Second, the change in government would likely take longer, and might lead to renewed concerns regarding slippage on this year’s budget. In that case, we would look for a slightly larger deficit this year and next, compared with our new baseline forecast of 5.4% in 2025 and 5.2% in 2026. As a result, the government debt would increase further than in our baseline forecast.
A collapse of government and corresponding increase in deficit expectations would also make further rating downgrades more likely. Fitch (AA-, negative outlook) will report on September 12, Moody’s (Aa3, stable outlook) on October 24, and S&P (AA-, negative outlook) on November 28.
Q5. What would be the implications for growth?
The implications for growth would be ambiguous. On the one hand, a smaller deficit reduction into next year would imply a smaller fiscal drag and be positive for growth, all else equal. On the other hand, the tightening in financial conditions and increase in policy uncertainty would likely be negative for growth. Taken together, growth would likely continue to run below trend (which we estimate at 1% in France). We are therefore leaving our growth forecast at 0.6% in 2025 and 0.9% in 2026.
More in the full notes from Goldman research (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zcz50w4e9lhwsttagx057/Strategy-Espresso_-French-assets-under-pressure-again-1.pdf?rlkey=0ukf2ngm8rlv8i04r8zfvzrcs&dl=0
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 10:41
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/french-bonds-stocks-tumble-government-risks-new-collapse-weeks
Excessive Money Supply Growth Creates Secular Stagnation
Excessive Money Supply Growth Creates Secular Stagnation
https://www.dlacalle.com/en/excessive-money-supply-growth-creates-secular-stagnation
Most economic commentators ignore monetary aggregates and the negative effects on growth and investment of the constant increase in government spending. However, the reality is that we live in a world where the economic impact of new units of currency is diminishing and generating negative results in many cases.
In developed economies, anemic economic growth requires more monetary stimulus, and government spending absorbs most of the new credit, leading to weak productivity, poor growth and unproductive expenditure.
The U.S. M2 money supply rose to a record $22.02 trillion in June 2025, up from $21.94 trillion in May. Year-on-year (YoY) growth stands at 4.53%, reflecting an acceleration compared to last year’s 1.36% growth. This renewed monetary expansion is not leading to inflation because money velocity is not rising, and money supply growth is lower than the 10- and 20-year annual averages of 6.8% and 6.2%, respectively.
The government must understand that higher spending is not going to drive stronger growth. When a 4.5% money supply growth delivers a 2.5% real GDP estimated growth, it is showing that the economy needs more, and a 6.8% increase delivered just 2% with a $2 trillion increase of government spending between 2021 and 2024; it shows that more money only bloats government and creates persistent inflation.
In 2021, money supply growth soared to 26.6%, and economic growth was only 5.7% during a massive reopening. In 2022, money supply grew 5% and the economy barely lifted 1%. This means that money supply generated no multiplier effect on GDP between 2021 and 2024.
The trend in the United States is concerning unless the government really acts and cuts spending. The risk, if the administration does not reduce spending, is to follow the euro area and the UK into a stagnation spiral.
According to the latest Bank of England data, the UK’s M3 money supply reached £3.65 trillion in June 2025, posting a YoY growth of 3.19%. The economy is expected to grow less than 1% in 2025 and some estimates assume no growth at all. Why? Bloated government spending is crowding out credit and productive investment.
The euro area exhibits a similar pattern. As of June 2025, the M2 money supply is €15.71 trillion, an increase from €15.29 trillion a year earlier, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 2.76%. However, the five-year average M2 growth rate in the euro area is 5.94%, which has resulted in almost no real GDP growth. Furthermore, unfunded committed government liabilities mean that the money supply growth is likely to remain three times above GDP growth only to remain in stagnation.
Estimates for total global circulating money (M2 and equivalents) suggest roughly $123 trillion worldwide in 2025, to deliver the worst economic growth since the 2008 crisis. While this figure has ballooned over recent decades, YoY global money supply growth remains at around 4%, reflecting that central banks’ priority is to keep the debt bubble afloat. It is, therefore, no surprise to see that global public debt has soared recently.
Global public debt reached a record $102 trillion in 2024, up from $97 trillion in 2023, according to UNCTAD. This shows a much faster pace than pre-pandemic levels, with more than a third of countries—accounting for 80% of global GDP—now carrying higher and faster-rising debt than before COVID-19.
The reality shows that central banks are fuelling the fire of higher government debt and increasingly irresponsible fiscal policies, leading to a crowding-out of the private sector, higher taxes, persistent inflation and weak growth. The COVID-19 excuse does not work. Keynesians estimated that the response to the pandemic would drive stronger and more productive growth and what it has delivered is secular stagnation… However, persistent inflation remains a concern.
The lesson for the United States is simple. If you copy European and UK policies, you experience the same stagnation they created. The United States must cut spending faster and allow the money supply to flow to productive private investment.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 07:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/excessive-money-supply-growth-creates-secular-stagnation
What Climate Crisis? Weather Channel Reports "Record-Breaking Cold" For August
What Climate Crisis? Weather Channel Reports "Record-Breaking Cold" For August
It must be extraordinarily difficult for leftist corporate media outlets and woke government weather forecasters to admit "record-breaking cold temperatures" or "unseasonably cool air" across parts of the Lower 48 - in August of all months.
August is the prime season when far-left climate NGOs and their political allies, amplified by their MSM propaganda megaphone, usually try to convince everyone of an alleged climate crisis....
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But the narrative of imminent doom for planet Earth unless cow farts, gas stoves, 2-stroke weedwhackers, petrol-powered vehicles (MSM always forgets to talk about Bill Gates, Al Gore, and Democrats flying around in private jets) are banned.
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Yet here we are ... and years later, no climate disaster.
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In fact, The Weather Channel stated on Monday morning: "Record-breaking cold temperatures for the month of August provide many their first taste of fall."
Brr!
Record-breaking cold temperatures for the month of August provide many their first taste of fall.https://t.co/5C4NulZLNw
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) https://twitter.com/weatherchannel/status/1959943849129718152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Here's more from The Weather Channel:
A strong cold front is bringing heat and humidity relief to millions from the Canadian border all the way to the Deep South. Summer will be put on hold as temperatures will end up 10, to 20 and as much as 25 degrees below average. Dozens of record lows will be in jeopardy from Tuesday through Thursday. Places like Indianapolis could see lows in the 40s, while Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham drop into the 50s. Some locations, like Wichita and Tulsa, could even see cool record highs! This is unusual in August, so enjoy it this week!
Even government forecasters have been forced to admit it's beginning to feel like fall in August:
🍂 Fall preview! A strong cold front will bring an unseasonably cool air mass to much of the Lower 48 through the weekend & into next week. Forecast high temperatures are expected to be roughly 10 to 30 degrees below average for this time of year. https://t.co/X5eGqsHRJb
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) https://twitter.com/NWSWPC/status/1959314231364391315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Across the Lower 48, average temperatures are expected to print below the 30-year average through early August.
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In energy markets, U.S. NatGas futures are tumbling....
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... at a time when prices should be rising according to 15-year seasonal trends.
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NatGas prices are falling because lower cooling demand means less power burn on grids.
Recall our note on August 20:
https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/first-true-taste-fall-might-need-jacket-next-week
. . .
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 06:55
Zelensky Wants EU To Provide $1BN Monthly Allowance To Fuel War Against Russia
Zelensky Wants EU To Provide $1BN Monthly Allowance To Fuel War Against Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyhttps://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-says-ukraine-aims-secure-least-1-billion-monthly-us-weapons-purchases-2025-08-25/
Monday that Kiev plans to secure at least $1 billion monthly from European nations to purchase US weapons to continue his war against Russia.
Zelensky made the comment while speaking alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store during a press conference in the Ukrainian capital. President Donald Trump is seeking to move away from providing weapons directly to Kiev. He instead wants European nations to purchase US weapons for the Ukrainian military to continue the war.
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The Ukrainian president also said Norway could contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine with an emphasis on providing air defense and maritime security.
On Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance https://www.axios.com/2025/08/24/russia-vance-concessions-ukraine
Russia has been “flexible” and made “significant concessions” in some core demands as part of negotiations to end the war, including regarding US and European security guarantees.
“They've recognized that they're not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kiev. That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they've acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Vance stated while speaking on NBC News' Meet the Press talk show on Sunday.
Last week, Axios https://www.axios.com/2025/08/19/ukraine-security-guarantees-trump-rubio-air-power
that senior officials from the US, Ukraine, and several European countries were discussing a proposal for security guarantees for Ukraine, likely involving US air power.
In an interview with Fox News, President Trump stressed no US troops would be sent to Ukraine, but that he was open to providing air support to European ground forces should they be deployed to the country.
Trump also said he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin would be willing to accept such US and European security guarantees for Ukraine.
A first official look at Ukraine’s other operational land attack cruise missile; the Long Neptune.
The Neptune LACM reportedly has a range of roughly 1000km, and has already seen combat this year. https://t.co/cPHJ5sjZlu
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1959907567968153818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said it “categorically” rejects the possibility of “a military contingent with the participation of NATO countries” inside Ukraine.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 02:00
US Fighters Intercept Russian Aircraft Off Alaska 3 Times In A Week: NORAD
US Fighters Intercept Russian Aircraft Off Alaska 3 Times In A Week: NORAD
U.S. fighter jets were scrambled for a third time in less than a week on Aug. 24 to intercept Russian military planes flying near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement.
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On Sunday evening, NORAD https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Press-Releases/Article/4284388/norad-detects-and-tracks-russian-aircraft-operating-in-the-alaskan-air-defense/
that it detected and tracked a Russian IL-20 COOT surveillance aircraft that was operating within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
In response, NORAD scrambled an E-3, two F-16s, and two KC-135 tankers to intercept and identify the Russian plane in the Alaskan zone, the statement added. The statement did not provide other details on exactly where the encounter occurred.
“The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” NORAD said.
“This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.”
An identification zone starts “where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security,” NORAD noted.
Over the past week, NORAD dispatched military planes twice to respond to Russian IL-20 aircraft operating in the ADIZ. In no instances did the Russian aircraft enter U.S. airspace.
The planes were scrambled https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Press-Releases/Article/4282988/norad-detects-and-tracks-russian-aircraft-operating-in-the-alaskan-air-defense/
planes to respond to Russian aircraft in July.
“NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions,” the command said in its statement issued on Aug. 24.
NORAD, which is jointly operated by the U.S. and Canadian militaries, also “remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America,” the statement added.
Sunday’s NORAD mobilization marked the seventh time this year that Russian planes entered the ADIZ, according to press releases https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Press-Releases/
by NORAD. A review of news releases issued by the command shows that Russian aircraft made similar moves dozens of times in 2024 and 2023.
In September 2024, NORAD released https://twitter.com/NORADCommand/status/1840776113846468898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1840776113846468898%7Ctwgr%5E5bae209ddcd61828117ac536bbc745b0a00e6114%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fvideo-russia-jet-dangerously-close-aircraft-alaska-norad%2F
of a Russian plane flying “within just a few feet” of U.S. military aircraft near the coast of Alaska, prompting a general to say at the time that the Russian Su-35 plane’s conduct “was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all.”
The recent encounter comes a week after President Donald Trump held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, to hash out a peace deal to end Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance said that Russia has made “significant concessions” toward a negotiated settlement in its war with Ukraine and was confident that progress was being made.
“I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict,” Vance https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/vance-says-russia-has-made-significant-concessions-toward-ending-war-with-ukraine-5905419
in comments aired on Sunday by NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
He also said that Russia has “recognized that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv.”
“That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Vance said.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 08/25/2025 - 22:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/us-fighters-intercept-russian-aircraft-alaska-3-times-week-norad
Watch Live: SpaceX Attempts Second Launch Of Starship Megarocket
Watch Live: SpaceX Attempts Second Launch Of Starship Megarocket
Update (Monday):
Just one day after the tenth Starship flight was delayed due to a ground-systems troubleshooting issue, the countdown clock is now at T-minus 12 minutes and ticking down.
Weather conditions are currently 55% favorable.
Counting down to Starship's tenth flight test. Weather is currently 55% favorable for launch at the start of the window → https://t.co/UIwbeGoVS9
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1960081665453408742?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Watch Live:
. . .
Update (0715ET):
"Standing down from today's tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems," SpaceX wrote on X.
Standing down from today's tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1959755893324865963?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
No timeframe was given for when the test flight would be rescheduled.
. . .
The tenth flight test of SpaceX's Starship megarocket is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at the company's Starbase launch site in southern Texas, just outside Brownsville. The stakes are high for Elon Musk and the SpaceX team after investigations into the Flight 9 loss found a static fire anomaly that led engineers to push for hardware fixes and operational upgrades. That's the entire point of these test flights, pushing reliability higher in preparation for future missions to the Moon and eventually Mars.
Starship 10 launching tonight https://t.co/EOgGbS3Om7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1959730865140871323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Here are the goals of today's flight test of Starship:
Super Heavy Booster Objectives:
Conduct multiple landing burn experiments, including disabling one central engine to test backup performance.
Transition to a two-engine hover before shutting down and dropping into the Gulf of America (no return attempt).
Continue testing new flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios to refine reusability.
Starship Upper Stage Objectives:
Attempt first payload deployment with eight Starlink simulators (expected to burn up on reentry).
Perform a Raptor engine relight in space.
Conduct reentry stress tests, including:
Removing heat shield tiles to probe vulnerable areas.
Testing metallic tiles, including one with active cooling.
Evaluating catch fittings and new tile edge designs.
Forcing structural stress on rear flaps during peak reentry pressure.
Roadmap of test flight:
?itok=LhYLo_Zg
Watch the 400-foot-tall megarocket with 33 engines, known as the Super Heavy, blast Starship into space and back:
. . .
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 08/25/2025 - 19:46
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/watch-starship-megarocket-prepares-10th-test-flight
Trump Proposes Renaming Department Of Defense
Trump Proposes Renaming Department Of Defense
President Donald Trump proposed on Aug. 25 that his administration rename the Department of Defense to its previous name, the Department of War.
