ZeroHedge News

Germany Accelerates Kamikaze Drone Stockpiling With Rheinmetall Deal

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:45:00 +0000

Germany Accelerates Kamikaze Drone Stockpiling With Rheinmetall Deal

Germany's parliament has approved a sizeable contract for defense giant Rheinmetall to supply loitering munitions, or kamikaze drones, to the Bundeswehr, underscoring just how quickly European militaries are internalizing drone warfare lessons from both the Russia-Ukraine war and, more recently, the U.S.-Iran conflict. Berlin's latest procurement push makes it clear that one-way attack drones are becoming a serious threat, and the race to stockpile them has begun.

Bloomberg reports that the budget committee of the Bundestag approved the Defense Ministry's proposal for an initial tranche of Rheinmetall's suicide drones worth $345 million.

The deal is capped at around $1.2 billion for Rheinmetall loitering munitions and depends on the firm meeting development and delivery milestones. The drones are initially intended for Germany's brigade in Lithuania, but there is a possibility that they will be deployed elsewhere.

The approval follows Germany's February decision to purchase $637 million worth of strike drones from startups Helsing and STARK. Rheinmetall missed out on those deals because it lacked a working prototype at the time.

The Defense Ministry confirmed the latest contract without identifying Rheinmetall: "As with the other two contracts, there are clearly defined qualification requirements, termination milestones, and innovation clauses."

Lessons learned from the current conflicts across Eurasia have served as a wake-up call for countries around the world, unleashing a frantic race among the world's militaries to procure low-cost attack drones.

What follows will be counter-drone systems to combat this emerging threat, as the war in the Middle East showed that the US and its Gulf allies lacked low-cost solutions.

On the U.S. homeland front, the Federal Aviation Administration has given the U.S. military the green light to deploy high-energy counter-drone laser weapons in U.S. airspace. Alarmingly, there are very few, if not any, low-cost counter-drone systems guarding America's data centers, transmission substations, stadiums, and other critical infrastructure.

One month before the US-Iran conflict broke out, we informed readers of the urgent need for data centers to consider counter-drone systems. What followed were multiple data centers struck by Iranian drones in the Gulf region. Civilian infrastructure will not be spared as the world becomes increasingly dangerous and chaotic.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/16/2026 - 02:45

Europe's Electrification Dream Is Hitting A Wall

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Europe's Electrification Dream Is Hitting A Wall

Authored by Gisele Widdershoven via OilPrice.com,

Europe’s electrification strategy is ambitious but constrained by lagging grid infrastructure, creating bottlenecks that are already delaying industry and investment.
Massive funding needs—running into trillions—combined with regulatory complexity and slow buildouts are exposing a gap between policy ambition and physical reality.
Without better coordination, prioritization, and financing, Europe risks higher costs, weaker competitiveness, and a stalled energy transition.

The message given by Ursula von der Leyen to electrify the European economy is strategically coherent, politically appealing, and, on the surface, even unavoidable. It will be the real deal to decarbonize industry and power transport, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, and anchor Europe’s competitiveness. The latter is especially valid in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical order. Electrification is presented as the backbone of Europe’s future prosperity and security.

However, beneath this clear vision lies a far more uncomfortable reality. Brussels is not only pursuing an energy transition but also transforming its industrial base, transport systems, infrastructure networks, and geopolitical posture. All of this needs to be done while facing an increased financial, physical, and strategic strain. Electrification is not failing at present because the overall idea or strategy is wrong, but because the system required to support it is already overstretched. At the same time, and maybe even more important, the bill to fix that system is only beginning to emerge.

The real core problem of Brussels is not its ambition, but the sequencing of it all.

Europe is already accelerating the electrification of demand, mainly in the industrial, transport, and heating sectors, while simultaneously pushing to expand renewable supply at an unprecedented speed. One pivotal issue, however, seems to be constantly forgotten: the infrastructure that must connect the two is lagging dangerously behind. Policymakers and advisors should realize that electricity systems are not abstract constructs, but physical networks with hard limits. Throughout Europe, these limits have already been reached.

The prime example of this situation is the Netherlands.

Throughout the continent, the Dutch energy transition has been presented as a model: one of the highest per-capita deployments of offshore wind in the world, widespread solar adoption, aggressive electrification policies, and a political consensus around decarbonization. If Brussels’ overall strategy were working as intended, the Netherlands should be its showcase.

In reality, however, it is its warning.

At present, the Dutch electricity grid is no longer able to keep pace with the pace of change. The country’s grid congestion has become structural, not incidental. An ever-growing list of thousands of companies, some even stating 15,000+, are already on waiting lists for grid connections or capacity upgrades. In several Dutch regions, industrial clusters cannot expand, while new investments are delayed or diverted. The most shocking issue is that even residential developments are hindered or blocked by the lack of electricity.

The paradox is striking. At certain moments, especially when there is a positive combination of wind and sun, the Netherlands produces more renewable electricity than it can use. At other times, the country cannot supply enough electricity to meet demand. The Dutch system is increasingly hit by a system that needs to deal with a simultaneous suffering of surplus and scarcity.

This is not a temporary imbalance but the predictable outcome of a system in which generation has outpaced infrastructure. It is also where Europe’s electrification narrative begins to unravel.

The EC’s strategy again assumes a relatively smooth scaling of supply, demand, and infrastructure. Reality, however, is much more complex. At present, infrastructure development lags due to permitting constraints, investment bottlenecks, and physical construction timelines. At the same time, demand does not scale linearly, especially when industries hesitate amid uncertainty about costs and grid access. The system itself introduces frictions, such as congestion, curtailment, and volatility, all undermining efficiency.

Across Europe, an increasing number of grid operators are issuing urgent warnings as connection queues grow while investment pipelines stall. All are looking at a situation where the congestion costs are rising. And yet the policy response remains focused primarily on accelerating renewable deployment and electrification targets, as if infrastructure will inevitably follow.

It will not.

Right now, now is that electricity grids cannot be expanded at the pace of policy ambition. Building high-voltage transmission lines takes years, often more than a decade. At the same time, distribution networks require massive upgrades to handle decentralized generation and electrified demand. Local opposition, environmental regulations, and supply chain constraints slow all of this.

Brussels dramatically underestimates the scale of investment needed, which should motivate industry leaders to develop innovative financing strategies and advocate for substantial capital allocation to meet the €660 billion annual target and beyond.

To be clear, this is not incremental spending, but a structural reallocation of capital on a scale rarely seen outside wartime economies.

Given the €1.2 trillion investment requirement for electricity grids alone by 2040, policymakers should explore innovative financing models, public-private partnerships, and EU-level funding instruments to mobilize the necessary capital efficiently.

Addressing electrification requires a collective effort to rebuild Europe’s entire energy backbone, highlighting the importance of coordinated strategic planning among policymakers, industry, and investors to prevent economic inefficiency and political fragility.

That is where the Dutch case becomes valid. The Netherlands has already demonstrated that high levels of renewable penetration do not automatically translate into effective electrification. Without grid capacity, renewable energy cannot be fully utilized. Without certainty about the connection, industrial electrification stalls. Without system flexibility, volatility increases.

In other words, the transition becomes economically inefficient and politically fragile.

Another major constraint is that the financial challenge does not exist in isolation. It is unfolding within a rapidly deteriorating geopolitical environment.

The European Union is simultaneously being forced to increase defense spending, support Ukraine, and respond to renewed instability in global energy markets. The war in Ukraine has already triggered a structural shift in defense priorities, with European defense spending reaching hundreds of billions annually and new EU-level instruments targeting up to €800 billion in mobilized resources.

Since the last two months, tensions in the Middle East, especially in Hormuz, have reintroduced energy security risks that Europe had hoped electrification would mitigate. Roughly a fifth of global oil and LNG flows through Hormuz. Even partial disruptions immediately translate into higher prices, increased volatility, and renewed dependence on external suppliers.

This strategic contradiction is compounded by geopolitical risks, such as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and increased defense spending, which threaten to undermine Europe's energy security and complicate the transition to electrification despite its intended benefits.

Brussels attempts to invest heavily in electrification to reduce energy vulnerability, while simultaneously being forced to spend heavily on defense and absorb the costs of ongoing fossil fuel dependence. The energy transition does not replace one system with another, but it layers new costs on top of old ones.

This is the fiscal collision at the heart of the European project. The real question right now, which needs to be answered honestly, is: who is going to pay?

Most European governments are already fiscally constrained, as public debt levels remain elevated following the pandemic and energy crisis. They also need to deal with increased defense spending, while social pressures are rising. The idea that national budgets alone can finance the electrification of the economy is no longer credible.

Again, private capital is often presented as the solution. Brussels strategy relies heavily on mobilizing institutional investors, de-risking projects, and leveraging capital markets. However, private capital is not a substitute for public strategy. Private capital flows where risk-adjusted returns are predictable. Grid infrastructure, industrial electrification, and system flexibility often do not meet these criteria without significant public guarantees.

Moreover, the scale required goes far beyond what current mechanisms can deliver. Even ambitious instruments such as the Innovation Fund or the proposed Industrial Decarbonization Bank, targeting tens or even hundreds of billions, remain small relative to the annual investment gap.

Europe’s uncomfortable truth is that it will need to adopt a fundamentally different financing model. Electrification at this scale clearly requires something closer to a strategic investment doctrine than a collection of policy instruments. Brussels will need to deal with a reality that requires prioritization, coordination, and, for all parties, critical acceptance of trade-offs.

First, Europe will need to elevate energy infrastructure to the same strategic level as defense. If joint borrowing and coordinated financing can be justified for military capabilities, the same logic applies to cross-border electricity grids, storage systems, and industrial electrification corridors. These are not optional climate investments; they are the foundation of economic resilience.
Second, existing revenue streams, particularly from carbon pricing mechanisms, must be more aggressively redirected toward infrastructure. The current allocation is insufficient relative to the scale of need.
Third, public financial institutions, the European Investment Bank and national development banks—must significantly expand their role, particularly in areas where private capital remains hesitant.

All the above, however, will eliminate the need for prioritization.

The current reality shows that Europe cannot fund everything simultaneously. It cannot electrify all industries at once, build all infrastructure at once, and meet all geopolitical commitments without making choices. It is a political illusion to believe that coordination and efficiency gains will eliminate trade-offs.

The Dutch experience already demonstrates what happens when these trade-offs are ignored. Infrastructure constraints begin to shape economic outcomes. Investments are delayed or redirected. The energy transition loses momentum not because of political opposition, but because of practical limitations.

If we scale the Dutch experience to the European level, the consequences could be far more significant. Industries that depend on reliable, high-capacity electricity, especially chemicals, steel, and data infrastructure, will look beyond Europe if energy systems cannot deliver. Investment flows may shift to regions with more robust infrastructure. And Europe’s industrial base could erode at precisely the moment it seeks to strengthen it.

This is the risk embedded in the current electrification narrative.

Brussels assumes that more renewable energy and more electrification will automatically lead to lower costs, greater security, and enhanced competitiveness. Facts on the ground, however, show that without the infrastructure and financing to support it, the opposite may occur: higher costs, increased volatility, and reduced competitiveness.

The greatest danger is not a failure of electrification, but that it will proceed in an unbalanced way. There is a huge risk of too much generation without infrastructure, too much demand without connectivity, and too much ambition without sequence.

This is already happening.

The Netherlands shows that even a highly advanced energy transition can hit hard physical limits. These limits are not theoretical. They are visible in grid congestion, curtailed renewable output, delayed investments, and constrained economic growth.

Europe as a whole is now approaching the same inflection point.

Von der Leyen is right that electricity will define Europe’s future. However, to define the future is not the same as building it. Brussels needs to understand that building requires infrastructure that takes decades, capital that runs into trillions, and political choices that are far more difficult than current rhetoric suggests. We are not only looking at an energy strategy when pursuing electrification, but also at a test of Europe’s ability to align ambition with reality.

At present, that alignment is missing.

