Via Remix News,

Cologne police are investigating an unprecedented incident in which a humanoid robot was allegedly used to sexually harass a 16-year-old girl on a busy city street, with the act filmed and livestreamed. Videos of the assault appear to show two men with a migration background controlling the robot, which they named “Ahmed,” an Arabic name. They also claim the robot is from the multicultural neighborhood of Neukölln in Berlin.

The case, which has drawn international attention as potentially the first documented instance of a robot being used directly in a sexual assault, has to do with red-and-gold Unitree robot that approached different teenage women. In the videos, which Remix News has compiled into one longer clip, the robot grabs their behinds, makes masturbatory motions, and humps the women.

The post has been censored on X.

At least one victim, a 16-year-old girl, has filed a criminal complaint.

According to a police statement, the roughly 1.2-meter-tall robot touched the girl on the buttocks and made thrusting motions against her between 11:45 p.m. and midnight on the night of October 10-11, 2026, near the corner of Palmstrasse and Hohenzollernring.

The girl was with two friends, ages 17 and 18. Officers responding to the scene located a 16-year-old from Wegberg and a 19-year-old companion nearby. The robot was found in the trunk of a Volkswagen where the younger suspect had stowed it; police seized the machine and the pair’s mobile phones. Investigators are examining whether the movements were deliberately controlled via remote control or an app and are treating the matter as a suspected case of sexual harassment.

🇩🇪🔴JUST IN: Asylum seekers and men with a migration background are the main group that should be banned from German swimming pools, according to national police union leader @M_Ostermann.

“But in the end, we are always just describing symptoms instead of tackling the root causes. And that is why it is completely clear that those outdoor pools are acting responsibly by simply not letting these groups of people – men, mostly with a migration background, often from the main asylum countries of origin – into the outdoor pools anymore.”

That is the advice comes after yet another wave of sexual assaults and violence in German pools from migrants.

He further writes: “Enough is enough. They are men, and almost always from the main countries of origin for asylum seekers. Year after year, the same headlines, the same incidents, and the same excuses.”

“Public swimming pools used to be places of carefree enjoyment for children and families. Today, many people avoid them out of fear of violence, harassment, and disrespect.”

“Enough with the political whitewashing. Those who do not clearly name problems will never solve them. The rule of law must finally make this clear with all due consequence.”

“Anyone who threatens others, harasses women, or commits violence has forfeited their right as a guest and any claim to understanding. Zero tolerance means zero tolerance – swift proceedings, harsh penalties, and, where legally possible, consistent immigration consequences.”

“The people living in Germany have a right to safety. They have a right to public spaces being what they once were again: places for families and children – not for intimidation, violence, and disrespect.”

Follow: @RMXnews

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 29, 2026

The 16-year-old and his companion are accused of filming the encounter, streaming it live on social media, and providing commentary.

Many of the victims appear to be German women. Some of them laugh or appear to be amused, but others appear uncomfortable or scream.

Media reports speculate the model is the Unitree R1-series model, priced around €5,000, which can walk, respond to voice commands, and be remotely operated or programmed with custom movement sequences. Experts have noted that the specific thrusting motions are not standard factory behaviors.

As Remix News has reported, many public areas have become insecure, featuring robberies, rapes, assaults, and other threats. However, for women, the threat level has gone up substantially, including from random street harassment due to mass immigration.

🇩🇪”I hate Berlin. Berlin is sh*t.”

A thief stole this young German woman’s phone and then told her, “in a mixture of English and German, that he would only give it to me if I had sex with him.”

This woman was assaulted in Berlin’s famed Görlitzer Park, where migrants gang raped a woman in 2023.

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 6, 2026

🇩🇪”You have 2 options. Either you give me your number right now… or we stay here until 5 a.m. and I’ll follow you all the way home to your house.”

A young German woman is relentlessly harassed and threatened by a migrant man. https://t.co/8qq3GJ203S

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 25, 2025

* * *

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook’s attorney called into question the fairness and objectivity of a White House probe after President Donald Trump announced a new committee to investigate whether Cook made false statements.

In an Oct. 13 letter to White House counsel William Scharf obtained by The Epoch Times, lawyer Abbe Lowell wrote that one proposed member of the committee that will review the allegations against Cook, White House economic policy adviser Kevin Hassett, had previously pressed Cook to go on leave from her office and said Trump had “cause” to fire her.

