Gold Hits New Record High As China Moves To De-Westernize Global Bullion Market
The Gold rally has accelerated since August and delivered a +12% return over the past month – 98th percentile for monthly returns since 1980 – supported by rising futures positioning and ETF inflows, as well as a seasonal pick-up of central Bank demand.
Overnight, however, Gold climbed to a fresh record, with traders weighing China’s new plan to become a custodian of foreign sovereign gold reserves.
Bloomberg reports that The People’s Bank of China is using the Shanghai Gold Exchange to court central banks in friendly countries to buy bullion and store it within the country’s borders, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the discussions aren’t public. The effort has taken place over recent months and has attracted interest from at least one country, in Southeast Asia, the people said.
The move would enhance Beijing’s role in the global financial system, furthering its goal of establishing a world that’s less dependent on the dollar and Western centers like the US, the UK and Switzerland.
Countries have been snapping up gold as a hedge against mounting geopolitical risks, creating the opportunity for the PBOC to offer a haven for an asset deemed crucial as a buffer to economic shocks.
While China’s move marks another step toward building its role in global bullion trading, it remains some way from challenging established hubs such as the UK.
Boosting local trading even further should help Beijing accelerate its campaign to reduce reliance on the dollar and internationalize the yuan.
China has already taken a number of steps to open up its gold market. The SGE launched its first offshore vault and contracts in Hong Kong this year, a move designed to increase transaction volumes in the yuan. The PBOC has also recently eased restrictions on gold imports.
For prospective clients, Chinese vaults could be an attractive option to build reserves and help bypass the risk of being cut off from the world’s financial markets.
Central bank buying of gold accelerated after the US and its allies froze Russia’s foreign exchange reserves in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.
“China’s trying to become a bigger and more influential part of the financial infrastructure,” said Nicholas Frappell, Head of Institutional Market at ABC Refinery..
“If countries chose to store their gold in China, they will forgo the ease and liquidity in London.”
But, it’s not all Goldilocks for the precious metal as Goldman’s Portfolio Strategy team warns that while the recent dovish policy repricing combined with a weaker dollar are tailwinds for Gold, the recent rally indicates some overshoot relative to its implied beta to macro pricing across assets(captured by our PC1 “Global growth” and PC2 “Monetary policy” factors and DXY, Exhibit 1).
While Goldman’s commodities team continues to see upside risks for their $4,000/toz mid-2026 forecast, speculative positioning has picked up materially.
It’s not just central banks and speculators that are seeing the appeal of precious metals as BullionStar reports experiencing unprecedented demand in their Signapore office even as precious metals hit record prices.
We’re seeing three clear patterns emerge:
1) High-net-worth individuals and family offices are making substantial allocations to physical gold.
2) Regular investors are converting their savings into precious metals.
3) First-time buyers entering the precious metals market, who’ve been watching from the sidelines but now realize waiting is riskier than acting.
Granted they are a gold retailer but the anecdote confirms a broad industry trend.
And we suspect any short-term selling fears from speculators (highlighted by Goldman) will be soaked up by China’s new hording and accelerating retail demand.
Nexstar & Sinclair Stand Firm Against Jimmy Kimmel Return
Update (1135ET): Nexstar on Tuesday said that it would join Sinclair Inc. – another large owner of ABC affiliates – in preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight, after ABC parent company Walt Disney Co. said Kimmel would return to hosting duties following his temporary suspension for lying about the suspect in the Charlie Kirk assassination.
The preemptions involve more than 20% of the US market, Bloomberg reports.
Hours after 400 artists signed an ACLU letter in response to Jimmy Kimmel’s firing, the late-night host’s ‘indefinite termination’ for propaganda surrounding the Charlie Kirk assassination has been turned into a week’s vacation.
According to Variety, Disney and ABC are bringing the comedian back to its schedule Tuesday night.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” the company said in a statement. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Of note, none of the Nexstar or Sinclair affiliates will carry the show.
Despite Kimmel’s return, it is not immediately clear if his show will be available across the entire country. Sinclair, for its part, had said that it would not go back to running Kimmel’s show on its stations until the late night host apologized for his comments, met with Sinclair representatives and made a donation to Turning Point, the organization that Kirk founded. Sinclair, it should be noted, owns the ABC station in the Washington, D.C., metro area, among other markets.
