Via Headline USA,

U.S. officials unveiled an indictment Tuesday against two alleged Mexican drug cartel leaders on narco-terrorism charges.

The indictment comes after the Trump administration in February designated the Sinaloa Cartel and seven other Latin American crime organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” upping its pressure on cartels operating in the U.S. and on anyone aiding them. President Donald Trump called for the designation in an executive order on Jan. 20, the day he took office in his second term.

The “foreign terrorist organization” label is unusual because it deploys a terrorist designation normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as the drug cartels.

“If you act like a terrorist, you shouldn’t be surprised if you are charged as one,” said Adam Gordon, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.

Those charged were described as key leaders of the Beltrán Leyva Organization, according to the indictment. The organization is one of a number of warring criminal groups that once formed part of the Sinaloa Cartel and have since split off and warred for territory and power, fueling bloodshed in large swathes of Mexico.

Pedro Inzunza Noriega and his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, were also charged with providing material support of terrorism in connection with the trafficking of massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States, according to court documents. 

Five other high-ranking members were charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.

All remain fugitives, officials said.

The father and son have overseen “one of the largest and most sophisticated fentanyl production networks in the world,” Gordon said. 

The organization is accused of trafficking tens of thousands of kilograms (pounds) of fentanyl into the United States.

Mexican authorities in December raided multiple sites controlled by the father and son that resulted in the world’s largest seizure of fentanyl, totaling 1,500 kilograms (more than 1.65 tons), according to court documents.

The group is also known for its violence, engaging in shootouts, kidnappings, torture and murders and targeting officials. 

It controls the drug trade in various parts of Central America and in many areas of Mexico – including in the border city of Tijuana, across from San Diego, according to the indictment.

The elder Pedro is paralyzed after being shot by a rival cartel member. His group has been one of the top distributors of cocaine and now fentanyl since 2006, Gordon said.

A sweeping Republican tax overhaul proposal, estimated to deliver double-digit percentage reductions in tax bills for average-income Americans, is drawing mounting opposition in the Senate over its accompanying cuts to health care and clean energy programs – underscoring the internal divisions complicating Republican efforts to advance a unified economic agenda.

According to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), households earning between $30,000 and $80,000 would see their federal taxes drop by approximately 15 percent in 2027 under the House GOP plan. Americans earning between $15,000 and $30,000 would see an even steeper 21 percent decline – at least initially.

But those same low-income earners would see their tax bills rise sharply in later years unless extended, with increases of 12 percent in 2029 and 20 percent in 2030, the JCT found. The report attributed some of those changes to proposed reforms of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a benefit for low-income workers that Republicans argue is vulnerable to improper payments.

While the report’s topline numbers have fueled Republican claims that the proposal is middle-class focused, Democrats seized on the overall distribution of tax cuts in dollar terms, Politico reports. Taxpayers earning more than $500,000 are slated to receive an aggregate cut of about $170 billion in 2027 – nearly triple the $59 billion going to households earning $30,000 to $80,000.

The proposal has already provoked heated exchanges in the House Ways and Means Committee, where lawmakers debated the fairness and sustainability of the tax package. Democrats derided the bill as a boon to the wealthy, while Republicans pointed to new breaks for tips, overtime, and seniors as evidence of its broader appeal.

The report is not a complete picture of winners and losers under Republicans’ plans. It doesn’t include a potential deal among lawmakers to further increase the SALT cap, beyond a proposed $30,000 limit.

The report also only looks at the tax side of Republican plans, and does not account for changes in spending programs, like Medicaid. -Politico

“It’s a trick,” said Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI). “You do it temporarily so you can get through the 2026 election” and “then these benefits for children and elders and workers disappear, while the tax benefits for the ultra-wealthy soar.”

Senate Republicans Balk

Yet beyond the debate over tax cuts, the House plan is facing stiff resistance in the Senate for how it proposes to offset some of the revenue losses: by slashing Medicaid and rolling back key clean energy incentives passed under the Biden administration.

