Authored by Turner Wright via CoinTelegraph.com,

Bitcoin advocate Roger Ver, known to many in the crypto industry as “Bitcoin Jesus,” has reportedly reached a deal with the US Department of Justice that could allow him to avoid prison time.

According to a Thursday New York Times report, Ver’s lawyers reached a tentative agreement with US authorities that would require the Bitcoin advocate to pay $48 million in taxes he owed from his crypto holdings.

The Justice Department charged Ver with mail fraud and tax evasion in April 2024, seeking to extradite him from Spain to stand trial.

The New York Times reported that Ver has ties with figures connected to the administration of US President Donald Trump, including hiring lawyers who previously worked for the president. He also reportedly paid $600,000 to political consultant Roger Stone, a Trump adviser, to lobby for changes to US tax laws.

The reported deal followed a series of regulatory and legal actions under the Trump administration softening on legal cases involving digital assets. At the time of publication, the tentative agreement did not appear on the public docket for Ver’s case in the US District Court for the Central District of California.

The initial indictment alleges that Ver falsely reported on tax forms related to his crypto holdings. He and two of his companies, MemoryDealers and Agilestar, allegedly held about 131,000 BTC in 2014. The DOJ said he attempted to evade paying taxes on his assets by renouncing his US citizenship and later becoming a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis.

“Even though Ver was not then a US citizen, he was still legally required to report to the IRS and pay tax on certain distributions,” said the Justice Department in April 2024.

Spanish authorities arrested Ver after his US indictment in 2024, but he posted bail in a matter of days. Since that time, Ver’s lawyers have been challenging Spanish authorities attempting to extradite him to the US and fighting the charges in federal court.

Seeking a presidential pardon

After Trump won reelection in 2024, many crypto users speculated that the president might issue a pardon for Ver.

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road and one of the first individuals to receive a pardon from Trump, called for leniency in Ver’s case.

“No one should spend the rest of their life in prison over taxes,” said Ulbricht in February.

“Let him pay the tax (if any) and be done with it.”

As of Thursday, Ver’s X profile linked users to a petition for Trump to pardon him. His website also had an open letter asking the US government to end the prosecution, claiming it was a “retaliatory action” for his advocacy of Bitcoin.

With left-leaning news outlets in serious decline thanks to a decade of TDS-fueled propaganda, Seattle Mayoral frontrunner Katie Wilson wants to use taxpayer money to fund vouchers that can be used for “local news outlets” of choice. 

The plan to pass out the $100 vouchers would be funded through “a small property tax levy, a capital gains tax, or a digital ad tax,” journalist Jason Rantz reports.

In a recent interview on the Mostly Economics podcast, Wilson framed her proposal as a response to what she calls the “crisis in the journalism industry.” She lamented that “we do not have a sustainable financial model for supporting local news outlets” and suggested that taxpayers pick up the tab through “a small property tax levy, a capital gains tax, or a digital ad tax.” On The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM, she admitted that it’s not necessarily a fully developed plan and that it’s intended to help smaller media outlets, like websites, and possibly radio.

Watch:

As Rantz notes, the scheme would allow the government to ‘raid your wallet’ to prop up the same biased outlets that demonize conservatives. 

Wilson admits to flaws in even defining what qualifies as Journalism, saying “There’s a real challenge there of how are you defining those eligibility criteria so that you are as much as possible being fair.”

Rantz continues:

By creating a government-run subsidy system, she introduces the exact opposite of independent journalism: government control of the press. The minute taxpayer dollars are tied to journalism, politicians and bureaucrats inevitably meddle in defining who gets paid and who gets blacklisted.

Wilson pretends her program sidesteps this by letting “individual residents” decide. But those residents can only choose from a list of “approved” outlets. And who approves the list? The very politicians who stand to gain from friendly coverage.

Any resident could choose to support independent media today if they chose. After years of shoddy coverage, The Stranger fell into hard economic times. They asked for donations and received them. Many local outlets do the same now. Wilson dismissed the idea of just giving tax cuts to Seattle residents who would then choose how to spend that money, which could include donating to a local media outlet or spending it in a local shop, which is just as advantageous to the community.

A Trojan Horse for partisan media?

Wilson revealed her ideological motivation in the podcast, praising “advocacy journalism” outlets like The Urbanist, Publicola, and the South Seattle Emerald. These are activist sites pushing the same progressive policies that wrecked Seattle in the first place.

Under “News Notes,” they would rake in taxpayer cash while dissenting voices are either shut out or vilified as “misinformation.”

Wilson tweeted after Cascade PBS cut its newsroom: “Seattle needs a thriving local news ecosystem. That’s why I’ve proposed ‘News Notes’.” Would she make the same post about Seattle Red or any local conservative outlet? I don’t think so. And it explains what this is all about: she wants to use taxpayer dollars to fund left-wing sources of news that benefit her cause.

Read the rest here…

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Authored by Matt Margolis via PJMedia.com,

Dominion Voting Systems has been synonymous with controversy since the 2020 presidential elections.

