Update (0017ET): The missile that struck Poland may have been fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile, AP reports, citing three unidentified US officials.

[K]ey questions around the circumstances of the missile launch remained amid the confusion caused by a blistering series of Russian airstrikes across the nearby border in Ukraine, none larger than who fired it. Russia denied any involvement in the Poland blast.

Three U.S. officials said preliminary assessments suggested the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian one amid the crushing salvo against Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. -AP

The Associated Press also points out that the above assessment, in addition to President Biden’s comments that it was “unlikely” the missile was fired from Russia, contradicts information earlier Tuesday from a senior US intelligence official who told AP “that Russian missiles crossed into Poland.”

So it was a ‘stray’ missile after all?

US Finds Ukraine Self-Defense May Have Caused Poland Strike: AP

So, uh, the “senior US intel official” lied?

Also tomorrow’s Article 4 meeting is going to be a little awkward…https://t.co/Cuuz87ztjo

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 16, 2022

*  *  *

Update (2100ET): So much for Russia almost starting World War 3 (even if under the guise of a false flag). As we noted earlier (see below), even pro-Ukraine accounts noted that the S-300 SAM that fell in Poland was a Ukrainian one. And while Biden will never admit that Ukraine nearly started war with Poland (as much as the deep state via its AP connections or the Ukraine president would have wanted Russia to get the blame), moments ago Biden explicitly said that based on preliminary information, it is “unlikely” that the rocket strike in Poland originated in Russia. Oops.

“There is plenty of information to contest that. I don’t want to say until we completely investigate. It’s unlikely in the minds of [sic] the trajectory that it was fired from Russia. But we’ll see.”

So if it was not fired by Russia, where was it fired from?

Ukrainian military telegram admits that the deadly explosion in Poland was caused by a Ukrainian anti-missile defense S-300P to protect their country against Russian missile barrages. https://t.co/1qLFCMhIaV

— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) November 15, 2022

Here are the highlights from Biden’s briefing:

• Says he briefed NATO, G7 members on his talks with Poland
• Leaders have agreed to support investing to figure out exactly what happened
• Leaders will then determine next steps after finding out what ahppened
• Russia continues to escalate its attacks in Ukraine
• There is preliminary information that contests whether Poland incident was due to a missile fired from Russia
• Based on the trajectory its unlikely the missile was fired from Russia

BREAKING: Pres. Biden makes remarks on Poland following meeting with world leaders, says preliminary information indicates “it’s unlikely” that projectile was fired from Russia. https://t.co/U7pWMhVsM9 pic.twitter.com/0V5jhK4rcG

— ABC News (@ABC) November 16, 2022

Guess that “conspiracy theory” was actually fact…

Russia now promotes a conspiracy theory that it was allegedly a missile of Ukrainian air defense that fell on the Polish theory. Which is not true. No one should buy Russian propaganda or amplify its messages. This lesson should have been long learnt since the downing of #MH17.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) November 15, 2022

And with that Ukraine, and its western sponsors, will be busy for the next few hours de-escalating and memory-holing events from today which nearly sparked NATO to trigger Article 5 and launch a nuclear war against Russia.

* * *

Update(1920ET): Polish President Andrzej Duda is seeking to calm the public, and has issued a statement saying there’s as yet no definite evidence of who fired missile that fell in Poland. But he did say that a state of heightened readiness has been introduced for all Polish services, including the police, firefighters, border guards, according to breaking international reports.

Duda further said the military is increasing the monitoring of national airspace as investigators are still working to establish the causes of the explosion. He urged all Poles to remain. He added that “there are no indications that today’s incident would be repeated.”

#Update Here’s #Poland MFA statement on “Russian made missile” translated in english. #Latest #Ukraine #Russia https://t.co/C8Tn1BTPJT

— José Miguel Sardo (@jmsardo) November 16, 2022

Earlier Warsaw announced a “Russia made” missile landed on the border village of Przewodów, and Poland’s Foreign Ministry said it has summoned the Russian ambassador for a meeting. However, it should be noted that Ukraine’s anti-air defense arsenal has always been “Russia made” – especially its S-300 systems. Poland’s statement is interesting in that it did not say “Russia launched” missile, leaving the question of the missile’s origins open. 