Nexstar, similarly, could also choose to continue to preempt the show, though of course it would still be accessible online across the country after it runs on ABC. -Hollywood Reporter
Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return. pic.twitter.com/beGC6VID2x
Kimmel’s show was pulled last Wednesday after the host said that Charlie Kirk assassination suspect Tyler Robinson was ‘MAGA’ – when he’s very clearly not based on what we know. In response, FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke ABC affiliate licenses over the comments, which he described in a podcast interview with host Benny Johnson as “the sickest conduct possible.”
As The Blaze‘s Auron Macintyre opines: “ABC is putting Jimmy Kimmel back on the air because terrorism works in America.“
ABC is putting Jimmy Kimmel back on the air because terrorism works in America
That’s it, the message is terrorism is the only valid political action https://t.co/LHdS2i14ip
After Pre-Speech ‘Sabotage’, Trump Unleashes Hell At UN
Update (1125ET):
President Trump’s hour-long speech ended around 1100 ET.
Among the many targets for criticism in Trump’s address:
United Nations
London mayor
European countries abetting “uncontrolled migration”
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Countries that have recognized Palestinian statehood
Former US President Joe Biden
Windmills
Climate Change Hoax
Anti-Globalist
Trump’s most notable quotes:
Climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
“You’re destroying your countries. They’re being destroyed.”
The “number one political issue of our time” is “the crisis of uncontrolled migration.”
* * *
Rewatch Trump’s UN Speech
* * *
Grab a ZeroHedge Hat
* * *
Update (1033ET):
President Trump is now speaking at the United Nations General Assembly…
Here’s the latest:
Trump’s address begins more like a State of the Union than a UN General Assembly speech. He’s mentioned mortgage rates, inflation, the stock market (twice), tax cuts, regulation – and boasted about how the US is the “best country” in which to do business. -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michael Jamrisko
Trump begins by bragging that “we are the hottest country anywhere in the world, and there is no other country even close.” -via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump boasts about the US economy. “We are rapidly reversing the economic calamity we inherited from the previous administration, including ruinous price increases and record-setting inflation, inflation like we’ve never had before. Under my leadership, energy costs are down, gasoline prices are down, grocery prices are down, mortgage rates are down, and inflation has been defeated. The only thing that’s up is the stock market, which just hit a record high.” -via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump is now boasting about resolving the “seven wars” that were “un-endable.” -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michael Jamrisko
Trump complains that the United Nations wasn’t part of his work to end wars around the world. “The UN has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential,” Trump says. -via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump is now going into details about the death and destruction in the Ukraine war, taking a swipe at predecessor Joe Biden and saying “It shows you what leadership is, what bad leadership can do to a country.” -via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump says the US is fully prepared to impose “a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly” if Putin doesn’t agree to end the war in Ukraine. That’s a threat he’s made several times this year without following through.-via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump says European nations must “immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia. Otherwise, we’re all wasting a lot of time.”-via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump chastises the UN for “creating new problems for us to solve,” highlighting uncontrolled immigration at the top of the list. -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michelle Jamrisko
Trump said the “number one political issue of our time” is “the crisis of uncontrolled migration.” Trump made illegal immigration the central issue of his reelection campaign and has carried out mass deportations since taking office. -via Bloomberg White House Correspondent Kate Sullivan
After a brief preview of a US call for the world to come together to end the development of biological weapons, Trump dives into a discussion of migration, saying that he has stopped their illegal arrival to the US, and calls on other countries to take their own steps to protect their own borders.-via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
“You’re destroying your countries. They’re being destroyed,” Trump says, calling out Europe for allowing “illegal aliens” to “pour in.” -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michelle Jamrisko
Trump torches many climate alarmist leaders at the event. He called climate change “one of the greatest con jobs” ever.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just clowned the United Nations’ environmentalists previously predicting “climate change would cause a global catastrophe.”
“All of these predictions made by the United Nations were WRONG, made by stupid people that cost their countries fortunes!”… pic.twitter.com/LPpBbgNrK1
“You want to be nice. You want to be politically correct. And you’re destroying your heritage,” Trump says, going back to his criticisms on migration policies. -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michelle Jamrisko
Trump’s critique of the UN comes as his administration is attempting to cancel millions in funding to UN agencies and other international organizations, several of which depend heavily on US funding. -via Bloomberg Chief Geoeconomics Analyst Jennifer Welch
“The primary effect of green policies has been to redistribute manufacturing from developed countries to polluting countries that break the rules,” Trump says, continuing his tirade on climate policies. He says he withdrew from the “fake Paris climate accord.”-via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michelle Jamrisko
Before Trump spoke, the escalator stopped working the moment he stepped on it, and the teleprompter failed just seconds before he began. Sabotage??
