Feed aggregator

Leading Scottish Teaching Union Defines Gender Critical Views As "Far Right"

Zero Hedge -

Leading Scottish Teaching Union Defines Gender Critical Views As "Far Right"

Authored by Annemarie Ward via DailySceptic.org,

There are moments in public life when you read something and genuinely wonder if someone is having you on. 

The briefing on the supposed rise of far Right activity by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the leading teachers’ union in Scotland, is one of those moments. 

Scotland’s far Right is so tiny it could hold its AGM in the disabled toilet at Wetherspoons and still have room left for a flipchart. Yet here is the country’s largest and most influential union producing a 16-page political field manual that treats this microscopic fringe as if it is marching on Holyrood with flaming torches and matching armbands.

None of this resembles safeguarding. It is not professionalism. It is certainly not education. It is politics in fancy dress, and it insults the intelligence of teachers, parents and pupils alike.

The briefing begins with what looks like a perfectly sensible academic definition of the far Right. That lasts for all of two minutes.

Then the definition begins to stretch and swell until it covers almost anything that does not suit the worldview of whomever wrote the document. Real extremists do exist, and nobody sensible denies that. Every society has a small fringe of people who are vulnerable to rigid identities and destructive beliefs, usually because they are looking for certainty in a chaotic world.

But the EIS manages to take this small and unpleasant fringe and stretch it to breaking point.

Suddenly people who are pro-business, parents who worry about asylum hotels, anyone concerned about collapsing public services, women raising safeguarding issues, and every adult in the country who thinks biological sex corresponds to reality are all apparently drifting towards radicalisation.

And just to round things off, every Reform UK voter is thrown into the same pot.

By this logic, if you have ever eaten a Sunday roast or nodded politely to a small business owner, you may soon end up on a watch list.

The serious point here is that when everything is described as far Right, nothing is. Real extremism – the sort that harms communities – becomes blurred and unrecognisable when the definition has been inflated like a bouncy castle in a gale. And while all this stretching and redefining is going on, certain issues are conspicuously absent. There is no mention of the Iranian bot activity that the security services have warned about, which has been actively stoking constitutional division in Scotland. Apparently that does not merit 16 pages of alarm. No, the real danger, as framed by the EIS, is not organised extremism but the parent who simply asked whether a Gender Unicorn worksheet belonged in the classroom. This is not safeguarding. It is political hygiene dressed up as moral duty.

Meanwhile, teachers across Scotland are dealing with some of the most challenging conditions we have seen in decades. Violence in classrooms has become routine. Literacy is collapsing in large parts of the country. Additional support provision is drowning under impossible caseloads. Staffing is stretched to its limits. Burnout is everywhere. Yet the leadership of the EIS has decided the top priority is to turn a handful of Facebook loudmouths into an existential Reichstag fire.

It mirrors what David Chalmers highlighted in England only last month. University of Leicester students were shown lecture slides comparing Margaret Thatcher to Putin and Hitler. When higher education starts behaving like that, you know something has gone badly wrong. Several English schools have reportedly taught pupils that Reform UK sits on the same political spectrum as the BNP, despite having as much in common as a wet teabag and a nuclear reactor. Clarity and proportion always seem to be the first casualties of a good moral panic.

The real danger in all this is not the far Right. It is the collapse of democratic norms. Real extremists exist, but they are not the looming threat the EIS pretends they are. What should concern anyone serious about civic life is the way our democratic foundations are being eroded from above while everyone is busy scanning playgrounds for imaginary fascists. In recent years, trial by jury has been quietly pared back. Elections have been cancelled for millions of voters. 

Ordinary citizens have been arrested for social media posts that would not have raised an eyebrow a decade ago. Executive power has expanded to the point where abnormality now passes for routine. None of this is the work of shadowy extremists lurking on encrypted messaging channels. These decisions are being taken in broad daylight by governments who congratulate themselves on defending democracy while chipping away at its pillars.

Yet the EIS can spot authoritarianism in a parent’s Facebook comment but somehow miss the steady centralisation of state power. It is the political equivalent of opening the broom cupboard to check for ghosts while the roof quietly collapses from above. If we are genuinely serious about resisting authoritarian drift, we need to look at where authority is actually expanding, not where it is easiest to manufacture a scare.

If the EIS wants to teach pupils something useful about authoritarianism, it might start by explaining how such systems work in real life. They come from above, not below. They justify themselves through the language of safety rather than through overt threats. They arrive quietly through admin, layers of bureaucracy, policy and guidance rather than boots marching. Authoritarian drift does not look like online caricatures of flag-waving oddballs. It looks like officials wearing a badge promising one more policy for your own good. Danger seldom arrives banging on the door. It appears quietly, disguised as reassurance.

Scotland has made itself particularly vulnerable to this sort of drift because we have no statutory safeguards on political impartiality in education. In England, teachers operate under clear legal duties and detailed professional guidance. There is oversight. There is accountability. Parents have recourse. Scotland has none of that. Scots rely on vague non-binding guidance interpreted wildly differently from one local authority to the next. Into that vacuum walks the EIS, presenting an ideological blueprint as though it were a professional handbook.

Imagine the reaction if the biggest teaching union in England published a manual branding Reform UK voters as extremists, casting gender critical women as reactionaries and placing small business owners somewhere on the spectrum of political radicalism. 

The Department for Education would have called a press conference before breakfast. Yet in Scotland, the EIS has gone further still. In its own words, this briefing “could be a collective CPD offer for members”, as though a partisan political narrative were simply another piece of professional learning. When professional development is treated this casually, the line between education and indoctrination is not blurred, it is being erased.

The combination of moral panic and a complete absence of structural safeguards is not a small administrative quirk. It is precisely how politicisation slides into classrooms unnoticed while the public is preoccupied with other things.

At its heart, this is a story of mission drift. Trade unions exist to defend their members’ material interests. Bread and butter solidarity. Pay. Safety. Conditions. Professional dignity. The EIS seems to have wandered so far from that mission it can no longer see it. It now treats safeguarding questions as misogyny, political disagreement as radicalisation, parental concern as the first step towards fascism, and mainstream views as contamination. 

This is not professional support. When an organisation forgets why it exists, it stops helping and starts preaching. There is a simple moral truth at the centre of this. Political neutrality in education does not exist to spare the feelings of politicians. Most of them struggle to protect their own feelings on the best of days. Neutrality exists to protect the public. It protects the right to disagree. It protects children from having their moral world narrowed by ideology masquerading as virtue. 

Once a union decides that whole sections of the electorate are too dangerous to debate, it stops being a guardian of education and becomes something much darker. In addiction recovery I teach that no one is beyond redemption and that a person should not be defined by his or her worst day or worst idea. The EIS is running the opposite programme, treating ordinary people as pathologies rather than neighbours.

Teachers deserve better than this. Pupils deserve better. A school system rooted in the common good cannot survive when its leading union treats ordinary people as if they are beyond dialogue. The EIS claims to be fighting extremism, yet extremism always begins with the belief that some voices are unworthy of being heard. That is the seed of every authoritarian impulse.

Anyone who has watched a life unravel knows how that impulse grows. Harm does not begin with dramatic gestures. It begins with denial, the quiet conviction that the problem is always someone else. That is exactly where the EIS has positioned itself. If it truly wants to protect Scotland’s young people, it will need to rediscover humility, remember its purpose and step out of denial. Because authority without humility does not safeguard a community; it wounds it.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/20/2025 - 10:30

High-Winds Derail Freight Train In Wyoming

Zero Hedge -

High-Winds Derail Freight Train In Wyoming

Strong winds swept across the Western U.S. last week, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers across the Pacific Northwest, and even toppling a double-stacked freight train in Wyoming.

Wyoming-based media outlet Cowboy State Daily reported that a BNSF Railway train carrying dozens of double-stacked freight cars derailed early Friday morning northwest of Cheyenne due to extreme winds exceeding 144 mph.

Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said the peak wind gusts in the area of the derailment incident were as much as 78 mph.

"That's a notoriously windy area," Day said. "My grandfather used to work for the Union Pacific Railroad, and I was always spun yarns about what it was like getting through that route, whether it was blizzards or windstorms. It's really nasty."

Retired Union Pacific Railroad employee and former Wyoming legislator Stan Blake told the local outlet that wind speeds recorded between Cheyenne and Laramie could "definitely" derail a train.

"From what I saw, they were intermodal cars, which are overseas shipping containers they double stack," Blake said. "It's like a giant billboard going down the rails."

Last week, widespread warnings for winter weather or high winds were in place for millions across the West and Midwest.

Hurricane-like winds...

Residents of the Pacific Northwest can expect a long-duration atmospheric river to continue.

The rest of the Lower 48 can expect above-average temperatures through Christmas.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/20/2025 - 09:55

Champagne Champions

Zero Hedge -

Champagne Champions

With Christmas and New Year's celebrations just around the corner, many people currently stock up on their favorite drinks.

And what better way to toast on a special occasion than opening a bottle of champagne, one of France's proudest exports.

The United States and the UK are particularly fond of the exclusive sparkling wine from the Champagne region, having imported 27.4 and 22.3 million bottles in 2024, respectively.

As Statista's Felix Richter shows in the chart below, based on data by the trade association Comité Champagne, shows, five of the eight largest international markets for champagne are located in Europe.

 Champagne Champions | Statista

You will find more infographics at Statista

This is not to say that other countries don't enjoy sparkling wine, but the numbers given here only refer to the higher-priced, regionally-produced drink from the French region of Champagne.

The area was officially designated in 1927 and is home to winemakers like Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon and Krug.

While champagne makes up less than 10 percent of global sparkling wine consumption, it accounts for 34 percent of the market value, generated with only 0.5 percent of the world's total vineyard area.

Overall, champagne exports from France amounted to roughly $6.8 billion in 2024, with the U.S. alone importing some $820 million worth of the prestigious bubbly.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/20/2025 - 08:45

MiB: Masters in Business: Samantha McLemore, Patient Capital

The Big Picture -



 

 

This week, live from the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., I speak with Samantha McLemore, founder and CIO of Patient Capital Management. We discuss how value investing has changed, investing in crypto, and the AI revolution.

We also discussed long-term investing and the ways her firm is using AI.

A transcript of our conversation is available here Monday.

You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts, SpotifyYouTube, and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.

Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with comedian Jay Leno, former Tonight Show host, and creator of Jay Leno’s Garage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post MiB: Masters in Business: Samantha McLemore, Patient Capital appeared first on The Big Picture.

Schedule for Week of December 21, 2025

Calculated Risk -

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Special Note: There is still uncertainty on when some economic reports will be released. For example, we are still missing housing starts and new home sales for September, October and November.
The key economic report this week is Q3 GDP.

----- Monday, December 22nd -----
8:30 AM: Chicago Fed National Activity Index for November. This is a composite index of other data.

----- Tuesday, December 23rd -----
8:30 AM: Durable Goods Orders for November.  The consensus is for a 0.4% increase.

8:30 AM: Gross Domestic Product, 3rd Quarter 2025 (Initial Estimate) and Corporate Profits (Preliminary). The consensus is that real GDP increased 3.2% annualized in Q3, down from 3.8% in Q2.
Industrial Production 9:15 AM: The Fed will release Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for October.

This graph shows industrial production since 1967.

