Former Taiwanese Presidential Candidate Sentenced To 17 Years In Corruption Case

Authored by Dorothy Li & Frank Fang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Taipei court on March 26 found a former presidential candidate guilty of corruption-related charges and sentenced him to 17 years in prison, a verdict that has attracted domestic media attention amid the ongoing political deadlock in Taiwan.

Ko Wen-je, former Taipei mayor who ran in Taiwan's presidential race in 2024, leaves the Taipei District Court in Taipei on March 26, 2026. Song Pi-lung/The Epoch Times

Ko Wen-je, former mayor of Taipei, was convicted on four counts, including accepting bribes, embezzlement, and breach of trust, the Taipei District Court said in a press release.

In addition to the lengthy prison sentence, the court said that Ko would also be stripped of civil rights for six years.

Taiwan’s semi-official media outlet Central News Agency (CNA) described Ko as the first leader of a major opposition party in Taiwan’s history to be sentenced to prison.

Ko founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) during his second term as Taipei mayor, and ran a high-profile campaign for the presidency in January 2024.

While 66-year-old Ko has the option to appeal, the verdict is likely to prevent him from running for president again in 2028. Under Taiwan’s election law, individuals sentenced to more than 10 years in prison cannot be registered as candidates for president or vice president.

Ko was indicted in December 2024. Prosecutors had sought more than 28 years’ imprisonment for Ko, accusing him of accepting roughly half a million dollars in bribes from a web of businesspeople and politicians related to a property redevelopment project in Taipei.

In a separate statement, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that it will promptly review the judgment upon receipt and, if necessary, file an appeal within the legal timeframe.

Ko has consistently denied any wrongdoing since his arrest in September 2024. At a press conference on Thursday, Ko dismissed the verdict, saying “it is not a trial in a country governed by the rule of law, but a political performance orchestrated under political manipulation.”

“I sought no personal gain, committed no corruption, and I have a clear conscience,” Ko said.

Ko’s defense lawyers told the briefing that they will discuss filing an appeal after receiving the judgment.

Ko Wen-je arrives at the Taipei District Court in Taipei on March 26, 2026. Song Pi-lung/The Epoch Times

Huang Kuo-chang, TPP’s current chairman, called the verdict “outrageous.”

“It’s not just regret—it’s anger. This is an outright political verdict based on trumped-up charges,” Huang told the press conference.

Huang, who has announced his bid for mayor of New Taipei City in November’s election, added that he will make a formal announcement on March 27 to mobilize his party members to hold a rally in Taipei on March 29.

On his Facebook page, Huang criticized the verdict, saying the fight for Ko’s innocence would continue.

“At this moment, ​we must pull ourselves together even more, because this road ahead is still very, very ‌long. ⁠As long as Ko does not give up, we will not give up,” Huang wrote from the courthouse, where he was accompanying Ko.

The ruling against Ko may further complicate Taiwan’s political environment. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition have been mired in a rare political crisis. The opposition, consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT) party and its much smaller ally, the TPP, has used its majority in the parliament to block or stymie key government proposals, including the budget.

In a show of solidarity, the KMT said on Facebook that it “deeply regrets” the court’s decision, warning that such a heavy ruling could deepen the public perception that the rule of law and democracy are being used as “a political tool.”

Meanwhile, the ruling DPP responded by asking Ko to “respect the judiciary and face the ruling with courage.”

“While we refrain from commenting on specific cases, we will also not accept accusations that lack a factual basis,” Taiwan’s national media outlet CNA cited the party as saying.

Ko was Taipei’s mayor from 2014 to 2022. In January 2024, he finished third in Taiwan’s presidential election as a TPP candidate, receiving about 26 percent of the vote.

Taiwan is set to hold general elections in November, during which voters will choose city mayors, city councilors, county chiefs, and county councilors.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 21:50

AirGas Declares Force Majeure On Helium Shipments As Qatar Production Collapses

Earlier this week we reported that global chip production was in peril as "Qatar Warns Helium Exports Set To Collapse." Best known as the gas that makes party balloons float, helium is far more important as a key input in chipmaking, space rockets and medical imaging. The problem is that Qatar supplies a third of the world’s helium, and the Gulf nation had to halt production after Iranian strikes against the region’s energy producing infrastructure crippled its LNG production which is critical to make helium, leading Qatar’s state-owned gas company to warn helium exports would collapse. 

The sudden halt of the helium supply chain has forced AirGas, one of the largest distributors of packaged gases in the US, to curtail helium shipments after Qatar halted LNG production.

Airgas, an Air Liquide SA company, declared a force majeure event on March 17 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time, according to letters dated last week that were reviewed by Bloomberg News. The company anticipates that it will provide some customers with up to half of their normal monthly helium deliveries, and it will add a $13.50 per hundred cubic feet surcharge.

As noted above, Helium has several critical uses, including in health care and manufacturing. Hospitals use helium to keep MRI machines running and to treat patients with certain respiratory diseases. The inert gas is also essential to the manufacture of high-end semiconductors, such as Nvidia Corp.’s AI accelerator chips. Any shortages of the material could squeeze an already strained supply chain. The semiconductor industry is working to keep up with the massive demand for components used in the data centers that are needed for the build-out of AI infrastructure.

Airgas is prioritizing health-care customers over other industries, according to a market update reviewed by Bloomberg that was produced by Vizient, which helps hospitals purchase supplies. Vizient declined to comment on Airgas specifically, but said that in general it’s not uncommon for suppliers to prioritize health-care customers during disruptions.

The good news it that medical imaging professionals in the US say that disruptions to the helium market are not affecting patient care.

The worse news is that AirGas's decision would mean that chip giants like Taiwan's TSMC will see significant delays in obtaining the critical compound should the Iran war persist, painfully snarling the already stretched AI chip supply chain, potentially leading to major production shortfalls. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 21:25

Fetterman Says Some Democrats Possibly Afraid To Reopen DHS Due To Party Activists

Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times,

Sen. John Fetterman said Wednesday night that activist pressure within his own party is prolonging the partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, offering his observations from within the Democratic caucus for why the standoff has stretched into its sixth week.

Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity” on March. 25, the Pennsylvania Democrat said ongoing protests against the Trump administration—such as the “No Kings” rallies nationwide—have left some senators unwilling to vote to restore DHS funding. He said they “might be afraid to reopen” the government because demonstrators are pushing demands that he said were never achievable.

Fetterman called the shutdown “fundamentally wrong,” adding that the dynamic is one he has opposed before.

The partial shutdown entered week six since most DHS funding lapsed on Feb. 13. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which operates under the DHS, has operated without pay throughout, generating lengthy airport delays.

“Here we are at the airport every week, I talked to countless TSA agents and they are all hurting,” he said. “They are angry. They are frustrated. They’re exhausted, too, what they’ve been put through.”

He said TSA workers should be in the Democrats’ “wheelhouse” because they are union government workers, but now the party was “refusing to give them a paycheck.”

“So it’s always wrong, regardless of the party doing it,” he said of shutting down the government. “You can see the kind of chaos that’s created across right now. [People are] selling their blood.”

He added that the timing compounds the problem, with spring break travel and World Cup preparations now underway.

“Do the right thing,” he said. “Put the country ahead of the party.” 

Fetterman has been the only Democrat to vote with Republicans throughout the current standoff. He cast that vote again on Wednesday, when Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) moved to advance a DHS funding bill that failed 54–46, short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. The Senate has now failed to pass DHS funding legislation four times.

Senate Democrats submitted a counteroffer to Republicans on Wednesday centered on reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the central sticking point in the talks.

The offer includes requirements for judicial warrants before agents enter private property; restrictions on enforcement near schools, hospitals, churches, and polling places; and a mandate that ICE agents identify themselves by name, agency, and badge number.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the proposal a “reasonable, good faith” offer and accused Republicans of acting in bad faith after presenting a plan with no ICE reforms, despite verbally agreeing to some during weekend talks.

Republicans have pushed to separate ICE funding into the budget reconciliation process, which would allow it to advance with a simple majority. The White House has signaled openness to that approach. Democrats in the House have also tried and failed several times to get their Republican colleagues on board with their own proposals, which would fund all DHS agencies other than ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

Republicans also want any deal to include the SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification for voting and proof of citizenship for voter registration—a provision Democrats have pledged to block.

Democrats say they are not against photo identification for voting, but have concern with President Donald Trump’s attempt to attach additional provisions to the bill, including restrictions on mail-in voting and measures barring transgender athletes and transgender procedures for minors, something Fetterman agrees with his colleagues on and has said he will not support.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 21:00

Data Shows Where ICE Has Been More Effective... And Why

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump “is seeking to lower the profile of his mass deportation effort, and has directed his top advisers to adopt a new approach on one of his central campaign promises.”