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate found that the House bill’s Medicaid reforms could result in 8.6 million people losing health care coverage, largely due to new work requirements, cost-sharing mandates, and restrictions on how states finance their Medicaid programs.

Several Senate Republicans voiced concern over the health care implications, especially for rural areas.

“These are working people in particular who are going to have to pay more,” said Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), referring to new cost-sharing rules. He warned that changes to provider taxes – which states use to draw federal Medicaid dollars – could reduce coverage in his state and strain rural hospitals.

“I continue to maintain my position we should not be cutting Medicaid benefits,” Hawley said.

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), said the proposed treatment of provider taxes “would be very harmful to Maine’s hospitals,” echoing concerns raised by other senators from rural and Medicaid-reliant states.

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), also pointed to the disproportionate burden that Medicaid cuts would place on states like hers, calling the issue a key sticking point in ongoing Senate discussions.

Not So Fast?

In addition to health care, some senate Republicans are also wary of the House’s aggressive plans to unwind tax credits for clean energy and hydrogen development, incentives championed in the Inflation Reduction Act and credited with bringing manufacturing investments and jobs to red and purple states alike.

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), who faces a competitive reelection race next year, expressed concern over quickly ending climate initiatives – suggesting that the House language on energy tax rollbacks would need to be revised.

“You can’t shock the markets by doing it all at once,” Tillis said of the proposed clean energy phaseouts.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) also flagged potential impacts to her state’s clean hydrogen initiatives, saying she would review the House’s plan to eliminate the 45V hydrogen production credit, which could affect nearly $1 billion in planned federal support for the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub.

The House GOP plan is expected to pass narrowly along party lines, but Senate Republicans made clear this week that the legislation will require significant changes to win broader support in the upper chamber.

“We are coordinating very closely with our House counterparts,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota. “We know they have to get 218 votes… but it’s likely we’ll have a Senate substitute.”

As Republican leaders try to reconcile competing priorities — delivering tax relief, restraining federal spending, and maintaining political support in swing states — the path forward for the legislation remains uncertain.

“How we navigate this,” said Murkowski, “is something we’re all trying to wander through.”

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Health officials are poised to make an announcement on COVID-19 vaccines, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

“That is something that’s being discussed right now,” Dr. Marty Makary, the commissioner, said in an interview, released on May 12, after being asked by political activist Charlie Kirk about whether COVID-19 vaccines will remain on the childhood vaccination schedule.

“I think you’re going to see some announcement on that in the coming weeks, but I know they are trying to review all of the scientific data.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services, which maintains the schedule, did not respond to a request for comment.

Makary told Kirk that there’s no evidence available at this time that supports giving healthy children additional COVID-19 vaccine doses.

“That evidence does not exist, and so we’re not going to rubberstamp things at the FDA,” he said. 

“I don’t think you’re going to see the CDC pushing COVID shots in young, healthy children.”

The FDA commissioner, who expressed concern before joining the agency about vaccinating children, noted that there is no data from randomized, controlled trials for the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available. The regulatory agency cleared the vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax in 2024, pointing to animal testing and data from previous versions of the shots.

“There’s no good randomized control data that the current version, the latest formulation, of the COVID shot, is necessary for young, healthy children. Other leading countries in Europe have recommended against it,” Makary said. 

“So I think you’re going to hear something forthcoming.”

The CDC, in 2023, added the COVID-19 vaccines to the vaccination schedule, following a recommendation from its vaccine advisory panel.

The same panel said in April that it is leaning toward narrowing the current universal recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination. In the same meeting, officials noted that the United Kingdom and Australia are among the countries that do not recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for healthy children.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that same month that officials were considering removing the COVID-19 vaccines from the schedule. Makary has said he would support that move.

The CDC, which has an acting director at present, has not commented on the prospect of the schedule being adjusted.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is among the organizations that support the current COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. The group says on its site that the vaccines are safe and effective.

The FDA is set to meet with its vaccine advisers on May 22 to discuss selecting updates to the COVID-19 vaccines, with Novavax saying it plans to participate in the meeting. Pfizer and Moderna have not responded to queries.

