On the eve of Veterans Day, a moment meant for gratitude and reflection, The Washington Post doubled down on its campaign against those who have served, accusing America’s Veterans of feigning mental health injuries as a means to secure disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The article, one in an unrelenting series of Veteran attack articles from the Post this fall, is disheartening and injurious to those who have sacrificed their minds and bodies for our country.
The series sparked an immediate backlash, with veterans and advocates writing to the Post in droves to slam the reporting as biased and misleading. And they’re right.
The Post’s articles risk leaving readers with the pernicious idea that it’s commonplace for Veterans and their private benefits consultants to scam the VA benefits claims system by using PTSD and other mental health disorders as an excuse to collect benefits from the government.
Mental health disorders are not mere excuses for Veterans to collect benefits; they’re a reality. Ryan Gallucci, Executive Director of the VFW’s Washington, D.C. office, put it best when he called PTSD one of “the signature wounds of modern warfare,” adding that it’s “either ignorant or deliberately cruel” to claim that conditions like this are fake and unworthy of benefits claims.
Mental injuries may not be as physically dramatic as a bullet or explosion wound, but too many Veterans hobble through life dealing with mental anguish, and some – more than 17 per day, according to a recent report – end their own lives early to finally be free of it.
America’s Veterans endured incalculable stress and anguish fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Post’s reporting does not contextualize exposure to the toxic burn pits, the constant threats of violence on patrol, and the grueling physical demands of war and counterinsurgency in 100-plus-degree and sub-zero temperatures for months at a time. And that’s not counting the horrors many Veterans store in their memories, like the dismembered body parts of comrades after their Humvees rode over IEDs – or the burned skin, torn muscles, and protruding organs after shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade that sprayed into fellow soldiers nearby.
These stressful memories can return, shaking us to our core. This is PTSD. It’s traumatic, it’s painful, and it’s real. I’m proud that my organization, Veterans Guardian – and the 150-plus Veterans, Veteran spouses, and spouses of active-duty service members who work there – have helped thousands of Veterans afflicted by PTSD and other mental health disorders get the benefits they’ve earned.
By glossing over the unfortunate truths of mental illness and accusing Veterans and those supporting them as fraudulent, the Post has belittled Veterans’ great sacrifices.
They’re also perpetuating an idea they’ve been conditioned to believe through the military, that they should “suck up and deal with” every challenge that comes their way. That standard shouldn’t apply when soldiers transition to Veteran status and civilian life. Civilians are not expected to “suck it up” if an insurance company denies a claim that should be honored.
The same principle applies to Veterans.
When recruits sign up for the armed services, they enter an agreement with the government and people of the United States. As soldiers, they would sacrifice their bodies and minds protecting the Constitution and the freedoms of Americans. But in exchange for these sacrifices, Veterans would receive benefits that help them manage health issues and integrate back into civilian life after serving. Veterans earned the right to receive these benefits, and they should be honored.
The VFW, in response to the Washington Post’s October 6tharticle casting Veterans in a dishonorable light for generalizing the bad actions of very few, perfectly summed up practically every Veteran’s feelings in three words: “honor the contract.”
Reputable claims consultants like Veterans Guardian and Veteran Service Organizations like the VFW may not always see eye to eye, however, we are in lockstep solidarity when it comes to protecting our Veterans, just as we are in our beliefs that the Washington Post doesn’t fully understand Veterans, the benefits system, and the gravity of their reporting.
These kinds of articles share the same hallmarks of the unfortunate reality of the misinformation environment around Veterans: inflammatory anecdotes, the inaccurate portrayal of Veterans as dishonorable, and the vilification of compensating our Veterans for the many burdens they’ve endured. I would ask that everyone that talks about Veterans and their struggles keeps in mind the potential negative impacts their statements can have on our Veterans and their mental health.
China Debuts First Locally Built GE-Designed Gas Turbine
China has launched its first power plant using an advanced gas turbine manufactured domestically, marking a major step toward reducing dependence on foreign technology amid a global equipment shortage, according to Bloomberg.
