Hegseth’s Polygraphs Return To Pentagon In ‘Major Leak Hunt’ Over Iran War
The polygraphs have returned to the Pentagon, after the Trump administration has been furious over what the president calls ‘leaks’ by US officials to the press, particularly regarding alleged diminished munitions stocks and missile shortages.
The New York Times reports Saturday that Pentagon investigators have questioned roughly 50 personnel on the Joint Staff whether they had disclosed classified information to journalists.
The publication calls it a “major leak hunt” – with the widespread polygraph tests having taken place in August, and possibly with more rounds to come.
“Between 1,500 and 2,000 officers and officials work for the Joint Staff, which coordinates operations, policy and war plans with combatant commanders around the world,” the NY Times notes.
Dozens of other officials, including under US Central Command (CENTCOM), were also polygraph tested earlier this summer.
An avalanche of media reports in August, and from earlier in the summer, have said the US exhausted much of its stock of long-range Tomahawk missiles on the Iran war, along with Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors.
US officials have stated to CBS that no one failed the tests, but it has had a chilling effect, given that sources have also described the scope of the dragnet as “extraordinary”.
All of this seems not only geared toward preventing leaks to the press, but comes amid a climate of perceived ‘disloyalty’ and dissent against War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Polygraphs are typically used in the military or intelligence community in cases of suspected foreign espionage or instances of suspicion of handing off classified information. Hegseth has already greatly narrowed his trusted inner-circle.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell has only said that the Department of War “takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly.”
This isn’t the first wave of polygraphs at the Pentagon under Trump. Hegseth had previewed these actions all the way back in Fall 2025. There’s also been widespread signings of NDAs.
While there already exist laws and policies covering unauthorized disclosure of classified, restricted, or sensitive information, this is clearly part of a broader push to tighten up leaks.
The reality too is that leaks to the media are a fairly standard part of any administration, going back through American history. Trump likely knows this, but is naturally leery of any further efforts to undermine his policies – especially in this sensitive moment ahead of the November midterm elections.
China’s new rules governing companies that produce and distribute content for social media took effect on Sept. 1, potentially exposing both independent content creators and the accounts they manage to penalties for violations.
The regulations require companies providing services such as content planning, production, distribution, marketing, promotion, and talent management to register as service providers.
Critics and independent content creators told The Epoch Times that the rules could broaden the communist regime’s control over online content, particularly information about sensitive social issues such as unemployment, unpaid wages, unfinished housing projects, and protests.
They spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
Under the new rules, companies already registered to provide such services have 30 days from the regulations’ effective date to amend their business registrations.
Companies involved in online performance management, publishing, audiovisual services, or internet news services must also obtain the relevant licenses.
The rules require covered companies to appoint a person responsible for content management and establish a management team, as well as procedures governing employees and emergency responses.
When signing contracts with online creators, companies must verify their identities and clearly define their management responsibilities.
Platforms can also impose measures on both the companies and the content creators they have contracted with when alleged violations of laws, regulations, platform rules, or contractual agreements occur.
Those measures can include restricting account functions, suspending monetization, or shutting down accounts.
Risks to Online Creators
For people working in China as independent content creators, the new requirements have raised concerns about both income and uncertainty over what content is permissible.
A content creator in Shenyang, China, told The Epoch Times that the rules could directly affect the livelihoods of people who depend on online traffic for income.
“Many people doing livestreams don’t know what they can say and what they can’t say. Once the traffic gets high, the risks come with it,” she said.
The content creator explained that she has seen other creators have their accounts blocked after their livestreams began attracting substantial audiences.
She also questioned how regime authorities and platforms would determine what constitutes prohibited content.
“What does it mean to incite emotions, and what does it mean to make false propaganda? Who decides? There is no clear standard,” she said.
The regulations are formally framed as a system for managing businesses involved in the distribution and operation of online content.
However, critics say the requirements could extend beyond large multi-channel networks (MCNs), and apply to smaller operations that may not previously have considered themselves part of the industry.
A Chinese online commentator told The Epoch Times that the rules could encompass small studios, account-management teams, and small livestreaming accounts.
“In the past, many small studios simply helped people obtain advertising, edit videos, and do promotions. They didn’t consider themselves MCNs,” the commentator said.