A year ago, Hassett said Cook’s refusal to step aside was “a partisan stance contrary to the independence of the Fed.” Lowell said this comment suggests that he has prejudged the case.

The White House has proposed a Nov. 5 in-person hearing with Cook.

“A hearing with demonstrably biased members, unspecified additional allegations, and an unclear schedule for the disclosure of any additional evidence – with no explanation for why it was not previously produced – is not a process that respects the appearance or history of independence” of the Fed, Lowell wrote.

These are some of the issues that would have to be addressed before a hearing could take place, he said.

The Oct. 13 letter from Lowell comes days after Trump unveiled the new committee to investigate whether Cook made false statements.

The committee will probe allegations that Cook provided false information in connection with at least one mortgage instrument, Trump said in a presidential memorandum establishing the panel.

Trump later told reporters he would fire Cook if the committee were to recommend it. Cook’s attorneys have said a fair hearing would demonstrate that the president has no legal basis for firing her.

Lowell said Cook will not be able to appear at the November hearing because she will be in Europe attending financial and monetary policy meetings. The earliest she is available is after the Fed’s policy meeting set for Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, he said.

On June 29, the Supreme Court blocked the firing, rejecting Trump’s arguments that he could avoid judicial review. The 5-4 decision said Cook was “entitled to notice and some opportunity to respond before her termination.”

The ruling outlined a path for possibly removing Cook if she were given a chance to review the evidence and afforded an opportunity to refute it, which appears to be the path the White House is pursuing.

Trump said he followed the provisions of the Federal Reserve Act, which he said permits presidents to remove board members “for cause.”

White House spokesperson Matthew Middleton defended the process, saying the Constitution requires the president to ensure that laws are followed and that the conduct of Fed governors “is above reproach.”

“The President is going beyond what the Supreme Court required by offering Lisa Cook an in-person hearing that will be conducted in a fair and open process,” he told The Epoch Times.

A White House official said the committee will consist of a senior economist and expert on the Federal Reserve, an employment law expert, and an expert in government ethics. Cook’s hearing will be on the record, and she will be allowed to be represented by an attorney. She will be given the evidence in advance and will have an opportunity to present her own written evidence, as well as written witness statements, the official said.

President Joe Biden appointed Cook as one of the Federal Reserve’s board members in 2022 and reappointed her in 2023. Both times, Cook was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Zachary Stieber and Sam Dorman contributed to this report.

Oil prices are extending gains again this morning as traders weigh a weaker global demand outlook and signs of recovering Middle East crude supplies against persistent shipping risks around the Strait of Hormuz and escalating/spreading violence between the Houthis and Saudis.

An overnight lull in prices (set with hopes for more reserve releases) was upset as Iran showed more clips of tankers/container ships under attack.

The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that Gulf crude shipments rose by 4.4 million barrels a day to 13.9 million barrels a day in September, reaching more than 75% of prewar levels. Global oil supply increased by 2.5 million barrels a day to 102.3 million barrels a day, driven by Gulf producers.

However, the recovery remains vulnerable to renewed attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping, the agency said.

Given the massive crude draw reported by API (likely impacted by shut-ins from the first Atlantic hurricane of the year in the US Gulf), all eyes are on the (Columbus Day-delayed) official data…

API

• Crude -11.1mm

• Cushing +1.8mm

• Gasoline +1.1mm

• Distillates -1.5mm

DOE

• Crude -8.56mm

• Cushing +1.86mm

• Gasoline +3.52mm

• Distillates -2.52mm

HUGE CAVEAT – the shut-ins in the Gulf make this very noisy: Confirming API’s reporting, the official data showed a large crude draw last week (and another sizable draw in distillates inventories) while stocks at Cushing and overall Gasoline inventories saw builds…

For the first time since the Iran war began, the Trump admin did not drain any reserves from the SPR…

US Crude Production tumbled last week (shut-ins in the Gulf, so not comparable)…

Total US Diesel stocks remain at seasonal record lows…

WTI has surged up to $97.50

However, watching futures is misleading as Wall Street veteran Jeff Currie exclaimed this morning that the world’s most important oil benchmark has become little more than a “vibe contract”, blunting its usefulness as a tool to manage price volatility.

Brent’s disconnect from physical markets is creating “unpriceable risk,” deterring hedgers from using the contract to protect themselves, Currie said.