Accusations of election tampering, lawsuits, and wall-to-wall media spin made the company a lightning rod in American politics.

Yet this week, something remarkable happened.

As of today, Dominion is no more.

The embattled election vendor has new ownership and new branding.

Scott Leiendecker, a Missouri tech entrepreneur and former Republican director of the St. Louis City Board of Elections, bought the company for an undisclosed amount.

Excited yet? You should be.

“As of today, Dominion is gone. Liberty Vote assumes full ownership and operational control,” a press release announcing the sale revealed.

“Leiendecker says he wants to use the renamed company to restore public confidence in the US electoral process. Liberty Now also vows to be bipartisan as it works to reshape Dominion’s image. Dominion’s election products were used by millions of US voters across 27 states last year,” reports CNN. “Dominion’s founder and CEO, John Poulos, confirmed in a one-sentence statement provided to CNN on Thursday that, ‘Liberty Vote has acquired Dominion Voting Systems.’”

Leiendecker added, “Liberty Vote is committed to delivering election technology that prioritizes paper-based transparency, security, and simplicity so that voters can be assured that every ballot is filled-in accurately and fairly counted.” 

Naturally, CNN is hitting the panic button.

The sale of Dominion comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted he plans to overhaul America’s election systems, from wanting to move the US to all-paper ballots, require voter identification in all elections, and restrict mail-in voting. The president has promised to carry out those goals through executive orders, something he does not have explicit authority to do, as he seeks to change election laws that he has falsely blamed for his 2020 election loss.

Liberty Vote also plans on ensuring the company is “100% American owned,” including all domestic staffing and software development, the release states. Dominion was founded as a Canadian company with offices in Toronto, Denver, and Dallas. The new company plans to continue to have a presence in Canada, however, a source familiar with the plans said.

You can really get a sense of how worried CNN is about this development.

The article points out that the press release from Liberty Vote “references some buzzwords that have been championed by the pro-Trump ‘election integrity’ community.”

Election integrity! The horror!

Liberty Vote is taking concrete steps to strengthen election security and transparency.

Its push for hand-marked paper ballots builds on President Trump’s long-standing effort to ensure every vote leaves a fully auditable paper trail—a safeguard that reassures voters and bolsters confidence in election outcomes.

The company also commits to compliance with Trump’s executive order on election integrity and emphasizes facilitating third-party audits of its systems, giving states and the public an extra layer of independent verification. While internal audits exist, Liberty Vote’s approach sets a new standard for openness and accountability in U.S. elections.

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

I hear from so many people that are deeply hurting right now. If you are one of those people, I want you to know that you aren’t alone. There really are millions of Americans that are completely stressed out over their finances. There really are millions of Americans that can’t seem to find work no matter how hard they try. And there really are millions of Americans that can’t believe how expensive things have become. Of course there is a small segment of our society that is doing perfectly fine. The wealth of the top 1 percent has reached $52 trillion, and CEO salaries have jumped 1,094 percent since 1978. Many of those that are sitting at the top of the economic pyramid wonder what all of the fuss is about.

But for the rest of us, we know how badly economic conditions have deteriorated because we are living it every day. The following are 18 numbers which clearly show what direction things are going…

#1 According to ADP, the U.S. lost 32,000 jobs last month.  That was the largest drop in two and a half years…

Private payrolls saw their biggest decline in 2½ years during September, a further sign of labor market weakening that compounds the data blackout accompanying the U.S. government shutdown.

Companies shed a seasonally adjusted 32,000 jobs during the month, the biggest slide since March 2023, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 45,000.

In addition to the drop in September, the August payrolls number was revised to a loss of 3,000 from an initially reported increase of 54,000.

#2 The number of long-term unemployed workers in the United States has risen to the highest level since the pandemic…

As of August, the number of long-term unemployed people had risen to 1.9 million, according to government data — the highest level since 2021, when the nation was still reeling from the pandemic.

#3 Reuters is reporting that over 150,000 federal workers will permanently leave their jobs this week…

More than 150,000 federal employees will leave the U.S. government payroll this week after accepting buyouts – the largest single-year exodus of civil servants in nearly 80 years, triggering what unions and governance experts warn is a damaging loss of institutional expertise.

The official resignations begin on Tuesday for workers who opted into a deferred exit program that kept them on the payroll through September. The buyouts are a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s push to shrink the federal workforce, combining financial incentives with threats of dismissal for those who declined the offer.

#4 The number of movie jobs in Los Angeles County has fallen by 30 percent in just two years…

The far-left Wall Street Journal reports that at the end of 2024, there were only 100,000 motion picture jobs in Los Angeles County, compared to 142,000 two years earlier.

That’s a 30 percent collapse.

#5 Approximately 900 GM employees are facing indefinite layoffs…

General Motors is placing 900 workers on indefinite layoff at Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas, the company told the Detroit Free Press on Oct. 1, as it retools the plant for production of the gas-powered Equinox. Those employees were placed on temporary layoff as of Sept. 4.

