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US Flying Surveillance Drones Over Gaza To Monitor Ceasefire

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US Flying Surveillance Drones Over Gaza To Monitor Ceasefire

The White House has promised no boots on the ground in Gaza as part of Trump’s peace plan, which has resulted in a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel holding for two weeks, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have assets in the air.

The United States has begun deploying surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip to verify that both Israel and Hamas are adhering to the ceasefire, according to The New York Times on Saturday.

Via AFP

The American drones are said to be operating over the Strip with Israel’s coordination and approval, but precise locations or flight paths haven’t been disclosed.

The drone flights support the operations of the newly established Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), staffed by some 200 American troops and officers, along with participating allied nations.

The NYT also revealed that the Pentagon had previously used drones to assist the Israeli military in locating hostages in the Strip, or else finding terror cells.

The Pentagon used MQ-9 Reaper drones in Gaza to for these earlier missions. Interestingly the NY Times report actually hints at growing distrust between the US and Israeli sides in terms of implementing the ceasefire:

A former American diplomat and defense official, like some Israeli officials, expressed surprise at the latest U.S. surveillance missions in Gaza, given the two countries’ close military ties.

“This is a very intrusive version of U.S. monitoring on a front where Israel perceives an active threat,” said Daniel B. Shapiro, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama and as a special envoy to Israel on Iran under President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

“If there was total transparency and total trust between Israel and the U.S., there wouldn’t be a need for this,” Mr. Shapiro said. “But obviously the U.S. wants to eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding.”

That distrust was on display also while Vice President JD Vance and other top White House officials were in Israel this week.

Israel’s parliament days ago gave initial approval to a controversial bill that would extend Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, widely viewed as tantamount to full Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territory. A Knesset statement said the proposal seeks “to apply the sovereignty of the State of Israel to the territories of Judea and Samaria (West Bank).”

This largely ‘symbolic’ vote angered Vance and the American delegation, as it was seen as a provocation which could sink the ceasefire deal – at a moment they were on the ground inspecting the situation in southern Israel.

Vance denounced the “stupid political stunt” which was an “insult” led by hardliner MPs. But he also said it may have merely been “symbolic” but it was “weird” to do especially while he was still in the country.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 21:35

California Has Largest Population Of Centenarians: Census Report

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California Has Largest Population Of Centenarians: Census Report

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Golden State has the largest number of residents living well into their golden years, according to a new U.S. Census report issued on Sept. 22.

A 100-year-old American World War II veteran, Harold Terens, and his 96-year-old bride, Jeanne Swerlin Terens, toast each other with glasses of champagne after their wedding at the Carentan-les-Marais Town Hall in Carentan-les-Marais, France, on June 8, 2024. Win McNamee/Getty Images

California reported 10,623 residents older than 100 years old, followed by New York (6,921), Florida (6,580), and Texas (4,435) as the top states with the highest population of centenarians.

Alaska recorded only 94 centenarians, which was the fewest, followed by Wyoming (126), Vermont (167), and Delaware (197), with each having fewer than 200 centenarians statewide, according to the census report.

The new report “Centenarians: 2020” examined living arrangements and other details of the 80,139 people living in the U.S. who were 100 years old or older in 2020.

“Living to the age of 100 is extremely rare,” the census wrote in the report.

In 2020, U.S. residents who lived until the age of 65 were expected to reach about 83.5 years old on average.

“Centenarians … defied those odds,” the census reported.

Beyond living arrangements and locations, the census also found that more men were living past age 100 in 2020, when compared to 2010 census tallies.

Centenarians remain overwhelmingly female—accounting for nearly 79 percent of the population. But that percentage has declined. In 2010, nearly 83 percent were female.

“Centenarians, a largely White alone and female population, became slightly more racially diverse and male in 2020,” the census reported. “The increase in racial diversity (i.e., about an 8 percentage-point decline in the White alone share) was on par with what was shown for other age groups among the older population.”

The only group of centenarians to decline in the past decade was African Americans, who dropped to 10.3 percent in 2020 from 12.2 percent in 2010.

Age and Sex Differences

More than half—or nearly 61 percent—of the centenarians in the U.S were 100 or 101.

100-year-old Vee Duurloo attends a rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump in Prescott Valley, Ariz., on Oct. 13, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Super-centenarians—people who were 110 or older—numbered 1,933 nationwide, according to the census.

