Feb 06

Today’s News 6th February 2025

  • FDA Dysfunction Rewards Chinese Black Marketeers At The Expense Of Kids
    FDA Dysfunction Rewards Chinese Black Marketeers At The Expense Of Kids

    Authored by Michael Chamberlain via RealClearHealth,

    If Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), he has vowed to reform the agency. His work is cut out for him: HHS’s size and scope are matched only by its dysfunction.

    Mr. Kennedy has singled out the Food and Drug Administration for attention. Let’s hope he doesn’t overlook the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). CTP is responsible for licensing the sale of all nicotine products in the U.S., a job it doesn’t want to do and is quite successful at avoiding. As of June 2024, the CTP hadn’t authorized the sale of an e-cigarette or vaping system during the entire Biden-Harris administration. It had authorized just 1/1,000th of one percent of the applications it’s received and had a backlog of 557,000 pending applications for new products. That’s impressive inaction. Meanwhile, the U.S. market is flooded with illicit Chinese-made vapes.

    The FDA has been so resolute in refusing to approve flavored vapes in particular that the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court in January 2024 decided against it in a case brought by a manufacturer. The judge writing the opinion for the court pulled no punches:

    [FDA] sent manufacturers … on a wild goose chase. First [giving] manufacturers detailed instructions for what information [it] needed to approve e-cigarette products … [and saying] manufacturers’ marketing plans would be “critical” to the success of their applications. [It] promulgated hundreds of pages of guidance documents, hosted public meetings, and posted formal presentations … all with the (false) promise that a flavored-product manufacturer could, at least in theory, satisfy FDA’s instructions. The regulated manufacturers dutifully spent untold millions conforming …. Then, months after receiving hundreds of thousands of applications predicated on its instructions, FDA … pretended it never gave anyone any instructions about anything, imposed new testing requirements without any notice, and denied all one million flavored e-cigarette applications for failing to predict the agency’s volte face. Worse … FDA candidly admitted that it did not read a single word of the one million [marketing] plans … [and] denied that its voluminous guidance documents and years-long instructional processes meant anything.

    But while the agency was playing “switcheroo” with regulated companies, black-market manufacturers weren’t inactive. Chinese companies rake in $3.5 billion a year here with illegal and potentially more harmful products while regulated U.S. manufacturers’ scientifically researched products sit in CTP limbo. What’s more, those black-market manufacturers don’t scruple at selling flavored e-cigarettes with kid-attractive names and packaging.

    That’s the public price of the FDA preference for prohibition of all nicotine products. The other price – the one tobacco companies pay in “user fees” to submit products for FDA approval – it would rather you didn’t know about.

    Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) submitted FOIA requests in early 2023 for documentation on how the agency spends those user fees but was forced to sue later that year to access the documents. Even after we sued, FDA dragged its feet and acted as if it didn’t understand what we wanted. Now we know why. The CTP’s statutory mandate is to regulate the tobacco industry in an efficient, lawful, and objective manner. But it turns out the CTP is taking user fees from tobacco companies and handing them over to anti-tobacco special interests who want to ban all nicotine products.

    FDA gave $472,756 to The Truth Initiative. It gave $195,600 to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and it gave $145,068 to the Michael Bloomberg-affiliated Bureau of National Affairs for tobacco prohibition activism. And its ties to these groups go deeper than money. As reported last June, CTP official Cathy Crosby allegedly improperly solicited gifts in the form of tickets to a gala hosted by the Center for Tobacco-Free Kids. Shortly after chatting at that event with a board member of The Truth Initiative, she left CTP to become its CEO.

    Of the $1.235 billion in user fees the FDA has expended during the previous four fiscal years the agency awarded a whopping 41 percent to a single entity – a communications company. So, while a million applications were languishing in FDA purgatory, while “regulated manufacturers dutifully spent untold millions conforming,” and while Chinese black-market manufacturers were raking in nearly $15 billion off the illegal U.S. market, FDA spent over a half-billion dollars trying to tell the American public what a great job it’s doing.

    Every dollar sent to prohibitionist activists or spent on self-promotion is a dollar that could be used to get potentially dangerous illegal Chinese products off the shelves and out of the reach of kids. But FDA acts like just another of the anti-nicotine special interest groups uninterested in harm-reduction. It shares money and an active revolving door with activist groups, at the expense of its statutory responsibilities and ultimately of kids

    The FDA’s prohibitionist zealotry is more than just wrong-headed. Mr. Kennedy should take note.

    Michael Chamberlain is the Director of Protect the Public’s Trust.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 23:25

  • "This Is Where The Big Money Fraud Is Happening": DOGE Dives Into Medicare Payment Malarkey
    “This Is Where The Big Money Fraud Is Happening”: DOGE Dives Into Medicare Payment Malarkey

    Representatives of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – who just obtained security clearances, have been embedded at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week, gaining access to critical payment and contracting systems, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing multiple individuals familiar with the situation.

    The DOGE representatives have been on site at the agency’s offices this week, the people said, and they are looking at the systems’ technology as well as the spending that flows through them, with a focus on pinpointing what they consider fraud or waste. DOGE representatives are also examining the agency’s organizational design and how it is staffed, the people added.

    Musk confirmed his interest in CMS oversight in a social media post, writing on X: “Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening.“

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

    The White House and DOGE officials declined to comment on the matter. In the last week, Musk’s DOGE team has been moving swiftly to gain access across multiple federal agencies, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to uncover fraud, abuse, and excessive spending.

    A CMS official told the Journal that the agency has assigned “two senior agency veterans who are leading the coordination with DOGE,” and that leaders are “taking a thoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective and efficient spending in line with meeting the goals of President Trump.”

    CMS sits at the heart of the nation’s healthcare economy, managing a budget of approximately $1.5 trillion in fiscal 2024 – roughly 22 percent of total federal spending. The agency employs around 6,710 people and administers Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare programs vital to millions of Americans. Many of its employees have spent decades navigating the complex regulatory and operational framework underpinning the healthcare system.

    Among the systems DOGE representatives have accessed is CALM, the CMS Acquisition Lifecycle Management system, which contains contract data, sources said. However, they noted that DOGE personnel have not yet gained entry to databases containing personally identifiable health information of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. They also have not accessed HIGLAS, the Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System, a key accounting platform for CMS payments.

    One person familiar with DOGE’s work at CMS emphasized that the current level of access is “read-only,” preventing Musk’s team from making modifications to the systems.

    The intervention has raised concerns among CMS veterans and healthcare policy experts. The agency’s payment structures are notoriously complex, involving multiple layers of contractors and private insurers, especially within Medicare. Medicaid, jointly administered by federal and state governments, follows different financial pathways, with federal funding typically flowing to state agencies.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 23:00

  • How 'Wars Of Choice' Formed The Worldview Of Trump's Top NatSec Picks Busy Cleaning Up The Swamp
    How ‘Wars Of Choice’ Formed The Worldview Of Trump’s Top NatSec Picks Busy Cleaning Up The Swamp

    Authored by Kamal Alam via Al Majallah,

    While the wars in Ukraine and Gaza were the dominant foreign policy issues being debated on the presidential campaign trail, Trump often cited another, older war as proof of Biden’s foreign policy failures: the US war in Afghanistan.

    And since he won the presidency, Trump has given multiple war veterans who served in Afghanistan a place in his cabinet. Mike Waltz is one of them.

    And in his new role as National Security Advisor, he is already cleaning house, getting rid of generals and officials who played a part in America’s blunderous exit from Afghanistan.

    And while Afghanistan itself will not feature prominently on Trump’s list of foreign policy priorities, the impact of America’s longest war remains front and center in the minds of Waltz, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, and Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, all Afghan war veterans.

    Michael Waltz, via Associated Press

    Trump repeatedly said that wars in Ukraine and Gaza would have never started if the US had not left Kabul the way it did in August 2021 and that, going forward, America must avoid wars, and if it has to go to war, it should do it quickly without pursuing regime change.

    Waltz would agree. He said Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan allowed the Taliban – which hosted America’s biggest enemy since WWII, Bin Laden and Al Qaeda – to come back to power. Since the pullout, the UN has reported that more than a dozen terrorist groups are back in Afghanistan, which is quickly becoming a bastion for transnational terror groups.