All of the above points in the direction that this was actually a projectile fired by Ukraine, as some of our coverage below suggested.

That’s a ‘Western’ source so it makes it quasi official:

Ukraine air defense missile fell down on Poland. https://t.co/4PbjrMU6yP

— Moon of Alabama (@MoonofA) November 15, 2022

President Biden sent a condolence message for the two lives lost to Poland’s Duda…

I spoke with President Andrzej Duda of Poland to express my deep condolences for the loss of life in Eastern Poland and offer our full support for Poland’s investigation of the explosion.

We will remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as it proceeds. pic.twitter.com/m6OSwcHKtD

— President Biden (@POTUS) November 16, 2022

* * * 

Update(1715ET): Despite the alarmist talk all afternoon that NATO could invoke the Article 5 collective defense treaty over the alleged Russian rocket attack on a border town, the result of the Polish government national security emergency meeting is going in the opposite direction, and it seems there won’t be escalation today. 

Polish govt spokesman Piotr Mueller said Poland has agreed to “increase its military readiness” – though crucially still admitted “It was not clear what caused the explosion in the southeastern town of Hrubieszów.” Russia has vehemently denied it was behind the explosions which killed two people. So instead of Article 5, Warsaw is merely talking the much lesser known Article 4. Article 4 requires “consultations” when a NATO member is threatened.

NATO AMASSADORS TO MEET ON WEDNESDAY AT REQUEST OF POLAND ON BASIS OF ALLIANCE’S ARTICLE 4 – TWO EUROPEAN DIPLOMATS SAY

“A moment ago it was decided to increase the readiness of some military units in Poland and other uniformed services,” Mueller told reporters in a press briefing. Across Ukraine and as far west as Lviv, Russian airstrikes pummeled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Tuesday. The Hill reports after a terrifying day for Ukraine, “Russia’s widespread missile attack on Ukraine – firing what Zelensky said was 90 missiles – was aimed primarily at the country’s electrical infrastructure following an embarrassing Kremlin retreat from the key Ukrainian city of Kherson.”

It is entirely possible that amid this large barrage of rockets, which also triggered Ukraine’s anti-air defense measures, an errant projectile strayed into NATO member Poland’s territory. Polish Senate Advisor Marcin Zaborowski said late in the day that if indeed it was accidental, Moscow should immediately apologize. So far the Kremlin has denounced the reports as a “deliberate provocation” – suggesting that Ukraine’s backers are seeking to draw NATO into escalation. 

Article 4 call is wise. It seems Poland does not want to be blamed for a possible fait accompli. Discussion with NATO countries buys time for investigations to reach definitive data.

That means I can sleep now.https://t.co/YyExS9RUQL

— Levent Kemal (@leventkemaI) November 15, 2022

NATO Article 4 involves the following: 

All NATO decisions are made by consensus, after discussion and consultation among member countries. Consultation between member states is therefore at the heart of NATO since Allies are able to exchange views and information, and discuss issues prior to reaching agreement and taking action.

As for the Ukrainian government reaction, it was somewhat predictable, with President Zelensky calling it a “really significant escalation” in the war while demanding “action” from the West.

Top Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky, are not waiting for the outcome of any ongoing Western investigation. They are on-record blaming Russia. https://t.co/IXls08KjNs

— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) November 15, 2022

“Hitting NATO territory with missiles… This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a really significant escalation. Action is needed,” Zelensky said his Tuesday night video address. He said it is “only a matter of time before Russian terror goes further.”

Unconfirmed video purporting to show the strike aftermath on the Polish side of the border was aired on a Polish TV station:

NEW: Footage reported to show the immediate aftermath of the explosion in Poland today pic.twitter.com/vTsbg0CpYX

— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) November 15, 2022

Meanwhile, a highly respected weapons tracker social media account that’s generally seen as sympathetic to the Ukrainian side has broken ranks, suggesting what landed on the Polish town was a Ukrainian anti-air missile…

So what crashed in the village of Przewodów, Poland today?