“Everything associated with energy is going up but Brent,” Currie said Thursday in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

“It is not connected to the real world anymore.”

A hit to Brent’s integrity undermines the market’s ability to anticipate supply shocks with “profound consequences for the market and the rest of the world,” Currie said.

The disconnect between paper and physical markets has frustrated traders since the Middle East conflict began, when crude struggled to top $100 despite historic supply shortages. In contrast, Dated Brent, the most important physical oil benchmark, has surged to near $130 a barrel. That dissonance has contributed to traders fleeing the market, with Brent open interest earlier this month hitting its lowest since March 2025 even as oil dominates headlines.

Diesel prices are lower this morning…

Finally, Bloomberg reports that US officials attending an International Energy Agency meeting in Paris earlier today informally lobbied allies to commit an additional 100 million barrels from emergency oil inventories to supply global markets. 

“While US officials attending an IEA gathering in Paris on Thursday have yet to table a proposal about what should be done, they have been informally lobbying for an extra commitment of at least 100 million barrels, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is not public.” (BBG)

The report says US officials believe IEA members have not released enough oil from the coordinated 400 million-barrel oil and fuel release announced in March to cushion the impact of the Gulf conflict.

The Group of Seven nations agreed earlier this month to release up to 100 million barrels after President Trump threatened Europeans with a halt to exports of diesel and other petroleum products.

Today’s request follows Trump’s deal with Moscow to supply US and global markets with thousands of tons of diesel fuel.

On top of this, a defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times earlier today that his armed forces will attack Russian refineries once again. This comes after the Trump administration requested that Ukraine stop hitting Russian refineries, as those attacks have been one of the drivers of the global refining crisis.

Last month, IEA head Fatih Birol said about one-third of the 400 million-barrel release announced in March had been delivered to global markets. Meanwhile, US SPR inventories have fallen to levels not seen since the early 1980s.

The Trump administration’s scramble comes as midterm elections are just three weeks away. The latest credit and debit card data from Bank of America show that US consumers are spending more on fuel at the pump, crowding out other purchases and weighing on consumer sentiment.

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

MS NOW has retracted a report that FBI Director Kash Patel landed in Russia on Oct. 14.

“We regret this error,” Ken Dilanian, an MS Now reporter, said on air during an afternoon show.

MS Now host Peter Alexander had said during a broadcast on Wednesday morning that he had breaking news to report – that Patel “has landed in Russia for a meeting scheduled to take place there.” He attributed the reporting to two anonymous sources, or two people “familiar with the matter.”

The FBI responded by posting a video of Patel at an event at Liberty University in Virginia. Members of Congress, including Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.), also shared photographs of themselves with Patel at the event.

“MS Now’s ‘sources’ are ‘familiar’ with NOTHING!” the FBI said in a post on X.

Ben Williamson, an FBI spokesman, wrote in another post on the social media platform: “I have had many strange experiences in life, but in tier 1 had to be seeing a clip of MS Now reporting breaking news that Kash Patel has ‘just landed in Russia’ – right as I’m receiving pics of Kash Patel doing a law enforcement appreciation event today in Lynchburg, Virginia.”

Dilanian said during a show hosted by Alicia Menendez later Wednesday that the network had “since learned that Patel did not, in fact, land in Russia today and remains in the U.S.”

After saying the FBI had not answered MS Now’s questions about the purported trip, Dilanian referenced reports alleging Patel has a planned meeting in Russia and added that some Democrats have told Patel not to attend.

“But we do know now that he has not already landed in Russia, as we reported earlier. The timing of any potential trip remains unclear,” Dilanian said. “Again, we regret this error, and we are transparent about when we make errors.”

The Society of Professional Journalists recommends that outlets identify sources whenever feasible and, if using unnamed sources, include as much information as possible without revealing details that could lead to them being identified.

MS Now did not respond to questions, including whether it plans to work with the same sources moving forward, by the time of publication.

MS Now removed a video that featured a former FBI agent commenting on the report. The former agent had called Patel a “babe in the woods” when it came to Russia. It also posted Dilanian’s apology on its website.

“This reporting has been updated in keeping with our policy of transparency, including promptly correcting any errors,” the outlet said.

President Donald Trump recently banned MS Now and several other outlets from the White House, saying they consistently reported fake news. A federal judge blocked the ban as the outlets’ legal case against it proceeds. The government has appealed the block.

