Escobar: Russia–Iran–China - All For One, And One For All?

Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Cradle,

Russia and Iran are at the forefront of the multi-layered Eurasia integration process – the most crucial geopolitical development of the young 21st century. 

Both are top members of BRICS+ and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Both are seriously implicated as Global Majority leaders to build a multi-nodal, multipolar world. And both have signed, in late January in Moscow, a detailed, comprehensive strategic partnership. 

The second administration of US President Donald Trump, starting with the “maximum pressure” antics employed by the bombastic Circus Ringmaster himself, seems to ignore these imperatives.       

It was up to the Russian Foreign Ministry to re-introduce rationality in what was fast becoming an out of control shouting match: essentially Moscow, alongside its partner Tehran, simply will not accept outside threats of bombing Iran’s nuclear and energy infrastructure, while insisting on the search for viable negotiated solutions for the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. 

And then, just like lightning, the Washington narrative changed. US Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs, Steven Witkoff – not exactly a Metternich, and previously a “maximum pressure” hardliner – started talking about the need for “confidence-building” and even “resolving disagreements,” implying Washington began “seriously considering,” according to the proverbial “officials,” indirect nuclear talks.

These implications turned to reality on Monday afternoon when Trump allegedly blindsided the visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the announcement of a “very big meeting” with Iranian officials in the next few days. Tehran later confirmed the news, with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying he would engage in indirect nuclear negotiations with Witkoff in Oman on Saturday.

It’s as if Trump had at least listened to the arguments exposed by the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But then again, he can change his mind in a Trump New York minute. 

The finer points of the Russia–Iran–China axis

Essential background to decipher the “Will Russia help Iran” conundrum can be found in these all-too-diplomatic exchanges at the Valdai Club in Moscow.

The key points were made by Alexander Maryasov, Russia’s ambassador to Iran from 2001 to 2005. Maryasov argues that the Russia–Iran treaty is not only a symbolic milestone, but “serves as a roadmap for advancing our cooperation across virtually all domains.” It is more of “a bilateral relations document” – not a defense treaty.  

The treaty was extensively discussed – then approved – as a counter-point to “the intensified military-political and economic pressure exerted by western nations on both Russia and Iran.”

The main rationale was how to fight against the sanctions tsunami. 

Yet even if it does not constitute a military alliance, the treaty details mutually agreed moves if there is an attack or threats to either nation’s national security – as in Trump’s careless bombing threats against Iran. The treaty also defines the vast scope of military-technical and defense cooperation, including, crucially, regular intel talk. 

Maryasov identified the key security points as the Caspian, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and last but not least, West Asia, including the breadth and reach of the Axis of Resistance.  

The official Moscow position on the Axis of Resistance is an extremely delicate affair. For instance, let’s look at Yemen. Moscow does not officially recognize the Yemeni resistance government embodied by Ansarallah and with its HQ in the capital Sanaa; rather, it recognizes, just like Washington, a puppet government in Aden, which is in fact housed in a five-star hotel in Riyadh, sponsored by Saudi Arabia. 

Last summer two different Yemeni delegations were visiting Moscow. As I witnessed it, the Sanaa delegation faced tremendous bureaucratic problems to clinch official meetings. 

There is, of course, sympathy for Ansarallah across Moscow intel and military circles. But as confirmed in Sanaa with a member of the High Political Council, these contacts occur via “privileged channels,” and not institutionally. 

The same applies to Lebanon's Hezbollah, which was a key Russian ally in routing ISIS and other Islamist extremist groups during the Syrian war. When it comes to Syria, the only thing that really matters for official Moscow, after the Al-Qaeda-linked extremists took power in Damascus last December, is to preserve the Russian bases in Tartous and Hmeimim. 

There’s no question that the Syrian debacle was an extremely serious setback for both Moscow and Tehran, further aggravated by Trump's non-stop escalation over Iran’s nuclear program and his “maximum pressure” obsession. 

The nature of the Russia–Iran treaty differs substantially from that of Russia–China. For Beijing, the partnership with Moscow is so solid, it develops so dynamically, that they don’t even need a treaty: they have a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his recent visit to Russia, after coining a pearl – “those who live in the 21st century but think in Cold War blocs and zero-sum games cannot keep up with the times” – neatly summarized Sino–Russian relations in three vectors: The two Asian giants are “forever friends and never enemies;” Equality and mutually beneficial cooperation; Non-alignment with blocs; Non-confrontation, and non-targeting of third parties. So even as we have a Russia–Iran treaty, between China and Russia, and China and Iran, we have essentially close partnerships.

Witness, for instance, the fifth annual joint Russia–Iran–China naval exercises that took place in the Gulf of Oman in March. This trilateral synergy is not new; it has been under development for years.

But it's lazy to characterize this improved RIC Primakov triangle (Russia–Iran–China instead of Russia–India–China) as an alliance. The only “alliance” that exists today on the geopolitical chessboard is NATO – a warmongering outfit composed of intimidated vassals corralled together by the Empire of Chaos. 

Cue to yet another hard-to-resist Wang Yi jade pearl: “The US is sick but forces others to take the medicine.” Takeaways: Russia is not switching sides; China won’t be encircled; and Iran will be defended. 

When the new Primakov triangle meets in Beijing 

At the Valdai discussion, Daniyal Meshkin Ranjbar, assistant professor in the Department of Theory and History of International Relations at the Moscow-based RUDN University, made a crucial point: “For the first time in history, the diplomatic outlooks of Russia and Iran converge." He's referring to the obvious parallels between official policies: Russia’s “pivot to the east” and Iran’s “look east” policies. 

All those interconnections plainly escape the new administration in Washington, as well as bombastic Trump–Netanyahu rhetoric that has zero basis in reality – even the US National Security Council admitted that Iran is not working on a nuclear bomb.

And that brings us to the Big Picture.  

The Circus Ringmaster – at least until he changes his mind again – is essentially working on a triangulation deal, allegedly offering Russia a transportation framework, access to grain exports in the Black Sea, and Russian banks off the sanction list of SWIFT so he may execute his “pivot” to then attack Iran (deadline to Tehran included). 

And if Russia defends Iran, no deal. 

That’s as mendacious as Mafia-style “offer you can’t refuse” maximum pressure can get. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov – an exceptionally able diplomat – destroyed the whole rationale: “Russia cannot accept US proposals to end the war in Ukraine in their current form because they do not solve the problems Moscow considers the cause of the conflict.” Even as Moscow “takes the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously.”

As the Russian angle of Trump’s triangulation falters, Tehran is not merely watching the river flow. How Iran adapted for decades to a sanctions tsunami is now firm knowledge deeply shared with Moscow, part of their deepening cooperation enshrined in the treaty. 

For all of Trump’s volatility, non-Zionist-contaminated voices across the Beltway are slowly but surely imprinting the rational view that a war on Iran is absolutely suicidal for the Empire itself. So the odds resurface that Trump 2.0 verbal barrages may be paving the way for a temporary deal that will be spun to death – after all, this is always a battle of narratives – as a diplomatic victory.

Bets can be made that the only leader on the planet capable of making Trump understand reality is Russian President Vladimir Putin, in their next phone call.  After all, it is the Circus Ringmaster himself who created the revamped “nuclear Iran” drama. RIC – or the revamped Primakov triangle – duly addressed it, together, in a crucial, discreet, not-publicized recent meeting in Beijing, as confirmed by diplomatic sources. 

Essentially, the RIC has developed a “nuclear Iran” road map. These are the highlights: 

• Dialogue. No escalation. No “maximum pressure”. Step-by-step moves. Build mutual confidence.
• As Iran re-emphasizes its veto on developing nuclear weapons, the much-debated “international community”, actually the UN Security Council, recognizes, again, Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy under the NPT.
• Back to the JCPOA – and reboot it. To get Trump back on board, the reboot will be an extremely hard sell. 

This roadmap was ratified during a second round of RIC trilateral talks in Moscow on Tuesday, where senior officials from the allied nations discussed collaborative efforts to address the challenges faced by Iran.

That summit in Moscow

As it stands, the road map is just that: a map. The breathless Zionist axis from Washington to Tel Aviv will continue to insist that Iran, if attacked, will not be supported by Russia, and extra, non-stop “maximum pressure” will force Tehran to eventually fold and abandon its support to the Axis of Resistance. 

All that, once again, eschews reality. For Moscow, Iran is an absolutely key geopolitical priority; beyond Iran, to the east, is Central Asia. The Zionist obsessive fantasy of regime change in Tehran masks NATO's then penetrating into Central Asia, building military bases, and at the same time blocking several strategically crucial Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects. Iran is as essential to China’s long-term foreign policy as it is to Russia’s. 