    He also said that by abandoning its strategic base in Kabul – Bagram, one of the largest US bases in Asia – Biden basically left it open for China to snatch up. In fact, the Chinese are already using it commercially, mining Afghan minerals and rare earth resources, which are estimated to be worth billions, if not trillions. Waltz bemoans the fact that Beijing is reaping the spoils of a war that Americans died for.

    A quick Amazon search on Afghanistan war books will turn up more than two dozen books just written in the last two years by US soldiers and officers on the betrayal of Afghanistan. Whilst Iraq was always seen as an illegal war, Afghanistan was seen as a good war. Waltz himself penned two books on his experiences in both wars.

    From military to advocacy

    After his military service, he continued his Afghan advocacy, publicly supporting the National Resistance Front led by Ahmad Massoud, the leading opposition group fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Waltz maintains close relations with Massoud and was on the phone with him as the Panjshir Valley was falling in September 2021.

    While many officials moved on from Afghanistan, including those in the Biden administration, veterans led by Waltz have kept pressing for accountability over the chaotic way it pulled out. Waltz grilled army generals, including former joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley, who was responsible for Kabul. For his part, Hegseth stripped Milley of his security detail, and his portraits were taken down from the Pentagon.

    Former Navy Seal and popular podcaster Shawn Ryan, who interviewed Hegseth just two days before the election, called the former FOX news anchor’s interview with Massoud his “most important interview ever”.

    Ryan specializes in security matters and has hosted several high-profile military veterans, including Tulsi Gabbard, who has been very outspoken on the US betrayal of Afghanistan, which she says embodies everything that is wrong with the Pentagon, the CIA, and what some refer to as the Deep State.

    Another Trump insider and former counter-terrorism DOD official, Kash Patel, who ran Trump’s Afghan withdrawal plan, wrote a whole book on how to ‘gut’ the defense establishment and fight the ‘Deep State’ which Trump vowed to take on.

    Via The Hill

    During his inauguration speech, he promised to “end wars” and “not get America into them in the first place.” In fact, he was in favor of ending the war in Afghanistan and was the one who started negotiations with the Taliban during his first term, much like he is now calling for talks with Putin and a potential Iran deal. However, he believes this must be done from a position of strength and not in the chaotic way Biden withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.

    As for Ukraine, Trump looks poised to wind down support for Kyiv, which continues to lose territory to Russia, unless he sees a drastic change on the ground.

    More generally, Trump’s veteran-filled cabinet will try to avert costly ground invasions and opt for a light footprint with special forces if necessary, as was the case in the early days after 9/11 when less than 200 US special forces backed by air power toppled the Taliban in less than 30 days.

    As Waltz assumes his post, his experience in Afghanistan will be weighing on his mind as he advises Trump on the best way to conduct America’s foreign policy.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 22:35

  • Saudi Arabia Has Good Reason To Dillydally On Formally Joining BRICS
    Saudi Arabia Has Good Reason To Dillydally On Formally Joining BRICS

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

    Making an official decision either way could disrupt the Kingdom’s careful multi-alignment between the West and the World Majority…

    Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim told the World Economic Forum during last month’s Davos Summit that “We’ve been invited to the BRICS, similar to how we’ve been invited to many other multilateral platforms in the past historically. We assess many different aspects of it before a decision is made and right now, we are in the middle of that.”

    Saudi Arabia has good reason to dillydally on formally joining BRICS too for the reasons that’ll now be explained.

    It was posited here in January 2024 when the country first revealed that it hadn’t yet accepted the group’s official membership invitation that this “is due to Western perceptions about this association, Iran’s involvement in the Red Sea Crisis, and Israeli-US pressure”, which still holds true. Regarding the first, Saudi Arabia would arguably feel uncomfortable with its name and national brand being included in the plethora of agenda-driven promotional materials misportraying BRICS as an anti-Western alliance.

    The Kingdom used to be solidly in the Western camp but has taken a page from India’s book in recent years by multi-aligning between them and what Russia now calls the World Majority.

    This grand strategic recalibration is due to Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), whose character and vision were praised by Putin in late 2022, which was analyzed here at the time.

    MBS understandably doesn’t want to fuel the false perception that he’s pivoting away from the West.

    The second reason about Iran’s involvement in the Red Sea Crisis is also still relevant since Saudi Arabia doesn’t want to formally join an organization in which its historic rival is also a member amidst the latest support that the latter has given to the Kingdom’s Houthi enemies. Moreover, Iran also supports Hamas, whose sneak attack on 7 October abruptly delayed work on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was supposed to make Saudi Arabia a key node in Euro-Asian trade.

    The final reason builds upon the aforementioned and includes joint pressure from its fellow Israeli-American IMEC investors who didn’t want Saudi Arabia joining a group within which Iran is also now a member as the West Asian Wars between Israel and the Iranian-led Resistance Axis were raging. Even though the two main ones in Gaza and Lebanon have since officially ended, neither would look approvingly upon Saudi Arabia formally joining BRICS, which could endanger its ties with both.

    MBS wants to revive IMEC as soon as possible since it’s expected to function as an integral part of his “Vision 2030” grand strategic plan (the end date of which will likely be pushed back due to all that’s happened since its announcement in 2016) to revolutionize his country’s socio-economic systems. That’s not possible without a large degree of US involvement and Israel’s cooperation, the latter of which requires formal Saudi recognition of the Jewish State, possibly explaining Bibi’s concessions on Gaza.

    Openly defying them by formally joining the same group within which their shared Iranian nemesis is already a member, and doing so right after Trump returns to power amidst reports that he’ll reimpose his “maximum pressure” policy against the Islamic Republic, could lead to both abandoning IMEC. The US and Israel offer Saudi Arabia tangible economic and financial benefits whereas BRICS has yet to provide its members with any whatsoever at all as explained here after the latest Kazan Summit.

    Additionally, Trump is under the false impression (subsequently debunked by Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar) that BRICS is focused on de-dollarizing and wants to create a new currency to rival the dollar, so he’d predictably overreact if Saudi Arabia decides to formally join now. That could scuttle MBS’ ambitious IMEC plans that are one of the centerpieces of his “Vision 2030” grand strategic plan so he’s loath to risk such consequences in exchange for literally nothing at all from BRICS.

    It therefore makes perfect sense why Saudi Arabia is dillydallying on formally joining BRICS since it presently enjoys all the knowledge-sharing and elite-networking benefits brought about through its partial participation without any of the political or economic risks inherent in being a full member. MBS can therefore maintain his Kingdom’s careful multi-alignment between the West (which includes Israel in this formulation) and the World Majority by indefinitely delaying a decision on this either way.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 21:45

  • 'Non-Negotiable': Saudi Arabia Blasts Trump's Gaza Takeover Plan
    ‘Non-Negotiable’: Saudi Arabia Blasts Trump’s Gaza Takeover Plan

    The international reaction to President Trump’s Tuesday declaration that the US will “take over” the Gaza Strip and that Palestinians would “love to leave” the largely destroyed enclave which has suffered in the midst of the Hamas-Israel war (though a fragile truce has held for a couple week) has been as expected. Various countries have issued condemnation, including predictably from the United Nations chief, given it smacks of ethnic cleansing of a historic territory, though few actual details have been defined in terms of how such a plan involving US troops would be executed.

    Saudi Arabia has been one major US regional ally to react swiftly in condemnation. The Saudis have said Wednesday that Trump’s desired ‘normalization’ with Israel based on the Abraham Accords would definitely be off.

    File image via USA Today

    Riyadh said the Palestinians must be guaranteed an independent state if were to ever implement diplomatic relations with Israel. “The establishment of the Palestinian state is a firm, unwavering position,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said said on X.

    “His Highness [Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman] has affirmed this position in a clear and explicit manner that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.”

    “His Highness stressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement continued. 

    Needless to say, a permanent removal of Palestinians from Gaza would thwart such a possibility, and other Arab states which have already made peace with Israel might reverse their position, for example the UAE. The Saudis are making clear that this stance is ‘non-negotiable’ – and the reality is that mass displacement of Palestinians to neighboring states would likely collapse the Hamas truce, and halt the ongoing hostage/prisoner exchange.

