Jan 20

Today’s News 20th January 2025

  • Outgoing FBI Director Says China Is 'Defining Threat of Our Generation'
    Outgoing FBI Director Says China Is ‘Defining Threat of Our Generation’

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

    FBI Director Christopher Wray, who is stepping down from his role at the helm of the agency, has penned a public farewell message in which he delivers a stark assessment of the dangers facing America, while identifying hostile actions by the Chinese regime as “the defining threat of our generation.”

    Reflecting on his more than seven years leading the FBI, he wrote in a Jan. 18 op-ed published by Fox News that the threats facing the country are more severe than at any time in his career—and warned they’re about to get worse.

    “From where I sit, these threats are more dangerous and complex than at any time I can recall since I began my career in law enforcement almost 30 years ago,” he wrote.

    “Looking ahead, the challenges to our security will grow even more daunting, and our margin for error will continue to shrink.”

    Adversaries—including cartels, gangs, hackers, hostile nations, and terrorists—are now more resourceful and technologically advanced than ever, Wray warned. Cyberattacks can disrupt critical infrastructure, encrypted apps enable secret terrorist plotting, and cartels exploit global supply chains to produce highly potent drugs that are trafficked across the border and threaten the lives of millions of Americans, he noted.

    Terrorism threats are escalating, with foreign and domestic actors inspired by events such as the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2024, Wray said, adding bad actors are mobilizing quickly and making detection increasingly difficult.

    Foreign adversaries such as China, Russia, and Iran are targeting Americans by stealing personal data, conducting cyberattacks on key infrastructure, exploiting businesses, and even exporting repression to U.S. shores.

    “The Chinese government, in particular, has engineered an unprecedented effort to gut American innovation, steal our most precious personal data, and meddle in our free and open society. History will mark this as the defining threat of our generation,” Wray wrote.

    Wray urged the the United States to prioritize unity and vigilance, warning that the margin for error in combating these threats is shrinking rapidly.

    “From my seat, I see serious grown-up threats that demand serious grown-up attention,” he warned.

    The outgoing director also praised the actions the FBI has taken in recent years to make the country safer and more secure. He said the agency and its partners have made significant strides in recent years, arresting nearly 50 violent criminals daily, rescuing hundreds of children, and imprisoning numerous predators. They have dismantled gangs, seized enough fentanyl to kill tens of millions of Americans, and prevented cybercriminals from extorting nearly $800 million from potential victims, he said.

    The agency has also thwarted numerous terrorist attacks, including plots against places of worship, public events, and communities nationwide, Wray said. He expressed immense pride in the efforts and sacrifices of the FBI’s rank-and-file but warned them against being complacent or distracted by politics.

    “Our focus must be on the threats and our work, rather than on what divides us,” he wrote. “We must continue to tackle the dangers facing our country with objectivity, rigor, and professionalism. It’s what the American people expect and deserve.”

    Wray’s farewell op-ed was published just days before he steps down as FBI director. He announced his resignation in December.

    Wray explained recently that he resigned because President-elect Donald Trump wants a change of leadership at the FBI.

    “The president-elect had made clear that he intended to make a change and the law is that that is something he’s able to do for any reason or no reason at all,” Wray said in a CBS interview.

    Trump has nominated Kash Patel to head the agency. Calling him a “brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American people,” Trump expressed confidence that the FBI under Patel’s leadership.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 23:20

  • Supreme Court Will Consider If Maryland Parents Can Opt Children Out Of Pro-LGBT Storybooks
    Supreme Court Will Consider If Maryland Parents Can Opt Children Out Of Pro-LGBT Storybooks

    Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 17 agreed to hear a request from a group of Maryland parents to opt their young children out of having storybooks that promote LGBT lifestyles read to them.

    The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

    The court granted the petition in Mahmoud v. Taylor in an unsigned order. No justices dissented, and the court did not explain its decision.

    The petition was filed on Sept. 12, 2024, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit turned away the parents’ request for an injunction to halt the Montgomery County Board of Education’s policy of promoting the books.

    The case goes back to November 2022, when the board mandated new “LGBTQ-inclusive” storybooks for elementary school students that promote gender transitions, Pride parades, and same-sex romance between young children.

    The board instructed employees responsible for selecting the books to use an “LGBTQ+ Lens” and to question whether “cisnormativity,” “stereotypes,” and “power hierarchies” are “reinforced or disrupted,” the petition said.

    Parents were initially told they could opt out on behalf of their children when the storybooks were read, according to the petition. The board changed its policy in March 2023. Beginning with the 2023–2024 academic year, the opt-out policy would no longer be in effect.

    “If parents did not like what was taught to their elementary school kids, their only choice was to send them to private school or to homeschool,” the petition said.

    Hundreds of parents, largely Eastern Orthodox Christians and Muslims, showed up at board meetings and testified that their respective religions required that young children not be exposed to instruction on gender and sexuality that was inconsistent with their religion.

    After “parents emphasized how impressionable young children are and how they lack independent judgment to process such complex and sensitive issues,” the board members accused parents of promoting “hate” and likened them to “white supremacists” and “xenophobes,” according to the petition.

    The parents sued after the board declined to accommodate them, arguing that they had a constitutional right to opt out of such instruction.

    On Aug. 24, 2023, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman denied the parents’ application for an injunction to block the cancellation of the opt-out policy.

    A divided Fourth Circuit panel upheld the ruling on May 15, 2024, holding that the parents had failed to demonstrate that an injunction was justified. The panel added that it took no view as to whether the parents would be able to produce enough evidence later in the proceeding to succeed in their case.

    The panel also found that there was no evidence that the policy change burdened the parents’ right to free exercise of religion.

    Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the parents, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to take the case.

    “Cramming down controversial gender ideology on 3-year-olds without their parents’ permission is an affront to our nation’s traditions, parental rights, and basic human decency.

    “The Court must make clear: parents, not the state, should be the ones deciding how and when to introduce their children to sensitive issues about gender and sexuality,” he said in a statement.

    It is unclear when the Supreme Court will hear the case.

    The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the attorney for the Montgomery County Board of Education, Alan Schoenfeld of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale, and Dorr in New York City. No reply was received by publication time.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 22:10

  • Trump To Suspend Security Clearances For CIA Contractors Who Colluded To Discredit Hunter Biden Laptop Story
    Trump To Suspend Security Clearances For CIA Contractors Who Colluded To Discredit Hunter Biden Laptop Story

    President-elect Donald Trump will suspend the security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials who were found to have coordinated with the 2020 Biden campaign to discredit credible and serious allegations contained on Hunter Biden’s laptop about his family’s influence peddling operation.

    According to the Fox News, citing a senior administration official, Trump will take action against the so-called “Spies Who Lie,” as one of at least 100 executive orders he’s expected to sign on his first day back in the Oval Office.

    Not only did federal investigators eventually confirm that Hunter’s laptop was authentic, a June 2024 report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Federal Government and the Permanent Select Subcommittee on Intelligence found that “The 51 former intelligence officials’ Hunter Biden statement was a blatant political operation from the start. It originated with a call from top Biden campaign official—and now Secretary of State—Antony Blinken to former Deputy Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Michael Morell.

    “The Committees’ investigation revealed that without this outreach from Blinken, Morell would not have written the statement. Indeed, Morell told the Committees that the Blinken phone call “triggered” his intent to write the statement. The statement’s drafters were open about the goal of the project: “[W]e think Trump will attack Biden on the issue at this week’s debate”6 and “we want to give the [Vice President] a talking point to use in response.”

    The Committees also found that:

    • High ranking CIA officials, up to and including then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, were made aware of the Hunter Biden statement prior to its approval and publication.
    • Some of the statement’s signatories, including Michael Morell, were on active contract with the CIA at the time of the Hunter Biden statement’s publication.
    • After publication of the Hunter Biden statement, CIA employees internally expressed concern about the statement’s politicized content, acknowledging it was not “helpful to the Agency in the long run.”

    It’s going to be a fun week, eh?

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 21:35

  • North Carolina Voters Confirm Growing National Momentum For Term Limits
    North Carolina Voters Confirm Growing National Momentum For Term Limits

    Authored by John Tamny via RealClearPolicy,

    North Carolina’s legislature recently passed a Congressional Term Limits resolution in bipartisan fashion. The Tar Heel state is the third one in 2024 (joining Louisiana and Tennessee) to make the historic leap. 

    Voter momentum favors limiting the amount of time those elected to Congress can serve. Which is a crucial step toward better times ahead.

    To see why, simply stop and consider voter disdain for Congress. It’s well known. The latest polls from 2024 indicate that Congress’s approval rating languishes in the 19% range.

    Less well known is voter support for congressional term limits. A recent Pew poll revealed that 86% of Democrats and 90% of Republicans favor term limits for Congress. Voter displeasure with Congress and support for term limits are arguably related.