“Pete, you started off by saying ’the Department of Defense.' And somehow it didn’t sound good to me,” Trump said in the Oval Office, speaking to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, after signing executive orders on fighting crime, including in Washington.
“Defense. What are we, defense? Why are we defense? It used to be called the Department of War, and it had a stronger sound. And, as you know, we won World War I, we won World War II, we won everything. Now we have a Department of Defense. We’re defenders. I don’t know.”
Hegseth, standing behind Trump, said the name change is on the way.
“That’s coming soon, sir,” he told Trump.
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Trump said that “Department of War” sounds better than “Department of Defense.”
“Defense? I don’t want to be Defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too, if that’s OK,” he said, adding that “as Department of War, we won everything, we won everything. And I think we’re going to have to go back to that.”
Trump touted bringing an end to conflicts between India and Pakistan and the Congo and Rwanda.
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this was not the first time Trump had suggested changing the Defense Department back to its previous name.
“You know it used to be called secretary of war,” Trump https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-press-conference-nato-summit-the-hague-netherlands-june-25-2025/
reporters on June 25 at the NATO summit in the Netherlands.
“Maybe for a couple of weeks we’ll call it that because we feel like warriors.”
He introduced Hegseth as “secretary of war.”
“Then we became politically correct and they called it secretary of defense,” Trump said.
“Maybe we’ll have to think about changing it. But we feel that way.”
Prior to becoming defense secretary, Hegseth called for changing the Defense Department back to its old name.
“Sure, our military defends us. And in a perfect world it exists to deter threats and preserve peace,” he https://law.duke.edu/sites/default/files/news/ExpressNews_Hegseth_Wants_New_Name.pdf
in his 2024 memoir, “The War on Warriors—Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”
“But ultimately its job is to conduct war. We either win or lose wars. And we have warriors, not ‘defenders. Bringing back the War Department may remind a few people in Washington, D.C., what the military is supposed to do, and do well.”
The Defense Department was called the Department of War when it was established in 1789. In 1947, President Harry Truman changed the name after merging it with the Navy Department. He signed the https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/national-security-act
, which established the position of secretary of defense. It also established the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the U.S. Air Force.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 08/25/2025 - 19:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-proposes-renaming-department-defense-its-original-name
Some Med/Nursing Schools Still Require COVID-19 Vaccine
Some Med/Nursing Schools Still Require COVID-19 Vaccine
https://www.thecollegefix.com/some-med-schools-nursing-schools-still-require-covid-19-vaccine/
While the majority of healthcare education programs across the nation have ended their mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements, there are still a few holdouts, prompting a medical watchdog to sound the alarm.
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The requirements persist even though President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February to defund schools that mandate COVID-19 vaccinations, said Lucia Sinatra, co-founder of No College Mandates.
The organization is dedicated to ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates for college students, and Sinatra is calling on federal lawmakers to pass legislation to formalize Trump’s order into law.
While the order does not include a carve out for healthcare or health science programs, “For whatever reason, healthcare students and healthcare programs seem to be governed by different rules than general population student programs at colleges,” she told The College Fix in a telephone interview this month.
Sinatra said she does not have an exact number of med schools, nursing schools, and health science programs still mandating the COVID vaccine because, unlike the broad mandates from a couple years ago that were very explicitly and publicly posted, these can be somewhat obfuscated.
Some universities do not mention their mandates on program websites, while others do not have mandates of their own but only contract with clinical partners that do, she said. But information from programs that are open about their requirements, coupled with tips her organization receives from distraught students, indicate there is still a problem, she said.
The College Fix in June https://www.thecollegefix.com/texas-wesleyan-still-requires-covid-19-vaccine-of-nursing-students/
Texas Wesleyan University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement for nursing students.
Other specific examples of such mandates include those imposed on medical students at the https://med.emory.edu/education/programs/md/student-handbook/matriculation/immunization-requirements.html
.
The College Fix reached out to representatives from both Emory University and Johns Hopkins University for comment via email but did not receive a response.
In general, Sinatra said her organization’s research has found that some programs “require compliance or you won’t be accepted to the program,” adding others may not require COVID-19 vaccination for admission, but may mandate it indirectly for completion of the program.
This happens, Sinatra said, when the clinical partners with which students would complete required practicums or rotations impose COVID-19 vaccination requirements different from those of a student’s educational institution or academic program.
Students in a variety of health science programs at the https://wellbeing.uw.edu/husky-health/immunity/hsip/
, for example, although no longer required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by UW, may still face such requirements from UW’s clinical partners.
However, in an email to The Fix, UW spokesperson Victor Balta stated these students do have options available if they are unvaccinated for COVID-19.
“UW Medicine, as a major clinical placement site for UW health sciences students, will not be requiring students placed at its facilities to have the COVID-19 vaccine,” Balta wrote.
Healthcare students at other schools, though, do not always have such options.
For example, those in the University of San Francisco’s Schools of Nursing and Health Professions are https://myusf.usfca.edu/nursing/health-requirements#:~:text=The%20School%20of%20Nursing%20and%20Health%20Professions%20(SONHP)%20has%20contracted,set%20up%20your%20CastleBranch%20accounts
, “Nursing students should be aware that all of our clinical partners at which our students may be placed for clinical learning experiences are currently requiring all students to be fully vaccinated [for COVID-19] before beginning training and learning at the site…Degree completion may be slowed or stopped if SONHP students are unable and/or unwilling to be vaccinated, given the requirements of our clinical partners.”
Sometimes, though, Sinatra noted, students may not find out about requirements from a school’s clinical partners until after they are a couple years into their education.
Consequently, she said, this can lead to a lot of frustration among healthcare students and their families, as well as confusion over what was accomplished by Trump’s executive order.
The executive order https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/keeping-education-accessible-and-ending-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-in-schools/
:
“It is the policy of my Administration that discretionary Federal funds should not be used to directly or indirectly support or subsidize an educational service agency, State educational agency, local educational agency, elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education that requires students to have received a COVID-19 vaccination to attend any in-person education program.”
She said she’s been reaching out to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy to address the situation.
Sinatra also noted that although some mandates in some programs may be downstream of requirements by a school’s outside clinical partners, universities could arguably require the clinical partners with which they contract to refrain from imposing requirements stricter than those of the university or at least honor exemptions.
When asked about a https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3044/text?s=1&r=22
introduced by U.S. Rep. Mark Messmer of Indiana that would “prohibit institutions of higher education from mandating COVID–19 vaccines for students or staff,” Sinatra said she saw the benefits it would provide to “general population students” if it were passed, as laws are harder to overturn than executive orders.
However, she said, the bill lacks explicit “protection for healthcare students who are the only college students still mandated to take COVID-19 vaccines.”
Subsequently, Sinatra said, she also has been reaching out to members of Congress “to get them to amend [the bill] to make sure they include medical schools and any partners of medical schools.”
“If it’s amended to include healthcare students through the entirety of their program so that they can reach completion, well then that’s a whole different bill,” Sinatra said.
“Now we’re telling medical schools and their partner hospitals and their clinical partners, on the education part of their businesses, they cannot mandate these vaccines because those are college students.”
The College Fix emailed Rep. Messmer’s office regarding Sinatra’s concerns, but did not receive a reply.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 08/25/2025 - 18:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/some-mednursing-schools-still-require-covid-19-vaccine
CDC Advisory Committee Launches Review Of COVID-19 Vaccines
CDC Advisory Committee Launches Review Of COVID-19 Vaccines
A committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is going to review various aspects of COVID-19 vaccines, including concerns about the persistence of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), according to a new document.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) work group on COVID-19 vaccines will review data on the shots related to their safety, effectiveness, and immunogenicity, according to the Aug. 20 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26073611-cdc-acip-covid-19-vaccine-workgroup/
, which was released by the CDC.
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Members also plan to look at gaps in existing knowledge “relating to bio distribution, pharmacokinetics, and persistence of the spike protein, mRNA, and lipid nanoparticles to inform immunization recommendations,” the document states.
Studies have found that the spike https://doi.org/10.1002/prca.202300048
in the vaccines persist for some time. Lipid nanoparticles are used to deliver the mRNA.
Other areas of focus for the group include potential impurities such as contamination by DNA, the impact of repeated booster doses on immune systems, how both COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 have affected all-cause deaths and hospitalizations, and serious adverse events potentially caused by the vaccines.
After reviewing the data and consulting with experts at the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and outside the government, the group plans on issuing new recommendations regarding the shots.
Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named chair of the work group.
“My goal as the WG [work group] chair is to work with my colleagues at ACIP, the CDC and FDA experts and the external experts to openly study the range of issues and questions outlined in the Terms of Reference, to inform the best science and evidence-based policy recommendations, and having the health and safety of patients front in mind,” Levi told The Epoch Times in an email.
Levi has previously https://x.com/RetsefL/status/1619945525670981632
for halting the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, citing concerns with safety and effectiveness.
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Pfizer and Moderna have not responded to requests for comment.
The CDC https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/benefits.html
some side effects, including heart inflammation.
Under orders from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC earlier this year https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/cdc-updates-covid-19-vaccine-recommendations-after-delay-5865494
recommending COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children and pregnant women.
Kennedy subsequently removed all members of ACIP and https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/meet-the-new-members-of-the-cdcs-vaccine-advisory-committee-5871977
Levi and others to replace them.
The CDC had for years recommended that all people aged 6 months and older receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
The previous advisory panel had been https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/cdc-advisers-lean-toward-recommending-narrower-use-of-covid-19-vaccines-5841828
recommending the CDC shift to a non-universal recommendation.
ACIP member Dr. Robert Malone, who is serving on the COVID-19 vaccine work group, https://blog.maryannedemasi.com/cp/171560600
on his blog that establishing topics for the group to review was a sign of progress.
“I am sorry it is so slow (and frustrating for all concerned), but we now have the authorization to look deeply into the big questions,” he wrote.
“Hopefully, we will have some answers by the upcoming ACIP general meeting.”
The next ACIP meeting is slated to take place in August or September, according to the committee’s website. Another meeting is https://www.cdc.gov/acip/meetings/index.html
to take place on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23.
ACIP member Dr. James Pagano will also serve on the working group.
Other members of the group have not been disclosed, and Levi declined to name them.
The document says the group “is composed of experts who are appointed based on their professional, scientific, technical, or other expertise.”
CDC employees will no longer be able to serve as members, according to the document, although they can still present to the panel, which meets behind closed doors.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 08/25/2025 - 14:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/cdc-advisory-committee-launches-review-covid-19-vaccines
Why Are More And More Americans Becoming Disabled?
Why Are More And More Americans Becoming Disabled?
Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals 1.1 million MORE Americans have become disabled in just the past 3 months.
?itok=yx4jSx54
: Why is nobody talking about this?
The month of July added another 234,000 disabled Americans, making the current high the third new high in a row.
Prominent data analyst https://x.com/DowdEdward
reports that since February 2021, an additional 5.89 million Americans have answered “yes” to the Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey question on disability.
?itok=N9oVFksI
That’s a 19.6% increase in reported disabilities over just 4.5 years—something he calls a “disaster.”
This should be front-page news.
Why isn’t anyone talking about it?
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Mon, 08/25/2025 - 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/why-are-more-and-more-americans-becoming-disabled
These Are The Best And Worst Countries For Work-Life Balance
These Are The Best And Worst Countries For Work-Life Balance
When it comes to work-life balance, some countries are setting global standards while others lag far behind. A new https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/health-insurance/features/best-countries-for-work-life-balance/
reveals where employees enjoy the healthiest mix of work and personal life — and where long hours, limited leave, and lack of support take the greatest toll.
The study assessed 10 factors including working hours, paid leave, commute length, parental support, remote work availability, and happiness scores. The results show striking differences between the top and bottom performers, underlining how policy, culture, and workplace expectations shape daily life.
At the top of the ranking is Finland, with a total score of 71.45 out of 100. Finnish employees work an average of 1,499 hours per year, significantly less than countries such as Australia or the US, and are entitled to 36 days of paid leave. Family policies are especially generous: mothers can take up to 161 weeks of paid maternity leave while fathers are granted more than 16 weeks. People in Finland also spend about 15.2 hours each day on personal care and leisure, face an average commute of just over 25 minutes, and report a happiness score of 7.7 out of 10. Remote work opportunities are also strong, making Finland the clear leader.
Close behind is Norway with a score of 71.41. Norwegians work even fewer hours, averaging 1,418 per year, and receive 35 days of paid leave. The country also offers extensive support for parents and continues to prioritize personal well-being alongside professional life.
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At the opposite end of the scale is the United States, ranked 39th out of 39 with a total score of just 28.01. Despite being known for innovation, the US suffers from some of the longest working hours in the study, averaging 1,799 annually. It is the only country in the ranking without federally mandated paid annual leave or paid parental leave. Americans devote only 14.6 hours per day to personal care and leisure, and while remote work is accessible and the national happiness score sits mid-range, these positives are overshadowed by limited structural support. For many Americans, “balancing work and life is largely an individual effort,” and the data confirms how challenging that can be.
The rest of the top 10 is dominated by Nordic and nearby European countries. Sweden (68.01), Iceland (67.85), and Denmark (66.8) join Finland and Norway, while the Netherlands (70.66), Luxembourg (69.58), Spain (69.12), and Estonia (70.08) also score highly. Estonia stands out in particular for offering 40 paid days off, the most in the index, alongside strong digital infrastructure and growing flexibility in work arrangements. What unites these nations is a shared culture where long hours are not seen as a badge of honour, paid leave is generous, and both mothers and fathers receive parental support. As the findings suggest, when shorter work weeks, higher happiness scores, and supportive policies align, people thrive.