This is insane…
As Trump arrived to the UN, the escalator stopped working the moment he stepped on it.
Then the teleprompter stopped working the moment he got up to the podium to speak. pic.twitter.com/XBTgfr6zJ8
Trump’s concluding message: “Let us all work together to build a bright, beautiful planet, a planet that we all share, a planet of peace and a world that is richer, better and more beautiful than ever before. That can happen. It will happen. It will happen, and I hope it can happen, and start right now, right at this moment, we’ll turn it around. We’re going to make our countries better, safer, more beautiful. We’re going to take care of our people.”
* * *
Tuesday is a big day in New York, as Trump returns to his home city for a much anticipated address before the United Nations General Assembly amid the week-long UN summit, where he’s expected to lay out his ‘vision for the world’. This one marks the 80th anniversary of the UN, and all eyes will be on the globe’s biggest stage for world leaders.
Interestingly, he’ll actually be the second world leader to address the general assembly on Tuesday. Trump will follow left-wing President Lula of Brazil, who actually says he’s not on speaking terms with the US president, especially given the ongoing Bolsonaro trial and tariff saga which has sent relations with Washington spiraling. Trump is to speak at 09:50 ET 14:50 BST at the UN General Assembly. Watch Live:
The White House has previewed that Trump while at the UN headquarters will hold a multilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan while at the gathering. There will additionally be a bilateral meeting with Argentina’s conservative President Milei.
An important meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelensky on the sidelines is also planned. “I would like to receive the signals, how close we are to understanding that the security guarantees from all partners are those what we need,” Zelensky said before preparing to travel to the US, according to Bloomberg.
“We have prepared the basis for security guarantees that Europe is ready to adopt, taking into account that the United States of America will be there,” the Ukrainian leader continued. “We have had many discussions, including among the leadership of our armies and general staffs with the Europeans and the Americans.”
The Ukraine war and potential for build-up to WW3 if a negotiated offramp is not found is expected to receive mention, but also the conflict in Gaza is expected to dominate the assembly.
Relations with America’s leading European allies are currently strained on the Palestinian issue, given the UK, France, and many others have moved to formally recognize a Palestinian state, resulting in condemnation from the US and Israel. Trump will likely raise the issue in his speech, and offer push-back.
The White House has further previewed that Trump will describe “how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward constructive vision for the world.”
Karoline Leavitt also said he’ll review the administration’s “historic accomplishments in just eight months, including the ending of seven global wars and conflicts.” It will further include “touting the renewal of American strength around the world.”
While not in attendance, without doubt Russia’s Vladimir Putin and other ‘rivals’ and ‘enemies’ of the United States will be following Trump’s speech very closely.
With the deadline for a government shutdown less than a week away, there’s no clear agreement between the two major parties on how to move forward.
Government funding is set to expire on Sept. 30. Republicans have been broadly united in their support of a clean continuing resolution (CR), Washington terminology for a stopgap funding bill. President Donald Trump has also backed a clean CR.
Republicans cannot keep the government open on their own. Under Senate rules, Republicans will need the support of multiple Democrats in that chamber to avert a government shutdown, and Democrats have placed conditions on their support.
With both sides entrenched in their positions, it’s unclear how lawmakers will reach an agreement to keep the government open.
Here’s what to know.
Government Shutdown
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to fund one or multiple sectors of the federal government.
Every year, Congress must pass a total of 12 spending bills for various areas of federal appropriations, such as funding for defense, agriculture, education, and other outlays.
So far, Congress has not sent any of those finalized funding bills to Trump’s desk.
Government funding expires at the end of a fiscal year, Sept. 30.
Currently, the government is being funded through a CR, which Republicans passed in March, punting the government funding deadline to the normal Sept. 30 date.
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) speaks to the press outside the U.S. Capitol, as the only Republican to vote against passing the House legislation to fund the government through Sept. 30 and avert a shutdown, on March 11, 2025. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
The minority party often uses government funding deadlines as an opportunity to win policy concessions or other demands from the administration.
Republicans Want Clean CR
Trump and other Republican leaders have pushed for the passage of a clean CR, which describes a stopgap funding bill that largely keeps numbers at their previous levels without the addition of many additional bill riders or new appropriations.
