Today’s News 24th October 2024

• FEMA's Real Purpose: Suppressing Americans And Preventing Civilian Organization
  FEMA’s Real Purpose: Suppressing Americans And Preventing Civilian Organization

  Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was founded on April 1st, 1979 under the Jimmy Carter Administration during the height of a nearly decade long stagflationary crisis and the Iranian oil crisis. Under Executive Order 12127, its stated goal was to centralize all disaster related efforts under a single top-down entity. Specifically, FEMA ended the more localized Civil Defense Agency, which was focused on community based emergency response, and it federalized all disaster coordination under a single top-down system controlled by the Oval Office.

  

  FEMA was eventually placed under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, creating even more centralization. The reason for FEMA according to the government is to aid Americans during and after a national level disaster event; anything from earthquakes to hurricanes to terrorist attacks.

  That said, it should also be noted that FEMA was officially created on April Fool’s Day.

  The true purpose of FEMA has long been obscured but some disturbing truths have been exposed in the past. The declassification of a program called Rex 84 (tied to Operation Garden Plot) revealed that FEMA was working directly with the Department of Defense on a hypothetical strategy to round up and detain large numbers of civilians considered a “threat to national security.” In other words, FEMA was to act as a tool for helping suppress civil disturbances, it was not necessarily designed to help Americans in times of need.

  This was likely always the intent behind the founding of FEMA, but George H.W. Bush and Oliver North are cited as the men that truly militarized FEMA in the early 1980s. The goal to establish a mechanism for controlling domestic political dissent and suspending constitutional freedoms was exposed not long after FEMA’s founding. Oliver North was visibly enraged when the subject was broached in a congressional hearing during the Iran/Contra scandal.

  It should be mentioned that the REX 84 documents do not list FEMA as a primary agency in control of civil disturbance response. This is where the accusations of “conspiracy theory” usually come from – FEMA is not the end-all-be-all agency in charge of locking down American rebellion. In fact, FEMA’s role is strangely ambiguous and is not clearly defined. All that is known is that they are indeed an element of Operation Garden Plot and have participated in REX exercises.

  There’s no denying that the secrecy around civil disturbance programs is pernicious and suggests that there is far more going on than our own government cares to admit. To uncover FEMA’s real intent all we have to do is examine how they behave.

  The recent Hurricane Helene disaster and FEMA’s handling of the response across the East Coast echos the agency’s crimes after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. Their emergency “aid” is used as a cloak to hide efforts to actually STOP communities from helping each other and preventing outside civilian funded supplies from reaching affected residents in need.

  Desperate residents during Katrina were treated like prisoners rather than citizens, gun confiscation took place in many areas and some people were shot for trying to leave locked down neighborhoods. (As a side note – this is why you should NEVER let anyone confiscate your firearms, especially if those people are sent by the government)

  CNN reported in 2008 that FEMA confiscated at least $85 million in donated goods and prevented them from reaching Katrina disaster victims. This included clothing, bedding, food and medical supplies. They stored these materials for years and then GAVE AWAY the supplies long after Katrina was over. FEMA claimed the supplies were “in excess to their needs.” This report and all related articles now seem to be missing from CNN’s archives.

  We just witnessed a repeat of this behavior from FEMA and the affiliated agencies within their oversight. We saw local EMS being advised to prevent civilians from helping their communities. Supplies were once agaun being blocked, people with drones were being told not to help find survivors, people with helicopters are were threatened for helping save survivors and little aid reached Helene victims for weeks. Elon Musk’s Starlink was even been prevented from providing satellite internet services to affected regions until the story went national and the Department of Transportation was forced to address the problem.

  It’s Katrina all over again, and FEMA always seems to have excuses.

  But why? You would think that with an election only weeks away Biden and Harris would be jumping at the chance to look competent and useful. Instead, they did nothing other that offer a $750 relief check to survivors (which might help people survive for a week) and then referred people to federal programs which take many months to benefit from.

  I argue that this is all deliberate. FEMA and the federal government at large are still using Operation Garden Plot-like protocols with two goals in mind…

  First, they are trying to acclimate the populace to the idea that civilians can’t help themselves and that they should do nothing. They do this by constantly interfering with civilian efforts and disrupting donations. If civilians are working on their own to save US communities from calamity then they might one day realize they don’t need the Federal Government for anything. The establishment NEEDS people to believe that they can’t survive without government aid and protection. Luckily, at least in the aftermath of Helene, it seems that many communities are working on their own to fix the situation.

  If civilians start doing things for themselves, the establishment machine becomes obsolete.

  Second, I suspect FEMA is testing the waters to see how much they can get away with. Katrina was a clear beta-test for martial law disguised as an emergency response. Katrina was Garden Plot and Rex-84 realized. They want to see what Americans will put up with.  Helene is yet another opportunity for these agencies to apply overt control and see if Americans will conform or rebel.

  If FEMA is truly sincere in their efforts to help Americans they certainly don’t act like it. The criticism surrounding Helene is ramping up and FEMA’s indignant attitude towards their own failures in unacceptable. They should be punished for failing in their duties. That is assuming they are actually failing.

  Maybe they consider the tragedy of government inaction surrounding Helene a success?  The underlying point is, when disaster comes your way, it’s not enough to merely count FEMA out as a source of aid.  That’s obvious. But you will also have to consider the possibility that the agency will work directly against you and your neighbors should you try to help yourselves.

  *  *  *

  If you would like to support the work that Alt-Market does while also receiving content on advanced tactics for defeating the globalist agenda, subscribe to our exclusive newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch.  Learn more about it HERE.

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 23:25

• China's Xi & India's Modi Cement Border Peace Deal After Years Of Friction
  China’s Xi & India’s Modi Cement Border Peace Deal After Years Of Friction

  The India-China troop clash of 2020 along the largely unmarked frontier of Ladakh in a disputed border area in the Western Himalayas resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers. It was the deadliest border incident between the two nuclear-armed nations in memory.

  Since then, other more minor skirmishes and tense incidents have followed, leading to several military-to-military talks and efforts at dialogue trying to diffuse the situation. Both countries have feared there could be another deadly blow-up, as the rival armies jockey to claim territory in the high altitude no man’s land.

  But it appears the lengthy dispute may have permanently come to an end, and without further bloodshed. The two countries have reportedly struck a major peace deal in connection with the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan this week.

  The last time President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral summit was all the way back in October 2019, in southern India. Since then, the relationship has been marred by the border tensions.

  China has since developed a high-altitude air force base and infantry encampments in the Ladakh border region.

  But the two leaders met and shook hands on the sidelines of the BRICS summit on Wednesday…

  

  “Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums, and as a result of these discussions, [an] agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters in New Delhi just as the BRICS summit kicked off in Russia.

  The agreement has led to “disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020,” the top Indian diplomat added.

  China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that “China and India, through diplomatic and military channels, maintained close communication recently over border-related issues. The two sides have now reached a solution.”

  It was soon after the agreement was made public that Xi and Modi met in Kazan. President Xi said the two countries  “should carefully handle differences and disagreements and facilitate each other’s pursuit of development aspirations.”

  “It’s important for both sides to shoulder our international responsibilities, set an example for boosting the strength and unity of the developing countries, and contribute to promoting multi-polarization and democracy in international relations,” Xi continued.

  And India’s Foreign Ministry said in follow-up: “The two leaders affirmed that stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, as two neighbors and the two largest nations on earth, will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.”

  Without doubt, Russian and Asian regional media will hold up this historic moment as displaying the benefits of the BRICS alliance, and of Putin as the peacemaking host.

  Putin is the geopolitical glue between Xi Jinping and Modi for the two Asian giants to manage their strategic rivalry with pragmatism while avoiding big escalation. #RIC #BRICS2024 #geopolitics pic.twitter.com/iVjCyWPbmM

  — Velina Tchakarova (@vtchakarova) October 22, 2024

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  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 23:00

• 'Silent Phase' Of Alzheimer's Begins Decades Before Symptoms, NIH Study Suggests
  ‘Silent Phase’ Of Alzheimer’s Begins Decades Before Symptoms, NIH Study Suggests

  Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Recent advancements in Alzheimer’s disease research show a promising shift in the understanding of the memory-robbing disorder, suggesting that crucial brain changes can occur decades before symptoms manifest.

  

  ​A recent study has identified a two-phase progression of Alzheimer’s, highlighting a silent phase marked by subtle brain changes long before cognitive decline becomes apparent.​

  Alzheimer’s disease has a long pre-symptomatic period, with related changes taking place in the brain “10, 15, even 20 years before the onset of memory and thinking symptoms,” Igor Camargo Fontana, Alzheimer’s Association director of scientific conference programming, told The Epoch Times.

  This research could also open new avenues for earlier detection and targeted treatments.

  “One of the challenges to diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s is that much of the damage to the brain happens well before symptoms occur,” Dr. Richard J. Hodes, director of the NIH National Institute on Aging, said in a statement. “The ability to detect these early changes means that, for the first time, we can see what is happening to a person’s brain during the earliest periods of the disease.”

  The Early Phase: Silent and Gradual Damage

  A recent National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study provided new insights into the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, potentially paving the way for earlier detection and treatment options.

  The findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, say that Alzheimer’s affects the brain in two distinct phases: an early, silent phase characterized by subtle changes, and a later, symptomatic phase marked by widespread damage and the accumulation of amyloid plaques, long associated with the disorder.

  Researchers have found that the initial phase of Alzheimer’s is insidious, unfolding slowly over time and occurring well before noticeable memory problems arise. During this phase, a gradual buildup of beta-amyloid plaques and tangles—hallmarks of Alzheimer’s—can be observed.