China Energy Investment Corp. commissioned the Anji Power Plant, which operates two GE-designed turbines of roughly 400 megawatts each.
Bloomberg writes that the turbine design comes from GE Vernova, which formed a joint venture with state-owned Harbin Electric in 2019 to localize production and supply up to a dozen units annually.
The achievement advances China’s long-running effort to build its own gas-turbine industry at a time when worldwide demand is surging—driven by data-center expansion and by developing nations shifting away from coal.
China’s gas-fired capacity is expected to reach about 150 gigawatts this year, with proposals to grow to 200 gigawatts by 2030. Gas power is becoming increasingly important in coastal regions facing limited land for renewables and grid bottlenecks, according to Qi Qin of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Other domestic manufacturers, including Dongfang Electric and Shanghai Electric, are also speeding up their gas-turbine development programs.
The move carries broader geopolitical significance. As advanced gas turbines have long been dominated by a small group of Western and Japanese suppliers, China’s ability to localize production reduces a key point of technological leverage.
At a time when global supply chains for strategic equipment are tightening and export controls are expanding, demonstrating domestic capability in large-scale turbine manufacturing strengthens China’s energy security and lowers its vulnerability to potential sanctions or supply disruptions.
Cole began identifying as a boy during adolescence and sought physical changes to match.
Doctors readily consented to medical intervention. They prescribed puberty blockers and testosterone at age 13. At 15, surgeons performed a double mastectomy, she told The Epoch Times.
But doctors didn’t address her neurological issues first. The same gender specialist who referred her for breast surgery later referred her for autism screening. Cole has described herself as being on the autism spectrum, but said she was never formally diagnosed.
Cole is now a leading campaigner against interventions to transition children with gender dysphoria.
She said many of those she knew personally when she was involved in the transgender community, as well as many of the detransitioners she knows, “are either somewhere on the autism spectrum, or they have been diagnosed with similar conditions, like ADHD.”
Her observations are increasingly supported by research. For at least a decade, studies have reported links among transgender identity, autism, and other neurological conditions. These connections have recently gained greater public attention.
Growing evidence of an autism–transgender link is already prompting some nations to recommend neurological screening before intervention. In America, the treatment model remains unchanged, and the predominant “affirmation” model makes the link difficult to investigate.
A report published this month by the British think tank Centre for Social Justice showed that autism and ADHD were “overrepresented,” or disproportionately high, among youth with gender dysphoria.
The report, citing data from the UK’s National Health Service, showed 32.4 percent of gender dysphoria referrals had an autism diagnosis, and 11.7 percent had an ADHD diagnosis.
Those numbers were 16 times higher than the national population averages for autism, and more than twice as high for ADHD. The population-wide averages for autism and ADHD in the United Kingdom are estimated at 2 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
“Individuals with autism spectrum disorder are far more likely to identify as transgender,” Joseph Nicolosi Jr., a licensed clinical psychologist and researcher in California, told The Epoch Times via email.
A pair of studies conducted in 2016 and 2019 indicate that autistic children are between four and seven times more likely to experience gender dysphoria or gender variance, he said. A 2019 study was conducted by researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and a 2016 study was conducted at New York University.
Nicolosi said there are several reasons for the connection, including “rigid thinking.”
For example, if a boy with autism lacks stereotypical male interests, he may doubt he is a boy and assume he must be a girl. Reading social cues is often hard for those with autism, so they may perceive same-sex peers as getting along better than they do.
“This heightens their sense of alienation from their peers,” Nicolosi said.
Cole recalled having difficulty coping with her body beginning to mature around the fourth grade, younger than most of her peers.
“The older I got, the less I associated with femininity, and I didn’t really feel like I fit in—especially with my female peers—but with my peers in general,” she said.
“It’s a common sentiment amongst people who have either ADHD or autism.”
Erin Friday, who gained national attention for successfully steering her ADHD daughter away from identifying as a transgender male, said she knows many detransitioners who are on the autism spectrum. A detransitioner is someone who had previously taken steps to transition to the opposite gender.