The consensus is for a 0.1% increase in Industrial Production, and for Capacity Utilization to be unchanged at 75.9%.

10:00 AM: Richmond Fed Survey of Manufacturing Activity for December.


----- Wednesday, December 24th -----
7:00 AM ET: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

8:30 AM: The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released.  The consensus is for 225,000 initial claims, up from 224,000 last week.

The NYSE and the NASDAQ will close early at 1:00 PM ET.

----- Thursday, December 25th -----
All US markets will be closed in observance of the Christmas Holiday.

----- Friday, December 26th -----
No major economic releases scheduled.

EU "Russia Confiscation" Summit Ends In Failure As Brussels Quietly Paves Way For Eurobonds

Zero Hedge -

EU "Russia Confiscation" Summit Ends In Failure As Brussels Quietly Paves Way For Eurobonds

Submitted By Thomas Kolbe

The EU summit held in Brussels on December 18–19 was supposed to deliver two fundamental decisions. First, it was meant to address the expropriation of frozen Russian assets held at Euroclear. Second, it was expected to ratify the Mercosur trade agreement. In both cases, the EU’s bureaucratic elite around Ursula von der Leyen failed—paralyzed by its own dysfunction and ultimately by a lack of real power.

What had been grandly announced as a “summit of decisions” ended in a fiasco for Brussels. Neither was the Mercosur agreement approved, nor did the EU manage to convert the Russian central bank assets held at Euroclear into a substantial loan to extend Ukraine financing.

Let us first examine the Euroclear affair. That the EU bowed to growing pressure from several member states such as Belgium, Hungary, and Slovakia—as well as from the U.S. government—is telling. Despite all its ambitions, the EU remains a paper tiger in the global power struggle.

A Typical EU Solution

The solution to Ukraine’s massive financing gap looks as follows: the European Union will provide Kyiv with an interest-free loan of €90 billion for the next two years. Repayment will only be required if Russia pays reparations—which it will not. In that case, the EU plans to fall back on frozen Russian assets to cover the deficit.

That immediate expropriation did not occur is largely due to Belgium’s insistence—given that Euroclear is legally domiciled there—on a collective assumption of liability risks. As so often when consequences might arise from its own actions, Brussels opted for a diluted compromise.

Through the back door, this effectively introduces Eurobonds—a joint debt issuance—without explicitly saying so.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed the construct as a major success. National budgets would not be burdened, he argued, since the financing would be handled entirely at the EU level. Moreover, the loan would be secured by Russian assets. What Merz conveniently omitted is that EU member states ultimately remain liable for Brussels’ maneuvers.

In reality, Brussels achieved one thing above all: the politically and legally explosive issue of expropriating the Russian central bank was postponed. At the same time, the EU once again used the opportunity to cleverly circumvent its own rules—specifically the prohibition of joint debt issuance.

Enormous Financial Needs

Ukraine’s financial requirements are immense. In view of the war of attrition in the Donbas, the European Commission expects roughly €81 billion to be needed next year alone to close Ukraine’s budget gap, which currently stands at 18.5 percent of GDP. The newly approved EU loan will be supplemented by national contributions.

Germany alone will finance €11.5 billion for Ukraine’s military equipment from its federal budget—funded through new debt and charged to the taxpayer, who, needless to say, has no say in the matter.

Within EU budget planning, grants of up to €50 billion are earmarked for next year. According to plans by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, this amount is to be expanded to €135.7 billion over the following two years. This bottomless pit threatens to plunge economically weakening EU states—with already ballooning deficits—into severe turbulence unless the course is changed swiftly.

Restoring Military Striking Power

So what is the concrete alternative now that the raid on Euroclear’s balance sheet is temporarily blocked? EU and UK officials have repeatedly made clear in recent months that they intend to restore their military capabilities by 2028.

The signal to Russia is unmistakable: this is neither about lasting peace nor a genuine resolution of the conflict. A ceasefire—something Russia learned during the Minsk Agreement episode—would merely serve military consolidation.

When Friedrich Merz claims that Ukraine financing over the next two years serves exclusively to equip the Ukrainian army and not to prolong the war, this statement reveals one thing above all: a deliberate semantic separation of what is politically and militarily inseparable. Anyone who rhetorically decouples arms deliveries from war prolongation is not informing the public—but pacifying it.

Eurobonds or War Bonds

Brussels will now seize the moment to push ahead with a rapid expansion of Eurobonds. During the COVID lockdowns, the European Commission already ventured into this forbidden territory by issuing several hundred billion euros under the “NextGenerationEU” bond program.

The procedure is now being repeated. The Commission will issue bonds officially secured by Russian assets, but for which all member states ultimately bear proportional liability. Put differently: the EU is concealing yet another gigantic debt program, for which taxpayers will be on the hook in the end.

A large portion of this money will flow back into the European and American military-industrial sectors.

We are witnessing a classic EU solution: the existing rulebook is systematically undermined, while the representatives of the so-called “rules-based order” continue their erosion campaign—until even the last residue of trust in the integrity of EU institutions is ground down.

From Ukraine Conflict to Credit Accelerator

Regardless of one’s view of the historical background of the Ukraine conflict—of the 2014 Maidan coup or the years-long Donbas conflict—the principle of neutrality beyond humanitarian aid has been systematically abandoned.

Once it became clear that the Ukraine conflict could be turned into a credit accelerator, state-backed banks such as the European Investment Bank were heavily integrated into the process.

What has long been evident about Brussels hardliners is now plain to see: megalomania combined with personal career ambition. In the cases of Ursula von der Leyen and Friedrich Merz, this toxic mix produces political strategies and outcomes that drag the EU and its member states ever deeper into a spiral of fiscal obligations and looming military escalation.

Mercosur Postponed

The European Union’s historic task was to create and legally safeguard a competitive internal market. This attempt at limited competence transfer has now definitively failed.

On Thursday, the EU summit also failed to ratify the Mercosur agreement with South America. At the insistence of France and Italy, the decision was postponed by one month.

Negotiations have stalled for a quarter century. A finalized draft is on the table, providing for a phased tariff reduction over 15 years and covering Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. With 780 million people, a significant integrated market could emerge.

The agreement aims to boost European exports in automobiles and mechanical engineering while reducing tariffs on agricultural imports from South America—blocked primarily by the French farm lobby. Once again, the EU refuses to ease regulatory burdens on domestic farmers in order to balance competing interests.

What Remains?

In sum, the European Union keeps its debt machinery alive for another two years—while remaining incapable of making substantive moves on the international stage. The politics of postponement, and the costs of delayed decision-making, will ultimately be passed on to European taxpayers.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/20/2025 - 07:00

A Russian-US 'New Détente' Could Revolutionize The Global Economic Architecture

Zero Hedge -

A Russian-US 'New Détente' Could Revolutionize The Global Economic Architecture

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

It was explained in this analysis about “How A Rapprochement With Russia Helps The US Advance Its Goals Vis-à-vis China” that joint strategic resource investments after the end of the Ukrainian Conflict, particularly in energy and critical minerals, can assist the US in economically competing with China.

This vision aligns with the new National Security Strategy’s (NSS) focus on securing critical resource supply chains and can prospectively be expanded to aid the US’ allies with this for further advancing its goals.

After all, the bulk of the NSS’ Asian section isn’t about the US’ military competition with China (though a subsection details efforts to deter it in Taiwan and the South China Sea), but their economic competition and the ways in which the US’ allies can help the West keep pace with the People’s Republic. It even proposes joint cooperation “with regard to critical minerals in Africa” for gradually reducing and ultimately eliminating their collective dependence on China’s associated supply chains.

Given Russia’s richness in critical minerals deposits, the central role that their development is expected to play in the “New Détente”, and the importance of these investments for advancing the US’ NSS goals vis-à-vis China, it’s possible that associated projects could include the US’ Asian allies. This could take the form of the US providing sectoral secondary sanctions waivers to India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and others as rewards for Russia’s compliance with a Ukrainian peace deal to incentivize joint investments.

Not only would this help the US and its Asian allies reduce their collective dependence on China’s critical minerals supply chains, but it would also help avert the scenario of Russia becoming disproportionately dependent on China, thus serving both sides’ interests vis-à-vis China. Furthermore, the proposed sectoral secondary sanctions waivers could expand to include energy and tech, which would unlock their access to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 megaproject while also reducing Russia’s dependence on Chinese chips.

The resultant complex strategic interdependence would be mutually beneficial.

US pressure along Russia’s western (European), northern (Arctic), eastern (East Asian), and potentially also southern (South Caucasus and Central Asia as proposed here) flanks would be greatly reduced due to Russia’s newfound national security significance brought about by its irreplaceable strategic resource and associated supply chain roles.

Russia has wanted this for decades, and it might finally be within reach.

Likewise, Russia would be incentivized to comply with whatever Ukrainian peace deal the US brokers in order to maintain this outcome, which also averts the scenario of it becoming disproportionately dependent on China all while bringing tangible economic benefits.

The US and its Asian allies would essentially be paying Russia to comply with that deal and turn its de facto entente with China, in which it might one day become the junior partner, into just one of several near-equal strategic partnerships.

Through these means, the renascent Russian-US “New Détente” could revolutionize the global economic architecture by removing China’s centricity therein, which would help the US and its Asian allies better compete with it per their shared goal through the help that Russia would be providing.

Significantly, Russia would also move from the periphery of the existing global economic architecture towards its core due to the importance of its strategic resources in this paradigm, thus fulfilling its grand economic goal.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 23:25

Watch: US Naval Forces Now Have Suicide Drones

Zero Hedge -

Watch: US Naval Forces Now Have Suicide Drones

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the 5th Fleet successfully tested a low-cost kamikaze drone from the deck of the USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32), an Independence-class littoral combat ship.  

The test of the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) was completed in the Arabian Gulf region and marks a "significant milestone in rapidly delivering affordable and effective unmanned capabilities to the warfighter," Vice Adm. Curt Renshaw, commander of NAVCENT/C5F, wrote in a statement.

The sea-based test follows U.S. Central Command's announcement of the U.S. military's first one-way-attack drone squadron based in the Middle East...

Cheap kamikaze drones are reshaping the modern battlefield by dramatically reducing the cost of precision strikes. Equipped with low-cost warheads, these drones cost a fraction of cruise missiles while being capable of swarming overwhelming missile defense shields. Their effectiveness has been demonstrated repeatedly in Ukraine, where cheap, disposable drones have crippled air defenses, struck critical power grid infrastructure, and oil/gas tankers.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 23:00

The Crisis Of Disability In America

Zero Hedge -

The Crisis Of Disability In America

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has an ongoing household survey to provide a snapshot of where we are in jobs and the labor market generally. This survey has usually proven to be the most accurate measure. Part of the survey includes questions concerning disability. It’s not about claims; it’s about answers to the following questions.

  1. Are you deaf, or do you have serious difficulty hearing?

  2. Are you blind, or do you have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?

  3. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?

  4. Do you have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs?

  5. Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing?

  6. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping?

You can take issue with this questionnaire and observe that people might perhaps exaggerate. Who, for example, hasn’t navigated a long flight of stairs and found himself rather fatigued at the end? Chronic obesity would tip the scales. At some point in the aging process, we all become disabled.