    Russia too is another major power condemning Trump’s Tuesday remarks, with top diplomat Sergei Lavrov arguing that this “culture of cancellation” is at work, suggesting that the US is seeking to ‘cancel’ Palestinian identity.

    Lavrov said that UN National Security Council decisions were “were recognized by everyone without exception a month and a half ago as a necessary basis for actions to create a Palestinian state” and have “simply been canceled.”

    Arab public opinion is also clear…

    Via Al Jazeera

    Trump said during Netanyahu’s White House visit that the US “will take over” Gaza after relocating Palestinians elsewhere and that a major reconstruction plan in the Strip could turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

    Israeli hardliners in Netanyahu’s cabinet have welcomed these ‘shock’ words. But without Arab capitals, including the Saudis, on board it’s hard to see how it could get off the ground in any practical sense. Hamas would certainly resume fighting, and neighboring Arab militaries could be drawn in. There’s also a continuing truce with Hezbollah which would likely break down.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 21:20

  • OPM Says Federal Unions Are Misinforming Workers About Voluntary Resignation Contracts
    OPM Says Federal Unions Are Misinforming Workers About Voluntary Resignation Contracts

    Authored by Mark Tapscott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Federal employees considering the buy-out offer initiated by President Donald Trump shortly after his inauguration should ignore “misinformation” from government worker unions, according to a U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) spokesman.

    The entrance to the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building that houses the Office of Personnel Management headquarters is shown in Washington on June 5, 2021. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

    “Union leaders and politicians telling federal workers to reject this offer are doing them a serious disservice,” OPM’s Director of Communications McLaurine Pinover told The Epoch Times. “This is a rare, generous opportunity; one that was thoroughly vetted and intentionally designed to support employees through restructuring.”

    “Instead of spreading misinformation and using workers as political pawns, they should be making sure federal employees have the facts and freedom to make the best decision for themselves and their families,” Pinover added.

    The buyout offer allows federal workers who accept it to receive full pay and benefits coverage for eight months, exempts them from newly issued orders to return to work at their official duty stations on a daily basis, and protects them against Reductions-in-Force (RIF) processes that are expected to begin in the near future in many federal departments and agencies.

    There are 2.3 million civilian federal workers, the vast majority of whom are careerists who receive above-average pay and benefits as well as a host of legal job protections overseen by OPM and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

    The average federal employee salary, according to OPM data, is $106,382. The median average household income for all Americans is $75,149, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

    The buyout offer must be accepted by Feb. 6 and OPM officials today circulated a “template contract” to all agencies and departments that will be the basis for the voluntary resignations under the “Deferred Resignation Program (DRP).”

    The OPM comments came in response to multiple statements from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and Democrats in Congress saying that the buyout offer was not legal and President Donald Trump lacks the legal authority to make such a proposal.

    Workers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and their supporters protest outside JPL against a U.S. government mandate requiring all federal employees to receive the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine, in Pasadena, Calif., on Nov. 1, 2021. Robyn Beck/Getty Images

    The union and its allies also said the new president wants to politicize the federal workforce, and that SpaceX founder Elon Musk initiated the buyout offer as part of his efforts leading the presidential advisory commission, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    “There is not yet any evidence the administration can or will uphold its end of the bargain, that Congress will go along with this unilateral massive restructuring, or that appropriated funds can be used this way, among other issues that have been raised,” AFGE told its more than 800,000 members in a Feb. 3 email.

    “We are encouraging AFGE members NOT to resign or respond to this email until you have received further information and clarification,” the union continued.

    A senior OPM official, speaking on background, told The Epoch Times that, contrary to widespread media reports quoting representatives of the AFGE, the country’s largest civil service union, the DRP is a legal contract that “provides binding assurance they will not be subject to future RIFS, not be expected to work, and their pay will be protected even if there is a lapse in appropriations.”

    The Epoch Times has reached out to the union for comment about the OPM’s complaints.

    Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) echoed the AFGE skepticism, saying in a Senate floor speech that “there’s no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work.”

    “Don’t be fooled. He’s tricked hundreds of people with that offer. If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you just like he stiffed the contractors,” Kaine alleged.

    Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) at his election watch party in Richmond, Va., on Nov. 5, 2024 Terri Wu/The Epoch Times

    Former OPM General Counsel Joseph A. Morris told The Epoch Times today that rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts in recent years make clear that the president, as the chief executive of the federal government, has widespread constitutional authority to take actions to ensure efficiency and honesty in government operations, including terminating positions and offering incentives to resign.

    “I am not aware of any case law before the MSPB or, more importantly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where an appealing employee challenged a removal, let alone did so successfully, where the removal was directly done or ordered by the president,” Morris said in an email to The Epoch Times.

    Morris pointed to the Supreme Court’s Collins v. Yellen decision in 2021 that held “the President must be able to remove not just officers who disobey his commands but also those he finds ‘negligent and inefficient.’”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 20:55

  • Meet The Pro-Life Activists Set Free By Trump's Pardons
    Meet The Pro-Life Activists Set Free By Trump’s Pardons

    Authored by Sam Dorman & Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Joan Bell had just finished saying her second group rosary of the day when a fellow inmate ran into her Philadelphia prison cell and delivered unexpected news.

    “‘Miss Joan’s husband’s on TV! She’s been pardoned,’” Bell, 76, recounted to The Epoch Times.

    Bell, who has been dubbed the matriarch of pro-life activism, has been to jail multiple times for “rescues”—the pro-life term for entering an abortion clinic and potentially blocking entrances in hopes of stopping procedures from occurring. This time, the president of the United States granted her a pardon.

    “I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Bell said, referring to the pardon. She said she was grateful to President Donald Trump for his “great, great kindness.”

    While in prison, Bell and a group of other inmates would perform Mass prayers from a missalette daily in both English and Spanish. Two groups would also pray the rosary in both languages.

    She had already served more than a year in prison for an October 2020 protest at the Washington Surgi-Clinic, located in the nation’s capital.

    Bell, who received a sentence of 27 months, was one of 23 pro-life activists prosecuted under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Trump pardoned each of them just three days after he was sworn in as president.

    The Justice Department had also leveled charges under a conspiracy against rights statute, which was part of a post-Civil War law targeting groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Combined, the two laws resulted in multiple defendants receiving years-long sentences. By the time Trump issued the pardons, many had already been incarcerated for more than a year.

    “They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said before signing the pardons in the Oval Office on Jan. 23. “This is a great honor to sign this.”

    Joan Bell plays with her grandson Zahir as her husband, Chris Bell, daughter Valera Bell, and grandson Kolbe look on, in New Jersey on Jan. 29, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

    From Rescued to Rescuer

    Eva Edl said she could not recall who told her she had been pardoned, but she did remember her first thought.

    “Praise the Lord!” she told The Epoch Times.

    Edl, 89, was facing what she said “would have been a death sentence”—more than 10 years in prison for blocking the entrances to two Michigan abortion clinics. That possibility has now been erased, along with the three years of probation she was sentenced to in September 2024 for her involvement in a similar protest in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

    As a veteran abortion “rescuer,” Edl has been participating in clinic blockades since the late 1980s.

    She said the government has no business deciding who lives or dies. And as the survivor of a Soviet concentration camp, she said she knows firsthand what happens when government “usurps the right” to make that determination, as her native Yugoslavian government once did.

    As a little girl, Edl watched the Soviets round up her family members. Her older siblings were forced to work in a labor camp, while she and her grandmother were sent where those deemed too weak to work went—to an extermination camp.

    “I was only 9 years old, so I was placed in a cattle car like cattle—standing room only, where you nearly died from lack of air,” Edl said.

    It was at that concentration camp that Edl found Jesus, she said, and that faith carried her through until she was rescued by her mother, who bribed a guard to allow her to escape. She immigrated to Austria and then to the United States, where she was shocked to learn about abortion.

    In 1988, Edl became involved with pro-life activism after learning of demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta.

    “I told my husband, ‘Sweetheart, this is what somebody should have done for me. May I go?’ And he let me go,” Edl said.

    Edl has been arrested dozens of times for her involvement in various pro-life protests. In her eyes, the abortion clinic is no different from the concentration camp where she was held.