With the cooperation of @blueboy1969 we analyzed the available photos of fragments and came to a clear conclusion that they belong to the 48D6 motor of the 5V55-series missile of the S-300 AD system- a Ukrainian one. pic.twitter.com/f0Ex3USLN8

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) November 15, 2022

With the narrative quickly changing, and available photographic evidence from the impact site now coming under broader scrutiny, Ukraine officials are in damage control…

Ukraine is calling this a Russia-promoted conspiracy theory https://t.co/I1sJcuNcOP

— Jonny Tickle (@jonnytickle) November 15, 2022

* * *

Update(1500ET): Russia has issued its first statements in the wake of conflicting reporting concerning the suspected missile attack on Polish territory, just across the border with Ukraine. Russia is calling the reports a “deliberate provocation” and is denying that its forces have aimed any missiles near the Ukraine-Poland border, per Interfax news. 

The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement saying it has not taken part in “strikes against targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border” using “Russian weapons” – as is being alleged by Polish sources. The Russian statement further said it’s Warsaw’s attempt to escalate the situation. The Pentagon has meanwhile said it can’t corroborate the reports at this early stage but is gathering more information. A Pentagon spokesman vowed the US stands ready to “defend every inch of NATO territory.”

According to Polish radio broadcaster Radio Zet, local reports have said what hit Przewowo is most likely the remains of a rocket shot down by Ukraine’s armed forces. But there are conflicting and many unconfirmed claims still circulating. The US State Dept. said, “We are working with the Polish government to collect information and assess what happened.” It also called the reports “incredibly concerning.” 

⚡️First video from the site of the explosion/strike in Poland pic.twitter.com/UOQHBAzine

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 15, 2022

Below is the full Russian statement in response: 

Russia’s defence ministry has denied reports that Russian missiles hit Polish territory, describing them as “a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation”.

“No strikes on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border were made by Russian means of destruction,” it said in a statement.

Wreckage reportedly found at the scene “has nothing to do with Russian weapons”, it added.

Meanwhile “Article 5” is trending on Twitter.

Article 5 is not an automatic tripwire, it relies on consensus like other NATO decision-making processes. Ukraine (and Poland’s) defense wishlists just became more achievable but a NATO consensus on direct conflict with Russia is hardly a given and all parties involved know this https://t.co/A0m4yR62gu

— Dan Trombly (@stcolumbia) November 15, 2022

* * *

Are we about to test Art Cashin’s thesis that you should never bet on the end of the world (i.e. sell stocks as the ICBMs start flying). As a reminder:

Art Cashin, the dean of the NYSE floor, told a story on Tuesday at Barry Ritholtz’s Big Picture conference in midtown that illustrated this point perfectly. It was in the days before the Cuban missile crisis. Mr. Cashin was a young trader. One day a rumor mushroomed that the Russians had launched their missiles. World War III was starting. Mr. Cashin ran across the street to find the best trader he knew – who was in a bar having a drink. Mr. Cashin ran in breathlessly, hardly able to talk.

“Stop,” the trader said. “Have a drink. Explain everything.” After hearing all the information, the trader had one order: “Buy. Don’t sell. Buy.”

“Why?” Mr. Cashin wondered.

“Because if you’re wrong, the trade’ll never clear. We’ll all be dead.”

Well, moments ago futures ignored the venerable market strategist’s words and tumbled after a report from Polish Radio ZET according to which two stray rockets fell in the town of Przewodów on the border of NATO-member Poland with Ukraine (while unreported, the prevailing assumption is that the rockets are Russian).

The Associated Press is also confirming, citing a senior US intelligence official who says two people were killed by the missiles. However, the Pentagon followed by saying it cannot corroborate the reports at this time. Stocks quickly reversed higher on the headline.

And Polish sources are reporting – albeit emphasizing the report is still unofficial – that Polish military planes have been scrambled out of the airport near Tomaszów Lubelski. “The Polish Air Force took fighter jets into the air from the Tomaszow-Lubelski airfield in the Lublin Voivodeship,” the local reports say.

The rockets reportedly hit the grain dryers, leading to two casualties. The police, the prosecutor’s office and the army are on site.