  This early “quiet” phase is marked by subtle changes in brain cells, particularly inhibitory neurons, which may be among the first to become vulnerable, disrupting communication between brain cells, according to Fontana. These cells are mostly located in a brain region that is associated with memory, vision, and language.

  The research specifically identified the death of somatostatin inhibitory neurons, a group previously underestimated in their role within Alzheimer’s pathology. This finding challenges the prevailing notion that the disease primarily harms excitatory neurons responsible for facilitating brain cell communication.

  The Late Phase: Rapid Deterioration and Symptoms

  The second phase of Alzheimer’s disease is starkly different. It’s characterized by rapid accumulation of amyloid plaques and tangles, significant neural damage, and cognitive decline symptoms such as memory loss and confusion, alongside increased levels of inflammation and cell death. Researchers have found that this deterioration occurs as part of a complex interplay of changes within neural circuitry.

  Using advanced genetic analysis tools, researchers created a comprehensive map of the changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s. They specifically targeted the middle temporal gyrus, a region in the brain vital for language, memory, and visual processing, to illustrate its susceptibility to Alzheimer’s-induced damage.

  The study suggests that in this later phase of the disease, other cells associated with inflammation—microglia and astrocytes—begin counteracting initial changes by releasing molecules or altering their structures, according to Fontana.

  “Alterations in inflammatory cells and inhibitory neurons slowly evolve to demonstrate the well-known biological changes of Alzheimer’s,” he said, “including the accumulation of amyloid plaques and formation of tau tangle pathology, culminating in a terminal state.”

  Implications for Diagnostics and Treatment

  The study can have significant implications for early diagnosis and targeted treatments.

  The results fundamentally alter scientists’ understanding of how Alzheimer’s harms the brain and will guide the development of new treatments for this devastating disorder, Hodes noted in a statement.

  By recognizing distinct phases of the disease, researchers can better tailor diagnostics and therapeutics to the specific cellular changes taking place at various stages. This discovery may also facilitate earlier interventions and improve patient outcomes.

  The “bigger picture” is that Alzheimer’s long pre-symptomatic period presents opportunities for early detection and intervention to prevent the onset of dementia symptoms, Fontana said. “If the findings in this new paper are confirmed by other labs,” he added, “it raises the question of whether effectively addressing the brain changes that happen in what the authors call the first ‘quiet’ phase can slow, delay or prevent the second, more destructive phase.”

  Fontana stressed the importance of evaluating this “quiet” phase using a combination of diagnostic tools and investigating its associations with Alzheimer’s biomarkers, such as amyloid and tau.

  ​Looking ahead, the study establishes a foundation for future research on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.​ By examining the relationships between different cell types and their roles in disease progression, scientists aim to identify protective factors and resilience mechanisms for potential therapies. Fontana noted that the Alzheimer’s Association is funding related research studies.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 22:35

• These Are All The US States Paying More Than The Federal Minimum-Wage
  These Are All The US States Paying More Than The Federal Minimum-Wage

  The real value of the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour) has declined steadily since it was last raised 15 years ago.

  As discussions around increasing it continue, several states have taken matters into their own hands – by implementing and raising state minimum wages.

  Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao maps out the U.S. states that pay more than the federal minimum wage and list their minimums.

  

  Data for this graphic is sourced from the Federal Reserve, as of 2024.

  Ranked: State Minimum Wages

  Thirty states have a minimum wage that’s higher than the federal minimum of $7.25/hour.

  

  Of them, Washington ($16.28/hr) and California ($16.00/hr ) are the highest. Both states are expensive to live in, as evidenced by how far $100 will take you (not very) in each.

  However, the country-wide crown goes to Washington D.C., ($17.50/hr) where the minimum is tied to inflation.

  Eighteen states either match the federal benchmark, or don’t have a state minimum at all (which makes the federal minimum applicable).

  Two states—Wyoming and Georgia—have a state minimum wage that’s below $7.25/hour but in this case the federal wage takes effect.

  What is the Minimum Wage Discourse?

  The minimum wage debate in the U.S. involves two main opposing viewpoints. Proponents argue that raising the minimum wage is necessary to boost living standards for low-wage workers, reduce poverty, and narrow income inequality. They say that moderate increases have minimal impact on employment and can stimulate consumer spending.

  Key to their argument is that this is also the longest time the federal minimum has not seen an increase, since its inception in 1938.

  Year	Nominal value ($/hour)
  1940	0.30
  1945	0.40
  1950	0.75
  1955	0.75
  1960	1.00
  1965	1.25
  1970	1.60
  1975	2.10
  1980	3.10
  1985	3.35
  1990	3.80
  1995	4.25
  2000	5.15
  2005	5.15
  2010	7.25
  2015	7.25
  2018	7.25
  2019	7.25
  2020	7.25
  2021	7.25
  2022	7.25
  2023	7.25

  On the other hand, opponents claim that significant minimum wage hikes could lead to job losses, particularly for low-skilled and young workers. This could potentially increasing poverty rates for some groups.

  They argue that it may price low-skilled workers out of the job market and harm small businesses with slim profit margins. Both sides cite economic studies to support their positions, but the debate ultimately reflects deeper societal values about fairness, opportunity, and the role of government in the economy.

  Since 2017, the Raise the Wage Act has been introduced to Congress every year in an effort to increase the federal minimum. All the bills have not passed the legislature so far.

  Current “Raise the Wage” proposals look to increase the minimum to $17/hour. In the Share of Workers Earning Less Than $17/Hour we map out which states would see the most changes.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 22:10

• Hey Pilots, FAA Issues Final Rule For "Powered-Lift" Rating, Paves Way For Air Taxis Over US Cities 
  Hey Pilots, FAA Issues Final Rule For “Powered-Lift” Rating, Paves Way For Air Taxis Over US Cities 

  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced a new rule establishing a “powered-lift” aircraft category for pilot training, marking the first new category for pilot certification since helicopters were introduced in the 1940s. This new category paves the way for aircraft that take off and land vertically like helicopters but fly like fixed-wing planes, commonly known as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, to fly in controlled airspace across America.

  

  Here’s more from the FAA:

  The agency today issued a final rule for the qualifications and training that instructors and pilots must have to fly aircraft in this “powered-lift” category, which have characteristics of both airplanes and helicopters. The rule also addresses their operational requirements, including minimum safe altitudes and required visibility. The rule is the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term.

  On X, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker wrote, “An extraordinary moment for aviation! Our rule for training and certificating pilots to fly powered lift is the final piece of the puzzle to get these revolutionary aircraft flying safely in our skies” 

  An extraordinary moment for aviation! Our rule for training and certificating pilots to fly powered lift is the final piece of the puzzle to get these revolutionary aircraft flying safely in our skies. https://t.co/96Q7TQZfkM pic.twitter.com/7RvSqbdGT8

  — FAA Mike Whitaker (@FAA_Mike) October 22, 2024

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  According to the FAA’s powered-lift rule: 

  • Makes changes to numerous existing regulations and establishes a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) with new requirements to facilitate instructor and pilot certification and training.

  • Applies helicopter operating requirements to some phases of flight and adopts a performance-based approach to certain operating rules.

  • Allows pilots to train in powered-lift with a single set of flight controls; legacy rules require two flight controls – one for the student and one for the instructor.

  “The regulation published today will ensure the U.S. continues to play a global leadership role in the development and adoption of clean flight,” JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of air taxi company Joby Aviation, told Fast Company, adding, “Delivering the rules ahead of schedule is a testament to the dedication, coordination, and hard work of the rulemaking team.”

  $JOBY eVTOL getting ready to fly in NYC on a chilly, clear Monday pic.twitter.com/rtruRX1epu

  — Allen Root (@DowJonesAl) November 13, 2023

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  We have followed several eVTOL startups over the years, including Alef Aeronautics, a company backed by Space-X… 

  • Forget Musk’s Tunnels, Early Tesla Investor Seeds First-Ever eVTOL Car
  • SpaceX-Backed Flying Car Startup Gets FAA Nod

  

  It’s not hard to figure out that flying cars must be done under the FAA’s Visual Flight Rules (VRF) or Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). In other words, the pilot in control will need a pilot license and be rated in the powered lift category.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 21:20

• How Schools Across America Are Struggling With AI Deepfakes
  How Schools Across America Are Struggling With AI Deepfakes

  Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Gone are the days where the biggest concern is students drawing alien ears on their science teacher or printing images of a friend’s face connected to a four-legged body with scales and a tail.

  That was 30-something years ago. Now, schools are being forced to develop emergency response plans in case sexually explicit images of students or teachers generated by artificial intelligence (AI) pop up on social media.

  

  In two separate cases, school principals were seen or heard spewing racist, violent language against black students. Both were AI-generated deepfakes—one was produced by students and the other was made by a disgruntled athletic director who later was arrested.

  Deepfakes are defined as “non-consensually AI-generated voices, images, or videos that are created to produce sexual imagery, commit fraud, or spread misinformation,” according to a nonprofit group focused on AI regulation.

  As education leaders scramble to set policy to mitigate the damage of deepfakes—and as state legislators work to criminalize such malicious acts specific to schools or children—the technology to combat AI tools that can replicate a person’s image and voice doesn’t yet exist, says Andrew Buher, founder and managing director of the Opportunity Labs nonprofit research organization.

  “There is a lot of work to do, both with prevention and incident response,” he said during a virtual panel discussion held by Education Week last month on teaching digital and media literacy in the age of AI. “This is about social norming [because] the technical mitigation is quite a ways away.”