“This time, the regulations are very broad. As long as you participate in producing content for online accounts, or help distribute it, you could be required to register and file records, and you would have to assume them as a condition for operating.”
In his view, the system shifts part of the regime’s censorship responsibilities onto platforms and content-operations companies. Rather than directly intervening in every piece of content, the regime can require companies and platforms to police the accounts under their control.
Concerns Over Reporting on Social Issues
The potential impact could be particularly significant for creators who cover social and economic problems in China.
An independent content creator in Harbin, China, who focuses on analyzing social issues and asked to be identified only by his surname Li, told The Epoch Times that he regularly follows issues including gig employment, difficulties facing restaurants and other businesses, unfinished housing projects, and problems withdrawing money from banks.
Such topics, he said, could potentially be interpreted by platforms as negative information or as an attempt to exploit social issues for attention.
“If influencers continuously follow these things, the network regulators may think you are hyping up a social incident, seeking attention, and making money from traffic,” Li said.
“I can only speculate this way. The regime has not clearly stated the standards.”
Although Li primarily analyzes information from the perspective of a reader, rather than reporting firsthand on every incident, he said he remains concerned about the restrictions.
“Some content is not false; it’s just different from what the official releases say,” he said. “Creators are afraid of losing their accounts or income, so they may simply give up publishing. This is self-censorship.”
Li said the result could be that social events increasingly have only the version of events permitted by regime authorities.
Once creators face the possibility of having their accounts closed, losing their ability to earn money, or effectively losing their livelihoods, he said, they may choose not to publish information even when they believe it to be accurate.
The regulations impose penalties for violations under existing laws and regulations. Where no specific penalty is provided, the regime can issue warnings and impose fines ranging from 10,000 yuan ($1,490) to 200,000 yuan ($29,800).
For creators and critics, however, the greater concern may be the effect of the rules before any formal penalty is imposed.
If platforms and companies are held responsible for the content produced by the accounts they manage, they have an incentive to remove material that could attract regulatory scrutiny.
That could leave creators increasingly reluctant to report on sensitive social issues, not necessarily because the information is false, but because the potential loss of an account, audience, or income may make publishing it too risky.
New Images Reveal China’s Stealth Drone At Secretive “Area 51” Base
Aviation researcher Andreas Rupprecht posted footage on LinkedIn that appears to show China’s next-generation high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone, an aircraft he estimates is “comparable in size to the US Air Force’s B-21 Raider.”
Rupprecht wrote on LinkedIn that the WZ-X drone was spotted at a secretive air base in China’s Xinjiang region, known to some as China’s version of Area 51:
Two new images of the PLAAF’s latest and largest intercontinental HALE ISR #UAV, provisionally referred to simply as the #WZ-X, have been leaked, apparently showing the aircraft somewhere in Xinjiang. The UAV was first spotted on satellite imagery in May 2025 at the PLAAF’s UAV test centre at Malan Air Base in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of northwestern China.
Rupprecht continued:
In recent years, Malan/Uxxaktal (ZWML) has developed into the PLAAF’s main test centre for trialling UAVs and UCAVs of all types, while also serving as the base of the 178th UAV Brigade. Satellite imagery from 2022 onwards shows extensive expansion of the base’s infrastructure, including new hangars, taxiways and facilities likely linked to the previously unknown, very large flying-wing UAVs WZ-X and the similarly mysterious UCAV GJ-X, both of which are roughly comparable in size to the B-21 Raider. As such, the base, much like the second secret air base at Lop Nur, which is likely focused more on manned systems such as the J-36, J-XDS and, eventually, the H-20, is often compared to the US Area 51 because of its remote location and its role in testing next-generation weapon systems.
Based on the few, often blurry, images available, the WZ-X appears to be a twin-engined flying-wing design similar in configuration to the US RQ-180, but considerably larger. Rough estimates suggest a wingspan of about 52 m and a length of roughly 14 m. Its two engines, of unknown type, are reportedly fed by a central top-mounted intake, allegedly covered by a conformal mesh to reduce radar cross-section. Apart from its very wide span, the design appears to feature a relatively spacious central fuselage section and a dorsal SATCOM antenna. Its range is estimated at more than 20,000 km, with a normal cruising altitude of 18-20 km and a cruising speed of Mach 0.5-0.65. As for the manufacturer, some sources claim it was developed by Nantong University (NTU), located in Nantong, Jiangsu province.