It's not by accident that Russia and China will meet at the presidential level – Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping – at a summit in Moscow around 9 May, Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War. They will be analyzing in detail the next stage of “changes that we have not seen in 100 years,” as formulated by Xi to Putin in their groundbreaking 2023 summer in Moscow. 

They, of course, will be discussing how the Circus Ringmaster dreams of closing down one Forever War just to start another: the specter of a US–Israel attack on their strategic partner Iran – complete with the counterpunch of blocking the Strait of Hormuz (transit for 24 million barrels of oil a day); a barrel of oil skyrocketing to $200 and even more; and the collapse of the humongous $730 trillion pile of derivatives in the global economy.

No, President Circus Ringmaster: You don't have the cards.    

*  *  *

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

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 23:25

These Are Most Common Types Of Fraud In America

Americans are losing more money to scams than ever before. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that Americans lost $12.5 billion to fraud schemes in 2024, up $2.5 billion from the previous year.

In 2023, consumers around the world lost almost half a trillion dollars to scams.

While certain scams were much more commonly reported, other types led to bigger financial losses for consumers.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, shows the 10 most common types of fraud in the U.S. by the number of reports made to the FTC in 2024, and the total dollar value lost from each type of fraud.

Data comes from the FTC and is updated as of March 2025.

What Type of Fraud is the Most Common?

Below, we show the top 10 most commonly reported fraud types to the FTC, the total dollar value lost from each type of fraud, and the median loss per incident.

Imposter scams—where fraudsters pose as government officials, friends, coworkers, or other trusted parties to steal money or personal information—were the most frequently reported type of fraud in the U.S. last year, with over 840,000 cases filed with the FTC.

This cost consumers almost $3 billion in losses last year.

However, while imposter scams were the most common, investment-related scams led to the biggest financial losses, costing Americans a total of $5.7 billion. The median loss per victim exceeded $9,000.

According to the FTC, scams through email made up the highest number of reports while scams through social media had the highest losses.

Text message scams are also common, making up 22% of all fraud reports to the FTC in 2022.

Types of Fraud

A full list of all fraud types can be found on the FTC website.

• Imposter scams: Someone pretends to be a trusted person to get consumer to send money/give personal information

• Online shopping/negative reviews: Undisclosed costs, failure to deliver on time, non-delivery, business preventing honest reviews

• Business/job opportunities: Fraudulent franchise opportunities, multi-level marketing schemes, job scams

• Investment related: Fraudulent investment opportunities in day trading, gold, art, other products

• Internet services: Problems with website content, difficulty canceling online account, issues with payment service, undisclosed charges

• Prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries: Promotions for free prizes for a fee, foreign lotteries offered through phone or e-mail

• Telephone and mobile services: Unauthorized charges, problems with mobile applications

• Health care: Fraudulent, misleading or deceptive claims for treatments or products

• Travel, vacations, timeshare plans: Deceptive offers for free or low-cost vacations, misleading time share offers

• Mortgage foreclosure relief, debt management: Lenders/brokers making false promises to save consumers’ homes from foreclosure, credit organizations charging excessive fees

To learn more about common scams, check out this graphic that visualizes companies are impersonated most often in online scams.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 23:00

The Sahel: Emerging Center Of Global Islamism

Authored by Nils Haug via The Gatestone Institute,

The center of world terrorist activity and violent death is no longer the Middle East. The "Sahel region of Africa is now the 'epicentre of global terrorism,'" responsible for "over half of all terrorism-related deaths" worldwide, according to the respected Global Terrorism Index.

The sub-Saharan Sahel is largely unknown to much of the world. It can be described as the large, mostly flat, strip, nearly 600 miles wide, located between the savannahs of Sudan to the south and the Sahara desert to the north.

During the last ten years or so, according to the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest defense and security think tank, headquartered in London, the Sahel has undergone a "significant surge in jihadist violence. Armed actors take advantage of porous borders, fragile states, and local grievances to extend their operational reach,"

Global Terrorism Index 2025, published by the Institute for Economics & Peace, reveals that the primary instigator of global terrorism during 2024 was the Islamic State (ISIS) and associated groups -- such as al Qaeda, Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and al- Shabaab -- together responsible for more than 7,500 deaths.

Although the West is experiencing escalating terrorism in countries such as Sweden, Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, the Sahel region evidently remains the "global epicentre of terrorism, accounting for over half of all terrorism-related deaths in 2024." 

Here, conflict deaths exceeded 25,000 for the first time, of which nearly 4,000 were directly connected to terrorism.

A perturbing factor is that in Europe, "one in five persons arrested for terrorism is legally classified as a child." This is understandable, as children in Islamist-jihadist communities are exposed to Jew-hatred and the desire for an Islamist caliphate from a very tender age. The same statistics would apply to terrorist actors in the Sahel, as the ideology of martyrdom and sacrifice is ubiquitous to jihadism.

Susceptible countries in the region include Senegal, Sudan, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. Unsurprisingly, the region's rich mineral resources – with Niger the world's seventh-biggest producer of uranium -- also attract attention. China and Russia are increasingly represented, while Western nations withdraw from Africa due to growing anti-Western attitudes. Specifically, the US base in Niger in August 2024 and France's base in Chad closed in December 2024.

The consequence is, of course, that with the West's retreat, ISIS has free rein to action their visions of global influence. 

They are present in 22 countries at present and, as the report points out: "Despite counterterrorism efforts, the group's ability to coordinate, inspire, and execute attacks highlights its resilience and evolving operational strategies." In the remoteness of the Sahel, ISIS finds an accommodating environment to consolidate and establish a central base.

Russia's Wagner mercenary militia, although rebranded as an "Expeditionary Corps," continues its predatory activities in the area, offering "governments in Africa a 'regime survival package' in exchange for access to strategically important natural resources."

Covertly obtained Russian documents reveal how the group strives to "change mining laws in West Africa, with the ambition of dislodging Western companies from an area of strategic importance." The upshot is accelerating anti-Western sentiment, resulting in the local states seeking to expel hitherto entrenched foreign interests.

A February 20, 2024, report by Jack Watling, Fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute, explains that there "was a meeting in the Kremlin in which it was decided that Wagner's Africa operations would fall directly under the control of Russian military intelligence, the GRU."

Watling concludes, "This is the Russian state coming out of the shadows in its Africa policy." Russia's patent objective is therefore to "seize control of critical resources," and "aggressively pursue the expansion of its partnerships in Africa, with the explicit intent to supplant Western partnerships."

Unlike the West, Russia is not particularly interested in countering terror groups such as ISIS but, instead, focuses on its core objectives concerning "critical resources" and replacing "Western partnership" in the Sahel. With the retreat of Western anti-terror forces, ISIS and associates have freedom to expand their activities, while Russia focuses on eliminating Western influence. The result is a vacuum of experienced Western counter-terror forces, a situation in which jihadist groups thrive.

Fortunately, North African nations, such as Morocco and Algeria, realize the dangers of unchecked jihadism in the Sahel, which reaches towards their southern borders. To give effect to its objectives, Rabat implemented the Morocco Atlantic Initiative, which,

"aims to provide landlocked Sahel countries with access to vital maritime trade routes via Morocco's Atlantic port infrastructure. The plan aims to foster economic regional integration to reduce dependence on unstable transit routes, while fostering Morocco's ties with its southern neighbours to counter instability, terrorism and illicit trafficking in the region in the long term."

Similarly, Algeria, with its common "borders and historical ties to Mali, has always played a pivotal role in the region."

In addition, some Sahel states are taking it upon themselves to counter jihadists in their domain. Recently, an alliance of three prominent Sahel states -- Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger -- "unveiled plans for a unified military force of 5,000 soldiers."

"Each of the three AES armies are expected to contribute troops, tasked with conducting joint operations in areas of intense jihadist activity. In their view, establishing a self-sufficient military partnership is the most dependable way to safeguard sovereignty."

This local move came about as a lack of available Western forces to quell jihadism - an absence brought about by the Sahel nations "severing long-standing military and diplomatic ties with regional allies, France, and other Western powers." In 2024, the three Sahel nations agreed "to tackle security threats jointly."

Although a joint force of 5,000 soldiers is a fair starting point, it is to be noted that the region under discussion covers over 2 million square miles – a vast area. It is anticipated that Russia, China and Turkey, who already provide "bilateral military assistance and equipment" might partner, to some degree, with the Sahel forces to counter terrorism.

