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After House Victory, Trump Tells Senate: “Get To Work” On ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

After House Victory, Trump Tells Senate: “Get To Work” On ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

Update (0830):

President Trump has finally weighed in with a lengthy Truth Social post after his “Big, Beautiful Bill” narrowly cleared the House in a last-minute 215–214 vote.

“THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” has PASSED the House of Representatives! This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country! The Bill includes MASSIVE Tax CUTS, No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, Tax Deductions when you purchase an American Made Vehicle, along with strong Border Security measures, Pay Raises for our ICE and Border Patrol Agents, Funding for the Golden Dome, “TRUMP Savings Accounts” for newborn babies, and much more! Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! There is no time to waste. The Democrats have lost control of themselves, and are aimlessly wandering around, showing no confidence, grit, or determination. They have forgotten their landslide loss in the Presidential Election, and are warped in the past, hoping someday to revive Open Borders for the World’s criminals to be able to pour into our Country, men to be able to play in women’s sports, and transgender for everybody. They don’t realize that these things, and so many more like them, will NEVER AGAIN happen!

 

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President Donald Trump’s multi-trillion-dollar tax package—also known as the “Big, Beautiful Bill”—cleared the House in a last-minute 215–214 vote on Thursday morning. The bill now moves to the Senate, where Republicans are calling for major revisions ahead of an expected vote in August. It aims to prevent a year-end tax hike and a potential debt default but would significantly increase the near-term federal deficit.

The 215-214 House vote, with one abstention, was met with loud cheers by House Republicans. Some of the key provisions include:

  • Extension of Trump-era tax cuts and new relief, such as exempting tips and overtime from taxation.

  • The state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap will be increased to $40,000, with phase-outs for high earners.

  • Cuts to safety-net programs such as Medicaid and food stamps, alongside new work requirements starting in December 2026.

  • Rollbacks on clean energy tax credits, boosting fossil fuel incentives. 

  • Major increases in military and border security spending.

  • New taxes targeting elite universities (e.g., Harvard and other Ivy Leagues) and immigrant remittances.

  • The elimination of EV tax credits, replaced by interest deductions on U.S.-built vehicle loans

It is interesting to note that Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky were the only Republicans to vote against the Big, Beautiful Bill. They warned about mounting deficits that would result if the bill were passed. 

We provided Zero Hedge Pro Subs with an in-depth analysis of how the Big, Beautiful Bill would surge near-term deficits, adding about $5 trillion in debt.

Read more here…

In the bond market, the US 30-year Treasury yield moved higher after the bill narrowly passed the House, hitting 5.12%, the highest level since October 2023. This level is nearing its highest point since 2007. 

With Treasury yields soaring, perhaps it’s time for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to fire up the “big toolkit”…

Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R., Texas) stated: “This bill is our opportunity to deliver on the promises we made. At its core, the one big, beautiful bill is about more than dollars and cents. It’s about liberty and empowering the American people.”

The Wall Street Journal noted, “Republicans are aiming to get the bill to Trump’s desk by July 4. The real deadline might be a bit later.” 

Democrats blasted the bill as taking money away from the social safety net to fund tax cuts for the wealthy…

“It’s really one big broken promise,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene (D., Wash.), adding, “Republicans have spent months fighting over how many Americans they’re going to kick off Medicaid and how fast.”

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 14:17

Trump Admin Blocks Harvard From Enrolling International Students, Requires Current Foreign Students To Transfer ‘Or Lose Legal Status’

Trump Admin Blocks Harvard From Enrolling International Students, Requires Current Foreign Students To Transfer ‘Or Lose Legal Status’

Harvard is having a really bad year. From feds yanking billions in grants, to House Republicans alleging ties to the Chinese military, to President Trump threatening their tax-exempt status, to detained embryo-smuggling scientists (and most of that’s just this month), the university has now been blocked from enrolling international students – which constitute nearly 1/3 of Harvard admissions.

“I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked,” according to a letter sent to the university by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, which they promptly shot over to the NY Times. The university has 72 hours to hand over requested information.

The decision followed a back-and-forth in recent days over the legality of a wide-ranging records request by the Department of Homeland Security.

According to Bloomberg, existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status, the notice reads.

In April DHS threatened to block Harvard from enrolling international students if the university refused to hand over detailed records about the student body containing “relevant information” on student visa holders who have been involved in “known illegal” or “dangerous” activity.

It is a privilege to have foreign students attend Harvard University, not a guarantee,” Noem wrote in an April letter. “The United States government understands that Harvard University relies heavily on foreign student funding from over 10,000 foreign students to build and maintain their substantial endowment.”

Harvard dug in last month following the Trump admin’s demands – with president Alan Garber saying in a statement “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

Not So Fast?

Concurrently, a federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of international students nationwide while a court case challenging previous terminations is pending.

The order by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White in Oakland bars the government from arresting or incarcerating the plaintiffs and similarly situated students; from transferring any of them outside the jurisdiction of their residence; from imposing any adverse legal effect on students and from reversing the reinstatement of the legal status until the case is resolved. Students can still be arrested for violent crimes. –AP

According to White, the government’s actions “wreaked havoc not only on the lives of Plaintiffs here but on similarly situated F-1 nonimmigrants across the United States and continues do so.”