Prime Minister Morawiecki convenes an urgent meeting of the Committee of the Council of Ministers for National Security https://t.co/WGaNBIbox6

— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) November 15, 2022

And as Bloomberg also confirms, Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki has convened an urgent meeting of the Committee of the Council of Ministers for National Security. Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has also reportedly convened a national defense council meeting.

Estonia has meanwhile issued a statement saying it is “ready to defend every inch of NATO territory, We’re in full solidarity with our close ally Poland,” according to its ministry of foreign affairs.

The news has sent futures tumbling.

And further on the news: 

US DEFENSE STOCKS JUMP TO SESSION HIGHS; NORTHROP UP 5%

It will be amusing when reputable news sources deny the whole thing but for now, stocks are dumping and are red on the day after soaring more than 2% earlier.

Hours earlier in the day Ukrainian authorities were reporting a series of fresh missile attack on the capital, and rare airstrikes in Western regions as well, including the city of Lviv. 

It’s popping off in Kiev… multiple rocket strikes reported… pic.twitter.com/vf4dCRhoQ6

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 15, 2022

This resulted in new emergency power outages across various cities effected. 

Meanwhile, NATO’s collective defense article is trending on Twitter, which is never a good sign…

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said on Monday night that he plans to challenge House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) when the GOP conference convenes on Tuesday to choose its nominee to be speaker of the House.

“We have a new paradigm here, and I think the country wants a different direction from the House of Representatives,” Biggs told Newsmax. “And it’s a new world, and, yes, I’m going to be nominated tomorrow to the position of speaker of the House.”

After unexpected midterm results, Republicans who were hoping to win larger gains in Congress have indicated there is a need to call for new leadership.

Biggs said voters in Republican constituencies were urging their representatives to change direction, noting his decision wasn’t about McCarthy but “about the institutional direction and trajectory.”

“And that’s where we’re going to see if we have enough people who agree that we need to change the trajectory of this place and open it up so people can represent their constituency in a more open and transparent manner,” Biggs said.

Biggs had previously indicated a lack of confidence in McCarthy’s ability to lead, noting that he’s “backpedaled on things like impeachment,” which Biggs said “indicates a willingness to be weakening the oversight authority that we need to have and the leverage points we need to have in order to deal with a Democrat president.”

‘I’m Not Voting for Him’: Gaetz

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday said he won’t vote for McCarthy, and he’s certain many others won’t either.

“I’m making my announcement, which is that I’m not voting for Kevin McCarthy. I’m not voting for him tomorrow, I’m not voting for him on the floor,” Gaetz told “The Charlie Kirk Show.”

“And I am certain that there is a critical mass of people who hold my precise view, and so the sooner we can sort of dispense with the notion that Kevin is gonna be speaker, then we can get to the important work of actually looking at who are the people that Brian Fitzpatrick and Matt Gaetz can agree on.”

On Nov. 12, Gaetz took to Twitter to remind voters that McCarthy defended Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and said former President Donald Trump should resign after the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

Kevin McCarthy:

Defended Liz Cheney when @jdanbishop first sought her ouster

Told GOP Leadership Trump should resign after J6

Kevin is FLIGHT over FIGHT when the chips are down

He is not a Speaker for these times

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 11, 2022

Gaetz noted that “a lot of the establishment Republicans” are in denial believing that McCarthy can still become speaker. However, he said there’s enough Republicans who’d “rather be waterboarded by Liz Cheney than vote for Kevin McCarthy for speaker of the House.”

“I think there’s a real desire to have fresh faces, new leadership, new ideas, and to turn a new page so that we can get to the important work that we promised the American people that we can get to,” he added.

Biggs said Gaetz’ arguments were his opinion and that voters had also been telling their Republican representatives that change in leadership was needed.

Biggs acknowledged Gaetz’ reasons for not voting for McCarthy but said there were other reasons led by constituents as well.

Read more here…

After three delays, NASA confirmed a new launch window for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, an uncrewed Orion spacecraft, for Wednesday morning. 

The Artemis 1 rocket launch was scrubbed in late August (read: here) and early September (read: here) due to a liquid hydrogen leak at an interface between the SLS and mobile launcher at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

NASA appears comfortable with the next launch attempt, with a two-hour window beginning at 0104 ET Wednesday. 