Meanwhile, ISIS and al-Qaeda, with associates, extend "greater influence over trans-Saharan networks which will expand their external reach and increase the threat of external plots in North Africa and potentially Europe."

In the result, the Sahel predominantly remains the locale of non-Western actors and local states, acting together for mutual benefit, including the possible control of terrorism. Whether or not efforts by these parties, with some North African countries, will have much impact on jihadism activity in the region remains to be seen. Currently, the significant strategic, political, and economic benefits in the region are reaped by Russia, China and Turkey. The West is nowhere to be seen.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 22:35

Water Wars, Begun They Have

Water conflicts are on the rise around the world, according to data from the Pacific Institute.

In the first four years of this decade alone, there have been 785 recorded water conflicts worldwide. 

As Statista's Anna Fleck shows in the chart below, this is already 27 percent higher than the number of conflicts linked to water resources of the entire decade from 2010-2019, when 620 such events were reported in total. 

 

 

You will find more infographics at Statista

The Pacific Institute’s data is categorized based on the use, impact or effect that water has within a conflict and can be subdivided into three main groups. 

• The first is termed “casualty” and describes the loss of water resources or systems due to becoming intentional or incidental targets of violence. 

• The second is defined as a “weapon”, where water resources or systems are used as an instrument or weapon in a violent conflict. 

• The third and final group falls under “trigger”, which covers conflicts that are directly over the control of water. In this case, economic or physical access to water, or the event of water scarcity, have triggered violence.

As this chart clearly illustrates, the frequency of water conflicts is growing exponentially.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 22:10

Judge Sides With Trump Admin On Identification Rules For Illegal Immigrants

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A federal judge has allowed the Trump administration to enforce identification requirements for immigrants present in the United States illegally.

In a ruling on Thursday, Judge Trevor Neil McFadden said that a rule by the Department of Homeland Security to require illegal immigrants to comply with statutory registration and fingerprinting may move forward as plaintiffs arguing against it failed to “demonstrate that they have standing to bring this suit.”

The case was filed on March 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, with the main plaintiff being the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, along with other immigrant advocacy groups.

On Jan. 20, when President Donald Trump took office for the second time, he issued an executive order, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” in which he stated that illegal immigrants must be identified and registered with the federal government.

Following his order, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Feb. 25 that the DHS would fully enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), under which illegal immigrants will be tracked and compelled to leave the country voluntarily.

Criminal penalties will be imposed on those failing to leave the country, failing to register their identities with the federal government and be fingerprinted, or failing to inform authorities of a change in address.

“An alien’s failure to register is a crime that could result in a fine, imprisonment, or both. For decades, this law has been ignored—not anymore,” said the DHS announcement, referring to the Alien Registration Act, which was first enacted by Congress in 1940.

The registration requirement is set to be effective from April 11, 2025.

According to the alien registration requirement, all illegal immigrants 14 years and older who were not registered and fingerprinted when applying for a U.S. visa, and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, must apply for registration and fingerprinting.

The INA requires that all “parents and legal guardians of aliens below the age of 14 must ensure that those aliens are registered.”

Registered illegal immigrants over the age of 18 must carry proof of registration with them at all times, according to the rule.

“Failure to comply may result in criminal and civil penalties, up to and including misdemeanor prosecution, the imposition of fines, and incarceration.”

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website states that, as part of enabling the requirement, the government has established a new form—G-325R, Biometric Information (Registration)—and an online process “by which unregistered aliens may register and comply with the law.”

In its lawsuit, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights argued that the DHS rule “reverses the government’s long-standing approach to registration … in a manner that will cause confusion, fear, and significant economic disruption.

“Defendants attempt to rush through these sweeping changes without any meaningful explanation for the change in policy and without the notice, public comment, and careful consideration that Congress requires to avoid exactly these types of harms.”

The plaintiffs requested a stay of the rule.

McFadden ruled that the plaintiffs failed to establish standing on an organizational level and on behalf of the organization’s members.

The coalition’s “injuries are highly speculative, sounding in prospective fears about what might happen when the rule takes effect,” he said.

The organization has also failed to demonstrate how a “mere requirement to abide by the law” constitutes a concrete injury.

The plaintiffs argued that this “compelled admission” regarding their members’ immigration status violates the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

In response, McFadden said that the coalition had failed to “demonstrate that any of their members would actually be subject to criminal prosecution based on their answers to Form G-325R.”

Meanwhile, according to the DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 32,809 arrests in the first 50 days of the Trump administration, a number that almost equaled the total arrests made in fiscal year 2024.

The DHS said in a post on social media platform X on April 9: “Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to self-deport and leave the country now. If they don’t, they will face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights for comment.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 21:45

US Consolidates Position Among Highest-Spending Global Cities

In 2020, there were five U.S. entries among the cities with the biggest consumer spending in the world. By 2040, this will have risen to six with the addition of Dallas, a release by World Data Lab shows. 

At the same time, as Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports, the other regions in the top 10 have been diversifying, with Japan losing ground and China gaining some, the numbers show.

 

You will find more infographics at Statista

Beyond the top 10, the U.S. has seen another city rising in the ranking. Houston is projected to climb to rank 12 in 2040, up from rank 14 in 2000. 

Washington D.C., Phoenix and Seattle are also among the top 20.

While America’s major metropolises are keeping their top spots, the ranking exemplifies the growing power of U.S. Sun Belt cities which have been attracting residents with favorable climate and lower cost of living.

Based on a relatively strong economy, consumer spending in the United States has persisted even through recent crises like the Covid-19 pandemic and strong inflation. Americans tend to save less and are among the biggest users of credit worldwide, which might not be sustainable but still ups spending. Additionally, richer Americans can still benefit from their pandemic savings and locked-in ultra-low mortgage rates. U.S. consumer spending is relying more and more on these rich or very rich individuals, the Wall Street Journal reports, which the U.S. has a lot of.

The report analyzes more than 6,000 cities on all continents. It found that 83% of new consumer spending until 2040 will be urban in nature. While the top 100 highest-spending cities are expected to grow in consumer class population by 2.4% annually until that date, consumer spending in them will grow by 4.5% every year, outperforming other urban populations around the globe as large cities continue to attract wealthy individuals and function as spending hubs.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 21:20

Trump Admin Reaches Agreements With 5 Law Firms

Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Trump administration announced on April 11 that it has reached agreements with five law firms to represent causes they both support, such as helping veterans.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, on April 10, 2025. Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images

These law firms are the latest to offer pro bono services to the White House. The administration has gone after law firms it says have taken stances at odds with Trump’s policies, such as practices relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

None of the law firms were targeted by the administration but reached these agreements with the White House, which has issued executive orders going after a handful of others.

A group of four law firms agreed to each provide at least $125 million, or $500 million altogether, in pro bono services: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Latham & Watkins LLP.

The firms agreed to be counsel to help veterans, law enforcement, and first responders; combat anti-Semitism; and ensure “fairness in the justice system.”

They “will take on a wide range of pro bono matters that represent the full political spectrum, including conservative ideals,” President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The law firms agreed to end the use of DEI in hiring personnel and “affirm that it is their policy to give fair and equal consideration to job candidates, irrespective of their political beliefs, including candidates who have served in the Trump administration, and any other Republican or Democrat administration,” according to Trump. They will also advise other law firms regarding employment practices.

The four firms said they will not refuse to represent those who have not been clients of prominent nationwide law firms due to holding political beliefs that contrast those of their firm’s lawyers.

The White House celebrated the agreement.

“President Trump and his administration have entered into an agreement with these long established firms, which have affirmed their strong commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession. The President continues to fulfill his promise to the American people that the age of partisan lawfare in America is over,” the White House said, according to Trump’s post.

In a joint statement, which Trump shared on Truth Social, the law firms said they “look forward to a continued constructive and productive relationship with President Trump and his team.”

A fifth law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP, agreed to provide at least $100 million in pro bono counseling, also in helping veterans; combating anti-Semitism; assisting law enforcement, military personnel, and first responders; and “ensuring fairness in our justice system.”

The law firm agreed to hire personnel based on merit and not on DEI.

Like with the four other firms, this includes not discriminating based on political beliefs. They will also assist other law firms on hiring practices and not refuse representation to those whose political beliefs do not align with the firm’s attorneys.

Cadwalader said it worked with Trump and his team to reach the agreement.

“The substance of our agreement is consistent with the principles that have guided Cadwalader for over 230 years: We always put our client’s interests first; we believe that Justice should be available to everyone; and we are committed to attracting, retaining and nurturing the very best talent from all backgrounds,” it said in a statement, according to Trump’s post.