Patel, following the correction, wrote in an Oct. 14 post on X, “From Russia, with Love…“

He also said MS Now “constantly tells lies about this FBI and law enforcement’s historic achievements in safeguarding the American people.”

President Trump appears to be busy rolling back years of entrenched Ukraine policy. Starting last week he announced the controversial diesel deal with Putin, and this week Ukraine’s Zelensky is complaining that intelligence-sharing has been throttled, and possibly even cut off.

The possibility or even likelihood of this heading to another TACO moment aside, what’s next? New reporting in the Financial Times gives an idea. The United States has floated a proposal that European countries unfreeze some of Russia’s sovereign assets and deposit them in an entity controlled by Washington.

The FT report cites four people familiar with the matter, who describe that the idea was formally presented by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during a meeting of Western allies and Ukraine in Miami on Oct.10.

“The US suggested several possible methods for unfreezing the assets, including for them to be moved into a new special-purpose financial vehicle overseen by Washington,” the sources said.

This US plan would be enacted in the hope of opening up momentum toward a comprehensive Ukraine peace plan. Moscow has of late rejected any ‘temporary’ proposal, including a 60-day pause in fighting recently offered by Zelensky. It wants a lasting political settlement and not a mere ‘pause’ along the front lines.

At the Miami meeting were NATO representatives, as well as officials from the US, France, Germany, and the EU.

“Many ideas have been floated as to how Moscow’s frozen assets could be used after the war, the US official added,” the FT says.

European officials are said to have balked at any initiative to let go of Russian assets. “They were told that this was just simply not going to happen,” one source said. For example, Germany has voiced its clear position:

“Those are assets that are frozen ​in Europe and they should remain frozen in Europe. ​This is our business and we are deciding over ⁠it,” Merz said in Brussels ahead of an EU ​summit.

At least €260 billion in sovereign assets belonging to Russia’s central bank were frozen in 2022 as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. Most of this is held at the Belgian securities depository Euroclear. The vast majority, or over €210 billion of the sum, is held in the EU.

The last couple years of war has seen the EU work out a scheme wherein payments are made to Ukraine utilizing interest gained from Russa’s funds.

Washington’s sudden willingness to ease off the pressure on Moscow has interesting implications regarding the Iran war…