The physical limits of a grid need to be confronted by Europe, including the financial scale of its ambitions, and the geopolitical pressures shaping its choices. If not, the electrification agenda will remain incomplete. Again, the vision is not wrong, but the system required to deliver it is not yet ready. At the same time, the willingness to pay for it has not yet been fully acknowledged.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/16/2026 - 02:00

Trump's Blockade Is Breaking Iran... And European Elites Are Angry

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 03:25:00 +0000

Trump's Blockade Is Breaking Iran... And European Elites Are Angry

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us

In March I published an article titled “Global Energy Crisis Or Iranian Surrender In Five Weeks?” in which I outlined the “worst case” and “best case” scenarios for the war in Iran. In my best case scenario I argued in favor of a specific plan to end the conflict quickly: A US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, flipping the tables on Iran by blocking or seizing any oil tankers or gas tankers which exit Iranian ports.

Two weeks later, the Trump Administration has implemented this exact strategy.

The effectiveness of the blockade is already apparent; the propaganda bots on social media are scrambling to find a narrative to counter it, but they are failing. Why? Because Iran already tried to lock down the strait (which is an international waterway), and any government cheering (or secretly cheering) for Iran’s actions is now unable to make a rational argument against the US doing the same thing to Iran. As I noted in March:

“We constantly hear about international exposure to the Hormuz shutdown, but the media rarely mentions that Iran is the MOST exposed economy of all. For now, Iranian oil ships continue to pass through the strait and these vessels are Iran’s economic lifeline. Strategic estimates suggest that without the steady passage of these oil tankers, the Iranian economy would completely collapse within five weeks…”

I then summarized what I believed was the simplest solution to end the war:

“Iranian cargo ships can be targeted for seizure by a US blockade of the Persian Gulf well away from the narrow waters of the Hormuz. The ships could be destroyed, but I suspect the Department of Defense will try to avoid oil spills and ecological disasters. Instead, the best option is to capture Iran’s tankers and then redirect the oil to countries in danger of shortages.

Iran has the option of shutting off GPS tracking for their vessels (shadow fleet), but this would not help them maneuver past a comprehensive US blockade. In other words, I argue that the US could turn the tables on Iran and use their reliance on the Hormuz against them.

With Iran’s economy in shambles, they will no longer be able to purchase missiles or drones for resupply from Russia and China. They won’t be able to pay for logistic resources for their military and they won’t be able to contain public unrest. The Iranians would be forced to negotiate and the war would be over quickly with minimal risk to US troops.”

For now, the US is not seizing Iran’s tankers and is merely sending them back to where they came from. However, it would seem that the Trump Administration and their military advisers have come to the same basic conclusions I did.

For years I have expressed my concerns about a potential conflict in Iran, largely because of the precarious global economic risks associated with mass energy shortages caused by a closure of the Hormuz, which transits around 25% of the world’s energy exports. That said, I do not care about “picking sides” when it comes to Israel or Iran.

This debate is irrelevant and designed, I think, to divide US conservatives over ancient tribal vendettas that do not involve us. I don’t care about the Israeli government or “Zionism” and I certainly don’t care what happens to the theocratic and tyrannical Muslim regime in Iran. We have much more important things to think about.

What matters to me is how the US and the American people are affected by geopolitical events. There has been endless debate on what the war is really about, whether it be Iranian nukes, Israeli schemes, Saudi schemes, control of global oil markets, etc. (I think every action the Trump Administration has take so far from Venezuela to Iran has largely been designed to contain China). In any case, a long term closure of the Hormuz will eventually result in market cascades and a stagflationary crisis.

What matters now is ending the war as quickly and decisively as possible without leaving the Homuz and 25% of global energy exports under Iran’s control. After that, people can wrestle over the “moral and constitutional” quandary to their heart’s content.

First, I think it’s vitally important to address some lies and disinformation being spread by propagandists and foreign agents online about the US blockade, so let’s quickly go down the list…

Lie #1: The US Is Blocking All Ships Traveling Through The Strait

This is false. The US is only blocking ships coming from Iranian ports. All other ships have been allowed to pass without incident. This lie is being spread by disinfo agents all over social media and it is also being spread by foreign governments from the UK to France to China. This, to me, says A LOT about the true agenda of these countries, given that they said little or nothing about Iran locking down the strait.

Lie #2: Chinese Vessels Have Broken The Blockade And The US Is Afraid

Nope. All Chinese vessels coming from Iranian ports have been turned away and any vessels coming from alternative ports have been allowed to pass. At the time this article is being published, only one ship from an Iranian port has allegedly slipped through the blockade, though the story on this ship might be fabricated. All other Iranian ships have been repelled.

Lie #3: The Blockade Puts US Naval Ships At Serious Risk

No, it does the opposite. US ships have no need to traverse the narrow Hormuz to blockade it. All they have to do is wait outside of it and turn back Iranian tankers that approach. No mines, no missiles, no drones, no tiny attack boats, nothing Iran has the ability to deploy has much of a chance of harming the US Navy. In fact, reports indicate ships like the USS Abraham Lincoln (an aircraft carrier) have already been targeted hundreds of times by Iran with no damage taken.

There is nothing Iran can do about a comprehensive blockade.

Lie #4: Iran Is Used To Sanctions And Can Hold Out Longer Than The US

No, they can’t. Only 7% of energy exports going to the US travel through the Hormuz. Iran’s entire economy hangs by a thin thread and that thread is oil exports to countries like China or Vietnam.

Iran is reportedly losing around $430 million each day that their ships remain stuck in the strait, and they have already taken around $270 billion in infrastructure damages. Iran pays for new weapons and military logistics with oil revenues. Their soldiers are paid in part with oil revenues. They mitigate civil unrest with oil revenues.

I suspect that the blockade will force Iran back into negotiations within a couple weeks. That’s how little time they have left.

Lie #5: Iran Has Alternative Ways To Bypass The Blockade

No, they don’t. Overland routes without ample pipelines are no substitute for the ease of oil tanker shipments. Even if they did have such pipelines, those lines could be easily destroyed.

By extension, as Iran’s oil exports stack up they will quickly run out of storage space, which means they will have to shut down drilling. This would cause significant damage to their oil infrastructure within weeks due to pressure differentials.

Recent news indicates that Iran has already halted all petrochemical exports until further notice. If true, this proves that the blockade is highly effective.

Lie #6: The Chinese Will Intervene And Force The Strait To Reopen

As noted, the strait is not closed. Only Iranian ports are closed. Furthermore, China has stayed away from direct intervention in the Hormuz because they simply don’t have the naval capacity to square off with the US even if they wanted to.

Keep in mind, only a week ago the Chinese government vetoed a UN resolution to reopen the strait when they thought Iran was going to control it. The CCP is impotent and they can do nothing.

Lie #7: The US Is Losing All Its Allies Over The Blockade

Wrong. What the blockade (and the war in general) is doing is exposing the countries which were pretending to be our allies when it was convenient. I examined this problem in my last article “The US Separation From Europe And NATO Is Long Overdue”, and this brings me to my final point on the war.

The fact that the European elites are suddenly so concerned with the US blockade, enough to call for a “coalition” to reopen the strait and “circumvent” the US, tells us all we need to know. I continue to believe that the globalists in these nations have been feeding off the US while at the same time organizing a “multicultural alliance” behind the scenes – A socialist new world order to supplant western civilization and leave the US behind as a husk.

Part of this agenda clearly involves a partnership with Islamic fundamentalists as a goon squad to oppress native western populations. This is why the elites have flooded Europe with third world migrants – Ignoring the concerns of citizens and even arresting people who speak out.

This is also why the Pope is so adamant to call for a Muslim/Christian pact (while he blatantly ignores the fact that Europeans have been terrorized by Muslim immigrants for over a decade). Let’s not forget that during the pandemic lockdowns, the Vatican joined with the globalists to form the Council for Inclusive Capitalism (run by Lynn Forester de Rothschild). Modern-era Popes are not friends to conservatives or Christians, but I plan to go into that problem in my next article.

The blockade, I believe, is so effective that it has struck fear in Iran, fear in China, and fear in the liberal order in Europe which was counting on the war to drag on for months or years. Look at how angry they all are that Trump flipped the script on the Hormuz? Why all the emotion and irrational hand wringing after the strait has been opened to MORE ships and oil traffic? Why all the panic when oil prices are falling? It doesn’t make sense unless they WANT the US to fail.

Regardless of how you might feel personally about the Iran war, it is undeniable that the situation has revealed many of our supposed allies as enemies. In reality, they were always enemies. The only thing that has changed is that the truth is finally out in the open.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 23:25

"Can Only Imagine What FCC Has To Say": Open Source Military Radar Plans Appear Online

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 03:00:00 +0000

"Can Only Imagine What FCC Has To Say": Open Source Military Radar Plans Appear Online

Someone on GitHub has built an open-source radar system capable of tracking multiple targets up to roughly 12 miles away, at a fraction of the cost that a major defense contractor would typically charge for a comparable system.

AERIS-10 is an open-source phased-array radar system that demonstrates how advanced sensing technology has moved out of the defense-prime world and into civilian hands, with one person releasing all the design and development files on GitHub.

The 10.5 GHz phased-array radar system is available in two versions:

AERIS-10 is an open-source, low-cost 10.5 GHz phased array radar system featuring Pulse Linear Frequency Modulated (LFM) modulation. Available in two versions (3km and 20km range), it's designed for researchers, drone developers, and serious SDR enthusiasts who want to explore and experiment with phased array radar technology.

The developers wrote, "The AERIS-10 project aims to democratize radar technology by providing a fully open-source, modular, and hackable radar system."

"Whether you're a university researcher, a drone startup, or an advanced maker, AERIS-10 offers a platform for experimenting with beamforming, pulse compression, Doppler processing, and target tracking," they added.

X user chiefofautism noted, "One person built what defense contractors charge a quarter million for and open-sourced it."

That's a great question:

I can only imagine what the FCC will have to say about this...
— E__Strobel (@E__Strobel) March 13, 2026

The bigger takeaway is not the project itself, but what it signals: dual-use capability has shifted into the civilian and open-source domain, a shift that is clearly visible in the drone world. It also shows how powerful dual-use technology is now becoming accessible outside the traditional defense-contractor ecosystem - something the Department of War will find increasingly difficult to ignore as funding flows redirect to "war unicorns" promising faster innovation at lower cost.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 23:00

CBS '60 Minutes' Left Out The Most Damning Part Of The Story

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 02:35:00 +0000

CBS '60 Minutes' Left Out The Most Damning Part Of The Story

Submitted by American Truckers United,

Over the last year, the American people have awakened to the reality of truck drivers unable to speak English, operating with non-domicile CDLs, and wreaking havoc on our roadways. What had yet to gain national attention was the ownership behind these illicit trucking companies. The 60 Minutes special that aired this weekend finally changed that by exposing one of the worst “chameleon carriers” in the industry.

Chameleon carriers are four times more likely to be involved in crashes, according to data from a risk assessment firm, Fusable. pic.twitter.com/3l5LOUQcyQ
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 12, 2026

The CBS report laid out the crisis in stark detail. The motor carrier mentioned is a Serbian-based network that repeatedly sheds its identity—changing names and USDOT numbers—to erase thousands of safety violations and hundreds of crashes. Drivers described forced 18-hour days, ELD cheating orchestrated by dispatchers in Serbia, and paychecks that came back negative after excessive lease, insurance, and repair fees were skimmed off the top. The carrier network racked up nearly 15,000 violations and 500 accidents in just two years while hauling freight for major shippers. Yet the carrier insists it is merely a “leasing company,” not a motor carrier, and therefore bears no responsibility for the trucks or drivers operating under its trailers.

A whistleblower from a Super Ego-affiliated company says dispatchers and managers in Serbia were told to overwork and exploit American drivers. pic.twitter.com/cdvIbaSL38
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 12, 2026

60 Minutes built a compelling case that dismantled their narrative.

What 60 Minutes likely left on the cutting-room floor is the most damning part of the story: who keeps loading these illegal carriers with freight in the first place? Who failed—or refused—to vet the motor carrier, its foreign ownership, or its forced-labor operations?

The answer points directly to freight brokers, with industry giant C.H. Robinson at the forefront. Despite the motor carrier not being a registered motor carrier with the USDOT, C.H. Robinson awarded it “Carrier of the Year” in the 1,000+ truck category for 2025. Industry sources allege that the selection process for this award involves rigorous vetting and requires final approval from upper management. Such high-level oversight strongly suggests that senior leadership at C.H. Robinson may have been directly involved in bestowing one of its most prestigious honors on a well-known chameleon carrier.