The WZ-X could help Beijing locate warships, map air defenses and relay targeting information to China’s massive arsenal of long-range missiles, as well as hypersonic weapons, in the event of a conflict over Taiwan
Last week, a new report from Taiwan’s leading English-language daily newspaper, the Taipei Times, revealed that China had deployed a record 244 coast guard, research and other government vessels around the island.
Technical details about the WZ-X remain scarce, and claims about its capabilities remain unverified. However, the expanding infrastructure at Malan and repeated sightings suggest that the aircraft is undergoing flight testing.
The US Treasury announced sanctions on Friday on a Turkey-based bank and two of its subsidiaries, accusing them of moving tens of millions of dollars on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and facilitating Tehran’s movement of funds across the international banking system.
“”Financial institutions continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “We know who you are, we know where you are, and we will continue to take action together with our allies and partners until we have buried the head of the Iranian snake.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) named Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, alongside its two Istanbul-based units, Golden Global Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi and Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi Anonim Sirketi.
OFAC alleges the bank was created to help Iranian oil revenues reach Turkey from China, where exchangers converted the funds into cash and gold, and accuses it of opening correspondent banking to Iranian institutions through accounts under Quds Force control.
The sanctions come as part of Washington’s Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign to economically asphyxiate Iran by cutting off its remaining revenue and severing the channels it uses to move money abroad.
Bessent told Reuters on August 30 that fresh secondary sanctions would follow every week, with banks first in line. He said the Treasury was telling lenders it was not acceptable to hold Iranian money or assist the government in Tehran, and indicated the next escalation could mean severing an institution from the dollar system altogether.
Days earlier, the Treasury barred the UAE branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr from dollar access over alleged Iranian links.
Speaking ahead of the G20 finance meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, Bessent threatened ministers and central bank governors to break their economic ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions of their own, warning that no leakage would be tolerated.
The sanctions come as part of Washington’s “Economic D-Day,” an economic strangulation campaign launched after Washington failed to achieve its military objectives against Iran.
“In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries. Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent had said.
“President Trump has taken action that his predecessors have long deferred. Under his leadership, America is no longer managing the Iranian threat. We are ending it. Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership. Those who tether themselves to Tehran should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime,” he had also said.
COSCO Denies US Claims Its Container Ships Serve As Beijing’s Global Spy Network
China’s state-owned shipping giant COSCO rejected a report published last week alleging that the company had concealed advanced surveillance equipment aboard its cargo ships to monitor US military communications near the coastlines of target nations, including the US.
Reuters quoted COSCO on Friday as calling the allegations “totally unfounded” and false.
What Reuters reported on Tuesday:
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the U.S. assessment of the Chinese program, said COSCO has a decades-long intelligence-collection partnership with Beijing. The arrangement allows China to collect communication signals from vessels and aircraft operating across Europe, North America and Asia, they said.
The advanced equipment aboard the ships is intended to enable China to gather information about “military communications technologies and encryption developments,” one of the officials said.
The world’s fourth-largest container carrier also told the outlet:
COSCO SHIPPING has always adhered to market‑oriented operations and compliance practices across all our global businesses
All communication, navigation, safety and operational equipment installed on our vessels is used solely for legitimate commercial purposes, including navigation safety, ship-to-shore communications and emergency response.
The allegations surface just weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected Sept. 24 visit to Washington for talks with President Trump.
If substantiated, COSCO’s alleged use as a signals intelligence operations would fit a broader pattern of Chinese gray-zone activity in which commercial infrastructure and civilian technologies are leveraged to advance state objectives.
Dr. Ryan Clarke of the CCP BioThreats Initiative wrote in a book last year that Beijing’s strategy increasingly combines next-generation weapons with irregular and nonkinetic tools, including synthetic narcotics such as fentanyl and cannabinoids, what he characterized as biological weapons involving COVID-19, psychological influence through platforms such as TikTok, and other instruments of unconventional warfare.
