Iran's Nuclear Facilities To Be Rebuilt "With Greater Strength": President Pezeshkian

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has reiterated in fresh weekend comments to state media that the Islamic Republic is not seeking to build a nuclear weapons; however, he did say something sure to catch the attention the United States and Israel.

He asserted that Tehran will rebuild its nuclear facilities "with greater strength" following the US bombing of three nuclear complexes during the June war with Israel. "Destroying buildings and factories will not create a problem for us, we will rebuild and with greater strength," the Iranian president stated.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian

The defiant warning to the world is important as President Trump has in the recent past said he's willing to attack Iran again should it try and restart its nuclear facilities which were bombed in June.

Pezeshkian had made the comments during a visit to Iran's own Atomic Energy Organization. He met with top officials who will be presumably tasked with rebuilding and repairing Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

The White House has repeatedly boasted of having "obliterated" Tehran's ability to make the next big step toward an operational nuclear weapon. Tehran has always insisted its program is purely for domestic nuclear energy purposes, and the Ayatollah over the years has decried nukes as 'unIslamic'.

President Pezeshkian on Sunday stressed Iran's nuclear plans are designed to "meet the essential needs of the people and enhance national welfare." Interestingly he also signaled expanse of nuclear plants with the help of Russia.

There have been reports of renewed and stepped up activity at Iran's nuclear facilities of late. According to Newsweek:

Satellite imagery published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank last month showed renewed activity at its nuclear facilities.

Iran is not actively enriching uranium, but fresh movement has been detected at its nuclear sites, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said on October 29.

Iran still has hold of uranium enriched at 60 percent, and it is "very, very important" for international investigators to work out how it's being used, Grossi told The Associated Press last week. Tehran could build as many as 10 nuclear bombs with its stockpile, should it take the step to weaponizing the material, he said.

Given the chances there could be another round of direct fighting between archenemies Israel and Iran, the Iranians could now be more willing to secretly pursue nuclear warheads.

After all, a number of governments which did not have nuclear or other significant WMD capability have been toppled over the years - from Libya to Iraq to Syria. Ironically the West often used the 'WMD' threat as a false pretext for military action.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 23:50

Iran's Nuclear Facilities To Be Rebuilt "With Greater Strength": President Pezeshkian

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has reiterated in fresh weekend comments to state media that the Islamic Republic is not seeking to build a nuclear weapons; however, he did say something sure to catch the attention the United States and Israel.

He asserted that Tehran will rebuild its nuclear facilities "with greater strength" following the US bombing of three nuclear complexes during the June war with Israel. "Destroying buildings and factories will not create a problem for us, we will rebuild and with greater strength," the Iranian president stated.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian

The defiant warning to the world is important as President Trump has in the recent past said he's willing to attack Iran again should it try and restart its nuclear facilities which were bombed in June.

Pezeshkian had made the comments during a visit to Iran's own Atomic Energy Organization. He met with top officials who will be presumably tasked with rebuilding and repairing Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

The White House has repeatedly boasted of having "obliterated" Tehran's ability to make the next big step toward an operational nuclear weapon. Tehran has always insisted its program is purely for domestic nuclear energy purposes, and the Ayatollah over the years has decried nukes as 'unIslamic'.

President Pezeshkian on Sunday stressed Iran's nuclear plans are designed to "meet the essential needs of the people and enhance national welfare." Interestingly he also signaled expanse of nuclear plants with the help of Russia.

There have been reports of renewed and stepped up activity at Iran's nuclear facilities of late. According to Newsweek:

Satellite imagery published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank last month showed renewed activity at its nuclear facilities.

Iran is not actively enriching uranium, but fresh movement has been detected at its nuclear sites, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said on October 29.

Iran still has hold of uranium enriched at 60 percent, and it is "very, very important" for international investigators to work out how it's being used, Grossi told The Associated Press last week. Tehran could build as many as 10 nuclear bombs with its stockpile, should it take the step to weaponizing the material, he said.

Given the chances there could be another round of direct fighting between archenemies Israel and Iran, the Iranians could now be more willing to secretly pursue nuclear warheads.

After all, a number of governments which did not have nuclear or other significant WMD capability have been toppled over the years - from Libya to Iraq to Syria. Ironically the West often used the 'WMD' threat as a false pretext for military action.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 23:50

Victor Hanson: Not Quite Yet, China

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

China has tentatively agreed to curtail sales of fentanyl to Mexico and other Latin American nations.

For three decades, Beijing sent the raw product to Latin American and Mexican cartels. The gangs then processed and disguised the toxic brew as less lethal narcotics and prescription drugs for export. The cartels laundered the profits with additional Chinese help, along with the feigned ignorance of the Mexican government.

Since 1999, imported fentanyl-laced drugs have killed approximately 600,000 Americans through addiction and accidental overdoses. That number nears the death toll of all Americans killed during the Civil War.

Following Donald Trump’s recent visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China is reportedly set to lift restrictions on its rare earth mineral exports to the U.S. That was a self-interested move, since the U.S. and its allies were already mobilizing to become immune to Chinese cut-offs. Xi Jinping also agreed to resume purchases of U.S. soybeans.

Trump’s concessions include agreeing to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods to 47 percent, while maintaining tariffs on most Chinese imports at levels still higher than those of almost any other importing country.

No doubt, more details will emerge of other concessions. Both China and Trump’s domestic critics will undoubtedly seek to refute the administration’s insistence that the U.S. won most of the advantages.

For nearly half a century, over the Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama, Trump’s first, and Biden administrations, Americans more or less came to accept that more Americans would die from fentanyl than were lost in all foreign wars in U.S. history. If China really does comply with its agreement, and the cartels cannot find alternate sources of raw product, then Trump might become the greatest savior of American lives in U.S. history.

So why did the Chinese government agree to these tentative agreements, given that no prior president has been able to stop the Chinese fentanyl supply chain or to tariff its goods without fearing a destructive trade war?

Trump dealt from a position of strength, here and abroad, in a way that prior presidents did not. He had permanently destroyed the half-century-long utopian fantasy of Wall Street investors and left-wing dreamers that the more concessions China received, the more it would become affluent, powerful, and politically Westernized. That toxic narrative had insisted that an emerging consumer and reformist class would inevitably democratize the country as the ossified Chinese Communist Party died on the vine.

Instead, the opposite happened.

China stole Western technology with impunity, manipulated its currency, made a mockery of copyright and patent laws, and spread its Belt-and-Road imperialism. It did indeed become affluent and powerful, but also arrogant. The communist government rearmed, destroyed the rules of the world trade system, bullied its neighbors, created the greatest global mercantile system in world history, and sought every means to weaken the West, from the Spratly Islands and the Panama Canal to the World Health Organization and the Wuhan lab—along with former Senator Dianne Feinstein’s chauffeur and Rep. Eric Swalwell’s intern.

Yet in 2025, a shocked China reviewed the first ten months of the Trump administration and found it erratic, unpredictable—and ultimately scary. It then concluded that the U.S. has finally awakened, as Trump began augmenting the sources of U.S. power, much of it underrated or ignored over the last decades.

In 2025, NATO has become energized as never before. Most members have met their promises to invest two percent of GDP on defense. Many may double that commitment. The inclusion of Sweden and Finland is more valuable to the alliance than the addition of almost any other new members of the last thirty years.

China’s Middle East clients are humiliated.