Other law firms that have come to agreements with the White House include Skadden, Milbank, and Willkie Farr and Gallagher, which each will provide at least $100 million in pro bono representation.

Paul Weiss agreed to provide $40 million in free counseling in areas such as combating anti-Semitism and assisting veterans.

With these arrangements so far, the law firms have agreed to provide at least $940 million in pro bono representation to some of the causes supported by the president.

Meanwhile, Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, and WilmerHale have taken legal action against the administration, seeking to reverse the executive orders against them.

Trump signed an executive order on April 9 to effectively blacklist Susman Godfrey from engaging with the U.S. government. The law firm represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against former Trump lawyer and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

The president said on April 10 that the law firms may help the administration with negotiating trade deals with countries.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 20:55

Venezuela's PDVSA Pulls Export Papers For Two Tankers Destined For USA 

Two large tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude and chartered by Chevron are stranded in Venezuelan waters after state oil firm PDVSA revoked export authorizations to the United States. Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the situation, reported that the move follows President Trump's imposition of secondary tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil in recent weeks. 

The sources provided color on the cancelations, sparking tensions between Washington and Caracas:

Chevron awaits customs paperwork to return the cargoes to ports after PDVSA on Thursday canceled set-sail authorizations to two of the Chevron-chartered vessels that had finished loading. It also suspended loading permits to four other tankers. 

PDVSA's cancellations follow Trump's move to slap tariffs on Venezuela's oil buyers last month and canceled key licenses to several PDVSA partners and customers, including Chevron, allowing them to operate and export Venezuelan oil under exemptions to the U.S. sanctions.

In March, the U.S. Treasury authorized Chevron to ship Venezuelan crude cargoes to U.S. ports in the Gulf of America until late May.

Here's additional color:

As of Friday, the Chevron-chartered vessels Dubai Attraction and Carina Voyager remained loaded in Venezuelan waters waiting for paperwork for the cargoes' return, according to the sources and LSEG shipping data.

The cargoes had been declared as exports to Venezuela's customs authority, so Chevron must now obtain authorization for their return as instructed by PDVSA, the sources said.

Under the license, Chevron exported about 250,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude to the U.S., much of which ended up at the company's Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 20:30

A New Food Pyramid For A Metabolically Unwell Nation

Authored by Sheramy Tsai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

With chronic illnesses soaring across the United States, a group of doctors and nutrition researchers say it’s time to reconsider the foundation of American dietary advice—starting from the bottom up.

Alexander Raths/Shutterstock

In a peer-reviewed paper published in Nutrients, the authors contend that the traditional carb-heavy diet has not only failed to safeguard public health but may be contributing to rising rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. They propose a new low-carbohydrate food pyramid designed for the vast majority of American adults showing signs of metabolic dysfunction.

Their model—built on protein, full-fat dairy, and healthy fats—challenges decades of federal guidance and reignites a long-simmering debate about dietary fat’s role in chronic disease.

Rethinking the Pyramid

The original food pyramid, introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1992, stacked grains at the base, fruits and vegetables in the middle, and fats and oils at the top.

Though replaced in 2011 by MyPlate—a graphic that uses a dinner plate divided into five food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy)—the original pyramid’s grain-centric emphasis still lingers in public messaging and perception.

The paper calls that framework outdated and potentially harmful. Its 24 authors, including physicians, dietitians, and metabolic researchers, say the traditional model overlooks growing evidence linking high carbohydrate intake to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.

In its place, they introduce a striking alternative: the first low-carbohydrate food pyramid. At its base are foods once discouraged—meat, eggs, full-fat dairy, and healthy oils. Non-starchy vegetables and low-sugar fruits occupy the middle tier. At the top are starchy vegetables, higher-sugar fruits, and nuts, recommended only in limited amounts. Foods high in carbohydrates—such as grains, rice, beans, and added sugars—are excluded entirely.

The authors describe the model as both low-carbohydrate and ketogenic—terms they use interchangeably in the paper. A ketogenic diet typically restricts carbohydrate intake to between 20 and 50 grams per day, shifting the body into a fat-burning state called ketosis.

A proposed low-carb food pyramid for the metabolically unwell places meat, dairy, and healthy fats at the base, removing grains and sugar entirely.
Source: Teicholz et al., Nutrients 2025

But some experts caution against treating all carbohydrates as equal. “Whole grains are associated with better health outcomes, while refined grains are the opposite,” said Alex Leaf, a nutrition writer with a master’s degree.

Current guidelines, he noted, blur that line by suggesting only “at least half” of grains be whole. “This framing dilutes what could be a clearer public health message.”

Supporters of the new model argue that most Americans already show signs of metabolic dysfunction and need dietary guidance that reflects that reality.

“This pyramid is for the 88 percent of American adults with metabolic diseases,” Nina Teicholz, the study’s lead author, told The Epoch Times. “The USDA food pyramid was created based on flawed scientific evidence and, when tested in clinical trials, has never been shown to prevent any chronic disease.”

Teicholz and her co-authors assert that the low-carb model aligns more closely with today’s science and better suits the nutritional needs of most Americans.

A Model With Deep Roots

For its advocates, the low-carb approach isn’t new—it’s a revival of therapeutic diets with deep roots in medical history.

“We have a long tradition in Western medicine for neurological conditions such as epilepsy (and both type 1 and type 2 diabetes treatment since the late 1700s) to be successfully treated without medications with ketogenic diets,” wrote Dr. Anthony Chaffee, a physician and nutritional medicine expert, in an email to The Epoch Times.

He also cited a 2005 Institute of Medicine report, which found no minimum requirement for dietary carbohydrates as long as protein and fat needs are met.

Chaffee pointed to early human history, noting that Arctic populations during the last Ice Age survived entirely on meat and fish, with no access to plant-based carbohydrates. “People live harm-free without carbohydrates generationally,” he said.

A Therapeutic Case for Cutting Carbs

The paper references thousands of clinical trials suggesting that low-carb, high-fat diets can improve insulin sensitivity, reverse Type 2 diabetes, and reduce reliance on medication.

Major health organizations—including the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Canada, and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes—now endorse low-carb diets as one option for managing Type 2 diabetes.

The American Heart Association has similarly acknowledged that very low-carb diets, compared with moderate-carb diets, “yield a greater decrease in A1c, more weight loss and use of fewer diabetes medications in individuals with diabetes.”

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is a blood test that reflects average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months and is commonly used to monitor diabetes control.

The underlying biology is well known: Cutting carbs shifts the body into burning fat for fuel, a process called ketosis. This metabolic state also supports weight loss, as fat and protein increase satiety and often reduce overall calorie intake.

The authors say low-carb diets supply all essential nutrients—often in more bioavailable forms than fortified grains. They also cite evidence that the body can generate glucose on its own through gluconeogenesis.

“Many studies have established that people with chronic diseases suffer from carbohydrate intolerance,” the paper states. “Thus, in the same way that people with gluten intolerance avoid gluten, those with carbohydrate intolerance must limit carbohydrates.”

A Question of Fit—and Food Itself

While the study makes a strong case for low-carb eating, some experts warn against treating it as a one-size-fits-all solution.

“Many different kinds of diets support good health,” Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, told The Epoch Times. “The preponderance of evidence supports minimally processed foods that balance calories and include both plants and animal products.”

Nestle noted that nutrition studies are notoriously difficult and often reflect idealized eating habits. In reality, few Americans follow the food pyramid—or MyPlate. Most diets are dominated by ultra-processed foods high in added sugar, refined grains, and industrial fats.

Others question the long-term effects of cutting carbs so drastically. Anna Herby, a registered dietitian with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, said that the low-carb pyramid lacks fiber, a key nutrient for digestion, weight management, and blood sugar control.

“All of these foods are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, two components of foods that are linked with heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and stroke,” she told The Epoch Times.

While low-carb diets can help manage Type 2 diabetes, some experts argue that the real driver is weight loss—not carb restriction alone. “A low-carbohydrate diet can be an effective tool,” said Leaf. “But it isn’t intrinsically superior. What matters most is finding something that a person can sustainably stick with.”

Nestle also raised environmental concerns, noting that low-carb diets often emphasize animal-based foods. “Beef cattle are the largest food contributors to greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.

The authors argue that low-carb diets don’t require heavy red meat consumption. They point to regenerative agriculture as one way to reduce the environmental footprint of animal-based foods. The EPA estimates livestock accounts for 3.9 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, though experts disagree on whether that figure overstates or understates the true impact.

Nestle emphasized that dietary advice should serve broad public health goals. While low-carb diets may help some people, she said, they shouldn’t overshadow a more inclusive message focused on whole, minimally processed foods.

