Zero Hedge

Princeton Says Trump Administration Has Suspended Dozens Of Research Grants

Princeton Says Trump Administration Has Suspended Dozens Of Research Grants

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

The Trump administration has suspended several dozen federally funded research grants to Princeton University as part of its investigation into campus anti-Semitism, according to a Princeton University email published by the Daily Princetonian student newspaper.

The Princeton University campus is in Princeton, N.J., on Oct. 8, 2024. Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo

The email, dated April 1 and sent to the campus community by university President Christopher Eisgruber, said the university received the notification from the funding agencies, including the Departments of Energy, Defense, and NASA.

Eisgruber’s email did not disclose the amount of money in question.

“The full rationale for this action is not yet clear, but I want to be clear about the principles that will guide our response,” Eisgruber’s email said.

“Princeton University will comply with the law. We are committed to fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating anti-Semitism.

“Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this university.”

Eisgruber’s email said more information would be released following conversations with affected faculty, researchers, and grant managers.

Princeton is among the 60 elite higher education institutions currently under federal investigation for the harassment of Jewish students following Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Eisgruber and his colleagues from fellow Ivy League institutions—Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, and Yale—were among those who received March 10 letters from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

The letter reminded university presidents of existing Civil Rights laws. It noted President Donald Trump’s executive order that states colleges and universities risk the loss of federal funding if they fail to combat campus anti-Semitism.

“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a March 10 statement from the Education Department announcing the letters sent to universities. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”

The Trump administration announced on March 31 that it is examining $8.7 billion in contracts with Harvard.

In an email response to The Epoch Times, Harvard University officials said the school has taken steps in the past 15 months to address anti-Semitism on campus, but the Trump administration still believes the school has a long way to go.

“We will engage with members of the federal government’s task force to combat anti-Semitism to ensure that they have a full account of the work we have done and the actions we will take going forward to combat anti-Semitism,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in a letter sent to students and employees.

“We resolve to take the measures that will move Harvard and its vital mission forward while protecting our community and its academic freedom.

“By doing so, we combat bias and intolerance as we create the conditions that foster the excellence in teaching and research that is at the core of our mission.”

Columbia University was the first school to lose federal funding, $400 million, due to campus anti-Semitism.

The university’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, complied with nine conditions outlined by Education Secretary Linda McMahon and other federal agencies before resigning on March 28.

Eisgruber is also the board chairman of the American Association of Universities, which publicly criticized the Trump administration’s education cuts and, in February, filed a federal lawsuit opposing reductions to National Institute of Health research grants to universities.

“This action is ill-conceived and self-defeating for both America’s patients and their families as well as the nation as a whole,” the association’s Feb. 10 statement said.

“We look forward to presenting our case in court.”

Eisgruber’s March 19 editorial in The Atlantic magazine criticizing the Trump administration’s actions against Columbia University is posted on Princeton’s website.

“The Trump administration’s recent attack on Columbia University puts all of that at risk, presenting the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s. Every American should be concerned,” he wrote.

The Epoch Times contacted Princeton University and the Department of Education, which referred to the departments of Defense and Energy.

The Department of Defense declined to comment.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 12:45

US Payrolls Unexpectedly Soar To 228K, Above Highest Estimate

US Payrolls Unexpectedly Soar To 228K, Above Highest Estimate

After today's shocking retaliation by China, which hiked tariffs on US goods by 34%, the jobs report was an afterthought. To be honest, it would have been an asymmetric afterhought any way, as any upside would have been viewed as stale and not reflecting the new tariff reality, while any miss would have cemented the recession case. And while the market is certainly far more focused on the ongoing trade war, in the end, the March jobs report ended up being far stronger than expected, as the US added a whopping 228K jobs, the highest since December and more than double the 117K in February (revised lower from 151K)...

... and beating the consensus estimate of 140K by 3 sigma

The number was also above the highest estimate from Wall Street analysts, which was 200K.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised down by 14,000, from +125,000 to +111,000, and the change for February was revised down by 34,000, from +151,000 to +117,000. With these revisions, employment in January and February combined is 48,000 lower than previously reported.

The unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2%, above the estimate of an unchanged print...

... as the number of unemployed workers rose modestly to 7.083 million from 7.052 million, even as the labor force rose fractionally from 170.359 million to 170.591 million.

And tied to that, while the Establishment survey rose by 228K, the Household survey also improved by a similar amount, with the number of employed workers rose by 201K, to 163.508 million.

Turning to wages, there was some more good news in the report, at least for those hoping for a fed rate cut: while the monthly average hourly earnings rose 0.3%, as expected and the same as last month, the annual increase in wages was 3.8%, down from 4.0% last month and below the 4.0% estimate, suggesting the wage growth continues to cool sharply, allowing the Fed to resume rate cuts.

Some more detailed from the jobs report: 

  • The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.8 million, changed little in March. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
  • The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job was essentially unchanged at 5.9 million in March. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a
  • Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.7 million, was essentially unchanged in March. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, changed little at 509,000 in March.

Next we go through the qualitative breakdown of the Establishment survey, where we find that job gains occurred in health care, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment also increased in retail trade, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Federal government employment declined.

  • Health care added 54,000 jobs in March, in line with the average monthly gain of 52,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in ambulatory health care services (+20,000), hospitals (+17,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+17,000).
  • Employment in social assistance increased by 24,000, higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, individual and family services added 22,000 jobs.
  • Retail trade added 24,000 jobs in March, as workers returning from a strike contributed to a job gain in food and beverage retailers (+21,000). General merchandise retailers lost 5,000 jobs.
  • Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 23,000 in March, about double the prior 12-month average gain of 12,000. In March, job gains in couriers and messengers (+16,000) and truck transportation (+10,000) were partially offset by a job loss in warehousing and storage (-9,000).
  • Within government, federal government employment declined by 4,000 in March, following a loss of 11,000 jobs in February. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

Here is a visual summary:

Commenting on the numbers, Trump posted on Truth Social that job numbers were "far better than expected" and that "it's already working."

Trump's tweet suggests that contrary to some expectations, the president isn't actually looking to throw the economy in a recession, but will push to keep it from crashing while he is playing the great game of trade war chicken with China and the rest of the world, which makes lives for traders more difficult as it means the Fed will have to make decisions on a tweet by tweet basis, which will be problematic.

Meanwhile, others disagreed: here is Seema Shah from Ptincipal Asset Management who encapsulates prevailing sentiment well:

“Everyone knows that economic weakness is coming, but at least we can be reassured that the labor market was robust coming into this policy-driven shock and therefore, the slowdown should not be overly steep. Next month is when hard data is likely to start showing signs of what soft data has already been signalling. From the Fed’s perspective, today’s payrolls number will not prevent them from future policy rate cuts – they know that this is just a moment of calm before the storm hits."