CH Robinson (ATA & TIA Member) awarded Super Ego as one of their carriers of the year for 2025 https://t.co/A6Q6OaStFx
— American Truckers 🚛🦅 (@atutruckers) April 13, 2026

This is not merely a failure of due diligence. It reflects a pattern of willful blindness, driven by greed, that prioritizes profit margins over safety, regulatory compliance, and the integrity of America’s trucking industry.

Large freight brokers have spent the past six years expanding their market share by abandoning legacy American-owned asset-based carriers and instead tapping a new, captive capacity source: foreign networks running what amounts to organized forced-labor schemes. Dispatch operations remain in foreign countries while unsafe trucks terrorize American highways. The brokers pocket the margin; the public pays the price in crashes, congestion, and national-security risks.

Trucking is the backbone of U.S. supply chains. When middlemen profit by partnering with chameleon carriers that exploit truck drivers, they do more than undercut honest American trucking companies—they corrupt a dangerous occupation that is critical to our economy and national defense.

Current State of the US Trucking Industry pic.twitter.com/zbG9hZRJQ2
— American Truckers 🚛🦅 (@atutruckers) April 13, 2026

This scandal extends far beyond the chameleon carriers themselves. It lies with the large freight brokers, the real profiteers, who continue to provide them with freight and access to the highways, accelerating the decline of American-owned trucking companies while leaving crash victims and their families without meaningful accountability or support.

Hold the brokers accountable for what they have done to our industry! Demand Accountability! Demand Broker Liability!

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 22:35

Gabbard Sends Criminal Referrals For 2019 Trump Impeachment Whistleblower, IG Coverup

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 02:10:00 +0000

Gabbard Sends Criminal Referrals For 2019 Trump Impeachment Whistleblower, IG Coverup

On Monday, DNI Tulsi Gabbard and the House Intelligence Committee released declassified transcripts revealing that the whistleblower whose complaint about Trump and Zelensky's 'perfect call' as an extreme parisan who had a "prior professional relationship with one of the Democratic Presidential candidates," and despite those facts, former-Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) Michael Atkinson claimed "I did not find the complainant (whistleblower) was biased."

Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on July 23, 2025.Eric Lee / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Well, tonight they're the recipients of two criminal referrals. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesady referred who is believed to be former CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella - along with the former intelligence community inspector general who fast-tracked it - for potential criminal investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced Tuesday.

The referrals to the Justice Department, first reported by Fox News and confirmed by multiple officials familiar with the matter, come days after Gabbard’s office declassified more than seven-year-old transcripts and supporting documents that Democrats and the intelligence community had kept under wraps since the fall of 2019. The newly public records raise fresh questions about the origins and handling of the complaint that accused Trump of pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

NEW RECORDS VIA @DNIGabbard @RepRickCrawford ATKINSON TRANSCRIPTS

- First Trump Impeachment + Whistleblower Motive

Whistleblower met with Democrats on House Intelligence Committee (then led by Adam Schiff) BEFORE reporting his allegations to the Intelligence Community… pic.twitter.com/x7A1IxHLLO
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) April 13, 2026

Ciaramella was a CIA analyst detailed to the National Security Council at the time. According to the declassified materials, he had no firsthand knowledge of Trump’s July 25, 2019, phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and instead relied on secondhand accounts from NSC colleagues. He was a registered Democrat who had previously worked on Ukraine policy under then-Vice President Biden - including traveling with him - and had pre-complaint contacts with Democratic staff on the House Intelligence Committee, including aides to then-Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the records show.

Former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who received the complaint in August 2019, is accused in the declassified files of deviating from standard procedures. He allegedly changed the whistleblower complaint form to accommodate hearsay information, ignored Justice Department guidance that the complaint did not qualify as an “urgent concern,” did not review the actual call transcript, and relied on a narrow set of interviews - including one with a witness who had co-authored the controversial 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian election interference and had ties to former FBI official Peter Strzok.

Gabbard, a Trump ally installed as DNI earlier this year, framed the declassification and referrals as long-overdue accountability.

“Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people and impeach the duly-elected President of the United States,” Gabbard said in a statement accompanying the release. “Inspector General Atkinson failed to uphold his responsibility to the American people, putting political motivations over the truth.”

The ODNI general counsel’s referral letter, obtained by outlets covering the story, cited possible violations of federal criminal law by “one or more former employees of the intelligence community,” specifically referencing Atkinson’s 2019 congressional briefings.

The declassified package - released by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence at the request of Chairman Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) following a March 24 committee vote - includes closed-door transcripts of Atkinson’s 2019 testimony before the panel. Those transcripts had been withheld from Trump’s defense team during the impeachment proceedings and from the broader public for more than seven years.

The move revives one of the most contentious chapters of Trump’s first term and comes as his second administration aggressively pursues investigations into perceived abuses by the intelligence community during the Russia investigation, the 2020 election challenges and both impeachments.

Schiff, now a senator from California, and other Democrats involved in the original impeachment have not yet commented publicly on the latest developments. A spokesman for the House Intelligence Committee under Democratic control in 2019 called the declassification “a partisan stunt designed to rewrite history.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 22:10

Human Smuggler Extradited From Brazil To US: DOJ

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 01:45:00 +0000

Human Smuggler Extradited From Brazil To US: DOJ

Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A Bangladeshi national, alleged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be a “prolific” alien smuggler, made his first appearance Monday in a Laredo, Texas, federal courtroom following his extradition from Brazil, according to a DOJ statement.

Illegal immigrants who are believed to have crossed the border from Mexico into the United States are seen after the truck they were being transported in was interdicted by law enforcement officers in Laredo, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2022. Department of Justice/Handout via Reuters

The indictment against Saiful Islam, 39, in the Southern District of Texas accuses him of being part of a conspiracy that smuggled numerous illegal immigrants through Central America to the United States, the DOJ said.

“Islam participated in a wide-ranging human smuggling operation,” the agency said.

The Bangladeshi man also allegedly helped other smugglers by facilitating the travel of aliens from São Paulo, Brazil, and other locations in South America, Central America, and Mexico, eventually instructing them in how to illegally cross the Rio Grande River or jump the border fence.

Islam’s charges include conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States, multiple counts of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain, and conspiracy to encourage or induce an alien to enter the United States, according to the DOJ statement. He also faces potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

A conviction on the charge of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three to five years in prison, depending on additional factors, and a maximum of 15 years.

Islam would face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the other two charges if he is convicted of them.

There is no listed attorney for Islam yet in his online docket, which shows his case was assigned to a judge in August 2020.

Several agencies are coordinating in the investigation of Islam, including Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection’s International Interdiction Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL.

The DOJ credited its Joint Task Force Alpha, the agency’s lead effort in fighting human smuggling and trafficking by cartels and other criminal organizations, in investigating, charging, and prosecuting Islam.

Joint Task Force Alpha’s main goal is targeting leaders and organizers of cartels throughout the Americas, Mexico, and the “Northern Triangle countries” of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, the Justice Department said.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi announced last September an expansion of the agency to cover Canada, the Caribbean, maritime borders, and elsewhere.

“This Department of Justice is investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before,” Bondi said.

Joint Task Force Alpha has, to date, arrested more than 450 domestic and international leaders, organizers, and facilitators of alien smuggling or trafficking. According to the Monday DOJ statement, the agency’s work has resulted in more than 395 U.S. convictions, more than 345 “significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 21:45

Bessent Keeps Running Tally Of China As "Unreliable Global Partner" - Count Now Stands At Three

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 01:20:00 +0000

Bessent Keeps Running Tally Of China As "Unreliable Global Partner" - Count Now Stands At Three

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Tuesday that Beijing’s panic hoarding of crude and refined products, while refusing to join the rest of the world in releasing supplies to offset the Gulf energy shock, has now demonstrated for the third time in five years that China is an "unreliable global partner."

"China has been an unreliable global partner three times in the past five years; once during COVID, when they hoarded healthcare products, second on rare earth," Bessent said, referring to Beijing's move last year to weaponize rare earth exports against the US in the tit-for-tat trade war that disrupted US supply chains, including temporary factory shutdowns such as production lines briefly shuttered by Ford Motor Company.

Bessent said China continued to purchase tanker loads of crude instead of helping ease the global supply crunch caused by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, despite already holding a massive strategic reserve. He also noted that China restricted exports of crude products early in the conflict.

Reuters noted that China's strategic petroleum reserve "was roughly the same size as that of the entire reserve held by the 32-member International Energy Agency, but it was continuing to purchase oil."

Bessent added, "They continued buying, and they've been hoarding, and they have cut off exports of many products."

On US-China relations, he told reporters he's been in contact with Chinese officials about the hoarding issue.

He declined to comment on whether the dispute and elevated tensions will derail an upcoming Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, which has been pushed to mid-May.

"I think the message for the visit is stability. We've had great stability in the relationship since last summer; that emanates from the top down," he said. "I think that communication is the key."

Bessent added that the US military blockade would ensure that no Chinese tankers or other ships would pass the strait: "So they're not going to be able to get their oil. They can get oil. Not Iranian oil."

Last week, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned that governments must avoid panic hoarding and refrain from imposing fuel export bans as the Gulf energy shock continues to ripple outward to Asia, Africa, Europe, and eventually reaches the US West Coast.

"I urge all countries not to impose bans or restrictions on exports," Fatih Birol emphasized in a Financial Times interview. "It is the worst time when you look at the global oil markets. Their trade partners, their allies and their neighbors will suffer as a result."

The FT noted that Birol was "careful not to name China directly," but made very clear his warning was likely aimed at Beijing.

So Bessent is clearly keeping a running tally of Beijing’s behavior as an "unreliable global partner," and by his count, the number now stands at three.

What comes next is unclear, but the next signal will likely come from the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting.

* * *

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 21:20

Business Financial Distress Nears COVID Levels As Sole Trader Numbers Rise

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:55:00 +0000

Business Financial Distress Nears COVID Levels As Sole Trader Numbers Rise

Authored by Rex Widerstrom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The volume of businesses struggling to pay their debts in Australia is on track to exceed the heights set during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to two reports on the nation’s economic health.

Australian dollar coins and banknotes in Melbourne, Australia on April 4, 2024. AAP Image/Joel Carrett

Up to 13 percent of working-age Australians and 47 percent of secondary school students want to work for themselves or start a business, but that’s not translating into a pipeline of new enterprises, according to the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).

“Our analysis shows the proportion of business owners in the workforce has declined steadily over the past two decades and fell to a record low last year. The decline has been sharpest for owner-managers with employees and less steep for solo owner-operators. It is evident across all age groups, including younger workers,” said CEDA Chief Executive Melinda Cilento.

While the total rate of business formation has grown moderately over the past decade, it has been almost entirely driven by growth in sole traders.

In contrast, entry rates for businesses that employ staff declined steadily through the 2000s and has since been relatively flat.

This trend has coincided with the rise in second jobs, “side hustles,” and digital-platform work.

“Starting a side hustle or taking on gig work can be a flexible way to get started and gain some hands-on experience,” Cilento said. ”But the evidence suggests most of these activities are intended only to top-up household income, and not to build the next generation of employing firms.

“If we want a more productive, competitive, and resilient economy, we need to make it easier for people to turn a good idea into a growing enterprise.”

To help achieve that, CEDA wants the federal government to use next month’s federal Budget to introduce further cuts to “red tape” and to review existing business support programmes.

This entails eliminating redundant or out-of-date regulatory obstacles, streamlining the application process for grants and other support programmes, and expanding access to financing and insurance.

The government should also promote business advice and training more effectively, and remove anti-competitive obstacles that hinder the entry and expansion of new businesses, CEDA says.

Auditors Sound Warning

Meanwhile, 2025 was a record year for “going concern” notices for businesses unable to pay their debts with in the next 12 months, according to Chartered Accountants.

The group was concerned about the viability of 28 percent of Australian-listed companies outside the mining sector, up from 20 percent in 2021.

That compares to 15 percent in New Zealand and approximately 8 percent in comparable high‑income countries internationally.

Among Australian miners, the figure increased to nearly half, up from 32 percent in 2021.

“This level of uncertainty exceeds that seen at the height of the COVID disruptions and reflects the cumulative impact of global trade uncertainty, market volatility, higher interest rates, and persistent inflationary pressures on business viability,” said Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ).

