Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Trust in media among Americans has hit a record low, according to a Gallup survey released on Oct. 2.

Just 28 percent of adults told Gallup that they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media.

That’s a decline from 31 percent in 2024, 32 percent in 2023, 40 percent in 2020, and a peak of 72 percent in 1976, shortly after Gallup first started asking about trust in the media in 1972.

In the latest survey, carried out Sept 2–26, 8 percent of respondents said they have a great deal of confidence in mass media, such as newspapers and television, to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.

Twenty percent said they have a fair amount of confidence, 36 percent of respondents said they have not very much confidence, and 34 percent said they have none at all.

When divided by party affiliation, Republicans were the most likely to say they do not have confidence in the media. Sixty-two percent of Republican respondents said they have no confidence, and 30 percent said they have little confidence. Just 5 percent expressed a fair amount of confidence in the press, with the remaining 3 percent expressing a great deal of confidence.

Among independents, 7 percent said they have a great deal of trust in the media, 21 percent said they have a fair amount of trust, 38 percent said they have not very much trust, 32 percent said none at all, and 2 percent said they did not know.

Most Democrats—51 percent—have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in the media. While that was a majority of Democrat respondents, it is also a tie for the record low among Democrats. Thirty-nine percent said they have a little trust, 9 percent said they have no trust, and 1 percent said they were not sure.

Older adults were more likely to express trust in the media. Thirty-seven percent of adults aged 55 and older said they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media, compared to 21 percent of people aged 35 to 54 and 24 percent of younger adults.

“With confidence fractured along partisan and generational lines, the challenge for news organizations is not only to deliver fair and accurate reporting but also to regain credibility across an increasingly polarized and skeptical public,” Gallup stated.

The survey from September was conducted over the telephone with adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The results are based on a random sample of 1,000 respondents. The margin of sampling error was plus/minus 4 percent.

In a 2020 Lunch with the FT interview, Jim Chanos said financial markets were in “the golden age of fraud”.

On Thursday he said this phenomenon had “done nothing but gallop even higher” since he made the remark. 

And now, as we have been highlighting recently, the dominoes may have started falling…

Beneath the surface of what’s been a remarkably resilient US economy, a series of small shocks in the world of consumer credit have combined to rock companies that service financially-vulnerable Americans, raising major questions about the true strength of the supposedly omniscient consumer’s health.

Following the collapse of Tricolor Holdings (a subprime auto lender), and weak second-quarter results from CarMax; we have seen car parts supplier First Brands Group…

…wrongfooting investors further with payments company Klarna and buy-now, pay-later firm Sezzle also suffering declines alongside the ‘Alts’ market and private credit…

And as alternative asset managers tumble, The FT reports that 67 year old Chanos likened the near $2tn private credit apparatus fuelling Wall Street’s lending boom to the packaging up of subprime mortgages that preceded the 2008 financial crisis, due to the “layers of people in between the source of the money and the use of the money”.

“With the advent of private credit . . . institutions [are] putting money into this magical machine that gives you equity rates of return for senior debt exposure,” he said, adding that these high yields for seemingly safe investments “should be the first red flag”.

In the case of Tricolor and First Brands, questions (though no official allegations) have been raised about the substantial use of off-balance sheet financing and the possibility of rehypothecation of invoices (pledging collateral multiples times).

Chanos said:

“We rarely get to see how the sausage is made.”

Indeed, but one cut and the guts come spilling out

“The opaqueness is part of the process,” Chanos said.

“That’s a feature not a bug.”

The ‘opaqueness’ surprised many, as we detailed previously, 

Nevertheless, while traders can’t pin down the driver of the weakness in ‘Alts’, The FT concludes that several large banks have also been caught up in the collapse, including JPMorgan Chase and Fifth Third, which are exposed to losses on hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of auto loans.

A second investor who has since sold their position in packaged-up Tricolor loans said they had no idea how potential financial irregularities went unnoticed by JPMorgan Chase, one of the banks that underwrote debt offerings.

“That’s the shocking part of it,” the investor said. “JPMorgan is one of the most sophisticated lenders in the entire world. How the hell could they have missed this?”

JPMorgan declined to comment.

Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times,

Republicans and Democrats offer competing claims about whether people who entered the country unlawfully are benefiting from Medicaid.

“The law prohibits undocumented immigrants from getting payments from Medicare, Medicaid, or the ACA. There’s no money, not a penny of federal dollars that are going there,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Sept. 30.

Yet Republicans say millions of people who entered the country illegally do receive federal health benefits.

“By some estimates, 20 million illegal aliens came [here] from every country, all around the world,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters on Oct. 2, referring to the years of the Biden administration.

“[Democrats] gave them all this parole status so that they could get enrolled onto taxpayer benefits.”

The war of words has erupted during a government shutdown because of Democrats’ demand that all health-related portions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) be repealed as part of a continuing funding resolution.

The dispute is over competing visions for the scope of government-funded health. Democrats favor a more expansive list of noncitizens who can apply for federal benefits. Republicans, through the OBBB, have shortened the list considerably.

Here’s a look at which immigrants can now apply for Medicaid, and how that’s set to change in 2026.

Qualified Aliens

Under current federal law, “qualified aliens” can apply for federal benefits. This category includes people lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

Generally, there is a five-year waiting period before eligibility begins, though most states waive that for immigrant children and pregnant women.

Parolees are also qualified aliens. Federal law gives the director of Homeland Security the discretion to release them into the United States temporarily, “only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”

More than 2.8 million people were paroled into the country between February 2021 and January 2025, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Parolees are eligible for Medicare, Medicaid, or the ACA Marketplace after one year.

Immigrants who are granted asylum or refugee status are also qualified aliens. They have no waiting period.

Qualified aliens also include people who are under an order of deportation that has been withheld, come from certain designated countries, are victims of domestic violence, are victims of sex trafficking, are members of certain Indian tribes, or certain others.

Asylum Seekers

More than 1.7 million people applied for asylum in the United States from 2021 through 2024. Until Oct. 1, there was no fee for applying for asylum, and immigrants could do so at a port of entry, via the CBP One app, or after entering the country unlawfully.

Asylum seekers are not counted as qualified aliens, but some states have found a workaround to enroll them. For example, California requires asylum seekers to document that they have applied for Temporary Protected Status to enroll in Medicaid.

Temporary Protected Status allows people from countries experiencing humanitarian emergencies, armed conflict, or natural disasters to remain in the United States. This status is granted to immigrants from 12 countries, but those from other countries may apply.

Most states also require immigrants to have an Employment Authorization Document to apply for Medicaid. That document is issued by the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service after a five-month waiting period.

The Social Security Administration automatically mails a Social Security Card to those granted an Employment Authorization Document. More than 4 million noncitizens obtained Social Security cards between January 2021 and March 2025, according to Antonio Gracias, formerly with DOGE.

Lawfully Present

Under current rules, a person must be “lawfully present” in the United States to enroll in Medicaid, CHIP, or the ACA Marketplace.

This category, as defined by the ACA Marketplace, includes all qualified aliens and a few other groups.

Lawfully present immigrants include temporary residents with work visas or student visas, lawful temporary residents, and people under deferred action or deferred enforced departure.

As of August 2025, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are no longer eligible for Marketplace coverage.

As of December 2024, 19 states require Medicaid or ACA Marketplace enrollees to have a qualified alien status, not a lawfully present status.

Republican Changes

Republicans have consistently pointed out that many of the people who now qualify for benefits may have entered the country illegally and been allowed to stay temporarily only because of a severe backlog of immigration cases.

In October 2023, the height of the immigration surge, some 2 million people were awaiting immigration hearings with fewer than 700 judges available to hear them.

The OBBB narrows the list of those eligible for federal health benefits to include only U.S citizens, lawful permanent residents, certain Cubans and Haitians in the United States, and those living here under a prior agreement with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

That portion of the law takes effect on Oct. 1, 2026.

“We’re not going to incentivize illegal immigration,” Johnson said.

“We voted against this,” Schumer said. “We’ve tried to undo it three times. And the American people are going to be totally on our side.”

A fourth Senate vote on this matter is expected today, Oct. 3.

A major insurance company, labeled the “wokest insurance company” by critics, appears to be at odds with President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI agenda, according to a conservative consumer advocacy group.