    To understand why, readers should never forget that being elected to Congress has little relation to success while in Congress. Those who seek election frequently promise “change” and all manner of plans meant to “throw the bums out” while disrupting “business as usual.” It doesn’t matter if the base of voters swings right or left, people want to be told that their vote will bring about change. Only for reality to mug the would-be change agents.  

    Upon being sworn in, the newly elected to Congress quickly realize that they will change little to nothing. And they won’t because power in Congress resides within the hands of the very few, and the very few attain that power through a demonstrated ability to work well with, and raise funds for those they promised to throw out in the first place. Only for a status quo that has authored the growth of more and more government to run roughshod over those promising the change.

    It’s been said that time in Congress changes the politician. The analysis is backwards. More realistically, politicians capable of being consistently re-elected change to reflect their evolution from a reformer who reforms nothing to a politician capable of getting things done based on a reasoned view that power rarely finds its way to those who vote no on everything, who want to change how things are done, or both. See former Congressman Ron Paul if you’re confused.

    Which explains why term limits are so necessary. What limits terms in Congress limits time in Congress, which means the greatest attribute of term limits is that they would alter the incentives driving the elected.

    Precisely because three terms is insufficient time for most any congressman to amass power, there will be reduced desire to acquire power to begin with. In other words, those who arrive in Washington with reform very much on their minds will have less time or reason to morph into the kind of politician that they arrived in Washington to neuter.

    Which is why it’s hoped that Louisiana, North Carolina and Tennessee are a signal of a trend. People who run for high office aren’t inherently bad people, but the desire to be consequential once in high office brings out the bad in them. See Congress’s approval rating yet again.

    The good news is that the solution to voter disdain for Congress and congressmen can be found in term limits. A lack of them presently warps the incentives of those who arrive in Washington with good intentions, but who quickly realize they must shed their idealistic ways if they want to live up to even a fraction of the idealism that first got them elected.    

    John Tamny is editor of RealClearMarkets, President of the Parkview Institute, a senior fellow at the Market Institute, and a senior economic adviser to Applied Finance Advisors (www.appliedfinance.com). His next book is The Deficit Delusion: Why Everything Left, Right and Supply Side Tell You About the National Debt Is Wrong. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 21:00

  • US Defense Contractor To Build 'Hyperscale' Weapons Manufacturing Facility In Ohio
    US Defense Contractor To Build ‘Hyperscale’ Weapons Manufacturing Facility In Ohio

    Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    U.S. defense contractor Anduril Industries unveiled plans on Jan. 16 to build an advanced “hyperscale” manufacturing facility in Columbus, Ohio, aimed at increasing the scale and speed at which autonomous systems and weapons can be produced for both the United States and its allies.

    This image provided by Anduril Industries shows a rendering of a manufacturing facility Anduril Industries is preparing to build in central Ohio state officials announced Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.Anduril Industries via AP

    The Cosa Mesa, California-based defense technology company said in a statement that it plans to begin constructing the manufacturing facility, called “Arsenal-1,” once state and local approvals are secured, after which manufacturing will begin in July 2026.

    Anduril is investing nearly $1 billion into the development, which will span more than 5 million square feet (464,515 square meters) at full scale and will be located next to Rickenbacker Airport.

    The factory is expected to create more than 4,000 direct jobs in Ohio, making it the largest single job-creation project in the state’s history.

    Anduril said it chose to construct the facility in Ohio following an extensive, year-long search process that evaluated numerous locations across the country.

    The company praised Ohio as being the “ideal” location for the weapons-making factory, citing its robust infrastructure, highly skilled and diverse manufacturing workforce, and history of advanced aviation.

    It said the site’s development marks a “monumental and essential step” toward rebuilding America’s defense industrial base, bolstering warfighting capabilities, and enhancing deterrence amid rising global threats.

    “Arsenal-1 represents a step forward in how we manufacture the autonomous systems and weapons that our nation and our allies need to remain secure” said Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf.

    “By harnessing a world-class workforce and a scalable, software-driven approach to manufacturing, Arsenal-1 will set the standard for how we respond to the challenges of the future fight.”

    Underpinning the facility is Arsenal, which Anduril said is a software-defined manufacturing platform optimized to mass-produce autonomous systems and weapons. The platform will allow Arsenal-1 to produce tens of thousands of military systems annually, according to the company.

    Anduril noted that the decision to build the facility in Ohio is contingent upon state and local approvals of incentives, and other legal and regulatory matters.

    According to its official website, Anduril Industries was founded in 2017 and supports operations with the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Australian Defence Force, the UK Ministry of Defence, and others.

    The company mainly produces autonomous air and underwater systems, as well as rocket motors.

    Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine welcomed the development, while praising Ohio’s history of advancing aviation, aerospace, and national defense, which began with the Wright brothers.

    “At this critical moment in time, our country needs rapid technological innovation, which Anduril will deliver using Ohio’s skilled, hardworking labor force,” the governor said. “The future of American air power will be made in Ohio!”

    Ohio is also home to the headquarters of aircraft engine supplier GE Aerospace and a new Joby Aviation manufacturing facility near Dayton. Joby is currently preparing to manufacture electric taxi—known as vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL—aircraft at the factory beginning this year.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 20:25

  • Reverse Biden Administration's Illegal Student Loan Giveaway
    Reverse Biden Administration’s Illegal Student Loan Giveaway

    Authored by Abhishek Kambli & Erin Gaide via RealClearPolicy,

    Even in the waning days of the Biden administration, they are circumventing Congress and the rule of law to illegally forgive billions of dollars in student loan debt through the collusive class action settlement of Sweet v. Cardona. As one of his first acts on January 20, President-elect Trump should shut down this travesty.

    The controversy stems from a class action lawsuit against the federal Department of Education initiated by borrowers in 2019. The Trump administration negotiated a legal settlement, but it was rejected by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 2020. Once the Biden administration took office, the parties negotiated a fresh settlement in what became Sweet v. Cardona. The 2022 settlement included something that had never been on the table: erasing $6 billion in student loan debt for roughly 200,000 borrowers.

    The settlement has no statutory or regulatory basis. In reaching the settlement, Biden’s Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona, disregarded his duty to faithfully follow his statutory and regulatory responsibilities and, in doing so, he infringed on Congress’ power of the purse. Furthermore, by approving a settlement that, by design, undermines the Constitution’s separation of powers protections, the district court also abused its discretion.

    Also troubling are the procedural defects. The revised settlement fails to meet basic class certification requirements, creating three subclasses with divergent claims and relief. One blatant example of the settlement’s procedural flaws is its violation of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which requires a unified class. The district court should have rejected this settlement outright, but it did not. But by approving this collusive settlement, the court allowed the Biden administration’s unlawful actions to stand.

    And there were those who properly objected to the settlement as well. Four of the schools that were maligned in the case were initially allowed to intervene to object.  But though the district court found the schools had a legal interest in the case, it ignored their valid concerns and approved the settlement.

    The settlement was temporarily put on pause pending an appeal filed by the schools in 2023. Unfortunately, on November 5 of this year, the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 to uphold the Biden administration’s blatant abuse of executive power. The ruling thereby affirmed the district court’s approval of the underlying revised settlement that was struck between the Biden administration’s Department of Education and a plaintiff class of student borrowers seeking relief from federal student loan payments under the borrower-defense statute, 20 U.S.C. 1087e(h), and accompanying regulations.  It also disregarded the schools’ objection, creating a novel test to keep them out of the case and avoid reaching the tough questions as to the legality of the settlement.  

    Judge Daniel Collins recognized these issues in his dissenting opinion. Collins rightly noted the settlement’s lack of legal basis and failure to meet class certification standards. His dissent also provides a roadmap for further legal challenges.

    The settlement represents a dangerous erosion of the separation of powers. The Biden administration and Education Secretary Cardona have failed to faithfully execute the law, instead using clearly flawed settlements to achieve political aims. By disguising what amounts to legislation as a judicial settlement, the Biden administration’s class action settlement creates a backdoor for broader student debt relief, which has long been a major political goal of the Biden administration.  If allowed to stand, this precedent will open the door to further abuses.

    The incoming Trump administration must move swiftly to challenge and overturn this unconstitutional settlement. The Department of Education, under Trump’s watch, should admit error and work to correct this overreach. Congress should also investigate the Education Department’s misuse of settlement authority to circumvent the legislative process.

     Our system of government depends on each branch respecting constitutional limits. The Sweet v. Cardona settlement flagrantly violates those limits. It must not be allowed to stand. And it won’t, if the incoming Trump administration makes it a priority.