Its report, “Insights into 2025 auditor reports: A focus on going concern,” was conducted in partnership with the Universities of Melbourne and Queensland, and took place before the current Middle East conflict and its resulting energy price shock.

“Auditors are now flagging greater uncertainty than during the pandemic itself, which shows how sustained economic pressures around liquidity, refinancing, and future profitability can be just as challenging for businesses as an acute shock,” said Amir Ghandar.

While mining is under particular pressure, the conditions are also affecting other capital-intensive industries such as information technology and health care.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 20:55

Major Israeli PAC Flips: Tel Aviv Should Pay Out-Of-Pocket If It Wants US Weapons

Tyler Durden — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:05:00 +0000

Major Israeli PAC Flips: Tel Aviv Should Pay Out-Of-Pocket If It Wants US Weapons

via Middle East Eye

The pro-Israel advocacy group J Street is now calling for an end to "direct" US military support to Israel, per a new policy document published this week. The group had previously backed Washington's continued provision of defensive weapons systems, such as the replenishment of Israel's Iron Dome, at no cost to Israelis.

Now, it says the US "should continue to sell" short-range air and ballistic missile defense capabilities to Israel, but Israel should use its own money to pay for them.

Source: Times of Israel

"Israel faces real security challenges that require a significant defense investment. With a per capita GDP comparable to leading US allies such as the United Kingdom, France and Japan, as well as an annual defense budget of over $45 billion, it has the financial means to address these challenges," J Street said.

"It does not require almost $4 billion per year in US financial subsidies to purchase weapons," it added. "Continuing this assistance is both unnecessary and politically counterproductive, creating avoidable tensions in US domestic politics and in the bilateral relationship."

The way the current military aid package operates is that the US provides Israel with American taxpayer funds, and those funds are put into US weapons companies to acquire equipment.

On its website, J Street says that it "organizes pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans to promote US policies that embody our deeply held Jewish and democratic values and that help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people".

Political tide turns

J Street's shift follows a distinct change in attitudes towards Israel among the American public after what has been widely labeled genocide in Gaza, where over 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's war on the enclave broke out in October 2023.

But perhaps more importantly for the group, whose support base is made up of Democrats, the party's future is changing course. Progressive New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is widely believed to be seeking higher office, announced earlier this month that she would no longer vote for any US military support to Israel, despite having previously backed the provision of defensive weapons, much to the disappointment of many of her supporters.

It is notable, however, that her statement followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's surprise declaration earlier this year that Israel will not seek to renew its military aid package with the US in 2028. "I want to taper off the military aid within the next 10 years," all the way down to zero, Netanyahu told The Economist in January.

J Street's new position demands that any future US arms sales that Israel pays for out-of-pocket "be fully consistent with American law", which echoed Ocasio-Cortez's statement.

US law prohibits security assistance to any country whose government engages in a consistent pattern of gross human rights violations or blocks or restricts the transport or delivery of US-backed humanitarian aid.

This moment demands a reset. J Street is calling for the U.S. to end unconditional financial military subsidies to Israel and to move towards a relationship where we treat Israel like any other ally.

J Street supports:
– Phasing out taxpayer-funded military aid by 2028, when the…
— J Street (@jstreetdotorg) April 13, 2026

"US arms sales to Israel should be further conditioned to incentivize alignment with American interests and laws - as has been the case with other allies and partners – when their behavior is inconsistent with US interests," J Street said. At the same time, the group acknowledges that Washington and Israel generally share the same interests anyway. "The US also benefits meaningfully from the relationship. Intelligence sharing has been critical in campaigns such as the fight against ISIS, while joint operations such as Israel’s 2006 strike on Syria’s secret nuclear facility have advanced shared security goals."

It added that because "approximately 500,000 American citizens live in Israel", selling it weapons should continue to be a US national security priority.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 20:05

China's Unitree Unveils Robot With "Human-Like Physique" That Can Outrun Most People

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:40:00 +0000

China's Unitree Unveils Robot With "Human-Like Physique" That Can Outrun Most People

The race for bipedal humanoid robot intelligence has certainly been in the news, with robots receiving "AI brains" that have already brought them onto factory floors and will likely become more visible in the public world in the coming years (see UBS).

But there is another race that Chinese robot maker Unitree is simultaneously part of, and that is actual speed.

In recent days, Unitree posted a video on X titled "Unitree Breaks the World Record Again," indicating that one of its humanoid robots now has the "physique of an ordinary person, running at a world champion's speed."

Unitree said the robot completed a sprint at 10 meters per second, or 22.4 mph. For context, the fastest human sprint speed ever recorded was Usain Bolt's 27.8 mph during his 100-meter world record run at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.

10m/s!! Unitree Breaks the World Record Again😊
With the physique of an ordinary person, running at a world champion’s speed!
Leg length: 0.4+0.4=0.8m, body weight: approx. 62kg!
H1: “Give me one more chance, give the world one more honor!” pic.twitter.com/Fk4Zo9zKit
— Unitree (@UnitreeRobotics) April 11, 2026

Related:

Will Chinese Robot Maker Unitree's Shanghai IPO Spark A Humanoid-Investing Bubble

Combine intelligence with speed, and the world is certainly racing toward the rise of robots that could one day chase down a human or even appear on the battlefield.

That's likely already happened.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 19:40

Waymo Partners With Waze To Use Self-Driving Cars To Track Potholes

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:15:00 +0000

Waymo Partners With Waze To Use Self-Driving Cars To Track Potholes

Authored by Dylan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Two Alphabet-owned companies, Waymo and Waze, announced on April 9 that they will team up to detect potholes and share that information with local government agencies to help get them filled more efficiently.

A self-driving Waymo vehicle awaits passengers in Los Angeles on July 1, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

“Waymo is already making roads safer where we operate,“ said Arielle Fleisher, the company’s policy development and research manager, in a statement. ”We want to build on the safety benefits of our service by partnering with organizations and city officials to help improve the infrastructure we all depend on.”

Waymo, which started out as a Google self-driving car project in 2009 and spun out into its own company under Alphabet in 2016, said the pothole program was inspired from feedback it gathered from city officials over the years and is intended to fill reporting gaps.

Waymos are covered with cameras and sensors. The company said it will use its feedback systems to detect potholes and share that information through Waze’s platform, which users will be able to verify.

Waze, a GPS navigation app that lets drivers alert others with live updates, was acquired by Alphabet-subsidiary Google in 2013 for around $1.1 billion.

“This pilot program with Waymo adds another source of data to that effort, giving cities a clearer picture of road conditions through our Waze for Cities platform. It’s a great example of how working together helps our community and makes our roads better for everyone,” Waze Strategic Partner Manager Andrew Stober said.

Waze and Waymo will launch the pilot program in five areas—the San Francisco Bay Area, where the two companies are headquartered in Mountain View, as well as the Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta metro areas.

“We appreciate the collaboration with Waymo and Waze as we explore how technology can help identify issues like potholes faster so we can respond more efficiently,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement. “We’re always looking for innovative ways to deliver better services for residents.”

Waymo said it has already identified around 500 potholes in these locations and will work to expand the program to more cities it serves.

Alongside these five locations, Waymo also operates in Dallas, Houston, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, and San Antonio.

The Nashville location is the newest addition, as Waymo started allowing users in Nashville on a rolling basis on April 7. The company also announced in February that it will expand to Charlotte, Chicago, and Sacramento, where it has released its fleet to begin gathering data on Sacramento’s streets.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 19:15

Build It, And They Will Come? Not The Case At Baltimore's Harbor East Luxury Tower

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:50:00 +0000

Build It, And They Will Come? Not The Case At Baltimore's Harbor East Luxury Tower

The Four Seasons Private Residences in Harbor East, situated in crime-ridden Baltimore City and serving as a flagship luxury development project tied to the Inner Harbor's waterfront revitalization, was originally envisioned as an ultra-luxury tower designed to attract the rich and powerful. The premise for building the tower, which opened in 2017, was very simple: build it, and they will come.

The Paterakis family, one of the most prominent business and real estate families in the Baltimore metro area, best known for their baking empire and for transforming part of the city's waterfront over the decades, backed the Four Seasons Private Residences project, with one-bedroom condos hitting the market in 2017 for $1 million.

Yet the saying "build it, and they will come" didn't play out here, as the latest report from local outlet Baltimore Banner says a third of the 62 condos "have never sold," and the current listing price now "starts in the $500,000s."

Three investors told the local outlet that "the true price is even lower" for these one-bedroom units. That would suggest a 50% collapse in value over just nine years since the 2017 debut.

The outlet continued:

The trio scooped up 11 units at the Four Seasons last year. Now they’re suing Harbor East Parcel D-Residential LLC in Baltimore Circuit Court, accusing the seller of artificially inflating the sale price listed in public records. Harbor East Parcel-D Residential is the limited liability company used by the Paterakis family and other investors to own and sell the condos. George Philippou, a son-in-law of Paterakis Sr., signs deeds and other property records on behalf of the company.

David J. Shuster, an attorney for the limited liability company, said in a statement that the claims in the lawsuit are without merit and declined to comment further, citing the ongoing litigation. The Four Seasons, a Toronto-based company that operates resorts, hotels and condos around the world, did not respond to a request for comment.

Paterakis' bad bet on the ultra-luxury tower in Harbor East appears to be following a similar pattern to other high-profile redevelopment projects around the Inner Harbor, including Under Armor CEO Kevin Plank's Baltimore Peninsula project, which has struggled.

Let's not forget that the actual Inner Harbor is virtually a ghost town:

Downtown Baltimore is witnessing a troubling trend as businesses continue to close, leaving employees without jobs and residents without essential services.

The latest casualty is the Sheraton Hotel, a key fixture of the Inner Harbor, which has left 69 employees jobless.… pic.twitter.com/PagIL8uW9J
— FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) January 17, 2026

At a broader level, the common denominator behind these redevelopment failures is impossible to ignore: Baltimore's population has collapsed to a 100-year low in a relatively short period, eroding demand for urban revival projects. Much of that decline can be linked to a city and state controlled by unhinged Democratic Party kings and queens, pushing far-left policies that have only backfired into a California-style exodus of residents.

Baltimore's failure is a direct result of the one-party rule of Democratic queens and kings who appear to have done nothing but economically sabotage the state.

But the story here takes a twist because there is a movement inside the business community, especially among Sinclair Executive Chairman David Smith, to combat the far-left crazies who run the city and state through information warfare. Democrats have freaked out that Smith bought the largest paper in the state, The Baltimore Sun, as the left-wing regime has failed to counter the narratives, while left-wing Gov. Wes Moore's polling data implodes.

Alex Soros & Gov. Moore.

Here's a novel idea for the business community that has watched its state and city implode under a far-left regime: it's time to go on the offensive and ensure common-sense politicians are elected in future elections, rather than left-wing activists who have no problem abusing taxpayers and looting state coffers for progressive projects, such as this:

Maryland Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R) EMBARESSES Democrats who want to force "appropriately sized tampons" into men's bathrooms.

Szeliga: "I've never heard of such a thing... what do you consider appropriate???"pic.twitter.com/jjasHIMtRE https://t.co/gsjXEzXVre
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 24, 2026

Meanwhile, just an hour south: "D.C. Economy "Under Strain," Faces Biggest Spending Cuts Since Great Recession."

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 18:50

Pentagon Accused Of Cover-Up After Missing Deadline On 46 Military UAP Videos

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:25:00 +0000

Pentagon Accused Of Cover-Up After Missing Deadline On 46 Military UAP Videos

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

The Pentagon has come under fire for failing to meet a congressional deadline to release dozens of military videos showing unidentified aerial phenomena, sparking fresh claims of a bureaucratic stall on one of the most sensitive national security issues in decades.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., had pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deliver 46 specific clips by April 14. Whistleblowers had told her task force that the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) already possessed the records. Yet as the deadline passed with no delivery, critics pointed to a pattern of delay that has long fueled public distrust.

The requested material includes spherical objects maneuvering erratically over Afghanistan, cigar-shaped craft, Tic Tac-style encounters, transmedium vehicles moving between air and water, and multiple formations captured near U.S. military assets, submarines, and sensitive airspace.