According to a recent National Center for Health Statistics report, females generally live about 5.7 years longer than males. Women are expected to live to 79.9 years on average, while men live to about 74.2 years, according to the census.

State Proportion Numbers

According to the numbers from the 2020 U.S. Census, Hawaii had the largest proportion of centenarians. It was the only state with more than four—4.44 to be exact—centenarians per 10,000 in 2020. Puerto Rico reported 4.14 centenarians per 10,000 people.

States with relatively high proportions of centenarians—between 3.5 and 3.99 per 10,000 people—were Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Connecticut.

The nationwide centenarian proportion is 2.42 per 10,000, the census reported.

Utah and Alaska had the lowest proportion of centenarians per 10,000, according to the census.

Marie Hendrix (L) and Gabrielle Vaudremer, 100-year-old Belgian twins, celebrate their birthday. Nicolas Lambert/AFP/Getty Images

Global Comparisons

The number of U.S. centenarians was among the largest of all countries, the study revealed.

Globally, Japan had the highest proportion of citizens aged 65 and older in the world, while Italy had the highest proportion of 65 and older residents in Europe, according to the census.

The U.S. proportion of 2.42 centenarians per 10,000 people was slightly smaller than Italy’s figure of 2.48. It was also less than half of the share for Japan, which recorded 6.37 centenarians per 10,000 people, according to the census.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 21:00

Huge Mellon Donation: Secretive Banking Heir Revealed As $130M ‘Private’ Benefactor To Pay Troops

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Huge Mellon Donation: Secretive Banking Heir Revealed As $130M ‘Private’ Benefactor To Pay Troops

Based billionaire recluse Timothy Mellon has been revealed as the (now formerly) anonymous private donor who gave $130 million to the US government to help pay troops during the shutdown. Hell, the virtuous (signaling) Mark Cuban – who’s worth more than Mellon, won’t even do that for Ukraine where ‘half his family’ is from.

The massive donation was announced Thursday night by President Donald Trump – who only referred to the donor as a “patriot” and friend who “doesn’t want publicity.” 

“He called us the other day and he said, ‘I’d like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown. I’d like to contribute, personally, contribute any shortfall you have with the military, because I love the military and I love the country, and any shortfall, if there’s a shortfall, I’ll contribute it…’’’

“He doesn’t really want the recognition, if you want to know the truth, but he gave us a check for $130 million, which was sort of a shortfall, and that’s going to go to the military.” -Trump

Today, the NY Times leaked it. 

Mellon, a wealthy banking heir and railroad magnate who lives a quiet life in Wyoming, has been giving tens of millions of dollars to groups backing Trump and Republicans in general – including $50 million last year to a Trump super PAC, one of the largest single contributions ever disclosed. 

He’s also a big supporter of RFK Jr. – giving money to his presidential campaign, as well as Kennedy’s group, Children’s Health Defense. 

According to the report, the Pentagon accepted the donation under the “general gift acceptance authority,” and was “made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits,” Pentagon spox Sean Parnell said. 

And yet… (of course)

THE NY TIMES IS SALTY ABOUT IT

While just about anything in Washington might violate any law at any time – the Times drops this little nugget towards the end; 

Still, the donation appears to be a potential violation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending money in excess of congressional appropriations or from accepting voluntary services.

Oh no, the thing that’s happened over 80 times between 2018-2024 alone (GAO) and has never been prosecuted in its 155 years of existence. 

Does anyone on the left have the balls to bring that lawsuit? 

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 20:25

“I Am Not Done” – Kamala Harris Teases New White House Run

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“I Am Not Done” – Kamala Harris Teases New White House Run

Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times,

Kamala Harris isn’t ruling out another run for the White House.

The former vice president hinted that she may run for president again in 2028 during an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuessenberg.

Kuessenberg brought up Harris’s young nieces and asked, “When are they going to see a woman in charge in the White House?”

“In their lifetime, for sure,” Harris responded.

“Could it be you?” Kuessenberg questioned.

“Possibly,” Harris replied.

Harris became the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July 2024 and endorsed her.

The 61-year-old politician confirmed to the BBC that a bid for the presidency in 2028 is still on the table, and said that her career in politics will continue.

“I am not done,” Harris said.

“I have lived my entire career, a life of service, and it’s in my bones, and there are many ways to serve. I’ve not decided yet what I will do in the future beyond what I am doing right now.”