For now, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis are licking their wounds. There will be no Iranian bomb for years. Russia has withdrawn from the Middle East after the fall of its client Assad kleptocracy.

Russia remains bogged down in Ukraine in a Verdun-style bloodbath.

Its gas refineries are under constant drone attack. Putin’s military campaign so far has provided no model for a Taiwan invasion, and perhaps instead a lesson of caution.

India and China are slowly reducing their covert imports of Russian oil. After needlessly incurring one million casualties, Putin is terrified that his oligarchal class and officer castes increasingly see him as a 73-year-old, ill liability. He now fights only to inch westward, hoping to reach a symbolic DMZ line that would justify his military blunder. In a cost-to-benefit analysis, his four-year invasion does not compute well in the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, a muscular NATO and an anemic Russia allow a rearming U.S.—its military recruitment targets now easily met for the first time in years—to begin turning to Asia. China’s past bullying, together with perceived Biden appeasement, had terrified America’s Asian allies in the Pacific.

Yet now Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines are slowly mobilizing their defenses, mostly because they perceive the U.S. is no longer afraid to help its friends and to punish its enemies. For all the talk of an ascendant Chinese military, parity with America is still years away, given that in terms of strategic weapons and aircraft, and capital ships, the U.S. is far ahead in both quantity and quality.

So our Asian partners vie with each other to increase foreign investment in the U.S., buy American weapons, and receive strong Trump guarantees for American assistance in extremis. Taiwan is building five new chip factories in the U.S.

Australia is partnering with America to ensure that China cannot strangle the West by cutting off rare earth minerals in the future. Japan is slowly building a navy not seen in the Pacific since World War II.

When China reexamined the domestic U.S., it became further discouraged. The Chinese con of supplying the world with solar panels and wind turbines while it builds coal and nuclear plants is now sputtering. Trump will produce more traditional energy—oil, gas, nuclear, and coal—than any other nation in history. Despite its green dogmas, Europe will follow suit or stagnate further.

The Chinese applauded America’s anti-meritocratic DEI programs. They saw them as destructive as their own ideological blunders of the Maoist past, when dogma destroyed merit and the economy and standard of living with it.

But now DEI is dying. There are no more open borders. Illegal aliens are being deported at an accelerated rate.

The U.S. stock market is at record highs. Inflation is still low by historical standards. GDP may exceed 3 percent for 2025. If only half the promised trillions of dollars of foreign investment are realized, the sum will become the greatest sudden infusion of foreign cash in America in our history.

When China looks at Silicon Valley, it becomes further uncertain. The left-wing tech barons are no longer eager to invest in and partner with the unreliable Chinese. Many are becoming realists, as they are empowered and set free by Trump, in the opposite fashion of the Biden administration’s statist efforts to pick sycophantic winners and declare the noncompliers losers.

In areas like AI, robotics, genetic engineering, cryptocurrency, and military technology, the Chinese likely fear that they may no longer catch up to a riled U.S.

Like its 1941-1942 awakening, America will rearm, clamp down on arms transfers and espionage, and reassert itself as the most powerful nation in the world, a fact that will attract more allies and turn remaining enemies into neutrals.

In summary, during the Biden administration, China had expected to see 70,000 Americans die annually without facing consequences. It expected to continue openly stealing American technology and waging one-sided trade against the U.S., as it picked off America’s demoralized Asian allies.

China wagered that the U.S. was slowly and inevitably turning into a North American Europe—depressed and drug-ridden, insidiously becoming socialist, borderless, and flooded with unassimilated and often hostile illegal aliens. Suicidally, it would continue to forgo cheap fossil fuels for expensive and unreliable “green” energy while chasing its tail with self-destructive DEI, transgender, and crime policies.

Its universities would continue to indoctrinate a new generation of anti-American socialists in the spirit of leftist radicals like Zohran Mamdani, Jasmine Crockett, and AOC to update the moribund dreams of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

The U.S. is reascending at home and abroad, and its allies, including even Europe and especially Asia, are reenergized.

Conservative movements and governments are rebounding in Europe.

So for Chinese strongman Xi Jinping, it was time to cut a deal, to pause, to regroup, and to hope that in three, seven, or eleven years, another Obama- or Biden-naif would return. And then it might finish its now half-century-long effort to relegate a calcifying U.S. to the 1950s version of the British Empire.

Or so China assumed.

But then America said, “Not yet, not quite yet…”

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

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 23:25

Victor Hanson: Not Quite Yet, China

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

China has tentatively agreed to curtail sales of fentanyl to Mexico and other Latin American nations.

For three decades, Beijing sent the raw product to Latin American and Mexican cartels. The gangs then processed and disguised the toxic brew as less lethal narcotics and prescription drugs for export. The cartels laundered the profits with additional Chinese help, along with the feigned ignorance of the Mexican government.

Since 1999, imported fentanyl-laced drugs have killed approximately 600,000 Americans through addiction and accidental overdoses. That number nears the death toll of all Americans killed during the Civil War.

Following Donald Trump’s recent visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China is reportedly set to lift restrictions on its rare earth mineral exports to the U.S. That was a self-interested move, since the U.S. and its allies were already mobilizing to become immune to Chinese cut-offs. Xi Jinping also agreed to resume purchases of U.S. soybeans.

Trump’s concessions include agreeing to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods to 47 percent, while maintaining tariffs on most Chinese imports at levels still higher than those of almost any other importing country.

No doubt, more details will emerge of other concessions. Both China and Trump’s domestic critics will undoubtedly seek to refute the administration’s insistence that the U.S. won most of the advantages.

For nearly half a century, over the Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama, Trump’s first, and Biden administrations, Americans more or less came to accept that more Americans would die from fentanyl than were lost in all foreign wars in U.S. history. If China really does comply with its agreement, and the cartels cannot find alternate sources of raw product, then Trump might become the greatest savior of American lives in U.S. history.

So why did the Chinese government agree to these tentative agreements, given that no prior president has been able to stop the Chinese fentanyl supply chain or to tariff its goods without fearing a destructive trade war?

Trump dealt from a position of strength, here and abroad, in a way that prior presidents did not. He had permanently destroyed the half-century-long utopian fantasy of Wall Street investors and left-wing dreamers that the more concessions China received, the more it would become affluent, powerful, and politically Westernized. That toxic narrative had insisted that an emerging consumer and reformist class would inevitably democratize the country as the ossified Chinese Communist Party died on the vine.

Instead, the opposite happened.

China stole Western technology with impunity, manipulated its currency, made a mockery of copyright and patent laws, and spread its Belt-and-Road imperialism. It did indeed become affluent and powerful, but also arrogant. The communist government rearmed, destroyed the rules of the world trade system, bullied its neighbors, created the greatest global mercantile system in world history, and sought every means to weaken the West, from the Spratly Islands and the Panama Canal to the World Health Organization and the Wuhan lab—along with former Senator Dianne Feinstein’s chauffeur and Rep. Eric Swalwell’s intern.

Yet in 2025, a shocked China reviewed the first ten months of the Trump administration and found it erratic, unpredictable—and ultimately scary. It then concluded that the U.S. has finally awakened, as Trump began augmenting the sources of U.S. power, much of it underrated or ignored over the last decades.

In 2025, NATO has become energized as never before. Most members have met their promises to invest two percent of GDP on defense. Many may double that commitment. The inclusion of Sweden and Finland is more valuable to the alliance than the addition of almost any other new members of the last thirty years.