According to the report, Trump has had conversations with his top advisors and First Lady Melania Trump in which he’s indicated that he’s “become convinced that some of his administration’s deportation policies have gone too far, and voters don’t like the term ‘mass deportation.’”

The desire for an immigration reset is being driven in part by Trump’s White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who believes the president’s immigration team has turned one of his marquee issues into more of a challenging issue ahead of the midterms, the people said. As a result, the administration is attempting to change not only how it talks about the issue—but also what actual enforcement looks like on the ground.

The report also explains that White House border czar Tom Homan has been behind the shift, steering the agency back to basics — prioritizing “bread-and-butter arrests” and focusing on criminal aliens already in local custody and ready for transfer.

Now, another report from the New York Times, reveals that ICE arrests are averaging more than 1,100 per day this year — nearly double last spring’s pace of roughly 600 — and that “custodial” arrests are driving those numbers. It’s also not surprising that Republican-led states with strong federal-local cooperation generate far more of these transfers, while sanctuary jurisdictions generate far fewer.

Some of the biggest totals are coming out of places like Florida and San Antonio, where there were no headline-grabbing raids.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles and Chicago — cities that were hit with high-profile enforcement operations — have actually seen arrest numbers fall steeply in recent months. Sanctuary cities, however, are largely flat.

The loudest operations weren’t always the most productive, and the quietest ones were getting the job done.

The Miami field office — which covers Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — logged nearly 10,000 arrests between mid-December and March 10, outpacing Dallas, Atlanta, and San Antonio. Florida has maintained high and steadily climbing arrest numbers all year without a marquee federal operation dominating the news cycle. The work just kept happening. San Antonio followed a similar pattern — consistent and effective.

Los Angeles and Chicago, both cities that saw aggressive, high-profile crackdowns last year, saw arrest numbers peak and then fall. Chicago’s field office, which covers six states, hit its ceiling during Operation Midway Blitz between September and December and still sits below the national per capita average.

Los Angeles and Denver both peaked last summer and have been trending downward since.

High-visibility raids make headlines, but the data points to what the real problem is: sanctuary policies that limit coordination with local police, along with rhetoric from Democrat leaders in those states and municipalities.

“About half of ICE immigration arrests nationwide in 2025 were from what the agency calls ‘custodial’ arrests, in which ICE takes someone who is already in custody from another law enforcement agency,” the report explained.

“These arrests were much more common in states led by Republicans, where law enforcement is more likely to cooperate closely with federal immigration authorities.” Arrests were “less common in places where ‘sanctuary’ policies limited local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE and handing over people who have been arrested in connection with other crimes, but may or may not have been convicted.”

That need for coordination also helps explain why operations on the ground can become more volatile when cooperation breaks down. The consequences of these sanctuary policies, and the rhetoric of Democratic leaders, have been deadly. Two anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis were killed in January while engaging with immigration agents. Renee Good was shot and killed when she attempted to run over an agent with her car during an ICE operation. Alex Pretti assaulted agents while carrying a loaded gun.

“We need state and local law enforcement cooperation, so we don’t have to have such a presence on the streets,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said.

The Trump administration seems to have the answer it needs already to fix the perception problems related to immigration enforcement.

 

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 20:35

Trump To Sign Order To Pay TSA Agents

Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President Donald Trump plans to sign an order that will pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents who have not received a check since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entered a partial shutdown in mid-February.

“I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on March 26.

More than 3,120 TSA agents, who haven’t been paid in weeks, called out on Wednesday, which prompted long lines to continue at airports across the country, according to a statement the DHS shared with The Epoch Times.

“It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!“ Trump added. ”I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports.”

Trump has blamed the Democrats for keeping DHS shut down, while Democrats have pushed for changes to immigration enforcement operations as a condition for funding the department.

On March 25, Senate Democrats blocked funding for DHS in a 54–46 vote after Republicans rejected a counteroffer they put forward.

On the same day, Democrats separately offered a standalone bill that would immediately fund TSA, but not ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Republicans blocked the proposal.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 20:10

Woke Star Trek Series Canceled After Embarrassing Critical Failure

"Get Woke, Go Broke" wins once again. 

For many years the political left in Hollywood along with the allied progressive media argued that wokeness was the dominant social trend of our era.  They claimed that any company that refused to adapt to the new far-left "modern audience" would be choking on the dust of companies that wrapped themselves in the rainbow flag.  They asserted that the entertainment industry had to change and reflect this new ideological movement if they wanted to remain relevant and profitable. 

In reality, it was all a lie.  The woke movement was a paper tiger, a sham, a con fabricated by a minority of insane activists and globalist NGOs.  There was no sea change in the modern audience.  Many companies were only convinced to play along because social media platforms like Twitter presented a false image of social trends.  With centrist and conservative views being suppressed by algorithms, most visible forum discussions were left leaning. 

Above all, open criticism of woke ideas was treated as akin to "hate speech" and censored as much as possible.  

For the ecosystem of corporate CEOs and marketing execs, the leftist saturation online was convincing.  But then again, the best way to measure the tangibility of a social movement is still money.  If woke is dominant, then woke should bring in consumers and it should make a profit.  There was no money.  There were no consumers.  There was no profit.

All the propaganda and social media manipulation in the world is not enough to compel average people to spend their precious time or cash on woke entertainment.  All anti-woke critics had to do was watch and wait as the dismal numbers rolled in for each new progressive project - It was objective, undeniable proof that woke is a gigantic fraud.

That said, there are still a handful of far-left media bombs rolling into theaters and streaming services because production giants refused to see the writing on the wall until the end of 2024.  Media endeavors that were greenlit at this time are just now being released to the public and the results are embarrassing.  Watching these movies and shows feels like time traveling back to 2018. 

As we covered in January, one such streaming series is Paramount's new foray into the Star Trek franchise called "Starfleet Academy".  The show definitely doesn't "boldly go where no man has gone before".  Rather, it goes where every other far-left vehicle has gone before, into the proverbial dumpster.  We noted that "audiences are not watching or buying, but Hollywood refuses to learn".

Well, it looks like they just learned.

Paramount has announced that Starfleet Academy is now cancelled and the show will end after the release of the second season (which has already been filmed).  It might be shocking to hear, but gay polyamorous Klingons, lesbian space professors and fat sarcastic crew members with low-IQ Reddit-level vernacular just didn't lure the fanbase to subscribe to Paramount+. 

New Star Trek series gets CANCELLED after 2 seasons amid ‘woke’ backlash.

Paramount will not renew ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ amid the series being branded ‘woke’ for featuring a gay Klingon in a skirt, a drag queen and a scene featuring DEI training.

The series received… pic.twitter.com/TCgEq7kO3b

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) March 24, 2026

Season 1 never ranked on Nielsen's Top 10 streaming viewership charts, unlike previous live-action Star Trek series. This has been highlighted as a key factor for the decision to cut Academy loose.  Sources reveal that the series failed to attract a significant audience despite its Gen Z focus.   

Production costs were a contributing factor and reports mention high budgets (rumored over $10 million per episode or around $100 million per season).  This makes it harder to justify a season renewal. Paramount has been undergoing leadership changes after their Skydance acquisition, with new owners reportedly reviewing projects for cost efficiency.

The series showrunner, Alex Kurtzman, has created one horrific disaster after another when it comes to his handling of the Start Trek franchise.  His argument, which he has made consistently, is that science fiction should not be about the future; it should act as a reflection of present day ideologies.  In other words, he is incapable of imagining a future without woke cultism as the dominant social system in the universe.  

It is likely that, with Paramount's new direction and impending acquisition of Warner Bros., Kurtzman's days working with the company are numbered. 

Many critics thought it wasn't possible, but Starfleet Academy might have topped Disney's Star Wars "Acolyte" series as the biggest woke implosion of all time.  The show's collapse, though, is actually a sign of healing.  If there is no audience for these kinds of projects, then this just confirms that the woke movement is as dead as many predicted.  And with this death, intelligent people and sane people can move in to finally take the place of the crazies who ran the industry into the ground.  

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 19:45

IOC Bars Transgender Athletes From Women's Events For Olympic Games

Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Only females will be allowed in women’s events at the Olympics, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

People take part in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear arguments in two cases in which states have banned males from participating in female-only sports, in Washington on Jan. 13, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The March 26 decision by the committee excludes transgender-identifying individuals who were born male who may have sought to compete in the international events. 

“Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,” the International Olympic Committee said.

Eligibility will be determined by a mandatory genetic test once in the athlete’s career.

The decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive order to retain the integrity of women’s sports, ahead of the U.S.-hosted 2028 games in Los Angeles. 