The former U.S. senator has been on tour promoting her book, “107 Days.”

The book, which detailed the 107 days she spent running for president against President Donald Trump after Biden exited the race, was published on Sept. 23 and is on track to become the best-selling memoir of 2025, according to a statement from her publisher, Simon & Schuster.

Harris served as the first woman district attorney in San Francisco from 2004 to 2010 before being elected Attorney General of California.

She served as a U.S. senator representing California from 2017 to 2021, unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for president in the 2020 race, and was selected as VP on Biden’s ticket, making her the 49th vice president of the United States.

An Emerson College Poll from June 2025 showed former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as the early frontrunner to lead the Democratic Party into the 2028 election.

Harris admitted that the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was her first choice for vice president when she ran in 2024, but she did not think a Harris-Buttigeig ticket would beat Trump.

“He would have been an ideal partner—if I were a straight white man,” Harris wrote in her book “107 Days.”

“But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman. A Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say … let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk. I think Pete also knew that—to our mutual sadness.”

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 19:50

Trump Hikes Canada’s Tariffs By 10% for Not Pulling Anti-Tariff Ad Immediately

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Trump Hikes Canada’s Tariffs By 10% for Not Pulling Anti-Tariff Ad Immediately

President Trump announced on Saturday afternoon that he will increase tariffs on Canada by 10% in response to an anti-tariff advertisement by the province of Ontario that featured Ronald Reagan, and which is roiling one of the world’s biggest bilateral trade relationships.

Trump said the ad campaign misrepresented Reagan’s speech on tariffs, and aimed at interfering with the upcoming Supreme Court hearing on his administration’s global tariffs.

“Canada was caught, red-handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“The Reagan Foundation said that they, ‘created an ad campaign using selective audio and video of President Ronald Reagan. The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address,’ and ‘did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is reviewing its legal options in this matter.’”

“Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD. Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”

The US president didn’t specify the scope of his new measure. While Canada faces a US base tariff of 35%, the rate doesn’t apply to most Canadian goods because of an exemption for products and shipments made within the rules of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Steel and aluminum products don’t have that waiver — and Canadian-made cars and trucks are only partially eligible for exemption from Trump’s 25% tariffs on most foreign autos.

“Tariffs at any level remain a tax on America first, then North American competitiveness as a whole,” Candace Laing, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Ottawa, said in a statement. “We hope this threat of escalation can be resolved through diplomatic channels and further negotiation.”

Canada PM Mark Carney has been engaged in talks with the US to lower the levies and Ontario Premier Doug Ford has pledged to pause the Ontario-funded ads in the US on Monday after speaking to Carney in hopes that the talks could resume. After Trump first halted the negotiations, Carney said Ottawa was prepared to resume discussions “when the Americans are ready,” and said that the two sides had been making progress on steel, aluminum and energy.

In contrast, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox News on Friday that negotiations with Canada have “not been going well” and Trump is “very frustrated.”

Trump said the ads appear to be timed to influence a US Supreme Court case challenging the legality of many of his global tariffs, threatening a pillar of his reelection campaign and subsequent economic agenda. The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case on Nov. 5. Trump said SCOTUS would create a disaster if it overturns his country-based tariffs, including forcing the US government to refund companies billions of dollars in duties.

Trump said Thursday he’d end all talks with Canada because of the ad, which used excerpts from a 1987 Reagan speech defending free trade and slamming tariffs as an outdated notion that stifles innovation, drives up prices and hurts US workers.  When Reagan delivered the radio address, he had just placed “select” tariffs on Japanese electronics for what he considered unfair trade practices. 

The Reagan quotations were edited together from different parts of his speech, prompting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute to complain that the ad misrepresented the full address. The foundation said it’s reviewing its legal options.

Trump made his latest announcement while en route to a three-country trip to Asia that includes stops at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea. Asked if he had any plans to meet Carney during the two summits, the US president said as he began his trip that “I don’t have any intention of it, no.”

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 18:40

‘Gapazoid’ The Suicidal Pedo Who Rushed Wikipedia Conference Stage With Gun Was Ex-Editor

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‘Gapazoid’ The Suicidal Pedo Who Rushed Wikipedia Conference Stage With Gun Was Ex-Editor

A gunman who rushed the stage at the Wikipedia WikiConference in New York City last week was a suicidal pedophile who was going to kill himself in protest of the propaganda website’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy when it comes to adults who fantasize about sex with children. 