Iran Releases Footage Of Drone Swarm Attacks On Several ‘US-Linked’ Ships In Hormuz Strait
Summary:
Iran says it has attacked 3 ‘US-linked’ along with 3 American ships in the Hormuz Strait
State media released footage of foreign vessels under attack in “response” to US aggression
CENTCOM Confirms Iranian Tankers Hit Near Kharg Island
Iranian Tanker Reportedly Hit By Missiles Near Kharg Island
* * *
Iran Unleashes Large Drone Swarm Attacks on Several Ships
Iran state media is releasing footage of its own Saturday action against US assets in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, as part of the fresh weekend tit-for-tat fighting with the United States. Per state PressTV and IRIB, it seems Tehran is saying it has targeted six vessels:
The IRGC targets three US-related vessels and three oil tankers in the Hormuz Strait, warning all vessels against choosing unauthorized routes to transit Hormuz.
In response to US attacks on three Iranian tankers, Iran has targeted three vessels in the unauthorized route of the Strait of Hormuz, along with three American ships.
The IRGC Navy is claiming a “response” to US aggression: “This morning, the terrorist and aggressor US military, in a brutal act born of desperation from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, attacked three oil tankers belonging to the Islamic Republic, causing damage,” the force said in a statement on Saturday. In response, it continues: “the fighters of the IRGC Navy targeted three oil tankers traveling along an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three vessels affiliated with the child-killing United States, in other areas.”
IRAN SHOWS NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN STRIKES on ‘VIOLATING’ vessels in Hormuz — Tasnim
IRAN SHOWS NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN STRIKES on ‘VIOLATING’ vessels in Hormuz — Tasnim
In response to US attacks on three Iranian tankers, Iran has targeted three vessels in the unauthorized route of the Strait of Hormuz, along with three American ships. pic.twitter.com/HAzpefIWJV
— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) September 5, 2026
The overnight into early Sunday hours are going to be interesting, awaiting more possible Pentagon action, even as the Department of War says this is not a “war”.
CENTCOM Confirms Strikes
US Central Command confirmed on X that US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships.
CENTCOM provided details:
Following Iran’s failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask. American forces also completely destroyed the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo (also known as the “Noxen”) in the Gulf of Oman, striking the vessel in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship.
The three Iranian crude oil tankers are part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies. Iran has no means by which to defend them.
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper stated:
Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours.
We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.
The key question heading into Sunday evening is how Brent crude futures will price the US strikes on Iranian tankers near Kharg Island.
Iranian Tanker Reportedly Hit By Missiles Near Kharg Island
Iranian state media reported early Saturday that US forces had struck an oil tanker near Kharg Island. Although the US military has not confirmed the maritime incident, the attack, if verified, would mark a significant escalation near Iran’s most important crude-export terminal and increase the risk of further disruptions to Persian Gulf energy flows.
Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said several missiles hit the tanker early Saturday and published images purportedly showing black smoke rising from the ship.
Video of the Iranian oil tanker which was reportedly hit this morning by the US near the Iranian Kharg Island. pic.twitter.com/217O0lLn09
Kharg Island is the jugular vein of Iran’s oil economy. The deepwater terminal handles about 90% of the country’s crude exports, connecting Iran’s major onshore fields to global markets, specifically China.
Henri Patricot, CFA, a Paris-based energy equity research analyst at UBS, published Kpler data showing that crude loadings at major Iranian export terminals, including Kharg, have been significantly reduced over the course of the six-month conflict.
Weekly average crude loadings in the Middle East by port location also show a slight recovery on an ex-Iran basis across the major Gulf producers.
Average flows through Kharg have ranged from 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day, although the data above show that those volumes collapsed to roughly 220,000 to 255,000 barrels per day in August under the US naval blockade. The island also contains massive storage facilities, pipelines, and loading berths. Any attack by US forces, whether kinetic through air-delivered munitions, or offensive cyber operations, could cripple Tehran’s largest moneymaker.
President Trump warned Friday that the US could soon attack Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected Iranian nuclear facility.
As for Hormuz flows, Goldman commodities strategist Yulia Zhestkova Grigsby and her team said this week that they had to revise tanker-flow estimates sharply higher(full note available here for pro subs), suggesting that Tehran’s ability to control the strategic maritime chokepoint has been significantly degraded.
Grigsby and her team told clients on Wednesday that Gulf oil exports had recovered to between 15 million and 16 million barrels per day, roughly two-thirds of prewar levels.