    Pro-life activists pose for a photo in a hallway in front of the door of the now shuttered abortion clinic Carafem Health Center, in Mount Juliet, Tenn., in March 2021. Eva Edl is in a wheelchair in front of the door. Eva Zastrow is to the right. Courtesy of Eva Edl

    “I see the sidewalk as the train tracks and the entrance to the abortion clinic as the gates to the death camp,” she told The Epoch Times. She said she wonders what might have happened if someone had blocked her train and helped her to escape.

    “Somehow, another group of Christians could have come and pried open my cattle car and saved us, or at least given us a chance to be saved,” she said. “This is how I see what I’m doing now.”

    The Battle Continues

    Questions remain as to whether Bell, Edl, and other activists will face legal consequences for future protests.

    That is why Edl and 11 of her co-defendants are calling on the president to push for the repeal of the FACE Act.

    “This law was always meant to be partial toward injustice,” they wrote in a Jan. 29 letter obtained by The Epoch Times. “It was meant from the beginning to persecute pro-life Christians who love their neighbors.”

    They also urged Trump to support a federal abortion ban. “Neither a heartbeat, brainwaves, viability, or other objective measurements of development determine the worth of a human being,” the letter states.

    The letter’s other signatories include Dr. Coleman Boyd, Cal Zastrow, Dennis Green, Eva Zastrow, Jim Zastrow, Heather Idoni, Chester Gallagher, Paul Place, and Paul Vaughn—each of whom were charged after a protest in Tennessee. Justin Phillips and Joel Curry, who were indicted in Michigan, also signed it.

    Vaughn, who was under house arrest, is hoping that the pardon he received will not render moot his pending appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Justice Department filed a motion on Jan. 28 to vacate Vaughn’s and others’ convictions, as well as to remand the case for dismissal at the district court level.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 20:05

  • FCC's Brendan Carr Launches Investigation Into Soros-Backed Radio Station That Outed Undercover ICE Agents
    FCC’s Brendan Carr Launches Investigation Into Soros-Backed Radio Station That Outed Undercover ICE Agents

    Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr has launched an investigation into a radio station backed by left-wing billionaire activist George Soros that broadcasted the live locations of undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

    San Francisco-based KCBS 740 AM, one of the 200 Audacy radio stations bought by a Soros-backed group, came under fire after broadcasting the locations of ICE agents in the San Jose area during the January 26th edition of KCBS Radio Weekend News, where host Bret Burkhart was reporting on ICE raids in the areas. While reading a statement from San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Burkhart included a statement from the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network – a left-wing “community defense project developed to protect immigrant families from deportation threats.

    The Response Network reports, which Burkhart read on air, gave the color, make, and model of three unmarked vehicles as well as the specific locations of agents in the area.

    Chairman Carr thinks KCBS-AM may have violated licensing rules which require broadcasters to serve the public interest, and has sent a formal Letter of Inquiry to the station.

    “I want to express my thanks and appreciation to DHS and ICE agents. These law enforcement professionals are honorably serving this country and carrying out vital missions. Their safety is paramount. The FCC will hold broadcasters accountable for complying with their public interest obligations,” Carr told Fox News Digital.

    As Radioink reports further, the investigation comes as Carr weighs revisiting a previous commission vote on Audacy’s post-bankruptcy restructuring due to concerns over ownership ties to billionaire and Democratic donor George Soros, which has been an area of concern for many Republican leaders. While Audacy has officially closed its bankruptcy case, when asked by Fox Business about the deal in November, Carr said, “There’s a petition for reconsideration pending at the FCC right now, and I want to take a very hard look at that.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 19:40

  • California Attorney General Issues Warning On Trump's Buyout Offer
    California Attorney General Issues Warning On Trump’s Buyout Offer

    Authored by Jane Yang via The Epoch Times,

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Feb. 3 warned federal employees in the state about what he called the Trump administration’s “questionable ‘deferred resignation’ program.”

    Bonta said unions representing federal employees had warned their members against the buyout offer and that benefits were not guaranteed.

    “I urge federal employees to heed warnings from their unions to be very cautious of any buyout offers,” he said in a statement.

    The Trump administration on Jan. 28 announced the “deferred resignation” initiative offering eligible federal employees eight months of payment and benefits coverage until the end of September, if they resign by Feb. 6.

    The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which serves as the chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the federal government, sent out more than 2 million emails on the same day to federal workers nationwide with the proposal.

    More than 20,000 federal workers have accepted the offer, making up more than 1 percent of the workforce, according to a Trump administration official. However, the number of deferred resignations is rapidly growing, and the largest spike is expected to come 24 to 48 hours before the Feb. 6 deadline, the official said.

    Bonta is one of 12 attorneys general in a coalition including New York Attorney General Letitia James in issuing a warning ahead of the buyout deadline.

    “The Trump Administration’s so-called buyout offer is a pointed attack aimed at dismantling our federal workforce and sowing chaos for Americans that rely on a functioning government,” said Bonta in a statement.

    OPM’s director of communications, McLaurine Pinover, told The Epoch Times that the buyout “is a rare, generous opportunity; one that was thoroughly vetted and intentionally designed to support employees through restructuring.”

    “Instead of spreading misinformation and using workers as political pawns, they should be making sure federal employees have the facts and freedom to make the best decision for themselves and their families,” she said, referring to critics such as the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employees union.

    As of March 2024, California has 180,973 federal employees on OPM’s list, Pinover said.

    California has the third-most federal workers in the nation behind Virginia and Washington, D.C., according to a 2023 report by the nonpartisan nonprofit organization Partnership for Public Service.

    The top five agencies with the most federal employees nationwide are Veterans Affairs, Navy, Army, Homeland Security, and the Air Force.

    However, military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers, and those who work in immigration enforcement and national security are not eligible for the buyout offer.

    The report also found the government-wide attrition rate in fiscal year 2023 was 5.9 percent. In fiscal years 2022 and 2021, the rate was 7.6 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 19:15

  • SecDef Hegseth Declares Record Army Recruiting Under Trump After Years Of Decline
    SecDef Hegseth Declares Record Army Recruiting Under Trump After Years Of Decline

    “The US Army is back! Growing future lethal warriors prepared to fight and win our nations wars!”… that’s the latest message from Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

    We have long documented the steady decline in recruiting among all national military branches over the last several years during the Biden administration. Just last year we observed the theme of recruiting decline as follows, also confirmed in a seeming myriad of mainstream media headlines: The US Army faces the most challenging recruiting environment in decades, if not ever, as America’s Generation Z doesn’t want to fight foreign wars driven by neocon warmongering politicians in Washington, the military-industrial complex, NATO, and mega-corporations.

    But when Trump was elected with an overwhelming amount of the American voting public giving a clear mandate, there was a shift in this mentality. At least this is what the numbers show, according to a fresh statement by the US Army on its official X account, also shared by Hegseth…

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    The statement announces US Army recruiting’s biggest enlistment numbers in December, a month after the election, suggesting Trump’s election has injected new and clear motivation for the nation’s young to join up.

    Nearly 350 new recruits for the Army may not seem like a lot, but it’s an immense process involving background and fitness checks, as well as a lengthy visit to “MEPS” – and the oath is finally taken paving the way to be shipped to boot camp. Often it takes months for a recruiter to get a single individual to sign on the dotted line.

    Complicating the US armed forces’ prior recruitment woes was a steady dose of “woke” ideology being pumped out from Biden’s Department of Defense. To review a few past reports:

    Indeed, Covid was another Biden disaster where many thousands of able-bodied and healthy troops were unnecessarily processed out. This decision has since been reversed, and these unfairly discharged troops are being invited back it.

    The boost in confidence under the early Trump administration is likely also due to the Republican president vowing to wind down foreign adventurism abroad. For example, there are reported plans on the book to bring the troops home from Syria, and likely Iraq, as well as hopes that Trump can oversee peace in Ukraine.