#6 Exxon has confirmed that it plans to eliminate 2,000 high paying jobs…

A spokesperson for Exxon confirmed to Barron’s on Tuesday that the company plans to cut 2,000 jobs, representing 3% to 4% of the energy company’s global workforce.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which said Exxon sent a memo to employees noting the company is consolidating smaller offices into regional hubs as part of a long-term restructuring plan.

#7 The tech industry has laid off more than 166,000 workers so far in 2025.

#8 A 37-year-old tech worker that lost her job last November still hasn’t found work even though she has applied for hundreds of jobs…

When Anna Whitlock was let go from her job in the technology industry in November of 2024, she wasn’t worried about lining up a new position. The Washington state resident had 11 years of experience managing network infrastructure projects, a specialized role that involves equipping buildings with internet access, cameras and wifi security systems.

“The last time I had to job search, I found something pretty easily,” she said.

Almost a year later, the 37-year-old is still without a job. Whitlock said she has applied to hundreds of jobs — even for positions she’s overqualified for — to no avail.

#9 According to Mark Mitchell of Rasmussen Reports, only 48 percent of U.S. adults under the age of 30 currently have a full-time job.

#10 Our standard of living has been steadily declining for a very long time.  In 1950, more than 50 percent of 30-year-olds in the United States owned a home and were married.  Today, that figure has fallen to just 13 percent…

Since the postwar era, the share of 30-year-olds in America with both a family and a home has plummeted—from about 52% in 1950 to just 13% in 2025. That’s a staggering 75% decline over 75 years.

#11 44.4 percent of Americans struggle to make their housing payments each month…

More than two in five (44.4%) U.S. homeowners and renters struggle to afford their regular rent or mortgage payments, according to a recent Redfin survey. We consider survey respondents to struggle with housing payments if they selected “I struggle greatly to afford them,” “I regularly struggle, but sometimes okay,” or “I sometimes struggle, but generally okay.”

#12 46 percent of Americans worry about debt every single day.

#13 Prices were slashed on 19.9 percent of home listings last month as the U.S. housing bubble starts to burst…

Nearly one in five American homes listed for sale reportedly saw a price cut in September, as rising inventory shifted more power to buyers.

The number of listings with price cuts reached 19.9%, unchanged from August but up modestly from last year. Homes priced between $350,000 and $500,000 saw the steepest markdowns at 21.6%, while luxury properties over $1 million were less likely to see reductions, at just 13.3%, according to a Thursday report from Realtor.com.

#14 49 percent of Americans say that the cost of living is the biggest challenge that they are facing.

#15 67 percent of U.S. workers are now living paycheck to paycheck.

#16 The price of ground beef has risen more than 12 percent over the past year…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index report for August showed a surge in beef prices over the past year. Ground beef prices were up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis in August, while beef roasts were up 13.6%, and steak prices were 16.6% higher.

#17 The number of cows in the United States has fallen to the lowest level since 1951…

Cattle rancher Mike Martz of Larson Farms in Maple Park, Illinois, told FOX Business’ Kelly Saberi that cattle inventories have declined in recent years due to drought affecting important ranching areas.

“The real issue here is the drought that happened a number of years ago, and Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, the Southeast lost all their grass, all their forage. And when that happens, you’ve got to liquidate cows, and that’s what we’ve done,” Martz said. “We’ve got the lowest cow inventory since 1951, so that’s the cause of this.”

#18 The cost of living the American Dream for a lifetime has now reached 5 million dollars.

We haven’t seen anything like this since 2008 and 2009.

Of course I am entirely convinced that what we are facing will ultimately be far worse than 2008 and 2009.

If you are having a really tough time in 2025, it is so important to realize that you aren’t alone, and I also want you to understand that it isn’t your fault.

If you feel like you are drowning financially, or if you can’t find work no matter how much effort you put into your job search, it is not because you are a failure.

The truth is that the entire system has been failing for a long time, and now the consequences of decades of really bad decisions are overtaking us.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s President Isaac Herzog have called for President Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after securing a historic ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, based on his 20-point plan. All Israeli hostages are expected to be released in the coming days.

“Give Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize – he deserves it,” stated Netanyahu’s X account Thursday morning. The same was echoed by Herzog on X. “There is no doubt that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for this,” he wrote.

“This is a morning of historic and momentous news,” Herzog added. “I give my full support for the agreement reached in Egypt. I express my thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the negotiating team, the mediators, and all those involved in this vital effort.

“I wish to extend my deepest thanks to President Donald Trump for his incredible leadership toward securing the release of the hostages, bringing an end to the war, and creating hope for a new reality in the Middle East,” Herzog continued.

“There is no doubt that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for this. Should he visit us in the coming days, he will be received with immense respect, affection, and gratitude by the people of Israel.”

And he concluded, “This agreement will bring moments of indescribable relief to the dear families who have not slept for 733 days” as it “offers a chance to mend, to heal, and to open a new horizon of hope for our region.”