However, Grigsby pointed out that visible tanker data show flows of only about 10 million barrels per day on a seven-day moving average. That 5 million-barrel-per-day gap reflects what Goldman’s energy team called the “rise of dark transits.” In other words, tankers are switching off their Automatic Identification System transponders to avoid detection by Iran.
Net hit to Persian Gulf flows of 7.9mb/d now
Polymarket odds that Tehran will lose control of Kharg Island stand at 2% by Sept. 30 and just 7% by year-end.
What the Trump administration decides to do with Kharg remains the energy market’s billion-dollar question.
A horrific copycat Lindsay Clancy murder of a child has been committed by a woman in Frankfort, Illinois.
Prosecutors say Corie Walsh hanged her 2-year-old son, Barrett, from a basement rafter on Tuesday, then tried to kill herself with a knife. She told police she did it because the boy was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ.”
Witnesses said she had become “very invested” in the Lindsay Clancy trial and was still texting friends about it hours before her son was found.
HORRIFIC: An Illinois mother, Corie Walsh, hanged her 2-year-old son in the basement before trying to kill herself in what appears to be a Lindsay Clancy copycat. She told police she did it because the little boy was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ.”… pic.twitter.com/aK2j2FuFjM
Just after 4pm on Tuesday, Frankfort police were called to the 22700 block of Brook Stone Court. A neighbor was already on the floor doing CPR on 2-year-old Barrett Walsh. The neighbor told investigators she had found the boy hanging from a device attached to a basement rafter, a ligature around his neck, his feet off the ground. An autopsy’s preliminary finding was asphyxia from ligature compression of the neck.
Upstairs, the same neighbor found Corie Walsh in a bathtub with a knife. Court papers describe Walsh fully dressed, surrounded by bloody water, with cuts to her wrists and thigh.
Walsh later told officers she “did this to her baby because he was the ‘devil’ and the ‘anti-Christ.'” In the hospital she described how she killed him. Those statements, prosecutors said, matched what was found in the house.
?? BREAKING — New details emerge about Corie Walsh, the mother who KILLED her 2-year-old son in Frankfort, Illinois.
She allegedly HUNG the 2-year-old child from the rafters in the basement…
Investigators said she called the child the “devil” and the “anti-Christ.” A… pic.twitter.com/Jc5qWsbJCc
Another infant was found at the home unharmed. Two school-age children returned around the time the body was found. Walsh’s husband was out of state on business and flew home that night.
Prosecutors are asking a judge to deny pretrial release, writing that Walsh poses “a specific, real and present threat to her husband and her living three children.”
They say she spoke of harming the remaining children and her husband.
Walsh, charged with three counts of first-degree murder on different theories of intent, was held for medical treatment and booked into the Will County jail. Her first court date is set for Tuesday, September 8.
Her lawyer, Andrea Lyon, issued the line the Clancy fandom has been rehearsing for weeks:
“This is a tragedy, for the Walsh family all of whom are mourning the loss of this child. It is also a tragedy in that Corey herself was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time this happened.“
Prosecutors added the detail that turned a suburban homicide into a national alarm. Witnesses told police Walsh “had recently become very invested in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial.” She had been “actively discussing the case via group text message with her friends” until about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday – three and a half hours before Barrett was found. The Clancy jury was already deliberating in Plymouth when those texts went out.
Questions clearly have to be asked regarding the media coverage of support for Clancy and the fallout from it.
…
While the jury sat, Clancy’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse in pink. They screamed at the district attorney as he tried to speak. One of the lines captured on video: “You only cared when the kids were dead! Why don’t you care about the mother?!”
? WTF?! DERANGED Lindsay Clancy fans are SCREAMING at the District Attorney while he attempts to give a press conference
These people need to be INSTITUTIONALIZED
“You only cared when the kids were dead! Why don’t you care about the mother?!”
That is the moral inversion this case has been selling for weeks. The children are the backdrop. The mother is the victim. The system is the villain. The man who will not play along is the problem.
Joe Rogan earlier noted that If the women in pink could see the crime scene – “those dead kids with their vacant eyes staring up because their mother took their life, the last thing that they saw was their mother standing over them, choking them to death” – he said, “I don’t think they would feel so bad.”
He added that if a father had done this he would not get a fan club, and if Clancy walks, “her supporters should have to let her babysit.”