Richard Knipel, rear, rushed to grab a man with a gun after witnesses said the man threatened to shoot himself at a Wikipedia conference in Manhattan on Friday.Credit…Bill Adair, Duke University

Connor Weston, 27, allegedly rushed the stage, pointed a loaded revolver at his head, and declared “I’m a non-contact pedophile. I want to kill myself.” 

Of note, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales said in leaked e-mails that there would be a secret prohibition on self-identifying pedophiles that he made official policy in 2010. Under these rules, editors identifying as pedos are banned indefinitely. Weston posted under the name ‘Gapazoid,’ according to a statement. 

The gunman stepped on stage next to Maryanna Iskander, the Chief Executive Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation that owns Wikipedia, during her keynote address and announced that he was an “anti-contact no-offending” pedophile who was planning to kill himself in protest of the site’s child protection policy.

He described the child protection policy as a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, a term used by site co-founder Jimmy Wales in leaked e-mails to describe a secret prohibition on self-identifying pedophiles that Wales officially made public policy in 2010. Under current policy, editors identifying as pedophiles are banned indefinitely. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” references a policy previously in place in the U.S. military regarding homosexuality prior to allowing homosexual individuals to serve openly. –Breitbart

Weston was eventually subdued by two volunteer security members at the conference (wut?) – Richard Knipel and Andrew Lih, site admins who edit as “Pharos” and “Fuzheado” respectively. One day later, Arbitration Committee member “ScottishFinnishRadish” (SFR) published revealed that Weston was behind the Gapazoid account, and that they had implemented a global ban after SFR banned his account on the English Wikipedia site in February. 

SFR admitted that he was violating a non-disclosure agreement by commenting on the incident, though a majority of committee members endorsed the publication of his comment. 

According to Breitbart, “Weston had made over a hundred edits and translated an article from the Japanese Wikipedia, before commenting on the discussion page of the child protection policy to complain the policy conflated “non-offending pedophiles and supporters of child sex abuse.” He was banned several days later.”

What’s more, Weston emailed Wikipedia notifying them of his intent to protest at the Foundation headquarters.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

In 2007, Wales wrote this in response to a thread about banning pedophiles;

I agree with this completely.

This is a thorny issue, and I have little to add to it. We don’t want a
witch hunt. We also don’t want a huge press scandal.

It is inevitable that at some point a reporter is going to come to me
and tell me about a user I don’t know about, asking “Why does Wikipedia
allow a self-confessed pedophile to edit articles about children?”

And my response is going to be: “O RLY? *block*”

I will use “disruption” as my reason or “useless editor” or whatever
seems to suit the circumstance.

At the same time, other than that, I think our best approach is just
like our best approach with other types of problems:

1. Quiet diplomacy is good
2. Don’t ask, don’t tell is good

–Jimbo

So the plan when it comes to outed WikiPedos (since we’re guessing there’s a bunch) is to call it a distraction, or minimize the pedo’s import to the organization. 

‘You know it’s bad when…’

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 18:05

Japan Will Play A Much Greater Role In Advancing The American Agenda In Asia

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Japan Will Play A Much Greater Role In Advancing The American Agenda In Asia

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

Putin’s senior aide Nikolai Patrushev gave an interview to Arguments and Facts about Japan on the 80th anniversary of its unilateral surrender in World War II in early September that’s important to raise wider awareness of after the appointment of its new ultra-nationalist prime minister. He began by reminding everyone that “Tokyo zealously cultivated an open racism that surpassed German Nazism in its absurdity and inhumanity. And the sovereignty of other countries was considered an empty phrase there.”

Patrushev then touched upon Imperial Japan’s failed geopolitical plot to turn the Sea of Japan into an inland sea and even seize Kamchatka so as “to gain undivided possession of the Sea of Okhotsk” too. He assessed that Japan’s current campaign for “’justice’ on the issue of the so-called ‘northern territories’” is just a disguise for a similar plot to obtain control over new marine (seafood and mineral) resources. Patrushev accordingly warned that it’s planning to make new claims to Russian maritime territory.

The emerging trend of misportraying Imperial Japan as the “victim” of Soviet aggression in 1945, despite the Allies having agreed in advance that the USSR would open up the Manchurian Front three months after the Nazis’ defeat, is meant to lend false legitimacy to these claims. This threat shouldn’t be downplayed, Patrushev warned, since Japan’s “Self-Defense Forces” de facto function as national armed forces, are NATO-backed, and are “systematically building a powerful and ultra-modern submarine fleet”.