China’s Middle East clients are humiliated.

For now, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis are licking their wounds. There will be no Iranian bomb for years. Russia has withdrawn from the Middle East after the fall of its client Assad kleptocracy.

Russia remains bogged down in Ukraine in a Verdun-style bloodbath.

Its gas refineries are under constant drone attack. Putin’s military campaign so far has provided no model for a Taiwan invasion, and perhaps instead a lesson of caution.

India and China are slowly reducing their covert imports of Russian oil. After needlessly incurring one million casualties, Putin is terrified that his oligarchal class and officer castes increasingly see him as a 73-year-old, ill liability. He now fights only to inch westward, hoping to reach a symbolic DMZ line that would justify his military blunder. In a cost-to-benefit analysis, his four-year invasion does not compute well in the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, a muscular NATO and an anemic Russia allow a rearming U.S.—its military recruitment targets now easily met for the first time in years—to begin turning to Asia. China’s past bullying, together with perceived Biden appeasement, had terrified America’s Asian allies in the Pacific.

Yet now Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines are slowly mobilizing their defenses, mostly because they perceive the U.S. is no longer afraid to help its friends and to punish its enemies. For all the talk of an ascendant Chinese military, parity with America is still years away, given that in terms of strategic weapons and aircraft, and capital ships, the U.S. is far ahead in both quantity and quality.

So our Asian partners vie with each other to increase foreign investment in the U.S., buy American weapons, and receive strong Trump guarantees for American assistance in extremis. Taiwan is building five new chip factories in the U.S.

Australia is partnering with America to ensure that China cannot strangle the West by cutting off rare earth minerals in the future. Japan is slowly building a navy not seen in the Pacific since World War II.

When China reexamined the domestic U.S., it became further discouraged. The Chinese con of supplying the world with solar panels and wind turbines while it builds coal and nuclear plants is now sputtering. Trump will produce more traditional energy—oil, gas, nuclear, and coal—than any other nation in history. Despite its green dogmas, Europe will follow suit or stagnate further.

The Chinese applauded America’s anti-meritocratic DEI programs. They saw them as destructive as their own ideological blunders of the Maoist past, when dogma destroyed merit and the economy and standard of living with it.

But now DEI is dying. There are no more open borders. Illegal aliens are being deported at an accelerated rate.

The U.S. stock market is at record highs. Inflation is still low by historical standards. GDP may exceed 3 percent for 2025. If only half the promised trillions of dollars of foreign investment are realized, the sum will become the greatest sudden infusion of foreign cash in America in our history.

When China looks at Silicon Valley, it becomes further uncertain. The left-wing tech barons are no longer eager to invest in and partner with the unreliable Chinese. Many are becoming realists, as they are empowered and set free by Trump, in the opposite fashion of the Biden administration’s statist efforts to pick sycophantic winners and declare the noncompliers losers.

In areas like AI, robotics, genetic engineering, cryptocurrency, and military technology, the Chinese likely fear that they may no longer catch up to a riled U.S.

Like its 1941-1942 awakening, America will rearm, clamp down on arms transfers and espionage, and reassert itself as the most powerful nation in the world, a fact that will attract more allies and turn remaining enemies into neutrals.

In summary, during the Biden administration, China had expected to see 70,000 Americans die annually without facing consequences. It expected to continue openly stealing American technology and waging one-sided trade against the U.S., as it picked off America’s demoralized Asian allies.

China wagered that the U.S. was slowly and inevitably turning into a North American Europe—depressed and drug-ridden, insidiously becoming socialist, borderless, and flooded with unassimilated and often hostile illegal aliens. Suicidally, it would continue to forgo cheap fossil fuels for expensive and unreliable “green” energy while chasing its tail with self-destructive DEI, transgender, and crime policies.

Its universities would continue to indoctrinate a new generation of anti-American socialists in the spirit of leftist radicals like Zohran Mamdani, Jasmine Crockett, and AOC to update the moribund dreams of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

The U.S. is reascending at home and abroad, and its allies, including even Europe and especially Asia, are reenergized.

Conservative movements and governments are rebounding in Europe.

So for Chinese strongman Xi Jinping, it was time to cut a deal, to pause, to regroup, and to hope that in three, seven, or eleven years, another Obama- or Biden-naif would return. And then it might finish its now half-century-long effort to relegate a calcifying U.S. to the 1950s version of the British Empire.

Or so China assumed.

But then America said, “Not yet, not quite yet…”

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

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 23:25

Supreme Court Won't Halt Ruling Against Adult Entertainment Businesses

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 31 denied a request from adult entertainment providers to halt a federal appeals court ruling that rejected their challenge to zoning restrictions in New York City.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees emergency appeals from New York state, issued a brief order in 59 Murray Enterprises Inc. v. City of New York without comment.

The order rejected a request to grant an injunction blocking a ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Because Sotomayor acted alone without referring the emergency application to the full court, under Supreme Court rules, the companies that brought the application may present the application to another justice.

Often in emergency applications, the high court asks the responding party to file a brief outlining its position. In this case, Sotomayor made no such request.

In 1995, New York City approved new zoning laws that restricted where adult entertainment-related businesses could operate. The regulations did not govern so-called “60/40” establishments in which under 40 percent of floorspace or the store’s stock-in-trade did not feature adult entertainment or media, according to the application filed with the nation’s highest court on Oct. 22.

The businesses that brought the Supreme Court application are involved in adult entertainment. Eight of the companies operate or lease space to strip clubs and topless bars, while the other six rent out or sell adult books and videos.

The companies involved in this litigation were not affected by the 1995 regulations, but in 2001, the city changed its zoning laws to take away the 60/40 rule, which brought the companies within reach of the laws restricting adult establishments, the application said.

The new zoning amendments were not immediately enforced, but years later when the city began to take steps to enforce them the businesses sued. A federal district court ruled for the city in 2024, holding that the 2001 zoning amendments did not infringe on the businesses’ constitutional rights.

The businesses appealed, arguing that the amendments ran afoul of the free speech clause of the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The bookstores involved in the legal challenge argued the 2001 zoning amendments violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, the application said.

The Second Circuit ruled in July this year that the 2001 zoning amendments did not violate the companies’ First Amendment rights.

Although the First amendment safeguards adult expression, it also permits a municipality to regulate adult entertainment providers, and as part of its zoning authority, allows a municipality to forbid adult businesses from operating in certain locations, the application said, citing the ruling.

“Even in areas where adult-oriented businesses are allowed, a city may prohibit such businesses from operating close to churches, parks, schools, residential areas, or other adult establishments,” the circuit court said, citing City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres Inc., a 1986 Supreme Court precedent.

A municipality may regulate adult establishments in an effort to mitigate the harmful “secondary effects” that can accompany adult-oriented businesses, such as “crime, decreased property values, and urban decay,” provided that such regulation cannot be used “as a pretext for suppressing expression.”

Limiting where adult businesses may operate may be done to “preserve the quality of life in the community at large,” which is “the essence of zoning,” the court said.

The application argued that the Supreme Court should grant the application because without it, the city could shut down businesses engaged in constitutionally protected expression and this would cause those businesses “irreparable and substantial injury,” the application said.

The application also said that the applicants intend to file a petition for certiorari, or review, of the Second Circuit’s ruling separately from the application.

