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.

Reports of Israeli convoy AMBUSHED near southern Syria’s Daraa

Social media footage appears to show huge gunfight going on outside city

Reports from Israeli media of IDF casualties

Islamic Resistance Front in Syria claiming responsibility for attack pic.twitter.com/Q9t5VXVNEh

— RT (@RT_com) April 2, 2025

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

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

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

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

Pentagon Watchdog Launches Investigation Into SecDef Hegseth Over Use Of Signal

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

The inspector general for the Department of Defense is investigating Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his use of the messaging app Signal.

Acting Pentagon Inspector General Steven A. Stebbins said in an April 3 memorandum to Hegseth that the probe would cover whether Hegseth and other military personnel complied with Department of Defense policies and procedures for using a commercial messaging application for official business.

“Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements,” he said.

A Department of Defense spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email, “Per our longstanding policy, we don’t comment on ongoing investigations.”

Hegseth has not reacted as of yet to the development.

Hegseth and other top U.S. officials in mid-March messaged on Signal about strikes in Yemen against Houthi terrorists.

The Atlantic released the messages after Jeffrey Goldberg, its editor-in-chief, was added to the chat group.

Hegseth and the White House have said no classified information was shared.

Developing...

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/03/2025 - 17:00