Australia finds itself near the bottom, ranking 31st with a score of 45.9. Australians average 1,651 hours of work each year and receive 30 paid days off, which is lower than in many top-ranked countries. On a daily basis, people spend 14.4 hours on personal care and leisure, less than their Nordic counterparts. Parental leave is a weak spot: mothers get 18 weeks at 46.1% pay, while fathers are offered only two weeks. Commutes are long as well, averaging 37.4 minutes each way. On the brighter side, remote work is widely available, and the country’s happiness rating is 6.9 out of 10, showing that many Australians still manage to find balance despite the obstacles. With stronger leave entitlements, greater flexibility, and more support for families, Australia could improve its standing significantly.
The overall lesson from the data is clear. The countries at the top have built systems that encourage people to rest, spend time with family, and enjoy life outside of work. Meanwhile, those at the bottom place the burden on individuals to carve out their own balance, often with little institutional help. As the report puts it, work-life balance “is not just a luxury, it is essential for individuals, families, workplaces, and communities alike.” The evidence also shows that when “work complements life, rather than competing with it, everyone wins.”
The full study can be viewed https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/health-insurance/features/best-countries-for-work-life-balance/
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sun, 08/24/2025 - 22:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/these-are-best-and-worst-countries-work-life-balance
Mapping Poverty Rates Across America
Mapping Poverty Rates Across America
America’s economic landscape looks very different depending on where you live.
This map of U.S. poverty rates by state, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-u-s-poverty-rates-by-state/
makes that disparity clearer.
Each shade represents the share of residents living below the poverty line, inviting quick comparisons across the country.
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The data for this visualization comes from https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-283.pdf
.
The U.S. Census Bureau calculates poverty lines using pretax household income against a threshold at three times the cost of a minimum food diet from 1963, adjusted for family size and inflation.
For reference, this is a quick guide on how much a household needs to be earning to be considered below the poverty line in 2023.
One person: ≤$15,480
Two people: ≤$19,680
Three people: ≤$24,230
Four people: ≤$31,200
Ranked: U.S. Poverty Rates by State
Louisiana tops the list at 18.9%, leaving nearly one in five residents below the poverty threshold despite the state’s large energy sector.
RankStateState CodeShare of Population
in Poverty# in Poverty
1LouisianaLA18.9%853K
2New MexicoNM18.5%388K
3MississippiMS17.3%501K
4ArkansasAR15.8%473K
5KentuckyKY15.7%699K
6West VirginiaWV15.3%268K
7OklahomaOK14.9%589K
8AlabamaAL14.6%727K
9District of ColumbiaDC13.4%88K
10North CarolinaNC13.2%1.4M
11TexasTX13.1%3.9M
12GeorgiaGA12.9%1.4M
13NevadaNV12.9%409K
14South CarolinaSC12.7%673K
15FloridaFL12.5%2.8M
16ArizonaAZ12.4%903K
17New YorkNY12.1%2.3M
18MichiganMI11.9%1.2M
19CaliforniaCA11.7%4.5M
20MissouriMO11.1%675K
21OhioOH10.9%1.3M
22PennsylvaniaPA10.7%1.4M
23TennesseeTN10.6%744K
24AlaskaAK10.4%74K
25IllinoisIL10%1.2M
26OregonOR9.8%415K
27IndianaIN9.7%659K
28MontanaMT9.7%109K
29DelawareDE9.6%98K
30HawaiiHI9.3%133K
31North DakotaND9.3%72K
32VirginiaVA9.2%783K
33IowaIA9%287K
34IdahoID8.9%172K
35KansasKS8.9%255K
36Rhode IslandRI8.9%96K
37ConnecticutCT8.8%318K
38MassachusettsMA8.8%604K
39MaineME8.7%120K
40WyomingWY8.6%49K
41MarylandMD8.5%524K
42WashingtonWA8.5%658K
43NebraskaNE8.4%165K
44New JerseyNJ8.4%776K
45WisconsinWI8.4%490K
46South DakotaSD8.3%74K
47ColoradoCO8.2%473K
48VermontVT7.7%49K
49MinnesotaMN7.2%409K
50New HampshireNH7.1%98K
51UtahUT6.7%226K
N/AU.S.US11.4%37.6M
Neighboring Mississippi (17.3%) and Arkansas (15.8%) tell a similar story of limited job diversity and chronically low household incomes.
In fact, a contiguous belt stretching from Louisiana and Mississippi through Arkansas and up to West Virginia contains every state with poverty rates above 15%.
Historic underinvestment, weaker safety-net programs, and lower average wages all help explain why the South accounts for four of the five worst-affected states.
Northern and Plains States See the Lowest Poverty Shares
In stark contrast, Utah (6.7%), New Hampshire (7.1%), Minnesota (7.2%), and Colorado (8.2%) post some of the lowest poverty figures in the country.
These states benefit from stronger labor markets, higher median wages, and broader https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-share-of-college-graduates-in-each-u-s-state/
and healthcare.
Even populous Midwestern states like Illinois and Wisconsin keep poverty near or below 10%, underscoring how economic structure and public policy can insulate households from hardship.
Geography, then, is a reliable—if imperfect—proxy for opportunity in today’s America.
Population Size Skews the National Picture
Looking only at rates can mask the human scale of poverty.
California’s poverty rate sits near the national average at 11.7%, yet its sheer population means 4.5 million Californians live in poverty.
Texas tells a similar story: its 13.1% rate translates into 3.9 million people, the second-largest total nationwide.
Altogether, the U.S. counted 37.6 million residents in poverty during in 2023, almost the size of Canada’s entire population
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out https://www.voronoiapp.com/money/Mapped-Average-Salary-by-State-in-2025-5028
on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sun, 08/24/2025 - 18:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/mapping-poverty-rates-across-america
Transshipment's Dead End
Transshipment's Dead End
Authored by Jake Scott via the https://fee.org/articles/transshipments-dead-end/
(FEE),
, effective Aug. 7th, has upended global trade dynamics in a single stroke. Slapping a 40 percent tariff on all “transshipped goods”—products rerouted through third countries to dodge U.S. duties—this is merely the natural development of his evolving protectionist agenda.
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Just a week after the order, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/business/trump-tariffs-china-transshipment.html
, which has long exploited methods like transshipment and “nearshoring” to skirt American tariffs in general, and Trump’s tariff policies in particular.
While applied globally, China stands to take the biggest hit (and likely already is), with its vast factory networks and knack for rerouting goods through Southeast Asia, Mexico, and beyond. This isn’t just a tariff hike; it’s a calculated escalation in Trump’s ongoing crusade to reshape U.S. trade policy and the global economy in the United States’ favor. But ripple effects that bruise consumers are already visible—and this move is likely to strain relationships with key allies as well.
The new tariffs build on Trump’s first-term strategy—so extensive that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariffs_in_the_first_Trump_administration
—when he wielded America’s economic heft like a sledgehammer to renegotiate or smash trade deals he deemed unfair. Back then, Chinese firms sidestepped U.S. tariffs by setting up shop in countries like Vietnam and Mexico, funneling goods through these hubs to mask their origins.
https://hatchworks.com/blog/nearshore-development/expert-insights-nearshoring/
; since then, manufacturers have sought to mitigate their damage.
The U.S. trade deficit with China (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g2089vznzo#:~:text=The%20trade%20in%20goods%20between,by%20his%20successor%20Joe%20Biden.
, noted in the New York Times, China will likely view this as a direct attempt to “box them in,” potentially souring already tense talks.
As FEE’s readers will know, this isn’t Trump’s first use of tariffs as a stick to beat the horse. Earlier this year, https://fee.org/articles/the-art-of-the-deal/
that preceded his second term, a move that sparked both relief—for averting a threatened 30 percent rate—and criticisms over the increased cost of European imports. This is especially likely to hit Trump’s own voter base, given the prevalence of pharmaceuticals and car imports from the EU.
Now, with this global imposition of transshipment and nearshoring, Trump is doubling down on his economic geopolitical strategy, targeting not just China but any country facilitating indirect shipments. https://www.asiafinancial.com/surge-of-chinese-exports-to-southeast-asia-as-cargo-to-us-falls
: China’s exports to the United States plummeted 22 percent in July 2025 compared to last year, but those goods didn’t vanish—they were redirected to ASEAN nations, surging by 17 percent, signaling a pivot to transshipment hubs. Countries like Vietnam have tightened inspections to curb this practice, but the scale of China’s manufacturing makes enforcement a Herculean task.
Broader implications include a risky pivot towards China. Tariffs could accelerate integration via the Belt and Road Initiative, and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/trumps-tariffs-and-their-impact-on-asean-historical-context-and-future-directions/
between their top export market (America) and largest trading partner (China).
Trump’s order also tweaks other tariffs, ranging from 10 percent to 41 percent, with a hefty 100 percent levy on microchips and pharmaceuticals and a 25 percent tax on goods from nations buying Russian oil—https://www.asiafinancial.com/india-once-close-to-deal-with-us-now-faces-50-tariffs
and pushing the BRICS countries even closer together.
These moves align with Trump’s broader economic geopolitical strategies: shrinking the U.S. trade deficit and bolstering domestic industries. But the cost is steep for American consumers. Higher tariffs may https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5492436/how-trumps-tariffs-are-bringing-in-new-revenue-and-how-it-will-be-spent
, “[China’s] production exceeds that of the nine next largest manufacturers combined.”
Of course, China may be the primary target of this bludgeoning, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/relief-southeast-asia-trumps-tariffs-level-playing-field-2025-08-01/
: Vietnam, with a $120 billion U.S. trade surplus, negotiated a cut from 46 percent to 20 percent, a move that attempted to offset its place as a transshipping hub for Chinese exports. Cambodia’s garment sector, employing a million workers, celebrated the tariff slash from 49 percent to 19 percent, but its reliance on Chinese inputs keeps transshipment risks high.
Still, ASEAN markets are complex and multifaceted. Some celebrated the tariffs as “leveling” the trading field. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/relief-southeast-asia-trumps-tariffs-level-playing-field-2025-08-01/
, praised Trump’s tactics for putting Thailand “on par with Indonesia and the Philippines and lower than Vietnam ... we’re happy.”
This tariff gambit echoes broader themes of sovereignty and control—and Trump is usually the last one to blink. His tariffs assert U.S. dominance, forcing trading partners to bend or break, yet the risk of overreach looms. Broader impacts include U.S. consumer price hikes (e.g., shoes up 40 percent, cars projected to cost $5,800 more on average, https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-trade-war/
), potentially fueling inflation and debt reliance. Markets shrugged somewhat, with minor S&P 500 dips, but volatility looms.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sun, 08/24/2025 - 14:00
Remember "Maryland Father"? Alleged MS-13 Gangster May Be Deported To Uganda Next Week
Remember "Maryland Father"? Alleged MS-13 Gangster May Be Deported To Uganda Next Week
The Trump administration has notified lawyers of alleged MS-13 illegal alien gangster Kilmar Abrego Garcia (whom the globalist MSM portrays as a "https://www.zerohedge.com/political/maryland-father-or-ms-13-migrant-gangster-which-it-msm
") that the Salvadoran national, facing human smuggling charges in Tennessee and having refused an offer by the federal government to plead guilty and serve his sentence in Costa Rica, may be deported to Uganda next week.
According to the seven-page filing in the Federal District Court in Nashville, the Salvadoran national has been instructed by the federal government to report to ICE's Baltimore, Maryland, office on Monday morning.
?itok=vlOjC-bn
"Despite having requested and received assurances from the government of Costa Rica that Mr. Abrego would be accepted there, within minutes of his release from pretrial custody, an ICE representative informed Mr. Abrego's counsel that the government intended to deport Mr. Abrego to Uganda and ordered him to report to ICE's Baltimore Field Office Monday morning," the filing said.
?itok=WV9gjG9z
The notice was issued minutes after the Salvadoran national's release on Friday, prompting his attorneys to accuse the Trump administration of trying to coerce a plea deal by threatening removal to a country with documented human rights abuses where he does not speak the language.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem blasted the release of the alleged MS-13 illegal alien gangster by "activist liberal judges"...
"Activist liberal judges have attempted to obstruct our law enforcement every step of the way in removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country. Today, we reached a new low with this publicity hungry Maryland judge mandating this illegal alien who is a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator be allowed free," Noem wrote on X.
She added, "By ordering this monster loose on America's streets, this judge has shown a complete disregard for the safety of the American people. We will not stop fighting till this Salvadoran man faces justice and is OUT of our country."
Activist liberal judges have attempted to obstruct our law enforcement every step of the way in removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country. Today, we reached a new low with this publicity hungry Maryland judge mandating this illegal alien who is a…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/1958984587851231601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Salvadoran national's smuggling allegations date back to a 2022 traffic stop on a Tennessee highway, where he was driving eight passengers and no luggage. Although police suspected human smuggling, no charges were filed at the time. He has also been accused of physically abusing his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen, as well as having alleged ties to cartel gangsters.
BREAKING: Fox News has obtained video footage of Kilmar Abrego Garcia allegedly involved in human smuggling, as noted by Tennessee State Troopers.
This is the man Democrats decided to put their entire party behind lmao.
The incident happened during a traffic stop in Tennessee… https://t.co/WrqkM36BkV
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1918105261593817334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Related:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/maryland-father-or-ms-13-migrant-gangster-which-it-msm
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/npr-abrego-garcia-was-living-quietly-maryland-he-was-deported
Under a ruling last month by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who had ordered the administration to facilitate the Salvadoran national's return from a mega-prison in El Salvador, officials must give him and his attorneys at least 72 business notice before carrying out any deportation to a third country.
The Democratic Party has devoted itself to defending criminal illegal aliens, protecting violent criminals instead of victims, vocally embracing socialism and Marxism, waging a Marxist-style color revolution against opponents, and unleashing social justice warriors who pushed failed progressive policies at the local and state levels. The very same policies have transformed once-peaceful areas within some cities into crime-ridden hellholes.