🚨 A little-known insurance giant is quietly working behind the scenes to undermine President Trump’s America First policies and force the woke agenda down our throats…

Meet @Chubb and CEO Evan Greenberg 👇🧵https://t.co/f25qYPGOoA pic.twitter.com/AVqEeQ2qyo

— Will Hild (@WillHild) October 1, 2025

Consumers’ Research, in a letter to the Justice and Treasury Departments, accused Chubb Insurance of practices that may violate the Civil Rights Act and other federal anti-discrimination laws, according to Fox News.

Chubb’s website is filled with woke language, declaring that “racial justice and equity is both an individual journey and collective duty” and emphasizing an “anti-racist” stance, claiming mere opposition to racism is “insufficient.” Based in Zurich with its U.S. headquarters in New York City, Chubb has implemented internal training programs to push employees to “combat racism,” a move many Americans view as divisive and disconnected from mainstream values.

Glad you asked, we’ve got all of their woke policies documented in detail at: https://t.co/f25qYPGOoA

Here’s just a snippet of their activism 👇 pic.twitter.com/BimcjbVJtF

— Will Hild (@WillHild) October 1, 2025

Chubb’s website promotes its “Advancing Racial Justice” initiative, spotlighting support for Equal Justice USA (EJUSA), a group tied to controversial figures like convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, Fox News found. “We believe in being anti-racist because a rejection of racism alone is insufficient,” the company states, doubling down on its social justice agenda.

The company has also aligned with progressive priorities when it comes to climate change. As of March 2025, Chubb introduced stringent guidelines for oil and gas projects, refusing to underwrite new coal-fired plants or companies deriving over 30% of revenue from coal mining or energy production, Fox News reports.

Meanwhile – chairman and CEO, Evan Greenberg, has repeatedly taken aim at Trump’s America First agenda, writing in 2017 that he was deeply concerned with “brand of nationalism and its impact on our image and leadership in both trade and geopolitics,” Carrier Management reports.

Greenberg has also attacked Trump’s trade policies, echoing globalist talking points common among corporate elites.

“Our approach to bilateral negotiations now seems to reflect a narrow view of our interests while ignoring the interests of trading partners as if somehow it is simply a privilege to trade with the United States,” Greenberg wrote. “It overestimates our power and underestimates the value of trade agreements for the country.”

Chubb’s commitment to progressive ideology runs deeper than Greenberg’s opposition to Trump, with the company’s Executive Vice President, Joseph Wayland, boasting about how, “Diversity, equity and inclusion are the foundation of our Chubb culture.” in an interview with LEADERS Magazine in 2021.

“Chubb Insurance is fully committed to radical woke ideology. CEO Evan Greenberg openly opposes protections for women’s spaces, undermines democratic laws, embraces DEI, and supports groups exposing children to dangerous transgender activism,” said Will Hild, Executive Director of Consumers’ Research, in a statement to Fox News.

“On climate, Chubb weaponizes insurance to harm America’s energy sector, slashing support for coal and natural gas to pursue leftist climate goals,” Hild added. “Woke corporations like Chubb are going to extremes, and everyday Americans are footing the bill.”

Consumers’ Research has launched WokeChubb.com and a national ad campaign to expose Chubb’s progressive agenda, with mobile billboards outside Chubb’s offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City.

*  *  *

By Stefan Koopman, Senior Macro Strategist at Rabobank

Steel Is Real

“Steel is real” isn’t just a mantra for moustached, espresso-sipping cycling purists who swear by the ride quality of classic steel frames over flashier materials like carbon or titanium. It’s also a hard truth in geopolitics and economics. As we’ve argued over and over: no steel production capacity means no military power, no industrial backbone, no leverage in the great game – and by extension, no sovereignty. Whether you’re building tanks, turbines or yes, even bicycles, steel and other basic industries remain the foundation.

This broader rethink of industrial strategy comes as Europe faces mounting geopolitical pressure. Our latest Monthly Outlook dives deeper into the shifting global landscape, where hybrid warfare, supply chain weaponization, and economic statecraft are rapidly replacing traditional policy tools. From Russian aerial incursions and drone strikes on refineries to the US weaponizing supply chains and swap lines, the lines between markets and military strategy are blurring fast.