The IOC said the policy, which will apply to the 2028 games, “protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category.”

“It is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs,” the organization said. 

Competitors such as two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya, who has a medical condition involving sexual development, would also be restricted according to the new rules, which were published in a 10-page policy document by the committee. 

In the document, the Olympic governing group outlined the physical advantages males experience, as experts said those advantages are retained, even after transition.

“Males experience three significant testosterone peaks: In utero, in mini-puberty of infancy, and beginning in adolescent puberty through adulthood,” the document said.

According to experts, this offers those born male “individual sex-based performance advantages in sports and events that rely on strength, power, and/or endurance.”

Days before the decision was handed down, the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA), ILGA World, Humans of Sport, and over 100 other allied organizations released a joint statement, asking the International Olympic Committee to abandon any mandate for genetic testing to determine eligibility for Olympic events.

“A sex testing and blanket ban policy would be a catastrophic erosion of women’s rights and safety,” said Andrea Florence, Executive Director of the Sport & Rights Alliance.

No male-born transgender athletes competed in the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

However, transgender-identifying weightlifter Laurel Hubbard competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics on the New Zealand women’s team without medaling.

On March 12, Trump received loud applause when he spoke about his effort to prevent men from participating in women’s sports during a Women’s History Month event.

The president said he hopes to ban “the sexual mutilation of minor youth,” in reference to transgender surgery procedures performed on children.

“We have put the world on notice that America will not allow men to compete against women in the 2028 Olympics,” Trump said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 19:20

Philippines Declares State Of Emergency As Energy Crisis Looms

As we outlined in our recent analysis on Australia's dangerous vulnerability to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, most of Asia is heavily exposed and faces an unprecedented energy crisis should the war in Iran continue to prevent safe passage of oil and natural gas from the Gulf.  As Australia debates the potential for a national emergency, the Philippines has already declared one.

This week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 110, declaring a state of national emergency as a targeted measure focused on the energy sector in response to disruptions from the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran.  Approximately 98% of all oil bound for the Philippines passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The emergency declaration allows the Philippine government to exert control over fuel prices and fast-track imports from alternative suppliers, such as Russia. Philippine authorities say they have enough fuel to last about 45 days at typical consumption levels.  

Energy rationing programs are being instituted across Asia and questions are rising about a possible domino effect on global markets.  The Philippines announcement comes a day after South Korea launched a nationwide energy-saving campaign, calling on people to ride bicycles for short trips and reduce the length of showers. Japan, meanwhile, said Wednesday that it would soon begin releasing oil from its emergency reserve, equivalent to a 30-day supply. Thailand and Vietnam have also asked citizens to take steps to curtail energy use.

China's exposure to Iran and the Hormuz situation could be detrimental.  Over 35% of their energy supplies pass through the Strait and 15% of their oil comes directly from Iranian wells.  That said, China also has a large oil buffer, with enough emergency supply to last around four months.  

The emergency declaration in the Philippines is initially set to last one year and serves as a tool to provide the government with more legal flexibility to respond to the crisis.  Executive Order 110 enables the government to:

Fast-track procurement and imports of fuel and petroleum products from alternative suppliers. Exert control over fuel prices if needed to prevent excessive hikes or profiteering. Ensure orderly distribution of fuel, food, medicines, and other basic goods. Form a contingency committee for coordinated response. Authorize advance payments on contracts if required for timely supply. Activate a "whole-of-government" framework, including support packages for livelihoods, industry, food, and transport.  

The last time the world faced a similar threat of energy shortages was the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 following the Yom Kippur War.  It was this event, coupled with a massive devaluation of the US dollar, that triggered a stagflationary malaise that lasted until 1981.  It was also the event that led to the US diversifying its energy resources to avoid future dependency on OPEC.  Only 7% of all oil bound for the US travels through the Hormuz.  

Asian nations, however, have less access to alternatives, which is setting up the region for a historic breakdown in productivity if the flow of oil and natural gas is not restored within the next couple of months.  

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 18:40

Iranian TV Declares 'One Million' Soldiers Have Mobilized To Create 'Hell For American Forces'

The US-Israel war against Iran is nearly one month in, and amid the ongoing escalating threats and warnings Iran is touting that it is able to tap more than one million fighters for a potential ground confrontation with the United States, according to Tasnim News Agency citing a military source.

Some 7,000 additional US troops, mainly Marines and elite Army Airborne troops, are currently headed toward the region, amid speculation that President Trump will order a military operation to forcibly open the Strait of Hormuz, which could involve a high risk island campaign and effort to takeover Kharg Island oil export hub.

Getty Images

Tasnim has described a surge in volunteerism which driving the buildup, with young Iranians seeking to join military formations - angry at Iranian cities coming under heavy US-Israeli bombardment.

The report, which has been picked up in Western media headlines, also cites a surge in requests from Iranian youth to the Basij, which is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) domestic security force, and has stood accused of the large-scale killing of protesters last January.

According to some of the direct quotes presented from military sources in the report:

Iranian authorities claimed that the possibility of the US launching a ground offensive, prompted "a wave of enthusiasm" among the population to create what it calls a "historic hell for American forces".

"The US wants to open the Strait of Hormuz with suicide and self-destructive tactics; that’s fine", the military source told Tasnim in response. "We are ready for both their suicide strategy to be executed and for the Strait to remain closed".

President Trump said this during a televised cabinet meeting on Thursday:

US President Donald Trump has said Iran is “begging to make a deal”, describing them as “lousy fighters but great negotiators”, while casting doubt on whether the two sides would be able to reach a deal. pic.twitter.com/3GGINOwduu

— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) March 26, 2026

At the moment, US CENTCOM has indicated some 40,000 to 50,000 American troops were already stationed in the region, but after over a dozen US Gulf bases came under Iranian missile attack, most have been moved to other, safer and more locations which are more removed.

Visualizing Iran's armed forces and military hierarchy...

International estimates have long put Iran's total active duty force at around 600,000 - with another few hundred-thousand in reserves. These significant figures, among a large population of over 90 million, do indeed suggest any potential American ground force could prove an utter disaster for the US, spelling quagmire for years to come. It is indeed very possible that Iran could draw on a million extra 'volunteers' during this state of war and existential survival for the nation.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 18:20

United Airlines CEO Warns Summer Airfares Will Spike, Tells Travelers To Book Now

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told ABC News on Wednesday that the month-long U.S.-Iran conflict and the resulting spike in jet fuel prices are set to push domestic summer airfares higher.

Kirby told ABC that ticket prices will have to rise by 20% to offset the more than 80% jump in jet fuel prices since the conflict began late last month. He said travelers should lock in their ticket prices now, before fares move higher.

Jet Fuel NY Buckeye MOC (New York Buckeye Pipeline jet fuel benchmark) 

In a separate report, Bloomberg cited data from research firm Alton Aviation showing that long-haul summer airfares have surged. In particular, June fares on key Asia-Pacific-to-Europe routes are up 70% from a year ago, with some routes experiencing even steeper increases: Hong Kong to London, up 560%; Bangkok to Frankfurt, up 505%; and Sydney to London, up 429%.

Data from the research firm Cirium show that demand for summer travel is already softening. Summer bookings for June travel from Europe to the U.S. have declined 15% from the same month a year ago, while bookings in the opposite direction have fallen 11%. Bookings from Asia to Europe also declined during the month, down 4.4%, including routes that connect through the Middle East.

"What we're seeing is not just a short-term pricing shock. Even as the immediate disruption eases, longer routings, tighter capacity, and higher fuel costs will keep upward pressure on prices for an extended period," Bryan Terry, a managing director at Alton, told Bloomberg.

Terry added, "It could take up to three months for the price reductions to work their way through the jet fuel supply chain."

In recent weeks, analysts at Deutsche Bank and UBS have both warned that airlines may have to cut capacity to offset the spike in jet fuel prices. Reduced capacity, combined with higher fuel costs, points to possible demand destruction in travel this summer as consumers face sticker shock on ticket prices.

S&P 500 Airlines Index breaks sees technical breakdown.  

However, UBS analyst Atul Maheswari states why he sees a possible bottom (report here). 

 

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 18:00

Measuring Poverty Correctly Reveals A Hard Truth About The Welfare State

Authored by Tyler Turman via TheDailyEconomy.org,

America has spent more than $20 trillion on fighting poverty since the introduction of President Johnson’s Great Society program in 1964. Sixty years later, how are we doing?

That depends, as it turns out, on how you measure it.

Last month, Senator Kennedy (R-LA) introduced a bill that would require the Census Bureau to report a new poverty metric as an alternative to the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) by including both cash and non-cash welfare benefits in its calculations.