On the same day, Egypt’s President Sisi told President Trump in phone call that he ‘deserves Nobel Peace Prize’ – adding to the growing list.

At a moment street celebrations have broken out on both sides of the war, despite reports of some sporadic shelling still happening in Gaza on Thursday, there are these interesting and unexpected scenes:

Jubilant locals in both Gaza and Israel took to the streets early Thursday to celebrate President Trump for his role in the historic cease-fire deal — with many calling for him to get the Nobel Peace Prize.

Footage from both the streets of Tel Aviv and war-torn Gaza showed crowds of revelers celebrating what they hope will be the end of the two-year war as they hailed Trump for helping secure the deal.

“Donald Trump! Donald Trump!,” residents in Gaza could be heard cheering after the news broke Wednesday night.

Israeli farmers created a giant message to the world: Nobel 4 Trump

📷 Guy Sherry pic.twitter.com/uJl2lRhNdb

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) October 9, 2025

The timing of all of this adds immense pressure to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, as Bloomberg reports Thursday:

Norway is bracing for the aftermath of the Nobel Peace Prize announcement on Friday as the Nordic nation has faced increasing pressure from Donald Trump and his administration to award it to the US leader.

Trump’s aggressive push to secure the prize, including public declarations he deserves it and calls to Norwegian officials, has intensified with a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and a possible peace deal. At the same time, the decisionmakers at the Norwegian Nobel Committee have signaled that this pressure has been futile.

The Norwegian government is meanwhile trying to make clear that it does not interfere with the committee’s decisions, and the latest Bloomberg reporting strongly suggests that Trump will not be named as a recipient:

His campaign has thrust Oslo into an uncomfortable spotlight, with media and observers worrying about the diplomatic and economic fallout for Norway should the independent five-member committee snub him. The latest comments from its head, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, to local media fell just short of confirming that Trump won’t get it at least this year — in line with past examples where pressure on the committee has been counterproductive.

Watne Frydnes told Norwegian tabloid VG that the decision on this year’s award was made Monday. He also indicated in comments to public broadcaster NRK that the possible peace deal in the Middle East would only count toward next year’s award.

Below: Critics have pointed out that the Trump administration only continued and expanded Biden’s policies of arming Israel and giving it billions, extending the war…

Trump and Nobel Peace Prize should never be under consideration for what he has enabled in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/oauDl3bJrJ

— Chris Rossini (@ChrisRossini) October 4, 2025

And yet he’s become a favorite to receive the Nobel among the bookmakers, according to betting markets and Oddschecker.

Nominations were due by Jan. 31, 2025 for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize; however, Trump’s nomination was reportedly filed by international supporters by that date – though it’s unclear if he was actually among a final list of nominees.

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and officials at the Department of Health and Human Services have changed recommendations and policy for multiple vaccines, including shots against COVID-19 and measles.

Here’s what has changed so far.

COVID-19 Vaccines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now call for individuals to speak with a health care provider about risks and benefits before receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, a change approved on Oct. 6.

Kennedy wrote on X that the move amounted to “restoring informed consent.”

The CDC in May, under orders from Kennedy, stopped recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. But the agency still had near-universal recommendations in place.

The Food and Drug Administration later revoked emergency authorizations for the vaccines. The agency also approved four shots for narrower populations—those under 65 who have an underlying condition and all people 65 years of age and older.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) then told the CDC to update its recommendations to individual shared decision-making, which emphasizes that vaccinations are “individually based and informed by a decision process between the health care provider and the patient or parent/guardian,” Jim O’Neill, the CDC’s acting director and the deputy health secretary, approved the recommendation.

Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccine

President Donald Trump recently encouraged people to take separate vaccines against measles, mumps, and rubella. Standalone options, though, are not available as of now in the United States. O’Neill on Oct. 6 backed Trump and called on manufacturers to produce monovalent vaccines against the diseases.

Kennedy told a Senate panel on Sept. 4 that he did not expect a change with the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, known as MMR.

The United States in 2025 has recorded the most cases of measles since 1992.

Kennedy has said the vaccine limits the spread of measles and that people should get it, while raising concerns about side effects, which can include seizures and pneumonia.

Officials in Texas, the state that has recorded the bulk of the cases, announced on Aug. 18 that the measles outbreak there is over. New cases have been cropping up in other states, including South Carolina.

A tray of MMR vaccine vials at a clinic in Lubbock, Texas, on March 1, 2025. President Donald Trump recently encouraged people to seek separate vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella, although standalone shots are not currently available in the United States. Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images

Varicella Vaccine and MMRV

The CDC in an October update endorsed standalone varicella vaccination for younger children because they face an elevated risk of febrile seizures if they receive the measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (MMRV) combination vaccine.

The CDC’s immunization schedule lists a first dose against measles and varicella around a child’s first birthday. They are recommended to get a second dose when they are 4, 5, or 6 years of age.