President Trump said on October 13 that he did not believe Russia was helping Iran. This raises a question: is this information really being withheld from the US president? In 2025, Russia and Iran signed a 20-year strategic treaty. They help each other with weapons, technology, and money to sustain their wars and weaken the United States. Iran attacks shipping to keep oil prices high. According to Reuters on October 14, 2026, two senior Iranian officials directly linked this strategy to the US elections on November 3. They also discussed expanding attacks beyond the Strait of Hormuz. This benefits Russia: its oil becomes more expensive, buyers accept smaller discounts, and demand rises. According to CREA, high prices helped Moscow maintain its revenues at the end of March, even after Ukrainian strikes on Russian export infrastructure. Russia offers the US its diesel and gets sanctions relief. Iran disrupts fuel supplies, while Moscow offers to help and receives concessions in return. Iran gave Russia Shahed-131/136 drones, components, equipment, and technology to manufacture drones in Alabuga. Russia is now returning the favor by supplying Iran with improved drones and sharing its experience in bypassing air defense systems. On March 27, 2026, the Associated Press, citing US and European officials, reported deliveries of such drones to Iran. Additional reports about Russian components and their use emerged in August. Iran provided the original technology; Russia refined it in Ukraine, and those improvements are now helping Iran attack US forces. Russia provides Iran with intelligence on US facilities. In September, CNN linked Russian satellite intelligence to Iran’s March 27 attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The strike wounded 12 US service members and destroyed an AWACS aircraft. Russia is helping Iran develop engines for supersonic cruise missiles. On September 1, 2026, the Financial Times reported on a secret program known as C430L, which has been operating since 2023. Russian specialists linked to Rosoboronexport and the United Shipbuilding Corporation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya are involved. The program could allow Iran to manufacture more sophisticated weapons capable of threatening US ships and bases in the region. Iran supplies Russia with ballistic missiles and trains Russian troops to use them. In September 2024, the US officially announced the first delivery of Fath-360 missiles and reported that Iranian instructors were training Russian missile crews. For Moscow, this means additional ammunition for its war against Ukraine. Russia sells Iran air defense systems and combat aircraft. In February 2026, the Financial Times reported a contract worth approximately €495 million for 500 Verba man-portable air defense launchers and 2,500 missiles, scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2029. Iran has also confirmed purchasing Su-35 fighter jets, while visual evidence of the first Mi-28 helicopter deliveries emerged in January 2026. The exact number of aircraft and helicopters Iran has received remains unclear. Russia is transferring US weapons captured in Ukraine to Iran. In March 2023, CNN reported that Russia had handed over Javelin and Stinger. US sources expected Iran to attempt to dismantle and copy the systems. Even if reverse-engineering fails, Tehran can study how they work and how to counter them. Russia helps the Houthis through Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to the Wall Street Journal in October 2024, the Houthis received Russian satellite data through this channel to target commercial shipping. Reuters also reported that Iran had acted as an intermediary in talks over possible Russian deliveries of Yakhont anti-ship missiles. It has not been established whether those deliveries took place. Iranian allies attack maritime routes and facilities belonging to US partners. Following an attack on Aramco’s headquarters, the Houthis vowed on October 14 to continue strikes on Saudi airports and oil facilities. The US and its allies are consequently forced to defend more sites and commit additional resources. Russia’s VTB bank helps Iranian banks process payments in circumvention of sanctions. On September 14, 2026, the US Treasury Department sanctioned VTB over its dealings with sanctioned Iranian banks, settlements in rubles and rials, and attempts to move billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets. This gives Tehran access to funds that Washington had sought to block. The Russia-linked A7 network helps Iran receive oil revenues and pay for weapons. According to documents released by the US Treasury Department and FinCEN on October 1, its intermediaries also worked with Iran’s central bank and the IRGC. One intermediary and an affiliated company received nearly $140 million from entities involved in evading Iranian sanctions. Financial schemes developed for Russia are also serving Iran’s needs. Russia and Iran transport weapons in both directions across the Caspian Sea. The US Treasury Department identified the vessel Port Olya-3 as having transported Iranian missiles to Russia. In August 2026, NBC, citing a European government document, reported Russian shipments of drone components, ammunition, and explosives to the Iranian port of Amirabad. This route allows the two countries to supply each other directly with military cargo. Russia and Iran are developing the International North–South Transport Corridor together with India. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the project accelerated after 2022, partly to reduce dependence on Western routes and exposure to sanctions enforcement. Russia supports Iran’s nuclear energy sector and is preparing gas projects. Moscow helps operate the Bushehr nuclear power plant and build additional reactor units. Following wartime evacuations, Russian engineers began returning in August 2026. The two countries are also discussing gas supplies of up to 55 billion cubic meters annually, although this remains a proposed volume. Russia launches Iranian satellites. In July 2025, Russia launched Iran’s Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite into orbit. Russia and Iran exchange technologies for internet surveillance and communications interception. This cooperation is underpinned by a 2021 agreement and the 2025 strategic treaty. CSIS has also documented Russian assistance to Iran in intercepting telecommunications. Russia and Iran conduct influence operations targeting US elections. The US Treasury Department documented campaigns by both countries during the 2024 elections. Russia shields Iran from international scrutiny. On September 17, 2026, Russia and China blocked the extension of the mandate of a UN expert panel monitoring compliance with sanctions against Tehran. This makes it more difficult to independently document violations and increase pressure on Iran.

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) October 15, 2026

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Moscow “must pay for the destruction it has caused. And we are using the proceeds from the immobilized Russian assets to make sure it does.”

“We are making a further [$1.62] billion of them available to Ukraine. This will support Ukraine’s continued resistance against Russia’s illegal war,” she had announced in August.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Reports have emerged of a suspected ISIS operative and alleged rapist being housed in a taxpayer-funded hotel following his illegal arrival in the UK.

“Britain is getting the dregs,” GB News presenter Patrick Christys urged, reacting to the case of an Iraqi man who crossed the Channel, gave a false name, and lived undetected for weeks before German authorities tipped off the UK National Crime Agency.

Layth Ibrahim Mohammed, 39, is accused of links to Islamic State in Iraq during the 2010s, including making booby-trapped bombs and teaching the children of ISIS fighters at a school run by the group.

‘Britain is getting the dregs.’