🚨Lawmaker asks Hegseth to release UAP videos citing national security concerns

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. R-Fla., is asking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to hand over dozens of military “unidentified aerial phenomena” videos by April 14. NBC News' Gadi Schwartz reports. Today is… pic.twitter.com/pQ0yQDCljR
— Skywatch Signal (@UAPWatchers) April 14, 2026

On April 15, with the deadline missed, the War Department moved to address the growing pressure. A U.S. official told Liberation Times that AARO is now actively working with the White House and other agencies to prepare previously unseen UAP records for public release.

“The Department of War’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is working in close coordination with the White House and across federal agencies to consolidate existing UAP records collections and facilitate the expeditious release of never-before-seen UAP information,” the official stated.

The official added that “Since the office was established, AARO has made progress to make UAP information available and transfer those records to the National Archives in accordance with federal law. We welcome the president’s initiative to supercharge these efforts and make more UAP information available to the public as soon as possible.”

?War Department Says White House Coordinating Release of UFO Material

Ina recent article by @ChrisUKSharp a U.S. War Department official told Liberation Times that the Pentagons dedicated UFO office is working with the White House and federal agencies to prepare the release of… pic.twitter.com/QTlZgMZvKL
— Skywatch Signal (@UAPWatchers) April 15, 2026

The statement comes following mounting outrage over the missed deadline, with Luna herself noting the Pentagon’s initial silence.

https://t.co/cJ39OUywOD ??
— Daily Mail US (@Daily_MailUS) April 14, 2026

This episode fits a broader pattern of incremental movement on UAP transparency. Just days ago, Rep. Tim Burchett indicated that names, dates, people, and locations tied to the phenomenon are set to emerge in upcoming briefings.

Earlier this year the U.S. government quietly registered the domain aliens.gov, adding fuel to speculation that formal acknowledgment of non-human intelligence is being prepared at the highest levels.

And in January an insider warned the Bank of England to ready itself for imminent alien disclosure, suggesting the topic has moved well beyond fringe discussion and into institutional planning.

President Trump directed the process of identifying and releasing government files on UAP, UFOs, and extraterrestrial matters back in February. Yet the slow pace continues to frustrate lawmakers and the public alike.

Luna’s task force has emphasized the national security angle, arguing that unexplained objects operating in restricted airspace warrant full scrutiny rather than continued secrecy. The videos in question were reportedly captured by fighter jets, drones, surveillance aircraft, and naval assets across multiple theaters.

While AARO’s latest statement signals forward momentum and coordination at the White House level, skeptics note that similar promises have been made before without full delivery. The public, long accustomed to partial disclosures and redacted reports, is watching closely to see whether this round produces genuine transparency or another round of managed narrative.

The stakes extend beyond curiosity. If these objects represent advanced technology—human or otherwise—the public has a right to know what their governments have documented in their name. Continued foot-dragging only deepens suspicion that elements within the bureaucracy prefer control over candor.

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.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 18:25

Do White People Even Play Golf?

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Do White People Even Play Golf?

Nike has long been one of the most recognizable athletic brands in the world, but the sneaker and apparel company has suffered rapid brand deterioration amid its move to fully embrace woke corporate politics, with its stock collapsing roughly 75% from its peak during the Covid era, when the Marxist NGO Black Lives Matter gained traction across corporate America.

Nike’s stock has been a disaster and is trading at 2014 prices. Management just can’t figure out why.
— Time Traveller (@802701AD) April 13, 2026

Even as the face of golf continues to change among the 28.1 million Americans who played in 2024 - with 28% female and 25% Black, Asian, or Hispanic, both the highest proportions ever recorded according to the National Golf Foundation - a viral post on X appears to show Nike’s unhinged corporate culture being criticized once again.

"Do White people even play golf?" one X user asked, after viewing Nike's website, which features all things golf, and finding the lack of diversity ...

Do White people even play golf? https://t.co/JQjgHI87FG pic.twitter.com/oBQbP56zZm
— Pub (@PubWanghaf) April 13, 2026

X users thought it was a joke ...

I thought it was a joke but there are ZERO white people on the Nike app pic.twitter.com/B0CBpo4EPg
— Dean (@Noticed2late) April 13, 2026

X users weren't happy:

That’s why I think @nike can go to hell. I’ll never buy any of their shit.
— Ronald Camillo (@ronald_camillo) April 13, 2026

NIKE has gone woke and it is actually going BROKE: -68% in the last 5Y
— Loris_Luca_I (@BLL_1973) April 13, 2026

Have we already forgotten when @Nike included anti-white training to their employees? Fnck @Nike
— George WOOshington (@rosticles) April 13, 2026

When I saw the 200$ shoes and 80$ shirt I wondered who could afford to dress themselves, let alone green fees and a day off work
— Fred (@Fredheelclicker) April 14, 2026

Pure gold.

Funny how they dropped the one black guy that’s been carrying them for decades in golf
— Strategeristic (@strategeristic) April 13, 2026

This is yet another brand choice by Nike, reflecting not the current audience but instead the audience they want to cultivate or the social message they want associated with the sport. This type of marketing may only push golfers toward other brands, such as Peter Millar, G/FORE, and Holderness & Bourne.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 18:00

Former Brazilian Intelligence Chief Detained By ICE In Florida

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:40:00 +0000

Former Brazilian Intelligence Chief Detained By ICE In Florida

Authored by Charis Summers via The Epoch Times,

Alexandre Ramagem, a former chief of the Brazilian intelligence agency and a close ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Orlando, Florida.

Ramagem was chief of the ABIN intelligence agency from 2019 until 2022, when he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, representing Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party.

In September 2025, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in an attempted coup in 2023 by Bolsonaro supporters. His congressional seat was later declared vacant. Brazilian authorities said Ramagem fled the South American nation before he would have started serving his sentence.

Brazil’s federal police said in an April 13 statement that a “fugitive of the country’s justice was arrested” in Orlando, but did not mention Ramagem by name. Police said the unnamed fugitive was recently sentenced by the country’s top court for the same three counts as Ramagem’s conviction.

“The arrest stemmed from international police cooperation between the Federal Police and U.S. law enforcement authorities,” Brazilian authorities said. “The prisoner is considered a fugitive from Brazilian justice after conviction for the crimes of armed criminal organization, coup d’état and attempted violent abolition of the rule of law.”

The Epoch Times reached out to ICE and Immigrex, a visa consultation service and law firm representing Ramagem, for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Bolsonaro was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in jail in September 2025.

‘Traffic Infraction’

Ramagem appeared as “in custody” in ICE’s online detainee database on April 13. The Epoch Times was unable to verify the reason for Ramagem’s arrest, or whether it was related to Brazil’s request to extradite him.

In an April 13 post on X, Paulo Figueiredo, a Bolsonaro ally who lives in Florida, said Ramagem was ‌detained after a “minor traffic infraction” in Orlando, and then referred to ICE.

“Ramagem’s status is LEGAL: he has a pending asylum application, filed some time ago and still under review, which allows him to remain lawfully in the United States until a final decision is made in the case,” Figueiredo said.

Brazilian senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro in Grapevine, Texas, at the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 28, 2026. The Epoch Times

Bolsonaro’s son, Flávio, who is also a Brazilian senator, said in an April 13 post on X that Ramagem “has a pending asylum application, is well supported legally, and there is an expectation that he will be released soon.”

Brazil is due to hold presidential elections in October 2026, with the winner taking office in January 2027.

The trials of Bolsonaro and Ramagem stemmed from the aftermath of the 2022 Brazilian presidential election, which included attacks on government buildings by Bolsonaro’s supporters.

Bolsonaro and his aides denied any involvement and said that they were the target of political persecution under the administration of his former competitor, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, or Lula.

During Bolsonaro’s trial, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to it as a “witch hunt” and said Bolsonaro was not guilty of anything, except having fought for the people.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (2nd L) greets supporters next to his wife Michelle Bolsonaro during a rally in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 25, 2024. Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images

Bolsonaro started his prison sentence in November but was released to house arrest last month after suffering a bout of pneumonia.

In an April 13 post on X, Jorge Seif Júnior, who sits in the Brazilian federal senate, said Ramagem’s detention is “another case of political persecution in Brazil.”

“Today I formally submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia Official Letter No. 013/2026, presenting the relevant arguments regarding the detention, by ICE, of Brazilian Federal Police officer and Congressman Alexandre Ramagem,” he wrote. “This is yet another case of political persecution in Brazil, as seen with Jair Bolsonaro and Eduardo Bolsonaro. In light of this, I advocate for the granting of political asylum. ”

Lula, on April 14, called ‌on Ramagem to return to Brazil to serve his sentence.

“I believe Ramagem will come back to Brazil, he has to come back to serve his sentence,” Lula ‌said ⁠in an interview with local media.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 17:40

IMF Warns US Treasury Market Prone To "Sudden Repricing" Due To Soaring Debt, Overreliance On Bills

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:20:00 +0000

IMF Warns US Treasury Market Prone To "Sudden Repricing" Due To Soaring Debt, Overreliance On Bills

The International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday that the relentless US debt issuance is undermining the premium Treasuries have commanded from investors, with implications for government securities across the globe.

“The increase in the US Treasury security supply is compressing the safety premium that US Treasuries have traditionally commanded — an erosion that pushes up borrowing costs globally,” the Washington-based IMF said in its latest Fiscal Monitor report.

The US has been selling large volumes of debt because its budget deficit has averaged roughly 6% of gross domestic product over the past three years, an unprecedented shortfall outside of wartime or recession eras. The gap is expected to stay around those levels throughout the coming decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In reality, it will only get wider.

As Bloomberg reports, the IMF pointed to a narrowing gap between the yields of AAA rated corporate bonds and Treasuries as a sign of reduced appeal for US government securities. While spreads have typically been viewed as a gauge of the risk investors estimate for corporate borrowers, the fund is flipping that analysis on its head to view it as a metric of how much extra buyers are willing to pay for Treasuries.

“A narrowing spread implies that the premium investors pay for the safety and liquidity of Treasuries (relative to high-grade corporate debt) is compressing,” the IMF said. The fund showed that AAA corporate spreads have shrunk to roughly 35 basis points from more than 55 basis points at the start of 2019.

Besides funding runaway US debt, another danger flagged by the IMF was the increasing reliance of the US Treasury on sales of short-dated debt, a process launched by Janet Yellen and her Activist Treasury Issuance, and maintained ever since. Having initially criticized the Bill buildout, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last year said that it didn’t make sense to expand issuance of longer-dated securities, given that their yield levels were above those of T-Bills, which mature in under a year.

“When debt is concentrated at shorter maturities, governments must refinance more frequently, increasing their exposure to abrupt shifts in market conditions or investor sentiment,” the fund said, noting that the US - along with all other "developed" governments - has shifted reliance toward sales of bills.

Wednesday’s warnings come three weeks before Bessent’s Treasury sets out its latest plan for US debt issuance, known as the quarterly refunding policy statement.

Finally, the IMF also flagged the increasing role that hedge funds are playing in the Treasuries market, via so-called cash-futures basis trades, as a risk.

“The liquidity that hedge funds supply through such trades can be prone to flight, as it is backed by more-leveraged investors: a spike in volatility or financing costs can trigger forced unwinding, amplifying price dislocations,” it said.

Multiple elements - historically high borrowing needs, the composition of demand for Treasuries tilting toward hedge funds and the increasing reliance on shorter-dated securities - are contributing to increased vulnerability of the market to a “sudden repricing,” according to the IMF. These dynamics can also become self-reinforcing, the fund said.

“If investors grow concerned about a country’s rollover capacity, they may demand higher yields or step back from auctions of sovereign bonds altogether, validating the initial concern,” the IMF said, effectively explaining what happens when a Ponzi scheme stops working.

“The resulting political pressure to address rising costs of servicing debt may itself become a source of uncertainty that markets price in.”

Meantime, the Iran war will stoke new fiscal pressures, forcing governments to choose between cushioning their economies from rising energy costs or keeping a lid on borrowing, the IMF also said.

“The Middle East has added a new source of fiscal pressure to an already strained global landscape,” it said. “In a scenario of prolonged conflict, global debt-at-risk could increase by an additional 4 percentage points,” the IMF said, using a term that refers to the danger of repayment difficulties in an adverse scenario.