As Kennedy points out, this is a much-needed fix. The OPM’s methodological weaknesses are well documented. Most notably, it ignores the hundreds of billions of dollars the government spends each year to assist low-income families through tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and in-kind transfers such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing subsidies.

In short, the OPM paints an egregiously inaccurate picture of material poverty in America.

Kennedy’s bill would require the Census Bureau to publish the Congressional Budget Office’s more comprehensive poverty measure alongside the OPM in its annual poverty report. A similarly constructed measure was developed by economists Richard Burkhauser and Kevin Corinth in a recent paper with the National Bureau of Economic Research. After accounting for taxes and transfers, they found that the “full-income” poverty measure sat at just 3.7 percent in 2023—1.6 percent after including employer-provided health insurance—a far more optimistic look than the OPM’s 11.1 percent from the same year.

That sounds like a triumph.

But Burkhauser and Corinth take it one step further and use their “full-income” measure to track changes in the poverty rate dating back to 1939. 

Contrary to popular belief, they find that the greatest era of poverty reduction happened before Johnson declared war on it.

From 1939 to 1963, absolute full-income poverty plummeted by 29 percentage points, from 48.5 percent to 19.5 percent. Then, despite the government pouring trillions of taxpayer dollars into combating poverty, poverty fell by only 15.7 percentage points from 1963 to 2023. Barely half the progress in more than twice the time.

But the stagnating decline is only half the story. The more consequential difference is what drove it. 

Before 1964, the main engine of poverty reduction was increases in market income — a measurement that includes wages, salaries, and other forms of income from employment. From 1939 to 1959, market income poverty fell by 26.1 percentage points, nearly all of the 27.3 percent decline in full-income poverty over the same period. In short, before the rapid expansion of the welfare state, most people were earning their way out of poverty.

After 1964, that engine stalled. Market income poverty fell by just 3.9 percentage points from 1967 to 2023, while post-tax, post-transfer poverty fell by 10 percentage points. Even though poverty has continued to decline over the past six decades, most of that was due to the ever-expanding generosity of government transfers.

While low-income Americans were benefiting from the biggest poverty reduction in the country’s history, the percentage of working-age adults relying on government transfers for more than half their income decreased from 2.9 percent in 1939 to 2.7 percent in 1959.

By 2023, this number had nearly tripled to 7.6 percent, even reaching as high as 15 percent in some years.

As Mercatus scholar Jack Salmon put it: “The War on Poverty changed the how of poverty reduction, but it didn’t accelerate the how much.” 

If anything, by changing the former, it may have blunted the latter. A 76 percent increase in real median income, paired with rising employment and higher productivity, largely driven by rapid postwar economic expansion, pulled more people out of poverty in 24 years than trillions of dollars in government-imposed wealth redistribution have done in 60.

Some may argue that this trend is to be expected. After all, reducing poverty from 48 percent to 20 percent is arithmetically easier than reducing it further because there are simply fewer people left below the poverty line, and those who remain tend to face the most entrenched barriers to self-sufficiency.

Fair enough. But as Burkhauser and Corinth point out, full-income poverty largely stagnated starting in the 1970s — right as welfare spending was ramping up dramatically.

In short, taxpayers have been paying for a multitrillion-dollar boondoggle that has yielded increasingly diminishing marginal returns. 

So, what was the main driver behind the pre-1964 miracle?

Simple: Economic growth.

The pre-1964 record, along with centuries of evidence, suggests that nothing has worked better than economic growth in helping individuals, especially those at the bottom of the income ladder, to achieve a higher quality of life. Across the world, economic growth driven by liberalization helped pull almost one billion people out of extreme poverty from 1990 to 2010.

The Fraser Institute’s research shows that North American states with higher and increasing levels of economic freedom tend to have more income mobility especially among low-income households, higher economic growth, less homelessness, and lower levels of food insecurity.

The fruits of economic growth are visible in ways that poverty statistics fail to capture, especially for America’s poor. As Joseph Heath points out, 95 percent of American households below the poverty line have electricity, indoor plumbing, a refrigerator, a stove, and a color television. More than 80 percent have an air conditioner and a cell phone, and two-thirds own a washing machine and dryer. Economic growth, not government programs, is what helped make these once-luxury goods unavailable to many wealthy households now accessible to nearly everyone. It continues to bear fruit today — wages for typical American workers are at all-time highs.

The most powerful anti-poverty program had no enrollment forms, caseworkers, or spending bills. It was a growing economy that helped millions of people earn their way to a better life. As such, subsequent efforts should focus on removing government-created barriers to economic growth, occupational opportunities, and job market entry rather than adding another layer of expensive, inefficient wealth transfers.

Senator Kennedy is right to say we need a more accurate measure of poverty. When analyzing the best ways to combat poverty, policymakers should reflect on whether the welfare state was ever the right tool for the job.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 17:40

Republican Lawmakers Led By Nancy Mace Begin To Break With Trump On Iran War: 'We Were Misled'

Republican lawmakers are belatedly starting to wake up to the potential for the United States to once again get bogged down in yet another Middle East quagmire, but this time with a country double the size of Iraq (both in geography and population).

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace has led the charge this week, blasting any potential Trump admin move to put American boots on the ground, warning she will vehemently oppose new war funding if American troops are deployed in Iran. "I'll be voting against the funding if we're putting troops on the ground," Mace told a reporter outside the Capitol earlier in the week. "I'm not going to fund that."

Mace: I’ll be voting against the funding if we’re putting troops on the ground. I’m not going to fund that—no U.S. troops. pic.twitter.com/qLDbT0OrvA

— Acyn (@Acyn) March 24, 2026

The comments came after the Pentagon days prior unveiled a massive $200 billion supplemental request in order to fund the war, which was at first previewed by White House officials as lasting a mere 'days' or a few 'weeks' and not months (or years).

Mace soon followed her verbal comments with a Tuesday post on X pushing back against getting sucked into a ground war. "If a single boot of a single American soldier sets foot on Iranian soil, I will vote against this," Mace wrote. "I will not vote to fund sending South Carolina's sons and daughters to die in a ground war in Iran."

War Secretary Pete Hegseth had framed the supplemental request as essential given it "takes money to kill the bad guys" - as he said, echoing a view that President Trump has been supportive of while claiming "we won".

Axios is newly reporting on Thursday that Mace is not going to back down if another War Powers resolution is pushed before the House:

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Axios she will "most likely" vote for House Democrats' resolution to constrain President Trump from waging war with Iran the next time it comes up for a vote.

Why it matters: The vote is symbolic — even if the measure passed both chambers, Trump could veto it — but Mace's support puts the House one step closer to a major rebuke of the administration's Middle East operations.

At the moment there's some 7,000 US ground forces en route to the Middle East - including from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and the Marines, amid speculation Trump could be eyeing some kind of high risk Kharg Island operation, in order to force open the Strait of Hormuz.

This particular 'final blow' plan - which would be contingent on putting boots on the ground in a Kharg takeover - has really gotten Republicans' attention. Daily Mail on Thursday reports that "Furious Republicans stormed out of a classified briefing on Iran on Wednesday amid fears the US is preparing to invade the country as Tehran refuses Donald Trump's peace overtures."

According to more details in the report:

Nancy Mace walked out early, venting that 'we were misled,' while pro-Trump committee chair Mike Rogers warned 'we're not getting answers' as Pentagon chiefs briefed the House Armed Services Committee, sparking fireworks on Capitol Hill. 

Now, a Daily Mail source inside the room has revealed stark new details, including a new set of objectives which may suggest that America is moving toward boots on the ground as Iran continues to strangle the Strait of Hormuz. 

The lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said members were presented with three military objectives: Kharg Island, Iran's crucial oil export hub; its nuclear material; and regime change. It marks a stark shift from the four goals the White House has publicly stated: destroying Iran's missiles, navy, armed proxies, and nuclear capabilities.  

The lawmaker said that the White House must answer for its plans, particularly regarding Kharg Island and troops on the ground. The answers are 'jaw-dropping' and 'will blow your brains out,' the lawmaker said. 

Quagmire by midterms? Some MAGA influencers have increasingly said they are tired about hearing Israel-centric justifications for Trump's newest war of choice.

Could the Iran war cost Republicans the Senate?

“I don’t disagree with the proposition that politically… where we are right now is a challenging position for Republicans.”

In this clip, @KonstantinKisin asks @SenTedCruz about the political risks of ongoing U.S. involvement in… pic.twitter.com/shtGRT5xVV

— TRIGGERnometry (@triggerpod) March 24, 2026

GOP members are getting much more vocal alongside Democrats:

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers was uncharacteristically agitated after leaving the briefing, stating that he had few details about the direction the war is heading. 