The CDC previously recommended both the MMR and MMRV vaccine options. It still recommends MMRV vaccination for a child’s second dose, because the higher seizure risk has not been apparent for older children.

The update was based on advice from the reformed ACIP—of which all members were chosen by Kennedy after the removal of existing members.

Many pediatricians already promote the MMR plus varicella vaccine option. According to federal data, about 85 percent of children typically receive those vaccines as opposed to the MMRV vaccine for their first measles dose.

Hepatitis B Vaccine

The ACIP had been prepared to vote on advising the CDC to delay the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine from shortly after birth to at least one month of age, but advisers ended up tabling the motion. Some indicated they wanted to examine the entire hepatitis B vaccine schedule, while others said they wanted to keep the schedule as it is.

“We need to postpone that because we need to really have the data to address whether or not hepatitis B vaccine should be administered to children at all,” Dr. Robert Malone, one of the advisers, said later.

It’s not clear when the matter will be revisited.

Many other countries start the hepatitis B vaccine regimen at two or three months of age, if they have a regimen at all.

Trump said in remarks about vaccines that he thinks children should not receive the hepatitis B vaccine until they are adolescents, which was recommended in an Independent Women’s Forum report. Some other groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, support the current schedule.

Illustration of a baby after his first hexavalent vaccination, with a band-aid placed on his thigh, in a file image. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reviewing the childhood immunization schedule, which has grown from five vaccines in 1995 to about a dozen today. Riccardo Milani/AFP via Getty Images

Influenza Vaccines

The ACIP recommended that the government keep in place its recommendation that people at least 6 months of age receive an influenza vaccine each year.

Advisers also said officials should stop backing influenza vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, because of concerns over cumulative mercury exposure.

With no CDC director in place, Kennedy over the summer signed off on both recommendations.

“Injecting any amount of mercury into children when safe, mercury-free alternatives exist defies common sense and public health responsibility,“ he said in a statement about thimerosal. ”Today, we put safety first.”

RSV Vaccines and Antibodies

Susan Monarez, the director of the CDC at the time, in August approved another recommendation from the advisory committee, to recommend an antibody for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to infants born during or entering their first respiratory virus season. The season starts in the fall.

The product, clesrovimab, provides an alternative to Beyfortus, an antibody that is already approved and recommended.

One of the advisers later said the data the panel heard appeared to be manipulated, while Monarez was later fired.

Kennedy over the summer also approved the panel’s advice to expand the recommendation for RSV vaccination from individuals aged 60 to 74 who face an increased risk of severe disease to people aged 50 to 74 who face an increased risk.

The vaccines continue to be recommended for adults 75 years of age and older, regardless of health.

Susan Monarez, nominee for CDC director, testifies during her Senate confirmation hearing in Washington on June 25, 2025. In August, Monarez approved an advisory committee recommendation to offer an antibody against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to infants born during or entering their first respiratory virus season, which starts in the fall. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

HPV Vaccine

CDC advisers had been scheduled to vote in June on whether to expand the recommendation for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to children ages 9 and 10.

The vaccine is currently recommended for children aged 11 and 12.

The vote was removed from the meeting agenda after Kennedy replaced the panel’s members.

In meetings of the reformed committee, members have neither been presented with information about the HPV vaccine nor voted on altering the recommendation.

Chikungunya Vaccine

The FDA in August suspended one chikungunya vaccine because, regulators said, data indicated that it was no longer safe.

The data included reports of serious adverse events following vaccination.

The events included cardiac problems.

Another vaccine against chikungunya virus is still available in the United States.

A laboratory technician holds a mosquito at the World Mosquito Program factory in Medellín, Colombia, on June 4, 2024. Scientists have long released biologically modified mosquitoes to curb transmission of diseases such as chikungunya. Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP via Getty Images

Polio and DPT Vaccines

No changes have been made with the poliomyelitis, or polio, vaccine.

“I support the polio vaccine,” Kennedy said in his confirmation hearing.

Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine recommendations have also remained the same.

Like the polio vaccine, that shot is on the childhood immunization schedule.

Vaccine Schedule

CDC advisers are studying the childhood immunization schedule, which has risen from five vaccines in 1995 to about a dozen currently. The work includes looking “at interaction effects, or if it’s best to do one vaccine before another,” ACIP’s chair, Martin Kulldorff, said on Sept. 18.

The CDC says on its website that the immunization schedule “is safe and effective at protecting your baby.”

The recommendations are technically not requirements, but all 50 states and the District of Columbia require many of the recommended vaccines for school attendance, and virtually all cite the schedule.

The CDC is facing a lawsuit over the schedule, with doctors alleging that the agency has not adequately tested it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta on May 21, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Vaccines During Pregnancy

A workgroup of the CDC vaccine advisory panel is examining vaccines for pregnant women.

“We always have to be very, very careful and considerate with not just vaccines but with drugs, or anything that we give to a pregnant mother, because of risk of, for example, birth defects,” Kulldorff said in the September meeting.

The CDC has not recommended COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women since May.