In his words, “Japan is one of the most powerful naval powers in the world today. Its fleet is capable of solving almost any task even in remote areas of the World Ocean. The Japanese Navy closely cooperates with the NATO fleet, and at any moment they can be integrated into Western coalition formats.” Even more concerning are Japan’s nuclear breakthrough capabilities: “it is capable of creating its own nuclear arsenal and means of delivery in a few years” if the decision is made, according to Patrushev.

Nevertheless, these threats shouldn’t be exaggerated either since Russia is “building up defensive potential in the Far East and strengthening our naval power in the Pacific Ocean”, thus meaning that it’s more than capable of defending itself from Japan. Rather, “The threat lies not so much in the destroyers and missiles, but in the fact that the national consciousness of the Japanese is shifting from pacifism to rabid revanchism”, which he attributed to a long-running “aggressive propaganda” campaign.

The purpose is to precondition the population to accept the risks associated with Japan more actively advancing US interests in the region via the “Squad” (those two, Australia, and the Philippines), which is envisaged as the core of AUKUS+, the US’ desired NATO-like regional analogue. Japan’s place in the US’ Chinese Containment Coalition just rose as a result of the unexpected Sino-Indo rapprochement, prior to which the US wanted India to play a complementary role, so Japan is now at the forefront of this effort.

The trend is that New Cold War’s focus is shifting from US-led NATO’s containment of Russia in Europe to US-led AUKUS+’s containment of China in Asia, all while the TRIPP Corridor injects Western influence into the Eurasian Heartland to stir trouble for both. India’s Pakistani rival is also poised to play a supportive role on the Central Asian front if tensions with the Taliban abate.

Altogether, Poland, Japan, Turkiye, and possibly Pakistan are now the US’ top containment allies, which isn’t lost on Russia, India, and China.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 17:30

Virginia Governor Declares Emergency Over Looming Loss Of SNAP Benefits; USDA Warns Funds Running Out

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Virginia Governor Declares Emergency Over Looming Loss Of SNAP Benefits; USDA Warns Funds Running Out

USDA Warns It Can’t Use Contingency Funds To Cover SNAP In November

The federal government shutdown entered Day 25 on Saturday, with cryptocurrency-based prediction market Polymarket showing odds in the single digits that Democrats and Republicans will reach a resolution before November 3. The market currently assigns a 15% probability that the shutdown will end between November 12 and 15.

We have warned readers of the potential for major disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) if the federal government remains closed. Betting odds markets and limited political chatter in the Capitol Beltway this weekend (so far) suggest a resolution to the shutdown remains muted for next week.

Must Read:

In 2025, around 42 million people relied on SNAP benefits, which accounted for 12% of the population. This is more than enough people to create chaos should SNAP funds run dry in the coming weeks.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned:

Due to Congressional Democrats’ refusal to pass a clean continuing resolution (CR), approximately 42 million individuals will not receive their SNAP benefits come November 1

The USDA states that SNAP’s contingency fund cannot legally be used for regular monthly benefits during a lapse in appropriations. That fund is intended for emergencies such as Disaster SNAP after hurricanes or floods, not to replace missing federal funding. The agency also warned that shifting money from other food programs would undermine school meals and WIC (infant formula and nutrition support), adding that states cannot step in to front the money, because SNAP benefits are fully federally funded and there is no legal way for states to be reimbursed.

Recall from our note citing Goldman analysts over the summer: here is the SNAP exposure for discount chains Dollar General and Dollar Tree.

 SNAP exposure for DG stores

SNAP exposure for DLTR stores

It’s a helpful way to visualize where clusters of SNAP benefits are primarily used geographically.

And now, as Jill McLaughlin details below for The Epoch Times, Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency in Virginia on Oct. 23 to provide relief for residents at risk of losing federal food benefits next month.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivers his annual State of the Commonwealth address before a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond on Jan. 13, 2025. Steve Helber/AP Photo

The ongoing government shutdown will cause low-income residents in the state to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits starting Nov. 1 if lawmakers are unable to reach an agreement to pass a budget bill and reopen the government.

Over 850,000 residents in the state could lose benefits, according to the governor, a Republican, who blamed Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown.