“The CR is simply a means to an end; it is a way to fund the government until you have an opportunity to do the appropriations process,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said at a Sept. 19 press conference.
Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks to reporters at a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 3, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Last week, House Republicans passed such a bill in a 217–212 vote. It would extend government funding for around seven weeks, pushing the deadline to Nov. 21.
Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), voted against the bill.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) didn’t vote, but said she supported a CR in a post on X.
The proposal was rejected by the Senate after it failed to garner enough support to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold, as was a competing proposal put forward by Democrats.
Democrats Demand $1 Trillion Funding Change
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said Democrats won’t give their backing unless Republicans agree to modify the health care sections of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut nearly a trillion dollars in Medicaid spending.
Those Medicaid cuts helped offset the cost of making the bill’s tax cuts for top earners permanent, which would make it difficult for Republicans to accept Democrats’ demands even if they were open to the proposal.
Republican backers of the bill say that its Medicaid cuts solely targeted waste, fraud, and abuse.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks to reporters at a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 3, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Democrats have pointed to Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than 10 million Americans will lose coverage under the bill and highlighted the potential impact the plan could have on small rural hospitals.
In exchange for their backing of a funding bill to keep the government open, Democrats are demanding an extension in subsidies for low- and middle-income Americans who purchased health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
They propose reversing Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The Democrats’ alternative CR, rejected by the Senate, would have carried out these aims.
Thune has criticized these demands.
“The suggestion by the Democrats that somehow they ought to be able to hijack a continuing resolution to attach a trillion dollars of policy … is completely out of any historical context of what continuing resolutions have been used for in the past,” Thune said.
What’s Next?
With Republicans dug in on a clean CR, and Democrats dug in on rescinding key provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it’s unclear what comes next in the ongoing standoff.
On Saturday, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) asked Trump for a meeting.
On Sept. 17, Schumer said that Democrats “don’t have a red line” and are willing to discuss a way forward.
“We will sit down and negotiate if they will sit down and negotiate,” Schumer said.
Trump has encouraged Republicans to hold in their insistence on a clean CR.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 19, 2025. Ken Cedeno/Reuters
In a post on Truth Social, Trump encouraged Republicans to “stick TOGETHER to fight back against the Radical Left Democrat demands” by voting in favor of a clean CR.
“Congressional Republicans, including Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson, are working on a short term ‘CLEAN’ extension of Government Funding to stop Cryin’ Chuck Schumer from shutting down the Government,” Trump said.
“Democrats want the Government to shut down. Republicans want the Government to OPEN.”
Compounding the difficulties of reaching an agreement, most of Congress is currently out of town.
The Senate isn’t expected to return until Sept. 29, while the House isn’t scheduled to return until October.
Unless Democrats reach an agreement to vote on the clean CR passed by the House last week, Republicans could face a choice between a government shutdown and an early return to Capitol Hill.
Jimmy Kimmel will finally return to the air on Tuesday night, after his show was briefly yanked for falsely labeling Kirk’s suspected assassin as “one of them” in a distasteful dig at conservatives.
Democrats rushed to defend Kimmel, calling it a “First Amendment issue.” But Bill O’Reilly says that story is, frankly, bullsh*t. The real free speech story, he argues, is what these mainstream networks have been doing for years.
Bill O’Reilly just RIPPED APART Jimmy Kimmel’s “freedom of speech” battle as nothing but BS.
He turned the tables with one brutal fact that blows the left’s entire narrative to pieces:
“Look, this [Trump v. Kimmel] story is bogus… The story is that Disney and Kimmel, for THREE… pic.twitter.com/gBN1FTewrp
Jimmy Kimmel will finally return to the air on Tuesday night, after his show was briefly yanked for falsely labeling Kirk’s suspected assassin as “one of them” in a distasteful dig at conservatives.
Democrats rushed to defend Kimmel, calling it a “First Amendment issue.” But Bill O’Reilly says that story is, frankly, bullsh*t. The real free speech story, he argues, is what these mainstream networks have been doing for years.
“Look, this [Trump v. Kimmel] story is bogus,” O’Reilly told Vittert. “The [real] story is that Disney and Kimmel, for three years, would not put on a non-liberal voice on his program.”
“You talk about no freedom of speech and expression? That story has been totally ignored,” O’Reilly lamented. “And it’s not just ABC. It was CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN. Okay? They will not put any non-liberal voice on the air.”