No other recommendations for vaccines during pregnancy have been changed.

The CDC recommends whooping cough, influenza, and RSV vaccination for pregnant women.

Martin Kulldorff speaks during a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in Chamblee, Ga., on Sept. 18, 2025. The federal vaccine advisory group, appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is to make recommendations on who should receive COVID vaccination and whether all babies should get vaccinated against hepatitis B at birth. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Vaccine Injury Court

Kennedy is considering updating the list of vaccine injuries eligible for government compensation to include symptoms of autism, an adviser said on Sept. 25.

The list is used in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which was established by Congress to award money to people who did or likely did suffer vaccine injuries. The law that established the program also granted vaccine manufacturers broad immunity.

Kennedy told CBS that he would like to expand the table of injuries and broaden the definitions for seizures and encephalopathy, conditions from which some autistic people suffer.

Kennedy said the court was intended to be compassionate and sensible but has turned into “a disaster for the families of injured children.”

The program currently has a backlog of thousands of cases, officials say, and just eight special masters adjudicating the cases.

Katie Porter, the leading candidate to replace Gavin Newsom in California’s upcoming gubernatorial election, has thrown her campaign into chaos after a second viral clip of her berating a staffer emerged hours after she made headlines for throwing a complete temper tantrum in a CBS News interview. 

On Wednesday evening, Politico published the second clip of Porter screaming at a staffer. 

“Get out of my fucking shot!” Porter screeched at a masked staffer who appeared in the background of an online conversation between Porter and then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in July 2021. Porter’s staffer had interjected to correct something Porter said about electric vehicles – which earned the employee a reprimand.

“You also were in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot,” Porter said. 

Absolutely unreal video of Katie Porter screaming at one of her staffers

“Get out of my f**king shot” pic.twitter.com/OB7yauns2b

— Sarah Gallagher (@sgallz_) October 8, 2025

Here’s Porter getting nasty with CBS News correspondent Julie Watts over a simple question as to how she plans to woo the 40% of conservative California voters.

Since this 3min excerpt of 30min segment went viral, we decided to post it ourselves. But I’d encourage you to watch the full segment. https://t.co/wHQcHbybqF @CBSNews @kcalnews @CBSSacramento @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/A80fBGiFxE

— Julie Watts (@juliewattsTV) October 8, 2025

“Is this a disaster? Yes,” Democratic strategist Gale Kaufman told Politico. “And the reason it’s a disaster is because it amplifies what her reputation already is.“

Reminder that we’ve known that Katie Porter treats staffers like garbage for a long time now. https://t.co/yjPHMrpsqp pic.twitter.com/kvOwD3Taho

— pragmatometer (@pragmatometer) October 9, 2025

Porter’s Democratic rivals seized and pounced on her cuntery, with Antonio Villaraigosa purchasing three-minute ads in the Sacramento market to run Porter’s tense exchange with Watts. 

Stephen J. Cloobeck released a digital ad highlighting Porter’s past bitchyness, while Xavier Becerra and Tony Thurmond both highlighted their own responses to Watts’ outburst. 

“As the last viable female candidate in this race, it matters to me that California’s first female governor be a trusted, respected leader we can all be proud of — not a viral embarrassment,” said Betty Yee. “Women in politics are still held to higher standards, and Katie Porter has clearly failed that test.”

The Porter campaign is defiant – insisting that the viral clips have had no effect on her frontrunner status.

“Californians are hungry for a governor who they trust can fight for them against Trump,” campaign spokesman Peter Opitz said in a statement. “They know from her work taking on powerful interests in Washington that Katie is never going to be shy about calling out bullshit, and that is why every poll shows Katie firmly in the lead.”

Yet, according to GOP consultant Rob Stuzman, “It hurts her significantly. This will be what a lot of voters hear about her or see about her for the first time,” adding “It’s not just that she appears intemperate and incapable of answering fair questions or subjecting herself to the interview. I just don’t think she comes across as very likable.”

As Politico reports further,

there was also a chorus of detractors from her own party, including palpable schadenfreude from operatives who had worked on rival campaigns or heard Porter was difficult to work with — or for.

“What people saw in that interview is a certain temperament,” said Marisol Samayoa, a consultant who worked for Adam Schiff’s Senate bid. “The way she handled herself on camera is an example of the type of leadership Californians don’t want to see.”

Porter, whose name identification far exceeds her rivals thanks to her national profile as a whiteboard-wielding anti-corporate warrior and her failed statewide bid for Senate last year, has consistently led in polls since Kamala Harris opted out of running for governor. She has scooped up some major endorsements, including EMILY’s List, which backs female candidates who support abortion rights, and statewide unions such as the National Union of Healthcare Workers and the Teamsters.

Bye Felicia?

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Authored by Charles Davis via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a report in August that made me cringe. It detailed how Chinese money laundering networks (CMLNs) have quietly embedded themselves in the U.S. financial system.