    Via US Naval Institute 

    The post “Global War on Terror” GWOT legacy is also dying, given Trump has this time around refused top national security positions to the same cadre of Bush-era necons (though some of these are still around no doubt). Young people today are wary of nation-building quagmires under the old regime change and “nation-building” playbook. Trump is promising to change that. Patriotism is back among the youth.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 18:50

  • Hypersonic Overhype
    Hypersonic Overhype

    Authored by Shawn Rostker via RealClearDefense,

    The United States has been exploring research and development of hypersonic weapons technologies for decades. Historically, such funding has been relatively modest, but in recent years the Department of Defense (DoD) has grown more vocal in its desire to accelerate development and deployment of these systems. Arguments calling for increased funding for hypersonic weapons are gaining traction with lawmakers, based on illusory assumptions about adversaries’ capabilities and despite the absence of a compelling technical or strategic rationale for their need. Before rushing to pour additional money into these platforms, the Pentagon must make the case that hypersonics do more than simply materially match our international counterparts, but in fact further the strategic interests of the United States. Thus far, the case hasn’t been made.

    Hypersonic weapons, often collectively referred to as hypersonics, are typically divided into two primary categories: hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs)—of which there are long-range and theater-range—and hypersonic cruise missiles (HCMs). HGVs are launched from rocket boosters into space and then reenter the atmosphere, gliding unpowered to their targets. Long-range HGVs are designed for strategic global strike missions and can operate at speeds exceeding Mach 15. In contrast, theater-range hypersonic weapons are designed for shorter-range regional missions. These systems typically operate at lower speeds, around Mach 5-10, and are intended to overcome regional missile defenses. Alternatively, HCMs are also launched from rocket boosters and are powered during part of their flight by scramjet engines that draw in air from the atmosphere to burn their fuel. They are built to operate within the Mach 5-10 range.

    The common refrain in the hypersonics debate is that the United States needs these capabilities to compete with Russia and China. Both countries are conducting ongoing research and development of hypersonics, and each claims to have begun deploying hypersonic systems. China has purportedly fielded a single platform, the DF-ZF, a short-range HGV deployed on the DF-17 medium-range ballistic missile that Beijing claims is operational and dual-capable, or capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. It is also developing a supposed HCM, the Xingkong-2, but this system has had only limited testing and has yet to see the field. Meanwhile, Russia has reportedly fielded three systems that it purports are hypersonic weapons, the short-range Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile, the long-range Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, and the Kinzhal, a short-range air-launched maneuvering ballistic missile. All have encountered problems during testing and/or, limited success in combat.

    That both China and Russia are fielding hypersonics is generating anxiety among some who feel the United States is falling behind the military-technological curve and now finds itself needing to “catch up” to its adversaries. These anxieties are misplaced. There are questions about the operational performance of these systems in real-world scenarios, and, moreover, about the impact of adversarial hypersonics on the U.S. military’s qualitative advantage. After the 2011 failed test of the long-range Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, or HTV-2, the United States largely shifted away from research and development of long-range systems to focus on theater hypersonics that could serve a conventional counterforce mission, that is to say, overcome regional defenses to deliver high-accuracy conventional warheads on time-sensitive targets. This remains the primary motivation underpinning support for hypersonics in Washington today.

    The DoD views hypersonic weapons as a potential component of a strategy to counter adversaries’ emerging anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities. A2/AD refers to the efforts by countries like China and Russia to create zones where U.S. forces would find it difficult to operate by using advanced missile defenses, electronic warfare, intelligence capabilities and other technologies to limit access to key regions. Hypersonics could theoretically provide a means to strike high-value, time-sensitive targets within these zones and provide the U.S. military with a potentially survivable option to neutralize critical elements within an adversary’s A2/AD network.

    But if the United States is truly in search of a solution to what it considers its A2/AD challenge, there are existing capabilities that would meet the military’s needs. Congress and the DoD should look more closely at maneuverable reentry vehicles (MaRVs) launched on traditional ballistic missiles as a possible alternative for overcoming A2/AD defenses. MaRVs can do essentially everything that hypersonics can do, are capable of fulfilling the theater mission set, and could be built sooner and at lower cost than novel hypersonic platforms. Pursuing hypersonics at the current juncture without such a comparative analysis and without addressing hypersonics’ performance would reduce U.S. military acquisition to a reactionary process rather than a rational assessment of military requirement.

    To understand why, it’s essential to evaluate the technical and strategic aspects of hypersonic weapons. Doing so reveals that hypersonics’ value proposition is largely overstated.

    First, hypersonics are described as being faster than other delivery systems. While they are faster than current cruise missiles, they are not faster than ballistic missiles. Hypersonic flight within the atmosphere  generates high drag and heating, which limits the speeds of hypersonic weapons. Ballistic missiles, particularly when launched on depressed trajectories, can achieve shorter delivery times due in part to their minimal interaction with the atmosphere for the majority of their flight path. This holds true for both long-range and theater-range hypersonics. If time to target is an important metric for evaluating the necessity of a weapon system, hypersonics do not necessarily offer a strategic advantage.

    Long-range hypersonic systems in particular face acute technical challenges. Sustained flight at hypersonic speeds introduces extreme thermal stress that can jeopardize the structural integrity of these weapons. Additionally, at the speeds that long-range HGVs travel in the early phase of their flight, the air around the vehicle ionizes, forming a plasma sheath that disrupts radio signals and inhibits communication. This plasma blackout effect will dissipate as the HGV slows down during its glide phase but can nonetheless prevent the passage of radio signals and make it impossible to communicate with or guide the weapon in real-time prior to this point. This renders it dependent on pre-programmed instructions and less responsive to defensive countermeasures. Theater-range hypersonic weapons, which are designed for shorter distances and lower speeds, will likely not create a plasma sheath but will still encounter heating challenges.

    Furthermore, the supposed stealth capabilities of hypersonic weapons may not be as robust as frequently stated. While low-altitude flight can indeed reduce their detection range by ground-based radar systems, such radars should still be able to detect them at ranges of hundreds of kilometers. Moreover, at high enough speeds, the intense heat generated by hypersonic flight in the atmosphere produces a bright infrared signature detectable by space-based early-warning satellites. But even prior to their glide phase, HGVs must first be launched using a rocket booster like that of a ballistic missile. The exhaust plumes from these launches would be likewise easily detectable by space-based detection sensors. Once picked up by early-warning satellites, the weapon’s initial direction is known, giving defenders the ability to begin judging its likely targets and determining which defenses to engage. Hypersonic weapons would not be invisible bullets.

    Perhaps the holy grail of characteristics — that which separates hypersonics from traditional ballistic missiles — is their ability to maneuver during midcourse, or the middle phase of their flight. However, as with speed and stealth, the ability to maneuver has also been exaggerated. Changing trajectory during glide phase requires using aerodynamic forces acting upon the vehicle. Maneuvering produces increased drag, which in turn slows the vehicle, reduces the overall range it can travel, and compounds the surface heating issue, meaning whatever the vehicle gains in evasion, it forfeits in range and speed. Thus, the idea of a hypersonic weapon free to meander throughout the atmosphere evading any and all defenses is incorrect. In reality, all hypersonics will face a tradeoff between maneuvering capability, speed and range that will inhibit their utility.

    Developing hypersonic cruise missiles meanwhile faces additional challenges. The technology for scramjets is still immature, and there are uncertainties about their ability to maintain stable combustion across the entire flight profile. HCMs powered by jet fuel, like those the United States is developing, are limited to speeds of less than Mach 7-8. Additionally, there is a shortage of suitable wind tunnel testing facilities needed to evaluate and refine these systems. Most existing wind tunnels are not equipped to accurately replicate the high-speed, high-temperature conditions necessary for testing HCMs and those currently under construction cannot fully recreate all aspects of hypersonic atmospheric flight. This shortage delays development, increases cost, and limits opportunities to refine and improve HCM technology.

    To make matters more challenging, hypersonic weapons face electronics design and ruggedization hurdles. Embedded electronics must endure extreme temperatures, mechanical vibrations, and shock waves during sustained hypersonic flight, but existing materials struggle with the rapid temperature swings of reentry and lower atmospheric flight. Moreover, deployable hypersonics will need to perform several critical functions including mission computing to manage command responses and system coordination, flight computing for trajectory control and sensor management, and real-time processing for radar and other sensory inputs, all while maintaining secure and uninterrupted communication with command networks. Designing and configuring one or more subsystems with enough computing and processing power to perform these functions without adding bulk or compromising payload is an ongoing challenge. Current microelectronics lack the ideal balance of thermal resistance and bandwidth to avoid tradeoffs in the design process, and few commercial suppliers meet the stringent demands of military-specific hypersonic applications. As a result, commercially sourced components would need extensive ruggedization to handle the extraordinary durability requirements, but not all commercial products will be suitable for hypersonic use. Moreover, most producers of such components are American, or use technology subject to U.S. export controls, raising the challenge for adversarial acquisition. Some of these issues also apply to MaRVs, although the duration of extreme heating and vibration, and the time during which communication and maneuvering is required, would be much shorter than for a hypersonic weapon.