Will Guidelines Change?

Despite a growing body of research on low-carb diets, it’s unclear whether it will impact the U.S. dietary guidelines.

In its latest report issued in December 2025, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) ranks legumes, beans, and seafood as preferred protein sources—placing red meat, poultry, and eggs lower on the list. It maintains support for low-fat dairy but stops short of taking a position on ultra-processed foods despite mounting evidence linking them to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Supporters of low-carb diets call the DGAC’s advice outdated. Critics, meanwhile, argue it reflects the best available science.

“I’ve seen large amounts of evidence supporting this approach,” said Nestle. “The diet proposed in this paper is not aimed at healthy people; it is aimed at people with metabolic diseases. Avoiding rapidly absorbed carbohydrates is a good idea for such people.”

Leaf also questioned the usefulness of a one-size-fits-all food pyramid. “It tries to cram everyone into a single box,” he said. “I’d like to see it recommend several healthy options geared towards different dietary preferences—standard, low-carb, vegan, etc.”

That raises a broader question: Should national dietary guidelines prioritize those already dealing with metabolic conditions—or aim to serve the general, healthy population?

“My one concern is that it will be interpreted as advice for everyone,” Nestle added. “The evidence still greatly supports diets that replace animal foods with plants—in variety—as a good approach. This does not change that.”

Teicholz sees it differently. She cites a University of North Carolina study estimating that 88 percent of Americans show signs of metabolic dysfunction.

“It should be the USDA-HHS food pyramid for people with metabolic diseases,” she said.

Chaffee argues that science isn’t the barrier—visibility is.

“No big company profits from people cutting carbs and getting healthy,” he said. “We don’t have multimillion-dollar ad budgets, drug reps in hospitals, or sponsored conferences to promote the data.”

He pointed to Australia, which recently designated ketogenic diets as “best practice” for managing Type 2 diabetes—proof, he says, that change is possible when the evidence is acknowledged.

With Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. overseeing this year’s federal dietary review, whether the recommendations will change remains to be seen.

However, as chronic disease rates rise, so does pressure to revisit long-held dietary assumptions. Whether or not the guidelines shift, the low-carb food pyramid has reignited the national conversation about what Americans should eat—and why.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 20:05

Democratic State Attorneys General Sue To Restore COVID-Related Programs For K-12 Students

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A group of Democratic state attorneys general and a governor sued the Trump administration on April 10 to attempt to stop it from ending more than $1.1 billion in funding for addressing the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on K–12 students.

New York Attorney General Letitia James makes an announcement on March 14, 2025. Oliver Mantyk/The Epoch Times

Filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawsuit is in response to the Department of Education’s March 28 announcement that it would no longer let states utilize funds within programs implemented by a pandemic relief law passed during the Biden administration. Previously, the agency said the funds would be accessible through March 2026.

The states suing said they had planned on the funding and are now dealing with major budget shortfalls because of the agency’s policy change, the lawsuit states.

They said the funding was earmarked for facility upgrades, offering tutoring to students who fell behind during the COVID-19 pandemic, and feeding homeless students.

“The Trump administration’s latest attack on our schools will hurt our most vulnerable students and make it harder for them to thrive,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was one of the plaintiffs bringing the lawsuit. “Cutting school systems’ access to vital resources that our students and teachers rely on is outrageous and illegal.”

She was joined by the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was an additional plaintiff.

The group alleges that the Trump administration’s reversal on allowing access to the funds violated procedures necessary by the Administrative Procedures Act. They are asking the court to issue an order vacating the Education Department’s termination of funds and reinstating its previous policy, allowing the states to access the funds through March of next year.

The White House and the Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.

President Donald Trump has said education authority should be returned to the states and parents should decide what’s best for their children. He signed an executive order last month directing his administration to hasten the process of dismantling the Education Department, which requires congressional approval.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a plaintiff in Thursday’s lawsuit, accused Trump of “throwing our schools into turmoil and jeopardizing the academic success of a generation of American children” by moving to dismantle the Education Department.

“I’m taking the President to court for the 13th time to help ensure our kids get the educational opportunities they deserve,” Bonta wrote in a statement.

Numerous groups have filed lawsuits challenging the administration’s sweeping cuts, arguing it is revoking congressionally appropriated contracts and grants without first getting input from the legislative branch.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 19:15

New Colorado Law Makes It Far More Difficult To Buy Semiautomatic Firearms

Enacting what gun-grabbers see as the next-best thing to an outright "assault weapon" ban, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed off on a law that will make it a much bigger hassle purchase many semiautomatic firearms. The law, which will face immediate legal challenges from gun rights groups, also takes aim at bump stocks and binary triggers, while increasing the penalty for violating the state's magazine restrictions. It's set to take effect on August 1 of next year, with violators facing up to 120 days in jail, a fine, or both. Repeat offenders could be locked up for 18 months.  

"The bill enacts some of the most sweeping gun regulations ever considered in the Centennial State, even compared to the few dozen restrictions Colorado lawmakers have been stacking up over the last decade," notes The Reload's Jake Fogleman. The law affects the purchase of so-called "assault rifles" -- like AR-15s and AK-47s -- as well as gas-operated pistols that use a detachable magazine. Recoil-operated handguns aren't subject to the restrictions; the bill's advocates say 90% of the pistol market won't be affected. Examples of affected gas-operated handguns include the Desert Eagle, Walther PPK, Sig Sauer MPX Copperhead and Smith & Wesson MP 5.7. 

This is a preview of what every state with an assault weapon ban will do if the Supreme Court strikes down such bans. Colorado is getting ahead of Snope. https://t.co/DMEHiYDYvX

— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) April 11, 2025

Polis had kept his intentions regarding the law to himself until it came time to sign it. “I am focused on improving public safety and making Colorado one of the top ten safest states in the country," said Polis, who's considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. “This law is not a ban, and I have been clear that I oppose banning types of firearms." Despite his claim, the law is structured as a ban on the weapons that's only circumvented via specific exceptions.  

The law impedes the acquisition of covered weapons by throwing bureaucratic hurdles in front of would-be purchasers. First, they'll have to obtain a "firearms safety course eligibility card” issued by their sheriff. That means being fingerprinted, paying a fee and passing a background check. "Sheriffs will have broad authority to deny applications from people seeking to buy otherwise banned firearms, including those they believe may be a risk to themselves or others," explains the Colorado Sun. If you don't like the decision, you'll have to sue. 

As for the safety course, if you're a Coloradan with a hunter education certificate, you can get by with a four-hour, in-person "basic" class. Those without a hunter certificate will be required to attend an "extended" course, which has to come in the form of at least 12 hours of in-person classes divided into at least two days. Either way, attendees will need to score at least 90% on the final exam.The eligibility card is only good for five years, at which point the same hoops have to navigated all over again to purchase another covered semiautomatic. Cardholders' data will be stored in a new database to be overseen by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, a department that's never had anything to do with regulating the firearm business. 

Colorado's citizens and gun shops are bracing for a new round of infringements. Pictured: the Bristlecone Shooting, Training and Retail Center in Denver 

Having previously navigated the red tape and long waits to obtain a Colorado concealed handgun permit gets you nothing: "Because they want to make things difficult on purpose, it will be two separate permits (instead of having a CCW permit be an exemption to the ["assault weapon"] permit)," observed gun rights litigator Kostas Moros on X as he predicted other states will use Colorado's approach if assault weapon bans are struck down by the Supreme Court. Coloradans can't legally sidestep the law by making their purchase in another state, as federal law requires dealers to follow the rules of the state where the purchaser lives.  

The new law also raises the stakes for violators of Colorado's 12-year-old ban on the sale, transfer or possession of magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds -- with an exception for those that were already owned before July 1, 2013. Violating the ban becomes a Class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail. Rapid-fire trigger devices such as bump stocks are banned immediately. 

“We’re not going to let this law stand,” a defiant Ian Escalante, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners told the Denver Post, “whether it’s through litigation or whether we kick these bastards out and we replace them with people who will repeal it.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 18:50

How Chinese Imports Are Leveraged In Cyberattacks

Authored by Andrew Thornebrooke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

News Analysis

For more than a decade, cybersecurity experts across the government and private sectors have sounded the alarm about the increasing risks posed by technology products manufactured in China.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

The United States’ longstanding dependency on Chinese-made devices has been repeatedly exploited as part of a state-backed effort by China’s ruling communist regime to undermine the strategic interests and national security of the United States, from preinstalled malware on consumer devices to sabotage operations in critical infrastructure.