The @NASAKennedy clock is counting down to #Artemis I launch. It started with call to stations at 1:24 a.m. this morning. The two-hour @NASA_SLS launch window opens at 1:04 a.m. ET on Nov. 16.

Learn more: https://t.co/Hzdf440SBc pic.twitter.com/u8s1QzQrQf

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) November 14, 2022

If the launch goes to plan, it will be the first flight of the SLS and send the unmanned Orion Spacecraft around the moon. 

“I feel good headed into this attempt on the 16th,” Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager at NASA headquarters in Washington, said during a press briefing on Sunday. 

“The team is moving forward as one unit,” Sarafin added. “We’ve just got some work to do.”

Besides prior leak mishaps, NASA outlined Hurricane Ian also delayed timelines. 

“Engineers previously rolled the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) Sept. 26 ahead of Hurricane Ian and after waving off two previous launch attempts Aug. 29 due to a faulty temperature sensor, and Sept. 4 due to a liquid hydrogen leak at an interface between the rocket and mobile launcher. Prior to rolling back to the VAB, teams successfully repaired the leak and demonstrated updated tanking procedures. While in the VAB, teams performed standard maintenance to repair minor damage to the foam and cork on the thermal protection system and recharge or replace batteries throughout the system.”

If all goes well, the Artemis 2 mission could propel four astronauts on a flyby mission around the moon in 2024. Then by 2025, Artemis 3 mission would allow for the first crewed moon landing on the moon. 

Watch Launch Live Here:

Following big misses in CPI and PPI data, tomorrow’s retail sales should come in line to slightly stronger than expected by consensus. That’s because real-time card spending data, as measured by BAC aggregated credit and debit cards, was a solid +3.1% year-over-year on a per household (HH) basis in October, and rose 0.5% month-over-month.

As a result, BofA’s economists forecast a solid 0.6% m/m increase in the Census Bureau’s ex-auto retail sales figure in October, just above the consensus estimate.

Alas, as has been the case in recent months, much of this retail sales strength will be driven by inflation, namely a pickup in gas spending (due to higher gasoline prices)…

… and restaurant spending.

Therefore, BofA expects a smaller 0.3% m/m pickup in core control sales (retail sales ex autos, gas, building materials and restaurants) in October

As BofA further notes, two special factors appear to have boosted spending in October.

• First, there was another round of Prime Day and related promotions last month, in addition to the usual annual July event. This likely contributed to the strong increase in online retail spending in October (+1.5% m/m).
• Second, and as we observed above, California (CA) distributed one-off (anti-inflation) stimulus payments last month. Ex-auto retail spending in CA significantly outpaced the rest of the country in October, after lagging in four of the previous five months. CA accounts for about one-seventh of the national economy, so the stimulus checks could move the needle on national spending aggregates.

As an aside, the Census Bureau’s retail sales report for September did not mention any impact from Hurricane Ian, whereas the BofA card data showed a 0.2-0.3% headwind to ex-auto retail sales. Therefore it is likely that the Census Bureau will enact downward revisions to the September data. Such revisions could support stronger m/m retail sales growth in October by creating favorable base effects.

Finally, we shift away from BofA, and present a summary of what JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli expects tomorrow:

We believe that nominal retail sales jumped 1.3% in October. Unit auto sales surged between September and October and we think this suggests that related retail sales picked up noticeably as well—we forecast that sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers jumped 6.0% in October. We also think that price increases boosted sales at gasoline stations in October and we estimate that related nominal sales rose 1.2% that month. Our Chase card data signal a strong gain for food services sales in October along with a decline in sales of the important control group, although we are fading these signals somewhat given recent noticeable deviations between the signals from the card data and the official figures reported by the Census Bureau. We estimate that food services sales increased 1.1% in October while control retail sales—the total excluding food services, autos, gasoline, and building materials—were basically unchanged that month relative to September.

More in the full note available to pro subs.

Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Republicans missed a “generational opportunity” to retake Congress in the midterm elections, and criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for placing personal politics above the party’s best interests.