The applicants’ attorney, Edward Rudofsky of Melville, New York, commented on the denial of the application.

“We respect but are naturally disappointed by the denial of our clients’ application for an injunction pending their petition for a writ of certiorari, which we thought was warranted for all of the reasons set forth in our papers,” Rudofsky told The Epoch Times.

The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the city’s Law Department. No reply was received by publication time.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 22:35

Supreme Court Won't Halt Ruling Against Adult Entertainment Businesses

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 31 denied a request from adult entertainment providers to halt a federal appeals court ruling that rejected their challenge to zoning restrictions in New York City.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees emergency appeals from New York state, issued a brief order in 59 Murray Enterprises Inc. v. City of New York without comment.

The order rejected a request to grant an injunction blocking a ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Because Sotomayor acted alone without referring the emergency application to the full court, under Supreme Court rules, the companies that brought the application may present the application to another justice.

Often in emergency applications, the high court asks the responding party to file a brief outlining its position. In this case, Sotomayor made no such request.

In 1995, New York City approved new zoning laws that restricted where adult entertainment-related businesses could operate. The regulations did not govern so-called “60/40” establishments in which under 40 percent of floorspace or the store’s stock-in-trade did not feature adult entertainment or media, according to the application filed with the nation’s highest court on Oct. 22.

The businesses that brought the Supreme Court application are involved in adult entertainment. Eight of the companies operate or lease space to strip clubs and topless bars, while the other six rent out or sell adult books and videos.

The companies involved in this litigation were not affected by the 1995 regulations, but in 2001, the city changed its zoning laws to take away the 60/40 rule, which brought the companies within reach of the laws restricting adult establishments, the application said.

The new zoning amendments were not immediately enforced, but years later when the city began to take steps to enforce them the businesses sued. A federal district court ruled for the city in 2024, holding that the 2001 zoning amendments did not infringe on the businesses’ constitutional rights.

The businesses appealed, arguing that the amendments ran afoul of the free speech clause of the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The bookstores involved in the legal challenge argued the 2001 zoning amendments violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, the application said.

The Second Circuit ruled in July this year that the 2001 zoning amendments did not violate the companies’ First Amendment rights.

Although the First amendment safeguards adult expression, it also permits a municipality to regulate adult entertainment providers, and as part of its zoning authority, allows a municipality to forbid adult businesses from operating in certain locations, the application said, citing the ruling.

“Even in areas where adult-oriented businesses are allowed, a city may prohibit such businesses from operating close to churches, parks, schools, residential areas, or other adult establishments,” the circuit court said, citing City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres Inc., a 1986 Supreme Court precedent.

A municipality may regulate adult establishments in an effort to mitigate the harmful “secondary effects” that can accompany adult-oriented businesses, such as “crime, decreased property values, and urban decay,” provided that such regulation cannot be used “as a pretext for suppressing expression.”

Limiting where adult businesses may operate may be done to “preserve the quality of life in the community at large,” which is “the essence of zoning,” the court said.

The application argued that the Supreme Court should grant the application because without it, the city could shut down businesses engaged in constitutionally protected expression and this would cause those businesses “irreparable and substantial injury,” the application said.

The application also said that the applicants intend to file a petition for certiorari, or review, of the Second Circuit’s ruling separately from the application.

The applicants’ attorney, Edward Rudofsky of Melville, New York, commented on the denial of the application.

“We respect but are naturally disappointed by the denial of our clients’ application for an injunction pending their petition for a writ of certiorari, which we thought was warranted for all of the reasons set forth in our papers,” Rudofsky told The Epoch Times.

The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the city’s Law Department. No reply was received by publication time.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 22:35

Two Airmen Plead Guilty After Third Dies In Fake Story Over Sig Sauer M18

The case of the mysterious self-shooting SIG M18 gets even stranger - following an August arrest in the case (it wasn't the gun). 

The entrance to F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., on May 24, 2018. AP Photo/Mead Gruver, File

On Friday, the Air Force said in a statement that two airman at a Wyoming US Air Force base pleaded guilty to making false statements in the late July shooting of Brayden Lovan, 21, an airman with the 90th Security Forces Squadron, 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base outside Cheyenne. 

Airmen Sarbjot Badesha and Matthew Rodriguez each pleaded guilty this week to making false official statements related to Lovan’s death July 20, according to the Air Force statement.

Badesha was sentenced to 30 days in confinement and forfeiture of $1,545, while Rodriguez was sentenced to 10 days in confinement, 15 days restriction to base and forfeiture of $500. Both also received administrative demotions.

The two reported hearing White-Allen’s gun go off and then seeing Lovan on the ground, according to the statement.

White-Allen allegedly told Badesha, “Here’s the story. Tell them that I slammed my duty belt on the desk and it went off.” White-Allen allegedly told Rodriguez to tell emergency responders that White-Allen’s “holster went off,” according to the statement.

Neither airman initially reported that information, leading investigators to believe at first that White-Allen’s M18 accidentally discharged, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the guy who did it was found dead on Oct. 8, and the Air Force won't say how.

Details about his death were released for the first time Friday, including that the alleged shooter, Marcus White-Allen, had pointed the gun at Lovan’s chest in a “joking manner.” White-Allen after the shooting allegedly urged the other two surviving airmen to lie about what happened, according to the statement.

White-Allen, who was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and making a false statement, was found dead on base on the morning of Oct. 8. Air Force officials have not disclosed details surrounding White-Allen’s death, saying it was still under investigation. -AP

What's hilarious is that Sig has such a bad reputation for self-firing guns that everyone just bought the story. 

The pistol has been dogged for years by claims that it is prone to unintentional discharge if handled or bumped, without the trigger being pulled, according to the Epoch Times, which notes that at least 80 people have been injured since 2014,  and several lawsuits have been filed. In 2021, the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania dismissed a claim by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent that his P320 discharged while in its holster, wounding him.

In 2020, Sig Sauer paid an almost $900,000 settlement in a case before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In court documents, Sig Sauer said its agreement to settle was not an admission of negligence or wrongdoing on its part.

Strader said the company stands by its product, but has also listened to its customers’ concerns and offers a trigger upgrade for select models.

“The P320 Voluntary Upgrade is available to P320s produced from 2014-2017. More information can be found here P320 Voluntary Upgrade Program | SIG SAUER,” Strader stated.

In August 2024, the FBI evaluated the pistol for the Michigan State Police after one of its officers reported that he was shot by his holstered P320 at the shooting range.

The FBI report offered no definitive answers as to what happened in that case, but indicated the situation warranted a deeper investigation.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 22:10

Two Airmen Plead Guilty After Third Dies In Fake Story Over Sig Sauer M18

The case of the mysterious self-shooting SIG M18 gets even stranger - following an August arrest in the case (it wasn't the gun). 

The entrance to F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., on May 24, 2018. AP Photo/Mead Gruver, File

On Friday, the Air Force said in a statement that two airman at a Wyoming US Air Force base pleaded guilty to making false statements in the late July shooting of Brayden Lovan, 21, an airman with the 90th Security Forces Squadron, 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base outside Cheyenne. 

Airmen Sarbjot Badesha and Matthew Rodriguez each pleaded guilty this week to making false official statements related to Lovan’s death July 20, according to the Air Force statement.