Why is that? Their globalist agenda is clear and alarming, and these policies certainly seem aimed at accelerating the death of a nation.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sun, 08/24/2025 - 11:05
These Are Currently The World's Most Valuable Unicorn Companies
These Are Currently The World's Most Valuable Unicorn Companies
Unicorn companies are making a comeback fueled by the generative AI frenzy.
While startup funding experienced a lull after the 2021 bonanza, private companies are now seeing a flood of investment, particularly in AI-driven firms like https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-biggest-ai-funding-rounds-of-2025-so-far/
. At the same time, countries such as India and the UK are producing firms with sky-high valuations, reflecting an increasingly global unicorn landscape.
This graphic, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-most-valuable-unicorn-companies-in-2025/
.
?itok=TlKOM01T
Ranked: The Top 30 Biggest Unicorn Companies
Below, we show the world’s top 30 unicorns by valuation as of July 4, 2025:
?itok=JbXAnJCD
Texas-based SpaceX is expected to see $15.5 billion in revenue in 2025, according to a founder Elon Musk.
Driving the majority of revenue is its satellite business Starlink, which includes clients such as United Airlines, Deere, and the U.S. government. This year, Starlink is estimated to bring in $12.3 billion in revenue while NASA is set to drive $1.1 billion in space exploration contracts.
OpenAI ranks second globally with a $300 billion valuation. So far in 2025, it has reportedly doubled its annualized revenue to $12 billion, driven by its global user base of 700 million weekly active users.
With a $220 billion valuation, TikTok-parent ByteDance follows next. This year, the company expects revenue to grow 20% to $186 billion, hovering close to Meta’s projected $187 billion revenue estimates in 2025
To learn more about this topic from a global perspective, check out this https://www.voronoiapp.com/work/The-Worlds-Fastest-Growing-Jobs-by-2030-5830
on the world’s fastest growing jobs by 2030.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 08/23/2025 - 22:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/these-are-currently-worlds-most-valuable-unicorn-companies
Americans Spent Less On Plant-Based Foods In 2024
Americans Spent Less On Plant-Based Foods In 2024
Having long been limited to a handful of mostly soy-based products, plant-based alternatives to dairy and meat have made giant leaps forward over the past few years. Thanks to advances in food science, people can now enjoy a creamy oat milk cappuccino, have a tasty burger based on pea protein or even try chicken-free chicken nuggets that mimic the real thing surprisingly well.
And whether it’s due to allergies, intolerances, voluntary diet choices or simply to reduce the carbon footprint of their food intake, many people are enjoying the new variety of plant-based alternatives to dairy and meat.
https://www.statista.com/chart/25390/sales-of-plant-based-meat-and-dairy-alternatives/
, U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods amounted to $8.1 billion in 2024, which is a slight decline from the previous year but still more than double of where the market was in 2017.
https://www.statista.com/chart/25390/sales-of-plant-based-meat-and-dairy-alternatives/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
With retail sales of $2.8 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively, milk alternatives and https://www.statista.com/topics/6057/meat-substitutes-market-in-the-us/
and seafood remain largest segments by far, despite both categories facing some headwinds more recently.
The slowdown in several categories can partly be explained with higher food and consumer prices in general, which may have impacted plant-based alternatives disproportionately. In an environment with widespread frustration over high food prices, it's not surprising that consumers tend to cut back on plant-based alternatives, which still carry a significant price premium over conventional meat, dairy or eggs. According to consumer research conducted by the Good Food Institute, taste and price are top barriers to eating plant-based meat, as consumers are looking for additional benefits (e.g. to their health) to make the switch.
In terms of adoption, plant-based milk alternatives are far ahead, with 4 in 10 U.S. household purchasing plant-based milk in 2024 versus just 13 percent who bought plant-based meat and seafood.
Milk alternatives also stand out in terms of customer satisfaction, with 76 percent of buyers making repeat purchases.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 08/23/2025 - 21:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/americans-spent-less-plant-based-foods-2024
Hegseth House-Cleans At Pentagon In Wake Of Disputed Iran Intelligence
Hegseth House-Cleans At Pentagon In Wake Of Disputed Iran Intelligence
Weekend headlines have been taken over by more Trump administration house-cleaning and firings at the Pentagon, as late Friday it was reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed a general whose agency's early intelligence report downplayed the destructive power of the Trump-ordered June strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse has been ousted from his role as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The official reason disclosed is "loss of confidence". While the DIA is lesser known among the nation's major intel agencies like the CIA or NSA, it coordinates all military intelligence among US armed forces, and is mostly staffed by civilians - but under DoD leadership.
Hegseth also removed Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, head of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL in charge of Naval Special Warfare Command, from their posts, according to officials.
?itok=yQne7gPD
While Gen. Kruse's firing from the DIA chief seems retributive in nature, the reason for the dismissal of the Navy admirals remains unclear.
It further comes as the past week saw dozens of current and former national security personnel get their security clearances revoked. Trump admin critics have decried what they call a pattern of retribution against those seen as disloyal, and that it's all politically motivated.
As for the circumstances surrounding the change in DIA leadership, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had following the 12-day war on Iran declared that US bunker-buster bombs and accompanying strikes had "completely obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities.
But a leaked DIA report in the immediate aftermath suggested the uranium enrichment program was still intact, contradicting Trump. CNN had been the first to report in late June info from leaked assessment https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/politics/intel-assessment-us-strikes-iran-nuclear-sites
:
The assessment, which has not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm. It is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strikes, one of the sources said.
The analysis of the damage to the sites and the impact of the strikes on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is ongoing, and could change as more intelligence becomes available. But the early findings are at odds with President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also said on Sunday that Iran’s nuclear ambitions “have been obliterated.”
One unnamed defense official quoted in the report had made clear that centrifuges are largely "intact." The unnamed person had described: "So the (DIA) assessment is that the US set them back maybe a few months, tops."
The growing list of firings under Hegseth:
Hegseth cleaning house at the Pentagon?
He has now sacked:
• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Chief of Naval Operations
• Coast Guard Commandant
• Air Force Chief & Vice Chief of Staff
• Chief of the Naval Reserve
• NAVSPECWARCOM Commander
• DIA Director https://t.co/1YsG2IiqVp
— RT (@RT_com) https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1959193537767223421?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The White House acknowledged the existence of the assessment but vigorously rejected the conclusions, describing it as mere raw and unreliable info that was in no way conclusive.
Trump had in the quick aftermath of the US bombing raid on Iran essentially declared mission accomplished and got Israel and Iran to abide by a ceasefire, which has held since. But Trump has used the narrative of having destroyed Iran's nuclear program to claim that Tehran can no longer pose a nuclear threat, and that no further action is needed.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 08/23/2025 - 19:15
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hegseth-house-cleans-pentagon-wake-disputed-iran-intelligence
Think Tank Urges Dems To Drop These 45 Terms That Turn Off Normies
Think Tank Urges Dems To Drop These 45 Terms That Turn Off Normies
A left-leaning think tank is urging Democrats to stop repelling normal human beings with the use of a deep grab-bag of woke words and phrases. The road to electoral Hell is paved with good intentions, writes Third Way: "The intent of this language is to include, broaden, empathize, accept, and embrace. The effect of this language is to sound like the extreme, divisive, elitist, and obfuscatory, enforcers of wokeness."
Third Way is far from the first to warn leftists that their language is off-putting. Bill Maher has repeatedly pummeled them, and Vice President JD Vance has too, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/08/22/can-dems-talk-their-way-out-of-the-wilderness-00519379
Laura Ingraham, "I mean, look, the autopsy for the Democrats, some free political advice from the president of the United States is: stop sounding like crazy people.”
However, Third Way's communique is distinguished by its long and specific list of annoying jargon. "In this memo, we are putting a spotlight on the language we use that puts a wall between us and everyday people of all races, religions, and ethnicities. These are words that people simply do not say, yet they hear them from Democrats," https://www.thirdway.org/memo/was-it-something-i-said
.
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Elaborating on the theme with https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/08/22/can-dems-talk-their-way-out-of-the-wilderness-00519379
this week, Third Way SVP Lanae Erickson said three potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates are exemplary communicators: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego. She said that Beshear was recently “talking about the fact that ‘justice-involved individuals’ is not a thing that any justice-involved individual would call themselves."
"Over the years we’ve conducted, read, and analyzed hours upon hours of focus groups, and we’ve yet to hear a voter volunteer any of the phrases below except as a form of derision or parody of Democrats," said the group. The memo breaks down the long list of offending words and phrases into several categories.
THERAPY SPEAK: According to Third Way, these words tell others "I’m more empathetic than you, and you are callous to hurting other’s feelings." They also make it "uncomfortable for many people to engage in hard topics," the DC-based group says.
Privilege
Violence (as in “environmental violence”)
Dialoguing
Othering
Triggering
Microaggression / assault/ invalidation
Progressive stack
Centering
Safe space
Holding space
Body shaming
SEMINAR ROOM LANGUAGE: Third Way says these words tell people “I’m smarter and more concerned about important issues than you." The group warns that "when we use words people don’t understand, studies show that the part of their brain that signals distrust becomes more active."
Subverting norms
Systems of oppression
Critical theory
Cultural appropriation
Postmodernism
Overton Window
Heuristic
Existential threat to [climate, the planet, democracy, the economy]
ORGANIZER JARGON: "These words say "we are beholden to groups, not individuals," said Third Way.
Radical transparency
Small ‘d’ democracy
Barriers to participation
Stakeholders
The unhoused
Food insecurity
Housing insecurity
Person who immigrated
GENDER/ ORIENTATION CORRECTNESS: Third Way says this jargon tells normies, “Your views on traditional genders and gender roles are at best quaint.”
Birthing person/inseminated person
Pregnant people
Chest feeding
Cisgender
Deadnaming
Heteronormative
Patriarchy
LGBTQIA+
RACIAL CONSTRUCTS: "These words signal that talking about race is even more of a minefield" with the danger of being called a racist if you fail to use the latest "correct terminology," said Third Way.
Latinx
BIPOC
Allyship
Intersectionality
Minoritized communities
CRIME TALK: Third Way warns that these terms tell normies that “the criminal is the victim. The victim is an afterthought."
Justice-involved
Carceration
Incarcerated people
Involuntary confinement
Stop calling them language police. They are people who police language. https://t.co/4WZUbLpvOY
— Keith Humphreys (@KeithNHumphreys) https://twitter.com/KeithNHumphreys/status/1958886109124915504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 08/23/2025 - 14:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/think-tank-urges-dems-drop-these-45-terms-turn-normies
Which Western Security Guarantees For Ukraine Might Be Acceptable To Putin?
Which Western Security Guarantees For Ukraine Might Be Acceptable To Putin?
https://korybko.substack.com/p/which-western-security-guarantees
He might hypothetically agree that the resumption of NATO’s present support for Ukraine (arms, intelligence, logistics, etc.) in the event of another conflict wouldn’t cross Russia’s red lines but he’s unlikely to compromise on the issue of Western troops in Ukraine once the present conflict ends.
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Steve Witkoff’s https://apnews.com/article/trump-witkoff-ukraine-russia-putin-war-048aa829a69b4020ca368577bfe18aee
during his White House Summit with Zelensky and a handful of European leaders, raises the question of what form this could hypothetically take if true. Assuming for the sake of analysis that he did indeed agree to this, it’s important to clarify exactly what Article 5 entails. For starters, it doesn’t obligate allies to dispatch troops if one of them is attacked.
, “Ukraine has arguably enjoyed the benefits of this principle for the past three years despite not being a NATO member since it’s received everything other than troops from the alliance.” Arms, intelligence, logistical, and other forms of support have already been provided to Ukraine in the spirit of Article 5.
It might therefore be the case that Putin agreed that such “Article 5-like protection” could be resumed in the event of another conflict without crossing Russia’s red lines. Although Russia objects to Ukraine’s remilitarization after the https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/heres-what-i-learned-from-analyzing-the-new-cold-war-every-day-for-three-years-straight
. What Russia doesn’t agree to, however, is the dispatch of Western troops to Ukraine after the present conflict ends.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/2041872/
is to stop NATO’s expansion inside Ukraine. Western boots on the ground there afterwards would therefore amount to the perceived failure of Russia’s primary goal.
This would especially be the case if they’re deployed along the Line of Contact, but their deployment west of the Dnieper in parallel with the creation of a demilitarized “Trans-Dnieper” region controlled by non-Western peacekeepers as proposed https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-merits-of-a-demilitarized-trans
could hypothetically be a compromise. That said, Russia would prefer for there to only be non-Western peacekeepers, if any at all. The deployment of foreign military forces, regardless of the country, could embolden Ukraine to stage false-flag provocations.
To summarize, in the order of the most hypothetically acceptable Western security guarantees to Ukraine to the least hypothetically acceptable from Russia’s perspective, these are:
1) the resumption of Western support for Ukraine only if another conflict erupts and without any peacekeepers at all;
2) continued Western support but with non-Western peacekeepers; and
3) continued Western support, Western troops west of the Dnieper, and non-Western troops in a demilitarized “Trans-Dnieper” region.
The scope of Ukraine’s demilitarization and the extent of Western security guarantees to it after the present conflict ends are of the utmost importance for Russia in order to prevent Ukraine from once again being weaponized as a launchpad for Western aggression. It’s therefore highly unlikely that Russia will compromise much on this issue, especially the scenario of Western troops in Ukraine. Russia might be more flexible on other issues, but on this one, it might prove unwavering.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 08/23/2025 - 09:20
Canada's Carney Backs Down On Tariffs As Trump Welcomes Another Win
Canada's Carney Backs Down On Tariffs As Trump Welcomes Another Win
Another major economy and country backs down, and Trump wins again - as on Friday Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada will drop its retaliatory tariffs in step with the United States as both countries work to de-escalate their trade dispute.