Bill Maher, no MAGA mascot, asked the question the pink shirts treat as blasphemy: “What I don’t get is why does she have fans?” He compared the courthouse crowd to the women who turned Luigi Mangione into a folk hero. Frustration with systems is one thing. Building a following around a woman who ended three young lives is another. He also noted the wider cultural permission structure: not many women kill their children, “but a lot of them are not afraid to say, ‘I don’t like being a mom.'”
White liberal women are identifying with a child murderer. Courthouse pilgrimages have been framed as sisterhood. “I could have been her” essays written with living children in the next room.
Rep. Brandon Gill pointed out that mental illness is not a license.
“She’s anything but brave.” “I have an enormous amount of sympathy for the three kids who were slaughtered. I don’t for Clancy.”
“You don’t get a license to murder your children or anybody else because you have health problems,” He stated, adding “We’ve gotten into the habit of medicalizing evil.” When Will Cain asked whether medicalizing a crime lets people dodge accountability, Gill answered: “It’s a lack of recognition that evil exists.”
Brandon Gill is absolutely right.
Mental illness is NEVER an excuse for killing children.
GILL: “She’s anything but brave.”
“I have an enormous amount of sympathy for the three kids who were slaughtered. I don’t for Clancy.”
Prosecutors in Massachusetts never denied Clancy was severely ill. They said she still understood what she was doing: she cleared her husband out of the house on an errand, she completed three killings with a method that worked, she chose a different method for herself that failed. The jury never reached the question of sentence. One man would not sign off on the idea that doubt about her mind erased the crime.
In Illinois, the first apparent copycat did not wait for a verdict. Her lawyer is already reaching for the same word: psychotic episode. The remaining three children and the husband who was out of town are now, in the state’s filing, people she may still try to harm.
Jury service is not a support group. It is the last brake in a culture that has spent a generation teaching women that their distress is the main character and other people’s bodies are scenery.
Eleven jurors, on the defense account, were prepared to treat three strangled children as a tragedy that happened to their mother. One juror would not.
Contagion is not a metaphor when a mother in Frankfort is discussing a live murder trial until lunchtime and a neighbor is cutting a toddler down from a rafter the same evening.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.
Under-The-Radar Oklahoma Bitcoin Mining Site Condemned After Leaking 3 Million Gallons Of Water
A massive water leak in El Reno, Oklahoma has brought new scrutiny to a Bitcoin mining operation that city officials say had been operating without required approvals and in violation of multiple building and safety codes, according to KFOR 4. Three million gallons of water were leaked, according to KOCO ABC.
The facility, operated by Athlon BT LLC, had largely escaped public attention until the leak was discovered. City officials say the company had also installed a fire hydrant without their knowledge, while questions remain about how water was being used at the site.
Athlon originally applied for building permits in 2022. By 2023, however, El Reno had issued a stop-work order after the permits expired and officials identified multiple fire and life-safety code violations. The company was given until December 2023 to address the problems, according to the city.
Instead, officials say Athlon continued construction and eventually began operating the facility despite lacking the inspections and final certificate of occupancy required by the city. Officials have cited problems involving electrical systems, drainage and other areas of the property.
“They really weren’t in compliance at all,” city spokesperson Lyndsay Bayne said.
The discovery came as a surprise not only to residents but also to local officials, who said the Bitcoin mining operation had attracted little attention before the leak, according to KFOR 4.
Athlon had previously described the structures on its website as “mobile data centers.” The operation, however, differs considerably from the large hyperscale data centers proposed in communities such as Yukon and Piedmont, which have generated debate over their potential demands on local infrastructure and water supplies.
The KFOR 4 report says that El Reno officials say Athlon told the city its equipment was air-cooled and therefore should not have required water for cooling. According to the city, the water line involved in the leak was supposed to serve only a fire hydrant.
That hydrant itself has raised additional questions. Officials say Athlon installed it behind the property without notifying the city, and it did not appear on municipal records. The hydrant was also reportedly concealed beneath a large pile of brush.
KFOR later observed above-ground piping that appeared to connect the mobile data center units and extend toward the hydrant. Athlon’s website, before becoming unavailable, also referenced what the company called “hydro-cooling technology.” Those details have prompted questions about whether the water line may have served a purpose beyond fire protection.
KFOR reported that its attempts to obtain an explanation from Athlon have gone unanswered. Calls and emails to the company received no response, and its website subsequently displayed a maintenance notice.