“We had an extraordinary opportunity. We had a generational opportunity. This should have been a fundamental landslide election,” Cruz said on his podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz” on Nov. 14.

Cruz added: “We should have won the House and the Senate. We should have a 30, 40, 50-vote majority in the House. We should have 53, 54, 55 Republicans in the Senate.”

Republicans lost control of the Senate after suffering losses in Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. The GOP is still expected to gain control of the House, though with only a slim majority.

After several races were called Monday night, Republicans are one seat away from the 218-seat majority needed to take control of the House. There are 13 uncalled races left.

Cruz criticized McConnell for the failure of the Republicans to win Arizona’s Senate race with GOP candidate Blake Masters.

“Mitch McConnell pulled the money out of Arizona. We could have won Arizona. We nearly won Arizona. And abandoning Blake Masters was indefensible,” Cruz said.

The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a political action committee with close ties to McConnell, slashed millions in campaign spending for the Arizona Senate race in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 election.

Cruz explained that SLF’s decision was made because Masters had said he would not support McConnell as leader in the next Congress.

“Because Masters said he would vote against Mitch McConnell. And so Mitch would rather be leader than have a Republican majority. If there’s a Republican who can win who’s not going to support Mitch, the truth of the matter is he’d rather the Democrat win,” Cruz said.

During the Arizona Republican primary, Masters called for McConnell to be replaced as GOP leader, saying he would support Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) or Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) for the position.

“I’ll tell Mitch this to his face,” Masters said during a Republican primary debate in June. “He’s not bad at everything. He’s good at judges. He’s good at blocking Democrats. You know what he’s not good at? Legislating.”

On election eve, Masters told The Wall Street Journal he would support a conservative challenger to McConnell if elected, telling the outlet that “we need new leadership” in the Senate.

Had McConnell directed the millions he spent supporting incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in Alaska’s Senate race to Arizona, Cruz said “Blake Masters probably would have won and we would be on the road to a Republican majority.”

Read more here…

Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

PHOENIX, Ariz.—Angie Russo chuckled at the clear blue urban sky over Phoenix and said, “You see the drones? We got drones.”

One law enforcement camera drone was visible, buzzing overhead in a stationary position.

Russo then noticed two armed police officers in body armor positioned atop the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC).

Another pair were on the building across the street, watching her location with binoculars.

“We got snipers—because we’re dangerous. Can’t you see how dangerous we are?” Russo said jokingly.

At 1 p.m., Russo was among the first to arrive at a prayer rally outside the fortified perimeter of the county’s main tabulation center on Nov. 14.

That the gathering took place inside an official “free speech zone” didn’t sit well with Russo, who thought it “ridiculous.”

“I live in America. Everywhere is free speech,” she said.

And the heavy show of law enforcement and surveillance?

Intimidating, Russo told The Epoch Times.

“Unfortunately, this is how they treat you. If you’re an American who believes in the Constitution and free speech, this is what you get.”

“If you’re not hiding something, why would you do this? I don’t usually barricade something I’m not hiding, you know what I’m saying?”

‘Zero Confidence’

Inside the facility, ballot workers continued their slow, laborious tallying of ballots though a clear winner in the race for Arizona governor remained in doubt Monday afternoon.

However, NBC News projected Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs would defeat Republican Kari Lake in Arizona’s race for governor, 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent, hours later.

“Do I have faith [in the process]?” Russo said. “At this point, you’d have to prove that an election is legitimate. I won’t believe it unless I have proof—so no. I have zero confidence in our elections.”

All Michelle Dillard, a conservative Republican from Mesa, said she wanted was “legitimate results,” given widespread reports of ballot tabulator machine failure on election day.

“Everybody talks about voter suppression all the time,” Dillard told The Epoch Times at the prayer rally. “Voter suppression is super long lines. The morning polls are when people are on their way to work. They can’t stay and wait around for them to fix a printer.

“These people are going on election day to vote in person for a reason. They were disenfranchised. Turned away. Many people did not vote.”

“It’s worse than it was back in 2020,” said Gage, a Maricopa County poll worker at the prayer rally, who said both tabulators at his precinct center stopped working during early voting.