  Legislation Targets Deepfakes

  On Sept. 29, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill criminalizing AI-generated child porn. It’s now a felony in the Golden State to possess, publish, or pass along images of individuals under the age of 18 simulating sexual conduct.

  There are similar new laws in New York, Illinois, and Washington State.

  At the national level, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has proposed the Take It Down Act, which would criminalize the “intentional disclosure of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions.”

  The federal bill defines a deepfake as “a video or image that is generated or substantially modified using machine-learning techniques or any other computer-generated or machine-generated means to falsely depict an individual’s appearance or conduct within an intimate visual depiction.”

  

  School districts, meanwhile, seek guidance on an emerging problem that threatens not just students, but also staff.

  At Maryland’s Pikesville High School in January, a fake audio recording was made of the principal. School officials enlisted the help of local police agencies and the FBI.

  The suspect, Dazhon Darien, 31, an athletic director, was charged with theft, stalking, disruption of school operations, and retaliation against a witness.

  He allegedly made the recording to retaliate against the principal, who was investigating Darien’s alleged mishandling of school funds, according to an April 25 news release on the Baltimore County Government website.

  Jim Siegl, a senior technologist with the Future of Privacy Forum, said during the Education Week panel discussion that investigators in the Baltimore case were able to link the suspect to the crime by reviewing “old school computer access logs.”

  But as AI technology continues to evolve, he said, it may be necessary to develop a watermarking system for generated audio or video to replace outdated systems for monitoring and safeguarding school computer use.

  In February 2023, high school students in Carmel, New York, used AI to impersonate a middle school principal. The deepfakes were posted on TikTok. Investigators were able to link the students’ activities to their accounts. They were disciplined under school code of conduct guidelines but not charged criminally, according to a statement released on the district’s Facebook page.

  “As an organization committed to diversity and inclusion,” the statement said, “the Carmel Central School District Board of Education is appalled at, and condemns, these recent videos, along with the blatant racism, hatred, and disregard for humanity displayed in some of them.”

  A parent, Abigail Lyons, said a co-worker who also has children in the district showed her a text containing seven different videos.

  “I basically fell to the floor,” said Lyons, who is biracial. “It was horrific. It looked so real.”

  They re-watched the videos and noticed that the lip movement and body language were a bit off from the sound. Lyons said most parents in the district had already seen or heard about the videos and probably knew they were deepfakes before Carmel school officials publicly acknowledged the incident and declared there “was no threat.”

  

  Lyons said the event scared her daughter, and that events like school lockdowns or emergency drills still trigger anxiety and fear stemming from the 2023 deepfake.

  “Seventh graders should not have to worry about these things,” she told The Epoch Times.

  Lyons said she is unaware of any deepfake incidents so far this semester, but students have threatened each other on social media, including one threat that led to a two-hour building lockdown.

  “We still don’t know what it [lockdown] was for,” she said. “The transparency still isn’t there.”

  The Epoch Times reached out to the district offices in Carmel, New York, and Baltimore County, Maryland, but didn’t receive a response.

  California’s new law was prompted by several deepfake incidents that victimized students.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 20:55

• Tesla Soars After Unexpected Jump In Profit Margin Suggests Price War Is Over
  Tesla Soars After Unexpected Jump In Profit Margin Suggests Price War Is Over

  Ahead of today’s Tesla earnings report, UBS analyst Joe Spak asked whether Tesla numbers even matter this quarter after the Robotaxi reveal, which disappointed markets. His response is that while they should matter more, Tesla is really about the future/multiple, not the current EV biz (which drives numbers). Of the number that will be report, auto gross margins ex credits remains “the” metric investors follow, and feedback indicates buyside expectations are for flat-to-slightly-higher quarter over quarter (consensus +30bp q/q to 14.9%).

  Joe is also looking for an update on Model 2.5 for next year (doesn’t seem to be a focus) and any more Robotaxi details. Additionally, Bloomberg notes that Tesla could give an update on its more affordable vehicle platform today. Earlier this year, Musk said a low-cost model could start production in the first half of 2025.

  Analysts were hoping for an update during the company’s robotaxi event earlier this month, but there was no mention of the platform. Tesla hasn’t shared key details about the vehicle, including price and what it would look like. At the same time, Musk has repeatedly said that Tesla is becoming more than just a car company, as it increasingly focuses on artificial intelligence.

  As a reminder, Tesla’s third-quarter deliveries rose for the first time this year, but the automaker has an uphill climb to break even for 2024. In 2023, Tesla sold around 1.8 million units; as of the third quarter, 2024 sales stood at just under 1.3 million units. So Tesla will have to sell 514,000 units in 4Q to break even – which is 30,000 EVs more than were sold in 4Q 2023, the company’s all-time peak quarter.

  So with that in mind, this is what Tesla just reported for Q3:

  • Revenue $25.18 billion, missing estimate $25.43 billion
  • Adjusted EPS 72c, beating estimate 60c (Bloomberg Consensus)
  • Gross margin 19.8%, beating estimate 16.8%
    • The all-important automotive gross margin ex-credits, jumped to 17.1%, beating estimates of 14.9%, and up from 14.6% in Q2
  • Operating income $2.72 billion, beating estimate $1.96 billion
  • Free cash flow $2.74 billion, beating estimate $1.61 billion
  • Capital expenditure $3.51 billion, beating estimate $2.56 billion

  And visually:

  

  

  It is notable that while revenues rose 8%, if came in just shy of expectations, Tesla recognized $739 million, in regulatory credit revenues, the second highest quarter in history “as other OEMs are still behind on meeting emissions requirements.”

  

  But the biggest highlight by far is Tesla’s ability to boost margins – both gross and automotive ex-credits – substantially higher YoY and also higher than expected, signaling that Tesla’s “race to the bottom” to steal market share is once again over, and the company is once more focusing on harvesting the benefits of its recent market share gains.

  Commenting on the margin line item, Bloomberg notes that if you strip out the reg credits, “Tesla’s saying that profit is being boosted by lower cost per vehicle in terms of production and materials. Energy generation and energy storage is now also starting to perform better.”

  One more thing to point out is that the company also commented on “higher FSD revenue recognition YoY for releases related to Cybertruck” and a new feature – Actually Smart Summon (basically you hit a button in the app while your car is on other side of a parking lot and it’s supposed to drive to you). In other words, Tesla is telling is saying that people are paying for this software, and they are listing it as a positive contributor to profit.

  Some more good news: Tesla said its Cybertruck has reached profitability for the first time, thanks in part to increases in production for the futuristic pick-up truck.

  Turning to Tesla’s outlook, the highlight was the company’s discussion of Volume, where it said the following:

  Our company is currently between two major growth waves: the first one began with the global expansion of the Model 3/Y platform and we believe the next one will be initiated by advances in autonomy and introduction of new products, including those built on our next generation vehicle platform.

   Just as important, turning to Tesla’s product outlook, the company said that its “plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025. These vehicles will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up.”

  This approach, the company says, “will result in achieving less cost reduction than previously expected but enables us to prudently grow our vehicle volumes in a more capex efficient manner during uncertain times. This should help us fully utilize our current expected maximum capacity of close to three million vehicles, enabling more than 50% growth over 2023 production before investing in new manufacturing lines.“

  Speaking of auto production, we already said that while Q3 was a solid quarter with 6% growth in total deliveries, it will be up to Q4, when Tesla must sell over 510,000 units to break even vs 2024, which is 30,000 EVs more than were sold in 4Q 2023.

  

  And “despite ongoing macroeconomic conditions,” Tesla expects to achieve slight growth in vehicle deliveries in 2024. This is bullish and indicates that 2024 may be yet another record delivery year for the carmaker.

  Elsewhere, the energy business is still going strong, reaping in “a record gross margin” during the quarter. Powerwall deployments set a record for the second straight quarter while the ramp up of Powerwall 3 continues.

  

  Looking at Tesla’s investor deck, we find that the next-generation platform will have a powertrain with an efficiency of 5.5 miles per kWh. Lucid, one of Tesla’s competitors, proclaims that it has the world’s most efficient car – the Lucid Air Pure – that can achieve about 5.0 miles per kWh. Of course, the Lucid vehicle is available now, and Tesla’s next-generation platform may be years away.

  Those looking for some more details on what may be the company’s biggest value proposition, there was just a single, indirect reference to the future ride-hailing business in the deck. Tesla says:

  “At our ‘We, Robot’ event on October 10, we detailed our long-term goal of offering autonomous transport with a cost per mile below rideshare, personal car ownership and even public transit.”

  So anyone hoping for more details here, will be disappointed for at least a few more months although we are confident Elon will tease much more in the interim.

  Finally, there was this blurb documenting the company’s transition into an AI giant:

  “We deployed and are training ahead of schedule on a 29k H100 cluster at Gigafactory Texas – where we expect to have 50k H100 capacity by the end of October.”

  Putting it all together, and the company stock is surging after hours, rising almost 9%, to a huge of $234.89 after closing at $213.65. If this sustains, Tesla is will gain about than $60 billion in market value, which would be the biggest gain since July 2.

  

  Here is the full investor presentation (pdf link)

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 20:44

• Open Border Backlash As NYC 'Deports' Thousands Of Migrants To Texas, Illinois, And Florida
  Open Border Backlash As NYC ‘Deports’ Thousands Of Migrants To Texas, Illinois, And Florida

  After Texas bussed over 45,000 migrants to New York City amid an influx of more than 200,000, the Big Apple is sending some of them back.