'We want to know more about what’s going on,' Rogers, an Alabama Republican, said. 'We’re just not getting enough answers.' Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi felt the same after his own briefing. 'I can see why he might have said that,' Wicker told Politico of Rogers' comments. 

A week ago Responsible Statecraft began documenting fissures among the generally war-supporting GOP, and it's been more than just the expected Libertarian firebrands Rand Paul and Thomas Massie. For example, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado has told reporters: "I am so tired of spending money elsewhere. I’m tired of the Industrial War Complex getting our hard-earned tax dollars. I’ve got folks in Colorado who can’t afford to live. We need America First policies right now."

*  *  * Get one for dad

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 17:20

Can The Courts Delete Democracy?

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

Our forefathers had the idea of creating a government of, by, and for the people. The crucial tool to make this possible was the vote: The people would have their way, within law, and through their elected representatives.

The idea was rooted in the ancient idea of democracy but with a republican twist—it would not be mob rule.

There would be checks and balances. There would be inviolable rights.

Everyone on the planet Earth at the time said that this would never work—you need a king or a dictator or some other hereditary or ecclesiastical leader. It worked anyway. One hundred years later, the United States—its economy, culture, and freedoms—became the envy of the world.

We’ve drifted far from those ideals, but in 2024, voters on a national level delivered a clear mandate to the incoming Trump administration. It would clean up the vote, control immigration, root out fraud and waste, rebuild the country after five tumultuous years, restore the middle class, and recommit the nation to freedom and the Constitution.

It’s a compelling idea, and majorities agreed.

In the past year, we’ve seen many examples of how appointed federal judges have intervened to try to stop the voters from having their way.

The Supreme Court has had to intervene several times to make a simple point: The president is head of the executive branch.

There is no such thing as a fourth branch of permanent administrators.

Somehow, some federal judges have not yet gotten the message.

In the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Judge Brian E. Murphy issued a preliminary injunction on March 16, blocking several crucial changes pushed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to federal vaccine policy.

He did so on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a pharma-supported organization that advocates for childhood gender transitions and maximum vaccinations.

The ruling targeted Kennedy’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel that recommends vaccine schedules. Murphy found that Kennedy likely violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act by firing all prior members (it was a deeply conflicted panel that rubber-stamped new shots) and appointing new ones. The new ACIP revised the childhood schedule.

The judge stayed the new ACIP appointments and halted votes and decisions by the reformed committee, including revisions to the childhood vaccine schedule. The schedule on the CDC site now is reversed by one year. This effectively pauses efforts to overhaul immunization guidance.

So much for democracy. So much for good science. So much for the mandate for change.

Separately, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai ruled from the bench on March 19, in the case State of Oregon et al. v. Kennedy et al. He sided with a coalition of 21 Democratic-led states (including Oregon, California, and New York) challenging a December 2025 declaration by Kennedy.

Kennedy had said that gender-transition medical treatments for minors—such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries—were “neither safe nor effective” for treating gender dysphoria, did not meet “professionally recognized standards of care,” and “superseded” state or national standards.

Kasubhai vacated the declaration, finding that Kennedy overstepped his authority. The ruling blocked threats to exclude providers from Medicare and Medicaid, protecting access in states where mutilation remains legal.

These rulings make the point. Federal district judges are using procedural and statutory grounds to halt executive-branch initiatives on contested health issues.

In both cases, the judges did not directly rule on the scientific merits of vaccines or gender-affirming care but emphasized acquiescence to the administrative state and not the voters.

Is this judicial overreach? Certainly. The framers of the Constitution did worry that the judiciary would have too much power and did their best to contain it. The Supreme Court is doing the same now. But this still has not stopped rogue judges from generating wild opinions and judgments that seem to have the force of law.

We can speculate that the Department of Justice will appeal whatever the final decisions turn out to be. But that’s a waiting game. Meanwhile, the judges get their way. It would otherwise be quite the step for the administration simply to ignore the courts, as much as we might fantasize that they would.

The rest of us are getting an education in how the real world of government operations really works. The administrative state and its industrial backers are happy to let us have the illusion of democratic power so long as it never impinges on their profits and powers. But the minute it does, the pieces start coming together to build blockades to reform.

Consider the larger picture.

The mandate that Trump had in 2024 was an experiment without precedent. Not since the administrative state was built 100 years ago has any president and his appointees sought dramatic and fundamental change to the conduct of government, of what it consists, and how it is managed.

We aren’t talking small policy changes here and there—we’re talking a serious root canal for the bureaucracy and all its works. That’s never been tried before. It amounts to a hostile takeover of Washington. Is it any wonder that we are seeing dramatic pushback using surreptitious means but sneakily brutal tactics? We might have anticipated as much.

The use of judicial power like this really does represent a last resort of survival for a system that the public despises and Trump swore to upend. It’s not surprising that the goal was not achieved in one year, but not even one term is going to be enough. This effort could take a decade, provided the public has the patience and economic functioning survives.

All legal technicalities aside, never forget the big picture. What the vast majority of Americans want is the original promise of America: a government of the people, a guarantee of rights, a government limited in size, a thriving middle class pursuing happiness, and freedom above all else.

That’s easily said. Getting there—restoring the Founders’ vision—is the challenge of this generation.

No, the district courts cannot delete democracy. Now we await the Supreme Court to make that crystal clear.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 17:00

Ukraine Government Schemed To Funnel War Aid To Biden Campaign

According to a newly declassified intelligence report, U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communications from Ukrainian government officials back in 2022 discussing a scheme to siphon off hundreds of millions in American taxpayer dollars. The funds, earmarked for clean energy projects in the war-torn country, were allegedly redirected to the United States to benefit Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee. 

The report, obtained by Just the News, summarizes raw intercepts gathered by U.S. spy agencies in late 2022. Officials familiar with the material say the communications are not believed to be tied to Russian disinformation efforts.

The declassified summary is very specific. 

"The Ukrainian Government and unspecified U.S. Government personnel, through USAID in Kyiv, reportedly developed a plan that would provide hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars to fund an infrastructure project for Ukraine that would be used as a cover to send approximately 90% of funds allocated to the DNC to fund Joe Biden's reelection campaign," the document states. 

The mechanics described are textbook money-laundering architecture. "The plan included details of how subcontractors would be funded through U.S. companies so that how the funds were spent and allocated would be difficult to track," the report explains. Two American subcontractors were named in the raw intercepts as conduits for funneling money toward Democratic coffers, though their identities remain redacted in the declassified version.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Ukraine became by far the top recipient of U.S. foreign aid after Russia's invasion in February 2022 — the first time a European nation held that distinction since the Marshall Plan. As of December 31, 2025, Congress had made available $188 billion in Ukraine-related spending, with $164 billion flowing from just five pieces of legislation. The last of those bills passed in April 2024 — while Biden was actively campaigning for a second term. 

What makes the alleged scheme particularly audacious is the built-in exit strategy. "They were confident the project would be funded initially, even though at some time in the future the project would be disapproved as unnecessary. At this time, the money would already be allocated and impossible to return or use for a different purpose," the report added. In other words, the design assumed the fraud would eventually be discovered - and didn't care. By then, the money would be gone and untraceable.

The cover-to-transfer pipeline was engineered for maximum opacity. "Additionally, contracts would be executed that would be difficult to verify. In this manner, most of the U.S. funding would be diverted to Joe Biden's election campaign without the ability to track where exactly the funds came from," the report read.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently learned of the intercepts and directed USAID officials to search agency records for evidence that the plot was actually carried out and to evaluate whether a criminal referral to the FBI is warranted. Perhaps the most disturbing find so far is that there is no substantive evidence that anyone during the Biden years made a serious effort to investigate what U.S. intelligence had intercepted. Officials reviewing the files noted a lack of investigative curiosity about allegations of foreign election interference.

Since President Trump took office, no new legislation authorizing additional spending for Ukraine has passed Congress. But now we need to find out how much of the funds for Ukraine were diverted to Biden’s campaign or the DNC, and whether the lack of an investigation reflects willful negligence, deliberate burial, or a conspiracy. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 16:40

O'Keefe Catches Skid Row Fraudsters Paying Homeless People To Forge Signatures On Ballots

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

Paid activists in Los Angeles, California, have been caught on hidden camera paying homeless people on skid row to forge signatures of registered voters on ballot initiatives.

O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) released part Two of its undercover investigation into the Democrats’ blatant election fraud operation in L.A. on Tuesday.

President Trump shared the report on Truth Social, commenting “terrible!”

California’s Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Steve Hilton commented on X: “They paid homeless people cash and drugs on Skid Row to forge your signature. Your name. Your vote. Stolen by a crackhead with a clipboard — while Gavin Newsom looked the other way.”