@PatrickChristys is disgusted after a suspected ISIS fighter and rapist has been found living in a migrant hotel. https://t.co/JTpccqb2Pf

— GB News (@GBNEWS) October 13, 2026

He arrived by small boat from France in August 2025, claimed asylum, and was placed in a Home Office hotel in Oldham, Greater Manchester. NCA officers arrested him there in October 2025, but only after Germany flagged his background.

He is now fighting extradition to face terrorism-related charges and an allegation of raping a German woman. The allegations have not been established in court.

His lawyer, Joanna Curtis, told a Westminster hearing that extradition would be inhumane because “he has significant mental health issues, including severe anxiety, as well as depression.” She linked the trauma to a bomb attack in Iraq that killed his son and even laughably cited symptoms of “pins and needles.”

This is not an isolated failure. Earlier this year, another ISIS-linked man reached Britain the same way after social media reassured him the UK takes everyone.

Mohammed Yaseen, previously convicted in Germany for ISIS membership, attended beheadings and floggings in Iraq, then crossed after watching TikTok videos claiming Britain “accepts everyone and respects human rights.”

He gave false details, was processed, and only later identified by biometrics. Prosecutors described him as high risk.

The pattern is clear: people with documented extremist histories clear the Channel, destroy or withhold documents, and enter the asylum system before any meaningful check occurs.

The scale makes individual cases inevitable. Small-boat arrivals since Labour took office have already surpassed the strength of the British Army.

More than 83,000 crossed between July 2024 and September 2026, exceeding the Army’s roughly 83,000 regulars and outnumbering the Navy and RAF combined.

Total arrivals since 2018 top 200,000. The vast majority are military-aged men. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called it “completely bonkers,” noting Labour had “let an entire army-sized population cross the Channel illegally.”

Reform leader Nigel Farage has repeatedly warned the crossings represent a national security emergency.

At this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions he pressed Andy Burnham directly: “Every week there are young, unidentified males from Iran coming into this country, some of whom pose a genuine security threat to our nation. Is it not time the Government recognises that what is going on in the English Channel is a national security emergency?“

Burnham replied that crossings were “coming down” and removals were up, while acknowledging more needed to be done. Farage has described the situation as an “out-of-control disaster.”

The numbers are not sustainable on any measure. Settlement grants alone have reached one every minute.

Home Office data show 140,000 grants of settlement or citizenship in a single three-month period. Asylum system costs hit £4.3 billion in one year. Fewer than 5 percent of Channel arrivals since 2018 have been removed.

Foreign nationals are disproportionately represented in certain offence categories, including sexual offences. The system continues to grant status and benefits while the backlog of appeals grows.

Much of this rests on claims that officials themselves describe as fraudulent. A Home Office caseworker with years of experience processing thousands of applications stated that “at best 1 per cent of asylum seekers are genuine.”

Identical “package claims,” recycled stories, and fabricated evidence are routine. Networks coach applicants for thousands of pounds. Staff are instructed to treat claimants as “customers.” Modern slavery claims are nearly impossible to disprove and routinely succeed.

The result is a system that rewards illegal entry while genuine refugees and British citizens compete for housing, healthcare, and public resources.

Local authorities have responded to public concern by locking down entire towns rather than stopping the boats. In Gosport, police used multiple public-order powers to restrict residents, ban face coverings, and disperse gatherings so that hundreds of unvetted men arriving on mega-dinghies could be moved in luxury coaches.

Anti-migrant protesters faced arrests; an activist who slashed a dinghy was remanded in custody for months. The contrast with the rapid bail of terrorism suspects elsewhere is stark. Residents are treated as the problem while arrivals with unknown backgrounds are protected and housed.

These cases – ISIS suspects in hotels, arrivals outnumbering the Army, a system insiders call a scam, and towns placed under lockdown to facilitate landings – are not separate scandals. They are the predictable outcome of a policy that prioritises processing over screening, accommodation over removal, and international obligations over the security of the existing population.

Farage has called for the Royal Navy in the Channel and a pause on asylum claims. Successive governments have preferred payments to France and further hotel contracts.

The result is visible on the Kent coast, in Oldham hotels, and in the courtrooms where extradition is contested on mental-health grounds after the individual has already lived at public expense.

Britain cannot indefinitely absorb unvetted military-aged men, some with documented terror links, while maintaining public safety, housing stock, and basic services.