But most of the medical community doesn’t recognize transgender identity as a maladaptive coping mechanism, she told The Epoch Times.
They view autism and transgender identity as complementary and natural, instead of looking at causality, she said.
“This is the intersection of autism and transgenderism, like peas and carrots, it goes together,” Friday said. “They’re not even looking at … what is the causality?”
She observed that some hospitals offering pediatric transgender care have integrated autism and gender dysphoria services.
“It’s a feeder,” she said. “So it gives an endless stream of patients.”
Children’s National Hospital in Washington runs a Gender and Autism Program that treats autistic patients with gender dysphoria, illustrating the recognized connection between the two, she noted.
“We do not understand why autism and gender expansiveness often occur together, but we do know that this co-occurrence can be complex to navigate for young people and their families,” the website states.
The hospital did not respond to a request for comment.
In the UK, a seminal report released last year on how the country has handled treatment of children with gender dysphoria suggested screening children for neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism and mental health issues.
That review, led by pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, sparked a wave of reforms, and the UK’s National Health Service all but halted the prescription of puberty blockers because there was a lack of evidence that the treatment was beneficial.
The Cass report found that young people distressed about their gender often have complex problems contributing to that distress, including mental illness, neurodiverse traits, and a variety of social problems.
Sweden and Finland recommend that neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism and ADHD be addressed as part of the evaluation process for the treatment of pediatric gender dysphoria.
In the United States, however, psychological organizations prioritize “gender-affirming care” without recommending neurological screening.
Instead, most follow the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care, which call for individualized, age-appropriate care to “improve health and wellbeing” of youth who identify as transgender.
The organization says assisting gender dysphoric patients “may include gynecologic and urologic care, reproductive health, voice and communication therapy, mental health services (e.g., counseling, psychotherapy), and/or hormonal or surgical treatments, among others.”
WPATH does not believe an autism diagnosis should prevent “gender-affirming care.”
“There is no evidence to suggest a benefit of withholding [gender affirming medical and surgical treatments] from [transgender] people who have gender incongruence simply on the basis that they have a mental health or neurodevelopmental condition,” according to WPATH.
Likewise, a 2023 commentary appearing in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics said that autistic youth deserve “gender-affirming care, and an [autism spectrum] diagnosis should not prevent youth and families from providing informed consent to gender-affirming care.”
The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network said in its June newsletter that the government shouldn’t interfere with an autistic person’s decision to transition.
“They think autistic people cannot really know if we are transgender. They say we are being tricked or we are confused. They think we should not be allowed to get gender-affirming care,” the newsletter stated.
Republican lawmakers in many states have enacted bans against gender-related medical treatments on minors, with corresponding federal actions to restrict funding for such practices.
Shortly after taking office earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating that the federal government will not fund or promote transition-related care for children who identify as a different gender.
This spring, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a 409-page review of medical procedures used for gender dysphoric children. The report advocates for psychotherapy as a “noninvasive alternative to endocrine and surgical interventions,” since the benefits of hormones or surgery have not been established.
“Many of these children and adolescents have co-occurring psychiatric or neurodevelopmental conditions, rendering them especially vulnerable,” the executive summary for the report states.
Billions Spent By One-Party-Rule Maryland Democrats With Little Oversight
The one-party rule of ‘Democratic Kings‘ in Maryland continues to reveal an optically displeasing truth about these leftist activists masquerading as competent politicians, who are anything but, and their epic mismanagement of state finances has only occurred because of limited oversight into their radical agendas.
Fox Baltimore reports that a state legislative audit uncovered major concerns about the oversight of billions of dollars spent by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and his rudderless leftist allies in Annapolis, who champion everything from failed climate-crisis policies to wokeism to gender identity agendas to social justice and criminal justice reforms, as well as protecting illegal aliens (new voter base) – this is anything but ‘Maryland First’…
“Most recently, a state audit revealed 42 state offices spent a total of $8.5 billion last year with minimal oversight. That audit came on the heels of a State Highway Administration audit detailing $360 million in unauthorized spending for federal projects, and a separate Social Services Administration audit revealing a lack of protections for foster care children in Maryland,” Fox Baltimore wrote in a report.