Hilton added: “This isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s on tape. And not one Democrat is outraged. That’s because THEY DID IT ON PURPOSE.”

Part One showed petitioners offering cash to homeless people and drug addicts for their signatures. The shocking new video shows the activists, armed with printed lists of voter names and addresses, taking the scheme to another level.

“Fraudulent petitioners on Skid Row are now paying the homeless people to forge names, forge addresses and forge signatures of registered voters,” O’Keefe says at the beginning of Part Two.

Rather than registering the Skid Row denizens to vote, activists gave them $2–$3 in cash to commit forgery and election fraud in what OMG called “a coordinated system.”

O’Keefe stated that the operation was observed on nearly every street corner in downtown Los Angeles.

“The scheme appeared to be present in whatever direction we walked,” he noted.

The goal of the operation, according to OMG, is to “ensure the information matches official records so he signature passes verification.”

The workers handed out post-it notes with the names of a single voter written on them to each of the homeless dupes.

“I’m gonna tell you what to write,” a petitioners told one of the undercover journalists. “Your name’s Robert,” he said.

A petitioner told a female OMG journalist that she could move from corner to corner and get paid $3 a pop for signing other peoples’ names to the ballot petitions.

“Oh, so you guys are all working together?” she asked.

“You ask a lot of questions,” the petitioner replied. “You’re scaring me.”

The undercover journalists were taking a risk by asking questions and clandestinely recording among the unpredictable and potentially violent fraudsters.

At one point, during the investigation, one of the Skid Row workers attacked an OMG producer, punching him in the neck.

O’Keefe and colleague Cam Higby tracked down the addresses of some of the registered voters whose names were being used in the scheme.

In one case, the voter had not lived at the residence for nearly a decade,  but the current owners were still getting her election mail.

“Doesn’t live here . . . I bought this house nearly 9 years ago. The only reason I know that name is because we still get her mail,” the homeowner told Higby.

“I always feel really weird when I get the voting ballot . . . obviously that’s fraudulent,” he added.

After being shown the undercover footage, other residents appeared shocked that their names were used without their consent.

“I hope you put a stop to this soon," a homeowner told O’Keefe and Higby. “I didn’t know they were using my name and address, for political fraud. Hopefully, the governor and district attorney just put a stop to this,” he added.

Multiple California felony statutes appear to have been violated, “including Elections Code §18613 (signing another person’s name to a petition), Penal Code §470 (forgery), and Elections Code §18601–18602 (paying for petition signatures),” OMG pointed out.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, the other Republican in the gubernatorial race, has meanwhile been investigating a reported discrepancy of 45,000 votes in his county from the November 2025 special election on Proposition 50, the state’s congressional redistricting plan. Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday filed an emergency writ with the court of appeals to stop the ballots from being counted.

“Why in the world would Rob Bonta want that count stopped unless he was afraid of what that count would uncover?" Bianco asked in a video posted on X.

In a sit down interview with O’Keefe, Hilton said it was vital to stop the money flow to California’s election fraud operations.

“We have to freeze all the money going to any organization doing this,” he said. “The other thing is the entire voting system in California is called into question by this. Because you can’t trust any of it.”

“Prosecutions need to happen, the money flow needs to stop because this is all being funded,” he added. “These people are being paid. Where’s the money coming from?”

In Part One, OMG reported that the Weingart Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that offers services to homeless men and women living in LA’s skid row, appeared to be in on the scam.

The nonprofit has reportedly received millions in taxpayer grants since early 2022, including $112 million in 2022 alone and has over $800 million in net assets. Executives “are paid between $400,000 and $600,000 per year, yet the organization has repeatedly missed federal audit deadlines.”

Several petitioners also told OMG they work for Populus Inc., a political consulting firm.

Hilton told O’Keefe that he has put together a team that will weed out the fraud and prosecute the fraudsters in California if he is elected.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 16:20

Trump Delays Iran Attack Deadline By Another Ten Days Summary

• Iran rejects US plan but says diplomacy continues (indirectly, apparently) - White House, Pentagon reviewing options for 'final blow' as Trump tells Iranians 'get serious' about talks. Hegseth: we'll "negotiate through bombs". Trump asserts Iran is begging for a deal. Trump extends energy destruction 'deadline' to 10 days - oil slides & almost immediately rebounds.

• Trump touts "present" of several tankers allowed by Tehran through Strait, while at the same time warning Tehran of 'no turning back' if it doesn't negotiate. Cabinet meeting hails 'successes' while saying war to 'end soon', confirms 15-point plan delivered via Pakistanis.

• Iranian hardliners ramp up call to get nuclear weapons, Reuters reports. Israel says it has killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy.

• Iran "laying Traps" & "building up defenses" on Kharg Island; NYT report says 13 US regional bases largely 'uninhabitable' in wake of Iran ballistic missile retaliation on Gulf.

*  *  * Support us here

TACO Thursday: Trump Issues New 10 Day Timeline

Another walk-back and extension: the earlier five-day deadline for resumption of US attacks on Iranian energy has now been moved to ten days (it was set to expire Fri/Sat). The following was issued by President Trump late Thursday afternoon on Truth Social:

As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time. Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well. 

Now it's ten days... but perhaps this at least means the sides are talking(?!), if not indirectly. Or else this is a move to buy more time to put some kind of ground force component in place. Oil slides - then quickly rebounds - on the headlines, as apparently markets aren't buying it, remaining unchanged:

 

Iran 'Hardliners' Push For Nukes: Reuters

This can't be good for anyone hoping that the escalatory rhetoric being hurled between the waring sides would be dialed down a notch: Reuters is freshly reporting that hardliners inside Iran are calling for leaders to achieve nuclear weapons status in order to stave of ongoing US-Israeli attacks. "The debate among Iranian hardliners over whether Tehran should seek a nuclear bomb in defiance of an escalating U.S.-Israeli attack is getting louder, more public and more insistent, sources in the country say," Reuters write Thursday.

"With the Revolutionary Guards now dominant following the killing of veteran Supreme Leader ‌Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the war on February 28, hardline views on Iran's nuclear approach are in the ascendant, two senior Iranian sources said," the report adds. 

Coupled with these very alarming nuclear headlines, the Iranians are demanding that the US scale back its demands presented in the 15-point ceasefire plan delivered via Pakistan. As for the nuclear question, many analysts of the 'realist' foreign policy school had long ago predicted precisely that if Iran suffered major attack from the US and Israel, it would then be incentivized to run after a nuke as fast possible. Trump earlier claimed that prior to the June US bombings, Iran was "two to four weeks" from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Currently there are reports that Tehran is being very heavily bombed.

The "final blow" could aim to open a waterway that was open before the war began, or maybe secure uranium that would have been secured under a nuclear agreement—risking US troops in the process.

Or we could just stop the war? pic.twitter.com/N1LWAgNwCn

— Andrew Day (@AKDay89) March 26, 2026

Trump Touts Gift of Several Tankers Allowed by Tehran Through Strait

President Donald reiterated in a televised cabinet meeting on Thursday that Iran had given the US "present" in the form of several boats carrying oil, able to pass through the otherwise closed Strait of Hormuz.

Trump claimed Iran had planned to send over eight large vessels of oil as a show of good faith related to potential peace negotiations. He then described hearing of media headlines which said eight ships were moving through the Strait of Hormuz. He also stated his team is having "very substantial talks" with Tehran to resolve the conflict - but at this point it appears merely indirect via Pakistani mediation. As for the 'gift', some factcheckers have begun investigating the claim:

Tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows no sign of the eight big boats full of oil that are going right up the middle of the Hormuz strait that President Trump just mentioned in his briefing.

In the meantime oil went to highs of the day after Iran's parliament called to continue the war until the enemy is "definitively forced to regret its actions". Al Jazeera is also citing statements from Iran's military of possessing "one million troops" ready to oppose a potential US invasion.

BREAKING: Trump reveals Iran's gift:

They will let us have 8 boats of oil; they will sail tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/JwriJxAsK9

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 26, 2026

Trump, Vance, Hegseth Address Cabinet Meeting: Negotiations, Bombs, Nuclear Threat

President Trump in a rambling review of the Iran war situation didn't add too much that's new. He said the US is engaged diplomatically with the Iranians, who are "sick" people who he says were bent on getting a nuclear weapon. At one point Trump stated the Iranians were just "two to four weeks away" from achieving a nuclear weapon, apparently in reference to the June war. Trump says "the conflict with Iran will end soon, it won't be long. Had to take a little detour." He had several times mentioned that Israel was under direct threat, and later said they "would have come after us (America) next." And a new deadline before strike on Iranian energy/power infrastructure starts?