While not every Chinese-made device poses such a risk, the growing catalog of cyberattacks exploiting Chinese hardware underscores the need for vigilance when purchasing or using such products, and suggests the U.S. government may need to do more to curb its reliance on China for a broad array of devices.

Here’s a look at some of the most egregious documented uses of Chinese devices in cyberattacks from the last decade.

Chinese Malware Preinstalled on US Government-Funded Phones

Sending Americans’ most sensitive personal information directly to China probably wasn’t what the Federal Communications Commission had in mind when it decided to subsidize affordable mobile phones for millions of low-income Americans.

That’s exactly what happened, however.

Beginning in 2015, a wide range of budget Android phones manufactured by American company BLU in China were systematically preloaded with malware by suspected Chinese state-backed actors.

Those phones were found by cybersecurity company Kryptowire to have been preloaded with malicious software by the Shanghai Adups Technology Company, an opaque IT services company established in China in 2012, with which BLU had contracted to provide service updates for its devices.

The Adups malware operated at the most foundational level of the phones, including in the wireless update and settings apps, meaning that the malware could not be removed without rendering the phones unusable.

For years, Adups collected granular location data, contact lists, logs for calls and texts, and even the full contents of texts from Americans’ phones. Some of the phones even allowed remote actors believed to be based in China to take screenshots or otherwise seize control of the devices.

To make matters worse, all that data were encrypted and sent back to a server in China, where Chinese Communist Party (CCP) law mandates that information is a national resource, effectively transferring Americans’ most personal data directly to the regime.

An engineer opens the door of a server unit during an organized tour at the Cyber Security Lab of the Huawei in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China, on April 25, 2019. Because Chinese Communist Party law mandates that information is a national resource, Americans’ most personal data transfered to a server in China effectively sends the data directly to the regime. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The malign activity was able to bypass detection for some time because the malware was embedded in the software of the phone and therefore automatically whitelisted by most malware detection tools, which were programmed to assume that a product’s rudimentary software and firmware would not be malicious.

It’s still unclear just how many Americans were caught up in the operation. Adups claimed on its website in 2016 to have a worldwide presence with more than 700 million active users, and that it also produced firmware integrated into mobile phones, semiconductors, wearable devices, cars, and televisions.

In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with BLU, finding that the company had knowingly misled its customers about the extent of data that could be collected by Adups.

Yet Adups emerged again in 2020, when cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes found that the company had preinstalled malware on budget mobile phones offered by Virgin Mobile’s Assurance Wireless program, another government-subsidized effort to make mobile phones available for low-income Americans.

Mystery Routers Hidden in US Ports

A congressional probe revealed in 2024 that Chinese-made routers used in U.S. ports could facilitate cyber espionage and sabotage.

The report revealed that giant ship-to-shore cranes, which are used to unload cargo throughout the United States’ largest ports, had been equipped with Chinese-manufactured modems with no known function.

Investigators warned that the technology embedded in the devices could allow unauthorized access to sensitive U.S. port operations and that some of the modems were also found to have active connections to the operational components of the cranes, suggesting they could be remotely controlled by a device no one previously knew existed.

All of the cranes in question were manufactured in China by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Communications Construction Co.

U.S. lawmakers noted at the time that Zhenhua’s manufacturing facility was located adjacent to China’s most advanced ship-making facility, where the regime builds its aircraft carriers and houses advanced intelligence capabilities.

Cranes used for shipping containers rise from the Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn in New York City on Sept. 30, 2024. A congressional probe in 2024 found that giant ship-to-shore cranes throughout the United States’ largest ports had been equipped with Chinese-manufactured modems with no known function. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In a letter dated Feb. 29, 2024, addressed to the president and chairman of Zhenhua, the lawmakers demanded to know the purpose of the cellular modems discovered on crane components and in a U.S. seaport’s server room that houses firewall and networking equipment.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Vann, who led the Coast Guard’s Cyber Command at the time, said there were more than 200 China-manufactured cranes operating across U.S. ports and other regulated facilities, less than half of which had been thoroughly inspected for the Chinese devices.

Exploitation of Chinese Routers, Cameras

Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors have also been found exploiting vulnerabilities in network devices such as home routers, storage devices, and security cameras.

These devices, often manufactured in China, have been targeted to serve as additional access points for conducting network intrusions on other entities, effectively leveraging vulnerabilities inherent in certain Chinese-made devices to gain a foothold in American networks, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

In one such major incident in 2016, Dahua Technology, a leading Chinese manufacturer of surveillance equipment, was linked to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack and, again in 2021, security researchers found a flaw in Dahua’s software that allowed hackers to bypass authentication protocols and seize control of the devices.

In that incident, more than a million devices were exploited and used to create two botnets, which were then used to target the website of a cybersecurity journalist in a DDoS and extortion campaign.

Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors have continued to extensively target these and similar vulnerabilities in Chinese-made security cameras and webcams in the years since.

In February of this year, the Department of Homeland Security distributed a bulletin warning that innumerable such cameras were still being used throughout U.S. infrastructure sites, including in the electrical grid and ports.

That bulletin warned that Chinese-manufactured devices were especially likely to be exploited in cyber attacks and that tens of thousands of the devices had already been used to that end.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 18:25

Judge Rules Trump Can Deport Pro-Palestine Columbia Activist, Cites "Potentially Serious Foreign Policy Consequences"

A top US immigration judge has ruled that the Trump administration can deport Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil under a decades-old federal statute.

Student Mahmoud Khalil at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Columbia University campus in New York on April 29, 2024. Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo

Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans, who was appointed to her position in 2023 by the Biden DOJ, found that due to Khalil's involvement in violent pro-Palestinian protests in the waning days of the Biden administration, his continued presence in the United States raised "potentially serious foreign policy consequences."

The decision is the latest development in Secretary of State Marco Rubio's efforts to deport Khalil under the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952, which allows Rubio to deport noncitizens that pose a risk to the government's foreign policy aims.

According to Comans, the government had shown "clear and convincing evidence that he is removable."

Khalil, who is a lawful permanent US resident but not a citizen, was arrested on March 8 in his university apartment as part of a series of arrests resulting from President Trump's vow to deport students who took part in riots and protests across American universities last year.

Rubio concluded that Khalil was eligible for deportation under the law, which prohibits "presence or activities in the United States the secretary of state has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."

In her ruling, Comans said that Khalil has no basis to challenge that determination - but has until April 23 to request a state of his deportation. If he does not request one by that deadline, he will be deported to either Syria or Algeria, NPR reports.

His lawyers are expected to appeal, according to AP.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 18:00

DOJ Launches 'Second Amendment Task Force' To Guard Gun Rights

Authored by Wim De Gent via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the establishment of a task force aimed at protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference regarding immigration enforcement at the Justice Department in Washington on Feb. 12, 2025. Ben Curtis/AP Photo

“For too long, the Second Amendment, which establishes the fundamental individual right of Americans to keep and bear arms, has been treated as a second-class right. No more,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi wrote in a Tuesday memorandum to all DOJ employees.

“President [Donald] Trump has made protecting the Second Amendment rights a priority for this administration,” she said.

The attorney general said the president directed her to propose a plan of action designed “to protect the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.”

Bondi said the prime objective of the “Second Amendment Task Force” is to develop policies and legal strategies to “advance, protect, and promote compliance with the Second Amendment.”

The task force, chaired by Bondi, will consist of staff members from her office and from the Deputy and Assistant AGs’ offices, from the Solicitor General’s office, the Civil Division, the Civil Rights Division, the Criminal Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the FBI.

Personnel from additional agencies may be summoned to assist in the task force’s operations as needed.

Trump’s Executive Order

The task force serves to implement Trump’s Executive Order 14206, “Protecting Second Amendment Rights,” which instructed the attorney general to review all of the Biden administration’s firearms-related actions.

In a Wednesday press release, Bondi said the “prior administration placed an undue burden on gun owners and vendors by targeting law-abiding citizens exercising their 2nd Amendment rights.”

On Monday, the ATF said it had repealed President Joe Biden’s Enhanced Regulatory Enforcement Policy. The 2021 initiative—also known as the “Zero Tolerance Policy”—set strict inspection standards for arms dealers and allowed the ATF to revoke licenses over minor clerical errors that were previously considered excusable.

“This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right,” Bondi said in an ATF press release.

“The prior administration’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy unfairly targeted law-abiding gun owners and created an undue burden on Americans seeking to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms—it ends today,” she said.

The DOJ and the ATF are also planning to revise the “stabilizing brace rule” and the boundaries for determining who is considered “engaged in the business” of selling firearms.