    Abhishek Kambli is a Deputy Attorney General at the Office of the Kansas Attorney General where he leads the Special Litigation Division. Erin Gaide is an Assistant Attorney General in the Special Litigation Division at the Office of the Kansas Attorney General.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 19:50

  • Hedge Fund CIO: "This Is What A Credible Revolution Looks Like"
    Hedge Fund CIO: “This Is What A Credible Revolution Looks Like”

    By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management

    Each generation believes it can create a better world. Were it not so, we would still live in caves.

    Some generations thirst for change through revolution. That probably has to do with longer-term economic and political cycles. But for whatever reason, amongst these revolutionary generations, some are more determined, effective.

    The 1960s-70s youth seemed radical, but they were far from French revolutionaries. Their actions failed to spark an inferno. My wife Mara grew up in a hippy enclave during that period. Her town sought to opt out of the system by going backward, living off the land, returning to simpler times.

    But history rarely turns back the clock for long. That generation never had a credible plan to replace the system with something better. Nor did it have new technology to amplify force. The establishment knew this. The youth back then presented no real threat, just the appearance of instability. Daisies and LSD.

    But today’s youth have built the technologies to power revolution. Their protocols remain nascent, but if they’re allowed to flourish (or if they cannot be stopped), they will credibly replace incumbent industries that the masses have come to despise (retail banks, commercial banks, central banks, wall street, money transfer agents, credit card companies, social media companies, exchanges of every kind, censors, and the list has just started).

    Someday these technologies may threaten our notion of centralized government control. In the 1960s-70s, incumbents knew the revolutionaries had no credible plan.

    This time, revolutionary technologies are already being rolled out. They are more efficient, cheaper, faster. They cut out the middlemen. And empower the individual.

    Today’s incumbents are threatened with extinction. In fact, if today’s business leaders were 30yrs younger, most would be racing to build their companies/wealth in this new field of blockchain.

    This is what a credible revolution looks like, waged by brilliant youth, impassioned, with fantastic ideas, immense wealth, and humanity’s most powerful technologies, applied in ways that incumbents can barely understand.

    And it is too early to tell exactly where this new generation will lead us, only that it is to a profoundly different future.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 19:15

  • Is China Ready For Trump 2.0?
    Is China Ready For Trump 2.0?

    Authored by Milton Azrati via The Epoch Times,

    A recent Wall Street Journal article describes China as ready to “come out swinging” in response to the looming trade war Trump has promised. However, a careful analysis of the facts on the ground suggests little in the way of such preparations.

    To continue with the boxing metaphor, China seems ready to jab at opportunities as they arise. Though perhaps Beijing, in the event, will muster more power punches, the implication is that China’s weak economy has made jabbing the most that Beijing can do.

    During the election campaign, Trump floated the idea of at least 10 percent tariffs on all of America’s trading partners and at least 60 percent tariffs on Chinese goods entering the United States. Of late, some ambiguity about these figures has emerged as Trump’s spokespeople have spoken of additional tariffs of 10 percent where China is concerned. This kind of uncertainty is pure Trumpian negotiating tactics. He throws up different figures at different times to unbalance his adversaries and gain concessions by leaving them unsure of what he is willing to do.

    If Chinese authorities don’t yet know what level Trump will set tariffs at, they know this for sure: The tariffs that Trump imposed on Chinese imports in 2018 and 2019 during his first term remain in force. Though President Joe Biden criticized these tariffs during the 2020 presidential election campaign, his trade representative, Katherine Tai, explained that he kept them in place to pressure Beijing to abandon the unfair trade practices that prompted the Trump tariffs in the first place.

    The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) also knows that the Biden White House, with bipartisan support from Congress, pursued the trade war with China at least as aggressively as Trump did, imposing 100 percent tariffs on electric vehicles and parts as well as batteries, offering subsidies for semiconductor manufacturers to place facilities in the United States, and blocking the sale of advanced semiconductors and advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.

    The CCP also knows that Trump is hardly likely to rescind any of these Biden measures, except in the unlikely event that China makes concessions on the original disputed trade practices. Even if there is no doubt about how much higher Trump will build the tariff wall, Chinese officials know that he will add to its height. They can also surmise that wherever Trump initially sets the new tariffs, he will raise them if the negotiations with Beijing do not go well, which is in Washington’s favor.

    China’s countermeasures to date are hardly likely to intimidate today’s Washington, and certainly not a Trump administration. Beijing has launched a regulatory probe into the U.S. firm Nvidia, a semiconductor manufacturer with leading artificial intelligence capabilities.

    The CCP has also threatened to blacklist the products of certain American apparel makers and slowed or blocked the export to the United States of drones and what Beijing describes as “critical materials,” which, if past behavior is any guide, means rare earth elements.

    No doubt such actions by the CCP will hurt the U.S. economy, at least at the margin, and prompt lobbying by the affected firms, but otherwise, moves like this on Beijing’s part play into Trump’s broader effort to add to domestic U.S. production capacities and otherwise limit China’s stature globally.

    One area where China could hurt the U.S. economy is in simpler computer chips, which are called “mature” or “legacy” chips. Though Biden’s restrictions have stymied China’s progress in producing advanced chips, the nation’s chipmakers—such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International (or SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor—have gained global advantage in these simpler “legacy” semiconductors. They are essential in automobiles and household appliances.

    American dependence on imports became apparent in 2021 when shortages in just these areas impeded the U.S. economy’s ability to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. China cannot yet claim dominance, but it has increased its stature in global supply chains from 14 percent in 2017 to 18 percent in 2023, the most recent period for which complete data are available.

    As much as this area might give Beijing leverage in negotiations with the Trump White House, Chinese officials are probably reluctant to play such a card. They know that China’s troubled economy relies heavily on exports of these products to the global market, notably the United States. Indeed, with the collapse of China’s property market leading to declines in construction activity, consumer spending, and private investment, China has become increasingly dependent on exports, particularly these “legacy” chips, including to the United States. This points to Beijing’s basic disadvantage: Although an interruption in U.S.–China trade would hurt both economies, China is more reliant on trade with the United States than vice versa.

    In light of Trump’s proposed tariffs, were Beijing to stimulate the domestic Chinese economy through building, consumer spending, and capital spending by private Chinese businesses, it could lower China’s reliance on exports and trade with the United States, and therefore be in a stronger negotiating position with Trump.

    But so far, Beijing hasn’t done this. And any prospect of bolder stimulative moves seems set to wait until the CCP’s rubber-stamp legislature meets in March. By then, Trump will have been in office for almost two months. Coming out “swinging,” indeed.

    *  *  *

    Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 18:40

  • Trump Inauguration Beats Funding Record As Donors Line Up
    Trump Inauguration Beats Funding Record As Donors Line Up

    Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, donors lined up to contribute to the president-elect’s swearing in ceremony and accompanying events.

    As Statista’s Felix Richter shows in the chart below, according to the New York Times, Trump’s inaugural committee has raised more than $170 million, easily beating the previous record set at Trump’s first inauguration eight years ago.

    Infographic: Trump Inauguration Beats Funding Record as Donors Line Up | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    In stark contrast to 2017, when Trump was met with skepticism, corporate America is playing nice with the president-elect ahead of his second term.

    Tech giants Amazon, Meta, Google and Microsoft as well numerous other companies and the CEOs of Apple and OpenAI have made large contribution to Trump’s inauguration fund in an attempt to curry favor or at least not get on the bad side of the man known for holding grudges and not shying away from favoritism.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 18:05

  • Senate Democrats Help Republicans Pass Laken Riley Immigration Crackdown
    Senate Democrats Help Republicans Pass Laken Riley Immigration Crackdown

    Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

    Democrats see the light. The Laken Riley deportation bill passed the Senate easily.

    Good News From Senate Democrats

    By a filibuster-proof margin, Senate Democrats Help Republicans Advance Immigration Crackdown.

    Ten Democrats sided with Republicans to advance the legislation, called the Laken Riley Act, a sign of the Democrats’ shifting stance on immigration. Polls showed voters consistently favored Republicans’ hard line on the border and immigration, following a surge of illegal crossings that has since subsided. A bipartisan bill backed by President Biden stalled last year.

    The chamber voted 61-35 to end debate on the bill, above the 60-vote threshold required for most legislation to advance. The vote puts the bill on track to clear the Senate next week on a simple majority, which would then send it back to the House to be approved and forwarded on to President-elect Donald Trump’s desk.

    “We have irresponsible, open-border, soft-on-crime policies, and that must end,” said Sen. Katie Britt (R., Ala.), who led the legislation that was joined by two Democratic co-sponsors, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman. “This bill will prevent countless nightmares,” she said.

    Some Democrats attempted to force votes on amendments to exclude Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipients, as well as minors who arrived in the country illegally but aren’t DACA-eligible. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) declined to bring any to a vote.