British society rests on a basic social contract: the state collects taxes and enforces laws in return for protecting the people who already live here. That bargain is rapidly fraying in real time.

The patience that has sustained decades of mass illegal entry is not unlimited. Once enough people conclude the state will not prioritise their safety, their housing, or their taxes, the remaining consent that keeps the system functioning quickly erodes. That is the edge the current policy has reached.

For the fifth straight week, the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time was less than 200k (199k)…

That is the longest streak below that level since 1969! (And remember, the labor force then was a fraction of what it is now).

Interestingly, Ohio, Tennessee, and California saw a rise in unadjusted claims last week…

Continuing claims remains low too – holding around 1.7 million Americans – the lowest level since March 2023…

However, as we noted last week, payrolls tell the other half of the story. September nonfarm payrolls came in at just +29k (with prior months revised down), well below the already modest recent trend. Net employment change is simply hires minus separations. When separations are that low but the net number is mediocre, hiring itself must have slowed substantially.

So the market has cooled mainly through reduced hiring rather than rising firings. That keeps the unemployment rate relatively contained (4.2% in September) even as it becomes harder for job seekers, switchers, and new entrants to land roles. 

Economists (including various Fed research notes) have been describing this as a stable-but-fragile equilibrium for a while: low layoffs prop things up, but the low hiring rate leaves little cushion if demand weakens further or a shock forces companies to start cutting.

It’s also consistent with slower labor-force growth from demographics and reduced immigration – fewer people needing to be absorbed means weaker payroll growth can still leave unemployment from rising sharply.

The bottom line is simple: the ‘low-hire, lowest-fire’ economy continues to roll along with no obvious signs of AI’s productivity surge (or replacement projections).

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Eight states filed lawsuits against OpenAI Oct. 14, claiming the company’s ChatGPT app harms children, deceives parents, and violates state consumer fraud laws.

The states – Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, and Arizona – individually filed lawsuits in their states, alleging the chatbot was giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others, and coaching people to commit suicide while pretending to be a friend.

“We will not just accept that any big tech company can make money by hurting Iowa’s kids and use them as lab rats in a race to be the first, or the biggest, or have the most users,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird told reporters Wednesday during a news conference on the lawsuits.

Chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming increasingly popular with teens. Almost two-thirds – 64 percent – of teens ages 13 to 17 reported using chatbots, with about 30 percent using them every day, according to a report published in December 2025 by Pew Research Center.

ChatGPT is by far the most popular among teens and favored by 59 percent of them, the survey found.

The lawsuits filed Wednesday claim ChatGPT is marketed by OpenAI as a safe product but, in reality, it is designed to be dangerous to vulnerable users, like children, and coaches them to commit suicide or to harm other people.

The states are asking the courts to compel OpenAI to comply with state consumer fraud laws, which prohibit deceptive business practices.

OpenAI responded to the filing of lawsuits, saying the company has implemented several safety measures and is continuing to work to build more safeguards.

“We’ve built industry-leading, age-specific protections into our product that many other AI products lack,” OpenAI’s spokesman Eric Porterfield told The Epoch Times in an email. “While no system can be perfect, we’ll continue to work with experts to inform our work and build additional safeguards, such as the parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections that exist today.”

The company is committed to working with states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry, according to Porterfield.

OpenAI claims its chatbot is intended for users age 13 and older. Users under 18 need permission from a parent or guardian to use it.

ChatGPT for Teens applies default safeguards for users under 18, OpenAI claims. Teens can manage and delete their chats and history, and control whether their conversations are used by the company to train models.

The company claims 90 percent of its teen ChatGPT users only use it for learning, skill-building, or productivity. Half of the teens who use it for conversations take breaks when they are given a break reminder, according to OpenAI.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said the states moved ahead with lawsuits instead of waiting for Congress to set federal guidelines.

“We’re in a world right now where the AI companies – and in this case OpenAI – are asked to police themselves,” said Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach during Wednesday’s press conference. “And as our cases allege, they’ve done a very poor job of policing themselves and have placed the public in danger.”

Florida became the first state to file a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in June, alleging its chatbot concealed serious risks, suppressed internal safety warnings, and deceived Floridians.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI in April after ChatGPT gave detailed advice to a suspected shooter who allegedly used it in a deadly campus shooting at Florida State University last year.