  

  According to a new report from Bloomberg, NYC has issued over 47,000 one-way tickets – 4,500 of them to Texas – through a voluntary program that transfers asylum seekers out of the city.

  Top destinations also include Illinois, Florida, other parts of New York and Colorado.

  The ticketing program has helped slash the number of asylum seekers reliant on the city, as have application assistance for work authorization and a policy limiting shelter stays, Adams said earlier this month. The top destinations for migrants asking to leave the Big Apple also include Illinois, Florida and Colorado, as well as other parts of New York. Most travel on planes.

  According to city official Fabien Levy, “These are not chartered buses,” but are instead “individual tickets we are purchasing after sitting down with migrants and hearing what they want to do.”

  

  Since April 2022, Texas has bused around 120,000 migrants to cities around the country, according to a statement from Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.

  •    Over 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022
  •    Over 45,900 migrants to New York City since August 2022
  •    Over 36,900 migrants to Chicago since August 2022
  •    Over 3,400 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022
  •    Over 19,200 migrants to Denver since May 2023
  •    Over 1,500 migrants to Los Angeles since June 2023

  “Our latest battle has been against Tren de Aragua. They’re notorious for brutal violence, kidnapping, extortion, and bribery,” said Abbott, adding “Texas law enforcement has already begun making arrests of known and suspected Tren de Aragua members. Together, we will secure our border, defend our communities, and keep Texas safe.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 20:30

• Stock Up For Survival: Essential Food Storage Tips For Emergencies
  Stock Up For Survival: Essential Food Storage Tips For Emergencies

  Authored by Emma Suttie, D. Ac, AP via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Imagine this scenario: You have just arrived home from work. You sit down to watch the news and see that a massive storm with torrential rains is heading your way. The authorities advise everyone to stay indoors and off the roads for the next 72 hours because of high winds and the risk of flooding.

  

  Situations like these occur more frequently than most people realize. While no one likes pondering worst-case scenarios, advance preparation can save your life—and significantly ease your stress during emergencies.

  Whether facing natural disasters like flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, or chemical spills—or personal emergencies—such as illnesses, accidents, or losing your job, having food, cash, and other necessities tucked away can mean the difference between thriving and surviving.

  Considerations When Preparing for Emergencies

  Most of us have become accustomed to conveniences like running water and grocery stores for our basic needs. However, in an emergency, these conveniences may disappear. Planning ahead can significantly increase your resilience and may be vital to your survival if things go sideways.

  While everyone’s needs during an emergency differ, food and water are universal necessities. Most experts advise having at least three days’ worth of food and water for everyone in your household, including pets. This should be enough for you to survive until the emergency has passed and help can get to you. Be prepared for extended emergencies by gathering enough food and water to last up to two weeks or even a month if your budget and storage allow.

  The American Red Cross recommends maintaining a three-day emergency supply for evacuation and a two-week supply at home.

  When preparing, consider the following:

  • The number of people and pets in your household who need food and water.
  • Dietary restrictions (allergies, diabetics), preferences, and whether certain foods require cooking or water.
  • The shelf life of the food you choose, ensuring you rotate supplies every few months for freshness.
  • Your ability to cook without power, such as having a camp stove or gas barbeque.
  • Make sure you have the necessary utensils and storage options, such as cool, dry areas for keeping food and water. Disposable plates and cutlery don’t require water for washing.
  • Because you may not have electricity, plan meals in single portions as you may be unable to refrigerate leftovers.
  • Make sure you have lighters, matches, candles, flashlights, batteries, knives, zip lock bags, bleach (to disinfect and purify water), and other essentials that you keep in sealed plastic bags.

  Water Needs

  Conventional wisdom suggests people can live for about three weeks without food. However, they can only survive for three days without water—making it essential to have plenty in your emergency stores.

  The Prepared, a highly regarded resource focused on practical prepping, recommends at least one gallon of water per day for each person. Remember to consider additional water for cooking, cleaning, and your pets.

  They also suggest including a way to treat dirty water, like a portable water filter or countertop filter.

  One way to keep the water aside for emergencies is in a deep freezer, Nellie Oehler, a food safety specialist and coordinator with Oregon State University Extension Service, a statewide outreach program, told The Epoch Times.

  “I keep my deep freezes full,” she said. “Number one, if it’s not full of food, it’s full of bottled water. Then I’ve got an emergency water supply, plus it keeps my freezer cold. It cuts down on the cost of running your freezer, and I’ve got water,” she added.

  Food Selection

  A key rule of storing food for emergencies is to “store what you eat” and “eat what you store.” One of the easiest ways to build up your survival food supply is to buy extra non-perishable, shelf-stable items every time you buy groceries. This practice will also ensure that you have food you enjoy.

  You can also buy pre-packaged emergency foods like MREs (Meals-Ready-to-Eat), which need little to no preparation and last extended periods. Survival food tends to be more compact and lasts longer than the food you buy at the supermarket, but it is typically more expensive. A combination of both works well for a robust emergency food pantry.

  Preserving your food at home through canning, pickling, curing, fermenting, or dehydrating is also an option.

  You still have options if you don’t know how to preserve your own food, Oehler said. Inexpensive options are plentiful at supermarkets. Waiting until items go on sale to stock up can help you save money and collect the food you need to be prepared when the time comes.

  Be aware of expiration dates on foods you buy, and choose foods that have a long shelf life and come in sturdy packaging. Look for nutrient-dense, shelf-stable foods like dried beans, canned meat and fish, peanut butter, and grains, as they take up the least amount of space. Also, when buying food, consider if it needs cooking, reheating, or can be eaten right out of the package.

  Recommended Emergency Food Items

  While not exhaustive, the list below will give you an idea of foods that store well and make an excellent addition to your emergency food pantry.

  Protein Sources

  • Peanut butter and other nut butters
  • Canned meat and fish (spam, chicken, tuna, salmon, sardines)
  • Beef jerky and dried meats
  • Canned beans and legumes (including refried beans)

  Ready-to-Eat Meals

  • Canned soups, stews, and chili
  • Instant meals (macaroni and cheese, ramen)
  • Instant mashed potatoes

  Grains and Staples

  • Rice and pasta
  • Oatmeal and breakfast cereals
  • Crackers and chips
  • Dried beans, lentils, and chickpeas

  Fruits and Vegetables

  • Canned fruits and vegetables
  • Dried fruits
  • Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce

  Beverages and Condiments

  • Powdered milk
  • Fruit juice (bottled, canned, or powdered)
  • Coffee, tea, hot chocolate
  • Salt, pepper, spices, hot sauce

  Comfort Foods

  • Honey and jam
  • Trail mix and granola bars
  • Chocolate, candies, and other favorite snacks (to improve morale)

  Some foods are not ideal for storing in an emergency, Tracey Brigman, associate director of the National Center for Home Food Preservation, told The Epoch Times via email.

  “Foods that should be avoided are foods that are overly salty (they can make you more thirsty and can thus deplete your water supply), caffeinated sodas (they offer little nutrients and can contribute to dehydration), and fresh items like fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and leftovers since they spoil rapidly without proper refrigeration,” she said.

  Storage Strategies

  Oehler suggests diversifying for effective food storage.

  “Don’t put all your stuff in freeze-dried foods or dry foods because then you have to have a ton of water—so have a variety of foods on hand,” she said.

  For convenience and minimal effort, commercially canned foods from the grocery store are a great option. Make sure your emergency food is well-packaged, sealed, and has a date to prevent spoilage. If you have the budget, consider storing dry goods like beans, rice, and flour in food-grade buckets with oxygen absorbers to make them last longer. This can extend their shelf life for up to 25 years, Oehler said.

  “Home-preserved foods only last in proper storage for up to 1 year, so they need to be inspected and replaced in a timely manner,” she said. “Additionally, a home-canned food that is damaged, shows signs of swelling, rust, dents, or leaks, or has been exposed to floodwater should not be consumed. If there are any doubts about your home canned foods after a disaster, throw them out,” Oehler added.

  Improperly preserved food, especially if it has moisture, can lead to foodborne illness. Learn proper food preservation techniques from reputable sources like the National Center for Home Food Preservation, which has resources on preserving foods safely.

  Where to Store It

  Store food in a cool, dry place, ideally between 32 and 70 degrees F, as food will last longer in colder temperatures. Ideally, the space should be well-ventilated, clean, isolated from other items such as cleaning products or chemicals, and kept off the floor.

  If you live in a city with limited space, consider using under-the-bed storage, as it’s dark, and the bedroom is usually one of the coldest rooms in the house, according to Oehler.

  Don’t keep all supplies in one location—diversifying storage places can protect your food from emergencies. If a fire destroys your house, having some food in a shed or barn can be life-saving, Oehler said. She also recommends having containers with wheels on hand, like coolers or garbage cans, so you can take some supplies with you if you have to leave.

  Keeping food, water, and other emergency supplies in your car is advisable, as you never know where you will be when trouble strikes (being mindful that cars get very hot in summer months), she added.

  Cooking Without Electricity

  If you’re facing a power outage, you’ll need to think about how to cook or warm up your food without electricity. Keep this in mind when choosing foods, especially if you don’t have an alternative cooking source.

  Alternative Cooking Sources

  If you have a camping stove or barbeque, make sure you have the right fuel and extra water. Always cook outside for safety. A butane stove is a great, portable option for cooking and boiling water, especially indoors during severe weather, according to Oehler. It’s efficient, safe, and affordable.

  

  If you don’t have an alternative cooking source, stock up on ready-to-eat foods. Don’t forget a can opener!