    The Laken Riley bill would widen the group of people eligible for deportation by including nonconvicted individuals, raising due-process concerns and rapidly expanding the pool of individuals who would be eligible for deportation.

    A second provision of the bill would grant state attorneys general legal standing to sue federal immigration officials and to request intervention for individual cases. Some Democrats and legal experts said they expect the standing provision, a doctrine grounded in the Constitution, to be challenged as unconstitutional.

    The Laken Riley Act could cost billions and take years to fully implement. A memo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement circulated among senators before Friday’s vote estimated the annual cost of encoding the bill to be nearly $27 billion—about a quarter of the Homeland Security Department’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year.

    The estimate accounts for the hiring of more than 10,000 enforcement officers, who conduct arrests and manage detention facilities, at a cost of $2.6 billion. The deportation push could also require the addition of multiple aircraft and ground transportation vehicles, along with more than 100,000 additional detention-facility beds.

    An amendment introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) and added to the bill broadens the list of offenses that would require detention, including any arrest for assault of a law enforcement officer.

    The legislation’s namesake, Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student in Athens, Ga., was murdered by a Venezuelan national living in the U.S. illegally. Jose Antonio Ibarra was found guilty of murder, kidnapping and other charges in the February 2024 killing. In November, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and was set to serve additional shorter sentences consecutively.

    “A Blinding Flash of Common Sense”

    On January 11, I reported “A Blinding Flash of Common Sense” from Democrats on Illegal Immigration

    That’s six known with only one more [Democrat] needed to break any filibuster.

    And even if it stopped at 6, I doubt senators would put their career on the line with a filibuster of this bill against clear national sentiment.

    I expect another 6-12 Democrats will sign on, if not more.

    Four more signed on. It would have been more were it not for a provision that may be unconstitutional.

    Blinding Display of Expected Idiocy

    In a blinding display of expected idiocy, the extreme Left-wing lunatics at The Slate call the bill a Horrifying Trojan Horse.

    If the Slate is against something, I am highly likely for it, and vice versa.

    Heading Toward a Sensible Policy

    On December 24, I commented Trump Backs Down From Strong Sweeping Deportation Promise

    Both Trump and his border czar are sending strong messages that Trump’s deportation plan won’t live up to his campaign hype.

    Deal for Dreamers

    I suspect Trump privately got some heat from some governors who understand the economic insanity of “deport them all”.

    Regardless why, I get to say “I told you so” once again to those who cling to every word Trump says.

    To get a bill through congress for more border patrols, ICE agents, and to finish the wall, Trump is going to have to cut a deal.

    And that deal will be amnesty for dreamers.

    If you want to know what kind of dreamer deal to expect, please see my November 7, 2024 post The New Home for Hispanics is the Republican Party

    The great news today is there is a clear majority for sensible actions.

    Deport them all won’t happen, but deport the criminals and seal the border will. That’s what I wanted all along.

    We are rapidly heading in that direction due to “A Blinding Flash of Common Sense” in uncommon places.

    Trump may get to sign this act on day one!

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 16:55

  • Trump Faces Complex Foreign Policy Challenges Ahead Of Second Term
    Trump Faces Complex Foreign Policy Challenges Ahead Of Second Term

    Submitted by John Sitilides, Geopolitical Strategist at Trilogy Advisors and Senior Fellow for National Security at the Foreign Policy Research Institute,

    On Jan. 20, President-elect Donald Trump will inherit a kaleidoscopic portfolio of disordered foreign policy and national security effects that he and his team must address, redirect, and resolve to achieve an enhanced and revitalized American posture, abroad and at home.

    The foundations for the current geopolitical disorder – especially the hot wars in Europe and the Middle East and the cold peace with China – are many, rooted in foreign capitals, international markets, and domestic political choices. The second Trump administration is determined to right much of what it understands to be wrong with the Biden Administration’s policies and outcomes.

    Even as the 47th president bolsters his options, and those of our negotiating partners in allied and adversarial capitals, with incentives, he will find those options constrained by hard truths and tough choices.

    Serious global commercial, technological, and military competition with China tops the list. Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping has embarked on a “China Shock 2” worldwide export strategy to resolve excess industrial capacity, massively distorting trade balances and defying the World Trade Organization with near impunity as it has for more than two decades.

    The technology race to dominate the global economy of the 21st century is well-advanced, as President Biden has widened the original Trump sanctions regime, preventing China from directly procuring cutting-edge semiconductors needed to accelerate artificial intelligence, data centers, and quantum computing development. Beijing is responding through super-investments into domestic technology firms to outpace Western competitors. It is also escalating pressure on Taiwan, with unparalleled military exercises at sea and on land in seeming preparation for naval and air blockades and subsequent amphibious occupation of the island, with potential global economic damage estimated to cost $5 trillion, or 5% of global GDP.

    Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine is entering its fourth year, and human carnage accumulates as Vladimir Putin and Volodomyr Zelenskyy stand fast on their respective negotiation conditions.

    The U.S.-led sanctions on Russia have dented its economy. Still, Mr. Putin observed the experiences of North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and other countries sanctioned by Washington and incorporated salvaging measures into the Russian economy, especially in redirecting trade towards China, India, and much of the global South hungry for valuable Russian natural resources, commodities, and military hardware.

    The details of Mr. Trump’s ceasefire efforts will lead to NATO pushback, especially from eastern and central European allies nearest to Ukraine and concerned about U.S. commitments to their defense. This could open a profound debate about whether Washington believed it would ever have to risk U.S. cities to defend European cities during the past three decades of NATO expansion.

    Israel has reordered the security architecture of the Middle East after devastating Hamas and Hezbollah, facilitating the ouster of the Syrian government and demonstrating its ability to strike at most of Iran’s surface assets.

    Mr. Trump may face a decision regarding Tehran’s accelerating uranium enrichment if the Supreme Leader or an imminent successor opts to cross the nuclear weapons threshold. With Syria’s failed state coming under radical Islamist rule after Mr. Trump successfully achieved the defeat of Islamic State in 2018, the situation is further complicated by the inordinate influence in Damascus of NATO ally Turkey, now emboldened to attack U.S. allies in eastern Syria’s Kurdish region.

    The Iranian-sponsored Houthi militia controlling Yemen continues to disrupt global shipping through the Red Sea, a direct assault on the U.S.-led international trading system that will frustrate the Trump White House since the NATO economies that suffer the greatest impact have delivered the least muscular response.

    In this hemisphere, Mr. Trump is refocusing the national security establishment on securing the U.S. border, ending the free flow of illegal aliens into the country, and immediately deporting alien criminals and others most harmful to the American citizenry. He will revisit trade agreements with Canada and Mexico, the latter increasingly exploited by China to bypass U.S. tariffs. He seeks to protect existing shipping lanes in Panama and explore new shipping lanes and natural resources in Greenland, the geopolitical prize in an Arctic region increasingly engaged by Russia and China.

    Shock law enforcement policies in El Salvador transformed the small nation from the world’s murder capital to one of the safest anywhere, and shock economic policies in Argentina signal a potential return to fiscal and monetary normalcy – both potential examples for Trump domestic policies to address crime and runaway government spending. The administration will likely pursue the deeper isolation of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, all three of which have welcomed Russia’s port visit and signed onto China’s “Belt Road” predatory infrastructure network.

    Mr. Trump is unwavering in his intention to incentivize robust U.S. oil and natural gas production to export worldwide and will seek to reverse the severe restrictions the Biden administration placed during this transition on new oil and gas production across 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters.

    The need to provide far greater power levels to grow the domestic A.I., data centers, and other electricity-hungry industries is leading to a potential renaissance for nuclear energy, the most efficient energy form in both massive power density and limited physical footprint. The Trump strategy is straightforward: Vast oil, gas, and coal production to power the U.S. economy, maximize export revenues and reverse our allies’ deindustrialization woes with cheaper energy, coupled with clean and reliable nuclear energy that Meta, Oracle, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and other U.S. companies require to lead the global technology economy.

    Mr. Trump will also confront serious headwinds in implementing his preferred policies.

    With federal debt service now set to exceed defense spending annually for the foreseeable future, joined to Mr. Trump’s campaign commitments to leave Social Security and Medicare unreformed, rebuilding America’s military and enhancing global deterrence will be far more challenging than in his first term.

    Thirty years of American uncontested military dominance is ending, as the Commission on National Defense Strategy concluded in July 2024 that “the threats the United States faces are the most serious and most challenging the nation has encountered since 1945 and include the potential for near-term major war.”

    The Commission concluded that China, in many sectors, such as shipbuilding and drone production, is already outpacing the U.S. in military production and has largely negated the U.S. military advantage in the Western Pacific after two decades of intense investment. Beijing is increasing its annual defense spending by an average of 7% annually, Moscow is spending 6% of GDP to reconstitute its national military forces, and both are actively enhancing their already considerable strategic, space, and cyber capabilities. If Trump is serious about NATO members spending 5% of GDP on defense, the U.S. annual military budget will need to increase from $841 billion in FY 2024 to about $1.2 trillion.