Of course, it doesn’t always deliver the right results. Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC that substantial financial support for US soybean farmers will be announced Tuesday, lamenting that Beijing has completely stopped buying US soybeans since May, shifting instead to Brazil and (also) US bailed-out Argentina (oops!). The move echoes the $32bn bailout of the sector during Trump’s first term, with fresh tariff revenues earmarked in some sort of money-go-round. In our view, this announcement suggests a near-term breakthrough in US-China agricultural trade should not be expected. For more on the beans and other ag markets, please see our latest ACMR Monthly Outlook.

Brent crude dipped to a 4-month low of USD 64/bbl before recovering to USD 64.80, as OPEC+ signals it may vote this weekend for further supply increases in November. With 2.2m bpd already restored this year and rising output from Brazil and Guyana, oversupply concerns are mounting. China’s strategic stockpiling has so far helped cushion prices, but market sentiment remains bearish for Q4 2025 and into 2026. We agree supply will exceed demand, though not to the extent suggested by consensus. A key source of price support is US production, which is already stalling near 13.4m bpd at current prices. We forecast Brent to average USD 61 in Q1 2025, then USD 58–60 through 2026.

Markets remain largely unfazed by the ongoing US government shutdown, with equities grinding higher, Treasuries stable, and the dollar firming against major peers. Gold briefly hit a record before easing. The prevailing view is that the shutdown has limited macro or monetary policy implications. However, risks are building beneath the surface. President Trump is now openly backing the Project 2025 blueprint and weighing permanent federal job cuts, with budget director Russ Vought pushing for dramatic downsizing. While markets are sanguine – believing this is just part of a game of chicken in US Congress – such cuts could trigger a reflexive process: news of permanent layoffs may dampen consumer confidence and spending, prompting the private sector to retrench further. With job growth already stalling, this feedback loop could accelerate a downturn more quickly than expected.

On that note, the September Challenger report showed hiring intentions at just 117k, down sharply from 403k a year ago. Retailers and transport firms, in particular, appear cautious ahead of the holiday season. At the same time, planned job cuts also declined, pointing to a labor market with low hiring and firing, echoing the JOLTS report and Powell’s recent remarks. Separately, new kid in town, Revelio Labs, reported a 60k increase in employment for September, led by gains in education, health services, and retail trade. Leisure and hospitality, along with business services, saw declines. This contrasts sharply with ADP’s estimate of a 32k drop. Until we hear from the BLS, it’s unclear whether the US added or lost jobs last month – and even then, revisions may leave us guessing for another year. In this labor market, the only certainty is uncertainty.

Despite fresh warnings from President Vladimir Putin issued the day prior at the Valdai summit in Sochi, Ukrainian drones have once again targeted two major industrial facilities deep inside Russia overnight – an oil refinery in the Orenburg region and a chemical plant in the Perm region – regional officials announced Friday.

The Orsknefteorgsintez oil refinery was struck and suffered damage in the first attack, which lies near the border with Kazakhstan. Videos circulating on social media showed a drone crashing within the refinery grounds, followed by thick black smoke rising above the site. Watch:

A Ukrainian drone passes low through ineffective small arms fire from the ground to dive onto Orsknefteorgsintez refinery in fascist Russia’s Orenburg Oblast, 1,400km from Ukraine. The refinery produces gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, fuel oil, and bitumen – 6.6M tons per year. pic.twitter.com/O2II7FF6Iq

— Euan MacDonald (@Euan_MacDonald) October 3, 2025

Regional Governor Yevgeny Solntsev stated that no one was injured and claimed that operations at the refinery were not disrupted, however.

Orsknefteorgsintez is one of Russia’s top oil refineries, with a capacity of 6.6 million tons per year and producing around 30 petroleum products including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and bitumen, regional reports say.

In Perm, the Azot chemical plant was also attacked, resulting in a disruption of operations there, after eyewitnesses widely reported two loud blasts. At least three drones may have been involved in the strike. Azot is part of billionaire Dmitry Mazepin’s Uralchem holding.

The plant reportedly manufactures products such as ammonium nitrate, nitric acid, sodium nitrate, and urea – and is also said to be Russia’s only producer of higher aliphatic amines and crystalline sodium nitrite.