Read Noem’s letter below (emphasis ours):

Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program Decertification

I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked.

As I explained to you in my April letter, it is a privilege to enroll foreign students, and it is also a privilege to employ aliens on campus. All universities must comply with Department of Homeland Security requirements, including reporting requirements under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program regulations, to maintain this privilege. As a result of your refusal to comply with multiple requests to provide the Department of Homeland Security pertinent information while perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-llamas sympathies, and employs racist “diversity, equity, and inclusion” policies, you have lost this privilege.

The revocation of your Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification means that Harvard is prohibited from having any aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status for the 2025-2026 academic school year. This decertification also means that existing aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status must transfer to another university in order to maintain their nonimmigrant status.

This action should not surprise you and is the unfortunate result of Harvard’s failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.

On April 16, 2025, I requested records pertaining to nonimmigrant students enrolled at Harvard University, including information regarding misconduct and other offenses that would render foreign students inadmissible or removable. On April 30, 2025, Harvard’s counsel provided information that he represented as responsive to my request. It was not.

As a courtesy that Harvard was not legally entitled to, the Acting DHS General Counsel responded on my behalf and afforded Harvard another opportunity to comply. Harvard again provided an insufficient response.

Consequences must follow to send a clear signal to Harvard and all universities that want to enjoy the privilege of enrolling foreign students, that the Trump Administration will enforce the law and root out the evils of anti-Americanism and antisemitism in society and campuses.

If Harvard would like the opportunity of regaining Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification before the upcoming academic school year, you must provide all of the information requested below within 72 hours.

Please be advised that providing materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent information may subject you to criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Other criminal and civil sanctions may also apply.

I expect full and complete responses to the following requests:

  1. Any and all records, whether official or informal, in the possession of Harvard University, including electronic records and audio or video footage, regarding illegal activity whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years.
  2. Any and all records, whether official or informal, in the possession of Harvard University, including electronic records and audio or video footage, regarding dangerous or violent activity whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years.
  3. Any and all records, whether official or informal, in the possession of Harvard University, including electronic records and audio or video footage, regarding threats to other students or university personnel whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years.
  4. Any and all records, whether official or informal, in the possession of Harvard University, including electronic records and audio or video footage, regarding deprivation of rights of other classmates or university personnel whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years.
  5. Any and all disciplinary records of all nonimmigrant students enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years.
  6. Any and all audio or video footage, in the possession of Harvard University, of any protest activity involving a nonimmigrant student on a Harvard University campus in the last five years.

Developing…

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 14:12

COVID Vaccine “Safe and Effective” Narrative Collapses On Camera

COVID Vaccine “Safe and Effective” Narrative Collapses On Camera

Authored by The Vigilant Fox via vigilantfox.com,

The “safe and effective” narrative collapsed on camera during Senator Ron Johnson’s explosive Senate hearing on COVID-19 vaccine injuries Wednesday afternoon.

Senator Ron Johnson brought the receipts, exposing how the Biden administration DELIBERATELY hid vaccine harms from the public.

Then Dr. James Thorp (OB-GYN) revealed miscarriage data so disturbing, it left the room silent.

This is the Senate hearing they never wanted you to see. I turned three hours of footage into a five-minute read.

Senator Ron Johnson opened the hearing with a bombshell: the Biden administration knew about deadly heart risks tied to the COVID shots, and deliberately kept it from the public.

Johnson released newly subpoenaed records exposing a detailed timeline of what officials knew and when. While Pfizer and Moderna received insider updates, doctors and citizens who raised concerns were silenced.

In February 2021, Israeli health officials warned the CDC of “large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people” following Pfizer injections, just two and a half months after the vaccine received emergency use authorization.

By April, the CDC was already reviewing myocarditis data from Israel and the Department of Defense. But instead of alerting the public, they stayed quiet.

By the end of that month, VAERS had recorded 2,926 deaths, nearly half of which occurred within three days of injection. “Somebody ought to be looking at it,” Johnson said.

In May, the CDC considered issuing a formal health alert—but scrapped it. They replaced it with watered-down guidance that removed a key warning for doctors to restrict physical activity in myocarditis patients.

Francis Collins, then director of the NIH, brushed it all off. “Senator, people die,” he told Johnson.

In just six months, the toll was staggering: 384,270 reports of adverse events, 4,812 deaths, and 1,736 of those occurred within just 48 hours of injection.

Dr. Peter McCullough then took the floor and upended the narrative that vaccine-induced myocarditis is “rare.”

Before COVID, McCullough had seen just two myocarditis cases in his entire career. After the rollout, everything changed.

He says he’s now “examined thousands of patients with this problem.”

“There’s 1,065 papers in the peer-reviewed literature on COVID vaccine myocarditis,” he explained, pointing to a 2021 case published in the New England Journal of Medicine. A 42-year-old man developed vaccine-induced myocarditis. “The infection is ruled out,” McCullough said. “It’s the vaccine.” Three days after his Moderna shot, the man was dead.