O’Reilly recalled how, before the Trump era, he was booked regularly on mainstream networks. Now, he says he and other conservatives have been deliberately excluded from those programs — something he called “Putin stuff.”
“This whole freedom of speech BS is coming from the far left to make Kimmel a victim and to make Trump a villain when, for ten years, they have BANISHED all traditional conservative thought and discourse on all of their programs.”
“All of them,” O’Reilly continued. “They don’t want non-liberal voices. That is Putin stuff!”
September ‘Soft’ Survey Data Dips But Q3 Still ‘Best Quarter’ Of The Year For US Business
Following August’s big bonce in US Manufacturing survey data, the preliminary September data shows weakness for both Services and Manufacturing (despite strength in the hard data).
Flash US Services PMI Business Activity Index: 53.9 (August: 54.5). 3-month low.
Flash US Manufacturing PMI: 52.0 (August: 53.0). 2-month low.
“PMI survey data are consistent with the economy expanding at a 2.2% annualized rate in the third quarter.”
It;’s not all goldilocks though:
“However, the monthly profile is one of growth having slowed from its recent peak back in July, and September saw companies also pull back on their hiring. Softening demand conditions are also becoming more widely reported, curbing pricing power. Although tariffs were again cited as a driver of higher input costs across both manufacturing and services, the number of companies able to hike selling prices to pass these costs on to customers has fallen, hinting at squeezed margins but boding well for inflation to moderate.
“The survey data are nevertheless still indicative of consumer inflation remaining above the central bank’s 2% target in the coming months. However, in manufacturing, there are also signs that disappointing sales growth has caused inventories to accumulate at an unprecedented rate, which could also further help soften inflation in the coming months.
“The inventory build-up of course also hints at some downside risks to future production. While growth expectations across both manufacturing and services also continue to be dogged by concerns over the political environment, and especially tariffs, September encouragingly saw business sentiment improve in part due to the anticipated beneficial impact of lower interest rates.”
Looking ahead, companies’ expectations about output in the year ahead improved to a four-month high in September yet remained below the survey’s long-run averages in both manufacturing and services. Service sector sentiment picked up to the highest level since May, while a three-month high was recorded in September.
Watch Live: Trump Sets Out His ‘Vision For The World’ In Key UN Assembly Address
Watch Live:
* * *
Update (1033ET):
President Trump is now speaking at the United Nations General Assembly…
Here’s the latest:
Trump’s address begins more like a State of the Union than a UN General Assembly speech. He’s mentioned mortgage rates, inflation, the stock market (twice), tax cuts, regulation – and boasted about how the US is the “best country” in which to do business. -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michael Jamrisko
Trump begins by bragging that “we are the hottest country anywhere in the world, and there is no other country even close.” -via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump boasts about the US economy. “We are rapidly reversing the economic calamity we inherited from the previous administration, including ruinous price increases and record-setting inflation, inflation like we’ve never had before. Under my leadership, energy costs are down, gasoline prices are down, grocery prices are down, mortgage rates are down, and inflation has been defeated. The only thing that’s up is the stock market, which just hit a record high.” -via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump is now boasting about resolving the “seven wars” that were “un-endable.” -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michael Jamrisko
Trump complains that the United Nations wasn’t part of his work to end wars around the world. “The UN has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential,” Trump says. -via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump is now going into details about the death and destruction in the Ukraine war, taking a swipe at predecessor Joe Biden and saying “It shows you what leadership is, what bad leadership can do to a country.” -via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump says the US is fully prepared to impose “a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly” if Putin doesn’t agree to end the war in Ukraine. That’s a threat he’s made several times this year without following through.-via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump says European nations must “immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia. Otherwise, we’re all wasting a lot of time.”-via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
Trump chastises the UN for “creating new problems for us to solve,” highlighting uncontrolled immigration at the top of the list. -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michelle Jamrisko
Trump said the “number one political issue of our time” is “the crisis of uncontrolled migration.” Trump made illegal immigration the central issue of his reelection campaign and has carried out mass deportations since taking office. -via Bloomberg White House Correspondent Kate Sullivan
After a brief preview of a US call for the world to come together to end the development of biological weapons, Trump dives into a discussion of migration, saying that he has stopped their illegal arrival to the US, and calls on other countries to take their own steps to protect their own borders.-via Bloomberg State Department & Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
“You’re destroying your countries. They’re being destroyed,” Trump says, calling out Europe for allowing “illegal aliens” to “pour in.” -via Bloomberg White House & National Security Editor Michelle Jamrisko
* * *
Tuesday is a big day in New York, as Trump returns to his home city for a much anticipated address before the United Nations General Assembly amid the week-long UN summit, where he’s expected to lay out his ‘vision for the world’. This one marks the 80th anniversary of the UN, and all eyes will be on the globe’s biggest stage for world leaders.