Badesha was sentenced to 30 days in confinement and forfeiture of $1,545, while Rodriguez was sentenced to 10 days in confinement, 15 days restriction to base and forfeiture of $500. Both also received administrative demotions.

The two reported hearing White-Allen’s gun go off and then seeing Lovan on the ground, according to the statement.

White-Allen allegedly told Badesha, “Here’s the story. Tell them that I slammed my duty belt on the desk and it went off.” White-Allen allegedly told Rodriguez to tell emergency responders that White-Allen’s “holster went off,” according to the statement.

Neither airman initially reported that information, leading investigators to believe at first that White-Allen’s M18 accidentally discharged, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the guy who did it was found dead on Oct. 8, and the Air Force won't say how.

Details about his death were released for the first time Friday, including that the alleged shooter, Marcus White-Allen, had pointed the gun at Lovan’s chest in a “joking manner.” White-Allen after the shooting allegedly urged the other two surviving airmen to lie about what happened, according to the statement.

White-Allen, who was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and making a false statement, was found dead on base on the morning of Oct. 8. Air Force officials have not disclosed details surrounding White-Allen’s death, saying it was still under investigation. -AP

What's hilarious is that Sig has such a bad reputation for self-firing guns that everyone just bought the story. 

The pistol has been dogged for years by claims that it is prone to unintentional discharge if handled or bumped, without the trigger being pulled, according to the Epoch Times, which notes that at least 80 people have been injured since 2014,  and several lawsuits have been filed. In 2021, the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania dismissed a claim by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent that his P320 discharged while in its holster, wounding him.

In 2020, Sig Sauer paid an almost $900,000 settlement in a case before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In court documents, Sig Sauer said its agreement to settle was not an admission of negligence or wrongdoing on its part.

Strader said the company stands by its product, but has also listened to its customers’ concerns and offers a trigger upgrade for select models.

“The P320 Voluntary Upgrade is available to P320s produced from 2014-2017. More information can be found here P320 Voluntary Upgrade Program | SIG SAUER,” Strader stated.

In August 2024, the FBI evaluated the pistol for the Michigan State Police after one of its officers reported that he was shot by his holstered P320 at the shooting range.

The FBI report offered no definitive answers as to what happened in that case, but indicated the situation warranted a deeper investigation.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 22:10

Conservatives' Higher Birthrates Point To Future Political Dominance

Via Brian McGlinchey at Stark Realities

Chances are, you’re already aware that birthrates are falling throughout the developed world, sagging well below the “replacement rate” and sparking worries about the implications of a future dearth of workers and consumers. However, the emphasis on economic implications has allowed a powerful political undercurrent to go almost entirely unnoticed: Birthrates are varying significantly by political orientation, a trend that has the potential to shape electorates and policies for generations to come — to the benefit of conservatives.

Replacement birthrates vary over time and place depending on shifts in related variables such as child mortality. In developed countries, sustaining populations without immigration currently requires reproduction at a rate of 2.1 births per woman of childbearing age. Except for an outlier replacement-level pace in 2007, the US birthrate has been sub-2.1 since the early 1970s. Last year, America hit a record-low 1.6, with even lower lows recorded elsewhere in the developed world: the birth rate in England and Wales fell to 1.41, while Scotland’s dropped to 1.25 and Italy’s to 1.2. Mainland France’s 1.59 was the lowest since World War I.

Media coverage has uniformly emphasized those top-line numbers. However, Financial Times columnist and chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch recently waded deeper into the data and illuminated a sub-trend that could shape the future of the West. It turns out the drop-off in top-line birthrates is primarily the result of plummeting parenthood among progressive leftists, with conservative fertility slipping to a far smaller degree.

“From the US to Europe and beyond, people who identify as conservative are having almost as many children as they were decades ago,” Burn-Murdoch wrote. “The decline is overwhelmingly among those on the progressive left, in effect nudging each successive generation’s politics further to the right than they would otherwise have been.”

Readers might reasonably wonder if the birthrate numbers merely reflect the fact that people tend to become more conservative upon having children — particularly on social issues. That’s not the case. Critically, even aspirations to have children vary widely by political orientation. Illustrating the extremes on the continuum, a September NBC News poll found that male, Gen Z Trump voters put “having children” high atop their list of what’s central to their “personal definition of success.” In stark contrast, female Gen Z Kamala Harris voters put raising children in 12th place out of the 13 life goals presented as options, below aspirations like “having a job or career you find fulfilling” (which came in first) and “having emotional stability” (which placed third).

The conservative fertility edge shows up in state-level data. The 10 states with the highest 2023 birthrates were all Republican-majority states, led by South Dakota (2.01), Nebraska (1.92) and North Dakota (1.85). The bottom 10 were all “blue” states, with Vermont (1.30) at the bottom, and Oregon, Massachusetts, California, Washington and Illinois among those in the bottom pack. Paired with the trend of people migrating from blue states, it’s safe to say their lagging birthrates assure continued shrinkage in their congressional delegations, electoral votes and political power.

Looking more broadly, conservatives already have a population edge in America, with 33% of adults saying they’re conservative or very conservative, compared to just 24% who identify as liberal or very liberal. Self-categorized moderates represent a plurality, at 38%.

As your own extended family tree likely demonstrates, parents’ political leanings don’t strictly determine the views of their offspring. However, while most parents say they don’t make indoctrination a priority, their leanings do have an outsize influence in the grand scheme.

A 2023 Pew Research analysis found that only 16% of parents said it was extremely or very important for their children to grow up to hold political views similar to their own. Despite that, 81% of Republicans’ teenage children identify as either Republican or leaning toward the GOP; the Democratic correlation is 89%. Even if we assume that correlation decreases somewhat after the teen years, the large birthrate gap between conservatives and progressives promises to give the West’s politics a clear shove to the right over the coming decades.

Join thousands of free Stark Realities subscribers

Will immigration weaken that shove? Conservatives have long been wary of the political implications of large immigrant inflows, accusing Democrats of promoting lax border policies in a self-serving scheme to import Democratic voters. Bolstering that case, a 2023 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 32% of foreign-born people living in the US prefer the Democratic Party, with only half that number — 16% — saying the Republican Party best represents their views. A hefty 52% preferred “neither party” or were “not sure.”

Importantly, an immigration sea change is underway. At least for the time being, migrant inflows have not only come to a screeching halt, but have even reversed. In January, there were 53.3 million foreign-born immigrants in the country. Six months later, those ranks had fallen by more than a million, the first such decline since the 1960s. Having peaked at 15.8% of the US population, foreign-born people now account for 15.4%.

In what could be a self-reinforcing dynamic, a rightward shift driven by conservatives’ higher fertility could help perpetuate policies that tamp down immigration, further shifting the math in favor of the right. We’ve already seen a major sentiment shift, as Americans attitudes about immigration soured mightily during the Biden presidency: The percent wanting fewer immigrants soared from 28% in 2000 to 55% in 2024, according to Gallup. (The percent dropped way back to 30% this summer, but with dramatically tighter immigration policies resulting in net emigration for the first time in well over 50 years, that particular finding seems like something of an apples vs oranges comparison.)

2024 US Births By Race and Hispanic Origin (via Perplexity)

With European populations displaying their own rising impatience with the effects of mass immigration — a dynamic that has translated into a significant tightening of policies across the continent — immigration doesn’t seem poised to fully offset conservatives’ higher fertility either in Europe or the United States, at least for now.