Gregory Faranello, strategist at AmeriVet Securities, explained why today's jobs report was largely ignored: “it’s all about the forward outlook around tariffs and the ensuing impact on global demand. You would never have thought to see yields performing this way with a jobs report like this.”

Ed Al-Hussainy, rates strategist at Columbia Threadneedle Investment, says “the market is betting that recession risks and the tightening of financial conditions will force the Fed to cut aggressively" now up to 100bp this year and rising. 

As for Powell’s speech later this morning, Al-Hussainy says: "If we get any pushback against this from Powell & Co., front end rates may end up offside."

But perhaps the best wrap of today's jobs report, however, was from Omair Sharif,  Inflation Insights: "Someone forgot there was a recession coming."

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 10:01

EU Could Fine Musk's X $1 Billion Over Illicit Content, Disinformation

EU Could Fine Musk's X $1 Billion Over Illicit Content, Disinformation

Authored by Stephen Katte via CoinTelegraph.com,

European Union regulators are reportedly mulling a $1 billion fine against Elon Musk’s X, taking into account revenue from his other ventures, including Tesla and SpaceX, according to The New York Times.

EU regulators allege that X has violated the Digital Services Act and will use a section of the act to calculate a fine based on revenue that includes other companies Musk controls, according to an April 3 report by the newspaper, which cited four people with knowledge of the plan.

Under the Digital Services Act, which came into law in October 2022 to police social media companies and “prevent illegal and harmful activities online,” companies can be fined up to 6% of global revenue for violations.

A spokesman for the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, declined to comment on this case to The New York Times but did say it would “continue to enforce our laws fairly and without discrimination toward all companies operating in the EU.”

In a statement, X’s Global Government Affairs team said that if the reports about the EU's plans are accurate, it “represents an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on free speech.”

“X has gone above and beyond to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, and we will use every option at our disposal to defend our business, keep our users safe, and protect freedom of speech in Europe,” X's global government affairs team said.

Source: Global Government Affairs

Along with the fine, the EU regulators could reportedly demand product changes at X, with the full scope of any penalties to be announced in the coming months. 

Still, a settlement could be reached if the social media platform agrees to changes that satisfy regulators, according to the Times. 

One of the officials who spoke to the Times also said that X is facing a second investigation alleging the platform’s approach to policing user-generated content has made it a hub of illegal hate speech and disinformation, which could result in more penalties.

X EU investigation ongoing since 2023

The EU investigation began in 2023. A preliminary ruling in July 2024 found X had violated the Digital Services Act by refusing to provide data to outside researchers, provide adequate transparency about advertisers, or verify the authenticity of users who have a verified account.

X responded to the ruling with hundreds of points of dispute, and Musk said at the time he was offered a deal, alleging that EU regulators told him if he secretly suppressed certain content, X would escape fines. 

Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner for internal market, said in a July 12 X post in 2024 that there was no secret deal and that X’s team had asked for the “Commission to explain the process for settlement and to clarify our concerns,” and its response was in line with “established regulatory procedures.” 

Musk replied he was looking “forward to a very public battle in court so that the people of Europe can know the truth.”

Source: Thierry Breton

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 09:55

Trump Says China "Played It Wrong" On Retaliatory Tariffs — Now Beijing Faces Three Options

Trump Says China "Played It Wrong" On Retaliatory Tariffs — Now Beijing Faces Three Options

Update (0949ET):

President Trump wrote on Truth Social that China "played it wrong" after Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs on imported US goods earlier this morning.

"They panicked," Trump said, adding, "The one thing they cannot afford to do!" 

And now, cue Trump's re-retaliatory tariffs this weekend…

China has three options in the wake of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff blitz: 

  1. Concede defeat to whatever terms Trump demands
  2. Devalue the yuan by 20-40%
  3. Unleash biggest fiscal stimulus in its history (talking $2-3 trillion) which will push its debt off the chart

On China's potential response, George Saravelos, Global Head of FX Research at Deutsche Bank, provided clients with more color (read: here)... 

 

.   .   . 

U.S. equity futures took another leg lower, the VIX spiked to 36, Treasury yields slipped (UST10Y <4%), crypto tumbled, and the dollar reversed its European session gains—just after 06:00 ET—when China hit back at President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff blitz.

According to state-run Xinhua, Beijing announced it would slap 34% retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. imports starting April 10. Details were scarce at the moment. 

"Chinese authorities said they will start a probe into medical CT X-ray tubes imported from the US and India, and halt imports of poultry products from two American companies," Bloomberg noted. 

Xinhua also reported that Beijing announced export control measures on certain rare earth-related items but did not provide specifics.

The move comes two days after Trump's tariff-a-palooza pushed the effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods to 54%.

Deutsche Bank's George Saravelos noted on Thursday that the big negative surprise this week has been the 50%+ tariff rate on China (far worse than expectations) and the key connector economy Vietnam, which affected $600bn worth of manufactured goods to the U.S. combined.

Goldman helped clients visualize this move. 

On Thursday, Beijing condemned the escalating tariff war, calling it "unilateral bullying. " It added that it "firmly opposes" the tariff war and "will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests."

And here we are—risk assets getting hammered again on a Friday morning—as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate sharply to end the week. Both superpowers remain locked in a stalemate over China's subsidization of fentanyl precursor chemicals to Mexico, which has fueled the overdose death crisis in the United States. 

Stay on top of the tariff war:

In markets, main US equity futures indexes were hammered lower after China retaliated. 

A lot more red. 

UST10Y <4%.

Implied interest rate cuts top 4.5 for the year. 

Bitcoin tumbles.

Dollar loses steam after European surge. 

And Yuan weaker.

*Developing...  

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 09:49

Russia Warns Against US Strikes On Iran Nuclear Sites: 'Catastrophic & Illegal'

Russia Warns Against US Strikes On Iran Nuclear Sites: 'Catastrophic & Illegal'

Via The Cradle

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned on Thursday that US threats of attack against Iran are "unacceptable" and could result in a "catastrophe".

"The use of military force by Iran's opponents in the context of the settlement is illegal and unacceptable. Threats from outside to bomb Iran's nuclear infrastructure facilities will inevitably lead to an irreversible global catastrophe. These threats are simply unacceptable," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. 

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also told Life magazine that the "consequences of this, especially if there are strikes on the nuclear infrastructure, could be catastrophic for the entire region."

Kremlin Pool via AP

Russia and the US have recently held talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Ryabkov said these talks have not resulted in a breakthrough. 

Regarding tension between Tehran and Washington, Ryabkov said Russia "condemns US threats." The Russian Foreign Ministry comes after US President Donald Trump renewed his threat to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. 

"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing. But there's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago," the president said on Sunday. Iran issued a formal complaint to the UN Security Council and said it would respond to any threat.