  For warming up food indoors, candles, fondue pots, or chafing dishes can be used. Try to use a well-ventilated area if possible.

  Food Spoilage

  Stored food can deteriorate over time, losing its color, texture, taste, and smell. Some nutrients, like vitamin C, are also lost over time. If not stored correctly, insects and rodents can get into stored food, making it inedible. Use food-grade buckets, glass jars, or other airtight containers to keep food fresh and safe.

  

  Don’t get too caught up in expiration dates. Commercial foods’ “use by” and “sell by” dates should be taken with a grain of salt, Oehler said, adding that the dates have nothing to do with food safety. “You know, if you have a can of green beans that’s two years old that you bought in the store—if it’s not bulging, if it’s not leaking on the seams, it’s perfectly safe to eat. If it’s five years old, it’s safe to eat,” she said.

  A lot of the quality of your food will depend on how you store it, Oehler said. Keeping the temperature from fluctuating, preventing light and moisture from getting to food so cans don’t rust, and ensuring things don’t freeze are ways to ensure your emergency stores last, she noted.

  Before eating, check for any signs of damage, like cracks, holes, or broken seals. Throw away anything that looks suspicious.

  Common Mistakes

  Mistakes made when preparing for an emergency can be costly when the emergency arrives. Brigman shares some common pitfalls:

  • Storing foods that are difficult to prepare or are not well-liked
  • Not closing foods tightly after each use
  • Not placing them in airtight food containers to protect them from spoilage
  • Not checking the dates and having expired/bad food in your emergency kit
  • Storing too many comfort foods and not enough nutrient-dense foods

  “Your body’s nutritional needs don’t change during an emergency so you still need to plan for nutritional adequacy,” Brigman said.

  Resources

  Extension services are an excellent resource for emergency preparedness and are available in every state. Extension services were established in 1914 to provide research-based education to the public. They offer a wide range of programs on topics that include farming, livestock management, gardening, and food production.

  Many universities also have extension programs, which “extend” the university and its resources to members of the community through educational programs.

  Resources from the University of Georgia and the Extension Disaster Education Network can provide vital information and assistance.

  Final Thoughts

  Emergency preparedness can feel daunting, but taking small steps can make a difference. By adding extra groceries and assessing your current supplies, you’ll be better equipped for any situation. Planning calmly for potential emergencies safeguards you and your loved ones. While preparation requires time and effort, it could be key to navigating future challenges.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 20:05

• "Once You Know, You Cannot Unknow": Whistleblower Reveals Fed-Funded Industrial-Sized Staffing Firm Shipping Migrant Kids Around US
  “Once You Know, You Cannot Unknow”: Whistleblower Reveals Fed-Funded Industrial-Sized Staffing Firm Shipping Migrant Kids Around US

  A contract specialist from the General Services Administration (GSA) spoke with investigative reporter James O’Keefe about the federal government awarding a massive contract to an industrial-sized staffing agency to transport unaccompanied migrant kids across the country.

  “My line in the sand moment was when I found out that GSA had awarded a contract to a company to transport unaccompanied minors,” GSA Senior Contract Specialist Clarissa Rippee told O’Keefe in a sitdown interview shared on X.

  

  Rippee explained GSA, on behalf of the federal government, awarded MVM, a private security contractor with ties to the CIA, NSA, FBI, and Homeland Security, with a massive $347 million contract for the transportation services of unaccompanied minors across the United States. 

  

  She said the contract made her feel “like someone kicked me in the gut.” 

  Rippee described the federal gov’t treated unaccompanied migrant children like “commodities… like potato chips on a truck.” She noted this MVM contract highlights the “big money business” in the migrant crisis. 

  “Once you know, you cannot unknow,” Rippee stated, warning that the horrifying conditions she witnessed inspired her to speak out: “It’s about the children, and it’s my duty now to speak up.”

  BREAKING: Federal Government Whistleblower Exposes $347M Contract for Transporting Unaccompanied Minors – “What You Know, You Cannot Unknow,”

  “My line in the sand moment was when I found out that GSA had awarded a contract to a company to transport unaccompanied minors,” shared… pic.twitter.com/FVvMJg7kmK

  — James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) October 22, 2024

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  At the core of this taxpayer-funded invasion machine of new future Democratic voters are staffing agencies, the same ones that profited off the endless wars in the Middle East, retooled their business models from assisting the federal gov’t in foreign wars to providing domestic services to support the migrant invasion.

  

  Areas where migrants were dumped in 2023. 

  

  These staffing firms have been awarded big contracts to provide private security, transportation, and many other services to ensure the smooth operation of the invasion domestically.

  Earlier this month, Real America’s Voice host Ben Bergquam posted on X, “More breaking footage of the Democrats harboring illegals in Chicago. Now using unmarked brand new hotels like this Holiday Inn at [XXXXXXX] to disguise Kamala and Biden’s illegal invasion operations.” 

  Bergquam’s video of the Holiday Inn filled-migrant hotel in the Chicago metro area is very intriguing. First, the security guards appear to be sourced from staffing firm GardaWorld. 

  More breaking footage of the Democrats harboring illegals in Chicago. Now using unmarked brand new hotels like this Holiday Inn at 7353 South Cicero to disguise Kamala and Biden’s illegal invasion operations.

  Law & Border – Real America’s Voice News @RealAmVoice… pic.twitter.com/za2WBO1k9R

  — Ben Bergquam – Real America’s Voice (RAV-TV) News (@BenBergquam) October 2, 2024

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  Last month, Muckraker’s Anthony Rubin dropped a bombshell in a report titled “Finding The Feds’ Missing Children | CHILD TRAFFICKING IN AMERICA.”

  He provided intel that MVM was caught moving unaccompanied migrant children around the country.

  We Found the Biden-Harris Administration’s Missing Children | FIRST-HAND TESTIMONIES FROM CHILDREN WHO WERE TRAFFICKED IN AMERICA

  We tracked down some of the 320,000 illegal alien children lost by the Biden-Harris administration.

  During the course of our investigation, we… pic.twitter.com/VO3XaOIe0o

  — Muckraker.com (@realmuckraker) September 25, 2024

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  In 2012, the head of GardaWorld told Reuters that Middle East conflicts had kept the staffing firm “busier than ever and has never been greater,” adding, “I don’t want to say it’s a gold rush, but business is very good.”

  The American people need to understand the same industrial-sized staffing firms that profited off the Deep State’s endless wars in the Middle East are profiting off the Biden-Harris migrant invasion – a government-created crisis.

  Taxpayers funded the migrant invasion chaos. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 19:40

• 20% Of Households Making Over $150,000 Live Paycheck-To-Paycheck
  20% Of Households Making Over $150,000 Live Paycheck-To-Paycheck

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  Bank of America has an interesting report on who’s living paycheck to paycheck (PTP). It’s not just the poor. Blame the Fed.

  

  Please consider Paycheck to Paycheck: What, Who, Where, Why?

  What Does It Mean?

  The term ‘living paycheck to paycheck’ is a fairly frequently heard expression but can be somewhat nebulous and is not always clearly defined. Broadly, one can imagine it refers to individuals or households that regularly spend nearly all of their income, leaving little to nothing left over for savings.

  By that widely used definition, over 40 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed to living PTP.

  

  BofA restricted that definition as shown in the lead chart.

  BofA refines PTP as “households where necessity spending is more than 95% of their household income, leaving them relatively little left over for ‘nice to have’ discretionary spending or saving.”

  Even by that definition, which I endorse, the percentage of PTP households is staggering.

  More surprising is that the proportion of households appearing to live paycheck to paycheck falls only slowly as incomes rise. Around 20% of households with incomes above $150K also appear to be living paycheck to paycheck. How can this be? One reason is that higher-income households may have bought larger, more expensive, homes and consequently have bigger mortgages. And often along with bigger homes come bigger insurance costs, property taxes and utility bills. It is also possible that as household incomes rise, some households may have more varied sources of income that are hard to capture – such as cash from sales of equities paid into brokerage accounts.

  Generational Paycheck to Paycheck

  

  That chart struck me as odd. But perhaps not. Zoomers and Younger millennials are priced out of a home and forced to rent.

  Then again, anyone with a mortgage should have been able to refinance at 3 percent or lower, putting extra money in their pockets every month.

  How Old Are the Youngest Boomers?

  AI Response: As of June 2024, the youngest baby boomers are 60–69 years old. The baby boomer generation is defined as people born between 1946 and 1964.

  Some experts have given the youngest baby boomers, born between 1954 and 1964, a new name, “Generation Jones”, because they are so different from older boomers.

  Has anyone heard the name “Generation Jones?”

  Regardless, boomers are at retirement age. The kids are gone. So why are boomers living PTP?

  One possible answer that BofA did not explore is Boomers have many assets and are prepared for the future. Besides, you can’t take it with you.

  Other possible answers, such as being totally unprepared for retirement, are much more troubling.

  Which is it? I suspect both reasons are in play, and that leads to the high PTP percentage shown.

  The Housing Factor

  Note the Hidden Costs of Homeownership.

  • Bank of America aggregated deposit data suggests that fewer households are moving between cities. In the second quarter of 2024, moves across cities fell 4% year-over-year (YoY) after a 15% YoY decrease this time last year. Those that are moving, however, are skewing towards Gen Z and lower-income households, likely as more households move out of necessity as opposed to choice.

  • Some households are likely deferring moves due to increased “hidden” costs of homeownership (e.g., insurance, property taxes). Bank of America aggregated payments data suggests these costs are up significantly YoY, especially in the Sun Belt. And a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco suggests that this area is affected by another “hidden” cost: climate change.