Many factors are driving declining birthrates in the progressive left, including a lower level of enthusiasm — and often, outright disdain — for traditional family structures, greater prioritization of women’s career success, and a fatalism that makes the gift of life seem like a mixed proposition at best.

The Times’ Burn-Murdoch also points a finger at progressives who’ve convinced themselves that bringing new humans into the world will accelerate climate change. However, he notes that any given country’s level of carbon emissions is overwhelmingly driven by technology, not population, as evidenced by plummeting carbon emissions throughout the developed world even as their populations have continued to rise.

France and Germany show how carbon emissions have declined despite rising populations (via Financial Times and John Burn-Murdoch)

Even among progressives who do aspire to reproduce, there seem to be other self-defeating dynamics at work. For example, in their rebellion against traditional norms and expectations, and their desire to signal their subcultural alignment, progressives are more likely to make personal-appearance choices that could undermine their ability to land a mate.

Purple hair with an unconventional cut may be boldly expressive, but it comes at some unquantifiable price in the dating marketplace. The steepest price probably comes from septum-piercing — nose-rings that stray far from adornment and into outright self-vandalism. Science backs the idea that such piercings are bad for one’s love life: A study published by European Psychologist found that both women and men with facial piercings were perceived as not only less physically attractive but also less intelligent.

This TikToker took off her nose ring for the first time in a long time and immediately realized men are right.

"Someone said I look like a Democrat cause of the nose ring, so I'm taking it out."

Nose rings and tattoos are some of the worst things women ever got into. pic.twitter.com/oF0zmwtTHr

— George (@BehizyTweets) October 22, 2025

That’s not all. Leftists are also far more likely to limit their dating pool by excluding people with differing political views: Among self-identified “very liberal” people, only 13% are willing to date conservatives. Putting that into perspective, 29% of them are willing to date an ex-felon. On the other hand, very conservative Americans are nearly twice as willing to date their political opposites.

When looking to the political future, it’s often said that “demographics are destiny.” For the most part, progressives have employed the axiom with a swaggering confidence in their inevitable triumph, while conservatives have used it with a tone of grim resignation. Given the reproductive realities, we may soon see a rhetorical role reversal.

STARK REALITIES: Invigoratingly Unorthodox Perspectives For Intellectually Honest Readers 

Sign up and join thousands of free subscribers who benefit from monthly, ad-free insights 

* * *

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

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 21:45

Conservatives' Higher Birthrates Point To Future Political Dominance

Via Brian McGlinchey at Stark Realities

Chances are, you’re already aware that birthrates are falling throughout the developed world, sagging well below the “replacement rate” and sparking worries about the implications of a future dearth of workers and consumers. However, the emphasis on economic implications has allowed a powerful political undercurrent to go almost entirely unnoticed: Birthrates are varying significantly by political orientation, a trend that has the potential to shape electorates and policies for generations to come — to the benefit of conservatives.

Replacement birthrates vary over time and place depending on shifts in related variables such as child mortality. In developed countries, sustaining populations without immigration currently requires reproduction at a rate of 2.1 births per woman of childbearing age. Except for an outlier replacement-level pace in 2007, the US birthrate has been sub-2.1 since the early 1970s. Last year, America hit a record-low 1.6, with even lower lows recorded elsewhere in the developed world: the birth rate in England and Wales fell to 1.41, while Scotland’s dropped to 1.25 and Italy’s to 1.2. Mainland France’s 1.59 was the lowest since World War I.

Media coverage has uniformly emphasized those top-line numbers. However, Financial Times columnist and chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch recently waded deeper into the data and illuminated a sub-trend that could shape the future of the West. It turns out the drop-off in top-line birthrates is primarily the result of plummeting parenthood among progressive leftists, with conservative fertility slipping to a far smaller degree.

“From the US to Europe and beyond, people who identify as conservative are having almost as many children as they were decades ago,” Burn-Murdoch wrote. “The decline is overwhelmingly among those on the progressive left, in effect nudging each successive generation’s politics further to the right than they would otherwise have been.”

Readers might reasonably wonder if the birthrate numbers merely reflect the fact that people tend to become more conservative upon having children — particularly on social issues. That’s not the case. Critically, even aspirations to have children vary widely by political orientation. Illustrating the extremes on the continuum, a September NBC News poll found that male, Gen Z Trump voters put “having children” high atop their list of what’s central to their “personal definition of success.” In stark contrast, female Gen Z Kamala Harris voters put raising children in 12th place out of the 13 life goals presented as options, below aspirations like “having a job or career you find fulfilling” (which came in first) and “having emotional stability” (which placed third).

The conservative fertility edge shows up in state-level data. The 10 states with the highest 2023 birthrates were all Republican-majority states, led by South Dakota (2.01), Nebraska (1.92) and North Dakota (1.85). The bottom 10 were all “blue” states, with Vermont (1.30) at the bottom, and Oregon, Massachusetts, California, Washington and Illinois among those in the bottom pack. Paired with the trend of people migrating from blue states, it’s safe to say their lagging birthrates assure continued shrinkage in their congressional delegations, electoral votes and political power.

Looking more broadly, conservatives already have a population edge in America, with 33% of adults saying they’re conservative or very conservative, compared to just 24% who identify as liberal or very liberal. Self-categorized moderates represent a plurality, at 38%.

As your own extended family tree likely demonstrates, parents’ political leanings don’t strictly determine the views of their offspring. However, while most parents say they don’t make indoctrination a priority, their leanings do have an outsize influence in the grand scheme.

A 2023 Pew Research analysis found that only 16% of parents said it was extremely or very important for their children to grow up to hold political views similar to their own. Despite that, 81% of Republicans’ teenage children identify as either Republican or leaning toward the GOP; the Democratic correlation is 89%. Even if we assume that correlation decreases somewhat after the teen years, the large birthrate gap between conservatives and progressives promises to give the West’s politics a clear shove to the right over the coming decades.

Join thousands of free Stark Realities subscribers

Will immigration weaken that shove? Conservatives have long been wary of the political implications of large immigrant inflows, accusing Democrats of promoting lax border policies in a self-serving scheme to import Democratic voters. Bolstering that case, a 2023 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 32% of foreign-born people living in the US prefer the Democratic Party, with only half that number — 16% — saying the Republican Party best represents their views. A hefty 52% preferred “neither party” or were “not sure.”

Importantly, an immigration sea change is underway. At least for the time being, migrant inflows have not only come to a screeching halt, but have even reversed. In January, there were 53.3 million foreign-born immigrants in the country. Six months later, those ranks had fallen by more than a million, the first such decline since the 1960s. Having peaked at 15.8% of the US population, foreign-born people now account for 15.4%.

In what could be a self-reinforcing dynamic, a rightward shift driven by conservatives’ higher fertility could help perpetuate policies that tamp down immigration, further shifting the math in favor of the right. We’ve already seen a major sentiment shift, as Americans attitudes about immigration soured mightily during the Biden presidency: The percent wanting fewer immigrants soared from 28% in 2000 to 55% in 2024, according to Gallup. (The percent dropped way back to 30% this summer, but with dramatically tighter immigration policies resulting in net emigration for the first time in well over 50 years, that particular finding seems like something of an apples vs oranges comparison.)