Trump had sent a letter to Iranian leadership in early March, threatening an attack if Tehran did not come to the negotiating table. Iranian officials said they would not negotiate under threats and economic sanctions, which Trump has imposed with full force as part of his "maximum pressure" policy. 

This week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has officially responded to Trump’s letter signaling a willingness for indirect talks, which the US is reportedly considering. 

However, Washington is simultaneously beefing up its forces in the region in preparation for a potential attack. This follows several reports over the past two months that Israel is planning to strike at the Iranian nuclear program. 

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravachi held talks on the nuclear issue with Ryabkov on Wednesday. 

"The sides stressed the illegality and inadmissibility of the use of military force by Iran's opponents to resolve disagreements and the unacceptability of threats from the outside to bomb Iran's nuclear energy infrastructure, as this will inevitably lead to large-scale and irreversible radiological and humanitarian consequences for the entire Middle East region and the world as a whole," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. 

China, Russia, and Iran released a joint statement on March 14 demanding an end to "unlawful" US sanctions against the Islamic Republic after meetings in Beijing between the three countries. 

Tehran insists that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, in line with a religious fatwa against weapons of mass destruction, as well as the fact that it is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 06:30

Poland Inks $2 Billion Air Defense Deal With US

Poland Inks $2 Billion Air Defense Deal With US

Poland unveiled this week that it has signed a new defense deal with the United States valued at nearly $2 billion. This is for more Patriot air defense systems and expanded logistical support.

"The safety of Polish skies has no price," Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told a news briefing while discussing missile defense cooperation with Washington.

Via US Embassy in Warsaw

"Poland's defense ministry said implementing the agreement would enable the operational readiness of Patriot launchers, which form the foundation of the Wisla program," one international report says. "It aims to counter, among other things, short-range tactical ballistic missiles, including maneuvering missiles."

Under the same program, the NATO eastern flank country acquired its first two Patriot system batteries in 2018. The Trump administration has praised Poland for being among NATO's top spenders in terms of GDP.

Polish President Andrzej Duda has sought to fix a standard of defense spending of at least 4% of GDP, and even have it enshrined in the nation's constitution. Poland plans to spend 4.7% of GDP on defense this year, which is the highest in the NATO alliance.

"Poland is a model NATO ally and a leader in advanced air and missile defense," said US chargé d’affaires Daniel Lawton while attending a signing ceremony at the military base in Sochaczew. The event was also attended by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. 

Lawton added, "We are proud to celebrate another step in US-Polish defense cooperation – strengthening NATO’s eastern flank and deepening our strategic partnership."

Poland is now the only country in the world other than the US to possess the US Army's newest Patriot batteries with the integrated air and missile defense battle command system (IBCS).

Meanwhile, Tusk has sent a message to US President Donald Trump on the newly unveiled tariffs, including a 20% rate for the EU... "America could and always can count on Poland," Tusk said in English. "You have only friends here. And I can say the same thing about Europe as a whole."

"In our common European-American interest are a strong US, a strong European Union and a strong NATO, not weaker," he added. "Think about it, Mr President and dear American friends before you decide to impose tariffs against your closest allies. Cooperation is always better than confrontation."

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 05:45

Matt Taibbi Files $10 Million Libel Suit Against Dem Rep. For Accusing Him Of 'Serial Sexual Harassment'

Matt Taibbi Files $10 Million Libel Suit Against Dem Rep. For Accusing Him Of 'Serial Sexual Harassment'

Journalist Matt Taibbi is suing Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove for libel, after the California Democrat claimed during her opening remarks in a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that he's a "serial sexual harasser."

"To distract from the dumpster fire this administration is pursuing," she said, the Republicans were "elevating a serial sexual harrasser as their star witness."

While Taibbi wouldn't have been able to sue due to lawmaker protections under the Speech and Debate clause of the constitution, Kamlager-Dove was stupid enough to then post those claims on social media; both on X and Blue Sky.

As Taibbi directly notes to Kamlager-Dove via Racket News, "Rep. Kamlager-Dove, no woman has ever accused me of engaging in sexual harrassment once, let alone serially. See you in court. Please do not evade service." 

*  *  *

On Sale! Grab a complete 2-day emergency survival backpack at ZH Store

Click pic... add to cart (one for each car & your go-bag storage)... be more prepared. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 05:44

Charity Involved With Adolescence Suggested Boys Engaging In "Locker Room Banter" Can Lead To "Genocide"

Charity Involved With Adolescence Suggested Boys Engaging In "Locker Room Banter" Can Lead To "Genocide"

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

The charity which met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over a plan to screen the Netflix show Adolescence in UK schools previously published material suggesting that boys engaging in “locker room banter,” advocating for “strict gender roles” and “bragging” can ultimately lead to genocide.

Yes, really.

Adolescence is a 4 part drama based around a 13-year-old white boy who murders a girl after being radicalized by incel culture and ‘Manosphere’ social media influencers like Andrew Tate.

Despite the fact that the show is a complete work of fiction, it has somehow become a rallying cry for new policies and laws which will ultimately lead to more online censorship.

The child character in the show is a white boy from a married home, despite producers admitting the plot was primarily based on the murder of a 15-year-old black girl by a black Ugandan immigrant.

Tender has been instrumental in working with the producers of the show to bring it to a wider audience, leading to a plan to broadcast the series in all UK schools which has been backed by the government.

Representatives from Tender in addition to Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne and producers Emma Feller and Jo Johnson met with the UK Prime Minister on Monday.

As Charlotte Gill documents, Tender previously published a ‘pyramid of sexual violence’ which suggests that teenage boys engaging in “locker room banter,” “bragging,” “objectification,” and adhering to the attitude that “boys will be boys” can ultimately lead to sexual assault.

Not only that, the pyramid ludicrously asserts that such behavior is on a scale that can end up resulting in “femicide,” “homicide,” “gang rape,” “murder” and even “genocide.”

That’s quite a leap.

Gill also uncovered a document showing that Tender had received £3.4m in taxpayer funding from 2020-24 via government grants and government contracts.

The charity has also featured pro-transgender actor and activist David Tennant as a speaker at one of its events.

During the event, Tennant asserted, “Our boys and young men need diverse role models who demonstrate the many ways to be a man.”

As we document in the video above, Adolescence is a tool of social engineering that pins the blame for “toxic masculinity,” online radicalization and violence towards young women on white British boys, a complete inversion of the truth.

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 05:00

Putin Launches Largest Military Call-Up Since 2011 As Europe Rattles Sabers

Putin Launches Largest Military Call-Up Since 2011 As Europe Rattles Sabers

If Europe's goal was to ruin Donald Trump's chances of brokering a practical diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict, they may have succeeded.  France and Britain are both openly suggesting that they will deploy troops to the region to "help secure a peace deal" in the near term - There are very few other takers, largely because the move will undoubtedly trigger WWIII. 

In fact, this is likely the intention.