“This is an extraordinary action and is only necessary because of the shamelessness of congressional Democrats,” Youngkin said in a statement.

The declaration allows Youngkin to spend state emergency funds to protect the “health, welfare, and safety of Virginians,” according to the governor.

Virginia’s poverty rate is about 10 percent, according to the latest census. The national rate is 12.4 percent.

The federal nutrition program provides monthly payments to eligible low-income households, allowing them to buy food. The average monthly payment is about $332 per household, with most living at or below the poverty level. Households with children receive an average of $574 per month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Four out of five households that receive SNAP payments include either a child, an elderly person, or someone with a disability, the USDA reported.

Other states have also taken emergency action over the looming loss of SNAP funds.

California announced Wednesday that the state was fast-tracking up to $80 million in state funds and deploying the National Guard and state volunteers to support food banks during the shutdown. About 5.5 million Californians are expected to lose SNAP benefits in November.

“This is serious, this is urgent—and requires immediate action,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said on Oct. 22 that he has requested that state lawmakers consider using up to $10 million of the state’s general fund to support food banks and pantries.

A sign alerting customers about SNAP benefits is displayed at a Brooklyn grocery store in New York City on Dec. 5, 2019. EBT stands for electronic benefit transfer. Scott Heins/Getty Images

Multiple states have also warned SNAP holders they need to prepare to lose benefits next month.

In Washington on Thursday, the Senate failed to pass a bill to pay U.S. troops and active federal workers during the shutdown. The Republican-led “Shutdown Fairness Act” failed on a cloture vote of 54–45, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance.

The SNAP program is set to change Nov. 1. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in July, recipient work requirements will apply to adults 18 to 65, unless they are unable to work due to a physical or mental limitation. Other changes to exemptions will also apply.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 16:55

“You Have To Be Scared… Forcefully Rise Up”: Democrat Leaders Ramp Up Resistance Rhetoric

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“You Have To Be Scared… Forcefully Rise Up”: Democrat Leaders Ramp Up Resistance Rhetoric

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Despite calls for many Democratic politicians and pundits to temper their inflammatory rhetoric, this week has proven a further escalation in this dangerous form of rage rhetoric.

DNC Chair Ken Martin just told MSNBC’s “The Beat” that “we may be nearing” the moment when “elections don’t matter and then the resistance looks completely different.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on people to “forcefully rise up.”

With political violence on the rise, these leaders are clearly fueling the mob in hopes that they and their party can ride the wave of rage back into power. 

History suggests that it is a foolish delusion. Today’s revolutionaries quickly become tomorrow’s reactionaries.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who pictures himself brandishing a baseball bat has previously called upon people to “fight in the streets.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom previously declared, “I’m going to punch these sons of bitches in the mouth.”

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger  called upon her supporters to “Let your rage fuel you.” She then refused to withdraw her support for the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, Jay Jones, who once expressed his desire to kill his political opponents and his children.

In his podcast with co-host Al Hunt, James Carville was again spewing unhinged hate. He returned to treating Trump and others as Nazis and their supporters as “collaborators.” I previously criticized Carville for that analogy. He later attacked me.

Doubling down, Carville declared

“You know what we do with collaborators? I think these corporations, my fantasy dream is that this nightmare ends in 2029 and I think we ought to have radical things. I think they all ought to have their heads shaven, they should be put in orange pajamas and they should be marched down Pennsylvania Avenue and the public should be invited to spit on them.”

To be sure that his menacing words were not lost, he then added “The universities, the corporations, the law firms, all of these collaborators should be shaved, pajamaed and spit on.”

There was no later push back by his co-host Hunt or anyone else associated with the podcast.

[ZH: Carville later ratcheted up the Trump hysteria with a full-blown doomer meltdown, raging that Trump “hates the United States” and that Americans should be living in fear.

“You have to be scared…there is no hope…there is fear…I know I’m an old man, but I’m one scared dude.”]

As one of those Carville has already attacked, I expect he has a haircut and public humiliation in mind for me and a significant number of others deemed insufficiently committed to the resistance.

Even with the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the attempts on Trump and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, these politicians and pundits are still fueling the madness. Even with the sniper attack on ICE officers, they are still calling these law enforcement officers “Gestapo” and “Nazis.”