Interestingly, he’ll actually be the second world leader to address the general assembly on Tuesday. Trump will follow left-wing President Lula of Brazil, who actually says he’s not on speaking terms with the US president, especially given the ongoing Bolsonaro trial and tariff saga which has sent relations with Washington spiraling. Trump is to speak at 09:50 ET 14:50 BST at the UN General Assembly. Watch Live:
The White House has previewed that Trump while at the UN headquarters will hold a multilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan while at the gathering. There will additionally be a bilateral meeting with Argentina’s conservative President Milei.
An important meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelensky on the sidelines is also planned. “I would like to receive the signals, how close we are to understanding that the security guarantees from all partners are those what we need,” Zelensky said before preparing to travel to the US, according to Bloomberg.
“We have prepared the basis for security guarantees that Europe is ready to adopt, taking into account that the United States of America will be there,” the Ukrainian leader continued. “We have had many discussions, including among the leadership of our armies and general staffs with the Europeans and the Americans.”
The Ukraine war and potential for build-up to WW3 if a negotiated offramp is not found is expected to receive mention, but also the conflict in Gaza is expected to dominate the assembly.
Relations with America’s leading European allies are currently strained on the Palestinian issue, given the UK, France, and many others have moved to formally recognize a Palestinian state, resulting in condemnation from the US and Israel. Trump will likely raise the issue in his speech, and offer push-back.
The White House has further previewed that Trump will describe “how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward constructive vision for the world.”
Karoline Leavitt also said he’ll review the administration’s “historic accomplishments in just eight months, including the ending of seven global wars and conflicts.” It will further include “touting the renewal of American strength around the world.”
While not in attendance, without doubt Russia’s Vladimir Putin and other ‘rivals’ and ‘enemies’ of the United States will be following Trump’s speech very closely.
US officials have told The New York Times that the real goal of the US military buildup in the Caribbean, and the bombing of boats in the region, is regime change in Venezuela.
The policy is being largely driven by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long wanted to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. Back in 2019, when the first Trump administration attempted to back a coup against Maduro, Rubio posted a photo on Twitter of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the moment he was being brutally murdered in an apparent threat to the Venezuelan leader.
The Trump administration claims that Maduro is the leader of a drug cartel, but has not produced any evidence for the charge.
Maduro and other Venezuelan officials have forcefully rejected the accusation and have pointed to data that shows the majority of the cocaine that is produced in Colombia doesn’t go through Venezuela.
President Trump has also framed the military campaign in the region as a response to overdose deaths in the US due to fentanyl, but fentanyl isn’t produced in Venezuela, and it does not go through the country on its way to the US.
The Times report, which was published over the weekend, reads: “Several current and former military officials, diplomats, and intelligence officers say that while fighting drugs is the pretext for the recent US attacks, the real goal is to drive Mr. Maduro from power, one way or another.”
The US began bombing boats allegedly running drugs in the Caribbean on September 2. According to numbers released by President Trump, at least 17 people have been extrajudicially executed by the US military since the campaign began.
US officials have said the Trump administration is considering direct strikes on Venezuelan territory, which could lead to a full-blown war with the country.
Just what you want in a Secretary of State, the capacity to threaten assassination by anal knifing.
One US official speaking to Axios last month suggested that the US military buildup in the region could lead to a “Noriega part 2,” referring to the 1989 US invasion of Panama that led to the ouster of Manuel Noriega. Other US officials hope that the pressure and $50 million bounty on Maduro leads to his assassination.
Treasury authorities in the US and UK have announced the formation of a transatlantic task force to explore “short-to-medium term collaboration on digital assets.”
In Monday notices, the US Treasury Department and HM Treasury said the cross-country effort, taking place through the already established UK-US Financial Regulatory Working Group, would release a report with recommendations within 180 days.
The new task force, called the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, will consider crypto laws and regulations as well as how the two countries can collaborate on “wholesale digital markets innovation.”
The announcement follows a Financial Times report on a meeting last week between UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on how the two countries could work together on crypto regulation.