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

Ex-CNN host Don Lemon had a total meltdown over Trump resettling a small number of white South African refugees in America, calling it “the most racist shit ever.”

A mere 59 Afrikaners arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Monday, prompting widespread derision and demonization from leftists and the media, who claimed they were not real refugees while also monstering them as white supremacists.

The backlash to the refugees arriving in America was so vociferous that it became a stunning mask off moment in proving that anti-white hatred is still mainstream.

Don Lemon hyperventilated over “this South African farmer bullshit, which is the most blatantly obvious racist shit ever,” implying that Afrikaners couldn’t be refugees because they “own most of the land and the property” in South Africa.

Lemon failed to acknowledge that this is precisely why they are being targeted, sometimes violently, and officially by government discrimination in the form of compulsory land grabs.

The former CNN anchor’s main bone of contention was that Trump was “trying to cut down on immigration from other countries” while favoring people from white countries.

Don Lemon has a meltdown over South African refugees: “The most obvious racist sht ever”

pic.twitter.com/eNXmnXTEXu

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) May 13, 2025

Because legally admitting 59 white people from South Africa is totally the same as the millions upon millions of illegal immigrants who entered America under Joe Biden, many of whom were violent criminals.

Lemon then ludicrously tried to justify the South African government taking land from farmers without compensation by claiming it’s only for land that isn’t being used.

Who decides whether the land is being used or not?

The same government seizing it without compensation.

I’m sure that’s a completely impartial and fair process!

Suddenly developing a flair for per capita statistics that leftists can’t seem to grasp when it comes to crime, Lemon complained that white South Africans own more land than blacks despite being a minority of the population.

Apparently, this alone, in true Communist dictatorship style, is enough to justify the government just stealing it from them without compensation.

As we highlighted earlier, African-American influencers are now suggesting that the white refugees should be violently targeted because they’re “racist,” proving precisely why they needed to flee South Africa in the first place.

“These racist motherfuckers gonna find out the hard way, they’re gonna fuck around and find out, you can’t talk that shit over here on our soil,” he said.

Tiktoker threatens the immigrants from South Africa and says they’re all racist and Trump brought them here to be racist

“They’re gonna find out the hard way… These people will start getting their ass whooped”

Seems totally normal and stable… pic.twitter.com/NuRrBxweap

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 14, 2025

“So what’s gonna happen is that these people will start getting their ass whooped…we’re gonna start lighting motherfuckers up because they don’t know how to talk to black people in America,” he added.

The influencer then complained that when white South African refugees start getting violently attacked, people will complain about it, prompting more discrimination against black Americans.

*  *  *

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Oil prices are marginally lower this morning after four straight sessions of gains driven by tariff optimism, following a bigger than expected build in crude stocks reported by API overnight.

The rise in stocks comes as OPEC+ readies to add another 411,000 barrel per day tranche of supply to the market as it unwinds 2.2-million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts. The new supply is likely to check prices as Saudi Arabia looks to regain market share and respond to a U.S. call for lower prices, even as U.S. President Donald Trump began the first presidential trip of his current term with a visit to Riyadh on Tuesday.

“While OPEC officials maintain that the US played no role in the decision to accelerate the phase -in of the voluntary barrels, the oil price environment has provided a beneficial backdrop to the Presidential visit from the Washington standpoint, Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note.

All eyes now on the official data for confirmation of builds…

API

• Crude +4.29mm

• Cushing -850k

• Gasoline -1.37mm

• Distillates -3.68mm

DOE

• Crude +3.45mm

• Cushing -1.07mm

• Gasoline -1.02mm

• Distillates -3.16mm

The official data echoe API’s report with a sizable crude build but draws at the Cushing Hub and in products…

Source: Bloomberg

In a week when the Trump administration proposes a major bill to refill the SPR, total crude stocks rose around 4mm barrels (including 528k barrels to the SPR)…

Source: Bloomberg

US crude production rose very modestly last week but along with the rig count is basically unchanged since President Trump’s election…

Source: Bloomberg

OPEC released its May Monthly Oil Market Report on Wednesday, sticking with its forecast for 2025 demand growth of 1.3-million barrels per day, higher last week’s estimate from the Energy Information Administration for demand growth of one-million bpd this year. 