As finance ministers and central bankers from around the world gather in the US capital this week for the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, the fund chided most major economies on their fiscal policies, starting with the US which has “no debt consolidation plan in sight” - the IMF certainly is correct there - while China’s persistent large deficits are continuing to add to its borrowing load, which is also accurate, but fails to discuss China's relentless dumping of products which are collapsing its core export markets as their manufacturing sectors implode as they can't complete with Chinese state subsidies. Several European Union member nations have triggered escape clauses from the union’s rules on deficits in order to fund defense spending, the IMF noted.

But the US has a special role, given how reverberations in the Treasuries market spread across the world, the IMF said.

“The transmission is global: supply-driven increases in US yields spill over almost one-for-one to foreign bond markets, disproportionately affecting countries reliant on external financing,” the IMF said.

The full IMF Fiscal Monitor report can be found here.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 17:20

Treasury Secretary Says Order On Citizenship Proof For Banking Is 'In Process'

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Treasury Secretary Says Order On Citizenship Proof For Banking Is 'In Process'

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday confirmed that an executive order mandating banks to collect citizenship information on customers is underway.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses journalists in Paris on March 16, 2026. Ludovic Marin / AFP via Getty Images

“It’s in process. And I don’t think it’s unreasonable, because, why don’t we have information on who’s in our banking system?” he told Semafor in an April 13 interview, responding to whether the Trump administration was working on the banking order.

“I have a place in the UK; they want to know who lives in every apartment—and how do we know that it’s not part of a foreign terrorist organization?” he added.

At least one Republican lawmaker has asked the Trump administration to implement such an order, and The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources, that banks could be tasked with requiring people to submit passports under the policy.

In a post issued on X in October 2025, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) included a letter he sent to Bessent urging the secretary to carry out a “comprehensive review of current rules that allow illegal aliens to obtain financial services and access to the U.S. banking system.”

“Access to the American banking system is a privilege that should be reserved for those who respect our laws and sovereignty,” Cotton wrote in the letter. “When individuals are allowed to open accounts without verifying legal status, we are permitting illegal aliens to establish financial roots and integrate economically, all while bypassing the legal channels that millions use properly.”

Cotton asked whether the administration could implement the order under the USA PATRIOT Act, a Bush administration-era law enacted in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, or the Bank Secrecy Act, a 1970 anti-money laundering law.

The Trump administration has prioritized cracking down on illegal immigration as well as entitlement fraud. Since he took office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders and memoranda to boost the deportation of illegal immigrants and end temporary deportation protection programs for certain countries.

Trump has also called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which has stalled in the Senate, to require photo IDs for voting and proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

In a post last month, the president said that there would be no deal to end the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless some Democrats join Republicans to pass the measure.

The bill must include “their approval of Voter I.D., (with picture!), Citizenship to Vote, No Mail-In Voting (with exceptions), All Paper Ballots, No Men In Women’s Sports, and No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our precious children,” he wrote in a Truth Social post on March 22. He also called on congressional lawmakers to stay in Washington during the Easter recess, although the lawmakers ultimately went on their break.

Last month, the Trump administration established an anti-fraud task force that would investigate instances of illegal immigrants engaging in benefits fraud as well as other forms of waste and abuse.

The Epoch Times contacted the White House for comment on Tuesday.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 17:00

Mullin Blasts Biden Admin After DHS Employee Killed By Naturalized Felon

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:40:00 +0000

Mullin Blasts Biden Admin After DHS Employee Killed By Naturalized Felon

On Monday, Lauren Bullis, a 40-year-old Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee, was "brutally shot and stabbed to death" while walking her dog, and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin is blaming the Biden administration for her murder.

Olaolukitan Adon Abel (left) and Lauren Bullis (Photos: DHS)

Bullis, an auditor with the DHS Office of Inspector General, was found on Battle Forest Drive in DeKalb County, Georgia, around 6:50 a.m. Witnesses saw a man standing over her body before he fled. She was not the only victim. According to reports, a neighbor heard the gunfire and ran out of her house to see what was happening. The neighbor told local media that it appeared Adon-Abel was attempting to sexually assault Bullis.

Before Bullis died, police discovered another woman had been shot multiple times outside a Checkers & Rally’s restaurant. She later succumbed to her injuries. Then, in Brookhaven, a homeless man was ambushed while sleeping outside a shopping center. He was shot several times and remains in critical condition.

That suspect is Olaolukitan Adon-Abel, 26, born in the United Kingdom and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2022 under the Biden administration. Adon-Abel was arrested on Monday and now faces two counts of murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. As a convicted felon, he not only shouldn’t have had a gun, but according to federal law, he should not have been a citizen either.

Adon-Abel had convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism — a trail of violence spanning years. And yet, in 2022, the Biden administration's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services granted him full citizenship. The legal standard for naturalization, as outlined in 8 U.S.C. § 1427, requires applicants to demonstrate "good moral character." Someone who has assaulted a police officer and committed sexual battery should not clear that bar.

"Yesterday, a DHS employee, Lauren Bullis, was brutally shot and stabbed to death by Olaolukitan Adon Abel, a 26-year-old born in the United Kingdom, who was naturalized by the Biden Administration in 2022," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement to Fox News. "Since President Trump took office, USCIS has implemented measures to ensure individuals with criminal histories and who otherwise lack good moral character do not attain citizenship."

Mullin continued, “He possesses a prior criminal record that includes convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, and assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism and now stands accused of murdering DHS employee Lauren Bullis by shooting and stabbing her while she walked her dog. He has also been arrested for the murder of an unidentified woman whom he reportedly shot outside a Checkers, before randomly shooting a homeless man multiple times outside a Kroger in Brookhaven."

He added, “These acts of pure evil have devastated our Department, and my prayers are with the families of the victims.”

The Biden administration routinely dismissed concerns about immigration vetting as fearmongering. Critics who raised red flags about naturalization standards were called nativists or worse. But the standard is not political — it is statutory. Federal law bars naturalization for individuals who cannot demonstrate good moral character, and multiple violent criminal convictions are about as clear a disqualifier as exists in the code.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 16:40

White House: 'Era Of Amnesty Is Over'

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:20:00 +0000

White House: 'Era Of Amnesty Is Over'

Authored by Catherine Salgado via PJ Media,

“No more activist judges shielding criminal illegals. No more endless delays. Only results.” The Trump White House is celebrating multiple massive immigration enforcement wins that signal the era of mass migration and mass amnesty is over.

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Since Donald Trump came back into office, federal authorities have removed three million illegal aliens from the United States through ICE deportations or voluntary deportations, which is the biggest reduction in illegal migration in modern history, according to a White House press release on April 9. This is exactly what the American people voted for. This is the sort of reform we hoped to see when immigration became one of the top issues in the 2024 election.

Besides the three million deportees, border officers have not released a single illegal alien into the United States at our borders for 11 straight months. The “era of amnesty is over,” indeed.

The overwhelming majority of asylum claims have long been fraudulent, and that is one major area where the Trump administration implemented reform. The U.S. immigration authority now grants asylum in only 7% of cases, slashing the number of criminals and illegal aliens who tried to use asylum claims as a free ticket into our country. In contrast, under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the government approved over 50% of asylum claims, according to the release.

I will give just two illustrations of why this is a big deal. First, just this week, the U.S. State Department revoked the lawful permanent resident status it had granted to Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, the niece of mass-murdering Iranian jihad leader Qasem Soleimani. Afshar had obtained residency and a life of luxury in the United States by claiming asylum here. Yet she repeatedly returned to Iran and regularly spouted pro-regime propaganda, illustrating how bogus her asylum claim was. And second, back in 2024, an Ecuadoran “asylum seeker” raped a 13-year-old at knifepoint in New York. These are only two examples of how broken our asylum system was before the Trump administration took over.

The White House release also highlighted the following wins:

Deportations and removal orders are surging: In fiscal year 2025, immigration courts issued nearly 500,000 removal orders — a 57% increase over the prior year — as criminal illegals are removed faster and in far greater numbers than ever before.

The massive court backlog is being slashed: Hundreds of thousands of cases have already been cleared since Inauguration Day, with reductions accelerating every month — ending the years-long delays that let illegals remain indefinitely.

And, as noted above, the Trump administration has successfully closed our borders.

The White House press release enthusiastically concluded, “President Trump promised to end the open borders nightmare — and he is delivering on that promise with unrelenting force. The era of catch-and-release, mass releases, and activist judicial amnesty is over.”

As we celebrate the 250th year of America’s existence, there is no better time to reflect on what national sovereignty and security mean.

* * *

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 16:20

Beige Book Confirms Uncertainty, Fuel Costs Surged On Iran War As Economy Grew At "Slight To Modest" Pace

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:45:00 +0000

Beige Book Confirms Uncertainty, Fuel Costs Surged On Iran War As Economy Grew At "Slight To Modest" Pace

US economic activity continued to increase at a "slight-to-modest" pace across most regions as the war with Iran generated a new wave of uncertainty and higher energy costs, the Federal Reserve said. The just released Beige Book - which featured information compiled by the New York Fed and collected through April 6, capturing the early effects of the war on the US economy - was the first one to discuss the state of the US economy after the Iran war started, and came at time when gas prices sstayed above $4/gal for two weeks after the biggest monthly jump in decades, with March fuel spending up 16% according to Bank of America card spending data.

So far, Bank of America said that discretionary spending remains resilient—but risks rise if Hormuz disruptions persist. The Fed agreed, with the Beige Book reporting that overall economic activity increased at a slight to modest pace in eight of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts, while two Districts reported little change (San Francisco and St Louis), and two Districts reported slight to modest declines (Boston and New York).

Price growth remained moderate overall, but energy and fuel costs rose “sharply” in all 12 Fed districts, the central bank reported in its Beige Book survey of regional business contacts released Wednesday.

“The conflict in the Middle East was cited as a major source of uncertainty that complicated decision-making around hiring, pricing and capital investment, with many firms adopting a wait-and-see posture,” the Fed said.

Bloomberg's NLP model that measures net sentiment by evaluating hawkishness (+ score) and dovishness (- score) pictured below. Recent reading comes in at +1.2.

Several policymakers have signaled a preference to keep borrowing costs steady for quite some time while they evaluate the economic data. Officials are expected to leave their benchmark rate unchanged when they meet on April 28-29, according to pricing in futures contracts. A growing number of officials are concerned the war could fuel inflation, and more favored language at their March gathering that would have made it clear the Fed may need to raise interest rates.

Taking a closer look at the Beige Book, the conflict in the Middle East was cited as a major source of uncertainty that complicated decision-making around hiring, pricing, and capital investment, with many firms adopting a wait-and-see posture.

Manufacturing activity rose slightly to moderately in most Districts. Banking sector activity was generally steady with loan demand stable to up moderately.
On balance, consumer spending increased slightly despite harsh winter weather in some regions and higher fuel prices.
Many Districts continued to report signs of consumer financial strain, increased price sensitivity, and rising demand at food banks and other social service organizations, while spending among higher-income consumers was resilient.
Housing market activity softened across several Districts as heightened uncertainty and rising mortgage rates dampened buyer demand.
Commercial real estate markets improved, with strength in industrial properties, especially data center projects. Office markets saw solid demand for Class A space but weaker demand for lower-tier properties.
Energy activity was up slightly as oil prices rose, though many producers remained cautious about increasing drilling due to uncertainty about the persistence of higher prices. Agricultural activity was mixed, and several Districts reported that rising crop prices helped offset steep price increases of fertilizer and fuel.
Business outlooks varied amid widespread uncertainty about future conditions.

In terms of Labor Markets, the Beige Book noted the following:

On balance, employment was steady to up slightly during this reporting period, though one District noted a slight decline.
Most Districts described labor demand as stable, with low turnover, minimal layoffs, and hiring mostly for replacement.
Several Districts noted increased demand for temporary or contract workers, as firms remained cautious about committing to permanent hires.
Many Districts reported that labor availability had improved, although difficulty finding some skilled workers, especially in the skilled trades, persisted.
While most Districts indicated that AI had not yet significantly impacted overall staffing levels, some noted that AI-driven productivity improvements had enabled many firms to delay or reduce hiring. Wages generally continued to rise at a modest to moderate pace.
Some Districts noted continued wage pressures for some roles in health care and the skilled trades, though overall wage competition remained muted.