In my book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I write about rage and the uncomfortable truth for many engaging in rage rhetoric:

“What few today want to admit is that they like it. They like the freedom that it affords, the ability to hate and harass without a sense of responsibility. It is evident all around us as people engage in language and conduct that they repudiate in others. We have become a nation of rage addicts, flailing against anyone or anything that stands in opposition to our own truths. Like all addictions, there is not only a dependency on rage but an intolerance for opposing views. … Indeed, to voice free speech principles in a time of rage is to invite the rage of the mob.”

The appearance of guillotines has become commonplace in left-wing protests. From protests against Trump to those against Israel, the symbol of the Terror is being rolled out as a warning to those with opposing views: “We got the guillotine, you better run.”

It is the ultimate expression of an age of rage. There is no question that it is protected speech. However, it is part of what I have called “rage rhetoric,” and it is meant to inflame others. It suggests that the only solution to these issues is what the French called “the razor of the Republic.”

In the French Revolution, the irony is that those who turned the guillotine into the symbol of revolution were themselves beheaded on the same platforms. Robespierre and others would ultimately be dispatched in the same atmosphere of rage and revelry.

As my new book discusses, most revolutions are driven by establishment figures who seek to capitalize on the wave of popular rage to gain power. We are seeing that today with many Democratic leaders using rage rhetoric to appeal to the far extremes of their political bases.

Some have. Protesters are burning cars, dealerships, and even lawyers and reporters on the left are throwing Molotov cocktails at police.

In the end, today’s pseudo-revolutionaries are likely to find themselves tomorrow’s reactionaries. Leading mobs is rarely a safe place to be as more radical elements take hold of a movement. The result is an inexorable pattern that runs throughout history as revolution devours its own.

*  *  * YOU CLEANED US OUT OF CREATINE (resupply in two weeks)

But it’s in this too…  not just for workouts. It’s also a nootropic and, energy / focus drink that’s sugar-free. 

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 16:20

US Slaps Extensive Sanctions On Colombian President & Family Over Narco-Trade

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US Slaps Extensive Sanctions On Colombian President & Family Over Narco-Trade

Amid an ongoing verbal spat and back-and-forth between Washington and Bogotá, the United States on Friday announced extensive sanctions against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, along with his family and a senior cabinet minister.

The Trump White House has accused the Colombian administration of enabling drug cartels and facilitating narcotics trafficking to North America, at a moment of immense US military build-up near Venezuela and Latin America.

Via CBS News

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that ever since Petro took office in 2022, “cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest level in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans.”

He hailed Trump’s “decisive action to protect our nation” which sends “a clear message that drug trafficking will not be tolerated.”

The sanctions also target First Lady Verónica del Socorro Alcocer García, Petro’s son Nicolás, and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti – all alleged to be the Colombian leader’s “accomplices.”

American citizens and companies are now effectively barred from doing any business with these listed entities, and they will also see any assets held in the US frozen.

Petro has loudly denounced and rejected the accusations against his country, saying he’s long aggressively fought the significant drug trade in his country.

The NY Times notes that a rise in illegal drugs out of the country has been a trend which began before Petro took office, though the cocaine trade has continued to worsen under his leadership.

“The cultivation of coca, the base product in cocaine, has soared since Mr. Petro took office in 2022. It also soared under his predecessor, Iván Duque, a conservative and close ally of Washington Republicans,” the publication writes.

“In the CIA, we didn’t give a hoot about democracy. It was fine if a government was elected and would cooperate with us, but if it didn’t, then democracy wouldn’t mean a thing to us.”

-Former CIA Agent Philip Agee

The NY Times reviews further:

Mr. Petro, a leftist, is one of few leaders in Latin America who have been vocal in their criticism of Mr. Trump’s decision to bomb boats carrying people his administration says are drug traffickers. The bombings have killed dozens of people, and Mr. Petro has said that Colombians have been among them and has accused the United States of committing murder.

Mr. Trump has responded by calling Mr. Petro “an illegal drug leader” and said that he would cut off aid to Colombia. About $377 million was designated to Colombia in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the Congressional Research Service. About a third of that money is meant for law enforcement and narcotics control.

But when it comes to the many decades-long so-called ‘war on drugs’ – there’s plenty of blame to go around. The CIA has at times even participated in it at times, to raise funds for the Nicaragua Contras in the 1980s, for example.

Days ago the US for the first time attacked alleged drug smuggling boats on the Pacific side of South America for the first time, suggesting these operations could geographically expand at any time.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 10/25/2025 – 15:45