    Should these engineering and manufacturing hurdles be overcome, most hypersonic weapons will still likely be vulnerable to existing theater missile defense systems. Technical analysis reveals that the U.S. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system and the Army’s Patriot PAC-3 can engage hypersonic weapons traveling at Mach 10 or slower when they dive from their glide altitude toward a target on the ground. This means that theater-range weapons that start gliding at around Mach 10 or slower can’t evade these defenses. Similarly, HCMs that operate below roughly Mach 7 throughout their trajectory would be too slow. Long-range HGVs could likely overcome missile defenses, but only if they were still travelling faster than approximately Mach 10 when they begin their dive toward their target. Russian and Chinese hypersonics are alleged to operate in the Mach 10-12 range, but they would experience enough atmospheric drag during flight that they would likely be slowed enough that Patriot and Aegis could intercept them.

    All things considered, the case for U.S. hypersonics remains weak. But why, then, are governments such as Russia and China racing to field weapon systems they label “hypersonic?”

    First, hypersonics could serve as a way to project power and claim some level of technological parity with the United States. Both Russia and China view hypersonics as having potential to offset perceived U.S. advantages in theater missile defense and precision strike capabilities and complicate U.S. defense planning — if the technological challenges can be overcome.

    Second, hypersonics are a useful psychological and geopolitical tool that allow Russia and China to portray themselves as technological leaders in a domain that they believe bestows global prestige. For Russia, it is also a matter of showcasing military innovation to maintain its influence in the global arms market, even if the results of combat usage of these weapons have not met expectations. At the same time, China sees hypersonics as a possible element in its strategy to challenge U.S. naval dominance in the Indo-Pacific​. Concerns expressed by U.S. leaders further feed the perception of menace and overstate the threat from adversarial development of hypersonics, even if the challenges to such development remain daunting.

    But the United States need not follow Russia and China down this costly path. It has better options for maintaining its military edge.

    A 2023 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found that hypersonics could cost the U.S. government one-third more to field than ballistic missiles of equal range and with maneuverable warheads. This was without accounting for the inevitable cost overruns inherent with all highly technical military systems. Moreover, a July 2024 study by the Government Accountability Office found that hypersonic weapons development by the DoD is prone to significant cost overruns and schedule risks because the Pentagon is failing to apply leading best practices and relying on inadequate cost estimates. Far from revolutionizing warfare, hypersonics may simply burden the Pentagon with yet another costly and underperforming project.

    Hypersonic weapons, whether of the long-range, short-range, or cruise missile variety, face technical and production challenges that make them unnecessary for the Pentagon’s stated objective of overcoming adversaries’ zones of denial.

    This is not to say that hypersonics have no role to play in a future U.S. military strategy, but up to now, their value proposition has failed to clearly define their strategic benefits for the United States.

    The time has come for a more critical examination of the hypersonics debate, one that prioritizes strategic value, technological feasibility and fiscal responsibility over the false allure of hypersonic speed and maneuverability.

    Shawn Rostker is a Research Analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, where his work focuses on nuclear strategy, arms control and emerging technologies. He holds a Master’s in Security Studies from Georgetown University and has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The Diplomat. CalMatters and Asia Times.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 18:25

  • Trump Warns He Left Instructions To Destroy Iran If He Is Assassinated
    Trump Warns He Left Instructions To Destroy Iran If He Is Assassinated

    It’s been a longtime conservative media and Republican talking point that Tehran is looking for opportunities to take out President Donald Trump, in retaliation for his ordering the drone killing of IRGC Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020 outside Baghdad International Airport during his first administration.

    President Trump has this week warned that he has left instructions ordering the destruction of the Islamic Republic in the event he is assassinated by Iranian agents.

    Via Associated Press

    The unexpected and somewhat unprecedented contingency, which we would expect at the very least would require the approval of Congress, was issued Tuesday while Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office restoring “maximum pressure” to Iran. Trump hailed the action as “very tough on Iran”.

    That’s when he was questioned by reporters over Iran and its proxies threatening to assassinate him, to which the commander-in-chief responded:

    “They haven’t done that and that would be a terrible thing for them to do. Not because of me— if they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I’ve left instructions, if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left. And, they shouldn’t be able to do it.”

    He laid blame in part on the prior Biden administration for being weak on Iran, and allowing alleged plots to fester without taking firm action. He soon after received Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

    “Biden should have said that but he never did, I don’t know why. Lack of intelligence perhaps but he never said it. If that happens to a leader or close to a leader— frankly, if you had other people involved also—you would call for total obliteration of a state that did it. That would include Iran,” Trump said.

    Back in September of last year, Trump said at an event in North Carolina: “As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve – but possibly do – Iran.”

    He also wrote on X at the time, “Big threats on my life by Iran. The entire US Military is watching and waiting. Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again. Not a good situation for anyone. I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before.”

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    Trump’s campaign at the time said they were briefed on the alleged Iranian threat by officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under Biden, which was led at the time by Avril Haines.

    The president was also asked Tuesday to assess how close he thinks Iran is to developing a nuclear weapon, to which he responded, “too close” – and added, “They’re pretty close.” But the CIA recently assessed it doesn’t think Tehran is pursuing a bomb at this point.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 18:00

  • Daniel Penny Hired By Andreessen Horowitz After Acquittal In Subway Case
    Daniel Penny Hired By Andreessen Horowitz After Acquittal In Subway Case

    Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

    Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran acquitted of criminally negligent homicide last year after using a chokehold to subdue a mentally ill subway passenger, has been hired by the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

    Penny joined Andreessen Horowitz as a deal partner on its American Dynamism team, according to the company’s website. It is unclear when Penny joined the investment company.

    Andreessen Horowitz states on its website that the department focused on investing in companies that support the national interest, including aerospace, defense, public safety, education, housing, and industrials.

    Vice President JD Vance said in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday that Penny’s hiring was “incredible news.”

    Vance previously described Penny as a “good guy” and invited him to the U.S. Army–Navy game after his acquittal in December 2024. Vance’s post was later shared by David Ulevitch, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz who leads the company’s American Dynamism team.

    The Epoch Times has reached out to Ulevitch for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

    Penny was found not guilty by a Manhattan jury on Dec. 9, 2024, in connection with the death of Jordan Neely. Neely was a mentally ill homeless man who died after Penny restrained him during a 2023 incident on a New York City subway.

    His lawyers had argued that Penny was trying to protect himself and other passengers when he subdued Neely in a chokehold.

    Witnesses said that Neely boarded the train and began screaming that he was ready to go back to jail. Prosecutors said that Penny’s hold on Neely had caused an asphyxial death.

    Neely had previously been arrested for assaulting people at subway stations. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had drugs in his system at the time of his death.

    Penny first spoke publicly about the case during an interview with Fox News on Dec. 10, 2024, where he defended his actions. Penny said that he was not a “confrontational person” and that he did not “want any type of attention or praise” for his actions.