BofA’s omniscient analysts expected a hotter than expected retail sales print this morning (but it came with a warning as they start to see some substitution effects as rising gasoline spend is wearing on discretionary purchases).

Once again, BofA was right, with headline Retail Sales surging 0.8% MoM (+0.3% exp), lifting sales up by 6.3% YoY…

Spending at gasoline stations soared…

Eight out of 13 categories posted increases, led by a 6.4% increase in the value of purchases at gas stations. While consumers pulled back on spending on things like hobbies and building materials, sales at furniture retailers, electronics stores and restaurants increased.

This was not good for GDP as the so-called control-group sales – which feed into the government’s calculation of goods spending for gross domestic product – increased just 0.1% after surging the prior month. The measure excludes food services, auto dealers, building materials stores and gasoline stations.

The figures indicate consumers took a breather as the third quarter drew to a close and price pressures mounted. Faster inflation is taking a bigger toll on Americans’ paychecks and squeezing their budgets.

And BofA’s data appears to confirm that spending at the pump is squeezing spending elsewhere…

The AAA national average price of gasoline has stayed above the politically sensitive $ 4-per-gallon level for the last three months. Diesel has been above $5 over the same period and is flirting with a record high amid a global refining crisis. As we’ve outlined using high-frequency data, high fuel prices affect consumer behavior and spending patterns at convenience stores and gas stations. 

The latest comes from UBS analyst Ritu Solanki, who wrote in a brief note on Wednesday about US bank earnings that delivered an inconvenient message for those hoping for a recession: the economy remains resilient, but inflationary pressures persist.

Solanki said consumer spending, loan growth, and corporate activity remain healthy, while credit performance shows limited evidence of broad deterioration.

Solanki then cited Bank of America spending data for September showing consumers are spending more on fuel with credit and debit cards, up more than 20%. The risk is that rising fuel bills are crowding out other purchases. 

BAC’s card data show accelerating fuel spending alongside softening spending across several other major categories, suggesting higher pump costs are pinching household budgets.

Total card spending per household rose about .2% in the month, slowing from 1% in August, on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis. Meanwhile, gas spending jumped 5%, up from 3.1% in August. 

Several categories contracted in September:

• Home improvement: 1.6%
• Department stores: 1.1%
• Clothing: .9%
• Furniture: .5%
• Restaurants: .4%
• Groceries: .2%
• Online spending: .1%

The spending data suggest that fuel bills are squeezing room for other purchases, translating into dismal consumer sentiment ahead of the midterm elections. 

Is it really as bad for the American consumer as it has ever been?

Chief executives at Domino’s Pizza and Albertsons acknowledged in recent earnings calls that many consumers remain in a challenging economic environment. Even so, Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. have also signaled that the consumer remains resilient.

Piper Sandler’s latest Teen Survey of nearly 9,000 respondents offers an early read on energy drink preferences among younger consumers.

Analyst Michael Lavery highlighted Monster’s growing appeal, noting that the brand is gaining share and leading rivals in consumers’ intentions to increase consumption.

“Teens report highest consumption increase intent for Monster,” Lavery wrote in the note published earlier today.

He continued:

We asked teens whether they intend to drink more or less of their favorite energy drink brands in the next six months; 20% plan to drink more while 49% plan to drink the same amount and 32% plan to drink less (though reduction intentions often do not actually occur).

Teens plan to drink more Monster (23%), than Alani Nu (20%), Red Bull (18%), and Celsius (16%).

The survey of roughly 8,935 teens showed Monster retaining second place among their preferred energy drink brands, behind Red Bull. Its share of mentions rose about .6 percentage points from a year earlier, reaching about 28%, broadly in line with its 27% share of measured US retail sales.

The results stand in sharp contrast with Celsius, which dropped from fourth to sixth and lost about 5.55 percentage points of preference share. Alani Nu remained third but also lost momentum among young consumers. 

Monster consumption is heavily skewed toward males: about 75% of teens who selected it as their favorite energy drink were boys. Alani Nu’s following was mostly female, highlighting how differently the brands compete for younger consumers.

Other fun facts from the survey:

Energy drinks top soda and coffee for source of energy among young consumers.

Maybe the youngsters need some Hooked on Phonics …

Monster’s growing advantage over Celsius is showing up in stock performance this year.

Celsius is down 41% year-to-date, while Monster is up solidly at around 14.3%.