But let’s say you run the same exact survey for 20 years. Even with inaccuracies in reporting, even with a tendency to exaggerate, the trend line would still be highly significant if only because the survey methods remain the same.

Here is where the news gets grim. The latest survey reports that 36.63 million Americans have a disability. That’s an increase of 7 million over the summer of 2020, at the time when we were supposed to be in the midst of a debilitating pandemic.

The disabilities began to soar only after the inoculation was pushed and sometimes forced on the public.

The upward trend began in February 2021 and has not stopped.

Edward Dowd, investment analyst and author of “Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 & 2022,” comments:

“The November US BLS Disability data has been updated and it’s grim ... new highs across the board. Disaster.”

It is not plausible to attribute all the increase to the COVID shot, which is now widely acknowledged to be neither safe and nor effective. At the same time, it would be naive not to attribute some or a substantial or even the dominant part of the reason to the debilitating effects of the supposed cure. This is surely one of the great failures in the history of pharmacology. And the data here tells the story.

Other factors aside from the vaccine gone wrong might be substance abuse, depression, lack of exercise, poor diet, and the chronic disease problem generally speaking. The ill health both physical and mental in the United States is breaking all records. That is impacting reporting on disability and also the way in which labor markets are handling disability.

In the backdrop of this is a long-broken system for dealing with the disabled. People injured by the shots, for example, have essentially no options for redress because the makers lobbied for and obtained a liability shield in 1986. Even with documented and obvious harms, the injured have nowhere to go. One hopes that this unjust system will be revisited completely at some point.

My very first assignment in journalism school was to track the progress of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. I worked with a top lobbyist on the bill. The architects of the legislation were very well intentioned and wanted some federal attention on their plight. The bill banned discrimination, allocated vast new sums for benefits, and mandated all reasonable accommodation for the disabled, including physical upgrades of property.

As I looked at the legislation, and having many disabled friends myself, it became obvious to me that the legislation would certainly make a bad situation worse. It would turn a culture that was helpful toward the disabled into one that feared the liability associated with having them in the workforce. The mandates for physical improvements would be hard on business and breed resentment, and the jump in benefits would create a moral hazard that would increase the disabled population.

I explained all of this to the promoters of the legislation and begged them to back off, for the sake of the disabled population. They were aghast at my opinion and essentially told me to shut up. My report eventually was published (I wish I could find it) and warned of a coming disaster. That disaster did in fact come as unemployment among the disabled population grew for the rest of the decade. Business worried about liabilities and discrimination complaints worked on the margin to exclude these people from the workforce, and people began to resent rather than feel empathy toward the disabled population. None of this surprised me.

Sometimes the phrase “good intentions” gets thrown around too much. Not every government welfare program is rooted in good intentions. In the case of disability legislation, there is no question of the desire on the part of its promoters to advance the well-being of those with genuine issues and remove barriers.

Sadly, the Americans with Disabilities Act did exactly the opposite, which was easily predicted by anyone with a modicum of economic understanding.

Since those days, the problem has gotten worse. It is ever harder for the disabled population to be hired. Consider someone with severe autism, for example. The stipulations in the law make it difficult for them to be hired, and even working as volunteers can be looked at unfavorably by labor regulators. It is just much easier to exclude them from the workforce, thus avoiding liability risks and garnering extra attention from the law enforcers.

Now we see the problem getting much worse. With 36.63 million Americans reporting a debilitating disability, we see grave strains on health insurance and institutions that care for such people. With one in 31 children age 8 or younger identified as autistic, the problem is set to get much worse in the years ahead. Many of these people require full-time care, depending fundamentally on family. But when the family is not there, what happens? The institutions have to pick up the bill.

We have here the makings of a medical, social, and economic problem that no president or legislature is in a position to solve. It’s one that will vex national well-being for many decades during our lifetimes. Society aspires to care for such people and treat them with dignity but the regulations and laws have made that very difficult.

There is truth to the observation that societies should be judged by how they treat those least fortunate. America has generally done well but will it in the decades ahead?

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 22:35

Cooler Inflation Spurs Late Week Rally in AI Stocks

Pension Pulse -

Karen Friar , Brett LoGiurato and Laura Bratton of Yahoo Finance report the Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as Oracle, Nvidia lead AI trade resurgence:

US stocks rose on Friday after snapping a recent losing streak, as signs of cooling inflation and waning AI worries buoyed Wall Street optimism toward the tail end of a topsy-turvy week.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) put on 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained over 1.3%, building on Thursday's roaring rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed 0.3%.

With the late-week rebound, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq booked weekly wins, rising 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively, in the last full week of trading in 2025 as Wall Street tries for a "Santa Claus rally" to end the year. The Dow fell 0.6% on the week.

On the tech front, Oracle (ORCL) stock jumped after China's ByteDance signed deals to create a US TikTok joint venture, including the company, which has had a turbulent week. Faith in the AI trade got another boost from Nvidia (NVDA), whose shares popped on a Reuters report that the US is reviewing prospects for sales of its H200 chips in China.

Meanwhile, nine pharmaceuticals struck deals with the Trump administration on Friday to lower drug prices for some Americans in exchange for a three-year tariff exemption on their products.

Investors got through a catch-up week for economic data with next year's rate-cut hopes intact, having embraced the outcome of this week's delayed November reports on jobs and consumer inflation despite warnings over their reliability.

A rosier inflation picture, combined with a weakening job market, has reignited hopes that the Federal Reserve will continue its recent string of easing.

A plurality of traders are still betting on two cuts next year but have shifted more bets in recent days toward more cuts. Friday will bring a final picture of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan, after the firm's initial December survey found the key measure increasing for the first time in five months.

Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) rose to hit 4.15% as bond markets across the world absorbed the Bank of Japan's hike in interest rates to the highest level since 1995.

US stock markets will be open as scheduled on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26, the NYSE and Nasdaq said, after President Trump ordered the federal government to close on those days.  

CoreWeave stock surges 23%, recovering from recent losses

CoreWeave (CRWV) stock soared 23%, rebounding from last week's punishing losses, as Citi analysts resumed coverage of the stock and OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) set its sights on a $100 billion fundraising round.

Citi reinstated coverage of CoreWeave with an adjusted price target of $135, down from its previous target of $192, but noted that the company is staring down "overwhelming" demand.

Also fueling CoreWeave's stock on Friday was a Wall Street Journal report that OpenAI is seeking to raise up to $100 billion, which would value the company at as high as $830 billion. 

CoreWeave and OpenAI have been closely tied together since the two AI companies agreed to a $11.9 billion partnership that has since expanded to a contract value of up to $22.4 billion. Under the agreement, CoreWeave's AI computing data centers will power the training of its next-generation models.

In recent months, investors have grown more skeptical about OpenAI's high-priced dealmaking, leading to volatility in stocks like CoreWeave. Excluding Friday's gains, CoreWeave stock had been pacing for a 13% decline on the week as AI valuation concerns surfaced. 

Cruise stocks gain as Carnival CEO says demand is proving resilient

Carnival's (CCL) strong 2026 guidance was the tide that lifted all cruise stocks on Friday.

Carnival stock surged 10%, while Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH) rose 7% and Royal Caribbean (RCL) gained about 2%. 

Even as sentiment in the US has soured this year, Carnival's quarterly results showed that consumers continue to spend on cruises.

"Demand for our cruise lines is proving far more resilient than traditional macro indicators would suggest," Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein said on the company's earnings call. Weinstein noted that Carnival is already about two-thirds booked for next year at historically high prices for North America and Europe.

For next year, Carnival expects adjusted net income to grow approximately 12% year over year on less than 1% capacity growth. The company expects full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.48, ahead of Wall Street's estimates.  

Nike's challenges drag down footwear stocks

Nike (NKE) stock fell 11% during Friday's session, dragging other footwear stocks lower.

Shares of Deckers Outdoor (DECK), the maker of Hoka sneakers, dropped 1.1%, while shares of On Running (ONON) rose by 02% and Crocs (CROX) fell 0.2%. Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), which sells Nike sneakers and apparel directly and recently acquired Foot Locker, were up by 1%. 

Nike earnings and revenue beat Wall Street estimates for its fiscal second quarter, but profits declined as the athletic apparel company faces dual headwinds from tariffs and China.

On the company's earnings call, CEO Elliott Hill said Nike is in the "middle innings of our comeback."

"We highlighted last quarter that it will take more time to return to healthy growth in Greater China and Converse, and we expect headwinds to continue for the balance of the fiscal year," Nike CFO Matthew Friend said on the call. "As we highlighted last quarter, we are also navigating new structural headwinds from the $1.5 billion of annualized incremental product costs due to higher US tariffs." 

Gold, silver hover near record highs as precious metal rally advances

Gold (GC=F) and silver (SI=F) traded near record highs on Friday as the metals are on pace to close out a stellar year.

Gold futures inched up 0.4% to hover around $4,380 per ounce, while silver futures jumped 3% to trade above $67 per ounce.

Expectations of looser monetary policy and a weaker dollar have buoyed precious metal prices this year.

Gold is up more than 60% year-to-date, while silver has rallied 125%. 

Sean Conlon and Pia Singh of CNBC also report the S&P 500 posts back-to-back gains Friday as AI trade makes a comeback: 

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, lifted by Oracle , as the artificial intelligence trade regained its footing after experiencing volatility.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.31%, closing at 23,307.62. The S&P 500 climbed 0.88% to end at 6,834.50, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 183.04 points, or 0.38% and settled at 48,134.89. It was the second winning day in a row for all three indexes.

Oracle shares were up 6.6% after TikTok agreed to sell its U.S. operations to a new joint venture that includes the software giant and private equity investor Silver Lake.

The jump marks a turnaround for the stock, which came under pressure this week after a report revealed that the cloud infrastructure company lost a key backer of one of its data center projects over worries about the company’s debt and AI spending levels. That dragged down other stocks linked to AI, including Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices.

Elsewhere, shares of AI chip darling Nvidia rose about 4% after Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the Trump administration is reviewing the prospect of the company selling its advanced AI chips to China. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said that he will allow Nvidia to ship its H200 AI chips to “approved customers” in the country.

Additionally, Micron Technology shares extended their gains from the previous session, rising around 7%. The stock surged 10% on Thursday after the company gave robust guidance for revenues in the current quarter, providing reassurance to investors after recent sessions were swamped with jitters over the AI trade.

“The kind of onslaught of issuance from some of the hyperscalers, some of the AI trades, could weigh on markets into 2026,” Tom Garretson, senior portfolio strategist at RBC Wealth Management, said to CNBC. “But again, these are kind of some of the best-rated companies in terms of credit qualities. They obviously have the capacity to ramp up debt to finance some of this stuff.”

“We’re still counting on some of the capex spend kind of supporting a broader or probably better growth backdrop,” he also said.

This comes after the S&P 500 and the Dow both snapped their four-day losing streaks in the previous session. With Friday’s moves, the broad-based index eked out a 0.1% gain, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.5%. The Dow, however, slipped 0.7%.

Nike was among the day’s losers, as shares slid 10.5% after the sports apparel giant saw revenue in its Greater China market decline during the fiscal second quarter. The company is also feeling the pain of tariff increases, noting a hit to its gross margins due to the levies. 