    “The guilt I would have felt if someone did get hurt, if he did do what he was threatening to do, I would never be able to live with myself,” he told the news outlet. “I’ll take a million court appearances and people calling me names and people hating me just to keep one of those people from getting hurt or killed.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 17:40

  • Ford Slides 5% On Tariff Concerns, Warning Profit Could Fall $2 Billion In 2025
    Ford Slides 5% On Tariff Concerns, Warning Profit Could Fall $2 Billion In 2025

    In the fourth quarter of 2024, Ford posted a net income of $1.8 billion, or 45 cents per share, a strong turnaround from last year’ s net loss of $526 million, or 13 cents per share. Excluding one-time charges, adjusted earnings per share came in at 39 cents. Here’s the full Q4 results:

    • Adjusted EPS: 39c vs. 29c y/y, estimate 32c
       
    • Total revenue: $48.2 billion, +4.8% y/y
    • Ford Blue revenue: $27.3 billion, +4.2% y/y, estimate $25.85 billion
    • Ford Model e revenue: $1.4 billion, -13% y/y, estimate $1.8 billion
    • Ford Pro revenue: $16.2 billion, +5.2% y/y, estimate $15.57 billion

      Adjusted EBIT: $2.1 billion, +91% y/y, estimate $1.89 billion

    • Adjusted EBIT margin: 4.4% vs. 2.3% y/y, estimate 4.36%
    • Ford Blue EBIT: $1.58 billion, +94% y/y, estimate $1.25 billion
    • Ford Model e EBIT loss: $1.39 billion, -12% y/y, estimate loss $1.34 billion
    • Ford Pro EBIT: $1.63 billion, -10% y/y

    It is now clear that Farley faces mounting challenges, including overhauling the company’s EV strategy to curb losses and cutting high warranty repair expenses. The automaker lost a record $5.1 billion on EVs last year and expects that deficit to widen to as much as $5.5 billion in 2024.

    While Farley is pushing for more affordable, longer-range models, those won’t hit the market until 2027. Meanwhile, the pressure on Ford shares continues, with the stock falling nearly 19% last year, in contrast to General Motors’ 48% surge.

    Farley has emphasized the need to close Ford’s $7 billion to $8 billion cost disadvantage against competitors, largely driven by warranty costs. He has tied executive bonuses to improving quality and efficiency, with the company targeting $1 billion in cost cuts this year. “In 2025, we expect to make significantly more progress on our two biggest areas of opportunity – quality and cost,” Farley said. “We control those key profit drivers, and I am confident that we are on the right path.”

    Ford’s 2025 guidance reflects headwinds, including a 2% decline in industry-wide pricing and slower sales, but does not factor in potential new tariffs under a Trump administration:

    • Adjusted EBIT: $7 billion to $8.5 billion, estimate $8.57 billion
    • Ford Pro EBIT: $7.5 billion to $8 billion
    • Ford Blue EBIT: $3.5 billion to $4 billion
    • Ford Model e EBIT loss: $5 billion to $5.5 billion
    • Ford Credit EBT: about $2 billion
    • Adjusted free cash flow: $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion
    • Capital expenditure: $8 billion to $9 billion, estimate $8.66 billion

    Incoming CFO Sherry House said: “There is no question that 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would have a major impact on our industry. That said, we believe the Trump administration intends to support the American auto industry.”

    Tariff concerns are also weighing on the industry. “I know tariffs are on everyone’s mind,” House added.

    Trump has also pledged to eliminate federal incentives for electric vehicles, including the $7,500 tax credit that dealers consider critical for sales.

    In kneejerk reaction to the disappointing guidance, Ford shares tumbled 5% after hours…

    … sliding back below $10 and the lowest level in fouf years.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 17:20

  • White House Confirms: Politico Propped Up By Millions Of Dollars From US Government
    White House Confirms: Politico Propped Up By Millions Of Dollars From US Government

    Update: (1344ET): During Wednesday’s White House presser, spox Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Politico has been getting ‘more than $8 million taxpayer dollars,’ which has ‘gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions.’

    Watch:

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    As journalist Sean Davis of The Federalist points out,

    It was Politico that maneuvered to have the Hunter laptop story banned and everyone discussing it censored.

    Politico peddled the illegal Supreme Court leak that led to the near-assassination of multiple Supreme Court justices.

    And now we find out the regime was funneling tens of millions of dollars of our money to Politico?

    Scroll down for the backstory – but as we mentioned below, ZeroHedge – as we assume The Federalist (our bedfellows in demonitization back in 2020), hasn’t received a dime from the US government (or any government, assholes), while coming under recurring attack from the deep state and their various tentacles. We subsist on dwindling ad revenues thanks to the media censorship complex, subscriptions, and revenue from our new store. So as we noted below (and thank you to all who have flooded us with orders today):

    If you want to support us, please:

    Subscribe

    Or

    Buy something from our store

    Thank you for your support.

    Meanwhile, you can support The Federalist here, and give Sean Davis a follow if you haven’t already.

    *  *  *

    On Tuesday, staffers at Politico were notified that a ‘technical error’ had prevented paychecks from going out. Many joked that this had something to do with the Trump administration putting a freeze on USAID funding.

    And while there’s no evidence the two are linked, the suggestion prompted internet sleuths to look into Politico‘s sources of funding. What they found was absolutely shocking.

    According to government spending tracker website USASPENDING.gov, Politico – which laundered the Hunter Biden ’51 intel officials’ propaganda during the 2020 election – received up to $27 million (and by some counts $32 million) from various US agencies during the Biden years.

    In one instance, roughly $500,000 was spent on 37 Politico ‘pro’ subscriptions.

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

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

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOf note, Politico was sold to German media giant Axel Springer (which also owns Business Insider) for $1 billion in 2021, meaning US taxpayer dollars have been flowing to the German media giant to prop up their US propaganda rags.

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

    And look at this, the NY Times received $3.1 million in taxpayer funds, while the UK’s BBC received $3.2 million.

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

    Meanwhile…

    ZeroHedge hasn’t received a dime from the US government (or any government, assholes), while coming under recurring attack from the deep state and their various tentacles. We subsist on dwindling ad revenues thanks to the media censorship complex, subscriptions, and revenue from our new store.

    If you want to support us, please:

    Subscribe

    Or

    Buy something from our store

    Thank you for your support.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 17:04

  • Trump's Energy Dominance Agenda Looks Like Texas
    Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda Looks Like Texas

    Authored by Catherine Frazier via RealClearEnergy,

    As Trump’s energy agenda comes to focus, Texas is already leading the way.

    In his massive flurry of executive actions after being sworn in, President Donald Trump made clear that he intends to follow the Texas pro-energy model for energy success based on deregulation, innovation, and exploration.

    Perhaps most consequentially, he declared a national energy emergency and put permits for oil and gas infrastructure on a fast track. He also signed executive orders to roll back oil and gas restrictions in Alaska and along our nation’s coasts and restarted the approval process for liquid natural gas exports. These actions — with more certainly to come — will incentivize a marked increase in energy production and exploration here in America.

    But it would be wrong to think of these actions as mere energy policy. On the campaign trail, President Trump regularly spoke about how domestic energy is the key to success on the seemingly unrelated issues of global stability, clean air, clean water, and lower prices on utilities, housing, groceries, and more. 

    Take inflation and the economy. Energy impacts the price of everything else because it takes energy to manufacture products, grow crops, and move goods to stores, consumers, and construction sites. High energy prices drive up the costs of transportation, groceries, housing, healthcare, and everything else the American people rely on. To solve the affordability crisis, we must solve the energy crisis.

    The power of American energy can also be seen in environmental protection. The U.S. has one of the cleanest economies in the world, which means to have a clean environment we must produce as much energy as possible in the U.S. This is especially the case with natural gas. When American production goes up, usage of cleaner energy goes up and dirtier energy goes down. 

    President Donald Trump already proved this was the case. During his first term, he cut red tape and empowered U.S. energy producers. Not only did these moves increase domestic energy production, under President Trump emissions declined. In fact, the Biden-Harris administration had higher emissions than Trump did despite years of heavy-handed green energy policies. Clearly our LNG production and export capacity is as much an environmental issue as it is an energy and cost issue.

    On the foreign policy front, America’s leverage in the world plummets if other nations rely on Russia, Iran, or Venezuela for their energy needs instead of on the U.S. If we want a free and stable world, we must produce enough energy not only for ourselves, but also enough to keep our allies strong and adversaries in check.

    Not to mention according to the International Energy Agency, AI, cryptocurrency, and data centers could double their 2022 energy consumption levels by 2026. To take advantage of these technologies that will drive American prosperity in the next generation, we must increase energy production substantially.

    Simply put, America’s strength at home and abroad demands more energy, and Trump is already starting to deliver.

    If President Trump’s pro-energy agenda — an agenda that drives down prices, promotes global stability, fuels technological innovation, and delivers a cleaner environment — sounds familiar, that’s because it’s exactly what Texas has been doing for decades.