With Russia making the largest territorial gains year-over-year since 2022 and Ukraine's troop strength dwindling, the end of the war looms.  Either Kyiv will be forced to surrender or Trump will score a rudimentary peace agreement and a ceasefire.  The best case scenario for Ukraine at present is a separation of the Donbas into Russia (one of the original reasons for the war), and a demilitarized zone with a solidified border.  Ukraine has no chance of reclaiming these territories through strength of arms.  

Case in point:  Vladimir Putin has initiated the largest troop call-up since 2011, mobilizing over 160,000 men with no signs of slowing Russia's recruitment efforts.  The spring call-up for military service came several months after Putin said Russia should increase the overall size of its military to almost 2.39 million and its number of active servicemen to 1.5 million.

That is a rise of another 180,000 over the next three years at the current rate. The Kremlin states that the new troops are not expected to enter Ukraine, and will more likely be used to secure the western border.  This move comes as Poland and other NATO countries within ground invasion proximity to Russia engage in a build up on pretenses of defense. 

Whether or not this is true is difficult to determine because of French and British plans for troop deployments to Ukraine.  Even if calls for boots on the ground turn out to be pure bluster, the buildup in Poland and the troop increases in Russia might be enough to trigger an escalation.  Furthermore, new troops are traditionally called up right before a major offensive so that fresh soldiers can be deployed to fill expected losses after six months to a year.  

 

The fact is, the powers-that-be intend for tensions with Russia to continue no matter what happens in Ukraine.  And, Russia my be getting ready to preempt the arrival of European forces. 

Russia calls up conscripts in the spring and autumn but the latest draft of 160,000 young men is 10,000 higher than the same period in 2024.

Since the start of last year, the pool of young men available for the draft has been increased by raising the maximum age from 27 to 30 (to put this in perspective, the average age of conscripts in Ukraine is now 43). 

Though the long running narrative in the establishment media has been that Russian forces are "tapped out" and shattered after unprecedented losses on the front lines, ongoing gains in Eastern Ukraine along with growing troop strength show that this was nothing more than propaganda. 

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

Media Eviscerated For Claiming Jailing Marine Le Pen Is 'Good For Democracy'

Media Eviscerated For Claiming Jailing Marine Le Pen Is 'Good For Democracy'

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

TIME Magazine is facing backlash for declaring that the conviction of French populist politician Marine Le Pen on a trumped up bureaucratic charge “was a good day for French democracy.” 

Yes, really.

Apparently banning a front running candidate from running for office for five years and handing her a prison sentence is “good for democracy.”

As we highlighted yesterday, this is happening all over Europe in what many are describing as a coordinated globalist effort to prevent more nationalist candidates from being elected.

Le Pen will serve two of the four year prison sentence qunder house arrest with an ankle bracelet monitor.

Le Pen may still yet find a way to run given that the Paris Court of Appeal said it will look to decide whether to uphold or scrap the ban on her from elections by next year.

“The Paris Court of Appeal confirms having received today three appeals filed against the decision rendered on March 31, 2025, by the Paris judicial court in the case of the parliamentary assistants of the National Front. It will examine this file within a time frame which should allow a decision to be rendered in the summer of 2026,” the court said, according to Le Figaro.

In response, Le Pen said it was “very good news,” but that she intends to challenge the ruling in any way possible, including France’s Constitutional Council and the European Court of Human Rights.

“I will use all possible avenues of appeal. I won’t let it happen,” she told Le Parisien.

She has further contended that the court’s decision to impose a ban on her pursuing office while her appeal is ongoing undermines the rule of law, asserting that individuals in the appeal process are generally granted the presumption of innocence, and thus, implementing the ban at this stage disregards established legal norms.

Current polling suggests that Le Pen is almost certain to win if she runs in 2027.

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden Fri, 04/04/2025 - 02:00

Iran Lacks The Leverage For A Fair Deal With The US

Iran Lacks The Leverage For A Fair Deal With The US

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

It’ll therefore either have to accept a lopsided one or prepare for a major war that it might lose.

Iranian-US tensions are boiling after Trump threatened to bomb Iran following its rejection of direct talks over a new nuclear deal. He also ordered the Pentagon to move six B-2 stealth bombers, which CNN assessed to be a full 30% of the US’ stealth bomber fleet, to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. The Iranian Supreme Leader responded by promising strong retaliation if the US attacks while one of his chief advisors warned that their country would then have “no choice” but to build nukes if that happens.

Although the US Intelligence Community’s latest Annual Threat Assessment claimed that “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon”, there have been long-standing concerns that it could quickly do so if the decision is made due to its nuclear program allegedly have a rapid breakout potential. This makes it no different in principle than Japan’s, which could begin churning out nukes in a matter of months, but neither the US nor its regional allies consider Japan to be a threat, unlike how they view Iran.

The US’ renewed bombing campaign against Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen might have been partially intended to send a message to the Islamic Republic aimed at getting it to enter direct talks over this issue by signaling that Trump 2.0 does indeed have the political will to initiate military action if it refuses. Despite Iran’s recent rejection of his demand, Trump might still hold off on this for now due to the likelihood that Iran could inflict unacceptable retaliatory damage to the US’ regional bases and allies.

Furthermore, diplomacy hasn’t yet been exhausted since Iran didn’t reject indirect talks of the kind that Russia offered to mediate after reportedly being asked by the US to do so, which was discussed here. Therefore, it would be premature for the US to seriously consider bombing Iran at this time, yet that option isn’t off the table if indirect talks fail to reach a deal. Iran lacks the leverage for a fair deal with the US, however, so it’ll either have to accept a lopsided one or prepare for a major war that it might lose.

Iran is a proud civilization-state that’s loath to subordinate itself to anyone, hence the difficulty in getting it to agree to drastic curbs on its nuclear energy program that would enshrine its status as a second-class country in this regard, all while abandoning any chance of nuclear weapons in the future. From Iran’s perspective, this could embolden Israel into one day launching a large-scale conventional or even nuclear war against it, which Iran believes has only hitherto been deterred by dangling this Damocles’ sword.

That said, while Iran could inflict unacceptable retaliatory damage to the US’ regional bases and allies (first of all Israel) if it’s attacked over its refusal to agree to a Russian-mediated lopsided deal, it cannot inflict such damage to the US’ nuclear triad and would thus likely be destroyed. Iran couldn’t count on Russia intervening to help it either since their newly updated strategic partnership doesn’t include mutual defense obligations and Moscow doesn’t want war with Washington or West Jerusalem.