And Scott Lehtonen, Ken Shreve and Vidya Ramakrishnan of Investors Business Daily also report the Nasdaq is up with Nvidia among the reinvigorated tech names:

Market action remained strong through Friday's close, with buyers coming into tech stocks for the second straight session as options expired. The week, marked by volatile trading on Wednesday, ended with the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher and trimming its weekly loss to less than 1%. Wall Street's other major stock indexes logged gains for the week. Meanwhile, news from the White House moved a few pharmaceutical names on the stock market today, while Palantir (PLTR) was a notable mover as shares broke out of a base.

Nvidia (NVDA), Boeing (BA), Cisco Systems (CSCO), and Goldman Sachs (GS) were top Dow leaders Friday, capping the final full trading week of 2025.

The Dow rose 0.4% on Friday, and the Nasdaq ended at session highs, up 1.3%. The tech-concentrated index reclaimed its 50-day moving average — a technical win on the stock market today. The S&P 500 rose 0.9%. The small-cap Russell 2000 picked up 0.8%.

The Nasdaq's weekly gain was 0.5%. The S&P 500 managed to edge up 0.1% for the week.

Among blue chips, Nvidia surged nearly 4% while Boeing gained 3%. Cisco followed with a nearly 2% rise, as did Goldman. On the downside, however, Nike (NKE) tumbled 11% on following a mixed earnings report.

Options expired at the close on Friday, which typically leads to higher volume at the closing bell. But volume ran higher than average throughout Friday's trading day on both the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange compared with Thursday. Advancing stocks barely outnumbered decliners on the NYSE while winners beat losers by more than 3 to 2 on the Nasdaq.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 4 basis points to 4.15%. In commodities, Comex gold futures notched a settlement high of $4,361.40. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.5% to change hands at $56.65 a barrel.

Biotech Spikes On $4.8 Billion Deal; Trump Inks Pricing Pacts

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) soared nearly 19% after the company announced that it was acquiring Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD) for $4.8 billion or $14.50 per share in an all-cash deal.

Both companies develop treatments for rare diseases. Shares of Amicus vaulted more than 30%.

Elsewhere, pharmaceutical stocks rose after President Donald Trump announced additional deals with nine drugmakers to lower drug prices on Friday.

The latest cohort includes Dow component Amgen (AMGN) and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), according to CNBC reports. Amgen and Bristol Myers Squibb shares rose more than 1%. 

Alright, it was a busy week in the stock market where tech stock started off weak again but the cooler than expected inflation report on Thursday morning following President Trump's address to the nation Wednesday evening propelled tech shares higher at the end of the week.

Just to give you an idea of what happened, CoreWeave shares hit a low of $67 on Tuesday and closed today at $83. 

The company joined the US Energy Deptartment’s Genesis Mission, an initiative that aims to harness advanced AI computing to accelerate scientific breakthroughs, enhance national security, and promote energy innovation.

The stock has been decimated over the past six months, down 51%, so it was due for a big bounce on any positive news:

Notice it popped right above its 20-day exponential moving average and needs to continue grinding up or else it risks falling again in a downtrend.

A Trump brokered deal with Tik Tok helped shares of Oracle close just shy of $193 on Friday, well off its Tuesday low of $177 but that stock remains in a downtrend:

Shares of Nvidia jumped back over $180 to close at $181, right at its 20-day exponential moving average:

Again, to sustain upward momentum, the share price needs to move well above this level or else it's headed lower.

Generally speaking, a lot of the AI stocks that got clobbered early on in the week came back strong on Thursday and Friday but are still in a downtrend.

That includes names like Vertiv (VRT) and GE Vernova (GEV), both of which ended up flat to slightly down this week.

Anyways, here are the best performing US large cap stocks this week (full list here):

 

And here are the worst performing US large cap stocks this week (full list here):

And as always, have a look at which stocks are making new highs/ lows to gauge strength and weakness by looking at the full list here.

Wish everyone a nice weekend and happy holidays, enjoy your time off with family.

Below, Tony Pasquariello, Goldman Sachs head of hedge fund client coverage, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss how investors should position their portfolio in 2026.

Also, Dan Ives, Wedbush Securities, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss why 2026 will be an inflection point for tech, what isn't known about the Microsoft story and much more.

Third, The Investment Committee debate whether the overall AI story is still intact (from Thursday).

Lastly, CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” team discusses why the biotech recovery may continue into 2026 with Salveen Richter, lead U.S. biotech analyst at Goldman Sachs Research. 

I love biotech, see so many great opportunities here, expecting more good news next year. 

Malaysia's Johor State Emerges As Magnet For AI Data Centers

Zero Hedge -

Malaysia's Johor State Emerges As Magnet For AI Data Centers

Johor, in southern Malaysia, has rapidly become a major destination for data center investment—driven by two big forces: companies diversifying supply chains amid geopolitical tension, and a post–late 2022 surge in compute demand from generative AI that’s reshaping where Asian capacity gets built, according to Nikkei.

What makes Johor especially attractive is its spillover link to Singapore. Singapore remains a connectivity hub, but land and power constraints there are pushing new builds across the border, where operators can still connect back terrestrially. A cross-border rail line expected to start operating at the end of next year, along with the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone launched in January, is intended to further reduce friction through incentives such as faster immigration clearance and streamlined customs procedures.

Nikkei writes that the scale-up has been fast. Analysts cited by Nikkei say Johor reached more than 900 megawatts of data center capacity in roughly three years—a pace that took Singapore more than a decade. Former industrial zones like Sedenak Tech Park have been transformed into large AI-compute campuses, backed by high-voltage power infrastructure and reclaimed water facilities. Major U.S. and Chinese tech firms, cloud providers and server manufacturers have established a presence, anchoring a growing regional ecosystem.

Malaysia as a whole has become one of Southeast Asia’s largest magnets for digital investment, attracting at least 210.4 billion ringgit in 2023 and 2024, according to government data. Johor has captured the bulk of that inflow, though Kuala Lumpur and Cyberjaya are also emerging as secondary hubs. Industry executives and policymakers argue that hosting large-scale computing clusters boosts strategic relevance, creating momentum that draws in network infrastructure such as submarine cables and strengthens regional connectivity.

The boom is also reshaping local labor markets. While data centers generate fewer jobs than manufacturing, the roles they do create—ranging from electrical engineering and telecommunications to network and cloud architecture—pay well above the national median. Central bank estimates cited by Nikkei suggest entry-level positions typically earn more than average Malaysian wages, with experienced specialists commanding significantly higher salaries.

At the same time, constraints are becoming more visible. Electricity and water are critical bottlenecks, particularly for AI facilities that rely on liquid cooling. Johor has begun rejecting new projects that depend on water-intensive cooling systems while it builds additional supply infrastructure, which officials say will take several years to come online. Analysts also point to geopolitical risk, especially uncertainty around access to advanced AI chips amid tightening export controls.

Finally, questions are emerging about oversupply. Unlike hyperscalers that build data centers to serve their own platforms, many carrier-neutral operators are betting on future tenant demand. Some projects have already been shelved, and analysts warn that Johor’s growth remains heavily dependent on foreign customers rather than domestic demand. Whether the state can sustain its rapid rise as an AI data center hub will depend on how effectively it balances infrastructure, regulation, geopolitics and long-term market demand.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 22:10

Tennessee Governor Pardons Country Star Jelly Roll For Past Convictions

Zero Hedge -

Tennessee Governor Pardons Country Star Jelly Roll For Past Convictions

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee granted a pardon Thursday to Grammy-nominated country artist Jelly Roll for his previous criminal convictions, noting the musician’s journey from incarceration to advocacy and stardom.

The pardon, one of 33 clemency actions granted by the Republican governor in light of the Christmas season, celebrates Jelly Roll’s personal growth.

Born as Jason Bradley DeFord on Dec. 4, 1984, the Nashville native spent much of his youth in juvenile facilities, including more than three years at the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center beginning at age 14 and has been jailed around 40 times for offenses including aggravated robbery and drug possession. He earned a high school equivalency degree at 23 while incarcerated.

Jelly Roll’s most serious convictions include a 2002 robbery at age 17, when he and others, including an armed individual, stole $350 from victims in a home. He served one year in prison, as well as probation. In 2008, police discovered marijuana and crack cocaine in his vehicle, leading to eight years of court supervision.

Lee said Jelly Roll’s application underwent the same rigorous, months-long review as others, with the state parole board unanimously recommending approval in April.

“His story is remarkable, and it’s a redemptive, powerful story, which is what you look for and what you hope for,” Lee told reporters.

The governor first met Jelly Roll on Thursday at the Governor’s Residence, where they embraced one another amid holiday decorations. Unlike federal pardons that can enable an individual to avoid prison time, Tennessee’s pardons offer forgiveness post-sentence, sometimes restoring rights such as the right to vote with some limits. Jelly Roll has said a pardon would make international tours and missionary work easier, since he’d no longer have to do paperwork due to his criminal history.

In a June interview with “Interview Magazine,” he discussed issues he has faced with traveling.

“It’s funny, America has finally agreed to let me leave and give me a passport, but some countries won’t let me come because of my felonies,” he said. “We’re working on that. I think it’s going to work in my favor.”

Jelly Roll received support from peers and local leaders, including attorney David Raybin who worked on his pardon, and Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall, who administered the jail where Jelly Roll experienced his transformation.

“I think he has a chance and is in the process of rehabilitating a generation, and that’s not just words,” Hall said. “I’m talking about what I see we need in our country, is people who accept responsibility, accept the fact that they make mistakes and accept the fact that they need help.”

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino has highlighted Jelly Roll’s charitable donations from performances to at-risk youth programs.

Jelly Roll changed his ways in 2008 upon learning of his daughter Bailee Ann’s birth while imprisoned. He began selling mixtapes from his car, blending genres like country, hip-hop, and Southern rock. His professional breakthrough occurred with 2022’s “Son of a Sinner,” which climbed to the top of country radio, followed by hits including “Save Me” and “Need a Favor.”

His 2023 album “Whitsitt Chapel” marked a country pivot, earning multiple CMT Music Awards and a Country Music Association New Artist of the Year honor. He has garnered seven Grammy nominations across his career. Themes of adversity permeate songs like “Winning Streak,” about the first day of sobriety, and “I Am Not Okay.”

“When I first started doing this, I was just telling my story of my broken self,” Jelly Roll said. “By the time I got through it, I realized that my story was the story of many. So now I’m not telling my story anymore. I’m getting to pull it right from the crevices of the people whose [stories have] never been told.”

Jelly Roll has also been working on making amends.

“I’m rounding third on my amends list, and I think when I get there, I’ll feel a little better,” he said.

Jelly Roll said he found songwriting therapeutic while in custody, telling the parole board it had become a passion that “would end up changing my life in ways that I never dreamed imaginable.”

His advocacy has encompassed testifying before the U.S. Senate on the dangers of fentanyl, while admitting his past dealing of the drug.

“I was a part of the problem,” he said. “I am here now standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution.”

He opened a music studio in February at the Nashville juvenile center where he was incarcerated, donating concert proceeds and partnering with The Beat of Life nonprofit for workshops.

He told the more than 30 songwriters gathered at the studio’s launch about what the studio and its opening meant to those behind bars.

“You wrote with some real kids that are going through the realest and hardest ... moment of their entire life,” he said. “I beg y'all to come back and be patient with them. I beg you to love them. ... Those kids got a small sliver of hope they’ve never had in their life today and the hope is the seed that grows into change.”