McCullough cited a shocking case from Korea—a young man who died within eight hours of hospitalization after a Pfizer shot. His heart had been, in McCullough’s words, “fried with inflammation.”

Then came a case from Connecticut: two teenage boys, 16 and 17, died in their sleep just days after Pfizer. Their parents found them unresponsive.

“These cases… should have gotten everyone’s attention,” McCullough said. “We should never have someone die after taking a vaccine that’s directly caused to the vaccine.”

Alabama-based physician Dr. Jordan Vaughn followed up with a chilling estimate—up to 15 million Americans may be suffering from long COVID or COVID vaccine injuries.

He now treats teenagers who can’t stand up and previously healthy adults who are suffering strokes with no clear cause.

According to Vaughn, the spike protein’s S1 subunit is far from harmless. “It triggers inflammation, it disrupts endothelial barriers, it induces fibrin resistant to breakdown, and it promotes a lot of amyloid aggregates,” he said.

These effects impair oxygen delivery, damage blood vessels, and trigger a wave of symptoms—racing heart, brain fog, shortness of breath, and post-exertional crashes.

In his clinic, Vaughn uses immunofluorescent microscopy to detect the spike protein’s damage, showing up in patients who were once thriving.

He warned that the mRNA injections led to uncontrolled spike protein production, which spread throughout the body, reaching the heart, brain, ovaries, and testes.

Regulators claimed the vaccine stayed in the arm. That was a lie. A Yale study now shows some people are still producing spike protein more than 700 days after their last injection.

We didn’t just inject people. We turned them into spike protein factories.

OB-GYN Dr. James Thorp delivered one of the most haunting moments of the hearing.

He said the COVID shots “MIRRORED” the effects of chemical abortion drugs—and the government knew what it was doing.

Dr. Thorp pointed to the now-infamous Shimabukuro study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which claimed a 12.6% miscarriage rate following COVID vaccination.

But when you isolate the data for women vaccinated in the first trimester, the miscarriage rate rises to 82%, Dr. Thorp said. This 82% claim remains a topic of debate within the scientific community.

If true, “This figure mirrors the effects of chemical abort drugs,” Dr. Thorp lamented.

He added, “Recently, animal studies revealed the mRNA COVID vaccine causes the destruction of 60 PERCENT of the ovarian reserve in rats.”

If that effect translates to humans, it could be a catastrophic blow to fertility and the future of entire generations.

Dr. Thorp said pregnant women were deliberately targeted, and their unborn children paid the price.

“This must stop now,” he said.

Attorney Aaron Siri then delivered a little-known history lesson on vaccine liability.

“For every product on the market, you can SUE the manufacturer for harm,” Siri said. “There’s only ONE product in America you CANNOT sue the manufacturer to claim it could have been made safer—and that’s VACCINES.”

He explained how the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act gave pharmaceutical companies sweeping immunity, not just for three vaccines, but for every new childhood shot added to the CDC schedule.

The result? A schedule that exploded from 3 shots to 29 in the first year of life, with zero accountability.

“They don’t have the financial incentive to make them safer,” Siri said. “In fact, they have the disincentive.”

Senator Ron Johnson confronted Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, who was defending the COVID jabs at the hearing.

I could fill this room with photos of people who are DEAD because of the COVID injection,” Johnson said. “I could fill the room,” he reiterated.

He made the comment after calling out how the vaccine-injured are still being ignored, gaslit, and denied care.

Johnson pointed to VAERS data showing 38,607 reported deaths after the shot, 9,228 of them within two days.

Multiply that by a conservative underreporting factor of 10, and the death toll climbs to over 386,000.

Dr. Peter McCullough delivered one of the most powerful moments of the hearing.

Senator Blumenthal had previously claimed the COVID vaccines “saved three million lives.”

Dr. McCullough quickly dismantled that false narrative. He delivered a three-part reality check on what actually brought COVID deaths down:

1. Natural immunity did the heavy lifting.

2. Early treatment kept people out of hospitals.

3. The virus mutated into a milder form.

“The vaccine cannot be falsely credited with saving millions of lives,” McCullough said.

“We can’t allow false drug advertising to be put up on a poster behind one of our public servants. We cannot accept that.”

Sen. Ron Johnson delivered another crushing blow to the “safe and effective” narrative—this time with a devastating chart that exposed that lie.

The chart showed that one of the biggest spikes in COVID cases and deaths occurred AFTER the vaccine rollout began in December 2020.

By mid-2021, over half the U.S. was “fully vaccinated.” But instead of improving, the numbers got worse.

If the vaccine had worked, cases and deaths would have dropped. They didn’t—and this chart makes that impossible to ignore.

Sensing the narrative was slipping, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) scrambled to defend public health officials.

He became visibly agitated at the suggestion that vaccine risks had been covered up.

“I may be sounding a little bit like a lawyer, not a physician, but purposeful concealment, intentional hiding, is essentially undocumented by the evidence released by this report itself,” Blumenthal said.

He brushed off the myocarditis concerns as “rare” and insisted that officials like Rochelle Walensky took “multiple steps” to warn the public.