    Against these serious challenges, our nation’s economic, political, military, technological, societal and constitutional foundations remain the surest and strongest in the world. At the same time, the need for greater wisdom and a clear-eyed vision among all our nation’s political, business, and civic leaders, from President-elect Trump down to everyday citizens, is urgent. Such is the era of incentives, constraints, and tradeoffs, ideally to thwart national decline and achieve national revitalization across the international security landscape that greets the new president on Jan. 20.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 16:20

  • The Next Phase Of Gold's Bull Market Has Just Begun
    The Next Phase Of Gold’s Bull Market Has Just Begun

    By Jesse Colombo, author of TheBubbleBubble

    Following more than two months of stagnation after the U.S. presidential election, gold is now breaking out decisively, signaling its readiness to resume its rally toward $3,000 and beyond. While this recent pause has tested the patience of many investors, I’ve consistently maintained that it was a healthy consolidation phase, paving the way for even greater gains. Now, as I’ll demonstrate with numerous charts, gold is breaking out of its post-election trading range across nearly every major currency, reaffirming its bullish momentum.

    In my view, the most important gold chart to monitor is the COMEX gold futures chart, priced in U.S. dollars. Over the past few months, a triangle pattern has taken shape—a formation that is typically a continuation pattern, suggesting the uptrend preceding it is likely to persist. Today, gold broke out of this triangle, an encouraging development. Notably, as I recently explained, a similar triangle formed in late 2007, and its breakout signaled substantial gains in the ensuing months.

    To fully confirm that today’s breakout is genuine, I’m looking for a decisive, high-volume close above the key $2,800 resistance level. Breakouts above horizontal resistance levels carry greater validity than those above diagonal ones, making this milestone particularly significant. The $2,800 resistance level holds particular significance as it marked gold’s peak in late October before the recent pullback. Additionally, it serves as a key psychological level, reinforcing its importance in the eyes of investors.

    The next critical chart to watch is gold priced in euros. This chart is particularly informative because it eliminates the influence of U.S. dollar fluctuations, providing a clearer view of gold’s intrinsic strength. Over the past two months, gold priced in euros has outperformed gold priced in U.S. dollars, largely due to the dollar’s strong rally, which has made gold seem weaker than it truly is. Just a few days ago, gold priced in euros closed above the key €2,600 resistance level—an all-time high—delivering a strong bullish signal.

    Similarly, gold priced in British pounds recently closed above the critical £2,150 resistance level, providing a strong bullish confirmation:

    Gold priced in Swiss francs recently closed above its 2,440 resistance level to hit an all-time high. This chart deserves close attention, as Switzerland plays a pivotal role in the global gold industry. With its renowned mints, world-class refiners, and a robust gold trading and banking sector, Switzerland remains an important hub for the international gold market, as I recently explained.

     

    The chart below shows gold priced in euros, British pounds, and Swiss francs. I find that this particular mix shows gold’s movements very clearly. Gold priced in this mix of currencies recently closed above the key 7,200 resistance level signaling that the yellow metal’s bull market is ready to continue once again.

    Gold priced in Canadian dollars recently broke out of a triangle pattern, signaling bullish momentum. For further confirmation, I’m looking for a decisive close above the horizontal 3,900 resistance level. This chart holds particular significance as Canada ranks among the world’s top gold producers, claiming the fourth spot globally with 200 metric tons of gold produced in 2023.

    Gold priced in Australian dollars close above the key 4,250 resistance level, signaling a highly bullish development. Australia is the world’s second largest gold producer with 310 metric tons of gold produced in 2023.

    China’s gold benchmark, the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) gold futures, closed above the critical 640 resistance level on Thursday. As the world’s largest producer of gold—producing 370 metric tons in 2023—and one of its largest consumers, China plays a pivotal role in the global gold market. For months, I’ve theorized that a resurgence of Chinese gold futures traders—who were instrumental in driving gold’s surge in March and April—could be the catalyst to propel prices toward $3,000 and beyond. I believe that today’s bullish breakout will turn that forecast into reality.

    Gold priced in Singapore dollars recently broke out of a triangle pattern, signaling bullish momentum. For further confirmation, I’m looking for a decisive close above the horizontal 3,700 resistance level. This chart is particularly noteworthy, as Singapore is a key regional gold trading hub with growing influence in the global gold market. Its strategic position and expanding role in the gold industry make gold priced in Singapore dollars an important indicator to watch.

    Gold priced in Hong Kong dollars also broke out of a triangle pattern, issuing a bullish signal. For further confirmation, I’m looking for a convincing close above the horizontal 21,600 resistance level. Like Singapore, Hong Kong serves as a major global banking and gold trading hub, making this chart worth monitoring.

    Gold priced in Indian rupees is another important chart to monitor, as India, like China, is one of the world’s largest gold consumers. Gold priced in Indian rupees recently broke out of a triangle pattern and is now in the process of breaking above the 234,000 resistance level.

    Gold priced in Japanese yen is still trading in a range between 390,000 and 428,000, but is likely to soon experience a breakout of its own as gold’s bull market heats up once again.

    One key reason gold’s bull market is gaining momentum again is the increasing risk of a U.S. recession. Recessions are typically bullish for gold, as they lead to interest rate cuts and quantitative easing (QE)—essentially digital money printing. To explore the growing risk of a U.S. recession and its expected bullish impact on gold, be sure to read my related report.

    There are other reasons to believe that gold’s bull market is still quite young. For example, there is a strong tendency for gold to continue to rise strongly after the first fed funds rate cut in a rate-cutting cycle. As the In Gold We Trust report aptly stated, “rate cuts are like rocket fuel for gold.” The report showed that over the past three rate-cutting cycles, gold has risen an average of 32% within two years of the initial rate cut. If gold follows a similar trajectory this time—following the Fed’s rate cut on September 18—it could rise to $3,380, representing a 25% increase from its current level of $2,714.

    Another key reason gold’s bull market is still in its infancy is the massive bubble in the U.S. stock market, which will end in a significant bear market. This downturn will lead to a substantial transfer of capital from stocks into gold, as I explained recently. Notably, the Dow-to-gold ratio broke below its uptrend line in the spring of 2024, signaling that the rotation of capital from stocks to gold has already begun. This shift will gain momentum as the stock market bubble inevitably bursts.

    In conclusion, gold is undergoing a significant breakout from its recent consolidation period, signaling the continuation of its bull market. This rally is poised to propel gold to $3,000 and much higher as the global paper money experiment inevitably unravels. Additionally, inflated asset prices, such as U.S. stocks, are destined to correct sharply, driving a massive shift of capital into safe havens like gold. While many investors remain bored or pessimistic about gold, now is the time for optimism. The outlook for gold is exceptionally bright, offering a promising opportunity for those paying attention.

    If you enjoyed this article, please visit Jesse’s Substack for more content like this.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 15:45

  • TikTok Restores US Service, Credits Trump As Democrats Freak Out
    TikTok Restores US Service, Credits Trump As Democrats Freak Out

    Update (1518 ET):

    TikTok users were greeted with an unexpected message from the Chinese video-sharing app on Sunday afternoon, thanking President-elect Donald Trump for allowing the conditions to restore service in the US after it went dark for more than 12 hours. Trump announced earlier that he would extend the divest-or-ban deadline through an executive order on Monday. This action—painting Trump as a savior could potentially trigger a significant surge in his popularity, as more than 170 million Americans use the controversial Chinese app.

    TikTokers were greeted on their smartphones with a message that praised “Trump’s efforts” that led to the app being restored. This should be seen as a solid olive branch by Beijing extended to the incoming Trump administration. 

    Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US! You can continue to create, share and discover all the things you love on TikTok.

    Separately, TikTok released this statement: 

    In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.

    It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.

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    Mounting fears about national security concerns surrounding the Chinese-owned video-sharing app have exploded in recent years, as China hawks say the app is designed to maximize addiction. However, implementing a ban would set the Western world—particularly the US—on a potentially dangerous path toward increased censorship.

    Earlier, Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist involved with “White Dudes for Harris,” freaked out on X about Trump becoming a possible savior to tens of millions of TikTokers. 

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    Many X users said Trump’s ‘Art of the Deal’ efforts in restoring TikTok will likely lead to a massive surge in popularity…

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    Update (1035ET):

    President-elect Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the divest-or-ban deadline and allow enough time for a deal in which the US will have 50% ownership via a joint venture with TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance. 

    Trump’s statement was posted on Truth Social on Sunday morning:

    I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.

    Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.

    I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without US approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.

    Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the US gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the US and whichever purchase we so choose.

    Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale made a great point on X: 

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    Meanwhile, Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist involved with “White Dudes for Harris,” freaked out on X as Trump could save TikTok: “And Trump is going to position himself as the savior. JFC.”

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    Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok suspended all US services early Sunday morning, while Apple and Google removed the app from their app stores to avoid hefty penalties under a new law. This follows the expiration of the divest-or-ban deadline for TikTok at midnight, just one day after the Supreme Court upheld the mandate.

    “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!” TikTok’s US website landing page reads. 

    On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump said he would give TikTok’s owner, Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance, a three-month reprieve from the ban to find a buyer.

    “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate,” Trump told NBC News in an exclusive interview, adding, “If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday.”

    Bloomberg noted, “It was TikTok’s choice to suspend availability late Saturday” or “face enormous penalties.” 

    The unprecedented shutdown of TikTok will mobilize its massive base of 170 million monthly US users and demand action against political leaders who have been trying to nuke the Chinese video-sharing app, as well as, call on Trump to reverse the ban.

    The Biden-Harris administration has made it very clear to the incoming administration to take action against TikTok over national security concerns. 

    Early Sunday, Elon Musk confirmed that X is exploring the very real possibility of bringing back the short-form video app Vine in some capacity to his social media platform, which has become a central hub for Americans to access news.

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    TikTokers are freaking out about the ban…

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    Goldman told clients on Thursday that “Tiktok refugees” were finding alternative video-sharing platforms worldwide, such as downloading the Chinese app RedNote… 

    TikTok influencer Tiffany Cianci told Bloomberg she hopes that Trump can deliver to reverse the ban: “This is a promise Trump made and it is a promise he used to get a large number of young people to vote for him,” adding, “We are calling on him to deliver immediately.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 15:18

  • $Trump, TikTok, And Trea$urie$
    $Trump, TikTok, And Trea$urie$

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    $Trump, TikTok, and Trea$urie$

    It isn’t often that I wake up and a T-Report has written itself, but this was one of those days. Since the main theme of this weekend’s report was going to be “we will learn a lot early this week,” it saved me from writing a dull report. We will have more updates to our views this week as we expect the headlines to come in fast and furious, but let’s just check out three things that occurred after the market closed on Friday.

    Before anything else, here is the replay to Academy’s 2025 Geopolitical Outlook webinar.

    $Trump

    Apparently, and I can hardly believe that I’m writing this, there is an “official” Trump Meme Coin. The President-elect’s Twitter account tweeted out in support of the coin. The running “joke” on social media is that the coin is up more in 24 hours than the S&P 500 is since 1980! (current price) This site has the market cap at “only” $5 billion, but I think that is “only” based on circulating supply, not total potential supply (if that matters to anyone).

    On Kalshi, the betting market has around a 70% chance that the U.S. creates a National Bitcoin Reserve this year. This is up from 40% just a week or so ago.

    The only thing I know for certain is:

    • I’m a bit nervous about providing these links, but they all seem legit.
    • It is highly likely that the President-elect and some of his crypto folks are sitting on huge potential gains after this launch.

    Things that we can now speculate about:

    • Does this make support for a Bitcoin Reserve more likely? I think so. It seems like this group donated a lot and backed the right candidate(s) this time around and are being rewarded for it.
    • Does this new meme coin have the potential for a “rug pull” like we’ve seen happen to some others? Would that tarnish those involved? Would it diminish interest from other politicians to support any crypto bills? Or will jealousy that they don’t have their own multibillion-dollar meme coin cause them to be unsupportive?
    • Kalshi, as far as I can tell, didn’t even have bets on whether President-elect Trump would create his own meme coin, and they have bets (it seems) on just about everything else, so that tells us something. Kalshi and crypto insiders didn’t see this coming.

    I’m honestly still trying to digest what I think about this, which is probably my way of saying this seems weird at best, but I am forcing myself to try to see the good in it.

    What it does tell us is that “outside the box” might not do justice to just how far outside the box some potential policies might be.

    TikTok

    The Supreme Court upheld the bipartisan law requiring TikTok to sell its U.S. business to American buyers.

    Rather than enforcing the rule and banning TikTok this Sunday, President Biden seems to be “deferring” (I think that’s the right word) this to the Trump administration. In many ways, that makes sense, since it would be awkward to ban it for a day, only for the new administration to unban it.

    But, as you noticed, I highlighted Supreme Court and bipartisan in the first sentence. I’m not sure how much in D.C. has been truly bipartisan of late (I don’t think very much), but this was. The Supreme Court acted very quickly in support, which also seemed a bit out of character.

    This is all happening as President-elect Trump has expressed some sort of interest in keeping TikTok going (both presidential candidates used the platform during their campaigns).

    In the past weeks, we’ve been discussing TikTok as a “tell” for how tough, or not tough, Trump will be with China once he takes office. It came up during our Bloomberg TV interview (the 1:45 mark).

    We’ve been wondering if once he takes over, and spends time with his National Security team, whether his view will change. Again, something triggered D.C. to set up this bipartisan law in the first place, which makes us wonder how easy or wise it is not to force the issue.

    Is this a gift for the new president from the old president? Or is this leaving something that D.C. doesn’t like, but the nation seems to love, in the new president’s hands, which might prove troublesome?

    Certainly, it will be interesting to see how this plays out, especially as there have been stories about Musk being the potential acquirer.

    Trea$urie$

    Apparently the Treasury Department will need to use “extraordinary measures” on January 21st to avoid hitting the debt ceiling.
    That seems like big news, and anything but a gift to the new administration. I don’t remember hearing that we were that close (the day after President-elect Trump is sworn in) and it was certainly not mentioned during Yellen’s presentation in NYC on Wednesday that I had the pleasure of attending (with a front row seat). I wouldn’t play poker with her after that though. Lots of talk about how they did everything right, and basically the deficit is where it needed to be, but has to be fixed going forward. However, no mention of the imminent need to take “extraordinary measures.”

    I listened to a lot of Scott Bessent’s hearings (I was driving on my way to the homeland, which as of now, is not yet the 51st state), and didn’t hear anything about how he would need to use extraordinary measures once he takes office. I honestly don’t know when he gets confirmed, but that was also because I didn’t think day one of the administration would coincide with the start of a dumpster fire.

    One of my favorite “measures” is that the Treasury has the ability to give certain funds (the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, for example) IOUs for Treasuries rather than Treasuries. Since a Treasury bond is already to some extent an IOU, it seems both circular and bizarre, but it is part of the law of the land.

    With this ability to issue “IOUs for Treasuries” rather than Treasuries, I presume there are many more loopholes that wouldn’t make sense to any market participant, but made sense to the lawmakers, so I’m not worried about the potential for a breach.
    Having said that, some within the new administration might see breaching the ceiling and being forced to stop a variety of payments and activities as a step towards cutting the deficit. Seems like a crazy idea and would be well “outside the box,” but since we now have what is effectively a presidential meme coin, I’d be hesitant to say that anything is too far-fetched!

    Clinging to Me$$y

    We started the year by saying that things would be messy, not chaotic. I’m going to stick to that view for now (but the three things above seem at least a little messy, and the combination does start feeling a bit chaotic).

    We will do our best to update our views as the new administration starts laying out policy and approving executive orders. For now, we still think that 10s push towards 5% (more convinced of that than ever after the barrage of headlines), and that you need to be small and nimble on risk (nibbling on down days, selling on strength).

    In any case, Monday might be one of the most interesting days we’ve had (with markets closed) in quite some time. Good luck and here’s to hoping messy holds on, as chaos is not good at all!

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 15:10

  • Epstein's Cellmate Claims Feds Offered Plea Deal In Exchange For Framing Trump
    Epstein’s Cellmate Claims Feds Offered Plea Deal In Exchange For Framing Trump

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    Sex trafficker pedophile to the elite Jeffrey Epstein was offered a sweetheart plea deal in exchange for providing incriminating information against then President Trump, according to a man who shared a cell with Epstein.

    The New York Post reports that Epstein’s bunkmate, former cop turned convicted killer Nicholas Tartaglione, claims the billionaire told him he met with federal authorities and that they were looking for cooperation to take down Trump.

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    Tartaglione allegedly told an independent journalist in California that Epstein asked him “‘When you were a cop, what do you know about proffers and cooperating?’ I said, ‘Jeff, it’s pretty simple, the prosecutors, you know, they caught a fish — you. They’re not gonna let that fish off the hook unless you give them a bigger fish.”

    The inmate, who is now serving four consecutive life sentences, then recalled that Epstein told him that ‘big fish’ the Feds wanted was Trump.