Taxpayers Protection Alliance president David Williams told Fox Baltimore journalist Jeff Abell, “It’s a problem that almost $9 billion is going to these entities and we just don’t know where the money is going.”
Williams expressed serious concerns over the findings, pointing out, “This is supposed to be a system of checks and balances. We know the checks have gone out but there are no balances to be sure the money is being spent wisely.”
He called for increased oversight, saying, “If you’re receiving taxpayer money, there has to be full accountability, and this is billions of dollars we’re talking about.”
The lack of oversight in Maryland comes as no surprise, given that the state suffers from a disastrous one-party rule of far-left Democrats who care more about upholding the globalist framework of climate-crisis and illegal alien policies.
Moore’s photo next to dark-money-funded NGO emperor Alex Soros makes it all the more clear why he and Maryland Democrats operate with a globalist framework in the first place.
The result of one-party rule has been a ballooning deficit, soaring taxes, a credit rating downgrade, and a continued large-scale exodus of residents fleeing to red states as Maryland quickly loses its charm and is on track to transform into the next “Illinois 2.0.” On top of the financial failures, power grid mismanagement has collided with surging data center demand, sending power bills through the roof.
Another Democrat-run state under scrutiny this week is Minneapolis, where far-left Gov. Tim Walz seemingly ignored his Somali voting base that looted taxpayers in billion-dollar welfare fraud schemes – with some of the funds allegedly ending up in the hands of overseas terror networks.
If Maryland and Minneapolis have oversight problems, imagine what’s happening in all the other Democrat-run states.
BloombergNEF’s latest forecast is 36% higher than its previous prediction, released in April. The jump is due in part to the higher average size of the 150 significant U.S. data center projects announced in the past year, over a quarter of which are larger than 500 MW, BNEF said.
The Energy Information Administration, which tracks demand for the federal government, generally only publishes detailed projections out two or three years, and few other analyses have attempted firm forecasts as far out as 2035.
BNEF’s report comes as some energy industry analysts and executives warn that an artificial intelligence bubble or speculative data center proposals could be fueling excessive load growth projections.
A report from Grid Strategies released last month said utility forecasts of 90 GW additional data center load by 2030 were likely overstated; market analysis indicates load growth in that time frame is likely closer to 65 GW, it said.
BNEF’s data center project tracker shows the industry diversifying beyond traditional data center hubs like Northern Virginia, metro Atlanta and central Ohio into exurban and rural regions served by existing fiber-optic trunk lines for data traffic.
A map of under-construction, committed and early-stage projects shows gigawatts of planned data center capacity spreading south through Virginia and the Carolinas, up through eastern Pennsylvania and outward from Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. More data centers are also planned for Texas and the Gulf Coast states.
Much of the capacity is poised to materialize on grids overseen by the PJM Interconnection, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. BNEF predicts PJM alone could add 31 GW of data center load over the next five years, about 3 GW more than expected capacity additions from new generation.
With the expected surge, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. warned late last year of “elevated risk” of summer electricity shortfalls this year, in 2026 and onward in all three regions.
Some experts disputed NERC’s methodology, however. MISO’s independent market monitor said in June that the group’s analysis was flawed and that MISO was in a better position than grid regions not expected to see exponential data center growth, like ISO New England and the New York Independent System Operator.
Other technology and energy system analysts expect a significant amount of proposed data center capacity to dissipate in the coming years due to chip shortages, duplicative permit requests and other factors.
In July, London Economics International said in a report prepared for the Southern Environmental Law Center that meeting projections for U.S. data center load in 2030 would require 90% of global chip supply — a scenario it called “unrealistic.”
Patricia Taylor, director of policy and research at the American Public Power Association, told Utility Dive earlier this year that it’s common for data center developers to “shop around” the same project across neighboring jurisdictions.
Still, U.S. grid operators face an “inflection moment” as they balance the desire to accommodate large-scale data centers with the obligation to ensure reliable service for all customers, BNEF said.