So his message quietly shifted from “safe and effective” to “We did our best with what we knew at the time,” a clear sign that the vaccine narrative is running out of ground to stand on.

Vaccine-injured physician Dr. Joel Wallskog captured the pain of the vaccine-injured better than anyone.

“If I could describe one word that I think all, if not most, vaccine-injured will say… it’s ABANDONMENT.”

He explained how people like him have been attacked from both sides.

“The right says we’re stupid… the left calls us anti-vaxxers, which is one of the most ignorant things to say.”

He reminded the room that he was injured because he got vaccinated.

Dr. Wallskog and vaccine-injured associate Brianne Dressen met multiple times with FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks over two years.

“We have been placated, we have been blown off,” he said. “He thanks us, he says he’ll get back to us… he never does.”

Dr. Wallskog added that the idea that federal agencies are trying to help is “the farthest from the truth.”

Read the rest here…

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 14:00

Solar Stocks Plunge After House GOP Budget “Worse Than Deared” For Clean Energy

Solar Stocks Plunge After House GOP Budget “Worse Than Deared” For Clean Energy

The text that passed the House on a 215-214, party-line vote early Thursday is even less favorable to clean energy interests than a previous draft that industry groups widely panned, UtilityDive reported.

The bill terminates the 48E investment and 45Y production tax credits for non-nuclear clean energy projects placed in service after 2028, with no phaseout period. Projects must begin construction within 60 days of the bill’s enactment — likely later this year — to be eligible for the credits.

The version the House Ways and Means Committee released on May 12 stepped down the value of the 48E and 45Y credits over three years and did not include the imminent construction-start requirement, giving developers and asset owners more leeway to wait out lengthy waits for grid interconnection.

Combined with even tighter restrictions on foreign involvement in U.S. clean energy projects, the truncated eligibility window leaves a “near impossible” pathway for non-nuclear developers to qualify for the 48E and 45Y credits, Jeffries said. The foreign involvement restrictions apply to “foreign entities of concern” like China, which controls much of the upstream supply chain for batteries, electric motors and other clean energy equipment.

The bill also eliminates the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credit transferability framework for most clean energy projects. Experts say transferability, which previously enjoyed bipartisan support, expands project financing options for small and midsize energy developers.

Following an outcry from industry groups like the Nuclear Energy Institute, the House bill extends production and investment tax credit eligibility for advanced nuclear projects and power uprates of existing reactors that begin construction by 2028. It also extends a separate production credit for existing nuclear power plants through 2031 and preserves transferability for nuclear projects.

The practical effect of the nuclear carveout is unclear. Projects like the planned reactor restarts at Constellation Energy’s 835-MW Crane Clean Energy Center and Holtec International’s 800-MW Palisades plant would likely qualify, but many greenfield projects are not expected to begin reactor construction until later this decade. For example, the Tennessee Valley Authority earlier this week began a more than two-year federal permitting process for a small modular reactor that it expects to begin building in late 2028.

The biggest surprise in the latest version of the bill is what Jeffries called the “intentional targeting” of the residential solar sector. The previous version of the bill quickly terminated the 25D tax credit for customer-owned residential solar installations while preserving it for installations leased by companies like Sunrun, the country’s biggest third-party solar and energy storage leasing enterprise.

“This short-lived advantage to [residential solar leases] was seemingly corrected, with new text now ‘leveling the playing field’ by targeting all future residential solar originations, whether leased or owned,” Jeffries said.

Shares of Sunrun fell about 40% in early Thursday trading; stocks of other solar companies also tumbled.

Clean energy advocates and trade groups said the bill would devastate an industry driving the United States’ manufacturing boom while increasing customers’ utility bills and threatening the stability of the electric grid.

“This unworkable legislation is willfully ignorant of the fact that deploying solar and storage is the only way the U.S. power grid can meet the demand of American consumers, businesses and innovation,” the Solar Energy Industries Association said in a statement.

The head of Advanced Energy United, another clean energy trade group, called the legislation a “meat cleaver” in a statement noting that solar, wind, storage and other “advanced energy” added 50 GW to the U.S. grid in 2024 and produced about $400 billion in domestic revenues.

The House bill “abruptly dismantles bipartisan, long-standing tax policy that has catalyzed billions in private investment for affordable, reliable energy while sparking a rebirth of manufacturing across America,” AEU President and CEO Heather O’Neill said. “If enacted as written, this bill will weaken our power system and send shockwaves throughout the U.S. economy by raising electricity prices, killing tens of thousands of jobs and ceding energy dominance to China.”

In a report released before the House bill passed, the American Clean Energy Association identified more than 800 manufacturing facilities involved in the U.S. clean energy supply chain. Seventy-three percent of those are located in “Republican states,” it said.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 12:54

Top DOGE Official Details Discovery Of Shocking Voter Fraud: “Tip Of The Iceberg”

Top DOGE Official Details Discovery Of Shocking Voter Fraud: “Tip Of The Iceberg”

Antonio Gracias, a private equity investor and senior official in the Department of Government Efficiency, revealed the startling methodology used by DOGE staff to uncover voter fraud involving illegal immigrants, describing it as “just the tip of the iceberg.”