Even though the US could survive a major war with Iran, it still prefers to avoid one. So long as the US’ demands remain limited to drastically curbing Iran’s nuclear energy program and don’t expand to include curbs on its support for regional allies or its ballistic missile program, then creative diplomacy could prevail. For that to happen, Russia would have to devise a set of incentives for Iran that the US approves of and Iran then agrees to, but that’s still a far way off and Trump might strike first if he loses patience.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 23:25

Trump's Pardon Only Covers Defendants' Jan. 6-Related Crimes: Appeals Court

Trump's Pardon Only Covers Defendants' Jan. 6-Related Crimes: Appeals Court

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump’s pardon for people convicted of charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol does not extend to crimes “only connected to January 6 by the happenstance that it was uncovered during investigation of the unrelated January 6 offenses,” a federal appeals court ruled on April 2.

A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that rejected arguments from Dan Wilson, a Jan. 6 defendant who said that Trump’s relief should cover firearm convictions that stemmed from a search conducted as part of the probe into his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump on Jan. 20, when he took office for his second term, pardoned people for crimes “relating to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

“That language plainly applies to related offenses,” Circuit Judges Cornelia T.L. Pillard and Gregory G. Katsas said on Wednesday, in denying Wilson’s motion for release pending appeal.

Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, the third judge on the panel, dissented.

“Wilson’s appeal presents exceptional circumstances. He raises a novel question implicating the scope of the pardon power, which is vested exclusively in the President,” Rao said.

She noted that Trump issued the pardon but tasked the attorney general with administering and effectuating it by issuing certificates to relevant people. The U.S. Department of Justice has said in court filings that the pardon does cover Wilson’s firearm convictions.

“Wilson’s certificate merely repeats the language of the blanket pardon and does not specifically list his firearm convictions,” Rao said. “But nothing seems to preclude a new certificate from being issued that clarifies the scope of Wilson’s pardon. Because it is unlikely that the issuance of a certificate of pardon is judicially reviewable, there is at least a ’substantial question' whether we should defer to the Department of Justice when it claims the certificate it has issued applies to Wilson’s firearms convictions.”

The majority said in response that they were reviewing the scope of the pardon, not its validity.

“The pardon does not cover offenses wholly independent of events at the Capitol on January 6, even if uncovered during investigation of January 6 offenses,” they said.

“What matters is the relationship between the offenses. Wilson’s Kentucky firearm offenses are not ‘offenses related to events that occurred’ at the Capitol on January 6. They occurred at a different time and place, and the elements of these offenses—possession of an unlicensed firearm and the possession of firearms by a prohibited person—bear no relationship to conduct that occurred at the Capitol on January 6. Thus, by the plain terms of the Pardon, they are not covered.”

George Pallas, an attorney representing Wilson, told The Epoch Times in an email that “Illegal gang members from El Salvador have better luck than J6ers do in the DC courts.” He was referring to recent rulings blocking the Trump administration from deporting Tren de Aragua members and suspected members under Trump’s Alien Enemies Act declaration.

Wilson had been released shortly after Trump signed the proclamation, but Department of Justice officials later said he should have been kept in custody because the firearms crimes were not covered by Trump’s pardon.

Several weeks later, officials told the federal court in Washington that they were now of the view that the pardon did cover the crimes.

U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ruled in March that the convictions, which came in Kentucky after a search of Wilson’s home, were not covered by the pardon.

Friedrich said that Trump can still pardon Wilson for unrelated convictions but that he has not yet.

Pallas told The Epoch Times in an email after that ruling that Friedrich missed the point because “President Trump is in the courtroom speaking through his surrogate, the prosecutor.”

A different judge, at around the same time, declined to vacate the convictions of Edward Kelley, another Jan. 6 defendant who offered similar arguments against conspiracy and threat charges. Kelley has not appealed that ruling.

Also on Wednesday, a federal judge in Florida agreed to dismiss the convictions of another Jan. 6 defendant, Jeremy Brown, who was convicted of grenade and firearm possession in 2023. The judge overseeing the case cited how the Department of Justice moved to throw out the charges, referencing the pardon.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 22:35

Israel Seizes Rafah In Expanded Operation, Hundreds Of Thousands Flee

Israel Seizes Rafah In Expanded Operation, Hundreds Of Thousands Flee

The Israeli military (IDF) has expanded its Gaza operations over the last 24 hours, and has announced a new focus on establishing a "security zone" in an around the southern city of Rafah.

The push into Rafah is intended to dismantle all remaining Hamas infrastructure and command activity, given the city is seen as the group's last main stronghold in the Gaza Strip.

This has unleashed a new wave of mass displacement, with reports of hundreds of thousands fleeing the city amid the assault. The enclave for more than the last year been even more crowded, given it has served as a last place of refuge for the displaced from northern and central Gaza.

IDF spox Effie Defrin, via Israeli military

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited Gaza this week, delivering the following message of intensified operations to get back all of the remaining hostages:

During the visit, Zamir addressed troops near Rafah, stating that the Israel Defense Forces are intensifying their offensive at a deliberate and determined pace. He emphasized that the military effort would continue until all Israeli hostages are returned and declared the mission far from over.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has announced at least 97 people killed in Israeli strikes from Wednesday into Thursday, including at least 20 killed in a dawn airstrike on a suburb of Gaza City.

According to a Palestinian eyewitness of the stepped up assault who spoke to Reuters:

Rafah "is gone, it is being wiped out," a father of seven among the hundreds of thousands who had fled from Rafah to neighboring Khan Younis, told Reuters via a chat app.

"They are knocking down what is left standing of houses and property," said the man who declined to be identified for fear of repercussions.

A ground assault on eastern Gaza City is also reported to be ongoing. This week has seen the heaviest escalation of the ground and aerial assault since the ceasefire collapsed last month.

Meanwhile controversy and international outraged has continued over the recent killings of a group of Palestinian emergency responders:

The Israeli military killed 15 medics and emergency workers in southern Gaza and buried the bodies with their ambulances and rescue vehicles last month.

Dr Ahmed al-Farra, director of pediatrics at Al-Tahreer Maternity Hospital in southern Khan Younis, saw the bodies coming into the medical facility after they were recovered a week later. He said Israeli soldiers would have easily seen they were targeting medics when they opened fire.

"The skies are filled with their planes, they can see a needle on the ground. So they could easily distinguish ambulances," al-Farra told Al Jazeera.

"When the bodies came to the hospital, they were nearly decomposed. It had been around seven to eight days since the medics were executed. I saw three of them had their hands tied behind their backs."

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have continued lobbing rockets on southern Israel, with a new round launched on Thursday. Warning sirens have returned to becoming a regular feature of life in Israeli towns and cities in the south and central of the country.

The wartime situation is set to continue for the foreseeable future, given new IDF spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, declared Thursday that the military has entered "a new stage" of the fight against Hamas. "The plan serves the goals of the war, returning the hostages and destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities," he said.

The IDF is maintaining "operational ambiguity, so we can surprise the enemy and bring about significant achievements," he said, adding that "our actions will speak".

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 22:10

All The Ukrainian Known Knowns

All The Ukrainian Known Knowns

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

Aside from the rhetoric, there is a growing consensus among Western diplomats, military analysts, military officers, heads of state, and even much of the media about how to end the endless Ukrainian war.