A federal judge on Dec. 2 ordered the Trump administration to stop making warrantless immigration arrests in the District of Columbia without probable cause.
Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the plaintiffs made a strong case that immigration officers have been arresting immigrants without warrants or conducting assessments to determine if each individual poses a flight risk.
Federal law states that an officer can arrest an immigrant without a warrant “if he has reason to believe that the alien so arrested is in the United States in violation of any such law or regulation and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest.”
“Defendants’ systemic failure to apply the probable cause standard, including the failure to consider escape risk, directly violates the clear statutory requirement,” as well as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations implementing the law, Howell said in an 88-page decision.
Howell ordered the Department of Homeland Security and its divisions, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to stop making warrantless arrests without an individualized determination of whether the person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained and that the person being arrested “is in the United States in violation of law or regulation regulating the admission, exclusion, expulsion or removal of aliens.”
The Department of Justice, which represents agencies in legal cases, and the DHS did not return requests for comment on the ruling.
CASA, a Maryland-based organization that sued along with individuals who have been arrested in the nation’s capital in recent months by immigration officers, did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit stated that federal agents have been “indiscriminately arresting without warrants and without probable cause District residents whom the agents perceive to be Latino” without warrants and without individualized assessments that those being arrested are illegally in the United States or likely to escape before agents can obtain a warrant.
“In some cases, officials belatedly realize that there is no legal basis to hold in custody the individual whom federal agents arrested without any individualized assessment and release them,” it stated. “Even those released from detention experience significant physical and psychological harm from their arbitrary arrest and detention, and they fear that they will experience those harms again.”
Federal officials said in court filings that, in carrying out President Donald Trump’s order to make the District of Columbia safer, they have been arresting people identified as being illegally in the country, and that Howell should not enter a preliminary injunction.
“Plaintiffs assert that ICE has a pattern and practice of acting otherwise, but that evidence consists of their individual arrest experiences, pseudonymous third-party anecdotes, and third-party statements by immigration attorneys,” officials stated. “At most, those declarations describe varying, unconnected encounters, not an official, routinely applied, district-wide warrantless arrest pattern and practice. Plaintiffs thus have not even shown an unlawful law enforcement policy—let alone that they face a ’real and immediate’ threat of being harmed by it.”
Earlier this year, a federal judge in Colorado and a federal judge in California issued similar rulings. Another judge in California ordered officers not to stop people based on factors such as race. The Supreme Court put that order on hold.
Jack Smith Subpoenaed For Deposition Before House Judiciary Committee, Jordan Says
Jack Smith has been called to the House for a deposition before the House Judiciary Committee, after Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) fired off a subpoena to the former special counsel.
In a Wednesday letter to Smith, Jordan instructed him to show up before the House committee on Dec. 17 at 10am ET.
“Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,” Jordan wrote in the letter to Smith which he also posted to his X account. “Based upon communications with your counsel, we understand that you are available to testify at a deposition” on the aforementioned date.
As the Epoch Times notes further, Jordan’s subpoena also included a request for communications and documents connected to Smith’s investigation as special counsel, which involved charges being brought against President Donald Trump in two cases.
Smith had charged Trump in Washington over his challenging the results of the 2020 election, and charged him in Florida with illegally retaining classified documents. Trump had pleaded not guilty to the charges, while Smith ultimately dropped both cases.
Weeks before Trump took office a second time, Smith released a report in January that defended his special counsel investigation and the charges that were brought. The former special counsel argued that the charges were dropped due to a longstanding Department of Justice policy that discourages the prosecution of sitting presidents, but stressed that he believed in the merits of the charges.
“It is equally important for me to make clear that nobody within the Department of Justice ever sought to interfere with, or improperly influence, my prosecutorial decision making,” Smith said in the Jan. 7 letter that was sent to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The Department of Justice under the Biden administration also never sought to “improperly influence my decision as to whether to bring charges” against Trump, Smith said.
The allegation that “my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable,” he also said.