We’ve sampled a handful of states, and in those handful of states, we found people registered to vote, and we have found people who actually voted,” Gracias said, detailing the meticulous process used by DOGE staff in an interview at the All-In summit in Miami. “This is all being done by sampling. Okay, so we are sampling DHS data and then have to go to the voter rolls, check the voter rolls, and then check them.”

The process, as Gracias explained, involves cross-referencing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data with state voter rolls. “We give that to HSI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), who goes and checks the voter record by subpoena and the voter and the cards you sign when you vote,” he added. The results have already led to action in Florida, where Gracias noted, “We had already three arrests here in Florida, actually, and one in one indictment.”

Gracias elaborated on how some individuals, including illegal immigrants, obtained the ability to vote. “They legally secured social security numbers through the process we talked about last time, asylum or some special program or whatever,” he said. “They were given, you know, an associate number by filing a 765 and getting authorization. They registered to vote, and they actually voted in 2020 and/or 2024.”

One case stood out in particular, the founder of Valor Equity Partners told the All-In crew.

Three have been arrested; I just want to say this carefully: three have been arrested, and one has been indicted,” Gracias stated. “The one we indicted, I want to just stop on this guy for a minute: he’s an Iraqi national. He voted in 2020 in New York. He went to prison for shooting somebody, shot some guy’s hand off, and has charged, if I remember correctly, 160, 60, or $70,000 of benefits through Medicaid.”

Gracias revealed that the indicted individual may no longer be in the U.S., saying, “We think he is now in Iraq because he’s active on his Facebook page, and the IP address is from Iraq.” He praised the collaborative efforts of federal agencies, adding, “Credit to our friends at HSI, our partners HSI, and to DOJ for tracking this down. I got to tell you guys, it’s difficult, laborious work.”

When asked about the scope of the election integrity issue, Gracias was frank while exercising caution. “My opinion is that this is the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “How big the iceberg is, I don’t know, and I don’t want to speculate because I think it would be, not that I think we can do at this moment. I think we’ll have more data over time.”

Gracias emphasized the labor-intensive nature of the investigation, noting, “For sure, if we can sample out of a database and it takes an engineer about a day to find 20-ish cases, what DOJ asks for was 10 to 20 cases per state. It just gives you a sense of what’s happening. It takes an engineer about a day to find 10 to 20 cases per state in sampling.”

In April, Gracias sparked a firestorm alongside tech titan and DOGE leader Elon Musk, unveiling explosive data at a Wisconsin rally aimed at energizing voter turnout. The duo presented a detailed chart alleging that millions of noncitizens were issued Social Security numbers under the Biden administration. Their findings pointed to a steady rise, with a staggering peak of over 2 million noncitizens receiving Social Security numbers in fiscal year 2024, ending September 30. The data also showed roughly 1 million noncitizens issued numbers in both FY 2023 and FY 2025, the latter spanning October 2024 through September 2025.

“None of this would have happened without President Trump,” Gracias later told Fox News. “President Trump had the courage to allow us to go across databases. He signed an executive order. It’s never been done before, where agencies could talk to each other and databases could talk with each other.”

“That allowed us to connect all this data, to find these people across the system, across the benefit system, all the way to the voting records. It really took a lot of courage,” he added.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 12:45

Supreme Court Deadlocks, Leaves In Place Block On Nation’s First Religious Charter School

Supreme Court Deadlocks, Leaves In Place Block On Nation’s First Religious Charter School

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Supreme Court on May 22 voted 4–4 to reject authorization for the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on May 19, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself and did not participate in the case known as Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond. The respondent is Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma’s attorney general.

The Supreme Court’s unsigned opinion consists of one sentence: “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” No reasons for the ruling were provided.

As the vote resulted in a tie, under court rules, the lower court ruling being appealed is affirmed.

On June 25, 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against the school, ordering the school board to cancel the contract and finding that the school was a governmental entity.

The court determined that, since the school was deemed a state actor, denying it charter status did not violate the free exercise clause.

The state court also found that the school’s contract with the school board violated the Oklahoma Constitution’s prohibition against “using public money for the benefit or support of any religious institution.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 12:20

Eco-Fascism – 2026 Ballot Measure Seeks “End Of Farming” In Colorado

Eco-Fascism – 2026 Ballot Measure Seeks “End Of Farming” In Colorado

The Trump administration, focused on delivering economic growth and food production in the U.S., is attracting the opposition of zealots and degrowth monied interests alike. 

To wit; two radically authoritarian ballot measures – which have the support of initiatives and frameworks of International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) – ask Colorado and Oregon voters to give up the family dog and hand over their private property rights in what some have called “the end of farming and ranching” in the Mile High state.

The first measure, Colorado ballot initiative 2025-2026#82, reads like a dictator’s manifesto – and is essentially a carbon copy of the CCP-backed Convention on Biological Diversity’s wildlands project.

The eight-page “Colorado Wildlife and Biodiversity Protection Act” seeks to create the Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation Commission (WECC). 