Carney in a Friday press conference said the US side clarified it would not apply tariffs to Canadian products that adhere to the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. Even Politico starkly https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/22/carney-tariffs-trump-00519624
Carney backs down in a major concession:
"We have the best deal of anyone in the world right now," Carney told reporters in Ottawa, noting that the average U.S. tariff rate on Canadian goods is 5.6 percent, the lowest among America’s trading partners. "Today, the Government of Canada is harmonizing its tariffs with the U.S."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announces that Canada will be DROPPING their retaliatory tariffs against the US and removing tariffs on US goods covered by existing trade deals.https://t.co/Y9ONDpOk1g
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1958937329541779512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
However, he noted that some duties, particularly on steel, aluminum, and automobiles, will still remain in effect. Other sources quoted in various reports have also indicated this.
"In this context and consistent with Canada’s commitment to USMCA, I am announcing today that the Canadian government will now match the United States by removing all of Canada’s tariffs on US goods specifically covered under USMCA," said Carney, previewing that the change will take effect on September 1.
"Canada and the US have now re-established free trade for the vast majority of our goods," he added.
The White House hailed the move: "We welcome this move by Canada, which is long overdue. We look forward to continuing our discussions with Canada on the Administration's trade and national security concerns," a Trump admin official said. And more via breaking Canadian media https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/livestory/trump-calls-carneys-tariff-removal-nice-wants-to-be-good-to-canada-9.6876782
:
U.S. President Donald Trump commended the tariff removal, calling it "nice" and saying he wanted to "be good to Canada."
Trump raised tariffs on some Canadian goods to 35 per cent on Aug. 1.
The Trump administration said Canada's rate was being hiked in response to fentanyl trafficking and Canada's earlier decision to hit back with counter-tariffs.
The Canadian dollar is strengthening notably against the US dollar today (helped by Powell's words and Carney's actions)...
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Reuters has https://www.newsmax.com/us/white-house-tariffs-canada/2025/08/22/id/1223555/
of the transition from Trudeau:
Carney's predecessor as prime minister, Justin Trudeau, imposed 25% tariffs on $21 billion in goods imported annually from the U.S. on March 6 in response to Trump's initial duties.
The C$30 billion was part of an overall retaliation plan to target C$155 billion worth of imported goods from the U.S., though the remaining C$125 billion has been delayed.
Carney had repeatedly claimed he had a mandate from the public to 'stand up to' the Trump administration, but alas he's the latest in a line of global leaders to sit down amid the immense tariff and trade pressure.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 08/22/2025 - 15:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/canadas-carney-backs-down-tariffs-trump-wh-welcomes-another-win
FBI Raids Maryland Home Of John Bolton As Patel Says "NO ONE Is Above The Law"
FBI Raids Maryland Home Of John Bolton As Patel Says "NO ONE Is Above The Law"
In a bombshell of a development, federal agents conducted a raid on the Maryland residence of former National Security Advisor John Bolton on Friday morning, according to various breaking sources.
One source connected to the investigation has described that the search was aimed at locating potentially classified documents that authorities suspect Bolton may still have in his possession.
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There are no indicators as of yet that Bolton, who was Trump's national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, has been arrested or taken into custody.
"NO ONE is above the law," FBI Director Kash Patel https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1958847495028584529?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
to X Friday morning, but without giving direct reference to the Bolton house raid. "FBI agents on mission."
According to NY Post, which first revealed https://nypost.com/2025/08/22/us-news/patels-fbi-raids-john-boltons-home-in-high-profile-national-security-probe/
:
Federal agents went to Bolton’s house in Bethesda, Md., at 7 a.m. in an investigation ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel, a Trump administration official told The Post.
...The probe — which is said to involve classified documents — was first launched years ago, but the Biden administration shut it down “for political reasons,” according to a senior US official.
The FBI are reportedly sorting through papers and boxes:
🚨 BREAKING: Federal agents are RIGHT NOW in John Bolton's home "going through things" following an early morning FBI RAID in the DC area over national security concerns.
Yes. We did, indeed, vote for this.
This is Bolton's primary residence.
"This deals with classified… https://t.co/PmIOAxTgtA
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1958857350435029104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Trump has been a longtime fierce critic of Bolton, after Bolton had long ago started going after Trump. Just this week, Bolton was on CNN and prime news shows blasting Trump's dealings with Putin and the Ukraine negotiations.
"I don’t think there’s a peace deal anywhere in the near future," he said while criticizing the commander-in-chief's tactics while recently speaking to CNN.
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Back in January Bolton had been among former top officials, and Trump adversaries, to get their costly security protections stripped.
Axios also recalls that Bolton https://www.axios.com/2024/01/30/trump-john-bolton-second-term-2024-election
in a foreword to his memoir that was published last year the words: "a mountain of facts demonstrates that Trump is unfit to be President."
Publication of the book had been delayed so that the White House could review its content for any potential security breaches or disclosure of sensitive information.
NO ONE is above the law… https://twitter.com/FBI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
agents on mission
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1958847495028584529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Mainstream media is being quick to suggest the house raid is an act of retribution. "Bolton was vocal in his criticism of the president after working in the first Trump administration. Trump has aggressively used the power of the presidency to punish political foes," https://www.axios.com/2025/08/22/john-bolton-national-security-adviser-trump-raid-fbi
observes.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 08/22/2025 - 08:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fbi-raids-maryland-home-john-bolton-patel-says-no-one-above-law
Nvidia Halts China-Specific H20 AI Chip Production, Information Says
Nvidia Halts China-Specific H20 AI Chip Production, Information Says
Nvidia has instructed key suppliers, Arizona-based Amkor Technology and South Korea's Samsung Electronics, to suspend China-specific H20 AI chip production, according to https://www.theinformation.com/articles/nvidia-orders-halt-h20-production-china-directive-purchases
, citing unidentified sources. The directive comes after Beijing has pressured local companies to avoid using the H-20s for security concerns.
Nvidia sent its communications this week on the H20 to Arizona-based Amkor Technology and South Korea's Samsung Electronics, according to the two people. Amkor handles the advanced packaging of Nvidia's H20 chips, a process that involves combining multiple components, while Samsung supplies high-bandwidth memory chips for the H20. -The Information
In a statement, Nvidia explained, "We constantly manage our supply chain to address market conditions," adding that "allowing U.S. chips for beneficial commercial business use is good for everyone."
*NVIDIA ORDERS SUSPENSION TO H20 CHIP PRODUCTION: INFORMATION
guess no chips for china
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1958690327486713877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The suspension underscores Nvidia's delicate balancing act in China, following President Trump's reversal of a previous ban on the H20s and his decision to allow sales on the condition that the federal government collect 15% of revenue. However, last month, China's Cyberspace Administration summoned Nvidia officials to address alleged "backdoor" security vulnerabilities in the H20s - claims that CEO Jensen Huang has denied, stressing the chips pose no security risks.
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Related:
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/china-probes-nvidia-over-alleged-h20-backdoor-security-risks
Amkor, which handles advanced chip packaging, and Samsung, which supplies high-bandwidth memory in the H20 production process, received Nvidia's order to halt production earlier this week. The Information reported that semi-finished H20s are piling up at Amkor. The future of the H20 chip in China remains unclear.
Here's Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kunjan Sobhani and Oscar Hernandez Tejada's first-take:
Nvidia's decision to halt H20 chip production, as reported by The Information, follows the Chinese government urging local companies to avoid using the chip and creates fresh uncertainty over when Nvidia's China business can recover. We had previously projected H20 shipments to China would resume no earlier than the end of this year. Although a delay might temper optimistic estimates for China, robust US hyperscaler demand and Blackwell adoption should offset the impact on Nvidia this year.
Recall that on July 15, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC, "We don't sell them our best stuff, not our second-best stuff, not even our third-best," referring to the H20 chips. Chinese officials reportedly viewed the remark as "insulting."
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Shares in Nvidia fell about 1% in premarket trading in New York following the news. Shares are still trading near record highs, up 30% year-to-date as of Thursday's close.
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Nvidia's decision to halt H20 chip production puts its China market in question - once accounting for 26% of its revenue - but has since tumbled to just 13% amid trade wars and tech restrictions.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 08/22/2025 - 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/nvidia-halts-china-specific-h20-ai-chip-production-information-says
Cracker Barrel Faces "Bud Light" Moment
Cracker Barrel Faces "Bud Light" Moment
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino is steering straight into a "Bud Light" moment - learning nothing in recent years - by abandoning the restaurant chain's half-century-old logo that symbolized nostalgia for rural Americana and the "old country store" experience. Instead, the company has embraced the woke rebranding of many other household names.
Cracker Barrel’s new logo isn’t an accident — it’s CEO Julie Felss Masino’s project. She scrapped a beloved American aesthetic and replaced it with sterile, soulless branding.
Masino kept a DEI regime that promises to “identify, recruit, and advance” hires by race — and now… https://t.co/6BLthLuQ1Y
— Woke War Room (@WokeWarRoom) https://twitter.com/WokeWarRoom/status/1958278402357776496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The soulless rebranding of the new Cracker Barrel logo has sparked backlash across various social media platforms among conservatives. The previous logo once featured an older gentleman in working-poor clothes, leaning on a wooden barrel, which historically held crackers and dry goods in general stores. In fact, the name "Cracker Barrel" comes from how people a century ago gathered around barrels in country stores to talk, eat crackers, and share stories. The greater understanding of the barrel is that it symbolizes community.
Before and After
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Think about it like this.
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This soulless rebranding (comes as no surprise) is merely a symptom of a globalist cancer spreading deep into America's corporations. This is a far-left and sinister agenda centered on undermining the nuclear family and community, the very pillars that build strong nations.
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Instead, these companies have redirected their focus toward all things woke.
Another little known fact: Cracker Barrel was a Nashville Pride sponsor. Do you want your $ to fund Pride events when you go to https://twitter.com/CrackerBarrel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1958285205174616358?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Just remember: many mega-corps donated millions of dollars to Marxist BLM, a far-left group whose manifesto openly declared war on the nuclear family.
Here's the outrage on X:
Will you go to Cracker Barrel now that it's going woke? This could be a "Bud Light" moment in the making...
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) https://twitter.com/johnrich/status/1958272286785421419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
NEW: Cracker Barrel reveals new logo, CEO Julie Felss Masino says people love their new rebrand.
"Honestly, the feedback's been overwhelmingly positive that people like what we're doing," Masino told GMA while discussing the overall rebrand.
This logo is depressing. https://t.co/EZVpWLv4Bg
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1958248356091949349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
First, they took the Indian off the land. Now they took the cracker off the barrel. https://t.co/tvt9c4mUjA
— 提督 Aegis (@AdmiralAegis) https://twitter.com/AdmiralAegis/status/1958236789623111921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Preview of upcoming Cracker Barrel ad campaign https://t.co/off4aqCIAG
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1958260430003961879?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Why CEO Masino decided to scrap the half-century-old logo that represented Americana - at a time when DEI and all things woke are being dialed back - is beyond comprehension.
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Who owns most of Cracker Barrel's stock?
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Wall Street is selling Cracker Barrel's stock on woke, basically betting a boycott will materalize.
?itok=iPrhrDvd
Numerous brands, including https://www.zerohedge.com/political/nike-and-american-eagle-just-proved-overton-window-center-right-shift
, have pivoted away from woke messaging toward normal mainstream advertising.
The CEO's glasses are a big giveaway...
?itok=Xofx8bHV
...
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 12:50
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/cracker-barrel-faces-bud-light-moment
Lisa Cook'd: DOJ To Invetigate Fed Governor, Urges Her Removal Over Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Lisa Cook'd: DOJ To Invetigate Fed Governor, Urges Her Removal Over Alleged Mortgage Fraud
The saga surrounding the upcoming termination of the Fed's DEI hire just escalated dramatically after the Justice Department announced plans to investigate Fed Governor Lisa Cook, after a top official informed Fed Chair Jerome Powell of the probe and encouraging him to remove her from the board in a letter sent Thursday.
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Ed Martin, a Justice Department official who has led similar investigations into Senator Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James, told Powell that Cook’s case “requires further examination” in the letter.
“At this time, I encourage you to remove Ms. Cook from your Board,” Martin wrote. “Do it today before it is too late! After all, no American thinks it is appropriate that she serve during this time with a cloud hanging over her.”
Bill Pulte wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Martin on Aug. 15 suggesting that Cook may have committed a criminal offense. The letter alleged that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.”
Cook on Wednesday said she intended to remain at the central bank, after President Donald Trump called for her resignation. She may, however, find that difficult to do with a criminal probe hanging over her head, or worse.
“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said in an emailed statement via a Fed spokesperson. “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”
A resignation would create another opening for Trump to fill on the Fed board as the president piles pressure on the central bank to lower rates. Trump has lashed out at Powell as “Too Late” for not slashing rates months ago, and suggested he too should step aside. Trump has also heavily criticized Powell and the Fed over the cost of its ongoing headquarters renovation project.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 11:56
Beijing's Olive Branch: Boeing In Talks On 500-Jet Mega Deal
Beijing's Olive Branch: Boeing In Talks On 500-Jet Mega Deal
With the https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/us-china-agree-extend-tariff-truce
extended to November 10, U.S. and Chinese negotiators are working toward a trade deal ahead of a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping later this year. Key issues include the flow of critical Chinese rare earth minerals to the U.S. and Beijing's access to advanced Nvidia chips for its AI firms.
Now, a well-calculated olive branch from Beijing appears to have surfaced: a https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-21/boeing-is-said-in-talks-to-sell-as-many-as-500-planes-to-china" rel="nofollow">Bloomberg report indicates Boeing is in discussions to sell 500 commercial jets to Chinese airlines, signaling China's willingness to deal.
The report is based on sources familiar with the potential transaction that is still being worked out. The "mega sale", as described by Bloomberg journalists, has been "years in the making, is contingent on the two nations diffusing the trade hostilities that hark back to Trump's first term in office — and could still fall apart."
People familiar with the deal say Chinese officials have already begun talks with domestic airlines about how many Boeing jets will be needed to expand their fleets. The report did not specify which models, whether single-aisle or widebody.