He reflected on his time in juvenile hall.

“When I was in juvenile, we never got a visitor. We never had a mentor, nobody ever came to see us. To be able to come back on these terms is a dream that I had and this is only the beginning.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 21:45

China Says Region Closer To War Due To US Record Taiwan Arms Package

Zero Hedge -

China Says Region Closer To War Due To US Record Taiwan Arms Package

China on Friday heaped more condemnation on Washington's approving a record-setting $11.1 billion weapons package for Taiwan this week, warning that the deal risks turning the island into a "powder keg" and plunging the region into "military confrontation and war."

A significant amount of medium to long-range missile systems are part of the planned transfer, including 82 HIMARS launchers with Army ATACMS missiles, allowing Taipei forces to hit targets across the Taiwan Strait. This aspect has further infuriated China.

Beijing in the fresh comments accused Taiwan’s leadership of "seeking independence through force" and charged that the United States is using the island to "contain China".

"The ‘Taiwan independence’ forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.

"This cannot save the doomed fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war. The U.S. support for ‘Taiwan Independence’ through arms will only end up backfiring. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed."

The prior largest US arms sale to Taiwan occurred in 2019, when the first Trump administration authorized an $8 billion deal for 66 F-16V fighter jets.

President Xi's policy, at least in public, has been that reunification of Taiwan with the mainland will happen through peaceful, political means; however, hawks in Washington have never believed this.

From China's point of view, the US continually arming Taiwan would be akin to China regularly pouring weapons in Cuba which could reach Florida.

Certainly US politicians would be outraged if Beijing or Moscow armed Cuba to the teeth and would likely act - and we even have precedents from Cold War history to demonstrate this.

The current Trump administration began its Taiwan arms sales last month, approving a $330 million package for aircraft components. All the while, Trump has softened his anti-China rhetoric and is seeking to improve bilateral relations, according to most media presentations. But this massive arms sign-off for Taiwan doesn't point in the direction of 'softening' tensions with China.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 21:20

California Expected To Defy Federal Pressure, And Reissue 17,000 Non-Domiciled CDLs

Zero Hedge -

California Expected To Defy Federal Pressure, And Reissue 17,000 Non-Domiciled CDLs

By Rob Carpenter of FreightWaves

California is expected to begin reissuing approximately 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses that the state had planned to revoke following federal enforcement pressure. The decision comes despite ongoing corrective action requirements from FMCSA and raises fundamental questions about federal enforcement authority when a state openly defies compliance directives.

State transportation officials confirmed to sources that the Department of Motor Vehicles will begin restoring the contested licenses to immigrant drivers who received 60-day cancellation notices on November 6. The state has not clarified the specific process but points to the D.C. Circuit Court’s November 13 emergency stay of FMCSA’s interim final rule restricting non-domiciled CDL eligibility.

What California apparently misunderstands, or is choosing to ignore, is that the court stay addressed only the September 29 interim final rule. It did not address the separate compliance failures FMCSA documented during its 2025 Annual Program Review, which found that approximately 25% of California’s non-domiciled CDLs were improperly issued under regulations that existed before the emergency rule was ever published.

The federal government threatened to withhold more than $150 million in highway funding from California over these pre-existing violations. Those threats remain fully in effect regardless of the court’s stay of the new rule.

Two Separate Problems California Is Conflating

Understanding California’s legal exposure requires separating two distinct issues that the state appears to be deliberately merging.

Problem One: The Interim Final Rule. On September 29, 2025, FMCSA issued an emergency interim final rule titled “Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers’ Licenses.” This rule dramatically restricted the eligibility of non-domiciled CDL holders to H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visas, excluding asylum seekers, refugees, and DACA recipients. The D.C. Circuit Court stayed this rule on November 13, finding petitioners were “likely to succeed” on claims that FMCSA violated federal law, acted arbitrarily, and failed to justify bypassing standard rulemaking procedures. With this rule stayed, states can theoretically continue issuing non-domiciled CDLs under pre-September 29 regulations, except for states under corrective action plans.

Problem Two: Pre-Existing Compliance Failures. FMCSA’s 2025 Annual Program Review found California had been violating federal regulations that existed long before the interim final rule. The agency documented systemic failures: CDLs issued with expiration dates extending years beyond drivers’ lawful presence authorization, licenses issued to Mexican nationals who are prohibited from holding non-domiciled CDLs (unless under DACA), and inadequate verification procedures. These violations triggered a preliminary determination of substantial noncompliance under 49 CFR 384.307, a process entirely separate from the stayed interim final rule.

California remains subject to a corrective action plan addressing these pre-existing violations. The court stay doesn’t change that. FMCSA’s November 13 guidance was explicit: states “subject to a corrective action plan” must maintain their pauses on non-domiciled CDL issuance until demonstrating compliance with pre-rule regulations.

The Nuclear Option: Decertification

Under 49 U.S.C. § 31312, FMCSA has authority to decertify a state’s entire CDL program if the state is found in “substantial noncompliance” with federal requirements. Decertification would prohibit California from issuing, renewing, transferring, or upgrading any commercial learner’s permits or commercial driver’s licenses, not just non-domiciled credentials, until FMCSA determines that the state has corrected its deficiencies.

The consequences would be immediate and severe. Every new driver in California’s CDL pipeline would freeze. CDL schools would halt operations. Testing would stop. Carriers would face weeks or months of disruption in recruiting new drivers. The ripple effects would devastate one of the nation’s most critical freight corridors.

FMCSA recently threatened Pennsylvania with decertification after an Uzbek terror suspect was found holding a Pennsylvania-issued CDL. The agency gave the state 30 days to respond and warned that failure to correct deficiencies could result in losing issuance authority entirely. California’s defiance appears far more egregious; the state is not merely failing to correct problems but actively moving to restore licenses that federal auditors determined were improperly issued.

Interstate Reciprocity and Federal Authority

Here’s where California’s gambit becomes particularly problematic. Commercial driver’s licenses aren’t purely state credentials; they’re federal credentials issued through a partnership with states. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 established minimum standards that all states must meet. When a state issues a CDL, other states recognize that credential based on the assumption that it was issued in compliance with federal standards.

If California reissues non-domiciled CDLs that federal auditors have determined don’t comply with federal regulations, those credentials may not be valid for interstate operation. A driver holding a California CDL issued in violation of federal requirements could face enforcement action in any other state, and carriers who dispatch those drivers could face liability exposure.

Under 49 CFR 384.405, decertification prohibits a state from performing any CLP or CDL transactions. Even short of full decertification, FMCSA could issue guidance that CDLs issued by a noncompliant state during the noncompliance period are not valid for interstate commerce. Other states could refuse to recognize California’s credentials. The Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS), which enables interstate verification, could flag California licenses.

The question isn’t whether FMCSA has authority to act; 49 U.S.C. § 31312 is unambiguous. The question is whether the agency has the political will to exercise that authority against the nation’s most populous state.

California’s Position

California’s argument rests on several claims. The state contends that the 17,000 licenses with mismatched expiration dates represent “clerical errors” rather than substantive violations. State officials point out that the work authorizations underlying these licenses remain valid; the DMV simply failed to align CDL expiration dates with employment authorization document expiration dates.

With the court stay in effect, California argues it can now correct those date mismatches and reissue compliant credentials. The state maintains that drivers with valid work authorization who pass the knowledge, skills, and medical tests should be able to obtain properly dated CDLs under pre-September 29 regulations.

This argument sidesteps FMCSA’s core findings. The agency didn’t merely identify date mismatches; it documented systemic failures in California’s verification procedures, including the issuance of licenses to Mexican nationals who were prohibited from holding non-domiciled CDLs. California’s October 26 response to FMCSA acknowledged finding 20,000 non-domiciled CDLs with expiration dates exceeding drivers’ lawful presence. Still, it refused to revoke them, arguing the state hadn’t violated federal regulations as they existed before the interim final rule.

FMCSA’s November 13 response rejected this interpretation as “erroneous,” noting that “the regulatory universe of non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs is premised on the basic notion that a non-domiciled driver’s commercial motor vehicle driving privileges cannot extend beyond that driver’s lawful presence in the United States.”

Human Stakes

Behind the legal and regulatory frameworks are real people whose livelihoods hang in the balance. Many of the affected 17,000 drivers are Sikh men who fled persecution in India and sought asylum in the United States. The transportation and logistics industry has been a major employer for this community; approximately 150,000 Sikhs work in trucking nationwide, with California hosting the largest U.S. Sikh population.

Amarjit Singh, a 41-year-old truck owner-operator in Livermore, represents the personal dimension of this crisis. His work authorization extends through 2029. He invested $160,000 in his truck in 2022, faces $4,000 monthly payments, and supports two young children. When Singh heard California would reissue his license, he prayed in gratitude. His wife cried.

“It’s going to save my life, and it’s going to save my business,” Singh told KQED.

Singh’s relief may be premature. If FMCSA determines that California’s reissued licenses don’t comply with federal regulations, Singh and thousands of drivers like him could face the same uncertainty all over again, potentially worse, if other states refuse to recognize California credentials or if FMCSA moves toward decertification.

Political Collision

This confrontation unfolds against a backdrop of intense political conflict between California and the Trump administration. Governor Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a leading Democratic opponent of federal immigration enforcement. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has made non-domiciled CDL enforcement a signature initiative, personally announcing enforcement actions against California and warning of consequences.

When a California asylum seeker named Jashanpreet Singh crashed his truck on I-10 on October 21, killing three people, Duffy issued a “bombshell report” directly blaming California for breaking federal law. “My prayers are with the families of the victims of this tragedy,” Duffy said. “It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules. California broke the law and now three people are dead.”

California countered that the Jashanpreet Singh case involved the automatic removal of an age-based restriction, not a discretionary upgrade. The state argued it had complied with the then-existing regulations. FMCSA rejected this defense.

The political stakes guarantee that neither side will back down easily. For the Trump administration, allowing California to defy federal CDL requirements would undermine its entire enforcement framework. For California, capitulating would validate what advocates call a “contrived emergency” targeting immigrant workers.

What Happens Next

FMCSA faces a choice. The agency can accept California’s interpretation that the court stay permits license reissuance, effectively allowing the state to sidestep compliance requirements. Or it can enforce its position that California remains under corrective action and must demonstrate compliance with pre-rule regulations before resuming non-domiciled CDL issuance.

The enforcement tools are clear. FMCSA can withhold federal highway funding, up to $75.5 million in fiscal year 2027, with amounts doubling in subsequent years. The agency can issue a final determination of substantial noncompliance. And it can decertify California’s CDL program entirely, prohibiting the state from issuing any commercial driving credentials until deficiencies are corrected.

Given the current political dynamics, FMCSA moving toward decertification seems more likely than backing down. The agency has already threatened to decertify Pennsylvania for less egregious violations. Texas, Colorado, South Dakota, and Washington have all received compliance warnings. If California can openly defy federal requirements without consequence, the entire federal-state CDL partnership becomes meaningless.

For carriers operating in California or employing drivers with California non-domiciled CDLs, the uncertainty continues. The safest course is to monitor FMCSA guidance closely, document immigration status verification for all non-domiciled drivers, and prepare for the possibility that California credentials face additional scrutiny or rejection in other states.