The House Judiciary Committee has already sent several letters to Smith so far this year, including one in October that alleged Smith may have obtained phone records of sitting Republican lawmakers as part of his investigation. Several former members of Smith’s team have testified or have been called to testify before the Judiciary panel, Jordan has said.
In a letter sent to Smith, Jordan wrote at the time that his “testimony is necessary to understand the full extent to which the Biden-Harris Justice Department weaponized federal law enforcement.”
“As the Special Counsel, you are ultimately responsible for the prosecutorial misconduct and constitutional abuses of your office. Your misdeeds were so flagrant that the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility confirmed to the Committee in November 2024 that it had opened an inquiry into the tactics of your office,” Jordan wrote.
In his first public remarks since leaving the government, Smith told a panel hosted by former FBI counsel Andrew Weissman that allegations he was operating in a politicized manner are incorrect. Smith also said he was concerned about attempts to demonize career DOJ officials to score political points.
The Epoch Times contacted Smith’s legal team for comment on Dec. 3.
President Donald Trump will eliminate fuel standard regulations imposed by President Joe Biden when he signs an executive order on Dec. 3 in the Oval Office.
His directive will reduce the number of miles a vehicle must travel on a mile of gasoline, a move that will mitigate car price increases of about $1,000 and save Americans approximately $109 billion, according to administration officials.
Representatives from Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis are expected to join the president for the signing ceremony.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation, oversees the Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations—enacted by Congress in 1975 to reduce fuel consumption by setting miles per gallon standards for vehicles.
A difference of opinion in recent administrations—with Democrats preferring electric vehicles and pushing to increase fuel efficiency for gas-powered vehicles, while Trump’s presidencies have focused on reducing costs and regulations—resulted in a series of policy reversals.
Biden strengthened fuel economy standards in June 2024 by 2 percent annually for passenger vehicles and light trucks.
Increases of 8 to 10 percent annually were proposed for some new vehicles.
President Barack Obama ramped up standards and set a goal in 2012 of achieving 54.5 miles per gallon for light passenger vehicles by 2025.
Trump rolled back Obama’s initiatives in 2020 during his first term in office.
The president also rescinded California’s electric vehicle mandate, which sought to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2030, when he signed three related congressional acts on June 12, including one that revoked the Golden State’s ability to impose tailpipe emissions limits.
Trump signed dozens of executive orders since taking office in January, including one called “Unleashing American Energy,” aligned with his agenda of increasing domestic energy production and limiting regulations that he said are negatively affecting the economy and driving inflation.
Prediction Platform Polymarket Rolls Out US App Today After CFTC Approval
Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform, has officially launched a U.S.-focused app following approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Against all odds.
Polymarket’s U.S app is now being rolled out to those on the waitlist.
The move lifts nearly four years of restrictions preventing American users from participating in its blockchain-powered prediction markets.
Initially available in the App Store under the sports category, the app allows U.S. users to place bets on sports events, with plans to expand into other markets including proposition bets and election wagers.
The app is opening access gradually, inviting users from a previously established waitlist, though not all applicants have received invitations yet.
As Bitcoin Magazine details below, Polymarket bypassed the traditional, multi-year CFTC registration process by acquiring QCEX, an already-registered platform, for $112 million in July.
The company received a no-action letter from the CFTC in September, allowing it to resume operations legally in the U.S. after its 2022 settlement over unregistered event contracts.
Polymarket’s CFTC approval
In November, Polymarket secured an Amended Order of Designation from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), allowing it to operate as an intermediated trading platform under the full set of federal rules for U.S. exchanges.
We’re thrilled to share that we’ve received CFTC approval for intermediation, paving the way for seamless access to polymarkets through registered brokers & financial institutions.
The approval enabled the platform to onboard brokerages and customers directly, allowing users to trade through futures commission merchants (FCMs) and access traditional custody, reporting, and market infrastructure.
To comply with the CFTC’s requirements, Polymarket upgraded its systems, introducing enhanced market surveillance, supervision policies, clearing procedures, and Part 16 regulatory reporting.