Russians in shock as Ukraine now able to target refineries at astonishing distance.

1400km from Ukraine, the Orsknefteorgsintez refinery was just hit, Orenburg region. pic.twitter.com/8NlT3jhGeV

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) October 3, 2025

These were significant long-range attacks given that both sites lie approximately 930 miles (or some 1500km) from the Ukrainian border, which means Kiev continues to prove itself capable of hitting critical infrastructure very deep inside Russia.

“President Trump recently signed off on allowing intelligence agencies and the Pentagon to aid Kyiv with the strikes. U.S. officials are asking North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to provide similar support, these people said,” WSJ reported this week, marking the first such instance of Trump openly greenlighting Ukrainian strikes on Russia with long-range missiles.

So Russia’s refinery woes could get worse, but the question of providing Tomahawks still remains an open one, and the Kremlin has said it would be “surprised” if the White House allowed such a serious escalation. Still, J.D. Vance early this week said the administration is seriously looking at the European request.

“The expanded intelligence-sharing with Kyiv is the latest sign that Trump is deepening support for Ukraine as his efforts to advance peace talks have stalled,” WSJ also noted.

International estimates are that thus far during the war Ukraine has struck a whopping 21 out of Russia’s 38 refineries, some of them more than once, which has proven costly – also as sanctions have made it hard to find parts for quick repairs.

The FBI has cut all ties to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a far-left hate group that the Biden administration and activists have used to go after Christians and conservative websites such as ZeroHedge. 

“The Southern Poverty Law Center long ago abandoned civil rights work and turned into a partisan smear machine,” FBI Director Kash Patel told the Daily Signal in a Friday statement. “Their so-called hate map has been used to defame mainstream Americans and even inspired violence.”

The SPLC created a so-called “hate map” which put conservatives and Christians together with Ku Klux Klan chapters. 

“That disgraceful record makes them unfit for any FBI partnership,” Patel added. 

The Southern Poverty Law Center long ago abandoned civil rights work and turned into a partisan smear machine. Their so-called “hate map” has been used to defame mainstream Americans and even inspired violence. That disgraceful record makes them unfit for any FBI partnership.

In… pic.twitter.com/ZZ9yIkmzWj

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 3, 2025

The move comes two days after Patel told Fox News that the FBI had severed ties with the Anti-Defamation League, another organization that’s been used to censor, demonetize, and target those on the right.

POSOBIEC: “SPLC IS A FRAUD”

“The SPLC’s hate map is outright fraud… a scam raking in $1B while smearing Ben Carson, Ayaan Hirsi Ali & others.” — @JackPosobiec
“They’re cited as neutral arbiters, but they’re not.” — @BlakesNeff pic.twitter.com/M32p0mcfWb

— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) October 2, 2025

Even the Washington Post questioned their tactics in 2018…

As the Daily Signal notes, the SPLC has inspired leftist violence…

In 2012, a domestic terrorist used the “hate map” to target the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think tank in Washington, D.C. He planned to kill everyone in the building. A building manager largely foiled the attack, but suffered lifelong injuries in the process. The SPLC condemned the attack, but kept the council on the “hate map” ever since.

The man who opened fire at a Republican practice session for the Congressional Baseball Game in 2017, nearly killing then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, had “liked” the SPLC on Facebook. The SPLC condemned that attack, as well.

The SPLC added Turning Point USA to the “hate map” mere months before an assassin with a transgender boyfriend allegedly murdered Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

The SPLC condemned the attack, but has not removed Turning Point USA from the “hate map.”

In 2019, the SPLC board of directors appointed Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff, Tina Tchen – who tried to pull strings and have the Jussie Smollett case transferred from the Chicago PD to the FBI – to head up an internal investigation into sexual misconduct claims.

As the Washington Examiner‘s Beckett Adams wrote at the time, the Southern Poverty Law Center is a “scam,” which has taken ” no care whatsoever for the reputational and personal harm it causes by lumping Christians and anti-extremist activists with actual neo-Nazis.”

As it turns out, the SPLC is a cynical money-making scheme, according to a former staffer’s blistering tell-all, published this week in the New Yorker. The center’s chief goal is to bilk naive and wealthy donors who believe it’s an earnest effort to combat bigotry.