This potential aircraft order appears to be part of Beijing's bargaining chips with Washington and will likely be at the center of any trade agreement.
The Biden-Harris regime made no proper attempts to ensure Boeing orders to China would ramp back to pre-2019 levels.
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China is the world's second-largest aviation market, primarily relying on Airbus and Boeing jets. It is expected to double its commercial fleet to nearly 10,000 aircraft over the next two decades.
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Bloomberg's news story sent Boeing shares up as much as 3.7% in premarket trading. The stock has been stuck in a 5.5-year channel following the twin 737 Max crashes, other aircraft setbacks, and investor pessimism fueled by toxic DEI initiatives on jet production lines.
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The timing of this report suggests China is using aircraft orders as bargaining chips ahead of Trump-Xi talks.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 11:50
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/beijings-olive-branch-boeing-talks-500-jet-mega-deal
Gain-of-Dysfunction: COVID-19 May Increase Aging Of Blood Vessels Among Women: Study
Gain-of-Dysfunction: COVID-19 May Increase Aging Of Blood Vessels Among Women: Study
(emphasis ours),
Women infected with COVID-19 were more likely to have aged blood vessels, according to a new study.
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Rosa Maria Bruno, a professor with Université Paris Cité in France, and co-authors examined 1,024 individuals who participated in a prospective study across 34 centers in 16 countries, including centers in Austria, Brazil, and Canada. They aimed to figure out whether people who were infected with COVID-19 experienced faster aging of blood vessels, using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, a biomarker of artery stiffness.
The pulse wave velocity was measured six months after COVID-19 infection and 12 months after infection. The results were compared to people who had not been infected with COVID-19.
Compared to that group, those who did have an infection had higher velocity, the researchers said in the https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf430/8236450
, published on Aug. 17 by the European Heart Journal.
The levels were higher among women than in men, equaling up to 10 years of early vascular aging.
“There are several possible explanations for the vascular effects of Covid,” Bruno https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1094686
in a statement. “The Covid-19 virus acts on specific receptors in the body, called the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors, that are present on the lining of the blood vessels. The virus uses these receptors to enter and infect cells. This may result in vascular dysfunction and accelerated vascular ageing. Our body’s inflammation and immune responses, which defend against infections, may be also involved.”
She added, “One of the reasons for the difference between women and men could be differences in the function of the immune system. Women mount a more rapid and robust immune response, which can protect them from infection. However, this same response can also increase damage to blood vessels after the initial infection.”
One in 10 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the time of their first visit. Researchers looked at whether vaccination played a role in vascular aging and concluded it did not. Women who were vaccinated had lower levels of vascular aging, whereas vaccinated and unvaccinated men had about the same levels.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding came from multiple institutions, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. A small control group was among the limitations of the study.
In an accompanying editorial, several researchers not involved in the study https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf590/8236451
that it “delivers an important message to clinicians, researchers, and health policymakers: COVID-19’s vascular legacy is real, measurable, and with a plausible likelihood of sex-specific findings.”
The researchers said that further investigation of the matter is warranted, as well as figuring out how to mitigate adverse outcomes in people with aged blood vessels.
ZH: NOT medical advice, but https://www.amazon.com/Liposomal-Nattokinase-Serrapeptase-Enzyme-Supplement/dp/B0D41N8QD5
may be worth looking into...
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 11:30
Broken Market: In Unprecedented Inversion, It Has Never Cost More To Buy An Existing Home Over A New One
Broken Market: In Unprecedented Inversion, It Has Never Cost More To Buy An Existing Home Over A New One
After a modest https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/us-existing-home-sales-dip-back-near-15-year-low-june-prices-hit-record-high
which pushed them down near 15 year lows, expectations were for existing home sales to continue their decline in July as mortgage rates ticked up. Analysts were wrong, however, as sales of existing homes rebounded 2.0% MoM in July (vs -0.7% MoM expected), leaving existing home sales unchanged year-over-year...
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While there was a modest bounce in the total annualized pace of existing home sales from 3.93 million to 4.01 million, the number remains at 15 year lows and has been virtually unchanged for the past 3 years thanks to mortgage rates which remain in the 6%+ category.
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According to the NAR, month-over-month sales increased in the Northeast, South, and West, and fell in the Midwest. Year-over-year, sales rose in the South, Northeast, and Midwest, and fell in the West.
Northeast: 8.7% increase in sales month-over-month to an annual rate of 500,000, up 2.0% year-over-year. $509,300: Median price, up 0.8% from July 2024.
Midwest: 1.1% decrease in sales month-over-month to an annual rate of 940,000, up 1.1% year-over-year. $333,800: Median price, up 3.9% from July 2024.
South: 2.2% increase in sales month-over-month to an annual rate of 1.85 million, up 2.2% year-over-year. $367,400: Median price, down 0.6% from July 2024.
West: 1.4% increase in sales month-over-month to an annual rate of 720,000, down 4.0% year-over-year. $620,700: Median price, down 1.4% from July 2024.
The median price dipped modestly from last month's record $432,700 to $422,400, up 0.2% YoY and the 25th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
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According to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, "The ever-so-slight improvement in housing affordability is inching up home sales. Wage growth is now comfortably outpacing home price growth, and buyers have more choices. Condominium sales increased in the South region, where prices had been falling for the past year."
"Near-zero growth in home prices suggests that roughly half the country is experiencing price reductions. Overall, homeowners are doing well financially. Only 2% of sales were foreclosures or short sales – essentially a historic low. The market's health is supported by a cumulative 49% home price appreciation for a typical American homeowner from pre-COVID July 2019 to July this year," Yun continued.
"Homebuyers are in the best position in more than five years to find the right home and negotiate for a better price."
Maybe, but prices are still too high: in a sign that buyers are balking at high asking prices, 21% of the homes sold were above list price, down from 28% in May.
And the clearest sign of just how broken the housing market is, it has never cost more to buy an existing home over a new one.
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The was a silver lining: as homebuyers refuse to chase prices into the stratosphere, current inventory of unsold homes rose to the highest since May 2020, during the COVID lockdown. Which means sellers will have to cut prices very soon if they want to sell.
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Then again, in a recent note from Goldman, the bank's economists said that 87% of mortgage holders have rates below current rates, and two-thirds have borrowing costs 2 percentage points below current rates, “strongly disincentivizing them from moving.”
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Last month, NAR's Yun said that a 6% mortgage rate would lead to about a half million more homes sold and an additional 160,000 renters becoming first-time homeowners. Still, that is just a drop in the ocean considering the effective outstanding mortgage is just over 4%, which is what prevents current home owners from selling their home and refinancing into a new one.
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https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 11:15
U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Reached A Record 14 Million In 2023
U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Reached A Record 14 Million In 2023
,
In the years after the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. immigration policy changes fueled a sharp rise in both legal and illegal immigration. https://ohss.dhs.gov/topics/immigration/legal-immigration-and-adjustment-status-report
between migrants and U.S. authorities.
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The number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States reached an all-time high of 14 million in 2023 after two consecutive years of record growth, according to a new Pew Research Center estimate. The increase of 3.5 million in two years is the biggest on record. Data from 2023 is the most recent available for developing a comprehensive and detailed estimate.
” captures a complex array of statuses, including immigrants who entered the U.S. legally. While the label is not perfect, it groups together immigrants living in the country with impermanent, precarious statuses. The term has been used for decades by researchers who develop estimates of the population and is generally used in this report.
The increase from 2021 to 2023 was driven primarily by growth in the number of unauthorized immigrants who were living in the U.S. with some protections from deportation, such as immigrants paroled into the country and asylum seekers. About 6 million immigrants without full legal status had some protection from deportation in 2023, up from 2.7 million in 2021. In 2007, when the total unauthorized immigrant population was at its previous high (12.2 million), about 500,000 had some protection from deportation.
The total number with temporary protections from deportations increased after 2021 following policy changes made by the Biden administration that allowed many immigrants to https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-parole-migrants-us-expansion-biden/
.
Unauthorized immigrants with some protection from deportation accounted for more than 40% of those without full legal status in 2023. These protections can be, https://www.uscis.gov/save/current-user-agencies/guidance/faqs-on-the-effect-of-changes-to-parole-and-temporary-protected-status-tps-for-save-agencies
, removed by the federal government, sometimes with little notification.
To understand which groups are considered unauthorized immigrants in this analysis, read “https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/#who-are-unauthorized-immigrants
” later in this report.
In 2023, unauthorized immigrants accounted for 27% of all U.S. immigrants, up from 22% in 2021. The group’s share of the U.S. population increased from 3.1% to 4.1% during this time.
Changes to the unauthorized immigrant population, 2024-25
Through early 2024, the overall unauthorized immigrant population continued to grow at a record pace, according to a Center review of preliminary and incomplete data sources. After mid-2024, policy decisions spanning the Biden and Trump administrations again changed this population. Growth slowed considerably in the last half of 2024 after the Biden administration https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-expected-block-migrants-asylum-us-mexico-border-sources-say-2024-06-04/
.
In 2025, the unauthorized immigrant population has probably started to decline, due in part to https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-deportations-trump-six-months/
under the Trump administration.
As of mid-2025, the unauthorized immigrant population likely remains above 2023 levels. Still, we won’t know the full impact of these policy shifts until more complete data becomes available.
, according to preliminary, incomplete data.
Overview of this report
This report explores the dynamics shaping the population of immigrants living in the U.S. without full lawful status. It provides a complete estimate and profile for the unauthorized immigrant population in 2023 based on the best data currently available. The report also provides a look at how the population has since changed, sketching out trends based on incomplete data from 2024 and the first half of 2025 – though complete estimates are not yet possible due to these limitations.
The new estimates for 2023 (and revised estimates for 2022) are based on Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data from the American Community Survey (ACS), the most recent data available for a fully detailed estimate of unauthorized immigration. The survey data for these two years has been supplemented to take into account https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2024/12/international-migration-population-estimates.html
to the U.S.
” for more.
Which groups of U.S. unauthorized immigrants had deportation protection in 2023?
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Several groups of unauthorized immigrants had some protections from deportation in July 2023:
Asylum applicants (2.6 million)
Those who entered the U.S. legally after receiving parole (700,000)
Victims of crimes or violence (700,000)
, which is available to migrants in the U.S. from countries facing war, natural disasters or other crises (650,000)
, which is available to those who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children (600,000)
Another 1.0 million migrants encountered by U.S. Border Patrol were https://apnews.com/article/covid-politics-health-border-patrols-texas-95b1f6e3a2cd829e591e1685cb580acf
, typically with orders to appear in immigration court. These immigrants have some protections from deportation while their cases are resolved, but their protections are more limited.
Individuals in these groups are counted as part of the “unauthorized” immigrant population because their deportation protections are temporary and can quickly change. For example, the Trump administration in 2025 has:
and rescinded work permits for about 500,000 parolees from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Allowed protections to expire for about https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/05/2025-02294/termination-of-the-october-3-2023-designation-of-venezuela-for-temporary-protected-status
with TPS.
from immigrants who enter the country at the U.S.-Mexico border, a move that has been challenged in court.
into the U.S. who are encountered at the border.
The vast majority of unauthorized immigrants – more than 12 million in 2023 – either entered the U.S. illegally or overstayed a visa. Another 2 million entered the U.S. legally and were paroled or released into the country. Protection from deportation provided by programs such as DACA, TPS or asylum are only available to immigrants already in the U.S.
What is the composition of the U.S. immigrant population?
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As of 2023, unauthorized immigrants represented 4.1% of the total U.S. population and 27% of the foreign-born population.
Meanwhile, the lawful immigrant population grew steadily from 24.1 million in 2000 to 37.8 million in 2023. The growth was driven by a rapid increase in the number of naturalized citizens, from 10.7 million to 23.8 million. The number of lawful permanent residents largely held steady at 11.9 million. As a result, in 2023, almost half (46%) of all immigrants in the country were naturalized U.S. citizens.
U.S. immigrant population trends
The overall U.S. immigrant population reached an all-time high of more than 53 million in January 2025, accounting for a record 15.8% of the U.S. population. However, growth slowed substantially starting in early 2024, and https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/06/15/trump-immigration-impact-economy-inflation/
This would be the first sustained drop in the U.S. immigrant population since the 1960s.
What countries do unauthorized immigrants come from?
The number of U.S. unauthorized immigrants born in countries other than Mexico grew from 6.4 million in 2021 to 9.7 million in 2023.
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By contrast, the unauthorized immigrant population born in Mexico grew only a little from 2021 to 2023, returning to its 2019 level of about 4.3 million.
Though Mexico remains the country where the most unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. are from, it accounted for 30% of the nation’s unauthorized immigrants living here in 2023. Mexicans represented a majority of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/12/us-unauthorized-immigrant-population-2017/
.
After Mexico, the countries with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in the U.S. in 2023 were:
Guatemala (850,000)
El Salvador (850,000)
Honduras (775,000)
India (680,000)
In 2023, Venezuela was the country of birth for 650,000 U.S. unauthorized immigrants. This population has seen particularly fast growth, from 55,000 in 2007 to 195,000 in 2021 and 650,000 in 2023.
Other countries have also had large increases in the number of unauthorized immigrants in recent years. Totals from Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Ukraine and Peru all more than doubled from 2021 to 2023.
The number of unauthorized immigrants from Cuba grew from less than 5,000 in 2019 to 100,000 in 2021 and 475,000 in 2023. This increase came after Cubans could no longer enter the U.S. legally without a visa, a https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/12/509575935/obama-administration-ends-refugee-policy-that-favored-cubans
under the Obama administration. Much of the recent growth in unauthorized immigrant populations from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ukraine was due to parole programs instituted under President Joe Biden and that were ended by mid-2025.
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El Salvador, India, China and the Philippines are the only countries to show no significant change in their U.S. unauthorized immigrant populations between 2021 and 2023 (among countries with more than 150,000 unauthorized immigrants).