    “He said, ‘Yeah, well, that’s what they said… They told me they’d let me plead out something small, and I’ll do just a couple of years in a camp, if I can give them something on Trump to get him impeached,’” Tartaglione is reported to have commented.

    “He says, but the government told me I don’t have to prove what I say about Trump, as long as Trump’s people can’t disprove it,” Tartaglione allegedly further claimed, adding that Epstein even considered “making stuff up” to save himself.

    The inmate also remarked that Epstein told him he didn’t really know Trump, that he had nothing on him, and there was bad blood because he’d been thrown out of a party at Mar-a-Lago by Trump after being too forward with young women.

    Tartaglione was Epstein’s cellmate up until the pedophile was moved to suicide watch, three weeks before he was found dead in 2019.

    Epstein had told his lawyers that Tartaglione had “roughed him up,” which the killer later denied.

    People on X have some thoughts…

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    Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 14:35

  • Biden Leaves Office With Mixed Reactions To His Legacy
    Biden Leaves Office With Mixed Reactions To His Legacy

    President Joe Biden took office amid one of the most sweeping public health crises in the nation’s history, promising to “restore the soul” of the country and bring unity. As his term comes to an end, his presidency has been met with a mix of praise and criticism, leaving behind a divided legacy.

    In his inaugural address in 2021, Biden described the moment as a “winter of peril and possibility.” Four years later, in his farewell speech to the nation on Jan. 15, he expressed pride in his administration’s achievements.

    “I’ve kept my commitment to be president for all Americans through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history,” Biden said, reflecting on the successes and challenges of his tenure.

    Some regarded the president a hero, arriving just in time to navigate the country through the COVID-19 pandemic, mandate vaccines, fix supply chains, spur economic growth, and defend democracy.

    Yet, as Emel Akan writes for The Epoch Times, for others, his presidency became a source of frustration due to concerns about government overspending, soaring inflation, escalating wars, and a deepening border crisis.

    One of the defining issues of Biden’s presidency was inflation, which hit a 40-year high during his term. Rising grocery and energy costs strained the daily lives of many Americans, especially those in the lower and middle classes, whom Biden had pledged to support.

    Though Biden and his administration argued that inflation was a global phenomenon caused by the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, rising costs played a significant role in fueling negative perceptions of his economic agenda, known as “Bidenomics.”

    A grocery store in Columbia, Md., on Oct. 24, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

    The 82-year-old president leaves office believing he has achieved significant wins for the country. But his approval ratings remained persistently low throughout much of his term.

    According to a recent CNN poll, 36 percent of U.S. adults at the end of his presidency approve of how Biden managed the country. It was also the lowest rating of his term.

    He received especially low approval ratings on his handling of immigration, foreign affairs, and the economy. However, his approval was relatively higher in other areas, such as protecting democracy, and handling environmental and health care policies.

    A recent Gallup survey also found that 54 percent of U.S. adults believe Biden will be remembered as a “poor” or “below average” president.

    Some Democrats, however, say Biden was not fully appreciated during his time in office, arguing that history will eventually give him more credit than the current polls suggest.

    According to Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), it’s important to remember the context in which Biden took office.

    “If you look back to four years ago, we faced mass unemployment, and in January 2021, we were right in the middle of the worst and deadliest month of the COVID pandemic. The economy was on its knees,” Boyle told The Epoch Times.

    “He leaves office four years later with the strongest economy in the world,” he said. “On foreign affairs, he rebuilt our NATO alliance. We were able to stand up to Russian aggression in Ukraine. So overall, while there are still things that we need to improve, America is much stronger and economically more prosperous today than when he entered office four years ago.”

    Many will view Biden’s presidency as a period of significant legislative achievements, particularly in areas such as infrastructure and manufacturing. As part of his “Investing in America” agenda, the president directed nearly $221 billion in federal funds during his term—through loans, grants, tax credits, and other incentives—into boosting domestic manufacturing. According to the White House, these incentives unlocked more than $1 trillion in private-sector investment across industries such as semiconductors, solar energy, batteries, critical minerals, and nuclear energy.

    Workers install solar panels on a rooftop at the Port of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles on April 21, 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Biden said he created jobs every single month during his presidency, claiming to have achieved the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in the last 50 years.

    “We changed the basic formula of how to make an economy work,” Biden said in his final sit-down interview with MSNBC on Jan. 17, highlighting how his administration had empowered labor unions.

    “He’s been a good president. He’s delivered on a lot,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) told The Epoch Times.

    The outgoing president repeatedly said many of his legislative achievements are focused on the long term, arguing that their positive effects will become more evident over time.

    In a recent interview with USA Today, Biden also expressed regret for not taking enough credit for these accomplishments, admitting that he could have done more to communicate what he had delivered for the American people.

    Biden was reluctant to engage with the media during his time in office. A July study found that he held fewer press conferences and gave fewer media interviews than any president since Ronald Reagan.

    The Age Factor

    As the oldest president in U.S. history, Biden faced frequent questions about his age and mental fitness. Many believed he was not fit to run for a second term. After a poor debate performance in June, he faced mounting pressure and eventually announced that he was stepping aside as the party’s presidential nominee, and passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris.

    Biden recently said he believed he could have won the 2024 presidential election if he had stayed in the race. However, he told USA Today that he wasn’t sure he had the energy to serve another four years in office.

    “Who knows what I’m going to be when I’m 86 years old?” he said.

    Democrat strategist Theryn Bond defines Biden’s time in office in two words—”consequential and controversial.”

    “There were a number of things over the course of his entire political career that many may have viewed as problematic, while others may have viewed as wildly successful,” she told The Epoch Times.

    Bond believes that Biden came to office like a “superhero” because people were unhappy with President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 response and other policy decisions four years ago and assumed Biden would “save the day.”

    Bond also pointed out that he will be judged not just for his presidency but for the actions he’s taken throughout his entire political career.

    Some will praise him for the programs and initiatives he introduced that benefited them directly, she said, such as student loan forgiveness.

    “People also know him as ‘Crime Bill Joe,’ a legacy that left a sour taste in many folks’ mouths for decades,” she added, referring to the 1994 Crime Bill and its controversial impact, particularly on communities of color.

    In the final weeks of his presidency, Biden faced backlash for pardoning his son, Hunter, who was facing sentencing in two criminal cases, despite previously ruling out such action. His decision drew sharp criticism, even from within his party, with many accusing him of setting an unusual precedent for future presidents.

    Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and Beau Jr., in Nantucket, Mass., on Nov. 29, 2024. Craig Hudson/Reuters

    Foreign Policy Legacy

    Throughout his presidency, Biden said he worked to strengthen alliances and partnerships, particularly to counter Russia and China. He took pride in bolstering NATO by welcoming new members, Sweden and Finland, into the alliance.

    The outgoing commander-in-chief emphasized that, despite challenges, he kept America out of war.

    However, his foreign policy faced significant scrutiny, especially because of the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan in 2021. The fall of Kabul to the Taliban after the U.S. pullout, along with the tragic killing of 13 U.S. troops in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport, led to widespread criticism of the administration’s handling of the crisis. The images of desperate Afghans clinging to planes to escape the country shocked the world, and many U.S. allies questioned America’s leadership on the world stage.

    During his foreign policy speech at the State Department on Jan. 13, Biden took credit for the Afghanistan withdrawal, stating that he ended the nation’s longest war after 20 years of fighting.

    However, the incident marked a turning point in his presidency, leading to the first significant decline in his approval ratings.

    Passengers board a U.S. Air Force C-17 at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 24, 2021. Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Forces Europe-Africa via Getty Images

    Biden largely continued the trade war with communist China initiated by Trump during his first term. However, Biden’s approach furthered efforts focused on strengthening alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to address climate change and technology, while also working to limit China’s access to critical American technologies.

    Biden also called Chinese communist party leader Xi Jinping a dictator and declared that the United States would not hesitate to use military force if China attempted to invade Taiwan.

    ‘Tech-Industrial Complex’

    During his farewell address from the Oval Office on Jan. 15, Biden said “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence.”

    He also echoed President Dwight Eisenhower’s famous 1961 farewell address that warned of the dangers of the “military-industrial complex.”

    “Six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country,” Biden said.

    Many believed that Biden’s comments were aimed at billionaire Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the latter of whom recently reformed Meta’s fact-checking program to be more like the X-style community notes, calling third-party fact checkers “too politically biased.”

    In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials in the Biden administration pushed to censor vaccine-related content.

    “We did generally defer to the government on some of these policies that in retrospect I probably wouldn’t, knowing what I know now,” Zuckerberg said.

    Christopher Hale, a political commentator and former Obama White House and campaign alum, said Biden’s farewell address wasn’t crafted to win the immediate moment.

    “It was designed to shape the broader, enduring argument,” Hale told The Epoch Times.