2024 US Births By Race and Hispanic Origin (via Perplexity)

With European populations displaying their own rising impatience with the effects of mass immigration — a dynamic that has translated into a significant tightening of policies across the continent — immigration doesn’t seem poised to fully offset conservatives’ higher fertility either in Europe or the United States, at least for now.

Many factors are driving declining birthrates in the progressive left, including a lower level of enthusiasm — and often, outright disdain — for traditional family structures, greater prioritization of women’s career success, and a fatalism that makes the gift of life seem like a mixed proposition at best.

The Times’ Burn-Murdoch also points a finger at progressives who’ve convinced themselves that bringing new humans into the world will accelerate climate change. However, he notes that any given country’s level of carbon emissions is overwhelmingly driven by technology, not population, as evidenced by plummeting carbon emissions throughout the developed world even as their populations have continued to rise.

France and Germany show how carbon emissions have declined despite rising populations (via Financial Times and John Burn-Murdoch)

Even among progressives who do aspire to reproduce, there seem to be other self-defeating dynamics at work. For example, in their rebellion against traditional norms and expectations, and their desire to signal their subcultural alignment, progressives are more likely to make personal-appearance choices that could undermine their ability to land a mate.

Purple hair with an unconventional cut may be boldly expressive, but it comes at some unquantifiable price in the dating marketplace. The steepest price probably comes from septum-piercing — nose-rings that stray far from adornment and into outright self-vandalism. Science backs the idea that such piercings are bad for one’s love life: A study published by European Psychologist found that both women and men with facial piercings were perceived as not only less physically attractive but also less intelligent.

This TikToker took off her nose ring for the first time in a long time and immediately realized men are right.

"Someone said I look like a Democrat cause of the nose ring, so I'm taking it out."

Nose rings and tattoos are some of the worst things women ever got into. pic.twitter.com/oF0zmwtTHr

— George (@BehizyTweets) October 22, 2025

That’s not all. Leftists are also far more likely to limit their dating pool by excluding people with differing political views: Among self-identified “very liberal” people, only 13% are willing to date conservatives. Putting that into perspective, 29% of them are willing to date an ex-felon. On the other hand, very conservative Americans are nearly twice as willing to date their political opposites.

When looking to the political future, it’s often said that “demographics are destiny.” For the most part, progressives have employed the axiom with a swaggering confidence in their inevitable triumph, while conservatives have used it with a tone of grim resignation. Given the reproductive realities, we may soon see a rhetorical role reversal.

STARK REALITIES: Invigoratingly Unorthodox Perspectives For Intellectually Honest Readers 

Sign up and join thousands of free subscribers who benefit from monthly, ad-free insights 

* * *

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

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 21:45

Democratic Louisiana Mayor Indicted For Using City Funds To Solicit Prostitute, Pay Off Personal Legal Debts

A Washington Parish grand jury in Louisiana has indicted Democratic Bogalusa, Louisiana Mayor Tyrin Z. Truong on charges of malfeasance in office, public intimidation, and theft, according to the Bogalusa Daily News.

The indictment is part of what officials describe as an ongoing multi-agency investigation involving federal, state, and local authorities. Prosecutors allege Truong intentionally carried out his official duties unlawfully and knowingly allowed other city employees to ignore theirs. His arraignment is scheduled for November 10, 2025.

According to prosecutors, the case centers on claims that Truong misused Bogalusa taxpayer funds to pay a personal legal debt from a 2023 Louisiana public records lawsuit in which a judge ruled that Truong personally owed attorney fees and penalties after refusing to release public documents.

When the Bogalusa City Council denied his request to use public money, prosecutors say Truong threatened retaliation, vowing to overwhelm council members with records requests. Investigators allege he then pressured a city insurance vendor to issue a check labeled as a “reimbursement,” had it deposited into a city account, and ordered another check for the same amount to be written to himself.

The Daily News writes that the indictment details additional alleged misconduct, including accepting unauthorized salary and leave payments, forcing a city contractor to pay another contractor who did no work, purchasing illegal narcotics from known drug dealers and failing to report the activity, attempting to solicit a bribe from a local business — a move that allegedly cost the city a major development project — and ordering city workers to perform plumbing repairs at his mother’s home using city materials.

Prosecutors also accuse Truong of using city funds to solicit a prostitute at an Airbnb in Atlanta.

The charges follow Truong’s January 2025 arrest by the Louisiana State Police during a drug-trafficking investigation. At the time, State Police said Truong “organized entertainment with a prostitute” during a mayors’ conference in Atlanta and paid for the Airbnb using public funds, while also being accused of purchasing drugs in Louisiana. Investigators allege a Bogalusa-based drug ring was selling opioids, high-grade marijuana, THC products, and MDMA, with profits used to purchase firearms later connected to local crimes.

Sims emphasized that the probe continues and involves cooperation from multiple agencies. He said, “This case reflects the ongoing commitment to ensuring accountability and integrity in public office.” Truong remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 21:20

Democratic Louisiana Mayor Indicted For Using City Funds To Solicit Prostitute, Pay Off Personal Legal Debts

A Washington Parish grand jury in Louisiana has indicted Democratic Bogalusa, Louisiana Mayor Tyrin Z. Truong on charges of malfeasance in office, public intimidation, and theft, according to the Bogalusa Daily News.

The indictment is part of what officials describe as an ongoing multi-agency investigation involving federal, state, and local authorities. Prosecutors allege Truong intentionally carried out his official duties unlawfully and knowingly allowed other city employees to ignore theirs. His arraignment is scheduled for November 10, 2025.

According to prosecutors, the case centers on claims that Truong misused Bogalusa taxpayer funds to pay a personal legal debt from a 2023 Louisiana public records lawsuit in which a judge ruled that Truong personally owed attorney fees and penalties after refusing to release public documents.

When the Bogalusa City Council denied his request to use public money, prosecutors say Truong threatened retaliation, vowing to overwhelm council members with records requests. Investigators allege he then pressured a city insurance vendor to issue a check labeled as a “reimbursement,” had it deposited into a city account, and ordered another check for the same amount to be written to himself.

The Daily News writes that the indictment details additional alleged misconduct, including accepting unauthorized salary and leave payments, forcing a city contractor to pay another contractor who did no work, purchasing illegal narcotics from known drug dealers and failing to report the activity, attempting to solicit a bribe from a local business — a move that allegedly cost the city a major development project — and ordering city workers to perform plumbing repairs at his mother’s home using city materials.

Prosecutors also accuse Truong of using city funds to solicit a prostitute at an Airbnb in Atlanta.

The charges follow Truong’s January 2025 arrest by the Louisiana State Police during a drug-trafficking investigation. At the time, State Police said Truong “organized entertainment with a prostitute” during a mayors’ conference in Atlanta and paid for the Airbnb using public funds, while also being accused of purchasing drugs in Louisiana. Investigators allege a Bogalusa-based drug ring was selling opioids, high-grade marijuana, THC products, and MDMA, with profits used to purchase firearms later connected to local crimes.

Sims emphasized that the probe continues and involves cooperation from multiple agencies. He said, “This case reflects the ongoing commitment to ensuring accountability and integrity in public office.” Truong remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 21:20

A Nation Forgetting Itself: The Cost Of Civic Illiteracy

Authored by Jack Miller & Michael Weiser via RealClearPolitics,

Actions have consequences A lack of consequences is an action that also has consequences.