The only thing worse than a snarling partisan activist is a slimy conman who merely pretends to be one. –Washington Examiner

““Outside of work,” recalls Bob Moser of his days working for the organization, “we spent a lot of time drinking and dishing in Montgomery bars and restaurants about … the hyperbolic fund-raising appeals, and the fact that, though the center claimed to be effective in fighting extremism, ‘hate’ always continued to be on the rise, more dangerous than ever, with each year’s report on hate groups. ‘The S.P.L.C.—making hate pay,’ we’d say.”

Related:

• SPLC Attorney Among 23 ANTIFA Rioters Arrested On Domestic Terrorism Charges
• Twitter Drops SPLC As ‘Safety Partner’ – While Facebook, Google, Amazon Remain Silent
• SPLC President And Legal Director Resign Amid Sexual Misconduct Scandal
• SPLC Hit With RICO Lawsuit By Immigration Watchdog Labeled A “Hate Group”
• “The Southern Poverty Law Center Is A Hate-Based Scam That Nearly Caused Me To Be Murdered”

The SPLC is a hate group. https://t.co/01BW9zjy1i

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 2, 2025

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,

Apple on Oct. 2 said it removed from its store apps that can be used to report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

The apps, such as ICEBlock, work by alerting users when ICE agents are in the area. Trump administration officials have said that such apps could increase the risk of attacks on U.S. agents.

“Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store,” Apple said in a statement.

Fox Business first reported ICEBlock’s removal on Oct. 2, quoting U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said in a statement to the news outlet, “We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store—and Apple did so.”

“ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed,” Bondi added. “This Department of Justice will continue making every effort to protect our brave federal law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe.”

The Epoch Times contacted ICEBlock for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

ICE Facility Shooting

The controversy over ICE agent tracking apps intensified after a fatal shooting on Sept. 24 at an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas.

An ICE office and transport vehicle were shot at by alleged shooter Joshua Jahn, killing one detainee and critically injuring two others, one of whom later died. No ICE agents were injured. Jahn later died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the attack.

Jahn “used the ICE tracking apps,” according to Marcos Charles, acting executive associate director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Charles said those developing such apps ought to understand the potential threats they pose to officers.

“It’s no different than giving a hitman the location of their intended target, and this is exactly what we saw happen in Dallas yesterday,” he said.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at the White House on Sept. 25, 2025. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

ICEBlock

CNN reported on the ICEBlock app on June 30. During an appearance on conservative commentator Benny Johnson’s show, border czar Tom Homan criticized CNN for covering the app, calling it “disgusting.”

“I can’t believe we live in a world where the men and women in law enforcement are the bad guys,” he said. “It’s already a dangerous job.”

Homan suggested that CNN was complicit in putting federal law enforcement officers at risk.

“This is horrendous that a national media outlet would be out there trying to forecast law enforcement operations,” he said. “I think DOJ needs to look at this. They’re crossing that line. We need to send a strong message that we need to protect the law enforcement officers.”

On July 1, during a visit to a detention center for illegal immigrants in Ochopee, Florida, reporters asked President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about Homan’s remarks that CNN should potentially face prosecution for covering the app.

“We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities, operations, and we’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them,” Noem said. “What they’re doing, we believe, is illegal.”

When asked about Homan’s call for prosecuting CNN, Trump responded, “OK with me.”

Later that day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused the network of “contributing to our brave ICE officers now facing a 500 [percent] increase in assaults,” in a statement on X.

“@Sec_Noem has been clear: If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the DHS added.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents make an arrest during an early morning operation in Park Ridge, Ill., on Sept. 19, 2025. Erin Hooley/AP Photo

In response, CNN’s communication team defended its reporting on the ICEBlock app.

“This is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it,” CNN’s communications team said in a July 1 statement on X. “There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN.”

With the market desperate for any visibility into the economy – due to data being cutoff during the shutdown – this morning’s soft survey data on the services sector could have a larger impact on stocks and bonds than normal.