The stabilizing brace rule sought to reclassify guns with attached stabilizing braces—accessories originally designed to help people with disabilities shoot pistols more comfortably—as short-barreled rifles, which implies stricter regulations. Critics argued the rule turned millions of law-abiding gun owners into potential felons overnight by reclassifying their legally purchased pistols.

A MCK pistol brace for a handgun is displayed with firearm accessories for sale at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif., on June 5, 2021. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

The 2024 “engaged in the business” of firearms dealing rule expanded the definition of who qualifies as a firearms dealer under federal law, which critics said blurred the line between private sales and commercial dealing, potentially criminalizing hobbyists.

Then-acting ATF Director Kash Patel, who was succeeded at the ATF by Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll on Wednesday, called the measures “a pivotal step toward restoring fairness and clarity in firearms regulation.”

The DOJ said it will work with gun rights organizations, gun manufacturers, and legal experts over the coming months to ensure that the polices align with Americans’ constitutional rights.

From NTD News

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 17:40

USPS To Hike Stamp Prices By About 7.4% To 78 Cents Effective This Summer

The U.S. Postal Service has proposed raising the price of a "forever" stamp from 73 cents to 78 cents as part of a broader rate hike set to take effect July 13, pending approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission, according to CBS News. 

The increase would raise mailing service prices by about 7.4%.

The USPS says the hike is necessary for financial stability, continuing a trend of rate increases under former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who warned customers to expect “uncomfortable” pricing adjustments after a decade of flawed pricing models.

CBS writes that DeJoy stepped down in March after nearly five years, as the Trump administration and the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, floated the idea of privatizing mail delivery.

Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino is serving as interim chief while a permanent replacement is chosen. Trump has suggested moving USPS under the Commerce Department to curb ongoing financial losses at the $78 billion agency.

Back in March our friends at the Epoch Times wrote that the DeJoy informed Congress that he signed an agreement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to help the U.S. Postal Service improve operations and cut costs.

In a letter, DeJoy said the agencies will assist in addressing mismanaged retirement assets, excessive workers’ compensation costs, unfunded legislative mandates, and outdated regulatory burdens—issues he claims have cost USPS over $50 billion.

Highlighting the Postal Service’s broken business model and $100 billion in past losses, DeJoy stressed the need for deep reform, noting that 10,000 workers will soon be offered early retirement following previous workforce reductions. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 17:20

California's Disastrously Run College Financial Aid Program Is Filled With Fake 'ChatGPT' Students

Authored by Victoria Taft via PJMedia.com,

First, you must admit you have a problem. 

It’s unclear the state of California has done that after the disastrously run COVID-era unemployment scam and the billions unaccounted for in payouts to grifters in the Homeless Industrial Complex. Medicaid for all illegal aliens is draining the system for citizens. And now this. California’s community college financial aid program is being plundered by scammers, grifters, and criminals. At least 25% of the money being given out in loans is sent to imaginary people who appear to be using AI to complete assignments, collect checks, and then disappear.

Indeed, as CalMatters reported, the number of these “Pell runners” has grown dramatically. 

“After enrolling at a community college they apply for a federal Pell grant, collect as much as $7,400, then vanish,” according to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. 

As usual, during COVID, paddle boarding alone, gathering with friends, and meeting in a classroom were verboten, but stealing from the state was a breeze. The people in charge of watching over the money—looking at you Julie Su and Gavin Newsom— crammed the money into one of those T-shirt guns and fired it in the general direction of those they thought might need it: prisoners, Nigerian princes, and fake students.

Good luck passing an audit. 

CalMatters reported:

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government loosened some restrictions around financial aid, making it easier for students to prove they were eligible, and provided special one-time grants to help keep them enrolled. Once these pandemic-era exceptions ended in 2023 and some classes returned to in-person instruction, college officials said they expected fraud to subside. 

It hasn’t. In January, the chancellor’s office suspected 25% of college applicants were fraudulent, said Paul Feist, a spokesperson for the office. 

“This is getting significantly worse,” said Todd Coston, an associate vice chancellor with the Kern Community College District. He said that last year, “something changed and all of a sudden everything spiked like crazy.”

And here’s the reason why this problem for taxpayers may continue.

Stephen Frank reports that instructors know that cutting fake students means that they won’t get funding for those students. 

In 2023, librarian Heather Dodge started to notice something odd about the students who took her online research course at Berkeley City College. To connect with students and make the class more engaging, Dodge said she always began the course by asking students to submit a video introducing themselves using their webcam or an iPhone. 

“It’s a very low bar,” she said, but “I started noticing that there would be a handful of students that wouldn’t submit that assignment in the first week.” First, she would send them a message, and then, if they still didn’t respond, she’d drop them from the class.

She wanted to seem inclusive, worrying about whether students were having tech problems. But her biggest issue was how her dropping enrollments would look to the bean counters who divvy up the money to schools.

Dodge says,  “If they see I’m running a class that starts with 35 students and ends with 15, that looks terrible.”

As with California voter registration, voter rolls, and applying for free state money, “many colleges don’t independently verify a student’s address or identity.” That's right: nobody checks.

When the schools tried to give illegal aliens or kids in the foster system who had no ID a break, “the bots figured that out,” according to Nicole Albo-Lopez, the deputy chancellor for the Los Angeles Community College District.

In 2023, three women were indicted for using prisoners’ names to qualify for student loans at California community colleges. They ran off with more than $1 million. Only one admitted guilt. The other two were freed until trial. There are no public reports we can find that these other two women were ever penalized for allegedly stealing the money. 

And good luck if you want California to stop the stupid. One year ago, California adopted a program to pay community college students for their time in class and spent doing homework. We’re not kidding. The taxpayers pay students in this pilot program the going rate for minimum wage, which in California is between $16.50 and $20/hour for fast food workers. 

Gee, I wonder if anyone is keeping the books on this program. 

Currently, California colleges have access to an online ID verification program but don’t require students to use it. However, for the sake of the people paying the bills, it sure sounds like it’s way past time for them to require it.  

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It’s the least they could do for the poor saps paying the bills. 

California should sure use a dose of DOGE. 

Nationally, Elon Musk and DOGE are bringing much-needed accountability to our out-of-control bureaucracy as they take a chainsaw to rampant waste, fraud, and abuse.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 17:00

Trump Tells Putin To 'Get Moving' On Ukraine Peace Negotiations, Clock Ticking 

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff was in St. Petersburg Friday where he met with President Putin for the third time, amid ongoing efforts to normalize US-Russia relations and find a way forward toward Ukraine peace.

But President Trump remains impatient and is growing frustrated on the question of achieving peaceful settlement on Ukraine, and the clock is ticking as critics say the Kremlin is intentionally buying and wasting time, making slow but steady gains on the battlefield all along.

Via Reuters

For this reason Trump said Friday that Russia needs to "get moving" with Ukraine ceasefire talks, also as Zelensky has alleged that Putin is not actually genuine about seeking peace.

"Russia has to get moving. Too many people [are] DYING, thousands a week," Trump wrote in a fresh post on Truth Social.

Ironically the same day Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that no one should expect "breakthroughs" anytime soon, and yet this is precisely what Trump wants in Ukraine: a breakthrough and a path to settlement. BBC details of Friday:

Before the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was "no need to expect breakthroughs" as the "process of normalizing relations is ongoing".

Witkoff first met with Kirill Dmitriev at the Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg where a conference was being held on stainless steel and the Russian market.

Dmitriev, the 49-year-old head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, visited Washington DC last week and was the most senior Russian official to go to the US since the full scale invasion of Ukraine.

Asked if discussions could include setting up a date for Putin and Trump to meet, Peskov said: "Let's see. It depends on what Witkoff has come with."

Just a week-and-a-half ago Trump had signaled Putin in words given to NBC: "If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia."

Here's Friday's Truth Social post telling Putin to get moving...

The Washington Post described of the Witkoff-Putin meeting:

Video footage published by the Kremlin showed Witkoff and Putin shaking hands before the start of their talks, which lasted over four hours. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that they would discuss the war in Ukraine and that it was “a good opportunity to convey Russia’s position to Trump.”

Such threatening rhetoric has ramped up amid concerns Putin is intentionally slow-playing and taking advantage of the process. But the Kremlin has made clear that it will never budge on certain conditions - especially Russian ownership of Crimea and the four eastern territories, and of course a commitment to Ukraine demilitarizing and no more NATO expansion.

But Kiev itself hasn't budged on these things either, so Trump might equally be frustrated at Zelensky too. This was on display late last month and in some recent administration rhetoric. Meanwhile Moscow is being accused of expanding recruitment for its Ukraine operations, and Zelensky continues condemning Chinese 'assistance' to Moscow's war efforts.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 16:40

The Wicked Flee...