Energy prices were sharply higher

Price growth mostly remained moderate overall, with the vast majority of Districts reporting moderate increases and others pointing to modest growth. Generally, input cost increases outpaced selling price growth, compressing margins.
Energy and fuel costs rose sharply in all Districts, attributed to the Middle East conflict, leading to higher freight and shipping costs and higher prices for plastics, fertilizers, and other petroleum-based products.
Input cost pressures beyond energy-related increases were also widespread. Several Districts reported rising prices for metals due to tariffs, such as steel, copper, and aluminum. Technology costs rose for both hardware and software. Insurance premiums and health care costs continued to climb.

Finally, here are the main highlights by Fed districts:

Boston: Economic activity declined slightly, employment and wages were flat, and prices rose at a moderate pace. Consumer spending was flat, as was activity in most sectors, but home sales slowed further. The conflict in the Middle East contributed to rising energy prices and created fresh uncertainty, though the outlook remained optimistic on balance.
New York: Economic activity continued to decline modestly amid heightened uncertainty in large part due to shifts in tariff policy and the Middle East conflict. On balance, employment held steady, and wage growth remained modest. The pace of selling price increases remained moderate, and input price increases picked up markedly. Consumer spending grew slightly. Businesses generally expected little improvement in the months ahead.
Philadelphia: Economic activity in the Third District grew slightly, down from a modest pace last period. Employment declined slightly, and wages again rose modestly. Prices continued to rise moderately, although cost pressures increased. Activity held steady for nonmanufacturers and increased moderately for manufacturers. Firms expect growth over the next six months, but uncertainty has risen further.
Cleveland: Fourth District business activity increased modestly, with similar growth expected in the months ahead. Manufacturers reported increased demand, while retailers saw modest declines amid higher fuel prices. Residential real estate rebounded after a harsh winter. Employment grew slightly, and wages increased moderately. Nonlabor costs remained robust, while selling prices grew moderately.
Richmond: The regional economy continued to grow modestly in recent weeks. Consumer spending on retail, travel, and tourism increased modestly. Nonfinancial service providers also reported modest growth in demand. Other sectors of the regional economy reported little change this cycle. Employment expanded slightly, wages picked up modestly, and price growth remained moderate.
Atlanta: Economic activity grew at a modest pace. Employment remained flat and wages rose modestly. Prices and input costs also increased modestly. Retail sales and travel continued to expand. On balance, residential and commercial real estate conditions improved. Transportation and manufacturing activity expanded. Energy activity rose, but agricultural conditions were flat.
Chicago: Economic activity in the Seventh District increased slightly over the reporting period. Manufacturing demand rose modestly; consumer spending increased slightly; construction and real estate activity, employment and business spending were flat on balance; and nonbusiness contacts saw no change in economic activity. Prices rose moderately, wages rose modestly, and financial conditions tightened modestly. Farm income expectations for 2026 declined some.
St. Louis: Economic activity has remained unchanged since our previous report. Employment levels were unchanged and wage growth was moderate. Prices have risen moderately, but several contacts expressed concern about escalating energy costs. The outlook remains cautiously optimistic, yet contacts are attentive to risks to the economy associated with the conflict in the Middle East.
Minneapolis: District economic activity increased slightly. Employment increased slightly and labor demand turned positive over the past two months. Prices increased modestly overall, but input price pressures intensified as oil price spikes fed through to freight and raw materials. Contacts across industries reported significant uncertainty.
Kansas City: The Tenth District's economy grew slightly over the reporting period, while employment levels remained flat. Manufacturing firms indicated suppliers have implemented automatic surcharges tied to logistics and energy inputs. District oil and gas activity remains steady. Overall, prices have increased modestly.
Dallas: Economic activity in the Eleventh District expanded slightly. Manufacturing output growth slowed, while activity in services was largely flat. Energy sector activity ticked up, and bank lending increased on strength in commercial real estate, while home sales were slow. Employment grew slightly, while wages and prices increased modestly to robustly. Outlooks deteriorated amid elevated geopolitical uncertainty and fuel price concerns.
San Francisco: Economic activity was stable at subdued levels over the reporting period. Employment levels were unchanged on net. Prices rose moderately, driven primarily by higher energy costs, while wages grew slightly. Retail sales grew slightly. Conditions were stable in services and manufacturing, down in agriculture, and mixed in real estate.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 15:45

Russia Vows To 'Fill China's Energy Resource Gap' Amid Hormuz Crisis In Lavrov-Xi Meeting

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:40:00 +0000

Russia Vows To 'Fill China's Energy Resource Gap' Amid Hormuz Crisis In Lavrov-Xi Meeting

At a moment it remains a serious open question over just how vulnerable China is to the Hormuz Strait crisis, and now with the US-imposed US naval blockade of the vital oil transit waterway, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in Beijing pledging energy support to China.

Lavrov met with President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, during which Xi urged China and Russia to "give full play to the advantages of geographic proximity and complementarity, deepen all-round cooperation and raise the resilience of each other's development."

Russia remains China's top energy supplier. "Both sides should maintain strategic focus, trust each other, support each other, develop together," Xi continued, according to a Chinese state media readout.

via Russian Foreign Ministry

Lavrov in turn told Xi that Chinese-Russian relations play a "stabilizing role in world affairs" at a time of global "chaos and turmoil." This has been a consistent theme on which relations and trust have been built between Beijing and Moscow going back to the start of the Ukraine war over four years ago.

Importantly, after the meeting the Russian foreign minister announced to a press conference that Moscow stands ready to increase energy supplies to China.

"Russia can certainly fill the resource gap that has arisen in China and other countries interested in working with us on an equal and mutually beneficial basis," Lavrov stated.

The two-day Lavrov visit is toward laying the groundwork for an upcoming summit between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It's expected for the first half of this year, but likely after Trump's upcoming May 14-15 summit with the Chinese leader.

The Hormuz crisis is a threat to Chinese energy given Asia's largest power still depends heavily on global supply routes it does not fully control. While Beijing has for many years sought to diversify through pipelines from Russia and Central Asia, the reality is that those projects take years to build and remain far too limited to replace the volume of oil moving through Hormuz.

However, there's a strong counterargument pushing back against the assumption that Trump's Iran moves will ultimately squeeze and devastate China. Alongside Russia coming to Beijing's side with its recently unsanctioned oil, there are also these aspects to consider:

While China is to some extent dependent on Gulf oil, so is the rest of Asia. While the United States might be insulated from some of the worst consequences of the Hormuz closure, the economies of our Asian allies are not. Asian economies are among the most dependent on Middle Eastern oil, with South Korea receiving around 70 percent and Japan receiving a whopping 95 percent of their oil from the Middle East. The Council on Foreign Relations notes that in 2024, 84 percent of the oil and 83 percent of LNG shipped through Hormuz were bound for Asia. That is not a targeted squeeze. Instead, such a move looks to be made without much heed to Asia at all, hitting the very states Washington is supposedly positioning against Beijing.

China is actually one of the best-positioned countries in Asia to handle this exact crisis because of existing stockpiles, diversified supply chains, a coal-dependent electric grid, and pipeline alternatives. While China is vulnerable, it is more insulated than most of Asia, only receiving around 20 percent of its oil from Hormuz.

There's a certain irony in the fact that an early element of blowback from the Iran war was that Washington scrambled to remove sanctions on Russian crude oil transiting the high seas, to bat down soaring global oil prices, and yet it is this very unsanctioned oil flow which will benefit China.

And the 'unintended consequences' continue to trickle over. The American Conservative writes, "This damage to our Pacific allies is not theoretical. Across Asia, partner governments are already scrambling as their economies face the worst crisis in decades. Asian nations are shortening workweeks and implementing fuel controls, disrupting their economies as tension mounts. Many Asian economies have turned to Russia amid this turmoil, bolstering the economy of another supposed U.S. enemy."

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 15:40

Tax Freedom Day Underestimates How Long You Work For The Government

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:40:00 +0000

Tax Freedom Day Underestimates How Long You Work For The Government

Authored by Jonathan Newman via The Mises Institute,

Tax Freedom Day, calculated by the Tax Foundation, “represents how long Americans as a whole have to work in order to pay the nation’s tax burden.”

It appears that they stopped publishing this in 2019, but others have picked up where they left off.

The idea is that the income earned by taxpayers over a certain proportion of the year goes to Uncle Sam.

In 2025, that date was April 16th.

But the burden of government is much larger than the amount we pay in taxes.

The government spends much more than it collects in taxes, diverting valuable resources away from where they would be used in the private market economy, subject to the profit and loss test of the market.

The difference is made up by new government debt.

Much of that debt is purchased by the Federal Reserve with new money, resulting in price inflation, exacerbated income inequality, booms and busts, and financial fragility.

The cost of government is much more than what we pay in taxes.

Rothbard suggested a measure of “total government depredation on the economy” that involves starting with net national product (like GDP but takes capital depreciation into account) and deducting all government spending at all levels, including transfer payments, government officials’ salaries, and the salaries of those employed by government enterprises.

Rothbard considered all government activity as a depredation.

In 2025, this total fiscal burden was $11 trillion.

Net national product was $25.7 trillion, which gives us a ratio of 42.7%.

When we turn that ratio into a date on the calendar, we get June 5.

In short, while Tax Freedom Day is mid-April, Rothbard’s measure of the government’s fiscal burden reveals that Americans don’t truly start working for themselves until June 5, over seven weeks later.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 14:40

Iran Halts All Petrochem Exports While Official Signals Compromise Strait Passage Opening, As Negotiators Cite 'Progress'

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Iran Halts All Petrochem Exports While Official Signals Compromise Strait Passage Opening, As Negotiators Cite 'Progress'

Summary

The Iran war is "very close to over" with authorities in Tehran eager to agree a peace deal, Trump says, adding: "We've beaten them militarily." Axios cites 'progress' toward framework to end war. Iran state media says halt to all petrochemical exports, RTRS cites possible compromise on strait passage.
AP/Bloomberg reporting the two sides have an "in principle agreement" to pursue further diplomacy; however, this is batted down as 'unconfirmed' by Tehran & a US official.
The Pentagon is sending thousands of additional troops into the Middle East in coming days: WaPo
Trump claims China "very happy" the US is permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz, also Xi told him Beijing was not sending weapons/defense items to Tehran.
Significant Lebanon fighting continues: Israel issues more evacuation orders, moving into south; Tehran outraged, threatens Red Sea shipping. Unconfirmed reports of one-week Lebanon ceasefire about to take effect.

US x Iran permanent peace deal by April 30, 2026?
Yes 33% · No 68%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

* * *

Big Iran Overture in the Works?

A status quo compromise emerging? The latest to hit the newswires:

IRAN COULD CONSIDER SHIPS BEING ABLE TO SAIL THROUGH OMAN SIDE OF STRAIT OF HORMUZ WITHOUT INTERFERENCE OR ATTACK AS PART OF A DEAL WITH THE US: REUTERS, CITING SOURCE CLOSE TO TEHRAN

IRAN WILL MAINTAIN CONTROL OVER ITS WATERS IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ AND OMAN WILL DECIDE ABOUT ITS OWN SIDE OF THE WATERWAY - SOURCE CLOSE TO TEHRAN

Iran has just signaled willingness to allow strait traffic pass unconditionally on the Oman side of the strait, perhaps as a face-saving measure, amid talk of a 2nd Pakistan peace summit being put together, as a potential uneasy status quo emerges.

Iran Halts Petrochemical Exports

Is Trump's blockade working?

IRAN HALTS PETROCHEMICAL EXPORTS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: ISNA

CNBC also in a breaking headline writes: Iran halts all petrochemical exports ‘until further notice,’ Iranian state media reports. This comes after a new Pentagon warning to all vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM Updates Tanker Numbers amid Blockade

CENTCOM provides a Wednesday update: "During the first 48 hours of the U.S. blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports, no vessels have made it past U.S. forces. Additionally, 9 vessels have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or coastal area."

TEN VESSELS HAVE BEEN TURNED AROUND BY US BLOCKADE: CENTCOM

A big question remains: will Iran confront the US blockade militarily?... or will an uneasy status quo of limited vessel traffic continue to make it through Hormuz amid a potentially extended ceasefire that goes beyond the 2-week window?