The Big Question

Underlying this entire controversy is a question the D.C. Circuit Court’s stay didn’t resolve: Who ultimately controls commercial driver licensing standards in the United States?

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 established federal minimum standards that states must meet. But states actually administer licensing programs. When a state believes federal standards are wrong, whether procedurally flawed, as the court found with the interim final rule, or substantively discriminatory, as advocates argue, what mechanisms exist to resolve the conflict?

The funding withholding and decertification provisions in 49 U.S.C. § § 31314 and 31312 provide federal enforcement tools. But using those tools against California would create massive disruptions to interstate commerce and potentially strand hundreds of thousands of drivers. The practical consequences may constrain federal enforcement regardless of legal authority.

Meanwhile, 17,000 drivers wait to learn whether the licenses California plans to reissue will actually let them work. Carriers wait to learn whether those credentials will be recognized outside California. And the rest of the trucking industry watches to see whether federal CDL standards mean anything at all when a state decides to ignore them.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 20:05

Reversing Alzheimer's: The Forgotten Causes And Cures Big Pharma Buried

Zero Hedge -

Reversing Alzheimer's: The Forgotten Causes And Cures Big Pharma Buried

Authored by A Midwestern Doctor via The Forgotten Side of Medicine,

•Due to Alzheimer’s research focusing on a symptom of it (amyloid plaques), rather than its actual cause, Alzheimer’s has remained “incurable” for decades.

•Rather than being a single disease, Alzheimer’s has multiple different subtypes (e.g., those due to insulin resistance, nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, infections, or concussions), each of which requires a different treatments.

•Impaired blood circulation to the brain and lymphatic drainage from the brain are often the primary trigger which initiates the degenerative process seen in Alzheimer’s disease.

•Factors which impair this circulation (e.g., poor sleep) hence roughly double the risk of dementia, while treatments which improve this circulation frequently produce remarkable improvements for cognitive decline and dementia.

•DMSO, an effective treatment for brain injuries like strokes is well suited to address many of the root causes of dementia and reverse the degenerative state dying neurons get trapped in. Because of this, there are many reports of it reversing dementia and clinical trials in both humans and animals corroborating these improvements.

•This article will review the actual causes of dementias like Alzheimer’s and the forgotten therapies many have successful used to cure them.

Alzheimer’s dementia is one of the greatest medical challenged our country faces (e.g., places an incredible burden upon society (e.g., last year it was estimated to cost the United States 360 billion dollars). Yet, despite spending billions for research each year, cures remain elusive, something many believe results from the flawed belief eliminating the amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s will fix it.

In turn, as I showed here:

  • Decades of amyloid therapies have never produced a beneficial therapy.

  • The newest “breakthrough” amyloid eliminating monoclonal antibodies, at best, slightly slow the progression of Alzheimer’s while simultaneously causing a host of side effective including brain bleeding and swelling in over a quarter of recipients.

  • The entire amyloid industry rests upon a fraudulent study no one wanted to retract, likely due to how much was invested in the amyloid hypothesis.

In short, the money behind this juggernaut has caused research into the real causes of Alzheimer’s to be suppressed. For example, here I highlighted how coconut oil MCT’s (safely) do more than any of the costly amyloid drugs—yet virtually no one knows this.

Dale Bredesen’s Discovery

Many are also unaware a 2022 study that should have revolutionized the entire Alzheimer’s field:

That protocol was based on the insightful realizations that:

• Amyloid protein is a protective mechanism the brain uses to protect itself from stressors that endanger brain tissue—making attempt to treat Alzheimer’s by eliminating it doomed to fail.

• The brain is designed to be able to adapt to the needs of life, so it is always creating or pruning neural connections and brain cells. Alzheimer’s results from the loss of signals that sustain brain cells and the dismantling of neural connections outweighing the formation of new ones gradually compounding over the decades.

• Rather than there being one type of Alzheimer’s, there are actually multiple that each require different treatment approaches.

Note: beyond the 2022 trial which showed individually targeted therapies could shift the brain’s momentum from neurological degeneration to regrowth, a 2018 report of 100 patients from numerous providers also showed it treated Alzheimer’s, as did a 2024 case series of patients with remarkable results, and there are now neurologists around the country administering Bredesen’s protocol with success.

The Six Types of Alzheimer’s Disease

As this understanding of Alzheimer’s has produced real results, this suggests the causes of Alzheimer’s Bredesen identified indeed play a key role in the disease—particularly since many other datasets corroborate their contribution to Alzheimer’s. They are as follows:

Type 1 -- Inflammatory

This form is driven by excessive inflammation, often metabolic or infectious in nature. Chronic activation of the immune system—due to factors such as insulin resistance, a poor diet, a leaky gut, or latent infections—leads the brain to engage in protective downsizing by removing synapses and neurons that are less essential for immediate survival. It often presents with classic Alzheimer’s memory loss and typically develops in the sixties to seventies.

Type 1.5 -- Glycotoxic

This subtype arises from insulin resistance and chronically elevated blood sugar. It leads to both inflammatory and trophic deficiencies, and is driven by glycotoxicity and the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which impair cellular function and synaptic integrity. It typically appears in the late fifties to sixties.

Note: chronically elevated insulin promotes amyloid formation as the enzyme the body uses to break down insulin is the same enzyme it uses to break down amyloid plaques.

Type 2 -- Atrophic

This type is caused by deficiencies in key nutrients, hormones, and other factors that provide trophic (supportive) signals to brain cells which then triggers a similar downsizing mechanism seen in Type 1. Type 2 tends to emerge about a decade later than Type 1.

Note: we find these nutritional deficiencies can result from poor circulation reducing existing nutrients reaching brain tissue, and hence often focus on improving circulation rather than extended supplementation.

Type 3 -- Toxic

This subtype results from exposure to toxic substances that directly damage neurons. Common culprits include biotoxins, chronic infections, heavy metals, and industrial or household chemicals. Causative infections (discussed further here) include Cytomegalovirus, Human Herpesvirus 1 or 6, Lyme disease, dental bacteria that can travel to the brain (e.g. P. gingivalis) and various fungal infections (as mold toxins are notorious for causing cognitive impairment at all ages).

Type 3 uniquely causes widespread and often unpredictable neuronal death, occurs earlier in life—often between the forties and sixties—and is less strongly associated with genetic risk factors. Cognitive decline in this type is frequently accompanied by psychiatric symptoms, sensory changes, or executive dysfunction (e.g., difficulty with math, organization, executive tasks), rather than the more classic early Alzheimer’s memory loss.

Note: some of the most important neurotoxins to avoid are pharmaceuticals, and when I meet elderly individuals who have preserved their mental clarity, many report having largely avoided pharmaceuticals throughout their lives. Some of the most common problematic medications for brain health include certain high blood pressure medications (because they lower cerebral perfusion), statins (as they inhibit the production of compounds essential for brain function), acid reflux medications (which interfere with the absorption of vital brain nutrientsmaking it critical for everyone to have adequate stomach acid), antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, antihistamines (since, like many sleeping pills, they block restorative sleep), and anticholinergics (such as those prescribed for incontinence).

Type 4 -- Vascular

In this form, chronic restriction of cerebral blood flow from existing vascular diseases leads to gradual neuronal injury and cognitive decline. Type 4 often appears in the seventies or beyond) and may overlap with other subtypes. It tends to affect processing speed, attention, and executive function rather than memory alone.

Note: rapid cognitive decline frequently followed COVID vaccination, and significantly overlapped with this type.

Type 5 -- Traumatic

Severe head traumas or repeated concussions (e.g., in professional football players) sets off a cascade of chronic degenerative process which cause cognitive and emotional dysfunctional to appear years or decades after the injuries—making it critical to prevent these injuries and seek appropriate treatment when they happen.

Note: there are a variety of causes of dementia, many of which are frequently (roughly half the time1,2) misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s. In many cases, these respond to the same treatments which reverse Alzhemer’s, but in other cases, require different treatments.

Healthy Fluid Circulation

Many practitioners I know who’ve successfully treating dementia with a variety of methods (listed here) all concluded it resulted from impairments of blood flow to the brain and lymphatic or venous drainage from it. For example:

Zeta potential provides the disperse force which keeps constituents within fluids from agglomerating and clogging the circulatory vessels (e.g., vaccine frequently trigger detectable microstrokes by causing blood cells to clump together). In a myriad of illnesses, we find restoring the physiologic zeta potential (discussed here) is pivotal for restoring health—particularly those associated with aging, as zeta potential worsens with age (due to declining kidney function). In turn, one of the physicians who inspired my medical path did so because his practice revolved around treating zeta potential and he repeatedly achieved significant cognitive improvements for his aging patients.
Note: impaired zeta potential will also cause proteins (e.g., amyloids) to misfold and clump together.

•China recently developed a surgery (detailed here) to increase the lymphatic drainage from the brain. Due to its efficacy and low cost, it is being rapidly adopted around the country. In parallel, an American procedure was developed to increase venous drainage from the head and reported to greatly improve multiple sclerosis along with other chronic neuroimmune disorders (which distant colleagues witnessed).

Note: I have seen many other circulatory enhancing therapies (listed here) also improve cognitive decline and dementia.

Furthermore, beyond blood being vital for neuronal survival, the proper clearance of waste products from the brain is as well. Unfortunately, due to how limited space is for the brain within the skull, robust lymphatic vessels do not exist, and instead, lymphatic drainage is created by astrocytes creating temporary lymphatic vessels around blood vessels during deep sleep.

This system, in turn, is highly vulnerable to disruption and numerous studies have now linked impaired glymphatic drainage to dementia (e.g., TBIs impair glymphatic drainage and adequate glymphatic drainage is required to eliminate amyloid from the brain)—which likely inspired the Chinese surgical procedure for dementia.

Due to the fragility of this system, things which disrupt it are quite consequential (e.g., poor zeta potential thickens and slows the drainage of glymphatic fluids). For example, as glymphatic drainage only occurs during deep sleep, poor sleep has been extensively linked to dementia (e.g., one study found sleep disruption increased dementia by 104%, another by 22-50%, and a third found a 139% increase—along with another finding sleep disruption caused a 71% increase in mild cognitive impairment).

Likewise, disrupted sleep was recently shown to accelerate the accumulation of amyloid plaques, and, in another study, to mitigate the cognitive impairment created by Alzheimer’s plaques. Unfortunately, the pathologic proteins in Alzheimer’s have been shown to directly disrupt restorative sleep and to take away the ability to recognize one is suffering from impaired sleep—demonstrating why it is so important to restore your healthy sleep before the momentum of dementia has entrenched itself.

Note: sleeping pills block restorative sleep, and have a variety of issues (e.g., they make users 2-5 times as likely to die1,2). Regarding dementia, multiple studies have found that sleeping pills increase the risk of it by 17-84%.1,2,3,4

The Life of Cells and Neuroplasticity

One of the things I continually marvel at about nature is not only the ability of a species to genetically adapt to its environment, but the inherent adaptability each organism has within its own lifespan to adapt to its environment. Within the human body, there are many systems that are designed to change based on the needs of one’s environment (e.g. this is why weight training creates larger muscles), and among the most adaptable is the nervous system.