After the water leak was discovered, El Reno condemned the property.
The episode is unfolding amid a broader debate over data center development in Oklahoma, although city officials have stressed that Athlon’s Bitcoin mining operation should not be confused with the much larger data center projects being proposed elsewhere.
“El Reno doesn’t have any large data centers or any plans to have any large data centers,” Bayne said. “This was completely under the radar.”
The city has since strengthened its rules governing future data center developments. A recently adopted ordinance requires proposed data centers and large artificial intelligence facilities to undergo greater scrutiny and provide an opportunity for public comment before they can move forward.
For residents concerned about the strain such facilities could place on local resources, the Athlon controversy has added urgency to calls for stronger oversight. The unresolved questions surrounding the company’s permits, infrastructure and water use are also likely to keep the Bitcoin mining operation under scrutiny as city officials determine how the facility was able to operate for so long without full compliance.
‘Not Simple’: Witkoff, Kushner Meet Putin For High-Level Peace Talks Under 72-Hour Ukraine Air Truce
Summary:
Putin Tells Witkoff and Kushner that Ukraine War “Not Simple”
Putin Meets Witkoff and Kushner for Peace Talks
US Envoys Witkoff, Kushner Land In Moscow For Peace Talks As Putin Halts Attacks On Kiev
New details have emerged about the meeting between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier today. The meeting began hours after Putin ordered Russian forces to suspend strikes on Kiev for three days.
Bloomberg reports that Putin opened talks with Witkoff and Kushner by describing the situation they were seeking to resolve as “not simple.”
Putin asked them to convey his best wishes to President Trump.
The outlet continued:
Expectations for the visit are low, though, according to people close to the Kremlin. Multiple previous trips to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner failed to achieve progress and there’s no reason to believe they’re bringing acceptable proposals now, the people said.
Putin is ready to stop the war only on his own terms, and Moscow’s demands are getting tougher because it believes it has the military edge over Ukraine, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.
People familiar with the thinking in Kyiv said Ukraine is also pessimistic about making meaningful progress around the Witkoff-Kushner visit. The US envoys are expected to push previous ideas like making Donbas an economic free zone, which Russia has already rejected, the people said.
Putin meets Witkoff and Kushner for Ukraine peace talks.
We were sitting outside just now, me, Jared, Kirill, Yuri, and we were talking about, when we retire, we will have all these incredible stories and memories, and yours will be right at the top of it all. pic.twitter.com/r4OVAZSaST
The quality of the mediation and the trust placed in those carrying it out are, of course, very important.
I want to tell you that we are comfortable working with you, and that the level of trust on our side throughout this process is quite high. pic.twitter.com/EimtFxf6Eh
For now, the optics suggest that the Trump administration is reactivating high-level diplomacy in an effort to end the 4.5-year war, a grinding conflict that continues to impose severe human and economic costs on both sides. The renewed push also comes as Trump and Republicans enter the final two months before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
After Moscow, Kushner and Witkoff plan to travel to Ukraine on Sunday, marking their first trip since the war began.
US Envoys Witkoff, Kushner Land In Moscow For Peace Talks As Putin Halts Attacks On Kiev
Roughly 11 days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe unexpectedly traveled to Moscow and reportedly floated a trilateral summit involving President Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday morning.
“Dmitriev was deep in conversation with Witkoff and Kushner as they stepped onto Russian soil for key Ukraine talks,” Russian media outlet RT wrote on X, accompanying the post with footage of the US delegation’s arrival.
Russian outlet Sputnik reported that Putin had ordered a three-day pause in strikes on Kiev just as Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Russia for peace talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated:
The pause in strikes on Kyiv is linked to preparations for and the holding of meetings with American negotiators there.
The Russian president will meet US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin later Saturday.
Putin orders halt to strikes on Kiev for three days, starting from midnight today – Kremlin
Other statements by Dmitry Peskov:
🔸The pause in strikes on Kiev is linked to the preparation and holding of meetings with American negotiators there
Witkoff and Kushner are scheduled to meet Putin before traveling to Kyiv on Sunday, marking their first visit to Ukraine since the war began.
Bloomberg reports that expectations for a breakthrough peace deal to end the war remain low.