  • Gen Z and lower-income movers are likely searching for affordability, particularly in the rental market. We find those metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with relatively more affordable rents are seeing the fastest population growth in Q2 2024.

  • The fewer overall movers and the skew to younger/lower income movers is depressing consumer spending on moving-centric categories such as furniture. But if moving rebounds, we could see a tailwind to these areas of spending.

  Housing is a big factor in PTP. Insurance has soared and so have property taxes except where capped.

  The home ownership rate is only 35 percent for 25–30-year-olds, compared to 66 percent across all ages according to the Census Bureau.

  New Record Highs on Home Prices

  On September 28, I commented Yet Another Record High for Case-Shiller Home Prices

  And a quick check on Mortgage News Daily shows that 30-year mortgage rates have surged back up to 6.85 percent from 6.11 percent on September 11.

  I have been talking about housing since the start of this blog in March of 2003. The Fed keeps making the same mistake over and over.

  Fed Hubris

  Flashback March 4, 2021: Fed Hubris: Housing Prices Show the Fed is Making the Same Inflation Mistake

  Prior to 2000, home prices, Owners’ Equivalent Rent (OER), and the Case Shiller national home price index all moved in sync.

  This is important because home prices directly used to be in the CPI. Now they aren’t. Only rent is. Yet, OER is the single largest CPI component with a hefty weight of 24.05% of the entire index. 

  The BLS explains this away by calling homes a capital expense not a consumer expense. 

  However, that explanation ignores easily observed and measurable inflation. And it’s inflation, not alleged consumer inflation, that is important. 

  BIS Study on CPI Deflation

  Note that a BIS Study finds that routine consumer price deflation is not damaging in the least.

  Specifically, the BIS concludes “Deflation may actually boost output. Lower prices increase real incomes and wealth. And they may also make export goods more competitive!”

  Worst of all, in their attempts to fight routine consumer price deflation, central bankers, led by the Fed, create very destructive asset bubbles that eventually collapse, setting off what they should fear – asset bubble deflations.

  A $150,000 House in 1988 Now Costs $707,500 Thank You Fed

  Using Case-Shiller data of repeat sales, on August 10, 2024, I noted A $150,000 House in 1988 Now Costs $707,500 Thank You Fed

  Mess Entirely of Fed’s Making

  This is a mess entirely of the Fed’s making. And it’s what happens when the Fed, and economists in general do not count home prices as inflation.

  Home prices are not directly in the CPI or PCE. The latter is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.

  Economists consider home prices a capital expense not a consumer expense. The problem is simple: Inflation is not just a consumer price concern!

  The Fed ignored obvious inflation in the Great Recession and did so again in the Covid recession.

  Dual-State Economy

  And so here we are. The Fed is directly responsible for a dual-state economy of the haves vs the have-nots.

  The haves are the asset holders. They have largely benefitted from massive asset bubble inflation. The have-nots are those who want to buy a home but are priced out due to inflation.

  The Fed created this setup via QE and mortgage security purchases driving interest rates to zero and mortgage rates below 3 percent.

  Existing homeowners refinanced putting extra money in their pocket every month.

  The have-nots are trapped renting, while most of the haves are trapped in their homes unwilling to trade their 3 percent mortgage for a 6.85 percent mortgage.

  Meanwhile, the cost of insurance, maintenance, and property taxes on that home have jumped so much that 20 percent of people making over $150,000 a year are living paycheck to paycheck.

  End the Fed

  I believe I have made the case to end the Fed. Rather, the Fed made the case against itself.

  This idea was a discussion focus on this blog and the Mises Institute in a series of recent posts.

  Please see Fed “Playing With Fire” Take Two, Who Starts the Business Cycle? for a discussion of ideas and alternatives on ending or reigning in the Fed.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 19:15

• 'Startling': GOP Early-Voting Turnout In Nevada Amazes Veteran Observer, Alarms Dems
  ‘Startling’: GOP Early-Voting Turnout In Nevada Amazes Veteran Observer, Alarms Dems

  Warning lights have been flashing all over the Democrats’ 2024 dashboard, and now a new one is pointing to big trouble for Kamala Harris in the battleground state of Nevada, where early voting results show that GOP voters are actually outnumbering Democrats. 

  Across the country, Democrats typically account for a majority of early votes, and Nevada has been no exception — until now. “The numbers look pretty GOP so far, and that never happens in a presidential year,” wrote veteran Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston in a Tuesday afternoon blog post at the Nevada Independent. 

  🚨 BREAKING: Nevada experiences a dramatic +25 point swing towards Republicans on the first day of Early Voting! 🇺🇸 #ElectionUpdate

  In Clark County, NV, a whopping 22,000 in-person voters cast their ballots on day one of early voting.

  Early Voting Stats:
  2020:
  🔵 44% (+7)
  🔴… pic.twitter.com/ooJb2YVBio

  — Tony Lane 🇺🇸 (@TonyLaneNV) October 20, 2024

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  Democrats lead statewide mail-in voting by 17,298, but Republicans lead in-person voting by a whopping 25,173 — even beating Dems in Clark County and Washoe County, homes of Las Vegas and Reno, respectively. Statewide, Republicans account for 52% of in-person early voting, Democrats are just 28%, and “other” is 20%. “Those in-person numbers are startling,” wrote Ralston, who’s been covering Silver State politics for three decades. “A few more days like this…and the Democratic bedwetting will reach epic proportions.”

  Another dynamic of Americans politics is the big distinction between urban and rural voting patterns, with cities reliably delivering large volumes of Democratic votes. In Nevada, the dynamic is perhaps even more pronounced, with Democrats’ statewide fortunes largely tied to the so-called “Clark firewall.” However, so far in 2024, that barrier is looking mighty short. “The Clark firewall is only 6,500, about a seventh of what it was in 2020,” wrote Ralston.

  The bigger picture is even worse for the Democrats: “The [Republican voter-turnout] lead in rural Nevada is more than double the [Democrat] lead in urban Nevada,” he wrote. The sea change prompted Ralston to declare that we’re witnessing a new dynamic in the 2024 cycle: “The [GOP] rural firewall. It’s a thing.”

  The early voting blog is updated!

  Out: Clark D firewall

  In: Rural R firewall.

  It’s real: 16,500 votes because of massive landslides so far and higher than urban turnout percentage.

  Dems need more mail, lots of indies, or big trouble in NV.https://t.co/Pl43XBMcPA

  — Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) October 23, 2024

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  The departure from norms could also have implications for what we see on Election Day: “It’s clear there are more Republicans voting early and by mail, which raises the possibility that Election Day may not be as robust for the GOP.” 

  Extrapolating the results, Ralston concludes that “it means Kamala Harris has to win indies by close to double digits if this turnout scenario holds.” He cautioned that we’ve only three days into 14 days of early voting, and that results could shift. However, he continued, “If this becomes a trend and not an anomaly, it will be over.” 

  I’m at Galleria Mall in Henderson Nevada. The voting line is 2000 people deep. So far all the folks in front of & behind are voting TRUMP! We are at record early voting in Nevada! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/7Ikwlnff04

  — David Benjamin (@thetoyman1) October 21, 2024

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  There’s also a Senate race in Nevada this year, pitting Republican challenger Sam Brown against incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen. The Cook Political Report rates the race as “Lean D,” while Polymarket bettors collectively have Democrat Rosen at an 80% chance of winning. That’s a big variance from the presidential race, where Polymarket gives Trump a 65% chance of taking the state’s six electoral votes.

  No Republican presidential candidate has won the state since George W. Bush beat John Kerry by a 50.5% to 47.9% margin in 2004… but it looks like the table is being set for an end to that decades-long losing streak. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 18:50

• Denny's Plots 150 Closings As Part Of Its Growth Strategy
  Denny’s Plots 150 Closings As Part Of Its Growth Strategy

  By Peter Romeo of Restaurant Business Online

  Denny’s needs to close about a tenth of its stores before it can fully harness a comprehensive comeback plan that’s yielded encouraging early results, management informed Wall Street during the 71-year-old chain’s investor’s conference Tuesday. 

  

  Executives said they’ve tagged about 150 stores whose weak financial performance is sapping the whole system’s vitality. About half those units will be shut by the end of this year, with the rest slated to fire down their grills for good in 2025. 

  “We believe this is absolutely the right thing to do to make our system stronger,” company CEO Kelli Valade said in opening the daylong meeting with investors. 

  She spoke after the franchisor reported a 0.1% decrease in same-store sales for the Denny’s brand in the third quarter. Included in the results was an indication that Denny’s franchisees shut 18 units during the period, leaving the 1,590-unit system 53 restaurants smaller than it was at the end of the year-ago quarter.

  Valade said the closings were necessary to realize headquarters’ goals of raising Denny’s average annual unit volume to $2.2 million and putting a fresh face on the brand. 

  She did not reveal how pricing or traffic levels figured into the quarterly results, though she acknowledged that guest counts were down. “Everyone has lost traffic. Everyone,” Valade commented.

  She cited research showing sales for all of family dining are down about 20%, the steepest decline for any major industry segment. 

  The presentation from management also touched on how many of the chains in family dining, one of the restaurant business’ oldest sectors, are similarly shutting stores. 

  “We’ve contracted most since Covid, that’s a fact,” Valade said.

  Steve Dunn, Denny’s chief development officer, said the home office had reviewed every domestic unit of the chain to assess its financial strength. It found that the fifth of the system with the weakest performance was hurting the rest of the system because the stores were often old and located in markets whose consumer dynamics had changed. The decision was made, he said, to prune those stores for the benefit of the survivors.