The International Energy Agency will release its monthly outlook on Thursday.

The cartel also lowered its estimate from production growth for countries outside of OPEC+ by 100,000 bpd to 0.8-million bpd.

WTI is rallying back from overnight weakness…

Finally, the question many are asking is when will see prices at the pump lower as Refineries are expected to keep ramping up ahead of the summer, allowing nationwide crude processing rates to remain at the highest seasonal level since 2019.

…and along with those lower prices, lower inflation.

Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Florida officials announced that 1,800 state Highway Patrol troopers are the first in the nation to receive federal credentials under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreement allowing them to arrest illegal immigrants on their own.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference on May 12 that the state’s ongoing partnership with ICE included what is known as 287(g) agreements, where state and local law enforcement partner with ICE to help arrest and deport illegal immigrants.

The Florida Highway Patrol entered into a 287(g) task force model that gives them the power to arrest foreign nationals who are in the country illegally and place detainers on them during routine policing, such as traffic stops.

In essence, it allows local law enforcement to operate as an extension of ICE under federal supervision.

DeSantis encouraged other states to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants, noting the success of Operation Tidal Wave. The recent joint federal-state operation arrested more than 1,100 illegal immigrants.

Some of those arrested included members of gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, both designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

Additionally, DeSantis said Florida also swore in 100 troopers as special deputy U.S. marshals, which will allow them to execute federal search warrants and remove dangerous illegal immigrants.

Dave Kerner, director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said during the press conference that the Florida troopers are the first fully credentialed law enforcement to be fully operational under the 287(g) task force model.

“What that means is, if you see a state trooper, he or she has federal authorities to detain, investigate, apprehend, and deport,” Kerner said. “We have troopers in all 67 counties of this great state that have that authority.”

Kerner told The Epoch Times that troopers serving as U.S. marshals will be able to go into homes to serve warrants, which isn’t part of the 287(g) agreements.

He said that the programs offer flexibility to state and local jurisdictions, allowing them to determine their level of involvement once they sign up for the agreements.

“It is, by and large, a voluntary effort,” he said. “You can decide how much you want to participate.”

DeSantis added that there’s a plan on the table that, if approved by the federal government, would allow military judge advocates to act as immigration judges and provide makeshift detention space and transportation for illegal immigrants.

The governor noted that the state’s experience with disaster response, such as during hurricanes, helped the state come up with the plan. He said there are 70,000 to 80,000 illegal immigrants in the state, with final deportation orders issued by a judge.

Getting rid of criminal illegal immigrants helps cut down on crime and save lives, DeSantis said.

“You’re really making a difference in your community,” he said.

Some 11 million illegal immigrants were apprehended at U.S. borders over the past four years, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Trump campaigned on border security and illegal immigrant deportations. Upon returning to the White House, he has moved to keep that promise through a whole-of-government approach that has included designating several Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal groups as terrorist organizations. As a result, some members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs have been deported to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT.

As of May 8, ICE statistics show there are 531 agreements with state and local agencies throughout the country. Another 105 applications are pending.

Although dozens of states have agreements under the 287(g) program, Florida is the first to have its law enforcement officers credentialed.

Law enforcement nationwide has been encouraged to sign up for 287(g) agreements by the Trump administration because there are not enough federal officers to find and process millions of illegal immigrants.

Besides the task force model, the federal government created the jail enforcement model and the warrant service officer model.

The jail enforcement model allows local officers to identify and process removable noncitizens already booked into local jails. The warrant service officer model allows officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on illegal immigrants already in custody.

Florida had 266 agreements that included all 67 sheriff’s offices in the state, according to the Florida Sheriffs Association. Texas had the second-highest number of agreements at 77.

As home prices continue to climb and mortgage rates remain elevated, buying a home in the U.S. has become increasingly out of reach for the average household.