The Kremlin said there was “no talk of new ideas,” while describing Moscow’s negotiating position as “unshakeable.” Russia continues to demand that Kiev surrender the entirety of four regions claimed by Moscow and abandon its NATO ambitions, conditions that Kiev rejects.
The diplomatic push comes as intensifying attacks by both sides around the Black Sea raise the risk of a global food crisis next year. Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, combined with disrupted Persian Gulf flows, are pushing the global refined-products market toward crisis, creating twin food and energy risks.
The visit merely suggests an intensifying Trump administration campaign to reopen high-level negotiating channels ahead of the midterm elections in the US and end the Russia-Ukraine war after more than four years of costly fighting.
FICO Crashes As Trump Housing Chief Pulte Cracks Mortgage-Score Monopoly
“Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have been overcharging Americans for far too long,” Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte wrote on X late Thursday.
The Trump administration’s campaign against the cost of credit scores and reports used in the mortgage industry sent shares of Fair Isaac, the company behind FICO scores, as well as Equifax and TransUnion, tumbling on Friday morning.
Pulte continued: “This will end soon. We are seriously considering bi-merge, and stronger solutions (SAFER and SOUNDER). We will not allow companies to take advantage of American consumers. No more.”
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have been overcharging Americans for far too long. This will end soon. We are seriously considering bi-merge, and stronger solutions (SAFER and SOUNDER). We will not allow companies to take advantage of American consumers. No more.
Pulte’s warning was accompanied by a Reuters report that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow all lenders to use VantageScore, a competing credit-scoring model, expanding a rollout across 50 lenders.
The move to lower costs for homebuyers and boost competition in the mortgage credit-scoring market, which FICO dominates, is seen by the market as a direct challenge to FICO’s long-standing dominance.
Ashish Sabadra, an equity-research analyst at RBC Capital Markets, provided clients on Friday morning with more details about the industry implications following Pulte’s X post:
Assessing the Impact on Credit Bureaus (EFX/TRU/EXPN) and FICO
Our view:Tweet from FHFA Director Bill Pulte suggests the agency is seriously considering permitting bi-merge credit reports for conforming loans. If fully adopted across the mortgage market, this shift could negatively impact up to one-third of mortgage inquiries. Beyond volume loss, the move would also introduce greater competition in mortgage credit reporting, a dynamic we will monitor closely for signs of pricing pressure.
Regarding bureau-level impact, EFX carries the greatest mortgage exposure given its mortgage solutions and income and employment verification businesses, though these same assets also present meaningful bundling opportunities. However, with the remaining third-party resellers estimated to control 75%+ of the market, these players may preferentially gravitate toward TRU and EXPN. EXPN has the least mortgage exposure among the three bureaus and would likely face the smallest revenue headwind from this potential regulatory change.
Separately, Bill Pulte also tweeted that, effective immediately, he is instructing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to approve all lenders to use VantageScore. VantageScore adoption has already gained meaningful traction, with VS4 market share reaching approximately 25% at UWM and ~34% at Rocket through August 25th. However, while 50 lenders participated in the pilot program, Fannie Mae data indicates that only four mortgage lenders were actively issuing VantageScore loans. Pulte’s directive to open adoption to all lenders would therefore represent a significant broadening of the program.
Mortgage exposure:In 2025, Mortgages represented ~21% of EFX’s revenues, with mortgage credit reports and mortgage solutions collectively accounting for ~11% of total revenues, or 32% of USIS revenues. For TRU, mortgage exposure stood at ~13% of total revenues, representing ~35% of US Financial Services revenues. EXPN has comparatively limited exposure at ~4% of total revenues.
Background.FHFA Director Bill Pulte announced last night that effective immediately, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been instructed to approve all lenders to use VantageScore as an eligible credit scoring system. The directive follows a successful initial rollout in which 50 lenders delivered loans using VantageScore under the program.
In a separate post, Pulte stated that EFX, TRU, and EXPN are overcharging American consumers and that he is seriously considering a bi-merge credit pull requirement for conforming loans, as well as structural reforms.
Fair Isaac crashed as much as 21%, its sharpest intraday decline since March 2020 if losses sustain through close. Equifax and TransUnion each tumbled as much as 11%.
Separately, TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg told clients that Pulte’s attack on mortgage-related costs could support the administration’s affordability message ahead of the midterm elections this fall.