A proposed peace will see a DMZ established somewhere along an adjusted 1,200-mile Ukraine-Russia border. Tough negotiations will adjudicate how far east toward its original borders Russian forces will be leveraged to backstep.

Publicly in the U.S. and covertly in Europe, all accept that a depleted Ukraine will not have the military strength to retake Crimea and the Donbas.

In 2014, both were absorbed by Russia during the Obama administration. Neither that administration nor any since has advocated a military effort to reclaim them.

Loudly, the U.S.—and again quietly Europe—concedes that Ukraine will not be in NATO—a confirmation that Russia will use to justify to its people its disastrous invasion, and even many Ukrainians will accept.

How will the West deter Putin from his inevitable agenda of reclaiming lost Soviet territory and Russian-speaking peoples? For now, his army is exhausted, its arsenals depleted, and its reputation shattered.

In the future, a commercial corridor, anchored by concessions to American and international mining concerns, will supposedly serve as a tripwire to deter Putin from attacking in-the-way noncombatant Americans.

More practically, Ukrainian forces will be kept fully armed. They have already inflicted perhaps a million causalities on Putin’s forces—possibly five times the dead, wounded, and missing that the Russians lost to the Taliban over that entire decade-long misadventure in Afghanistan.

If Trump can coax even a ceasefire, the oddly bellicose left will still rail about “Munich” and Trump as “Putin’s puppet.”

But after perhaps 1.5 million total Ukrainian and Russian dead, wounded, sick, and missing, transatlantic leftists will quietly admit they never had any realistic plan to win by fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian.

And they certainly were not willing—despite what they claimed in their spasms of braggadocio—to send U.S., U.K., European, or NATO ground troops into Eastern Ukraine.

Trump has faced criticism for his volatile, art-of-the-deal approach to Ukrainian diplomacy over the last 10 weeks.

Lost in such criticism is that the Biden administration did not even try to end the war. Instead, in the LBJ-style of “light at the end of the tunnel,” it parroted the great “spring offensive” to come. And when that gambit disastrously failed, it resorted to the banal blank check of “as long as it takes.”

Western leaders simplistically thought that sending more arms, money, and Ukrainians into the cauldron would eventually break Russia—30 times larger than Ukraine, 10 times richer, over four times more populous, and far less bothered by the mounting toll of its greater losses.

In addition, we even know the likely course of negotiations to end the slaughter.

As soon as Trump pressures Zelenskyy for a ceasefire and a rare minerals mining concession, Putin smells an advantage. So, he digs in and orders his generals to double down on terror strikes for advantage.

And then, once Trump sees that scolding Zelensky empowers Putin to back off from a ceasefire, he turns on Putin and puts far greater pressure on him: a secondary embargo on all who buy Russian oil that even the “on to Moscow” crowd had never envisioned.

Once Putin seems to agree, then Zelenskyy thinks he was had and wants a better mining deal or reconsideration of NATO or more sophisticated weapons—until Trump reminds him that the despised U.S., not his beloved Europeans, is his only route to a shaky peace.

So, we know the negotiations will have a yin and yang until there is no solution other than a ceasefire leading to a Korean-peninsula-like hot peace.

Putin always preferred to exploit the Obamas and Bidens of the world. And he did so in 2014 and 2022, rather than the mercurial, unpredictable, and ultimately dangerous Trump, during whose tenure he stayed put within his borders.

He also knows that for all the talk of his puppet Trump, the latter killed hundreds of the Wagner group, pulled out of an asymmetrical missile deal, first sent offensive weapons to Ukraine, sanctioned Russian oil and oligarchs, warned the Germans not to deal with Putin on the Nord Stream II pipeline, and bombed into extinction ISIS of Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Qasem Soleimani.

So, Putin knows that India, China, and others who buy his oil will not if he reneges on his willingness for a ceasefire.

If and when peace comes, we can already foresee the misinformation that will follow: Trump deserves no credit. Zelenskyy remains the true hero. A now hollowed-out Russia was the real winner.

The only mystery?

Since when did the anti-war left prefer an endless and horrific war to a difficult, messy peace?

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 21:45

Trump Teases Bombshell DOGE Finding: 'What They Found Is Incredible'

Trump Teases Bombshell DOGE Finding: 'What They Found Is Incredible'

President Donald Trump teased another explosive revelation from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as Democrats and legacy media escalate their ongoing campaign against the cost-cutting initiative and its leader, Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

While speaking with the press aboard Air Force One en route to South Florida for the weekend, Trump said: "They found something today that's horrible,” adding. “You'll find out very soon. What they found is incredible."

Trump also gave Musk credit for his leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has so far achieved an estimated savings of $140 billion, amounting to roughly $869.57 per taxpayer. 

“Elon is fantastic,” the president said. “He's a patriot. He found millions of dollars of fraud.”

“He loves the country that's why he does it,” he added. Addressing speculation about Musk’s future, Trump responded to reporters, “I want him to stay as long as possible.”

The president also commented on the recent wave of violent attacks targeting Tesla vehicles and dealerships, incidents he has previously labeled as “terrorism.” 

"It's a shame what they are doing with his car company," he said. "It's a great car, great product."

According to a since debunked Politico report citing unnamed sources, Trump has privately indicated to close associates that Musk plans to scale back his involvement as an advisor in the near future. While Musk and the White House denied the report, Trump told reporters on AF1 that "Elon is fantastic," but he has "a number of companies to run."

"I want him to stay as long as possible," said Trump. "There’s going to be a point where he’s going to have to leave."

Over the weekend, at a Wisconsin rally aimed at boosting voter turnout, Musk and DOGE volunteer Antonio Gracias disclosed that millions of noncitizens were granted Social Security numbers under former President Joe Biden’s administration. They presented a chart illustrating a consistent annual rise, peaking at over 2 million in FY 2024, which concluded on September 30. In both FY23 and FY25—the latter starting in October and running through September of this year—approximately 1 million noncitizens received Social Security numbers.

"None of this would have happened without President Trump," Gracias told Fox News. "President Trump had the courage to allow us to go across databases. He signed an executive order. It's never been done before, where agencies could talk to each other and databases could talk with each other."

"That allowed us to connect all this data, to find these people across the system, across the benefit system, all the way to the voting records. It really took a lot of courage," he added.

Now the question is; what's this 'horrible' thing DOGE found? And is it just a 'LOOK, SQUIRREL!' to distract from all the 'fun' we're having in response to new tariffs?

*  *   *

Click pic, add to cart, receive great knife... Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 21:20

Bill Banning Geoengineering And Weather Modification Passes Florida Senate

Bill Banning Geoengineering And Weather Modification Passes Florida Senate

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

he Florida Senate passed a bill prohibiting geoengineering and weather modification by a vote of 28-9, Thursday. SB-56, dubbed the “chemtrails bill” by the media, prohibits “the injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of a chemical, a chemical compound, a substance, or an apparatus into the atmosphere within the borders of this state for the express purpose of affecting the temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight.”