With ‘hard’ data surging higher, S&P Global’s US Services PMI rose from 53.9 preliminary to 54.2 final in September (but that is down from the 54.5 final print for August). The ISM Services PMI also fell MoM from 52.0 to 50.0 (worse than the 51.7 expected) – that is the weakest since May…

Source: Bloomberg

Under the hood of the ISM survey we saw prices sticky at highs, employment weak (but a small improvement) and orders slowdown…

Source: Bloomberg

The S&P Global US Composite PMI recorded 53.9 in September. That was down from 54.6 in August and represented the slowest growth for three months.

Both sectors covered by the survey recorded weaker output expansions in line with slower gains in new business. Employment meanwhile barely rose, but confidence in the outlook strengthened noticeably. Cost pressures remained elevated, although inflation softened to a five-month low. A similar trend was seen for output charges.

“Service sector growth softened slightly in September but remained strong enough to round off an impressive performance over the third quarter a whole,” according to Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence

“Combined with sustained growth in the manufacturing sector, the expansion of service sector activity is indicative of robust third quarter annualized GDP growth of around 2.5%.”

The recessions shows no signs of appearing:

“Growth is being fueled principally by rising financial services and tech sector activity, though we are also seeing more signs of improving demand for consumer-facing services such as leisure and recreation, likely linked in part to lower interest rates.

Lower borrowing costs have also fed through to a broadbased improvement in business optimism about the outlook for the next 12 months.

But jobs remain a worry:

“Disappointingly, the improvement in business optimism failed to spur more jobs growth, with hiring almost stalling in a sign of further labor market malaise as companies often focused on running more efficiently amid uncertain trading conditions.

As do (tariff-driven) price hikes…

“A further ongoing source of concern from the surveys are heightened cost pressures which survey respondents have attributed to tariffs. Input costs rose sharply again in September as import levies were seen to have again fed through from goods to services.

However, rates charged for services rose at the slowest rate for five months in a welcome sign that some of these tariff price pressures in supply chains are starting to moderate.”

So choose your own adventure – employment data remains in contraction but did improve modestly. The message overall appears to be that there remains ‘less’ firing, but even less hiring.

One of the two victims who died in the synagogue attack in Manchester, UK was shot dead by police, with the other victim killed by suspect. In fact, the police were the only ones with guns at the incident.  

Here’s what happened: The suspect, Jihad al-Shamie, rammed a vehicle into a crowd of people gathered outside the synagogue, striking several individuals. He then exited the car and stabbed at least one person before attempting to enter the building. Worshippers and security staff managed to block his entry – when armed cops showed up within 7 minutes and shot al-Shamie.

Al-Shamie killed one of the victims and sent two to the hospital with injuries, while the cops accidentally killed another victim and shot a 3rd person who was also sent to the hospital. 

“Overnight, we have taken advice from the Home Office pathologist ahead of full postmortem examinations scheduled for later today. The Home Office pathologist has advised that he has provisionally determined that one of the deceased victims would appear to have suffered a wound consistent with a gunshot injury,” said Greater Manchester police chief constable, Sir Stephen Watson. 

“It is currently believed that the suspect, Jihad al-Shamie, was not in possession of a firearm and the only shots fired were from GMP’s authorised firearms officers as they worked to prevent the offender from entering the synagogue and causing further harm to our Jewish community.

“It follows therefore that subject to further forensic examination, this injury may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end.

The two victims killed in the attack at Heaton Park Synagogue were identified on Friday as  53-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz. al-Shamie was wearing a fake explosive vest during the attack. 

Jihad, 35, moved to the UK from Syria as a child and became a naturalized British citizen while he was a minor in 2006. Home secretary Shabana Mahmood (!) said on Friday that Jihad was not known to counterterrorism police, however in 2012, MP John Howell received threatening emails from ‘Jihad Alshamie’ according to a report by the Jerusalem Post. It’s unclear if it’s the same Jihad.

Footage of the scene showed Al-Shamie writhing on the ground when police shot him – with a nearby officer shouting “He has a bomb” and “move back.”

In a statement posted on Facebook, Al-Shamie’s father, Faraj, said that the attack by his son, who he named Jihad, was a “profound shock,” adding “The Al-Shamie family in the UK and abroad strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians.” 

UK cops might be the most useless in the world.

Arresting people for posts, letting rapists walk free, shooting victims.

— Andarilho da lâmpada (@Matt_Ox7) October 3, 2025