In 2025, buyers now need six-figure salaries to afford a median-priced home in all but 15 states.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, using data from Realtor.com, maps the annual income required to purchase a typical three-bedroom home in every state, based on a 10% down payment, a 6.65% interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage, and a 30% income-to-housing cost threshold (which includes taxes and insurance).

The Growing Gap Between Income and Home Prices

A recent study found that nearly 50% of U.S. households cannot afford a home priced at $250,000. This is particularly concerning when the median price of a new single-family home nationwide has reached $495,750, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

In many states, the income needed to comfortably afford a median-priced home far exceeds what a typical family earns.

Where Buying a Home Requires the Highest Salaries

Here are the top five most expensive states for homebuyers in 2025:

Hawaii tops the list, where buying a median three-bedroom home requires an annual income of $229,000—the highest in the country. Despite its small population, Montana has climbed into the top five least affordable states, driven by a widening gap between soaring home prices and relatively modest local incomes.

In contrast, in West Virginia a buyer would need a salary of just $71,000 to afford a median-priced home—well below the state’s median household income of $90,000. Other states with lower thresholds include Mississippi, Ohio, and Indiana.

What’s the cost of a median price in every U.S. state? Find out in this map on Voronoi.

Authored by Thaddeus McCotter via American Greatness,

“Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s all right” – Wrong, Mr. Harrison!

“Good day sunshine” – Not so fast, Mr. Lennon and Mr. McCartney!

Standing with both hands extended for a £50 million squeeze of the public teat, United Kingdom scientists claim the sun you celebrate in song contributes to “runaway climate change.” 

And these white-robed high priests of perfidious Albion’s climate cult have a novel idea to control the weather and forestall the impending apocalypse: dimming the sun.

(Apparently, for these climate cult dimwits, sunshine on their shoulders makes them anything but happy.)

Per Simon Kent’s article in Breitbart News, this is not the only harebrained scheme these literal dimwits at Aria (the Advanced Research and Invention Agency) promise for someone else’s money.

According to the Daily Telegraph, a host of possible options for climate control are being considered by scientists with government approval alongside £50 million in taxpayer funds:

Scientists are considering outdoor field trials, which could include injecting aerosols into the atmosphere or brightening clouds to reflect sunshine, as a way to prevent runaway climate change.

Clearly, the old-school itinerant cloud seeders preying upon the angst of drought-riddled farmers and their small towns have nothing on Aria and its siren song of salvation, for they have the entire UK government on board to foot the bill for what should have been named “Operation Daedalus.”

But though the dimwits will be confronting the sun, they assure us that, unlike the heedless youth in Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun, these climate cultists vow to not go down in flames.

According to Professor Mark Symes, there will be “small controlled outdoor experiments on particular approaches.” The professor then went on to preemptively calm any member of the public who had been traumatized by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and had qualms with a lab-coated, modern Prometheus playing God:

“Everything we do is going to be safe by design. We’re absolutely committed to responsible research, including responsible outdoor research… We have strong requirements around the length of time experiments can run for and their reversibility, and we won’t be funding the release of any toxic substances to the environment.” 

(Author’s Note: The professor is not funding anything. The British public is.)

See? 

The only thing going up in flames is someone else’s money. Besides, what could go wrong when prospectively using “stratospheric aerosol injection” that “would see scientists launching sulfate particles into the Earth’s lower stratosphere at altitudes up 12 miles high?” Unforeseen consequences, you say? Please. Next, you’ll claim that COVID resulted from a lab leak.

Nevertheless, one cannot help but wonder how dimming the sun in that renowned fun-in-the-sun island known as England will prevent climate change. Given the UK’s increasing war on free speech, it is best not to ask or to have “Let the Sunshine In” on your iPod.

Oh, wait. It isn’t just us recalcitrant climate deniers worried about the unforeseen consequences of trying to change the weather?

The Telegraph notes geoengineering projects that seek to artificially alter the climate have proven controversial, with critics arguing they could bring damaging knock-on effects. This has been noted previously when scientists looked to “dimming the sun” as a way to shield the Earth’s surface.