He said he saw many voters step out of line and leave out of frustration.

“They had to go. They didn’t have time to stand and wait any longer,” Gage told The Epoch Times.

Read more here…

The company that once defined family entertainment is going from media giant to epic failure, suffering over $1.4 billion in streaming losses and a stock drop of around 39% for the year.  And, it would appear that these financial declines are inevitably leading to employee layoffs.

Disney has put a freeze on hiring, it is limited employee travel and is also reviewing workers for efficiency with plans to introduce cuts as a means to make the company “more nimble.”  CEO Bob Chapek noted in a leaked memo to senior staff:

“As we work through this evaluation process, we will look at every avenue of operations and labor to find savings, and we do anticipate some staff reductions as part of this review.

…I am fully aware this will be a difficult process for many of you and your teams. We are going to have to make tough and uncomfortable decisions.”

Chapek mentions in the same memo the problem of “macroeconomic factors” out of Disney’s control.  He does not, however, mention his habit of bending the knee and groveling to woke activists, attempting to sabotage Florida’s anti-grooming legislation for public schools, or the company’s steady supply of content that pushes far-left narratives. 

It is not so much the “macroeconomic factors out of Disney’s control” that are causing the conglomerate’s downfall.  Rather, it is all the factors within their control, including their refusal to produce content that consumers actually want.  American audiences are done with leftist propaganda in their films and television and are now actively researching and avoiding any content that promotes woke ideology and social justice talking points.  After around five years of consumers withholding their money, Disney is finally starting to feel the pain.

This is what happens when a company markets its products to a tiny minority of leftist activists and LGBT fanatics, most of whom have very little money to spend anyway.  Specifically, parents are concerned with Disney’s “family entertainment” evolving to focus on LGBT characters, being that LGBT concepts are purely sexual in nature and far outside of the understanding of the average child.  Highlighting the obscure sexuality of characters within a children’s production is a bizarre notion.       

Furthermore, the company’s hostility towards Florida’s Parental Rights In Education bill, which makes it illegal for public school teachers to groom young children with sexualized concepts and gender ideology, raises questions among consumers about Disney’s agenda in entertainment.

It is therefore no surprise that the company is now floundering, with a vast array of politically motivated box office bombs and streaming disasters that struggle to bring in even moderate viewership.  Though they will never openly admit it, ultimately, Disney proves yet again that going woke also means going broke.       

Former President Donald Trump has formally filed a statement of candidacy for a 2024 presidential bid, and will make an announcement live Tuesday night.

According to polls, he will immediately become the front-runner for the Republican nomination despite last week’s lack of a “red wave” during the midterm election – after which Democrats held the Senate and lost the House by a much smaller-than-anticipated number.

Watch live:

Authored by Zachary Steiber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Democrats probably won’t be able to pass federal legislation codifying the struck-down Roe v. Wade abortion protections, President Joe Biden said on Nov. 14.

“I don’t think there’s enough votes to codify, unless something happens unusual in the House,” Biden said at a press conference while traveling in Asia.

While control of the U.S. House of Representatives is still undetermined because some states have struggled to count votes in a timely manner, Democrats have already lost a number of seats and are likely to be in the minority.

“I think we’re going to get very close in the House. But I don’t—I think it’s going to be very close, but I don’t think we’re going to make it,” Biden added.

The Supreme Court in June struck down Roe, the 1973 decision that concluded access to abortion was a constitutional right, and an associated ruling called Planned Parenthood v. Casey that also barred states from imposing some restrictions on abortions.

Since then, Biden and other Democrats have repeatedly said they want to approve and sign into law a bill that would not only codify Roe but expand abortion protections beyond what they were with Roe.

The Democrat-controlled House in July passed the measure, although Democrats lacked enough support in the Senate, which had already rejected the legislation.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who opposed the legislation because it went further than Roe, joined Republicans in voting against the measure.

Meanwhile, several Republican senators, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), have sometimes voted for pro-abortion legislation but they voted against the bill earlier this year.

Biden claimed over the summer that Democrats only needed a few more votes in the upper chamber to codify Roe.