The bill also requires the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to set up a system where residents can report “suspected geoengineering activities” and directs the FDEP to investigate those claims, WFLA reported.

Geoengineering, or climate engineering is defined as “the intentional large-scale alteration of the planetary environment to counteract [alleged] anthropogenic climate change.”

Florida’s bill banning the practice must now be approved in the Florida House, which has its own watered down version.

If a bill passes, Florida would become the second state in the nation to ban geoengineering. Tennessee passed its own bill banning geoengineering and weather modification in 2024.

Over two dozen other states, including Kentucky, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Arizona, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming, Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Missouri, and Maine have introduced similar legislation in 2024 or 2025, and are pending further action.

The Tennessee law went into effect July 1, 2024. Florida’s legislation is set to take effect on July 1.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Ileana Garcia, said the legislation became necessary after her constituents repeatedly voiced concerns about unknown entities altering the atmosphere in Florida without their consent.

“Many of us senators receive concerns, complaints on a regular basis regarding these condensation trails, aka chemtrails,” Garcia said in a committee hearing last month. “There’s a lot of skepticism.”

“I have a problem with people spraying perfume around me sometimes, don’t you have a problem with people spraying things into the atmosphere that really have no type of empirical data, that you just don’t know who they are or what they’re doing?” Garcia said Thursday.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo expressed support for the Senate Bill on Wednesday.

“Big thanks to Senator Garcia for leading efforts to reduce geoengineering and weather modification activities in our Florida skies,” Ladapo posted on X. “These planes release aluminum, sulfates, and other compounds with unknown and harmful effects on human health. We have to keep fighting to clean up the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.”

Governor Ron DeSantis said that he supports the bill passed by the Senate, but that it was “gutted” by the House lawmakers who cut it down from 10 pages to a single page on Wednesday.

“I support the legislation, however, the Florida House of Representatives has gutted Sen. Garcia’s legislation, and they would actually codify the practice of geoengineering and weather modification,” DeSantis said in a video posted to X.

The House version of the bill does not forbid the practice of weather modification outright, just without a license. It also comes with a less steep penalty.

The Senate version, which would impose a sweeping ban, calls for violators to be charged with a third-degree felony and face a fine up to $100,000. The House version would charge those without a license, or who lie on their application, with a second-degree misdemeanor and up to a $10,000 fine.

“People have a lot of kooky ideas that they can get in and put things in the atmosphere to block the sun and save us from climate change,” DeSantis said. “We’re not playing that game in Florida.”

“Thank you for your support, Governor,” Garcia posted on X. “Don’t tread on our☀️sunshine!”

California based attorney Nicole Shanahan also applauded the bill on X.

“Banning geoengineering at the state level is a good start but real change happens when we expose the bad actors who have been funding these projects and are heavily invested in preventing an end to this at the federal level,” Shanahan wrote. She thanked her former running mate, former Independent candidate for president, now HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  “for naming it what it is: a crime.”

In an interview last year, RFK Jr. warned that The World Economic Forum and Bill Gates had “hijacked geoengineering,” with Gates funding these projects around the world.

“They aggravate the problem then sell us the solution,” Kennedy explained, adding that the solution is that “they want is more social controls.”

“Geoengineering is a threat that the environmental community needs to know about and the rest of us needs to know about,” he said.

Shanahan recently sat down with researcher Peter Kirby, author of Chemtrails Exposed: a New Manhattan Project, for a long, eye-opening discussion on what’s been going on in our skies.

*  *  *

 Try IQ Biologix Astaxanthin - a super potent antioxidant (read more here).

Satisfaction guaranteed. If you think it's bullshit, or it just doesn't work for you, simply ask for a refund... Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 20:55

Rare Firefight Erupts Between Israeli Troops & Jolani Militants In Syria's South

Rare Firefight Erupts Between Israeli Troops & Jolani Militants In Syria's South

Rare overnight clashes erupted in southern Syria between Islamist militants and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which has occupied swathes of Syrian territory beyond the Golan Heights since Bashar al-Assad's December 8 ouster.

The IDF and Israeli media describe that it happened at the town of Tasil, with widespread reports that the Syrian fighters attempted an ambush. Tasil is located about eight miles from the Israeli border.

IDF tank in the Golan, via EPA

This marks the first time IDF troops have come under direct fire since occupying southern Syria. Tank units have been spotted moving into the region over the past months.

According to more details in Israeli media:

The Israel Defense Forces said the troops of the 474th Golan Regional Brigade returned fire and "eliminated" several gunmen "on the ground and from the air."

No soldiers were injured in the exchange, and the operation in the area was completed, the IDF added.

The militants are believed to be from the ruling Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group or their allies, out of Daraa.

Israel's KAN had also reported on clashes which emerged after "dozens of IDF vehicles advance in the Nawa area of the Daraa suburbs."

Wednesday saw several massive Israeli airstrikes across Syria, including on Damascus, a military base in Hama, and reportedly an airbase in the desert near Palmyra. 

The Syrian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of "destabilization" in the attack which killed at least nine people. There are reports that among the dead were three Turkish engineers.

"In a blatant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on five locations across the country. This unjustified escalation is a deliberate attempt to destabilize Syria and exacerbate the suffering of its people," the Foreign Ministry under interim President Sharaa (Jolani) stated.

Some sources framed the gunfight in the south as a revenge attack for the widespread Israeli airstrikes carried out shortly before. The new regime in Syria has been completely defenseless, also after prior Israeli attacks took out the country's Russia-supplied anti-air missile units.

Syria also no longer has an air force to speak of, amid reports that Turkey could help fill the gap. But clearly Israel's message to Turkey is that the IDF plans to dominate the skies of Syria with no rival.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 20:30

CA Congressman Seeks To Codify Independent Contractor Status

CA Congressman Seeks To Codify Independent Contractor Status

Authored by Victoria Churchill via RealClearPolitics,

Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley of California has introduced legislation designed to protect independent contractors amid uncertainty from the administrative branch. The Modern Worker Empowerment Act would stop the back and forth that freelancers currently experience when leadership at the Department of Labor changes based on who is in power politically.

Freelancers are ecstatic about the move.

“There is no greater champion than Kevin Kiley for independent contractors in the United States Congress. He is a superhero. He has been trying to stop this freelance busting madness,” says award-winning freelance writer and editor Kim Kavin – founder of the grassroots advocacy group Fight For Freelancers and author of the Substack “Freelance Busting.”

A freelance journalist with over 20 years of experience, Kavin is one of the approximately 60 million independent contractors in America, a number that makes up about a third of the U.S. workforce.