TRUMP ASKED ON NEW IRAN DEADLINE: I'LL ANNOUNCE IT

TRUMP: OIL PRICES, STOCK MARKET DROP HAVEN'T BEEN THAT 'SEVERE'

TRUMP: TAKING CONTROL OF IRAN OIL AN OPTION

TRUMP ON IRAN, HORMUZ: I HAVE A FEELING IT'LL BE CLEANED QUICK

Vice President Vance briefly offered some specifics, in terms of revealing the White House's view of the mission, declaring that the "Iranian conventional military is effectively destroyed" and "this gives the US options". This means, Vance said, that we "have the ability to use every tool in the US' disposal to ensure Iran never has a nuclear weapon." The the meeting, the White House confirmed that it presented a 15-point peace plan to Tehran via Pakistani mediators.

Witkoff: in an address, the Trump envoy declared that "Iran has miscalculated" after the Iranians "repeatedly rebuffed the US' requests in discussions; they have been stalling. No doubt the US is making all possible efforts towards a resolution." Finally, he said we have warned Iran "don't miscalculate again". Witkoff emphasized, "We will see where things lead." Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth later added: "The Department of War will continue negotiating with bombs."

'Diplomacy has Not Stopped' - Iran says while saying No Direct Talks

Iran is confirming that only within the last 24 hours it formally received the US '15-point' plan via Pakistani mediators, but stated its assessment that it is "one-sided and unfair". Iran has also slammed the proposals as 'deceptive'. So in effect little has changed from reports earlier this week.

There is still no arrangement for negotiations, no realistic plan for talks at this moment, state media conveyed further on Thursday. However, there also this from state Tasnim: "Diplomacy has not stopped, if realism prevails within the US, then a way forward could be found." Previously Tehran media stated "An informed source told Tasnim that Iran's response to the 15 articles proposed by the US was officially sent last night through intermediaries." So there's 'hope' for an offramp through what are so far only indirect talks, but then Iran is also vowing to keep fighting, after some reports Tehran leaders are ready for a 'long war':

IRAN REJECTS U.S. PROPOSAL DELIVERED VIA MEDIATOR, VOWS TO CONTINUE FIGHTING

Slight dip in oil on the headlines:

'Final Blow'

President Trump on Thursday is on the one hand calling on Iran "to get serious soon" in negotiations with the US "before it is too late" - while on the other he's said to be mulling plans for a "final blow" in the military campaign. Axios writes that several possibilities are being considered, all which point toward serious escalation and in some cases even ground troops. All but one of the below "final blow" options carry the potential for US to get stuck in Iran for years:

— Seize or blockade Kharg Island (Iran’s main oil export hub).

— Invade/control Larak Island (key to Strait of Hormuz control).

— Take Abu Musa + nearby islands (strategic entrance to the strait).

— Block or seize Iranian oil tankers in the region.

— Launch massive airstrikes on nuclear/energy sites.

— (More extreme) Ground operations inside Iran to secure nuclear material.

Axios elsewhere reminds: "Trump's five-day pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure expires Saturday, and a dramatic military escalation will grow more likely if no progress is made in diplomatic talks, particularly if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed."

Negotiations or 'No Turning Back'

Meanwhile, below are a couple of the latest Iran-related Truth Social posts by President Trump, at a moment Iran has made clear it will reject direct talks until its 'five conditions' are met. Iran has said it won't be "fooled again" and even though Trump has declared 'success' and that Iran has been "militarily obliterated, it's clear that Tehran has serious strategic leverage given its de facto control of the Hormuz Strait.

Trump threatens in all caps that if Iran doesn't relent then there is "no turning back" - however, the WSJ is at the same time reporting Trump has told aides he wants a speedy end to the war.

"President Trump has told associates in recent days that he wants to avoid a protracted war in Iran and that he hopes to bring the conflict to an end in the coming weeks," WSJ writes.

The publication continues, "Nearly one month into the war, the president has privately informed advisers he thinks the conflict is in its final stages, urging them to stick to the four-to-six-week timeline he has outlined publicly, according to people familiar with the matter. White House officials planned a mid-May summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing with the expectation that the war would be concluded before the meeting begins, some of the people said."

And then it states the obvious which should have been known before Operation Epic Fury was launched: "The problem is Trump has no easy options for ending the war, and peace negotiations are at a nascent stage." Certainly all of the above-mentioned 'final blow' options all carry extreme risk of quagmire (which might make the Iraq and Afghan wars easy by comparison). Path to offramp or more massive escalation coming?

Iran War: We are not watching a path to peace
Three warning signs now visible:
1. “Talks” without a ceasefire
2. Expansion to economic choke points
3. Quiet preparation for ground forces
This is how limited wars become global disasters pic.twitter.com/GTTOc4o4YB

— Robert A. Pape (@ProfessorPape) March 26, 2026

IRGC Navy Commander Killed, Says Israel

Israel says one of its air strike has killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, in another reported top-level death. Defense Minister Israel Katz described the strike was carried out on Wednesday night "in a precise … operation" and targeted other "senior officers of the naval command." He played a central role in controlling the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and recently issued direct warnings to Israel and the United States, including threats to close the waterway; however, just like all Iran's military commanders, he'll likely soon be replaced.

Overnight and in the last 24 hours, Iran has targeted more key refineries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which Gulf states have described as a "brutal aggression" against the global economy. Gulf Cooperation Council officials said the situation is an “international responsibility,” warning that “what is a threat today will grow” and stressing that oil supply chains must be protected.

Reminder: Israel keeps an 'assassination list' and has reportedly removed these two men from it, to leave room for negotiations, apparently. Below: Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi

The GCC called for de-escalation, stating their goal is a "diplomatic solution" to end the attacks, at a moment Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt are said to be seeking mediation to get peace talks off the ground. "Our main message to our partners in the world is to send an international message, a unified message to Iran to stop immediately and unconditionally their attacks against the GCC countries." They added their objective is not to "destroy" Iran but to build a "good relationship," warning that “the deterioration of the situation in the Arab Gulf will be a warning that will exceed the Gulf area.”

Casualties in Iran: Iran's Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian said at least 1,937 people have been killed during the war, including 240 women and 212 children. He added that at least 24,800 people have been injured, including around 4,000 women and 1,621 children.

Meanwhile Iran continues to send steady missiles and drones on Israel, with mounting Israeli casualties and much infrastructure, cities, and neighborhoods suffering severe damage.

⚡️ Iranian cluster munition hit in Israel's Kafr Qasim earlier today pic.twitter.com/jEs6fdK8ON

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 26, 2026

'13 US Regional Bases Uninhabitable': NYT

...Something analysts suspected was the case over the course of the last weeks of expanding war: "Many of the 13 military bases in the region used by American troops are all but uninhabitable, with the ones in Kuwait, which is next door to Iran, suffering perhaps the most damage." This is based on statements by unnamed US defense officials who admit they've had to scramble to find 'alternative' housing and office solutions for personnel.

The revelation comes on the heels of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) having earlier warned that if American troops are 'stationed' in hotels or civilian office complexes, then those hotels and locations effectively become targets.

The Times report suggests that the US saw early fatalities and casualties (CENTCOM figures say 13 dead and some 300 injuries thus far) in part due to lack of preparedness for such a robust Iranian ballistic missile retaliation on US regional bases.

Iran "Laying Traps" & "Building Up Defenses" On Kharg Island

Iranian forces are said to be "laying traps" and "building up defenses" on Kharg Island, in preparation for a possible US ground attack and takeover. Iran has recently bolstered its defenses around Kharg Island, anticipating a possible US move to seize the key oil export hub, CNN reported this week. The island is vital to Iran’s economy, handling roughly 90% of its crude shipments, and has become a focal point in escalating tensions.

There is also growing skepticism among US allies and policymakers about whether capturing the island would achieve its broader objective. Even some Republicans are starting to publicly push back against any possible plans involving ground forces.