The discussion reportedly included representatives from several cryptocurrency companies. At the same time, the task force said on Monday that it should “seek input from leading industry experts to ensure that its recommendations are informed by what matters most to industry.”
The US Treasury did not explicitly state whether the task force formation was related to any crypto-related legislation in Congress, such as the law to establish a framework for payment stablecoins, the GENIUS Act. Under the bill, signed into law in July, the US Treasury Department is required to draft regulations with the Federal Reserve before implementation.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase shared the US-UK announcement on its blog on Monday, saying it was “proud” to support the partnership. Daniel Seifert, the exchange’s vice president and regional managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was present in the discussions between Reeves and Bessent, according to a spokesperson for Coinbase.
Similar approaches to crypto regulation?
The US and UK have both taken steps to address regulatory issues affecting digital assets and companies handling them in 2025. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with US President Donald Trump last week, signing a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of technologies, including artificial intelligence, though the deal is not legally binding.
While the UK Treasury under Reeves said in April that it would focus on crypto rules to “support innovation while cracking down on fraudsters,” the US side under Bessent has pushed an approach that suggests scaling back on regulation.
The US Treasury Secretary said in August that the department would explore “budget-neutral pathways” to acquire Bitcoin as part of the US government’s crypto reserve plans.
In the United States, 90 percent of Americans get the water they need from public drinking water systems that harbor disinfection byproducts, most of which are unregulated and understudied.
Disinfection byproducts form as a result of chemical treatments that water companies use to keep water free of dangerous pathogens. Some byproducts may increase the risk of cancer.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently regulates four categories of disinfection byproducts for safety. However, researchers believe there may be hundreds—if not thousands—of unregulated byproducts lurking in the tap water that millions of people drink. The health effects of those chemicals are largely unknown.
There are simple steps people can take at home to minimize these potentially harmful regulated and unregulated byproducts in their water.
Sourcing Public Drinking Water
In larger cities, water treatment plants typically pull water from surface water sources such as lakes, rivers, or reservoirs; groundwater; or a combination of both. Small towns tend to source drinking water from groundwater.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that in 2015, 70 percent of water used in the United States came from surface water sources, and 30 percent came from groundwater.
Some locations may use recycled water, which comes from municipal wastewater, stormwater, or agricultural runoff.
The water source that usually needs the least treatment is groundwater.
Treating Public Drinking Water
Regardless of where it comes from, water supplied to the public goes through several treatment processes involving the addition of chemicals to remove small particles and filtration to ensure it is safe to drink.
During the treatment process, water companies must strike a balance. They must add sufficient chemicals to the water to ensure safety, without exceeding EPA limits for treatment chemicals and their byproducts.
This process involves several steps, including:
Coagulation: Adding chemicals such as salts, iron, or aluminum to bind small particles.
Flocculation: Mixing the water to help particles form larger clumps, sometimes with the addition of other chemicals.
Sedimentation: Allowing large, heavy clumps to settle to the bottom of storage containers.
Filtration: Passing the remaining clear water through several filters to remove residual particles, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Some water treatment plants may use reverse osmosis, especially when treating recycled water.
Disinfection: Using chemicals such as chlorine or chloramine to kill harmful germs and prevent waterborne illnesses such as cholera and typhoid.
While some treatment plants may use ultraviolet (UV) light or ozone during this step, disinfection chemicals are necessary because they continue to kill pathogens as the water travels to people’s homes. UV and ozone alone cannot provide that protection.
Health Concerns With Disinfection Byproducts
According to a 2024 EPA report, although disinfection chemicals are effective, they can react with compounds present in water and create harmful byproducts, which treatment plant operators must remove during the water treatment process. EPA disinfection rules require utilities to monitor treated water for four disinfectant byproducts, including:
Trihalomethanes
Haloacetic acids
Chlorite
Bromate
Treating recycled water is more challenging, as research suggests it needs more chemicals and advanced processes to clean it, which may lead to the creation of more byproducts.
“There are consistent associations between disinfection byproducts and bladder cancer, also some associations with colorectal cancer,” Susan D. Richardson, a professor of chemistry at the University of South Carolina, told The Epoch Times. She also cited associations between disinfection byproducts and miscarriage and birth defects.
Studies using hamster cells have shown that more than 100 disinfection byproducts are toxic to living cells and DNA.