Astonishingly, the WECC would consist of nine appointed members, with the petition strictly stipulating that no member can have any financial ties to agriculture, energy, or development. The petition then goes on to (laughably) assert that these supposed “elite” members – without “financial ties” – will be appointed by universities, environmental groups, and policy institutes. Naturally,  this commission will have total control over agriculture, energy, and all future development in Colorado

Deal with the Devil

But, have no fear landowners, the petition miraculously provides 25-50% tax abatement for those willing to hand over 49-100% of their private lands as designated wildlands…in perpetuity. 

Given the sheer naivete, and the multitudes of legal errors made by petitioners Jessica Presso and Cameron Porter, most would rightly assume the petition would be dead on arrival. Not so fast.

Within days, the Colorado Legislative Council Staff and Office of Legislative Legal Services sent Presso and Porter a nineteen-page how-to guide, effectively giving free legal advice by outlining the requirements for a final draft. 

Similar to court filings, when initiated petitions fail to meet filing requirements for single subjects, or properly address statutory amendments, they’re simply refused by the Secretary of State – placing the onus upon the petitioner(s) to seek legal advice. However, this departure from the norm now appears to be part of a growing trend in radical leftist states.

Oregon

Leading up to the 2022 election in Oregon, a similarly wonky Initiative Petition 13 was introduced to make raising, riding, eating or owning domestic livestock illegal. Similarly, the state donated resources to the petitioners by sending back a lengthy how-to guide. 

After significant tweaks, that Initiative Petition is back as IP28 and greenlit for signature collection ahead of the 2026 election. In addition to making it illegal to own companion animals such as dogs or cats, the IP would make it illegal to render animals for meat in the State of Oregon. 

While some might be quick to dismiss the actions of a few, seemingly lone environmental zealots, others cite bigger-picture concerns for connections to IGOs and dark money influence.

Last month, when the Trump administration delivered a long-awaited reform to the Endangered Species Act, monied interests immediately lashed out with threats. 

“Trump is trying to drive a knife through the heart of the Endangered Species Act. This will absolutely upend how we’ve been protecting endangered species for the last 40-plus years,” said Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity, which makes its money by suing states and the federal government.

“The Center for Biological Diversity will no doubt join other groups in challenging the rule change in federal court,” Greenwald added. 

Yet by narrowly redefining “harm” as an illegal taking—such as removing or poaching—the Trump administration is attempting to rectify decades of federal overreach that have resulted in the loss of grazing rights on privately owned lands and the lowest cattle volumes in 70 years. 

While America’s farmers and ranchers are no strangers to authoritarian land grabs, many are now urging voters to take these state-level initiatives seriously as they’re not only aligned with the degrowth agendas of foreign-backed IGOs but would also supplant private property rights with eco-fascism.

*   *   * 

Save small ranchers, control your own food supply, and eat clean.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 11:55

Trump Navigating Base’s Opposition To Interventionism With Iran Talks: Victor Davis Hanson

Trump Navigating Base’s Opposition To Interventionism With Iran Talks: Victor Davis Hanson

Authored by Ryan Morgan and Jan Jekielek via The Epoch Times,

As President Donald Trump continues negotiations to limit Iran’s nuclear aspirations, historian and Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson believes the president is preparing his non-interventionist supporters for the possibility of a more forceful confrontation in the Middle East.

On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump frequently touted his record of avoiding new wars during his first term and emphasized his plans to quickly resolve ongoing conflicts, like the one in Ukraine. At the same time, Trump has described his foreign policy approach as one of “peace through strength,” and he has been willing to threaten military action to press his agenda.

In March, as the U.S. president began his push for a new deal restricting Iran’s nuclear program, he warned, “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing.”

In a recent interview with Jan Jekielek, host of EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders,” Hanson described Trump as having to thread the needle with how he handles his next steps with Iran.

“The MAGA covenant he ran on said no optional Middle East wars, no foreign entanglements, and it’s always better to jawbone than to go to war,” he said.

While the Trump administration has joined successive rounds of indirect talks with Iranian representatives, Hanson assessed that Israeli leaders feel the current moment is a good window of opportunity to strike Iran.

Even if the negotiations don’t result in a deal, Hanson said Trump could use the opportunity to acclimate his base to the Israeli point of view.

“He’s saying to Israel, ‘Let’s just get six or seven months of negotiation … We‘ll negotiate to the point where they have to shut up or put up. And if you’re right … then we have a case to be made to our MAGA base.’”

Syria

Hanson assessed Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power in Syria as an important opportunity to further isolate Tehran and diminish its influence across the Middle East.

Assad fled the country in December, amid a surprise offensive led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a Sunni Islamist faction that began as Al Qaeda’s Syrian offshoot, and which the U.S. government still considers a foreign terrorist organization.

After seizing Damascus, a rebel-led council named Ahmed al-Sharaa—the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham—as president of a new self-styled Syrian transitional government. The council has named other Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham members to top leadership positions in this transitional government.

Since taking power, Sharaa has tried to present himself as more of a moderate than his past would suggest. In turn, the United States has shown reduced hostility.