So, at any given moment, neural circuits that support certain activities are reinforced, while other circuits are pruned and eventually disabled, a process that allows the nervous system to adapt to the complex needs of its environment. At the same time, many complex neurological and psychiatric disorders arise from a momentum being established where dysfunctional neurological circuits perpetually reinforce themselves.

For these disorders to be treated, a momentum must instead be established behind a healthy circuit (for those interested, this is the best book I have seen on that subject). This momentum is a key reason why it is so important to have healthy thought patterns and regularly actively exercise your brain (another core component of programs for preventing Alzheimer’s). If you do the opposite (e.g., watch TV all day or passively consume online content), dysfunctional patterns can become established habits, while neurological damage occurs as parts of the brain you need but under utilize are pruned away.

A key way the brain accomplishes this adaptability is by eliminating neurons that are no longer deemed essential. Bredesen’s theory of Alzheimer’s is that it results from the balance between preserving and eliminating neurons being shifted towards eliminating them, which inevitably will result in cognitive decline (hence making it critical to protect your brain early in the process of cognitive decline so it does not progress to dementia).

Within Bredesen’s model, the amyloid protein plays a key role in this process, as when it is initially formed as amyloid precursor protein (APP), it has the choice to be then split into two or four parts. If it is divided into two parts, those parts protect the neurological function in the brain. In comparison, if it is divided into four parts, the neurological function of the brain is damaged, and brain cells are eliminated. Interestingly, its splitting into four parts causes future APPs also to be split into four parts (which creates a downhill spiral). As a result, Brenden’s approach focuses on regaining a healthy momentum towards the two-part splitting while also providing the signals cells within the body require to survive.

The Cell Danger Response

When cells are exposed to external stressors, they often enter a primitive defensive metabolic cycle where they partially or fully “turn off” (e.g. mitochondrial respiration and protein synthesis within the cell decline) to protect themselves. Many chronic diseases, in turn, result from cells being trapped in this degenerative cycle (which often leads to cell death) rather than exiting it and resuming their normal function. Likewise, many therapies in regenerative medicine function by taking cells out of this frozen metabolic state.

Because of this, many complex illnesses (e.g., COVID vaccine injuries, fibromyalgia or autism) can only be treated if the underlying trigger for the cell danger response is removed, and then a regenerative therapy is provided which signals cells to exit the Cell Danger Response (CDR).

Similarly:

The principle that blocking protein synthesis prevents long-term memory storage was discovered many years ago. With age there is a marked decline of protein synthesis in the brain that correlates with defects in proper protein folding. Accumulation of misfolded proteins can activate the integrated stress response (ISR), an evolutionary conserved pathway that decreases protein synthesis. In this way, the ISR may have a causative role in age-related cognitive decline.

In turn, much in the same way treatments for the CDR often facilitate treating dementia, therapies which inhibit the ISR have been found to restore the structure and function of cells within the brain and improve a variety of age-related memory deficits.1,2

DMSO

Dimethyl sulfoxide has a variety of unique therapeutic properties which allow it to treat a variety of diseases (e.g., it is miraculous for strokes and brain injuries), and in the year since I began publicizing this forgotten therapy, I have received thousands of remarkable reports of it treating numerous “incurable illnesses.”

Much of this results from DMSO’s ability to restore normal circulation, protect cells from lethal stressors, and revive shocked cells trapped in the CDR. As such, since start the series, in addition to receiving many reports from readers who saved themselves or a loved one from a disabling stroke with DMSO, many have also shared stories like this:

My uncle’s wife has dementia and has been unable to speak for over a year. My mom recently visited them and told them about DMSO. He began to give his wife DMSO orally. After two week she began to talk again.

Numerous studies (detailed here), have corroborated DMSO’s ability to treat dementia. These include:

•When cerebral blood flow was permanently reduced in rats, one study found DMSO prevented the neuronal and memory loss that otherwise resulted while another found DMSO given afterwards treated it.1,2 Similar benefits have also been seen after Alzheimer’s was induced by injecting toxins into the brain,1,2. Likewise, in mice (or nematodes) engineered to develop Alzheimer’s, DMSO has been repeatedly shown to prevent the expected neurological damage.1,2,3

•DMSO has also been shown to prevent the neuronal damage from experimentally induced Parkinson’s and preserve the cognitive function of mice bred to rapidly develop severe degeneration of the cerebellum and brainstem.1,2
Note: IV DMSO is one of the few therapies I have come across which can halt Parkinson’s. To some extent oral DMSO helps as well (e.g., see this reader’s comment).

DMSO has also been shown to treat scrapie (a neurodegenerative prion disease from abnormal protein aggregates) in hamsters, to increase the activity of ALP, the intercellular enzyme which eliminates cellular waste (including misfolded proteins) and, in a large number of studies, to treat amyloidosis (pathologic accumulations of pathologic proteins.
Note: we are currently corresponding with a reader who saw a remarkable response to DMSO for CJD (an incurable neurodegenerative prion disease).

In humans:

18 patients with probable Alzheimer’s after three months, DMSO caused a significant improvement in memory, concentration, communication and orientation to time and space.

•In 104 elderly adults with organic brain disease from the common causes (e.g., strokes, atherosclerosis, Parkinson’s or head injuries), DMSO greatly improved their psychic and somatic function.1,2.

In 100 patients with cerebrovascular diseases CVD, many of whom were senile, over 50 days, DMSO caused almost all to have a significant in their CVD, along with significant improvements in mood, mobility, and speech.

Conclusion

Medicine revolves around finding unique molecular targets for which disease specific treatments can be patented. Unfortunately, this model frequently fails in chronic illnesses, frequently leading to grotesque situations like the one described here, where natural therapies which can address the actual causes of devastating illnesses are sidelined to protect each disease’s lucrative “treatment” market.

This needs to change, and for the first time in my lifetime, thanks to MAHA, the political will at last exits to begin addressing the real reasons why there continues to be such much chronic illness in our society. The opportunity to make cognitive decline no longer be an inevitable aspect of aging is finally here—provided we seize it!

Author’s note: This is an abridged version of a longer article which discusses the actual causes and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and the cognitive decline which precedes it. That article, along with additional links and references, can be read here. Additionally, a (recently updated) companion article on how DMSO treats neurological injuries (e.g., strokes, brain hemorrhages, traumatic brain injuries, spinal paralysis and developmental delay) can be read here.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 19:15

Why Netflix Buying Warner Bros. Discovery Is A Bad Bet For Investors

Zero Hedge -

Why Netflix Buying Warner Bros. Discovery Is A Bad Bet For Investors

Authored by Mark Anthony of Forrester Research,

Eaerlier this week, Netflix responded to the vast industry concerns about its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery from the likes of the Writers Guild of America and a who’s-who list of elected officials, including liberal ones like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, by stating that “the “deal is about growth” and that the company is “strengthening one of Hollywood’s most iconic studios, supporting jobs, and ensuring a healthy future for film and TV production.”

Netflix continues to tout how it is a perfect strategic fit for WBD, but the only strategy that matters to investors is the one that provides the most deal certainty, speed to close, and risk-adjusted return. By those measures, a Netflix acquisition of WBD is a fundamentally unattractive trade.

It is only a matter of time before this deal to combine the two companies will face antitrust scrutiny — scrutiny which can significantly delay a closing or prevent one from ever occurring at all. 

President Donald Trump has already said that this Netflix acquisition could be a problem and that his administration will be playing an active role in this case.

Netflix knows it. It has already hired Steve Sunshine of Skadden, a very expensive antitrust lawyer. Companies do not bring in heavyweight antitrust counsel like this unless they expect scrutiny that could seriously delay or derail a transaction. From an investor’s standpoint, that alone should trigger caution.

Every extra month under review compresses annualized returns, increases financing uncertainty, and introduces tail risk that arbitrage desks are forced to price in, often violently.

The industry is also skeptical of this deal, and that matters to investors because it will feed the regulatory resistance that can delay the closing. Former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar didn’t mince words when he said, “If I was tasked with doing so, I could not think of a more effective way to reduce competition in Hollywood than selling WBD to Netflix.” Statements like that don’t stay in trade publications. They end up cited in regulatory memos and congressional letters.

The same is true of James Cameron’s warning that a Netflix acquisition would be “a disaster,” pointing directly to Netflix leadership’s public dismissal of theatrical film distribution. Whether one agrees is irrelevant. What matters is that such statements reinforce the DOJ and FTC’s long-standing concern about platform dominance and vertical foreclosure.

President Trump has stated that he wants Warner Bros. Discovery sold to a buyer willing to acquire the entire company, including CNN. Netflix has expressed no interest in CNN; only Paramount Skydance (run by President Trump’s buddy Larry Ellison) has.

Now that Paramount has provided a $30-per-share all-cash offer, which is higher than Netflix’s bid, Netflix should especially beware because it provides two things’ arbitrageurs prize above all else: certainty and speed. All-cash deals reduce financing risk, minimize market exposure, and historically clear regulatory review more quickly when competitive overlaps are cleaner.

Netflix offers the opposite profile. A stock-heavy transaction facing extended DOJ review, potential divestiture demands, and political scrutiny introduces timeline risk that can easily stretch into years.

Markets tend to punish uncertainty. The smart money understands that when government signaling, industry opposition, and legal posture all point in the same direction, the highest-return move is often the simplest one: back the deal most likely to close.

In that calculus, a Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t look like a bold bet. It looks like a slow bleed.

Mark Anthony is a former Silicon Valley Executive with Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). He is now the host of the nationally syndicated radio show called The Patriot and The Preacher Show. Find out more at patriotandpreachershow.com

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 18:50

Venezuela Vows To Defend 'Homeland At Any Cost' - Orders Naval Escorts Of Tankers

Zero Hedge -

Venezuela Vows To Defend 'Homeland At Any Cost' - Orders Naval Escorts Of Tankers

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez has said Venezuela would defend the "homeland at any cost" in response to President Trump’s declaration that he’s imposing a blockade on all "sanctioned" tankers entering and leaving Venezuelan ports.

"We say to the US government and its president that we are not intimidated by their crude and arrogant threats," Padrino Lopez said on Wednesday. "The dignity of this homeland is neither negotiable nor cowed by absolutely anyone."

Handout via Reuters

Padrino Lopen also told state TV that the blockade violates the UN Charter. "For this reason, these actions amount to an open act of aggression, and we are declaring this to the entire world," he said.

The New York Times reported that, in the wake of Trump’s threat, which he issued on Tuesday night, the Venezuelan Navy began escorting tankers leaving Venezuelan ports, meaning that if the US attempts to seize another tanker that has a naval escort, it could lead to a direct clash between the US and Venezuelan militaries.

According to a report from The Associated Press, about 30 tankers under US sanctions were navigating near Venezuela as of Wednesday, and sanctioned vessels carried about 18% of Venezuela’s international shipments this year.

Also on Wednesday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez issued a statement rejecting President Trump’s claims to Venezuela’s oil and land.

"Venezuela, in the full exercise of the International Law that protects us, our Constitution, and the laws of the Republic, reaffirms its sovereignty over all its natural resources, as well as the right to free navigation and free trade in the Caribbean Sea and the oceans of the world," she said.

Venezuela has ordered its navy to escort oil tankers leaving port & has lately aired footage of its military 'readiness' along the coast...