While research is limited, the strongest evidence linking disinfection byproducts to cancer appeared in a study published in January in Environmental Health Perspectives. Results suggest that the byproduct trihalomethane increases the risk of bladder cancer by 33 percent in the highest versus lowest exposure groups, and colorectal cancer by 15 percent, even when levels are below current regulatory limits.
A review published in June in the Journal of Hazardous Materials found that long-term use of chlorinated drinking water and exposure to high levels of trihalomethanes are associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, particularly in men.
Another 2024 study suggests there are more than 600 known disinfection byproducts, and potentially thousands more, most of which have no purified reference standard. This makes it difficult to determine how often they occur in drinking water or how harmful they may be.
“While previous studies have looked at the fate of regulated disinfection byproducts in distribution systems, very few have investigated the more toxic, unregulated byproducts,” Richardson said.
A Chinese population-based study found associations between prenatal exposure to nitrosamines, a group of unregulated disinfection byproducts, and lower birth weight among newborns, as well as a heightened risk of preterm delivery.
A 2021 study coauthored by Richardson suggests that disinfection byproducts are typically present at 100 to 1000 times higher concentrations than other water contaminants. The authors noted that it remains unclear which byproducts may be linked to bladder cancer, miscarriage, and birth defects.
The paper’s findings prompted Richardson and her colleagues to recommend that unregulated byproducts—specifically haloacetonitriles and iodoacetic acids—be considered for regulation, as they were the main drivers of toxicity in drinking water in this U.S.-based study.
Richardson told The Epoch Times her group’s latest research, expected to be published soon, investigated the fate of 66 disinfection byproducts as the treated water travels through pipes from the treatment plant to people’s homes.
She said that water distribution pipes are like reactors where disinfection byproducts can continue to form or degrade, and some transform into other byproducts over time.
The Epoch Times reached out to the EPA for comment on disinfection byproduct safety and unregulated byproducts revealed in studies, but did not receive a response.
Reducing Exposure to Disinfection Byproducts
A recent Environmental Working Group (EWG) study found that advanced per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) treatment technologies reduced trihalomethanes by 42 percent on average and lowered haloacetic acid levels by 50 percent.
However, only 8 percent of U.S. water treatment plants currently have these systems.
Steve Via, director of federal relations for the American Water Works Association, told The Epoch Times there are several technologies utilities use in combination with chlorine or chloramines to produce fewer byproducts.
However, he noted that there are no alternatives to chlorine or chloramines for maintaining water sanitation during distribution to homes, as mandated by the EPA’s Surface Water Treatment Rule. These methods are generally considered best practice for water systems.
While most people have no control over what happens to their drinking water at the treatment plant, reducing exposure to potentially harmful byproducts at home is possible.
Richardson said her group’s research showed that activated carbon filters can remove some of the disinfection byproducts, although ongoing studies are investigating this in more detail.
Reverse osmosis systems are another option. A 2017 paper in the Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering found that reverse osmosis can simultaneously remove both organic and inorganic byproducts and their precursors.
Richardson noted that reverse osmosis is particularly effective for charged byproducts such as haloacetic acids and for larger molecules.
Water pitcher filters can also help reduce exposure.
Via advised that before purchasing a water treatment device, consumers should confirm it is certified to NSF standards for the contaminant of concern and install and maintain the device according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Activated carbon filters are typically installed where the water pipe enters the house (point of entry) or in the pipes leading to a faucet. Reverse osmosis systems are usually installed under a sink and connected to the faucet. Most commercially available filter systems combine carbon filtration and reverse osmosis to maximize chemical removal.
Installing filtration systems or using pitcher filters may help reduce disinfection byproducts, but these options can be costly. However, there are low- or no-cost ways to lower exposure.
“Setting aside drinking water in a pitcher in the refrigerator allows disinfection byproducts to dissipate, so that is one option,” Via said.
Storing water with or without a lid can reduce trihalomethanes by up to 47 percent, and boiling water for one minute and then storing it can lower the level of these byproducts by up to 92 percent, according to a 2019 study published in Science of The Total Environment.
People who want to learn more about what’s in their water can access water quality reports by calling their local water utility company, visiting the utility’s website, or searching for the report on the EPA’s Consumer Confidence Reports webpage.
Reports typically show levels of the four regulated byproducts, and inorganic contaminants like arsenic, fluoride, and nitrate. They may also reveal lead and copper levels, PFAS, and radioactive contaminants like uranium. Reports often indicate whether the water came from surface water, ground water, or recycled water.