There is a rich irony in environmental radicals who only eat organic foods, blithely supporting using artificial means to unnaturally diminish sunlight. I guess it is the climate cult’s version of “We have to destroy a village to save it”—perhaps with dimwits crooning, “I’m blocking out sunshine” to the tune of Katrina and the Waves 1980s hit?

Regardless, the climate cult—starting with the dimwits—refuses to admit how all the diplomas and degrees in the world cannot render anyone infallible. And therein is another more bitter irony: what if a climate apocalypse is manmade—by dimwits like these messing up nature by trying to stop it?

Anyway, “it’s getting near dawn, when lights close their tired eyes,” and mine are glazing over at the climate cult’s toxic imbecility on display. Suffice to say, however the dimwits give us their “dawn surprise,” we can but hope they don’t usher in the next Ice Age—or worse.

Wait! We cannot succumb to our worst fears. That’s what the climate cultists do. No, Annie is right, “The sun will come up tomorrow.” After all, the British public just bet their bottom £50 million on it, right?

The global shadow economy generates trillions in revenue each year, driven by criminal activity and other unreported transactions.

In low income countries, shadow activity makes up a larger slice of GDP, standing at an estimated 42.4% share. In comparison, this drops to 5.9% of GDP in rich countries, with the UAE seeing the smallest share overall.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows the size of each country’s shadow economy, based on analysis from the Ernst & Young Global Shadow Economy Report 2025.

Defining the Shadow Economy

To start, the shadow economy includes unreported or untaxed activity, making it difficult for authorities to monitor.

This includes illegal enterprises, drug trafficking, street vendors, or cash transactions made off the books. While measuring the informal economy is hard to quantify, it has shrunk from 17.7% of world GDP in 2000 to 11.8% in 2023.

Breaking Down the Shadow Economy by Country

Here are countries with the largest shadow economies as a share of GDP:

As we can see, Sierra Leone ranks first overall, with its shadow economy equaling 64.5% of GDP.

Like many other sub-Saharan African countries, the informal economy employs millions of workers, including subsistence farmers, street vendors, and small business owners. Underscoring this trend are limited opportunities in the formal sector along with bureaucratic red tape.

In particular, the DRC stands out in both the scale of its informal economy and prevalence of organized crime.

Meanwhile, Nepal ranks third overall, with shadow activity accounting for 51% of GDP. Notably, the agriculture sector employs a substantial share of informal workers. In fact, 85% of Nepal’s labor force participates in the informal economy, making it a vital source of livelihood for many.

In contrast, America’s underground economy comprises just 5% of GDP, yet its sheer size—valued at $1.4 trillion—makes it one of the world’s largest.

To learn more about this topic from a violent crime perspective, check out this graphic on violent crime rates by U.S. state.

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

According to British pop star Ed Sheeran, “every area” of London is “dangerous” now, including the supposedly nice ones.

During an appearance on Theo Von’s podcast, Sheeran was asked by the host, “What’s the most dangerous place to be around here?”

“I’d say every area of London, literally every area is sketchy,” the singer responded.

Ed Sheeran says “every area of London” is the most dangerous place to be while interviewing on the Theo Von Podcast. pic.twitter.com/fElxLxzJFn

— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) May 12, 2025

“The nice areas are sketchy, the bad areas are sketchy, but you just have to not do stupid shit,” he added.

Presumably, by “stupid shit,” Sheeran means things like not attaching your mobile phone to your body in case it gets swiped.

The crime has reached an “industrial level” in the English capital, with criminals stealing 70,137 devices last year alone, an average of 192 a day.

Compare that to as recently as 2020, when 20,000 phones were reported stolen.

In the supposedly “nice” areas Sheeran references, wealthier people have stopped wearing expensive watches and jewelry due to the risk of having it snatched by criminals on mopeds.

So-called “follow home” robberies, where thieves track victims from luxury shopping districts before striking, are also commonplace in London.

Figures released earlier this year also show that knife crime continues to be a major problem, rising 18 per cent since 2022.

Meanwhile, take a look at how Manchester has been turned into a dystopian hellscape, mirroring virtually every other major British city, as well as many of the smaller ones.

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