In President Joe Biden’s last weeks in office, his administration retracted a $10 million bounty against Sharaa, opening the way for then-Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf to meet with the ascendant Syrian warlord.

This month, Trump announced he would retract sanctions against Syria “to give them a chance at greatness.” Trump met with Sharaa during his Middle East tour last week and announced he was considering normalizing ties with Syria’s new leadership.

Trump also urged Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords, a framework for normalizing relations between Israel and its various Muslim neighbor states.

Despite Sharaa’s past, Hanson assessed Turkey, Israel, Syria’s Kurdish population, and the neighboring Arab states all prefer him to Assad, and indicated that Trump may feel the same.

“There may be terrorists, but they may be directed in other directions. I don’t know. But all of these interests felt that it was superior to the Assad regime. And most of the interests were pro-American,” he said.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 11:30

Oil Prices Dip On Report Of Another Potential OPEC+ Supply Boost 

Oil Prices Dip On Report Of Another Potential OPEC+ Supply Boost 

OPEC+ is considering a third straight monthly output hike, departing from the norm of stabilizing oil markets. According to Bloomberg, the group of 12 major oil-exporting nations, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, and others, is considering a July increase of 411,000 barrels per day (bpd)—roughly triple the previously planned amount. This would mirror supply increases in May and June. Such an increase in July could lead to a breakdown in Brent crude’s $60-per-barrel price floor (as long as the war risk premium remains suppressed).

Brent fell to $63 a barrel, down about 1.7% following the news. West Texas Intermediate dropped to around $60 a barrel.

According to delegates, the increase would mark the third consecutive month of added supply, though they noted that no final agreement had been reached.

Bloomberg provided more color about the strategy at play with OPEC+ that would only increase concerns about a global glut: 

The strategy appears aimed at disciplining quota violators by pushing prices lower. But it will add to the overall picture of oversupply — not only is there a chance of more Iranian barrels hitting the market, energy demand globally looks set to soften.

We’re seeing the market reacting to evidence that OPEC is letting go of a strategy to defend price in favour of market share,” said Harry Tchiliguirian at Onyx Capital Group, adding, “It’s a bit like taking off a Band-Aid; you do it in one fell swoop.”

Department of Energy data released Wednesday morning showed that commercial crude inventories rose for a second consecutive week. Rising inventories and weakness in broader markets have added downward pressure on oil prices.

RBC Capital analyst Helima Croft noted that a 411,000 bpd increase in July is the “most likely outcome,” mainly from Saudi Arabia. She said, “A key question will be whether the voluntary cut will be fully drawn down before the leaves turn brown in many parts of the world, in line with the original taper schedule.” 

OPEC+ is considering another large output increase. However, the macroeconomic backdrop of rising U.S. 10-year Treasury yields may signal a warning: Rising yields reflect tightening financial conditions and slower growth expectations, raising concerns that higher oil supply could weigh on prices. Now, lower prices could be all but derailed if Israel launches a preemptive attack on Iran’s nuclear sites with stealth fighters.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 09:25

Death Of The Dollar: An Eternal Tale

Death Of The Dollar: An Eternal Tale

Authored by Michael Lebowitz via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

The following paragraph, courtesy of Amazon, reviews the book Death of the Dollar by William Rickenbacker.

Death of the Dollar by William F. Rickenbacker is a critical examination of the economic policies and monetary mismanagement that the author argues are eroding the value of the U.S. dollar and threatening financial stability. Rickenbacker contends that the actions of money managers, including excessive government spendinginflationary policies, and the detachment of the dollar from the gold standard, are systematically devaluing the currency. The book warns of an impending monetary disaster, highlighting how these policies disproportionately harm everyday citizens who rely on the dollar’s stability for savings and investments. Through a blend of economic analysis and historical context, Rickenbacker underscores the dangers of unchecked financial intervention and the potential for a collapse of the dollar’s purchasing power.

Plenty of books, articles, and social media posts herald the same grim forecast as Rickenbacker. For the most part, they rely on similar reasoning. Essentially, lax monetary policy and gross fiscal spending, both deemed to be inflationary, will result in dollar devaluation and ultimately the death of the dollar.

The difference between Rickenbacker’s book and other dollar demise forecasts is that  Death of the Dollar was written in 1968! Fifty-seven years later, despite, or possibly because of Rickenbacker’s justifications, the dollar is still the world’s reserve currency, and no other sovereign currency, cryptocurrency, or precious metal will replace it anytime soon.

Given the topic’s importance and the gross misinformation spread about the dollar’s imminent demise, we review Rickenbacker’s thesis to highlight that today’s warnings have been around for decades and why the odds of them coming to fruition this time are very low, as they were decades ago.

Removal Of The Gold Standard

Rickenbacker’s book was published in 1968, three years before President Nixon closed the gold window, essentially making the dollar a fiat currency. While his book accurately predicted that ground-shaking event, it did not correctly anticipate its impact.

He reasoned that without gold regulating the supply of dollars, unchecked monetary policy would result in reckless “money printing.”