"His true intention, which has been denounced by Venezuela and the people of the United States in massive demonstrations, has always been to seize the country’s oil, land, and minerals through gigantic campaigns of lies and manipulation," Rodriguez added.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 18:25

Biden White House Coordinated Mar-A-Lago Raid Before Taking Conversations 'Offline'

Zero Hedge -

Biden White House Coordinated Mar-A-Lago Raid Before Taking Conversations 'Offline'

Chad Mizelle, former chief of staff to Attorney General Pam Bondi, revealed that the Biden White House was actively “coordinating” with the Department of Justice regarding an FBI search for classified documents at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence - before the discussion later moved “offline.”

In an interview with the New York Post, Mizelle said he had reviewed “smoking-gun emails” exchanged in the months leading up to the controversial raid. The messages involved officials from President Joe Biden’s White House Counsel’s Office, Merrick Garland’s DOJ, and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), indicating significant coordination among the agencies.

Mizelle said he personally reviewed email exchanges between officials at Biden’s White House Counsel’s Office, Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Justice Department, and the National Archives and Records Administration in the months before the raid on President Donald Trump’s Florida residence. The emails showed detailed discussions about the Trump records, with the National Archives serving as custodian of the documents. 

At one point, a Biden White House official proposed taking the conversation “offline,” likely to prevent it from being preserved under federal disclosure laws. After that suggestion, the email trail abruptly ended.

"We have concrete evidence that Biden's White House was very much involved in the most unprecedented, unjust and improper law enforcement act, really in the history of our country, which is to use the FBI to raid the home of a political rival and former president of the United States," Mizelle said. He explained that the abrupt end of email communications made clear that the White House was coordinating the effort and deliberately putting Justice Department officials in contact with the National Archives about the documents stored at Mar-a-Lago.

The revelation follows the release of internal FBI and Justice Department memos showing that the bureau's Washington field office believed agents lacked probable cause to execute the Mar-a-Lago search warrant before the raid

A source familiar with the emails confirmed to reporters that the conversations Mizelle described do exist.

The emails as described by Mizelle also clash with DOJ’s purported independence from the commander-in-chief as well as a memo put out by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, limiting officials’ interactions with the White House.

[T]he Justice Department will not advise the White House concerning pending or contemplated criminal or civil law enforcement investigations or cases unless doing so is important for the performance of the President’s duties and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective,” the July 21, 2021, memo stated.

Biden White House aides insisted that the president was not aware of the FBI’s planned search beforehand — with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declining to comment 18 times on the unprecedented action the day after the raid.

If they have a memo that they’re violating, that’s a problem,” Mizelle, who left the DOJ in September, said when asked about the memo. “If they tell the American people they’re not involved and they were in fact involved, that’s a problem.”

Trump’s legal team alleged that the National Archives, the White House Counsel’s Office, and senior Justice Department and FBI officials closely coordinated the Mar-a-Lago investigation. Attorneys Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise described the evidence as “disturbing but not surprising,” pointing to a May 2022 letter from acting Archivist Debra Steidel Wall, which referenced communications with the White House Counsel. Trump’s lawyers argued this suggested the Archives were acting as an arm of the prosecution.

After Wall’s letter, a federal grand jury subpoenaed the documents, and Trump’s team turned over an initial batch on June 3, 2022. Trump’s team sought all communications about the raid, but prosecutors claimed privilege over certain internal DOJ emails. The Biden administration long claimed there was limited involvement in the missing records case, but the evidence proves otherwise.

What began as a routine archival retrieval escalated sharply when Garland launched a criminal investigation in March 2022. The FBI ultimately seized 102 classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, leading to Trump’s June 2023 indictment.

Mizelle noted that the emails he reviewed contradict claims that the Biden White House had no role in the decision to raid Trump’s residence. Officials appear to have moved discussions offline to avoid creating a paper trail, but the tone of the communications sent an unmistakable directive to the Justice Department to act.

Trump’s team continues to investigate the raid, probing the involvement of multiple agencies and the White House in what some see as a coordinated effort to target a political rival.

Ironically, months after the raid on Mar-a-Lago, it emerged that Joe Biden mishandled classified documents, first at his Penn Biden Center office in D.C., then at his Wilmington, Delaware home. Biden was ultimately let off the hook in February 2024, after Special Counsel Robert Hur concluded that while Biden “would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” and chose not to recommend prosecution.

Meanwhile, the case against Trump collapsed in July 2024 after a judge ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith had been improperly appointed.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 18:00

Mass Attacks: We're On Our Own

Zero Hedge -

Mass Attacks: We're On Our Own

Authored by Mike McDaniel via American Thinker,

The attacks at Bondi Beach, Australia and at Brown University remind us western democracies remain uniquely vulnerable to terrorist attacks, even terrorists armed with common firearms rather than the automatic weapons employed in the Middle East and other hot spots. 

In Australia at least 16, aged 10-87, were killed and some 40 were wounded at a “Chanukah by the Sea” celebration. Yes, the victims were largely Jews, and amazingly, the police think [admit] it was terrorism.  

In this case, the two killers were apparently not “known wolves.”

Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father, Sajid, allegedly stormed the family-friendly Chanukah by the Sea event armed with shotguns and a bolt-action rifle…

Akram was disarmed by a bystander and eventually critically wounded by police during the 20-minute attack, while Sajid was killed.

At Brown University, during final exams, a man dressed in black entered a lecture hall,  “yelled something” and opened fire, apparently with a handgun. Two were killed and nine were wounded.  A “person of interest” was detained but was apparently released and the actual killer remains at large. As this is written, there is no apparent motive.

What both attacks have in common is that once they began, the victims were sitting ducks. Gun laws and regulations assured the killers their victims would be unarmed.

Australia doesn’t absolutely ban private ownership of guns, but is an anti-liberty/gun paradise that recognizes no right to self-defense. Citizens may own a narrow range of guns, but restrictions are sufficient to make Australia the envy of American gun grabbers. The entire nation is essentially a gun-free zone. With nearly all of what anti-liberty/gun cracktivists say is necessary to ensure absolute public safety, the Bondi Beach massacre should not have been possible. The Premier of New South Wales, therefore, wants even more gun control:  

The “horrifying weapons that have no practical use in our community” were a shotgun and bolt action rifle.

At Brown, the gun was reportedly a handgun, not an “assault weapon.” Rhode Island, which recently passed a ban on many types of semiautomatic firearms, does not ban most guns outright and does grudgingly issue concealed carry permits, but has magazine restrictions and a seven day waiting period for gun purchases.  Unsurprisingly, Brown prohibits all firearms on campus.  

By the rhetoric of anti-liberty/gun cracktivists, the Bondi Beach and Brown attacks should have been impossible. Both are magical gun-free zones expressing the good intentions of the morally and intellectually superior. Good intentions, however, inevitably fall prey to reality.  Between 1950 and 2024, 92% of American mass attacks occurred in gun-free zones.   

But aren’t mass shooting deaths higher in gun-crazy America than anyplace else?  Not quite.  From 2009 to 2015, America was #11 in the world.  The most dangerous county? Norway. Even France and Belgium were more dangerous.

In 2015, the Texas Legislature allowed concealed handguns on college campuses. A professor who was about to retire resigned in protest, and students affixed colorful dildos to their backpacks in another act of protest whose connection to guns remains mysterious. With all those dildos, one was bound to go off?  Just as anti-liberty/gun cracktivists wailed when concealed carry laws swept the nation, there would be blood running in the streets and classrooms and gunfights would be as common as sunshine.

None of that came to pass. Americans taking the time and effort to obtain concealed carry licenses are uncommonly law-abiding. The same has been true in the 29 “constitutional carry” states that require no vetting or permit for concealed carry.

But won’t the police protect us? Not here—consider Uvalde--or in Australia:

To be fair, the police did eventually shoot both attackers and stop the attack, but by the time they managed that the damage had been done. At Brown, the only factor limiting damage was the killer’s lack of marksmanship and eventual decision to quit shooting.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 17:40

Trump Admin Launches Retaliatory Strikes In Syria, Hours After Officially Repealing Sanctions

Zero Hedge -

Trump Admin Launches Retaliatory Strikes In Syria, Hours After Officially Repealing Sanctions

Update (1700ET): Just hours after officially repealing sanctions on the country, the US military began a large-scale attack against Islamic State targets in Syria as the Trump admin retaliated for the death of three Americans last week.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a U.S. military official said Friday that dozens of targets were being struck by U.S. F-15 and A-10 warplanes, Apache attack helicopters and Himars rockets.

The operation is being dubbed “Hawkeye Strike” in honor of the Iowa National Guard soldiers who were killed and wounded in an ambush the Trump administration has blamed on ISIS.

The gunman that ambushed the Americans was killed in the attack.

But President Trump on Sunday vowed to take military action against the group.

“There will be a lot of damage done to the people that did it. They got the person, the individual person, but there will be big damage done,” Trump said at the time.

Syrian authorities last week blamed the ambush on a member of Syria’s security forces who they said was set to be fired for holding extremist views.

*  *  *

Syria is celebrating after President Trump signed a law on Thursday officially repealing the brutal economic sanctions imposed on the country under legislation known as the Caesar Act, which was designed to topple the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The sanctions have for many years effectively strangled millions of innocent people, and even impacted access to medicines, hospital equipment, fuel, and unleashed runaway inflation - sending prices for basic staples like eggs and meat soaring.

Getty Images

Sanctions have been on Syria going all the way back to the 1970s, with more piled on over the decades, especially after 2011, and then the most far-reaching, the Caesar sanctions, took effect in 2019 at a time that Assad was winning the war.

Coupled with the sanctions was a long-running CIA and Gulf-spearheaded proxy war, which flooded jihadist groups with weapons and cash - all for the sake of eventually installing a more pliant client ruler.

Now, one year after Washington accomplished its regime change, and with Bashar al-Assad in Moscow, has Washington chosen to remove the sanctions.

As Beirut-based The Cradle observes, "Trump removed the sanctions in an effort to help Syria’s new government, led by former Al-Qaeda commander Ahmad al-Sharaa, to attract foreign investment, foster economic growth, and rebuild infrastructure after 14 years of war."

Some Congressional leaders are still calling for strict monitoring of the new Sharaa regime's behavior, especially following prior months of massacres of Syrian Alawites, Christians, and Druze:

More than 100 House Republicans are demanding increased oversight of Syria as the U.S. prepares to repeal longstanding sanctions against the country.

Reps. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., and Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., are leading 134 fellow GOP lawmakers in calling for guarantees that the Syrian government will adhere to terms in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that set the stage for repealing those sanctions, while warning the U.S. needs to be prepared to reverse that if Syria falters on its progress.

"Many Members of Congress, committed to seeking peace, prosperity, and tolerance for religious minorities in the region, worked with the Trump Administration and House leadership to secure assurances that snapback conditions regarding the repeal of Syrian sanctions would be enforced if Syria does not comply with the terms highlighted in the repeal language," their joint statement read. 

Already, American and Gulf countries have signed deals with the new rulers in Damascus for oil and gas exploration, as well as rebuilding port infrastructure.

"Lifting the sanctions was the frontrunner in our mission to revive Syria’s economy," Abdulkader Husrieh, Syria’s central bank governor, said Friday in reaction to the news. "What has happened is nothing short of a miracle."

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/19/2025 - 17:20

Pages