The numbers were hard to ignore: more than 137,000 suspicious activity reports tied to CMLNs between 2020 and 2024, covering more than $312 billion in suspect flows. What caught me completely by surprise was the volume of student-linked accounts—ordinary checking accounts held by Chinese nationals studying in the United States—used as high-speed conduits for laundering cartel funds and sidestepping China’s currency restrictions.

The Mirror Trick

The opportunity is driven by the interplay between supply and demand. Mexican cartels are sitting on piles of U.S. dollars from drug sales. But Mexico doesn’t want those dollars in its banks, and China won’t let its citizens convert more than $50,000 worth of yuan into foreign currency each year. That’s where the arbitrage begins. Chinese buyers want dollars, and cartels want to offload them without a huge hit on the profits. CMLNs broker the swap, and the activities occur below the radar.

They use a method called a mirror flow. It’s not a wire transfer, and the transaction doesn’t require physically moving the money. Instead, for example, a cartel operative hands off cash in Los Angeles and a Chinese buyer pays the equivalent amount in yuan to a broker in Guangzhou. The dollars stay in the United States. The yuan stays in China. But the value moves—mirrored across two jurisdictions, excluding any formal banking trail that would connect the dots.

Echoes of Hawala

If this sounds familiar, it should. It’s a next-generation hawala system. For centuries, hawala networks have moved money across South Asia and the Middle East without touching a bank.

For example, a worker in Dubai gives cash to a hawaladar. That broker calls his counterpart in Kabul, who releases the equivalent amount to the worker’s family. No wires, no paperwork—just a ledger entry and an exchange.

After the Taliban returned to power in 2021, hawala became Afghanistan’s financial backbone—used for everything from humanitarian aid to opium proceeds.

CMLNs operate on the same principle, but instead of phone calls, they use encrypted apps. Instead of dusty notebooks, they use nested merchant accounts and long-established consumer-facing payment systems such as debit cards, mobile apps, and small-dollar transfers. These rails are built for convenience, not scrutiny. That’s what allows them to operate in the open.

The Student Who Didn’t Ask Questions

Picture Lily. She’s 22, studying economics at a university in Boston. Her parents wired her tuition, but she’s short on rent. A friend offers her $500 to “help move money.” She’s told it’s legal. She agrees.

Over the next week, Lily’s account lights up. Dozens of deposits—$200 here, $150 there—from strangers. She forwards the money to other accounts, some via Zelle and some via cashier’s checks. Meanwhile, in Guangzhou, a broker receives yuan from a buyer who wants to purchase U.S. dollars. Lily never meets the buyer. The cartel never sees the yuan. But the value moves. Her account becomes a hop in a mirror flow. The system sees a student splitting Uber or dinner, and the network sees the mule.

From the bank’s perspective, Lily appears to be any other student—making modest deposits and frequent transfers, which allows a college kid to live from check to check. Nothing criminal until you zoom out, and the pattern emerges: hundreds of accounts just like hers, all showing sudden spikes, shared device IDs, and synchronized activity. These are the red flags FinCEN wants banks to catch.

The Network Beneath the Surface

This isn’t fringe behavior; it’s the cornerstone of infrastructure. FinCEN’s advisory highlights accounts opened by students, retirees, and homemakers—profiles that pass Know Your Customer (KYC) checks easily, but later show six-figure turnover and proximity to cash pickup sites or money service businesses (MSBs).

Federal prosecutors have spent exhausting hours outlining how Chinese underground bankers in the United States partner with Mexico-based cartels to move drug dollars using informal value transfer. Student accounts are ideal: clean KYC, low scrutiny, high throughput.

Foreign media have helped confirm the demand side. Chinese nationals seeking dollars outside the foreign exchange cap fuel an underground banking system that pairs yuan payers in China with dollar sellers in the United States, using diaspora accounts to keep liquidity moving.

What’s the Impact

Every dollar laundered through a student mule keeps the fentanyl pipeline alive. Every mirror transaction undermines the banking system. And every misuse of retail rails erodes trust in the platforms millions rely on daily. The process also puts immigrant communities and universities under suspicion, chilling legitimate financial activity and complicating cross-border support. Laborers sending money home to Mexico, Honduras, or Colombia are not in the mix with illicit actions that use similar pathways.

The fix isn’t blanket bans or profiling. Government and banking institutions need to use precision. Banks need better telemetry—device data, velocity rules, and merchant codes that flag suspicious activity, such as money laundering. Regulators need to harmonize KYC across sectors, especially where student-linked funds touch real estate or shell vendors. Law enforcement needs access to interbank patterns that reveal the network, not just the node.

What’s needed now isn’t just better software or more training. We need a shift in how we see the problem. Student accounts don’t start out suspicious—they become suspicious through pattern, velocity, and context. That means smarter onboarding along with real-time coordination between banks, law enforcement, and intel fusion centers. The system needs to recognize when ordinary accounts start behaving like financial switchboards.

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

Update (1010ET): Let’s recap what unfolded during Wednesday afternoon’s Antifa roundtable at the White House, hosted by President Trump.