World regions
The number of unauthorized immigrants from almost every world region increased since 2021. The largest increases were from South America (1.3 million), Central America (725,000) and the Caribbean (575,000).
Detailed table: https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/RE_2025.08.21_Unauthorized-immigrants_detailed-tables_country-trends.xlsx
What states do unauthorized immigrants live in?
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The six states with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in 2023 were:
California (2.3 million)
Texas (2.1 million)
Florida (1.6 million)
New York (825,000)
New Jersey (600,000)
Illinois (550,000)
These states have consistently had https://doi.org/10.1177/019791838401800316
since at least 1980. However, in 2007, California had 1.2 million more unauthorized immigrants than Texas. Today, it has only about 200,000 more.
The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population has also become considerably less geographically concentrated over time. In 2023, the top six states were home to 56% of the nation’s unauthorized immigrants, down from 80% in 1990.
States where the unauthorized immigrant population grew the most
The unauthorized immigrant populations grew in 32 states from 2021 to 2023. The four states with the biggest growth were:
Florida (+700,000)
Texas (+450,000)
California (+425,000)
New York (+230,000)
Eight additional states had their unauthorized immigrant populations increase by 75,000 or more: New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio.
Oregon is the only state with a population of more than 100,000 unauthorized immigrants where this group did not increase compared with 2021.
Even with these increases in recent years, six states had smaller unauthorized immigrant populations in 2023 than in 2007, the previous peak – Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Oregon.
Detailed table: https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/RE_2025.08.21_Unauthorized-immigrants_detailed-tables_state-trends.xlsx
How many households include unauthorized immigrants?
A record 7.5 million U.S. households included unauthorized immigrants in 2023. They represented 5.6% of 133 million households nationwide. Overall, a total of 26 million people – including about 14 million unauthorized immigrants – lived in these households.
In 88% of these households, either the householder or their spouse was an unauthorized immigrant.
Almost 70% of these households are considered “mixed status,” meaning that they also contained U.S.-born residents or lawful immigrants. Most of the U.S.-born residents are children of unauthorized immigrants.
The share of households that include an unauthorized immigrant varies considerably across states. Nevada (10%) had the highest share in 2023, followed by California, Texas, Florida and New Jersey (9% each). In Montana, West Virginia and Vermont, about 1% of households included an unauthorized immigrant.
How many children in the U.S. have unauthorized immigrant parents?
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About 4.6 million children under 18 born in the U.S. lived with an unauthorized immigrant parent in 2023, up from 4.0 million in 2021 and below the previous high of 4.9 million in 2016. As of 2023, these children accounted for about 75% of all minor children living with an unauthorized immigrant parent.
(In 2023, about 300,000 babies were born in the U.S. to an unauthorized immigrant, up from about 200,000 in 2021.)
In addition, about 1.5 million children under 18 were unauthorized immigrants in 2023. This group nearly doubled since 2021, and much of the rapid growth in the overall unauthorized immigrant population was due to families arriving in the U.S. with their foreign-born children. The 2023 total matches the previous high in 2005.
Another 1.4 million adults born in the U.S. lived with at least one parent who is an unauthorized immigrant in 2023, compared with 1.2 million in 2021 and only about 200,000 in 2005.https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/#fn-272599-2
How long have unauthorized immigrants lived in the U.S.?
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A record number of unauthorized immigrants have been in the U.S. for a relatively short time due to the rapid growth in the overall unauthorized population since 2021. In 2023, more than 4.2 million unauthorized immigrant adults had been in the U.S. for less than five years, up from 1.8 million in 2021. The 2023 figure is more than double the number in any year from 2010 to 2019.
A similar number of unauthorized immigrant adults – 4.3 million – had lived in the U.S. for 18 years or more in 2023. This is up slightly from 2021, when the total was 4.1 million.
Another 3.8 million unauthorized immigrant adults had lived in the U.S. for 5 to 17 years in 2023, roughly the same as in 2021.
How many unauthorized immigrants are in the labor force?
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The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. workforce grew from 7.8 million in 2021 to a record 9.7 million in 2023.
Unauthorized immigrants represented 5.6% of the U.S. workforce in 2023, a new high. The previous peak was 5.4% in 2007.
Since 2003, unauthorized immigrants have made up 4.4% to 5.6% of all U.S. workers, a relatively narrow range.
The share of the U.S. workforce made up of unauthorized immigrants is higher than their 4.1% share of the total U.S. population. That’s because the unauthorized immigrant population includes relatively few children or elderly adults, groups that tend not to be in the labor force.
Detailed table: https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/RE_2025.08.21_Unauthorized-immigrants_detailed-tables_labor-force-by-state.xlsx
The share of unauthorized immigrants in the workforce varied across states in 2023. Nevada (9%), Florida (9%), New Jersey (9%), Texas (9%), California (8%), Maryland (7%) and Massachusetts (7%) had the highest shares, while 1% or less of workers in Maine, Vermont, West Virginia and Montana were unauthorized immigrants.
What types of jobs do unauthorized immigrants have?
Unauthorized immigrants work in essentially every sector of the economy. The industries with the highest shares of unauthorized immigrants in their workforce in 2023 were construction (15%), agriculture (14%), leisure and hospitality (8%), other services (7%), and professional/business services (7%).
The major occupations with the highest shares of unauthorized immigrants were farming (24%), construction (19%) and service occupations (9%). There are no occupations where unauthorized immigrants represent a majority of workers. But in some detailed occupations, unauthorized immigrants represented 25% to about 40% of all workers in 2023. Most of these jobs are in the construction sector.
Note: The remaining two sections of this report provide a look ahead to what has happened since 2023, as well as additional context and details about the primary analysis above.
What has happened to the unauthorized immigrant population since 2023?
The nation’s unauthorized immigrant population is dynamic. The estimate of 14 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States as of July 2023 is based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey (ACS), the most recent version available. Since 2023, the population has continued to change. But surveys and other federal government data sources only give us a rough idea of what has happened to the unauthorized immigrant population in 2024 and 2025. Still, these sources do hint at some changes since July 2023.
Administrative data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides counts through November 2024 of entries of certain migrants that are considered part of the unauthorized immigrant population, specifically https://ohss.dhs.gov/topics/immigration/immigration-enforcement/monthly-tables
. These two sources can track changes in the lawful foreign-born population and a large part of the unauthorized immigrant population.
The Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey (CPS),https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/#fn-272599-3
, the 2025 estimates cannot be compared directly with the 2024 estimates.
The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population likely continued to increase rapidly through at least mid-2024, reaching new highs, according to available government data. Growth continued in the second half of 2024 at a much slower pace and may have stopped entirely as inflows dropped dramatically due to Biden administration policy changes (described below).
From January to June 2025, the unauthorized immigrant population likely declined, possibly by as much as 1 million. However, as of July 2025, the unauthorized immigrant population almost surely remains higher than in July 2023, when we estimated that the population stood at 14 million. As more data is released, more precise estimates for 2024 and 2025 will be possible.
The sections below provide the details behind these conclusions.
Immigrant inflows, 2023-24
From July 2023 through June 2024, more than 2.1 million immigrants were released or paroled into the U.S. These groups are considered a part of the unauthorized immigrant population. The largest group, U.S. Border Patrol releases, accounted for more than 1.1 million new arrivals of unauthorized immigrants. Another 1 million were paroled into the U.S. at the southwestern border and through the CHNV (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela) and U4U (Uniting for Ukraine) parole programs. (Read “https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/#who-are-unauthorized-immigrants
” for more on these groups and programs.)
When making a new estimate of the unauthorized immigrant population, we cannot simply add these new immigrants to the previous estimate.https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/#fn-272599-4
However, the large inflows imply continued, rapid growth past our 14 million estimate for mid-2023.
After July 2024, there was a dramatic slowdown in these measured inflows. About 400,000 migrants were released or paroled into the U.S. from July to December 2024, a reduction of more than 60% in average monthly entries from the previous year. The main reduction came from a change in practice by the Border Patrol, which released many fewer migrants into the U.S., about 60,000, during these six months, compared with more than 1.1 million during the preceding 12 months. In addition, the Biden administration stopped admitting migrants under the CHNV parole program in August 2024. Only about 35,000 were admitted after July 2024, which was about 10% of the total from the previous 12 months. By November 2024, there were no CHNV paroles.
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Data on admissions of these groups is not currently available for 2025.https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/#fn-272599-5
The Census Bureau estimated https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2024/12/international-migration-population-estimates.html
did not increase markedly over recent years, the large estimated inflow for 2023-24 was almost entirely attributable to unauthorized immigration, continuing the trend seen in our estimates of this population for 2021-23.
Foreign-born population, 2023-24
The U.S. foreign-born population grew from 48.5 million in July 2023 to 51.6 million in March 2024, according to the monthly CPS – an unprecedented increase of 3 million immigrants in nine months. Much of this growth was driven by the admission of unauthorized immigrants with temporary deportation protections. The monthly data paired with the inflow estimates noted earlier imply rapid growth in the unauthorized immigrant population at least through March 2024.
After this increase, the foreign-born population hardly changed in the last nine months of 2024. By December 2024, the foreign-born population of 51.8 million was only 125,000 larger than in March 2024. The slowdown in growth is consistent with the large drop in arrivals (inflows) during the second half of the year. This pattern suggests that the unauthorized immigrant population grew very little by the end of 2024 after the large increase through the first part of the year, and it may even have declined very slightly from an earlier peak in 2024.
Foreign-born population, 2025
Although monthly CPS data is available for 2025, it cannot be used to https://www.bls.gov/cps/methods/population-controls/experimental-series-accounting-for-January-2025-population-control-effects.htm
However, the CPS can be used to track the size of the immigrant population from month to month in 2025 and going forward.
In January 2025, the CPS measured the foreign-born population at 53.3 million, or 15.8 percent of the U.S. population – both all-time highs. Since then, the CPS data shows a decline during the first six months of 2025, especially after March. By June 2025, the foreign-born population was 51.9 million, a drop of about 1.5 million from the peak in January.
The CPS does not tell us the sources of the decline, but most of the drop is likely due to a fall in the unauthorized immigrant population. The federal government has https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trumps-immigration-record-far-high-arrests-low-deportations-rcna217752
to the survey.
)
Who are unauthorized immigrants?
The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population includes any immigrants not in the following groups:
Lawful permanent residents (green card holders)
Refugees formally admitted to the United States
People granted asylum
Former unauthorized immigrants granted legal residence under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act
Naturalized U.S. citizens who entered under categories 1-4 (above)
Temporary legal residents under specific visa categories, such as those for foreign students, guest workers and intracompany transfers.
for more details.
Many immigrants included in Pew Research Center’s estimate of “unauthorized” immigrants have specific immigration statuses that protect them from deportation. In some cases, as described below, unauthorized immigrants have received permission to live or work in the U.S. As of July 2023, about 6 million immigrants had protections. They are included in the Center’s estimate of 14 million unauthorized immigrants. These protected immigrants account for about 40% of our 2023 national estimate.
Although these immigrants may be protected from deportation, their status could change if immigration policy shifts. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/us-immigration-policy-program-data-hub/unauthorized-immigrant-population-profiles
also include these immigrants in their estimates of the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population.
Types of temporary permissions
Unauthorized immigrants can receive temporary permission to be in the U.S. in the following ways:
Asylum applicants
Individuals who have applied for asylum and are awaiting a ruling are not legal residents but cannot https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/asylum-united-states/
:
Defensive asylum: Applications are filed by individuals facing deportation or removal from the U.S. These are processed by the Justice Department’s https://www.justice.gov/media/1174771/dl?inline
. An estimated 1.3 million immigrants had pending defensive asylum applications as of July 2023.
Affirmative asylum: Applications are filed by people not in deportation proceedings. These are processed by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). An estimated 1.2 million individuals were awaiting decisions on more than https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/quarterly_all_forms_fy2023_q3.pdf
as of mid-2023.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
.
Humanitarian parole into the U.S.
Immigrants outside the United States who are not otherwise eligible for admission can apply for admission to the U.S. on a temporary basis “https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/humanitarian_parole
.
President Joe Biden authorized four parole programs that significantly increased the number of immigrants coming to the U.S. after 2021, adding to the unauthorized immigrant population:
https://www.dhs.gov/archive/operation-allies-welcome
were admitted and received work authorization under the OAW program between July 31, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023. Some have since applied for asylum and some for TPS. Their status had been renewed, though the Trump administration has proposed ending the program.
https://www.dhs.gov/archive/uniting-ukraine
by the end of 2024.
This program allowed individuals from these four countries to apply for admission while outside the U.S. because of conditions in their home country. Before being accepted, applicants needed to have a U.S.-based sponsor, pass a background check and pay for travel to the U.S. They were then allowed to enter the U.S. for two years; these paroles could be extended. Admissions began for Venezuelans in October 2022 with the other three nations added in January 2023. The program admitted up to 30,000 migrants each month.
By July 2023, about https://ohss.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/2025_0116_ohss_immigration-enforcement-and-legal-processes-tables-november-2024.xlsx
upheld the Trump administration’s decision to revoke CHNV’s deportation protection in May 2025.
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/2023_1204_dmo_plcy_parole_requests_q2_and_q3.pdf
, activated by USBP in January 2023, enabled migrants to make appointments in advance.
Individuals paroled into the U.S. by OFO have temporary protection from deportation for two years and can apply for work authorization, asylum and other immigration statuses. By mid-2023, about 340,000 immigrants had temporary protection from deportation through OFO paroles; by the end of 2024, this number almost tripled to 980,000.
Releases by U.S. Border Partrol
In response to the growing number of border encounters, USBP increased the total number of expulsions and repatriations, but this did not relieve pressures at the southwest border. While USBP had always released some of the migrants it encountered into the U.S., https://ohss.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/2025_0116_ohss_immigration-enforcement-and-legal-processes-tables-november-2024.xlsx
Starting in mid-2021, releases averaged about 50,000 per month for the next year, and fell to 15,000 in February 2023. Releases then peaked at more than 190,000 in December 2023 and remained historically high until July 2024. For the remainder of 2024, releases dropped to an average of about 10,000 per month.