The platform remains fully subject to the Commodity Exchange Act and other CFTC regulations, including self-regulatory obligations.
The platform had been barred from operating in the U.S. in 2022 after offering unregistered derivatives contracts. Its return followed the acquisition of QCEX, a regulated contract market and clearinghouse, for $112 million, which enabled the company to bypass a lengthy registration process.
Earlier this year, the platform also introduced support for direct bitcoin deposits, allowing users to fund accounts with BTC alongside stablecoins like USDC and USDT.
The platform has attracted significant investor interest. In November, reports indicated that Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), owner of the New York Stock Exchange, is considering a $2 billion investment that could value Polymarket between $8 billion and $10 billion.
Earlier funding discussions reportedly placed the company’s valuation at $12–15 billion. Investors also include 1789 Capital, backed by Donald Trump Jr.
Polymarket’s competitors, such as Kalshi, are also expanding, with Kalshi recently Kalshi raising $1 billion at a $11 billion valuation, doubling value in under two months
MSNBC pundits unleashed hysterical race-baiting smears Wednesday after President Trump clamped down on unchecked migration from failed states.
The network, actually called MSNOW now, is in full panic mode, accusing Trump’s tough immigration enforcement of being a “white nationalist agenda” designed to “make America WHITE again.”
The leftist network’s meltdown comes amid ICE operations targeting Somali migrants in Minnesota, where Trump has vowed to root out threats to American safety and culture.
In a segment on “Chris Jansing Reports,” Princeton University professor and MSNBC contributor Eddie Glaude Jr. railed against Trump’s policies, claiming they stem from a belief that “social cohesion isn’t possible if you have all this immigration” from diverse groups.
Glaude didn’t hold back, declaring Trump’s approach is “part of a white nationalist agenda” and insisting the goal is “to make America White again.”
🚨 JUST IN: MSNBC is sounding the alarm that President Trump’s anti-3rd world policies will “make America WHITE again”
“It’s a white nationalist agenda!”
“There’s a belief social cohesion isn’t possible if you have all this immigration!”pic.twitter.com/t4woh1GhfD
The rant followed Trump’s pointed criticism of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), the Somali-American congresswoman, whom he called “garbage” along with fraudster Somalis in Minnesota.
Jansing amplified the drama, highlighting Omar’s status as “the first woman of color ever elected to represent her state in Congress” and “one of only three Muslim members of congress serving right now.”
Glaude escalated the rhetoric, calling Trump’s language “blatant racism” and intolerable from a president. He argued that describing American citizens as “garbage” reveals a deeper agenda: “This clear idea that America has to remain a white republic and if it’s not then we are going to hell.” He urged viewers to reject this “vision” outright.
This isn’t the first time Glaude has lobbed such accusations. Back in May, he told MSNBC’s “Deadline” that Trump was pushing a “white nationalist agenda” to a “hate-filled base.”
In July, he claimed ICE’s mission under Trump was to “make America white again” during nationwide raids.
And in June, he compared ICE agents to “slave catchers,” suggesting Trump supporters revel in the “dark” spectacle.
The latest outburst aligns with broader media hysteria over Trump’s immigration overhaul. As we previously highlighted, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recommended a full travel ban on countries “flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” expanding on existing restrictions on 19 high-risk nations like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, and Venezuela.
Trump’s administration has already paused migration from Third World countries, halted two million asylum claims, and axed Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands from Haiti and Somalia. Border Czar Tom Homan is ramping up deportations with 10,000 new ICE agents, while self-deportations have surged to 1.6 million.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the moves, stating, “If you don’t align with the values of the United States, and you don’t respect our country, our culture, our laws, and our people, you are not welcome here.”
Critics like MSNBC paint these as racist, but the reality is stark: Under Biden, over 20 million entries from failed states overwhelmed communities, fueling crime, welfare abuse, and cultural clashes. Trump’s policies aim to reverse that damage, prioritizing citizens over invaders.
MSNBC’s obsession with race-baiting ignores the real victims—American families burdened by unchecked migration.
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.