    Texas is the friendliest state for energy production. We are the top energy producer in the nation, and in 2023, we produced 27% of our nation’s clean natural gas. We have long-welcomed energy exploration, offshore drilling, and innovative extraction techniques like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

    But we also haven’t rested on our laurels on oil and gas. With regard to renewable sources, we have the second most solar installations of any state, more nuclear reactors than all but five states, and even produced enough hydroelectric power to serve nearly 3 million Texans.

    With our all-of-the-above energy approach, Texas has already proven that Trump’s energy agenda will be a success. In recent years, the Texas economy has grown well over twice as fast as America as a whole while delivering comparatively lower energy bills than other states and increasingly clean air. Costs are down, economic strength is up, and our environment is clean.

    Texans know that when our energy industry thrives, our citizens thrive. As President Trump continues to embrace the full potential of American energy, our nation as a whole will start to experience the Texas success story.

    Catherine Frazier is a communications strategist based in Texas and founder of Eberly Advisors. She previously served in senior roles for Texas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 17:00

  • Trump Effect Is Real: Google Ditches DEI Hiring Targets
    Trump Effect Is Real: Google Ditches DEI Hiring Targets

    About a month after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg nuked the social media company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, Google appears to have followed suit. As the woke tide recedes in Silicon Valley and the federal government, a new era of meritocracy emerges across America under President Trump’s second term. 

    Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday afternoon that Google will no longer set hiring targets based on diversity, such as race and gender, to expand its workforce. The report is based on an internal memo the company sent employees this morning. 

    After making diversity hiring pledges following George Floyd’s death in 2020, Google appears to have ended its goal of increasing the proportion of “leadership representation of underrepresented groups” by 30% by 2025. 

    WSJ pointed out, “Parent company Alphabet’s GOOGL annual report released Wednesday omitted a sentence stating the company was “committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve.” The sentence was in its reports from 2021 through 2024.” 

    Remember, Google CEO Sundar Pichai became a social justice warrior during the BLM riots, donating millions of dollars to DEI causes. 

    The email said the big tech firm has reviewed recent court decisions and executive orders signed by President Trump that eliminate DEI in federal agencies, the military, and federal contractors, adding that “it’s evaluating changes to our programs required to comply” with federal law. 

    Google clarified that it will continue opening and expanding offices in metro areas with diverse workforces: “We’ll continue to invest in states across the U.S.—and in many countries globally—but in the future we will no longer have aspirational goals.” 

    “Google has always been committed to creating a workplace where we hire the best people wherever we operate, create an environment where everyone can thrive, and treat everyone fairly,” the email said, adding, “That’s exactly what you can expect to see going forward.”

    Google’s move to kill DEI hiring targets comes about one month after Zuckerberg eliminated not just DEI – but also eliminated “politically biased” fact-checkers. 

    Google and Meta are the latest mega-corporations to roll back toxic DEI initiatives, following Walmart and McDonald’s.

    Over a year ago, Robby Starbuck’s campaign to end DEI in corporate America ignited this trend. 

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    The tide has turned in corporate America, and Trump has made sure Marxist DEI initiatives will be eliminated across the government and military. Corporate America appears to have received this memo. 

    We’re sure the purple-haired Google employees are having meltdowns this afternoon. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 16:40

  • Trump Blocks Cocks From Womens' Locks'
    Trump Blocks Cocks From Womens’ Locks’

    Update (1625ET): He did it folks, no more penis’d women in women’s sports, or locker rooms.

    While surrounded by a group of young girls – which would have triggered his predecessor into a predatory sniffing trance frenzy, President Donald Trump signed an executive order keeping men out of women’s sports.

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    Remember when a trans boy raped a girl in a High School bathroom in Loudoun County, Virginia, then the school covered it up, and when her father came to give the school board hell – he was dragged out and arrested. And Biden’s DOJ activated the FBI’s counterterrorism division against concerned parents?

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    >

    Normal people around the country applauded the move.

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    Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday calling for the end of men playing in women’s sports. 

    President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 4, 2025. Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images via AFP/Getty

    The “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order is aimed at upholding federal Title IX rules—established in 1972 to set a level playing field for women’s athletics programs.

    It will put a stop to “dangerous and unfair” situations where males compete against females in school and amateur athletics, according to a White House official. 

    The new guidelines are intended to “preserve the rights and dignity for women, opportunities for young girls.” 

    Trump is demanding that women be provided equal opportunities in terms of safety, fairness, and privacy. His order points to the benefits of athletics for young girls, including higher self-esteem and fewer instances of drug use, obesity, and teenage pregnancy.

    Schools that fail to comply will face investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and could lose federal funding, according to the new order. 

    Denver East High School is one such school, the White House official said. Investigators are looking into decisions it made to eliminate some women’s restrooms and turn them into coed spaces. 

    Funds provided through Title IX are dependent on a school’s commitment to preventing discrimination based on sex, among other things. 

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    The Trump administration says it is working with sporting bodies, including a host of associations and organizations, to collectively identify ways to protect women. 

    Officials are asking the National Collegiate Athletics Association to review its policies. More than 7,000 female collegiate athletes have come forward demanding that male athletes be removed from their competitions, the order notes.

    A group of state attorneys general will convene at the White House soon to discuss how state laws on the issue can be enforced, the official said. 

    Schools and universities that allow men who identify as women to compete in female athletics could face lawsuits from female students who say they have been negatively affected, the official noted.

    Nearly 900 medals in women’s sports were awarded to male competitors in recent years, the White House said, noting that this has cost girls scholarship opportunities and other important mental and emotional milestones.

    In some instances, sexual assault survivors have been forced to shower and share locker rooms with male athletes, officials said. 

    In 2022, a male volleyball player in a high school varsity match in North Carolina spiked a ball into Payton McNabb’s head, knocking her unconscious.

    McNabb said she suffered from a neck injury, concussion, lasting vision impairment, and partial paralysis in the right side of her body, as well as mental anguish.

    The previous administration interpreted Title IX regulations quite differently.

    President Joe Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office to allow men to compete in women’s programs. He equated gender identity with biological sex, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because of sexuality or gender identity.

    “Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love,” Biden’s executive order reads. “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.”

    This effectively made women’s sports co-ed programs, thus “erasing women’s sports and women’s spaces,” the current White House official said, adding that it was a “slap in the face to the countless female athletes who dedicate tremendous effort to be the best in their sport, only to be forced to compete against biological men.”

    In April 2024, a federal appeals court overturned West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act,” a law barring males from competing in female competitions. The Biden administration had argued against the law.

    Trump’s team says it will also work with the United Nations to find solutions, pointing to a U.N. report that found women need single-sex spaces.

    While critics have said that the president is attempting to ban transgenders in sports, the White House says the rules have “nothing to do with that” and suggests that transgender athletes could play in a coed program or on male squads.

    On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order addressing gender identity.

    “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the order states. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality. Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality.”

    The U.S. House of Representatives also recently passed a bill that would ban men from competing in women’s sports. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 16:26

  • She Had Sex With 1000 Men For Nothing…
    She Had Sex With 1000 Men For Nothing…

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    An Only Fans thot who banged over 1000 men in the space of 12 hours in an attempt to gain more subscribers can’t even post the video on the platform, meaning she essentially carried out the stunt for nothing.

    As we previously highlighted, OF ‘creator’ Bonnie Blue posted a video on social media bragging about breaking the most disgusting world record in history, claiming that a total of 1,057 men had their way with her.

    “This is what my face looks like after taking 1,000 men less than 12 hours ago,” she announced, claiming that she slept with a different guy every 41 seconds.

    Now, Only Fans has banned the video, reasoning that it cannot verify the age of all the participants.

    A statement from the pornography company reads “OF is a platform designed for creators who have completed our comprehensive onboarding process and choose to monetize their content.”

    “To keep our community safe, OF also verifies the age, identity, and consent of all parties featured in explicit content on OF,” it continues, adding “We do not allow a large number of non-OF creators to be featured on an account even where release forms have been provided.”

    Imagine being so disgusting that the biggest porn site in the world takes the moral high ground and refuses to host the content.

    Because the footage has never seen the light of day, many Only Fans coomers are suggesting the entire stunt never happened.

    Some might call it the ultimate anticlimax.

    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 16:20

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