Groups such as the Independent Women’s Forum have asked the Trump administration to repeal a Biden-era DOL independent contractor rule within his first 100 days in office. If this rule is not repealed by the Trump administration, its enforcement could wreak havoc upon the independent workforce. The rule, dealing with so-called “misclassification” of independent workers, was implemented in March of 2024.

The rule invokes a very narrow definition of freelance work – so narrow that many roles which are currently filled by independent contractors would have to be filled by traditional employees.

A state-level version of this rule already exists in Rep. Kiley’s home state of California. The legislation – known as AB5 – was passed in Sacramento during Kiley’s tenure as a state legislator. He has seen firsthand how this bill has led companies to stop employing independent contractors, affecting the business of tens of thousands of freelancers in the Golden State.

If this AB5-style Labor Department rule is kept in place by the Trump team, it threatens the livelihoods of freelancers like Kim Kavin across the whole country.

Kavin is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the former Biden administration’s independent contractor rule, represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a free-market and limited-government legal nonprofit. The suit aims to overturn labor regulations perceived as detrimental to freelancers and small business owners like herself.

As previously mentioned, freelancers have experienced increased uncertainty as political administrations have changed. Last month, President Trump nominated Lori Chavez-DeRemer to the post of Labor Secretary. Chavez-DeRemer testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee and was confirmed last month by a vote of 67-32. Yet she received opposition from both Democrats and a few Republicans, including Rand Paul of Kentucky who was concerned about her pro-union bona fides.

Chavez-DeRemer was one of only three Republicans who supported the PRO Act in the 118th Congress, which was a part of Kamala Harris’ campaign platform.

Labor unions were a part of the GOP’s shifting coalition which supported Trump in November, so whether or not independent workers will be a priority for the Trump administration is still up in the air.

The PRO Act was billed as a pro-union piece of legislation, but masked within the labor union propaganda that pushed the bill forward in the last session of Congress was also the creation of an “ABC Test” intended to fix the “misclassification” of freelance workers who were doing the work of employees. The test was designed to be seemingly straightforward, but it has proven to be a disaster for independent workers, who saw their options for work cut as companies did not want to run afoul of regulations. In California, contract work was decimated as self-employment decreased by 10.5%.

While independent workers have some concerns over Chavez-DeRemer being confirmed as the head of the Department of Labor, her undersecretary Keith Sonderling is a known ally of the freelance workforce. Kavin told me that “Sonderling’s testimony suggested that the administration may be open to reassessing the independent contractor rule.”

Amid the current uncertainty from the Trump administration, Congress can and should step in. And champions like Kevin Kiley who have a track record of fighting with and for freelancers can solidify the freelance landscape for over 60 million workers – Americans like Kim Kavin – eliminating uncertainty about the kinds of work they will legally be allowed to perform.

Victoria Snitsar Churchill is a journalist and Young Voices Social Mobility Fellow based in Arlington, Virginia. Her work has appeared in the New York Post, RealClearPolitics, and The American Conservative.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 20:05

"No Signs Of Slowing" Active Listings Continue To Surge Across DC Housing Market

"No Signs Of Slowing" Active Listings Continue To Surge Across DC Housing Market

The latest housing data for the Mid-Atlantic region—comprising Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia—shows a continued surge in active listings. The region remains particularly vulnerable to potential DOGE-driven cuts targeting the bloated federal bureaucracy.

"The number of active listings increased for the seventh consecutive week, rising 1.8% from last week. Supply growth shows no signs of slowing, with active listings now 28.9% higher compared to the same week in 2025. Compared to a year ago, inventory is significantly higher in all regions within the Bright MLS service area," MLS Bright, the leading Multiple Listing Service firm in the Mid-Atlantic area, wrote in a new weekly report. 

Here's the weekly snapshot for the Bright MLS service area—with a focus on surging active listings.

More importantly, our focus shifts to the Washington, DC housing market, where active listings for the week ending March 30 have skyrocketed by 51.7% compared to the same week one year ago.

Visualizing the surge in DC active listings...

North Central Virginia.

Returning to DOGE-related cuts impacting the federal government, Goldman provided clients with a telling chart. ​

Federal Grants Have Largely Stagnated at a Below-Trend Level Since Inauguration Day

The broader macro risk for DC is that DOGE-related cuts may exert downward pressure on the region through increased job losses, sagging consumer sentiment, or a softening labor market.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 19:40

Health And Human Services Layoffs Begin Leaving Federal Workers Stunned

Health And Human Services Layoffs Begin Leaving Federal Workers Stunned

The first stage of cuts to Health and Human Services (HHS) have begun with 10,000 employees slated to be fired in the coming weeks.  Pink slips have been replaced with emails and deactivated key cards as workers line up at HHS offices across the country to find out if they still have a job.  The establishment media is out in force to paint a tragic narrative of "public servants" who only want to do good for less fortunate souls no unable to fulfill their calling.  It's all quite dramatic.

It's hard to say when government bureaucrats suddenly became an army of charitable saints sacrificing themselves for the good of humanity.  The HHS currently employs around 82,000 people within 10 regional offices and the average income for a worker is around $100,000 with benefits.  The majority of them are pencil pushers and social workers, not doctors or scientists making grand discoveries in medical technology.  When they do get involved in medical study, disasters seem to follow. 

Keep in mind that the HHS was partly involved in the funding of gain of function research by EcoHealth Alliance, which, in conjunction with projects run by Dr. Peter Daszak and Dr. Anthony Fauci at the NIH, reportedly led to the creation of human transmissible coronaviruses at the Wuhan Level 4 Virology Lab in China (ground zero for Covid).  

The annual budget of the HHS is $1.8 trillion - It accounts for around 20% of all federal dollars spent every year and tracking where this immense pool of cash goes is far more complex than the shady operations of USAID.  The agency is, by any measure, a monstrosity.  Cuts are intended to hit the FDA, CDC, and the NIH, all under the umbrella of the HHS. 

A large portion of programs instituted by HHS tap into pandemic funds set aside during covid (yes, the covid cash is still floating around after 5 years).  This money goes to support numerous programs that the majority of Americans voted against, including DEI programs, illegal immigrant programs and gender affirming care programs (gender based care for minors was indeed pursued by the HHS).  

The point is, it's not worth feeling sorry for these people.  When they had unmitigated power they abused it in grand fashion and everything that happens from here onward is pure Karma. 

Democrats in at least 23 states are taking action to sue the Trump Administration over the budget cuts and layoffs.  In the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, the states are seeking a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief to immediately halt the administration’s funding cuts that they say will lead to key public health services being discontinued and thousands of health-care workers losing their jobs.

The civil suits are unlikely to make much difference in the end, just as they failed to stop the cuts to USAID.  The HHS, now under the management of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to undergo unprecedented changes in the coming months and a level of accountability the institution has probably never dealt with before.  

“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago. HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,” the agency said in a statement last week.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 17:20

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