Several journalists shared firsthand accounts of being attacked by Antifa activists, but the real fireworks came from Seamus Bruner, Director of Research at the Government Accountability Institute, who briefed the president and his cabinet on a complex network of dark-money NGOs and activist groups fueling unrest nationwide via the permanent protest-industrial complex. 

“We have identified dozens of radical organizations, not just the decentralized Antifa organizations, but dozens of radical organizations that have received more than $100 million from the Riot Inc investors,” Bruner told Trump.

Elon Musk chimed in on X, commenting on a video featuring Bruner’s public briefing to the president about the dark-money NGOs, saying, “Way more than $100M of US taxpayer money.” 

Way more than $100M of US taxpayer money

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2025

Bruner’s briefing to Trump builds on the recent New York Times report, citing a Capital Research Center report, that “Soros’ Open Society gave $80 million to pro-terror groups“…

For the first time, millions of Americans heard about the dark-money network of NGOs fueling chaos. And this won’t be the last – investigations are now ramping up.

Related:

• Trump Calls For RICO Charges Against Soros Over Violent Protest Support; Gates Foundation Abruptly Severs Ties With Rogue Arabella Advisors

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Submitted by Peter Schweizer & Seamus Bruner of The Drill Down,

The Government Accountability Institute’s Director of Research, Seamus Bruner, has pulled the curtain back on a troubling pattern — how non-governmental funding networks are bankrolling protest and activist movements across the U.S.

According to GAI’s findings, the chaos now gripping cities like Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles — especially the recent waves of anti-ICE violence — isn’t spontaneous. It’s organized, coordinated, and funded.

Bruner’s new research maps how progressive philanthropic networks intersect with activist groups that have escalated from demonstrations to riots. The report highlights how complex webs of charitable entities, donor-advised funds, and online platforms provide cover for financing activism that sometimes crosses into criminal behavior.

Organizations like Antifa, the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA), and the John Brown Gun Club operate decentralized chapters, making it difficult to track funding trails without subpoena power,” Bruner said on X. “GAI has identified multiple online fundraising platforms where accountability gaps can obscure who contributes and how funds are used. The leftist funding platform, Open Collective, still allows for crowdfunding for these groups.”

Bruner joined President Trump at the White House Antifa Roundtable to expose the funding web behind America’s unrest: Antifa.

“I think we know that this is not just a story about violence and chaos … this is a money story,” Bruner told President Trump. “And at the Government Accountability Institute … we follow the money, and we followed it to the top of what we call the protest industrial complex.”

.@seamusbruner Briefs President Trump on the Money Networks Behind Antifa👇 pic.twitter.com/0QnBkisbJW

— Government Accountability Institute (@Govt_Acct_Inst) October 8, 2025

Bruner continued: “And we found a network of NGOs. It’s not just the Soros network, the Open Society network, it’s other funding networks, the Arabella funding network, the Tides funding network, Neville Roy Singam and his network, foreign cash.” 

🚨The beginning of the end for Chaos, Inc.?
The Government Accountability Institute has mapped how non-governmental funding networks intersect with protest and activist movements across the US. The chaos and unrest spreading across this country, especially the ongoing anti-ICE… pic.twitter.com/IQlYwAKWuW

— Seamus Bruner (@seamusbruner) October 8, 2025

He added, “And it’s also big, left-wing funders … they’re pouring money into this entire ecosystem.”

Watch the clip.

How the White House can counter rogue NGOs:

GAI Recommendations to @WhiteHouse & Congress:
1️⃣ Intensify investigations into opaque funding networks.
2️⃣ End taxpayer subsidies to groups tied to unlawful conduct.
3️⃣ Improve disclosure for fiscal sponsors & bail funds.
4️⃣ Review nonprofit status compliance.
5️⃣ Strengthen…

— Seamus Bruner (@seamusbruner) October 8, 2025

. . . 

A federal grand jury in Eastern Virginia has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on one count of bank fraud, multiple outlets are reporting. 

US Attorney Lindsey Halligan presented the case to the grand jury on Thursday, according to sources, one month after she was installed in her role. 

CNN: We have just learned that Letitia James has just been indicted by the DOJ pic.twitter.com/8oTmU1vAVm

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 9, 2025

As noted in August, a criminal referral was filed against James, alleging that she had “falsified records” to get home loans for a Virginia property that she claimed was her “principal residence” in 2023 – while she was serving as a New York state prosecutor.

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte sent the missive to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche, claiming that in late August 2023 – weeks before she launched her civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization for inflating the values of its properties.

In 2021, James also purchased a 5-family Brooklyn property, but has “consistently misrepresented the same property as only having four units in both building permit applications and numerous mortgage documents and applications,” the letter noted.

Loans secured for this property could have reduced her mortgage interest rate by as much as 1% – leaving James with lower monthly payments under the federal Home Assistance Modification Program (HAMP) since it was listed as containing just four units, according to Pulte.

Developing…

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