  Valade said the systemwide evaluation also revealed the brand’s “Achilles heel,” a significant variation in the look of units from market to market. 

  Dunn indicated the inconsistency and aged look of some stores will be addressed in a comprehensive renovation program called Diner 2.0. It includes several financial incentives for franchisees to make the needed investments, including a grant of $100,000 to operators who opt to update. In exchange for the cash, participants agree to pay what management characterized as a slightly higher royalty fee, though it did not specify how much of an increase there would be.

  In addition, management has worked with a third party to create a $25 million loan pool to fund the updates.

  Restaurants given a facelift tend to see a $400,000 uplift in sales, according to Dunn. Experience has shown that the rejuvenated stores can expect a sales boost of 6.4% and a traffic upswing of 6.5%.

  A signature Denny’s feature that could be dropped from those stores is a requirement that they remain open around the clock. Valade revealed that about 25% of the system has opted not to operate through the night and suggested the chain will not aim for its pre-pandemic goal of every unit being open 24/7.

  Executives of the company reviewed their previously disclosed plan for reinvigorating Denny’s operations and sharpening the brand’s appeal to new and lapsed customers. That strategy pivots on value.

  Valade revealed that some customers are bringing down their tabs in part by ordering Denny’s kids meals more regularly.

  Other executives stressed that virtual concepts will remain a key part of the strategy. Denny’s currently boasts three digital brands: Burger Den, the Meltdown and its newest venture, Banda Burritos, which is now available featured in 1,000 Denny’s units. The three have generated $77 million in sales to date, according to Patty Trevino, the diner chain’s new chief brand officer.

  She revealed that Banda Burritos intends to steal a trick from its parent company’s playbook. The venture is currently eying the rollout of a product called the Grand Slam Burrito, a clear reference to Denny’s signature breakfast platter.

  Trevino stressed that Denny’s will continue to evolve its menu, not only through additions but by upgrading what’s already on the bill of fare. She noted, for instance, that the company has spent $8 million to improve its bacon.

  Keke’s gets some attention

  Management focused more on Denny’s young sister brand, Keke’s Breakfast Café, than executives typically have during their quarterly calls with financial analysts.

  Same-store sales for the still-regional operation slid 1% during the third quarter, said concept President Dave Schmidt.

  He revealed that the concept has been and will continue to be tweaked in preparation for rapid expansion. Development agreements have been signed for 140 stores, off the current base of 61 units. Much of that commitment has come from Denny’s franchisees, Schmidt indicated.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 18:25

• Apple "Might Wind Down" Vision Pro Production Next Month Due To "Weak Demand" 
  Apple “Might Wind Down” Vision Pro Production Next Month Due To “Weak Demand” 

  A new report from The Information suggests Apple might suspend production of its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset as early as next month due to very weak demand. Some Asian suppliers have already reduced or stopped producing headset components since the summer. Additionally, the development of the next Vision Pro model has been delayed, while a more affordable headset is slated for the retail market by the end of 2025. 

  The first version has met weak demand, a result of its high price and the lack of apps available on it. Employees at three Vision Pro suppliers that supply a range of electrical and mechanical components told The Information they have so far built enough components for between 500,000 and 600,000 headsets.

  One of the employees said their factory suspended production of Vision Pro components in May based on Apple’s weak forecasts, and their warehouse remains filled with tens of thousands of undelivered parts.

  . . . 

  In recent weeks, Apple has told Luxshare, which is responsible for the Vision Pro’s final assembly, that it might need to wind down its manufacturing in November, according to an employee at the Chinese manufacturer. Luxshare is making around 1,000 Vision Pro units a day, down from a peak of around 2,000 units a day, the employee said. It has assembled a total of between 500,000 and 600,000 headsets since production began last year ahead of its February release in the U.S., the employee said.

  Apple’s move into the mixed-reality headset market with its $3,500 Vision Pro seems poorly timed, given the financial strain on many low- to mid-tier consumers. High inflation and elevated interest rates, primarily attributed to failed Bidenomics, have left millions of cash-strapped Americans in financial misery as they struggle to cover basic expenses like rent, groceries, car payments, insurance, and phone bills.

  

  The Vision Pro flop is nothing new to readers. We commented on a WSJ note earlier this month that showed the dismal demand for the headset means no ‘killer app’ anytime soon:

  There has been a significant slowdown in new apps coming to the Vision Pro every month. Only 10 apps were introduced to the Vision App Store in September, down from the hundreds released in the first two months of the device’s launch, according to analytics firm Appfigures.

  It has counted around 1,770 apps available for the Vision Pro in the App Store as of September. Only 34% of those apps are built specifically for the Vision Pro, while the rest are versions of existing Apple apps that have additional Vision Pro functionality, Appfigures said.

  Apple said in August that there are more than 2,500 apps built for the Vision Pro. Appfigures said the discrepancy between these two figures could be, in part, because some apps aren’t used enough to register on usage charts, making them difficult for the analytics firm to detect.

  A visualization from WSJ shows a considerable decline in the number of new apps released for Vision Pro every month since its launch.

  

  We’ve previously noted…

  Vision Pro’s Success Hinges On Cheaper Version As Consumers Balk At $3,500 Price Tag https://t.co/DlTGIIKHNB

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 11, 2024

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

  Even from the start. 

  Audible groans when the price for Apple’s Vision Pro is announced.

  $3500 to disconnect from reality. No thanks. pic.twitter.com/nFLSlCtWZ7

  — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) June 6, 2023

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

  Just like the AI-enabled iPhone 16, another bust for Apple. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 18:00

• NASA Finally Comes To Grips With Telework Tumbleweeds
  NASA Finally Comes To Grips With Telework Tumbleweeds

  Authored by Pete McGinnis via RealClearPolicy,

  Two years on from COVID, the agency noticed sparse HQ attendance. 

  Someday, it may end up being one of those hoary old philosophical saws: “If the lease on a government agency’s headquarters expires, but nobody actually works there, do the taxpayers’ sighs of relief make a sound?” 

  

  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) may have the honor of being the first federal agency to find out. Heavily redacted communications obtained by the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) show that the lease on NASA’s headquarters expires in 2028. An email from an official at the General Services Administration, which manages offices and properties for the federal government, said, “The agency is starting the process of evaluating options including leasing, buying a different building, or construction of a new headquarters building, all within the Washington area and close to public transportation.” There was one big problem: knowing how many workers a new HQ will have to house, because nobody at the agency seems to know how many workers show up at the office now.  

  NASA email chains reflect the confusion. One staffer involved in the discussion asked, “Are enterprise organizations on remote work agreements counted in their analysis of under 50% work being performed on-site?” Another had to explain that “100% telework … that is not a thing!” Apparently “Telework Coordinators” are doing a review of each pay period to determine who coded to 100% telework, the reason why, and conducting education and counseling when needed. The last alternative is the employee is not reporting onsite on a regular basis without approval and in contradiction to the regulation.  

  (Ironically, we know of two NASA employees who would dearly love to work from home but can’t. Rest assured, NASA’s doing everything that can be done while in PJs and bunny slippers to get its astronauts home. In the meantime, it’s good to know the SpaceX offices are rocking.) 

  Of course, it’s not only NASA. In spring 2023, the House Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce asked 25 agencies to report on the status of their telework arrangements. On November 29, 2023, Subcommittee Chairman Pete Sessions told a hearing, “I want to be clear, of the 25 agencies we wrote last spring, many responses were not, in fact, responsive. Eleven of the 25 did not include any figures at all regarding how many of their employees were currently teleworking—either in the Washington, D.C. area or agency-wide.” On the other side of the Capitol, Senator Joni Ernst (Iowa) has been aggressive in her push for transparency in telework and waste from mostly empty federal buildings.  

  Federal workers don’t much seem to miss the watercooler banter of yesteryear. They haven’t exactly been sprinting back to their offices in the two-plus years since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, and getting them back in hasn’t been a priority for the Biden-Harris administration. Despite demands from Congress and an order from President Biden, the trickle of returning workers hasn’t become a flood. 

  At NASA, with its “analysis of under 50% work being performed on-site,” it apparently took until February of 2024 to finally notice the tumbleweeds rolling through HQ and announce to staff it would significantly condense its space: “With daily occupancy in the building so low, people are spread out, which is a waste of space, can be tough on employees and is not the best use of taxpayer dollars.”  

  It’s nice that somebody’s thinking of the taxpayers. But while HQ was being rehabbed, NASA was going to 100% telework until “perhaps May.” And if the agency does move to a new building, the goal seems to be to have people in the office 90% of the time. So that “close to public transportation” feature will be handy. Some day. 

  To recap: the agency is considering a shiny new HQ building but can’t confidently say how many workers it will need to house, and managers don’t seem to know where everyone is. And their only answer is more telework. Meanwhile, the agency is conspicuously failing in the “Aeronautics and Space” mission it was created for and being bailed out by private enterprise. This is classic government dysfunction. 

  But it’s worse. It’s more proof – as though more were needed – that in the federal bureaucracy there’s little accountability and even less concern about what the people who pay the bills think about it. 

  Pete McGinnis is director of communications at the Functional Government Initiative.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 17:40

• DOJ Warns Musk Over $1M Voter Giveaway: Report
  DOJ Warns Musk Over $1M Voter Giveaway: Report

  While the Biden-Harris DOJ has been silent over allegations that Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue is using illegal straw donors, they sure seem to have a problem with Elon Musk’s super PAC – and has issued a warning in an alleged letter that its $1 million daily giveaway in battleground states may violate federal law, NBC News reports (based on an anonymous source, so who knows).