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

"No more government in the shadows." 

- Mike Benz

The decade-long treasonous hectoring of Mr. Trump keeps on coming, you understand, for the simple reason that there have been absolutely zero consequences for any of the vicious rogues behind it. 

Not so much as a rap on the knuckles for seeking to overthrow a president, steal elections, hide high crimes, rob the treasury, and recklessly frame the innocent.

And suddenly this week, as startling as a mythic goddess of justice riding a spring zephyr, comes a brisk demonstration of exactly what-to-do.

Days ago, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey ordered his state police to not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officers (ICE) — a nice bit of grandstanding for a guy seeking to occupy the Democratic Party’s leadership vacuum. So, Thursday night, newly-appointed US Attorney for the New Jersey federal district, Alina Habba, opened a criminal investigation against Gov. Murphy for “obstruction and concealment.” 

That means, possibly, jail. Badda-bing! This ain’t no foolin’ around.

The reason the Democrat pols and their activist agents pule and mewl about “retribution” is because they know they are guilty of so many manifest crimes against the country and against decency, that a fair system would have jailed or hanged them by now. 

They evaded their reckonings only because their own filthy mitts gripped the levers of justice until very recently.

Since January 20, that has obviously changed. 

But two questions have dogged the necessary restoration of fairness and good faith in the backbone of government we call the law. 1) Since the culpable are such well-known figures — the Clintons, Obama, Biden, Comey, Brennan, Mayorkas, Garland, Wray, Fauci, Collins, Pelosi, Eisen, Weissmann, McCord, Schiff, and dozens more:

1. how do you seek justice without appearing to “go after” individuals in the old Soviet mode of “show me the person and I’ll find you the crime”? And

2. where do you begin with such a cosmic-scale panorama of treasonous malfeasance spanning many years and many theaters-of-action?

I’d say US Attorney Alina Habba’s move this week is an excellent place to start.

For one thing, Governor Murphy’s defiant act is a fresh crime, only days old, and a clear-cut one: you can’t order state officials to flout federal law, especially where public safety is concerned. Ms. Habba smacked him instantly, like an insolent biting insect. Now, follow through. Prosecute. Mere apologies not accepted. No “mulligan” on that shot. If she brings a case, then other mayors and governors of the many self-proclaimed “sanctuary” jurisdictions around the country, trolling for virtue brownie points in their Woke waters, will rethink their lawless posturing.

Couple of other good starts just this week. 

Mr. Trump issued executive orders yesterday that will afford a fresh look into some older but critical crimes against the nation. 

One directs US Attorney General Bondi to investigate the actions of a key player in wide-ranging 2020 election mischief. From the White House memo itself:

Christopher Krebs, the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is a significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his government authority. Krebs’ misconduct involved the censorship of disfavored speech implicating the 2020 election and COVID-19 pandemic. CISA, under Krebs’ leadership, suppressed conservative viewpoints under the guise of combatting supposed disinformation, and recruited and coerced major social media platforms to further its partisan mission. CISA covertly worked to blind the American public to the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop. Krebs, through CISA, promoted the censorship of election information, including known risks associated with certain voting practices. Similarly, Krebs, through CISA, falsely and baselessly denied that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen, including by inappropriately and categorically dismissing widespread election malfeasance and serious vulnerabilities with voting machines. Krebs skewed the bona fide debate about COVID-19 by attempting to discredit widely shared views that ran contrary to CISA’s favored perspective.

Next, the White House directed an investigation of Homeland Security officer Miles Taylor who proclaimed, during the first Trump term in an anonymous New York Times op-ed, that he was party to “a resistance within the Federal Government that ‘vowed’ to undermine and render ineffective a sitting president... [T]his conduct could properly be characterized as treasonous and as possibly violating the Espionage Act,” the EO said. 

Sounds serious, a little bit.

Next, in another EO, the White House severely disciplined the swamp law firm Susman Godfrey for its racist DEI activism in the federal agencies it did work for, saying, “Lawyers and law firms that engage in activities detrimental to critical American interests should not have access to our nation’s secrets, nor should their conduct be subsidized by Federal taxpayer funds or contracts.” Hence, Sussman Godfrey lost its security clearances, its federal work contracts were cancelled, and its lawyers are barred from entering federal buildings, including courthouses. 

FAFO.

Next, Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard announced at Thursday’s cabinet meeting that her office has obtained evidence of massive vulnerabilities in voting machines that allow hackers to flip votes. This has long been written off as “baseless conspiracy theory” for years by degenerate news outlets like The New York Times. The key word in Ms. Gabbard’s statement, is “evidence.” You realize, of course, that there is no reason to use vote-counting machines in our election except for the purpose of hacking and cheating. Most other putatively “democratic” nations use paper ballots and manage to tabulate and report election results within twenty-four hours.

Of course, this motley batch of sudden cases — Gov. Murphy of NJ, Chris Krebs, Miles Taylor, Susman Godfrey — are relative outliers to the notorious operations such as RussiaGate, the Schiff-Vindman-Ciaramella-Eisen plot behind Impeachment No. 1, The Covid-19 intrigue, The BLM rampage, the Hunter Biden Laptop ruse (and Biden family’s bribery and treason), J-6 riot and the DNC Pipe-bomb caper, and four years of a wide-open border. 

That long train of crimes, seditions, and treasons came close to wrecking the country. 

We know exactly who was behind and involved in all of that. 

What remains is the heavy-lifting to build cases that can be brought to grand juries in good faith. 

Perhaps a comprehensive omnibus RICO case can incorporate all of these in what appears to amount to a single, complex orchestrated, long-running attempted coup. Don’t bet that this isn’t coming. And, by-the-way, the infamous “Crossfire-Hurricane” binder was just released last night. As of this writing, there is almost no analysis available yet. Stand by.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 16:20

The post Five Facts About Trade You Don’t Read in the Newspaper appeared first on CEPR.

Houthis Offer Reciprocal Truce With US: 'Not At War With The American People'

A top Houthi official has offered Washington a truce in the Red Sea, if the US stops attacking Yemen. The Shia group and ally of Iran has made clear that it is not at war with the American people.

Still, the group known formally as Ansarallah has declared this week that the US has "failed" in its bombing operations which were renewed on March 15. Leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, declared Thursday that the "US failed to prevent military operations and secure maritime navigation for the Israeli enemy" as we detailed previously.

But the Houthis are apparently holding out the possibility that the conflict with US naval and aerial forces can cease. This week a senior leader of Ansarallah told Drop Site News in a rare interview, "We do not consider ourselves at war with the American people. If the U.S. stops targeting Yemen, we will cease our military operations against it."

illustrative file image: US Navy

The top official, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Ansarallah’s political bureau and a longtime spokesperson for the Houthis, described further in reference to Israeli action in Gaza, "When the Zionist entity stops its genocidal crimes in Gaza and allows food, medicine, and fuel to enter, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, we will cease all military operations against it."

"We only defended ourselves. There are also crimes of genocide in Gaza and a siege aimed at starvation. All nations should act to support the oppressed and the weak, as emphasized by international conventions and international human rights law," al-Bukhaiti added.

He went on to describe that while the Houthis are ready to halt all counter-attacks on US warships and vessels, the attacks on Israeli ships and Israeli territory won't stop until certain Gaza-related conditions are met.

"Operations against the Zionist entity will continue until our objectives are achieved," al-Bukhaiti said. "If Trump truly seeks peace, as he claims, his efforts should have been directed at pressuring Netanyahu to implement the ceasefire agreement, which includes lifting the siege on Gaza and allowing food and medicine to enter. Only then will we stop all military operations against the Zionist entity."

Last month the Trump administration appeared to approve of renewed Israeli military operations against Hamas, and the collapse of the ceasefire.

But interestingly, there could be basis of agreement or some kind of de facto truce at least between American and Houthi forces, given the prior statement from President Trump:

"The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you," Trump wrote in a post on TruthSocial on March 31. "Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also recently echoed the same in an interview with Fox News: "The minute the Houthis say, 'We'll stop shooting at your ships, we'll stop shooting at your drones,' this campaign will end. But until then, it will be unrelenting."

President Trump: Stop Bombing Yemen and Exit the Middle East! pic.twitter.com/dfDLAQvPwA

— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) March 18, 2025

However, Washington is still likely to come to the defense of its number one regional ally Israel. Yet Trump could be looking for an off-ramp as the Yemen war looks to become more and more unpopular on a political level at home. After all, he did present himself on the campaign trail as the 'peace president'.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/11/2025 - 15:45