    “If his diagnosis of a tech-industrial oligarchy as the defining threat of our era proves correct, this could become the pivotal moment of his presidency. However, it will take a generation to fully judge its significance.”

    Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on Jan. 31, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

    What Is Next?

    Biden is visiting Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, just one day before leaving office—a state where his journey to the White House began more than four years ago. South Carolina holds particular significance for Biden, as he won the state’s primary in 2020 thanks to strong support from its black voters. This victory was a pivotal moment that helped his campaign regain momentum and eventually secure the party’s presidential nomination after struggling in earlier primaries.

    The end of Biden’s presidency also marks the conclusion of his political career, which has spanned five decades and included roles as a senator from Delaware and as vice president under President Barack Obama.

    On Jan. 20, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will attend Trump’s inauguration. Following the swearing-in ceremony, the Bidens will reportedly travel to central California for some personal time.

    The outgoing president indicated on Jan. 10 that he will continue to work on domestic policy matters after leaving office.

    When asked about his plans, Biden told reporters jokingly, “I’m not going to be out of sight or out of mind.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 14:00

  • Polar Vortex, Back-To-Back-To-Back Winter Storms Target Eastern Half Of US
    Polar Vortex, Back-To-Back-To-Back Winter Storms Target Eastern Half Of US

    Authored by meteorologist Ben Noll,

    Snow, sub-zero temperatures, and frigid wind chills.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    The week ahead will have all of that. Spring is just… two months away.

    It could easily turn out to be the coldest week of the year in the Hudson Valley as a lobe of the polar vortex, which typically sits near Greenland, swirls across the country. Watch:

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    A winter storm warning is in effect starting Sunday afternoon. It’ll turn out to be a good, old-fashioned snowstorm for the area.

    Here’s what you need to know

    • What? Snow, moderate to heavy at times.

    • When? Starting between 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday from southwest to northeast. Ending by 4 a.m. Monday.

    • How much? 4 to 8 inches of powdery snow.

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    Impact? Roads and sidewalks will become snow-covered on Sunday afternoon. The heaviest snow will fall during the evening, when snow rates could reach an inch per hour and travel will be most treacherous. Temperatures will drop into the single digits early Monday as the storm departs. The powdery nature of the snow will make it easier to clear.

    The week ahead

    The rest of the week looks very cold but probably dry in the Hudson Valley. Wintry weather is expected from Texas to the Carolinas on Tuesday and Wednesday, with travel grinding to a halt as a major storm brings snow to places that don’t have plows! Houston, New Orleans, Tallahassee, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach are among the places where significant snow may fall.

    It could be the biggest snow storm on record in parts of the Deep South, where snowfall could eclipse half a foot in some places. The deepest snow depths across that part of the country generally happened decades ago, so the event will be unusual and rare.

    *   *   * 

    Here’s our latest reporting on the polar vortex and energy markets:

    Brrr! 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 13:25

  • Federal Reserve Withdraws From Global Climate Group As Trump Set To Assume Power
    Federal Reserve Withdraws From Global Climate Group As Trump Set To Assume Power

    Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

    The U.S. Federal Reserve is exiting a global climate change coalition days before the new Trump administration is set to take power on Jan. 20.

    The Federal Reserve had joined the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) in December 2020. NGFS, composed of global central banks and supervisors, aims to integrate climate and environmental risk management into the financial sector and mobilize “finance to support the transition toward a sustainable economy,” according to the group’s website. On Friday, the Federal Reserve announced its withdrawal from the 143-member coalition.

    “The work of the NGFS has increasingly broadened in scope, covering a wider range of issues that are outside of the Board’s statutory mandate,” the agency said. Five Federal Reserve officials, including chair Jerome Powell, voted for the withdrawal, while two officials did not vote.

    Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) welcomed the Federal Reserve decision, calling it a “step in the right direction,” according to a Jan. 18 post on social media platform X.

    “By pulling out from the NGFS, the Fed sets itself up to reprioritize the needs of American citizens and the U.S. financial system “instead of the wants of unelected, foreign bureaucrats,” he said.

    Ben Cushing, campaign director for the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign, blamed the upcoming Trump administration for the Fed’s recent decision to exit NGFS, according to a Jan. 17 statement.

    “The incoming administration’s efforts to deny and exacerbate the climate crisis should be a reason for the Fed to assert its independence by addressing climate risks, but instead it’s doing the opposite,” Cushing said.

    “If the Fed continues to bow to political pressure and avoid acting on climate, it will further isolate the U.S. on the global stage and put the economy in greater jeopardy.”

    Relatedly, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pull the United States from the Paris Climate Accords, which he also did in 2019.

    He has called the deal a “total disaster” for the American economy and too lenient towards the Chinese communist regime. After Biden assumed office in 2021, the United States rejoined the agreement.

    The Fed and the Climate

    Speaking to a House committee in 2023, Powell said that the central bank was not framing policies on climate matters.

    “We are not looking to move into an area where we’re actually becoming a climate policymaker,” he said.

    “Over time, that border needs to be very carefully guarded.”

    The same year, a group of Senate Republicans sent a letter to Powell, criticizing the incorporation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ideologies into banking risk analyses, referred to as a “climate stress test.”

    “This is policy masquerading as ‘risk analysis,’” the lawmakers said.

    “The Fed is actively signaling that bank activities that do not further the goals of net zero by 2050 are inherently risky and disfavored.

    “This drives capital away from traditional energy development at a critical time for our economic and national security, while empowering America’s adversaries. This climate stress test is the logical result of a persistent and growing track record of climate activism at the Fed,” the lawmakers wrote.

    The Fed’s focus on climate has come under criticism from Stephen Miran, who has been nominated to chair the Council of Economic Advisers in the Trump administration.

    In a paper co-authored last year, Miran said the Federal Reserve was pushing climate-related principles into the framework of bank regulations.

    “The Fed’s proposals would force the banking system to devote significant resources toward studying climate change and structuring the banking sector’s strategic planning, policies, and procedures around climate,” the paper said.

    “The Fed’s increasing attention to climate issues has accompanied worse performance on its traditional bank regulatory responsibilities.”

    The Fed’s Financial Stability Oversight Council called climate change a top priority prior to the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank in 2023, the authors wrote. This was the second biggest bank failure in American history at the time.

    “Had the Fed been paying attention to the banking system’s interest-rate risk instead of climate risk, the system might have been spared significant volatility,” the paper said.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 12:50

  • As First 3 Israeli Hostages Freed, Biden Declares 'Today Guns In Gaza Silenced'
    As First 3 Israeli Hostages Freed, Biden Declares ‘Today Guns In Gaza Silenced’

    Hamas has released the first round of three Israeli hostages on Sunday morning, and officials on both sides are hailing the ceasefire deal as it appears to be sticking. For the first time in well over a year, war has been quieted throughout the Strip.

    Hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher first reached an Israeli military facility near the border with the Gaza Strip and have been reunited with their families, the IDF has announced. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari in a press briefing said that Romi, Emily, and Doron and are now in “safe hands”. He said, “They are now with us and on their way home.”

    Hostage freed, via Reuters

    President Biden in a speech marking the exchange of hostages, and on his last day as US president, declared “Today, the guns in Gaza have gone silent.”

    “This is one of the toughest negotiations I’ve been part of … but we’ve reached this point today because of the pressure by Israel on Hamas backed by the US,” he said.

    “Now the region has been fundamentally transformed,” he continued, given that both the Hezbollah ceasefire and now Gaza truce are holding. He noted that hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks are entering Gaza from Egypt to assist the desperate population.

    United Nations secretary-general also welcomed the huge development in a post on X stating:

    I welcome the start of the implementation of the ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza. We stand ready to support this implementation & scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer.  

    It is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security & political obstacles to delivering aid.

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    By day’s end, the first 90 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be freed as part of the first hostage/prisoner swap. Over 1,000 total will be freed throughout the first 42-day phase of the deal, reports say.

    Meanwhile, huge crowds are in central Tel Aviv throughout the night celebrating the release of the hostages, and a deal which some are seeing as a defeat for Netanyahu’s stance of wanting to see the military operation through to the end (of Hamas’ eradication).

    But Hamas is clearly still intact, as now with the ceasefire in effect masked men with green headbands in scarfs have been seen openly on the streets of Gaza.

    Biden and the UN chief in their initial remarks called for the deal to be fully implemented across their multiple phases, which will last weeks.

    Large celebratory crowds in Tel Aviv watch hostages freed on big screens…

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    Hamas too said it plans to stick to its commitments inked in Doha, with spokesman Abu Ubaida saying in video address, “The agreement reached could have been made a year ago if it had aligned with [Prime Minister] Netanyahu’s ambitions.” He added: “We are committed to the ceasefire agreement, but this depends on the enemy’s adherence.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 01/19/2025 – 12:15

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