*  *  *

More headlines and latest developments:

• Iranian state TV quoted an anonymous official saying Tehran rejected the plan delivered via Pakistan and will “end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met”.
• Iranian FM: “At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance. We do not intend to negotiate - so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled."
• The White House said the US is "very close to meeting the core objectives in Iran" and warned Donald Trump is prepared to "unleash hell" if Iran does not accept defeat.
• Trump said negotiations are under way and claimed Iran wants "to make a deal so badly” but that "they’re afraid to say it, because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people".
• VP Vance may travel to Pakistan this weekend for potential talks with Iran.
• Iran has threatened to disrupt the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—the vital Red Sea route connecting the Mediterranean with MENA and Asia—if attacks target its territory or islands.
• Iran attacked a power plant in Israel; the state monopoly said there was no infrastructure damage.
• Iran said the US and Israel attacked the vicinity of the Bushehr nuclear plant.
• Media coverage of potential Kharg Island takeover scenarios has intensified in the past 24 hours.
• Iran’s parliament is working on a bill to impose fees on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
• The Israeli military said it carried out a "wide-scale wave of strikes on Iran" this morning.
• The Telegraph: Russia has begun arming Iran with drones in the first known transfer of lethal munitions from Moscow to Tehran since the war began.
• The United Kingdom is discussing with global partners “a viable plan” to secure maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

* * * 3 MONTHS OF QUALITY FOOD // USE CODE THANKYOU10 FOR 10% OFF

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 16:20

Iran Earning $139 Million A Day From Oil As Hormuz Crisis Locks Out Rivals

By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice

Iran’s oil exports have not collapsed and are fetching much higher prices than before the war, handing Tehran handsome extra revenues from its crude, which is the only one unimpeded from transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Unlike all other Gulf producers, Iran is passing its oil through the Strait of Hormuz and its export volumes remain resilient. Steady volumes and higher prices have been bringing millions of dollars of additional oil revenues for the Islamic Republic since the war began, as oil prices jumped and discounts for Iranian barrels significantly narrowed versus Brent.

Iran has likely earned $139 million per day by selling its flagship Iran Light crude so far in March, according to Bloomberg calculations based on export estimates by Tankertrackers.com and prices for Iranian Light.

The estimated daily revenues were nearly $25 million higher compared to the average of $115 million daily proceeds from Iranian Light in February, according to Bloomberg’s calculations.

Iran is benefiting in several ways from the Hormuz crisis.

First, its tankers are transiting the Strait of Hormuz while most other Gulf oil supply is still trapped. Then, the massive supply shock from the Middle East has hiked international crude prices to above $100 per barrel (at about $105 a barrel of Brent early on Thursday), which adds more revenues from oil sales. And last but not least, the huge discount of more than $10 per barrel for Iran’s oil to Brent before the war has now narrowed to just $2.10 per barrel this week.

Iranian oil exports have remained resilient since the U.S. and Israel started bombing Iran and killed the Ayatollah, meaning that the jump in oil prices and the free flow of Iranian oil through the Strait of Hormuz is likely hiking Iran’s oil revenues.

Iranian crude exports remain relatively steady, maritime intelligence firm Windward said on Wednesday.

The U.S. waiver on Iranian sales may not be attracting buyers beyond the already established customers, the Chinese independent refiners, but it surely is driving up the price of Iranian crude to narrowed discounts to Brent.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 15:40

Microsoft Freezes Hiring In Cloud And Sales As Stock Suffers Worst Start To Year On Record

Microsoft shares were trading lower Thursday afternoon, leaving the stock deeper in bear-market territory and down about 24% on the year. Seasonal data suggests it is the worst start to a year for Microsoft on record. 

A new report from The Information says Microsoft executives have instructed managers across major divisions, including Azure cloud and North American sales, to freeze hiring as part of a broader effort to reduce costs and boost margins ahead of the June fiscal year-end. 

Microsoft employees who spoke with the outlet said the hiring freeze is not companywide. They said Copilot and some other AI-related engineering divisions are still hiring, but managers in large cloud and sales organizations were told to halt all new hirings in recent weeks. 

"The company reported slightly decelerating Azure growth in the fourth quarter of last year and said roughly 45% of its Azure revenue backlog, or customer spending commitments, come from one customer, OpenAI," The Information noted.

Microsoft reduced headcount by 15,000 last year. The company ended 2025 with 228,000 full-time employees, the same amount as a year earlier, according to Bloomberg data. Hiring momentum has certainly leveled off after hiring sprees that began in 2016 and accelerated in the early days of Covid.

Another employee who spoke with senior Microsoft executives said headcount will not increase in the coming years, both due to pressures on the software business and the proliferation of AI tools. 

The pattern of behavior across big tech companies pouring tens of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure has been to trim labor costs. Meta, Google, AWS, Atlassian, and ServiceNow have all been cutting, freezing, or reshuffling headcount as AI spending rises.

Layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi shows 71 tech companies have axed nearly 40,500 jobs so far this year. Layoffs are nowhere near the levels seen during the tech job-cut apocalypse between 2Q22 and 2Q23.

"Azure Core no longer has room or approval to continue hiring," Azure Core chief of staff Hilary Macfadden told the outlet. "Until we have credible, executable plans locked to address that [gross margin] gap, pressure will continue to cascade," she said.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 15:20

Coinbase Opposes Stablecoin Compromise In Senate Crypto Bill: Report

Authored by Jesse Coghlan via CoinTelegraph.com,

Crypto exchange Coinbase is reportedly against the latest compromise over stablecoin yields that the Senate is looking to include in its crypto market structure bill.

Coinbase representatives told Senate lawmakers in a meeting on Monday that they had concerns over the language around stablecoin yields in the new compromise version of the bill, Punchbowl News reported Wednesday, citing four people briefed on the exchange.

A proposal that circulated earlier this week would have reportedly prevented third parties, such as exchanges, from paying stablecoin yields, a measure aimed at addressing banks’ concerns over the risk of deposit flight.

Coinbase is one of the largest crypto lobbyists in the US, and its withdrawal of support for the bill in January came just before the Senate Banking Committee indefinitely postponed a markup to advance the legislation.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks are leading the latest effort to advance the bill, and talks are reportedly ongoing. Coinbase did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senator Alsobrooks, pictured at a banking event in early March, said the compromise bill may leave both crypto and the banks unhappy. Source: American Bankers Association

Yield fight plagues Senate bill

The fight between the crypto and banking lobbies over the Senate’s bill, which aims to outline how regulators should approach crypto, has largely revolved around stablecoin yields.

The White House has hosted at least three meetings for the groups to agree on a compromise, which has yet to materialize.

Banking groups argue that stablecoin yield payments by exchanges are a loophole in the GENIUS Act, which banned stablecoin issuers from paying yield to holders, and present a risk of deposit flight from the banking system.

Stablecoin yields are a major business for crypto exchanges, and the crypto lobby has argued that the risks are overstated and has accused the banks of anticompetitive behavior.

Republicans are pushing to pass the bill ahead of the midterms, where the makeup of Congress could change and derail momentum around the legislation. The House passed its version of the bill, called the CLARITY Act, in July.

Patrick Witt, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, posted to X on Wednesday that there was “plenty of uninformed FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] circulating on social media this week.”

“It’s all going to work out. Bullish,” he added.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis also posted to X on Wednesday that “we can’t wait until 2030 for another chance” to pass the crypto bill. 

“Bipartisan compromise is necessary for the Clarity Act to pass,” she added. “We’re working around the clock to ensure stablecoin rewards are protected and to prevent deposit flight from community banks.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 14:45

Wall Street Bonus Pool Hits Record Despite "Domestic And International Upheavals"

As the K-shaped economy rages on, gasoline and diesel prices at the pump spike, and risks of food inflation later this year mount, Wall Street's bonus pool surged to a record in 2025, even as the Trump administration insists the inflationary shock is temporary.

On Thursday, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a new report showing that the Wall Street bonus pool surged to a record $49.2 billion in 2025, up 9% from the previous year, while the average bonus rose 6% to $246,900.

"Wall Street saw strong performance for much of last year, despite all of the ongoing domestic and international upheavals," DiNapoli said.

Bloomberg noted, "The total pool is the largest in records going back to 1987."

DiNapoli continued, "When Wall Street does well, it's good for our state and city budgets, which are reliant on the industry's significant tax contributions."

Wall Street bankers entered 2026 with momentum after generating a record $134 billion in trading revenue last year. 

Top executives expect dealmaking and trading revenue to remain strong this year, but the Trump administration's crusade across the Americas and the Middle East, seen as an effort to pressure China, has heightened geopolitical tensions, sparked market turmoil, stoked inflation fears, and darkened the near-term outlook.

"However, we are seeing slower job growth, and geopolitical conflicts have global repercussions that pose extraordinary risks for the short- and long-term outlook on the financial sector and for broader economic markets," DiNapoli said.

The report showed that the city's securities industry edged down slightly to 198,200 jobs in 2025, from a three-decade high of 201,500 in 2024. The Office of the State Comptroller expects that figure to be revised higher when annual data adjustments are made.

Wall Street accounted for about 19% of New York State's tax revenue between 2024 and 2025. The bonuses are expected to generate $199 million more in state income tax revenue and $91 million more for NYC than in 2024. 

For NYC socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who faces budget woes, it is probably not a smart idea to wage war on capitalism, or more of the industry will leave for red states. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/26/2026 - 14:25