He was correct that the Fed would have more flexibility in managing the money supply. Furthermore, with this added power, we have seen reckless behavior, as he theorized. However, Rickenbacker erred on the money printing allegation.

The Fed doesn’t print money. All money is lent into creation by banks. The Fed prints bank reserves, which allow banks to make loans, i.e., print money, if they choose. More importantly, even if the money supply increases due to Fed incentives to lend, it’s unclear whether such activity is good or bad for the economy and how it impacts inflation and ultimately the dollar’s value. That is a function of the productivity of debt.

Simply, productive debt drives economic growth, increases the nation’s prosperity, and reduces deficits as a percentage of economic activity. Unproductive debt detracts from economic growth and prosperity and worsens deficits. Weaker growth from unproductive debt tends to be disinflationary.

As judged by an increasing debt-to-GDP ratio, aggregate debt has been unproductive, leading to lower inflation growth rates. Thus, if the concern is that “money printing” would lead to inflation, it may lead to disinflation.

Fed Flexibility

In one respect, Rickenbacker correctly said that giving the Fed more flexibility was a curse. Easy money policy has led to periods of gross speculation and crises, such as in 2008.

However, without the gold shackles, the Fed has incredible power to manage economic crises and avoid a currency collapse. In fact, despite the 2008 crisis having roots in the US mortgage market and the prospect of the collapse of the US banking system, the world flocked to dollars during the crisis, as shown below.  

Most crises have been accompanied by a stronger dollar, proving that the dollar is the port in the storm foreign investors seek when economic confidence is lacking, and liquidity is paramount.

Excessive Government Spending

The book criticizes massive federal expenditures, particularly on social programs and military efforts, which create budget deficits, drive up inflation, and ultimately devalue the dollar. The book was written while Lyndon Johnson spent heavily on the Vietnam War and domestic programs. Again, Rickenbacker was correct in worrying about inflation, a big problem throughout the 1970s.

Despite ever-increasing government spending and an increasing debt-to-GDP ratio, the globalization of trade has expanded rapidly since his book was published. With it, foreigners’ demand for dollars has been growing, and in mirror fashion, so is their need to invest the dollars, which helps us fund our deficits.

Even today, with “runaway” deficits making headlines daily, the dollar remains in the upper range of the last 35 years.

Dollar Devaluation In Context

Rickenbacker believed that easy money Federal Reserve policies, such as low interest rates and expanding the money supply, would fuel inflation that would erode the dollar’s purchasing power. He was right, as evidenced by comparing what a dollar buys today versus yesteryear. However, the argument provides little context.

For instance, in the 1950s, a hamburger (15 cents), fries (10 cents), and a Coke (10 cents) at McDonald’s cost less than 50 cents. Today, the same meal could run nearly $10.

Although decades of inflation have drastically eroded the dollar’s value, our standard of living has risen appreciably. To wit, the purchasing power of one dollar in 1947 has eroded to 7 cents. However, as shown below, inflation-adjusted incomes have risen fivefold since 1947. The dollar buys less, but our incomes buy more!

Trade and Balance of Payments Deficits

Rickenbacker points to persistent U.S. trade deficits and dollar outflows abroad, which weaken the currency’s global standing. He is correct that trade deficits have steadily increased, resulting in more dollars flowing abroad. However, more dollar outflows are a result of more demand for dollars. Furthermore, those dollars ultimately return to the US through investments and loans to the government and corporations. The larger the global economy, the greater the need for dollars, and the more dollars that need to be invested in the US economy.

Rickenbacker Was Right

The author’s concerns are valid and, in many cases, have proven true. However, the victim has not been the dollar. The victims are larger deficits, lower productivity growth, hollowing out of manufacturing, and a growing wealth divide, to name a few.

While these are big problems, they do not necessarily threaten the dollar’s status. As we wrote in Four Reasons The Dollar Is Here To Stay:

The pundits will be right someday. The dollar’s death as the reserve currency will come, and some other nation’s currency, cryptocurrency, gold, shells, or something else will take its place. However, that day is not coming anytime soon. The four reasons we describe in the article leave the world with no alternative.

While China is rapidly growing its economy and global trade footprint, it lacks the rule of law and liquid capital markets to sustain a global currency. It’s difficult to see how a communist country can overcome those challenges.

The Euro is the most viable competitor. They have the rule of law, but their capital markets are not nearly liquid enough to facilitate global trade. They also lack the military might to force the usage of the Euro. Let us also remember its finances are in equally bad or even worse shape than the U.S. There is no reason to suspect the euro could overtake the dollar.

Bitcoin? Forget about it! The government will never relinquish its control over the currency because, with that, they lose control of the nation.

Summary

Had Rickenbacker’s Death of the Dollar book solely focused on monetary and fiscal imprudence and its negative implications for the country, he would have been proven a seer. Unfortunately, he was wrong to insist that the dollar would lose its status as the world’s reserve currency.

The graph below, courtesy of the Federal Reserve, shows how the dollar’s usage in global transactions has been stable for the last two decades.

The index calculation, as detailed at the bottom of the graphic, is based on the primary uses of currencies.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/22/2025 – 09:05