A new warning from the White House/CENTCOM:

The White House and the U.S. military published a clip of a warning to ships, telling them not to breach the blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas. In a maritime radio message, a U.S. servicemember tells ships that they will be boarded for interdiction and seizure if they attempt to travel to or from an Iranian port.

U.S. naval vessels are on patrol in the Gulf of Oman as CENTCOM continues to execute a U.S. blockade on ships entering and departing Iranian ports. U.S. forces are present, vigilant, and ready to ensure compliance. pic.twitter.com/dnHR2oz0ZN
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 15, 2026

Meanwhile in Tehran...

Footage of Iran's Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi welcoming Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir upon his arrival in Tehran.

Follow Press TV on Telegram: https://t.co/LWoNSpkc2J pic.twitter.com/32pF6ONkiZ
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) April 15, 2026

'Progress' Reported in US-Iran Contacts

Axios reports that US and Iranian negotiators "made progress in talks on Tuesday" while moving closer to a framework agreement to end the war, according to two US officials. The headline briefly pushed oil lower. This comes as Pakistan's top general headed a high-ranking political-security delegation from Pakistan to convey the US message and plan the second round of talks to Tehran. Per details in Axios:

"They were on the phone and backchanneling with all the countries and they are getting closer," the U.S. official said.
A second U.S. official confirmed progress was made Tuesday.
"We want to make a deal. And parts of their government want to make a deal. Now the trick is to get the whole of government over there to make the deal," a third U.S. official said.

Meanwhile, state Tasnim is reporting that Pakistan is getting ready to host the second round of Iran-US talks.

Lebanon Ceasefire Imminent?

The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen channel, citing a senior Iranian source, reports that a ceasefire in Lebanon will begin tonight. "The duration of the ceasefire will be one week and will extend until the end of the ceasefire period between Iran and the United States."

However, there's been no confirmation of this from Israel or the US, or in Israeli media. The Lebanese government just met with Israeli officials for Rubio-sponsored talks in Washington yesterday, but there was no word of a definitive ceasefire coming from the meeting, and currently Hezbollah and Israel are not directly talking at all. It remains unclear whether this could be a sign of Lebanese officials getting Hezbollah on board with a pause in fighting.

Meanwhile, two fresh notes on the question of advancing a second round of US-Iran negotiations:

Iranian media reported that Field Marshal Asim Munir, Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army, headed a high-ranking political-security delegation from Pakistan to convey the US message and plan the second round of talks, and is scheduled to meet with officials of the Islamic Republic.
Regional mediators are trying to extend the U.S.–Iran cease-fire and restart talks after failed negotiations in Islamabad, but no date or venue has been set. A new round is unlikely before Pakistan completes its regional diplomatic

'Very Close' To War Over, Diplomacy in Reach: Trump

The latest from Trump: The Iran war is "very close to over" with authorities in Tehran eager to agree a peace deal, President Trump claimed in a fresh interview broadcast Wednesday. "We’ve beaten them militarily, totally," Trump told Fox Business in a prerecorded interview. "I think it’s close to over, I view it as very close to over... If I pulled up stakes right now it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country, and we’re not finished." He added: "We’ll see what happens, I think they want to make a deal very badly."

This as the Associated Press has reported the US and Iran are closer to extending a ceasefire and restarting negotiations, even amid the intensifying standoff over the Strait of Hormuz as the US Navy has blockaded it for all shipping leaving Iranian ports or with ties, or under sanction.

The two sides have an "in principle agreement" to pursue further diplomacy after last weekend's failed Islamabad talks. Trump on Tuesday had optimistically cited that the next round could be just two days away. Mediators are said to be pushing for a compromise on outstanding issues including Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program before the April 7 truce expires next week, the news agency said - as they also eye the extension off the initial two weeks.

IRAN'S TASNIM: US-SANCTIONED CONTAINER SHIP GOLBON PASSED THROUGH HORMUZ pic.twitter.com/Wtca8fTZ2b
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 15, 2026

However, Iran's Foreign Ministry has made clear the reports about the ceasefire extension are not confirmed, while Axios' Barak Ravid similarly writes - US official tells me: "The US has not agreed to an extension of the ceasefire. There is continued engagement between the U.S. and Iran to reach a deal."

Iran meanwhile is warning that it sees a prolonging of the US blockade as "a prelude to a breach of the ceasefire," a military spokesman said, as featured state TV. Iran's military "will not permit any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman or the Red Sea" if it continues, the spokesman added.

IRAN'S BAGHAEI: NO SPECIFIC DAY SET FOR NEW US NEGOTIATIONS

Via AP: A billboard depicting U.S. aircraft caught by Iranian armed forces in a fishing net.

Trump on China

President Trump says he asked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping not to supply weapons to Iran, and Xi replied he was not doing so. "I had heard that China’s giving weapons to, I mean - you’re seeing it all over the place - to Iran," Trump also said in the aforementioned Fox Business interview.

"And I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that essentially he’s not doing that." Major media outlets previously reported that US intelligence indicated China was preparing to ship advanced weaponry to Iran. Beijing's public rejection of the "baseless smear" - as the Foreign Minister called it - has indeed been swift and vehement.

With oil prices remaining elevated, with Brent crude trading about 33% higher than before the start of the war, Trump has issued a new Truth Social claiming China is "very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz." This even though in many cases it is China bound tankers being blocked and turned back by the US naval armada. "This situation will never happen again," Trump added. He is set to meet with Xi in Beijing on May 14-15. On this he wrote that "President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are going working together smartly, and very well!" But then Trump says "But remember, we are very good at fighting, if we have to..."

More Troops Sent to Mideast

The Washington Post is out with a new report of more troops being sent to the theatre. "The Pentagon is sending thousands of additional troops into the Middle East in the coming days, as the Trump administration attempts to pressure Iran into a deal that could end the weeks long conflict there while considering the possibility of additional strikes or ground operations if a fragile ceasefire deal does not hold."

Already a combined estimated ten thousand US sailors, Marines, and personnel - on at least a dozen US warships, are maintaining the Trump-ordered blockade on Hormuz. So Washington continues to try and build leverage, also with the announced additional forces being prepped, while also sounding optimistic on a potential peace deal - thought to two sides are very far apart especially on the nuclear issue.

Trump has at times still shrugged off the importance of a final peace deal, having told ABC News that while an official peace agreement may not be necessary, "I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild." He had said, "They really do have a different regime now. No matter what, we took out the radicals."

Trump:

I wrote a letter to Xi. I asked him not to give Iran weapons. He wrote me a letter, and he is saying that he is essentially not doing that. pic.twitter.com/yrTT9Dwi2V
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 15, 2026

Tehran (& Houthis) Threaten Red Sea Trade as Lebanon Fighting Persists

Iran's army warned it will block trade through the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman if the US naval blockade on Iranian ports continues. In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the head of the military's central command center said the "powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea."

According to more via Al Jazeera, he added that Iran will "act decisively to defend its national sovereignty and its interests." One key factor which has outraged Iran is Israel's continued major attacks on Lebanon, after last Wednesday's massive aerial attack on Beirut and elsewhere which left over 300 dead. Israel on Wednesday said that Hezbollah fired 40 rockets into Israel earlier in the morning.

An Israeli drone strike on the Jiyeh road, Lebanon

More Geopolitical Headlines

via Newsquawk...

Effort to extend US-Iran ceasefire has made progress, AP reports citing official; mediators aim to extend the ceasefire for at least another two weeks; both sides gave an “in principle agreement” to extend the ceasefire.
Discussions are underway regarding possible extension of temporary ceasefire between Iran and US, according to Arab diplomatic sources cited by Russia on Wednesday and being reported by Chinese press CCTV.
However, US President Trump said it could end either way, but thinks a deal is preferable because then Iran can rebuild, also said he isn't thinking about extending the ceasefire and doesn't think it will be necessary, according to reported citing ABC reporter on X.
The Pentagon is sending thousands of additional troops into the Middle East in the coming days, WaPo reports citing US officials; in a bid to pressure Iran while mulling the possibility of additional strikes or ground operations if the ceasefire breaks.
US President Trump said it's "very possible" a deal with Iran will be reached by the time the King visits the US later this month (27-29th April), Sky News reported.
US President Trump said he views the war being very close to over, according to Fox News.
US VP Vance said we are negotiating with Iran and ceasefire is holding, adds Iranian negotiators wanted to make a deal.
Feel good about where we are.
Lot of mistrust between the US and Iran, can't be solved overnight.
US Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead a potential second round of talks with Iranian officials should negotiations lead to another face-to-face meeting before the ceasefire expires next week, according to sources familiar cited by CNN.
Pakistan leadership’s overseas tour until April 18th dims prospects of US-Iran talks in Islamabad before April 18th, Pakistani journalist Mallick reported.
Iran is to use alternative ports to those in southern Iran to bypass the US blockade in the Strait, Mehr News reported.
An Iranian VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier), which was on the US sanctions list, entered the waters of Iran past the US blockade, Fars reported.
Iran secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite that gave the Islamic republic a powerful new capability to target US military bases across the Middle East during the recent war, according to an FT investigation.
US Central Command said blockade of Iranian ports has been fully implemented and that US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea.
US has intercepted eight Iran-linked oil tankers since the start of the blockade, according to WSJ.
New satellite images show Iran digging for missile launchers trapped underground amid a ceasefire, according to CNN.
More than 20 commercial ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, WSJ reported, citing US officials.
US destroyer interdicted two oil tankers that attempted to leave Iran on Tuesday, according to an official cited by Reuters.
US President Trump reiterates on Truth Social "NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future!".
Europe is accelerating a NATO fallback plan in case US President Trump pulls US out of the treaty, according to WSJ.
US Pentagon is likely to trim its Iran wall funding request, according to WSJ citing Senator Coons who is the top democrat on the Senate appropriations defense committee.

* * *

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 14:15

Iran War Leads To Fluoride Shortages For Some US Water Utilities

Tyler Durden — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Iran War Leads To Fluoride Shortages For Some US Water Utilities

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Multiple water providers have lowered the amount of fluoride they add to water for millions of Americans, amid shortages stemming from the U.S.–Iran war.

The Baltimore City Department of Public Works said on April 13 that it is reducing the level of fluoride from 0.7 milligrams per liter (mg/L) to 0.4 mg/L.

The move, officials said, was driven by disruptions to the supply chain caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. A key Israeli supplier, specifically, has been struggling to meet demand.

“This is an adjustment driven solely by supply availability,” Matthew Garbark, director of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works, said in a statement.

“We remain committed to providing safe, high-quality drinking water.”

Some 1.8 million people in and around Baltimore, the most populous city in Maryland, are served water by the city of Baltimore utility.

Fluoride, a mineral, is put in water as a preventative for tooth decay and cavities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adding 0.7 mg/L.

WSSC Water, which serves 1.9 million people in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, said earlier in April it would be adding only 0.4 mg/L because of “nationwide supply chain disruptions.”

Hydrofluorosilicic acid, an important compound for water fluoridation, has been hard to source amid the war, including from a supplier in Israel, the utility said. Israel is one of the world’s top exporters of fluorosilicic acid, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States is among the world’s top five importers of the product.

“This is a temporary adjustment driven solely by supply availability,” Ben Thompson, WSSC Water’s director of production, said in a statement.

“We remain committed to maintaining safe, high-quality drinking water and will restore optimal fluoride levels as soon as supply conditions stabilize.”

In Pennsylvania, the borough of Lititz told its water customers in March that it had to halt fluoridation for a couple of weeks because of supply issues.

As the conflict continues, “there will likely be additional stressors placed on the supply chain, leading to shortages in additional communities,” said Dan Hartnett, chief policy officer for the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.

A few months’ drop in fluoride levels is probably not a cause for concern for most people, said Dr. Scott Tomar, an American Dental Association community water fluoridation expert. Lower levels can have an impact over the span of years, he said.

Tomar said younger children would be the first to experience tooth decay, because the fluoride strengthens enamel as their teeth are developing and once they have grown in.

Some states and municipalities have in recent months completely stopped water fluoridation, as officials have pointed to emerging data such as a 2024 report from the National Institutes of Health that concluded with moderate confidence that higher levels of fluoride exposure were linked to decreases in children’s IQ scores.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that fluoride from toothpaste is sufficient to keep teeth strong.

The Environmental Protection Agency said in January that it would assess the safety of adding fluoride to water.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 14:00