  

  According to the report, the letter follows mounting pressure to stop the program.

  The letter, which was earlier reported by CNN, follows mounting pressure on state and federal authorities to investigate Musk’s lottery as a potential violation of election laws, including a ban on paying people to register to vote. On Monday, a group of ex-prosecutors and other former government officials sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation. 

  News of the letter come on the same day that left-wing public advocacy group Public Citizen filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that the contest violates campaign finance law because “the purpose of the $1 million reward for signing the petition appears to be to motivate voter registration and voting at the polls by those sympathetic with the candidacy of Donald Trump in the key swing states for the 2024 presidential election.”

  According to the complaint, because the contest is only available to registered voters, it may constitute an illegal financial incentive to get people to register to vote.

  On the other hand, Musk’s PAC, the America PAC, is asking people to sign a petition for the chance to win $1 million – not explicitly rewarding them for registering to vote.

  

  On Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) told Meet the Press that the contest was “concerning,” and “something that law enforcement could take a look at.”

  Gov. Josh Shapiro calls Musk’s million-dollar giveaways ‘deeply concerning’ pic.twitter.com/4l5A9wTJO3

  — New York Post (@nypost) October 20, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsWhile we don’t know the contents of the alleged DOJ letter – or if it exists, it’s likely to be a cease-and-desist letter, similar to what Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream received in 2008 when they offered everyone with an “I Voted” sticker a free ice cream cone on election day.

  According to NBC News legal experts, the giveaway falls into a legal gray area that may or may not violate election law.

  “I can see what people are saying when they argue this violates the law, but I don’t think it does,” said election law expert Matthew Sanderson.

  Musk announced the giveaway last Saturday at a town hall event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 17:20

• Waste Of The Day: States Are $811 Billion In Debt
  Waste Of The Day: States Are $811 Billion In Debt

  Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

  Topline: America’s 50 state governments will need an extra $811 billion to pay off their current debt, according to the annual “State of the States” report from Truth in Accounting.

  

  Key facts: State governments had $2.9 billion in debt and only $2.1 trillion in assets at the end of fiscal year 2023, Truth in Accounting, a nonpartisan organization that promotes fiscal transparency and accountability, found. The gap will need to be covered by taxpayers sometime in the future.

  Twenty-seven states have “taxpayer burdens,” meaning their budget is not balanced and they would need to collect at least $900 from every person in the state to eliminate their debt. Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut received a letter grade of “F” because they would need over $25,000 from every resident to pay their bills.

  Only 23 states had what Truth in Accounting calls a “taxpayer surplus,” meaning they could pay off all of their debt and still have money to return to taxpayers. Four states received a letter grade of “A” because they have a taxpayer surplus above $10,000: North Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming and Utah.

  Unfunded pension liabilities contributed $840 billion to the debt. States have promised to eventually pay pensions to teachers, firefighters, cops and more, but have only saved up 70% of the necessary cash.

  Other post-retirement benefits are underfunded by $493 billion. They mostly consist of lifetime healthcare plans, for which states have saved up only 14% of the money they’ve promised to current employees.

  Researchers wrote that “Unfortunately, some elected officials have used portions of the money owed to pension and OPEB funds to keep taxes low and pay for politically popular programs. This is similar to charging earned benefits to a credit card without having the money to pay off the debt.”

  Underreporting pension liabilities is just one “accounting trick” politicians use to falsely claim their budgets are balanced, according to Truth in Accounting. Some states also overstate their revenue, count borrowed money as income, and more.

  Every state has a law requiring their budget to be balanced, except for Vermont.

  Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.

  Summary: The national debt makes headlines constantly, but the fiscal problems at the state level can’t be ignored.

  The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 17:00

• 'The Atlantic' Immediately Debunked After Attempting Yet Another Trump Military Hit Piece
  ‘The Atlantic’ Immediately Debunked After Attempting Yet Another Trump Military Hit Piece

  Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA,

  The sister of slain soldier Vanessa Guillén slammed The Atlantic after it used anonymous sources to allege that President Donald Trump disparaged her after discovering the funeral expenses. 

  

  Guillén’s death at the hands of a fellow soldier and his girlfriend became national news in 2020, with Trump comforting the grief-stricken family and extending death benefits. He also offered to cover the costs personally if the Army did not pay for the funeral expenses. 

  The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, however, attempted to rewrite history on Tuesday, claiming that Trump was outraged when he learned that Guillén’s funeral, which included heightened security and closed streets, cost $60,000. 

  According to the magazine—relying on an anonymous source—Trump allegedly said, “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican!” and ordered then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to deny payment. 

  Guillén’s sister, Mayra, issued a viral statement on X, condemning The Atlantic’s distorted portrayal of her experience with Trump. 

  “I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics- hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members,” Mayra wrote on X, garnering over 3 million views. 

  “President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today,” Mayra added.

  Wow.
  I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics- hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members. President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today. https://t.co/o8cDrKOKBV

  — Mayra Guillen (@mguilen_) October 22, 2024

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

  FOREVER 20
  Happy heavenly birthday sister. You’d be 25 years old today. Time has passed by so unexpectedly, it feels like it was just yesterday that we were having breakfast….you now have a legacy that we have to fulfill in your honor. I love you & miss you very much sister. ❤️‍🩹 pic.twitter.com/sbVgIWvQXh

  — Mayra Guillen (@mguilen_) September 30, 2024

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

  In another post, Mayra emphasized that her sister’s death should never be politicized. 

  “Unbelievable,” she continued. 

  The denials did not stop there as Meadows took to X, refuting the allegations. 

  “Any suggestion that President Trump disparaged Ms. Guillen or refused to pay for her funeral expenses is absolutely false,” Meadows wrote.

  “He was nothing but kind, gracious, and wanted to make sure that the military and the U.S. government did right by Vanessa Guillen and her family.”

  I was in the discussions featured in the Atlantic’s latest hit piece against President Trump. Let me say this.

  Any suggestion that President Trump disparaged Ms. Guillen or refused to pay for her funeral expenses is absolutely false.

  He was nothing but kind, gracious, and…

  — Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) October 22, 2024

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

  Meadows’s spokesperson, Ben Williamson, explicitly denied that Trump ever made the remarks in comments provided before publication.

  The Atlantic omitted these comments, claiming that Williamson denied ever hearing such remarks.

  On the left: I sent Atlantic a comment saying President Trump “absolutely did not say that,” referring to the alleged comments about Ms. Guillen they printed.

  On the right: Atlantic translated that comment to “didn’t hear Trump say it.”

  Treat this dishonest piece accordingly. pic.twitter.com/pM1o1c9fEm

  — Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) October 22, 2024

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

  This marked the second instance of The Atlantic publishing demonstrably false claims against Trump.

  The magazine previously claimed that Trump refused to visit a veteran cemetery because he allegedly called fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers.” 

  It was later revealed that the cemetery trip was canceled due to poor weather, which required Trump to travel by helicopter. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 16:20

• Traders Sell Everything As Dollar & Yields Soar To 3-Month Highs
  Traders Sell Everything As Dollar & Yields Soar To 3-Month Highs

  Stocks dropped for the third day in a row today (longest streak since early Sept) with the S&P’s worst loss in seven weeks, as with a big h/t to Goldman, it seems equity market bulls finally noticed the recent explosion in rates.

  Treasury yields rose across the curve again today (with the long-end outperforming – 2Y +5bps, 30Y +2bps)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  But, the recent 2-sigma move in rates (as we have seen) implies serious drawdowns for stocks…

  

  …and the surge in rates (10Y +55bps in the last three weeks) suddenly hit stocks…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  …and ‘Trumpflation’ has prompted a market-wide rethink of rate-cut expectations (lower/hawkish), especially for next year…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  …and that all weighed on stocks bigly today. There was a small comeback after The Beige Book signaled some dovishness, but Nasdaq was the day’s biggest loser (down over 2% at one point)…

  

  A big down-day for mega-cap tech today…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  All seven of the Mag7 stocks were down today – that is the first time that’s happened since Sept 6th…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  ‘Most Shorted’ stocks were monkeyhammered lower…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Even the so-called ‘Trump Trade’ saw selling pressure today (though the “Democratic Victory’ basket was hit even harder, so don’t get all excited Kamala)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Goldman’s trading desk noted that overall activity levels are up +5% vs. the trailing 2 weeks with market volumes up +5% vs the 10dma, with their floor basically paired Buy vs. Sell with HFs net to buy and LOs net for sale

  • HFs are +7% better to buy with Demand in Macro Products, Industrials & Tech offsetting supply in Fins, Utes & Comms Svcs

  • LOs are -2% better for sale.  Tech supply from them outweighs supply in Staples and Cons Svcs by 3:1.  Demand is led by Cons Disc, Mats & HCare.

  Meanwhile, the dollar refuses to stop, rallying up to its strongest since early July against its fiat peers…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Treasury yields are rising as fast as the dollar – also up to three month highs (all above 4.00%)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  The dollar strength finally smacked gold lower today… but not before the precious metal hit a new intraday record high…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Silver underperformed gold on the day after a decent run against the barbarous relic…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Crypto was clubbed like a baby seal also, with Bitcoin fading back towards $65,000….

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  After two strong days, oil prices slipped lower on an inventory build, higher crude production, and no extreme headlines out of the MidEast (yet)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Finally, prediction markets continue to trend in Trump’s direction…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  …and even the polls are starting to move in his favor (because there’s only so much ‘cheat’ margin to play with).

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/23/2024 – 16:00

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