These individuals do not have the same level of protection from deportation as migrants paroled into the U.S. They are generally instructed to appear before an immigration judge or report to immigration authorities at a later date. They have a year to apply for asylum or other types of temporary protection. The Biden administration generally did not attempt to deport these individuals so, for our estimates, we assume that individuals released into the U.S. are protected from deportation for slightly more than a year. As of mid-2023, there were about 1 million immigrants in this group.
Victims of crime, human trafficking and abuse
U.S. immigration law includes protections for people who have experienced trafficking, abuse or violence. These individuals can stay temporarily in the U.S. with protection from deportation and often later apply for a green card. They are counted in our unauthorized immigrant population if they have not yet received lawful permanent resident status.
T nonimmigrant visa. For https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-of-human-trafficking-t-nonimmigrant-status
(USCIS) data. By the end of 2024, this group had grown to more than 55,000.
U nonimmigrant visa. For https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-of-criminal-activity-u-nonimmigrant-status
for one in mid-2023 and were protected from deportation. As of the end of 2024, there were about 520,000.
Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ). For https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-US/eb4/SIJ
. This group had grown to more than 220,000 by the end of 2024, due to processing delays and backlogs for admission.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) green card. Provides https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-vawa-self-petitioner
by the end of 2024, this number had almost doubled to 170,000.
Summary
There are about 6 million unauthorized immigrants with some degree of protection as of July 2023. The groups with temporary protection from deportation described above total just over 6.2 million individuals. However, some individuals can appear in more than one category. For example, some paroled into the U.S. (say, OAW Afghans) may also acquire another status like TPS. While exact overlap is not known, most newly arrived groups likely do not appear in multiple categories. We estimate about 250,000 migrants are counted more than once. This leaves a total of about 6 million unauthorized immigrants with some degree of protection from deportation.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 10:50
Texas House Approves Redistricting Plan As California Advances Counter-Move
Texas House Approves Redistricting Plan As California Advances Counter-Move
With Democrats having ended their melodramatic two-week walkout intended to thwart a Republican congressional redistricting plan, the Texas House of Representatives swiftly approved the controversial new district boundaries on Wednesday evening. Enactment of the gerrymandering plan is now seemingly inevitable -- but California is moving toward a remapping of its own that promises to offset the Texas gains seat-for-seat.
The Texas redistricting map sailed through by an 88-to-52 margin, right along party lines. With the Texas Senate having already approved a similar map on Sunday, a final version should be ready for Gov. Greg Abbott's signature by week's end. (For a detailed map of the new boundaries, zoomable down to street level, https://dvr.capitol.texas.gov/Congress/87/PLANC2333
.)
NOW - Texas House passes GOP redistricting map, adding five Republican-leaning seats; bill now moves to Senate for final vote. https://t.co/WyJ5g4Evas
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1958296345938415868?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The new map is expected to hand Republicans a net gain of five seats in the Texas US House delegation that will be elected in next year's midterms. Texas Republicans currently control 25 of the state’s 38 congressional seats; the new map would likely give them 30 (a 79% share), all of which Mr. Trump carried by at least 10 percentage points in 2024. The GOP holds a narrow 219-212 majority in the U.S. House, with four vacancies, and party leaders see Texas as central to preserving their legislative agenda.
On Truth Social, President Trump hailed the map's adoption by the Texas House, and spoke optimistically about the potential for similar moves in other red states. By combining gerrymandering with his https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/trump-vows-movement-eliminate-mail-ballots-2026-midterms
and voting machines, Trump said "we will pick up 100 more seats, and the CROOKED game of politics is over."
?itok=G7kkOhav
Democrats across the country have been howling about the Texas plan -- assailing it as the latest threat to Our Democracy®. Meanwhile, conservatives scoffed at Texas state legislators' choice of Illinois as their state to run to during their walkout, because https://fivethirtyeight.com/videos/illinois-may-be-the-worst-democratic-gerrymander-in-the-country/
of the seats (14 out of 17).
On Tuesday, former President Obama endorsed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's pursuit of a ballot measure to redraw the state's own districts, with a goal of moving five more districts into the Democrat column -- thereby negating the Texas redistricting. Of the Golden State's 52 US House seats, Democrats own 43 today. The new goal for the 2026 elections: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/california-democrats-plan-boost-house-seats-congress-redistricting-rcna225332
(92.3%). While California normally uses an independent redistricting commission, Newsom's plan centers on putting a new map in front of voters in a special election on November 4. California lawmakers debated the legislation over several house on Tuesday and a vote is expected soon.
, here's what Obama told fellow leftists at a fundraiser in Martha's Vineyard:
"I believe that Governor Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach. I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.
[If Democrats] don’t respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive democracy...We cannot unilaterally allow one of the two major parties to rig the game. And California is one of the states that has the capacity to offset a large state like Texas.”
Obama characterized Newsom's approach as restrained, given it doesn't seek to "completely maximize" Democrats' share of the California delegation, instead shooting for a mere 92.3%. (Gee, that sounds reasonable.) A Democratic pollster this week said https://www.axios.com/2025/08/20/newsom-poll-california-redistricting
; 35% oppose it and 8% are undecided.
While California and Texas are the top heavyweights, watch for action in other states too. Ohio is going through a redraw mandated by state law, while GOP leaders in Florida, Missouri and Indiana are talking about their own moves to boost Republican power on Capitol Hill. Democrats' ability to keep countering GOP redistricting is limited by the fact that they've already gerrymandered the %$#@ out of their blue states.
The Texas redistricting drive, which came at the urging of President Trump, was particularly controversial because most redistricting efforts happen following the end of a decade, informed by the latest decennial census. Mid-decade changes have happened elsewhere, however -- https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr/vol57/iss5/9/
, for example. As with the latest Texas re-draw, Colorado was not compelled to do so by a court order springing from legal challenges to existing maps.
The adoption of the new Texas map is particularly bad news for Houston Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett: It moves her residence out of her 30th Congressional District. She said https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-gops-redistricting-new-map-democrats-crockett
before they drew the new boundaries. Bad news for Crockett is good news for America:
Now that the Texas House has passed the new redistricting map, all we're waiting on is for the Texas Senate to finalize it
Can I get a Good Riddance in the comments for https://twitter.com/JasmineForUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) https://twitter.com/Chicago1Ray/status/1958320152224641221?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 10:30
US Manufacturing Activity "Unexpectedly" Soars To Highest Since 2022
US Manufacturing Activity "Unexpectedly" Soars To Highest Since 2022
One month after unexpectedly sliding into contraction for the first time in 2025, moments ago the S&P Manufaturing PMI even more unexpectedly soared from 49.8 to 53.3, not only smashing expectations of another decline to 49.7 and printing well above the highest economist forecast and in fact printing 7-sigma above the median estimate...
?itok=5XBRQANc
... but was the highest print since May 2022! According to S&P's PMI report, the surge signaled "a renewed improvement of factory business conditions after a brief deterioration in July."
At the same time the S&P Services PMI declined from last month's red hot 55.7 to 55.4, but still beat estimates of 54.2. As a result, the composite PMI of US business activity grew at the fastest rate recorded so far this year in August, rising to 55.4 from 55.1, matching the previous post-covid high from Dec 2024 and adding to signs of a strong third quarter. Output has now grown continually for 31 months, with the latest two months seeing the strongest back-to-back expansions since the spring of 2022.
?itok=MmnvkRCm
According to the report, growth was seen across both manufacturing and service sectors of the economy. Hiring also picked up. Most notably, job creation reached one of the highest rates seen over the past three years as companies reported the largest build-up in uncompleted work since May 2022.
Some more details:
Production rose for a third successive month, rising at a pace not recorded since May 2022, buoyed by the largest influx of new orders since February 2024.
Factory employment meanwhile rebounded after a decline in July to register the largest payroll gain since March 2022. Inventories of inputs also rose sharply after a drop in July.
That left only the suppliers delivery times index acting as a drag on the PMI (reflecting faster deliveries), but to a lesser degree than in July.
Backlogs rose at an unchanged and therefore joint-steepest rate since May 2022 in the services economy, while manufacturing backlogs also rose to the greatest extent in over three years.
While many manufacturers reported improved sales and demand, the upturn in production and order inflows was in part linked to renewed inventory building. Stocks of finished goods rose to an extent not previously recorded since data were first available in 2007, while stocks of purchased inputs showed the second-largest rise seen for over three years.
While stock building was partly fueled by expectations of rising demand, some factories also reported increased safety-stock building amid fears of supply shortages or to protect against further price rises, in turn reflecting the recent impact of import tariffs.
There was more good news when it comes to jobs: employment rose for a sixth successive month, with the pace of job creation hitting the highest since January (and one of the strongest rates seen for over three years). Service providers took on staff at the fastest pace for seven months while factory job gains reached the highest since March 2022. Companies largely took on additional staff in response to rising backlogs of work. Uncompleted orders rose for a fifth consecutive month, rising in August at a pace unsurpassed since May 2022 reflecting stronger demand and near-term capacity constraints at some companies.
There were some concerns on the price side, with tariffs reported as the key driver of further cost increases in August. Companies across both manufacturing and service sectors collectively reported the steepest rise in input prices since May and the second-largest increase since January 2023. Rates of increase accelerated in both sectors. While the manufacturing cost rise was especially large, being the second-steepest since August 2022, the service sector increase was the second-highest since June 2023. Average prices charged for goods and services rose at the sharpest rate since August 2022 as firms passed higher costs on to customers. Although goods price inflation cooled slightly for a second month in a row, it remained among the highest seen over the past three years. Service sector price inflation meanwhile was the sharpest since August 2022.
Business confidence in the outlook also improved but remained much weaker than seen at the start of the year as companies reported ongoing concerns over the impact of government policies, especially in relation to tariffs. Tariffs were again widely cited as the principal cause of sharply higher costs, which in turn fed through to the steepest rise in average selling prices recorded over the past three years.
Commenting on the report, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said that the "strong flash PMI reading for August adds to signs that US businesses have enjoyed a strong third quarter so far. The data are consistent with the economy expanding at a 2.5% annualized rate, up from the average 1.3% expansion seen over the first two quarters of the year."
“Companies across both manufacturing and services are reporting stronger demand conditions, but are struggling to meet sales growth, causing backlogs of work to rise at a pace not seen since the pandemic-related capacity constraints recorded in early 2022. Stock building of finished goods has also risen at a survey record pace, linked in part to worries over future supply conditions."
“While this upturn in demand has fueled a surge in hiring, it has also bolstered firms’ pricing power. Companies have consequently passed tariff-related cost increases through to customers in increasing numbers, indicating that inflation pressures are now at their highest for three years."
As a result, the economist concludes that the "rise in selling prices for goods and services suggests that consumer price inflation will rise further above the Fed’s 2% target in the coming months. Indeed, combined with the upturn in business activity and hiring, the rise in prices signaled by the survey puts the PMI data more into rate hiking, rather than cutting, territory according to the historical relationship between these economic indicators and FOMC policy changes.”
In other words, the report coming unexpectedly strong, may be just an attempt by the traditionally anti-Trumpian S&P to pressure the Fed into maintaining a hawkish bias even as the labor market - at least as measured by most other 3rd parties - continues to deteriorate.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 10:13
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/us-manufacturing-activity-unexpectedly-soars-highest-2022
FDA Warns Public Over Potentially Radioactive Walmart Shrimp
FDA Warns Public Over Potentially Radioactive Walmart Shrimp
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday told the U.S. public not to eat, sell, or serve certain imported Walmart frozen shrimp produced by an Indonesian company because it may have been exposed to a radioactive material.
?itok=CMXaksMn
Health officials said in a statement that it is investigating reports of Cesium-137 contamination in shipping containers as well as shrimp products that were processed by Indonesia-based PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, also known as BMS Food.
The shrimp was sold in Walmart locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia, according to a https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm
from the FDA.
“If you recently purchased one of the impacted lots of Great Value raw frozen shrimp from Walmart, throw it away,” the FDA said in the notice. “Do not eat or serve this product.”
Retailers and distributors in the United States are also advised to dispose of the frozen shrimp product and should not serve it, the agency added.
The FDA also advised people who believe they may have been exposed to Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope of the element cesium that can increase the risk of cancer in people, that they should speak with a health care provider.
Cesium-137 is a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations, and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food, and air.
Elevated amounts of the radioactive isotope may be present in high-contamination areas, including Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986, and Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, after nuclear plant disasters, the FDA has https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_1187.html
.
The FDA recommended that Walmart recall the Great Value brand frozen shrimp from stores after federal officials detected Cesium-137 in shipping containers and a sample of breaded shrimp imported from Indonesia, the FDA also said.
The level detected in the frozen breaded Walmart shrimp was far lower than FDA intervention levels. However, the agency said that avoiding potentially contaminated products could reduce exposure to low-level radiation that could lead to health problems over time.
The Epoch Times contacted Walmart for comment on Wednesday.
Walmart immediately recalled the products, a company spokesperson told news outlets this week. Consumers should discard the products or return them to any Walmart store for a refund, the spokesperson added.
According to the FDA notice, the impacted products include Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005540-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027; Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005538-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027; and Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005539-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027.
Symptoms of radiation sickness can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, fatigue, low blood pressure, infections, hair loss, weakness and fatigue, and mental changes, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/radiation-sickness/symptoms-causes/syc-20377058
to the Mayo Clinic.
Last week, the FDA https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_1187.html
an import alert for PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati for all shrimp products imported into the United States, while the agency said in its Tuesday notice that the Indonesian company was “added to the red list of this alert” to ensure “that no implicated shrimp products will enter U.S. commerce until the company resolves the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation.”
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 10:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/fda-warns-public-over-potentially-radioactive-walmart-shrimp