“We need two additional pro-choice senators and a pro-choice House to codify Roe as federal law. Your vote can make that a reality,” he said, as he condemned the Supreme Court for its decision that struck down Roe.

“The fastest way to restore Roe is to pass a national law codifying Roe, which I will sign immediately upon its passage at my desk,” he also said.

On Nov. 14, Biden also said that he thought the midterms showed “the strength and resilience of the American democracy” and championed voters largely rejecting candidates who have questioned election results.”

Why can’t leftists and the mainstream media let go of the pandemic, accept that it is over and move on?  There are a number of reasons, but much of it can be explained by the psychological drivers within the mind of the average progressive.

Leftists are often defined by their addiction to fear.  For them, fear is a powerful tool, a great motivator for organization and a means to manipulate large groups into conformity with an agenda that would normally take many years or decades to accomplish otherwise.  The hype surrounding covid is just one example – We can also see the political left’s love affair with fear in their obsession with “systemic racism” (which does not exist), or their rantings on the “climate crisis” (which does not exist).

Fear is a path to control over others and society at large and tends to be a tool used by weak people who cannot assert their ideologies through force of arms.  It is also a great way to excite a population into mob impulses; a way to use large mindless crowds as a political weapon.  

On the individual level, leftists like to live in the midst of constant crisis.  For them, crisis creates meaning in their otherwise meaningless existence. The typical mindless leftist drone subsisting day-to-day without producing anything of value, often without marriage, without children and without a greater purpose,  is going to be desperate to feel as though they are a part of something.  They are looking for anything to make life more interesting; they don’t create value in their own lives, they have to search for it outside of themselves and live vicariously through events and vast groups and governments.  

They are part of the hive, and the accomplishments of the hive are their accomplishments as well.  

The covid pandemic was one of those moments in history where this collectivist mentality could be justified and all the worst impulses of narcissists and authoritarians and micro-managing control freaks could be put on display without much criticism.  It was all being done for the “greater good”, you see.  If the covid virus had been an actual large scale mortal threat no one would have been more happy than leftists.  

Instead, they got a minimal threat with a 0.23% median Infection Fatality Rate.  Covid was not the crisis they were hoping for, and not as useful in asserting dominance as they had originally envisioned.  Still, the dream lives on.  This is why we continue to see corporate media outlets pumping out not only covid fear, but also fear of any old viruses we have been dealing with for generations. 

NBC is spearheading the latest fear narrative with the threat of the “Tripledemic”, a supposed spike in cases involving covid, the flu and a respiratory illness called RSV.  Not surprisingly, the outlet is making the risks to children the focus of their propaganda.  This makes perfect sense give the fact that covid was a non-issue for younger people, and leftists have learned over the past two years that fear is far more effective if the danger involves children.

NBC goes on to suggest that letting unvaccinated people near children should be avoided and that vaccines are the best option for protection.  What their “medical expert” does not mention is that there is no vaccine for RSV and covid vaccination for kids is pointless.  But why is NBC trying to tie covid together with the flu and RSV?  

First, because the public at large no longer sees covid as a reason to isolate, nor a reason to spurn their unvaccinated relatives.  So, they need to now lump covid in with a host of other diseases in order to maintain a sense of urgency.  

Second, and perhaps most importantly, is that Big Pharma companies like Moderna are currently promoting the release of a new type of vaccine that combines a flu shot with an RSV and covid immunization.  It’s not a coincidence that the mainstream media is suddenly hyping a “Tripledemic” of those same diseases.     

In other words, if you want to get a flu shot you would also have to take a new mRNA RSV shot and covid shot at the same time.  A problem to note is that Moderna is attempting to introduce this new vaccine product without the extensive clinical trials necessary to ensure safety.  No surprises there. 

The establishment is seeking to make the existence of viruses a perpetual crisis that requires steady injections of new mRNA technology to stay safe, and leftists are eating up the propaganda.  Yes, it’s about money for companies like Moderna, but it’s also about control.  When people are separated from their families due to vaccination status and worried about their children’s health they are more likely to submit to untested treatments and also unconstitutional rules.  Fear is the fuel that keeps leftist movements alive.