America is in the throes of an epidemic of civic illiteracy that can be traced to a half-century of not teaching the principles, history, and documents of her founding. In our most prestigious universities down to primary school classrooms, the teaching of our pre-partisan founding principles and history has been downgraded and corrupted, leading to at least two generations of Americans without the knowledge to be participants in self-government or the resolve to defend our republic.

It isn’t as though we weren’t warned: by George Washington, who identified education in civics as an essential pillar of freedom in the earliest days of our republic, and much more recently by the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra O’Connor who reminded us that civic knowledge was not passed from generation to generation in the gene pool but, rather, must be taught and re-taught to each new class of rising Americans. Great Americans have always understood that maintaining our freedom depends on passing down our founding principles and history through education.

In the 20th century, Ronald Reagan also reminded us of freedom’s fragility. “It’s never more than one generation away from extinction,” he once said. “It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.” He was channeling the insights of other great Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who understood that our heritage of liberty is grounded in enduring moral truths about the equal dignity of all human beings.

It seems as though those truths are no longer self-evident to our republic. Political violence is on the rise, and intolerance colors too many of our public debates and even private discussions. It is no exaggeration to say these are the sorry consequences of a civic illiteracy epidemic that has raged in our body politic, untreated, for years. Yet it would be wrong to blame this crisis merely on the emergence of competing narratives like the New York Times’ “1619 Project,” which traces U.S. history to the arrival of slaves on our shores and labels Americans as irredeemably racist. This and other such narratives filled a void that was created by a shameful inaction for civic education.

The civic education crisis our country faces seems to us to be part of a larger cultural malaise – one that fails to foresee the consequences of our inactions in other realms of our society and, then once demonstrated, fails to do anything about them. Consider, for instance, inactions to prosecute “petty” thefts under $1,000 that have led to an exodus of retailers no longer able to run their businesses in areas prone to these crimes. Similarly, cash-free bail has led to the release of repeat offenders into society, where they again commit crimes, some of them violent. Indeed, if our actions as a nation sometimes have had tragic consequences – in wars, segregation and financial mismanagement – so have we as Americans demonstrated the sometimes devastating  results of our inactions.

It is not an overstatement to trace at least some of the problems of our society to an insufficient understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in this free society and the values they must share. A requisite understanding of these starts in the home but must be further molded and honed in civic education classrooms throughout our educational system. Too often and in too many places, civic education inaction has won the day and, with it, a withering of our civic culture.

Perhaps the most troubling example of civic inaction’s dangers can be found in the rise of 20th-century totalitarianism. From Lenin and Stalin’s communist revolution in Russia to Hitler’s fascist takeover of Germany, tyrants took advantage of a lack of actions, pushbacks, in their early stages. Even when these regimes began to threaten the West, our own civic ignorance led to shortsighted policies of appeasement and even cooperation. The consequence was a shattered continent and the tragedy of war and genocide –over 6 million in the Holocaust alone, and 70 million over the course of World War II.

Peoples inspired with a greater confidence in their civic tradition, however, have the power to stop the march of tyranny.

While we, thankfully, do not currently face the kind of revolutionary extremism that led to catastrophe in the last century, our civic health is trending in the wrong direction. More and more young people are turning to socialism, communism, or other forms of radicalism because they have not been educated in how our American form of government provides the greatest individual freedom and opportunity. But the good news is that parents, educators, and philanthropists have had enough of this civics inaction. At our organization, the Jack Miller Center, we are taking a number of specific steps to reinvigorate civic education.

For more than two decades, we have supported the careers of university scholars devoted to teaching the principles and history of our country – in intensive, multi-week institutes that bring together new post-doctoral academics with the senior scholars in political science and history, and, once on campus, by supporting campus centers focused on this scholarship. In all, there are 1,300 of these academics – whom we call Miller Fellows – on more than 300 higher-ed campuses.

In recent years, we have been engaging a growing number of these scholars in teaching graduate-level seminars for K-12 teachers, enriching their understanding of our founding documents and strengthening their ability to lead discussions and debates in their own classrooms – the hallmark of our democracy.

And today, the Jack Miller Center is helping to bolster and support a civics renaissance in higher education. Across the country, state legislatures are establishing Schools of Civic Thought at their flagship universities. These separate and independent academic units are sanctioned to teach our founding principles, American history, and Western civilization. Not only are Schools of Civic Thought restoring the traditional liberal arts for a new generation of college students, they are also providing training and content K-12 teachers can use in their classrooms. Schools of Civic Thought are rapidly expanding, and will be a major game changer.

Taken together, these efforts are helping to lead what can truly be called a civics renaissance in our classrooms and on our campuses. We join with others who have recognized the consequence of our inactions and the extraordinary influence that civic learning can have for America.

Reform must begin with acknowledging the crisis at hand: Due to generations of inaction, Americans are forgetting who we are supposed to be. “Something’s eating away at the national memory,” the popular historian David McCullough once said, “and a nation or a community or a society can suffer as much from the adverse effects of amnesia as can an individual.”

Especially as the 250th anniversary of our country’s birth approaches, it has never been more important to remember who we are – and to act so that those memories come alive for the next generation of citizens.

Jack Miller is founder and chairman emeritus of the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles & History.

Michael Weiser is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jack Miller Center.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:55

A Nation Forgetting Itself: The Cost Of Civic Illiteracy

Authored by Jack Miller & Michael Weiser via RealClearPolitics,

Actions have consequences A lack of consequences is an action that also has consequences.

America is in the throes of an epidemic of civic illiteracy that can be traced to a half-century of not teaching the principles, history, and documents of her founding. In our most prestigious universities down to primary school classrooms, the teaching of our pre-partisan founding principles and history has been downgraded and corrupted, leading to at least two generations of Americans without the knowledge to be participants in self-government or the resolve to defend our republic.

It isn’t as though we weren’t warned: by George Washington, who identified education in civics as an essential pillar of freedom in the earliest days of our republic, and much more recently by the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra O’Connor who reminded us that civic knowledge was not passed from generation to generation in the gene pool but, rather, must be taught and re-taught to each new class of rising Americans. Great Americans have always understood that maintaining our freedom depends on passing down our founding principles and history through education.

In the 20th century, Ronald Reagan also reminded us of freedom’s fragility. “It’s never more than one generation away from extinction,” he once said. “It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.” He was channeling the insights of other great Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who understood that our heritage of liberty is grounded in enduring moral truths about the equal dignity of all human beings.

It seems as though those truths are no longer self-evident to our republic. Political violence is on the rise, and intolerance colors too many of our public debates and even private discussions. It is no exaggeration to say these are the sorry consequences of a civic illiteracy epidemic that has raged in our body politic, untreated, for years. Yet it would be wrong to blame this crisis merely on the emergence of competing narratives like the New York Times’ “1619 Project,” which traces U.S. history to the arrival of slaves on our shores and labels Americans as irredeemably racist. This and other such narratives filled a void that was created by a shameful inaction for civic education.

The civic education crisis our country faces seems to us to be part of a larger cultural malaise – one that fails to foresee the consequences of our inactions in other realms of our society and, then once demonstrated, fails to do anything about them. Consider, for instance, inactions to prosecute “petty” thefts under $1,000 that have led to an exodus of retailers no longer able to run their businesses in areas prone to these crimes. Similarly, cash-free bail has led to the release of repeat offenders into society, where they again commit crimes, some of them violent. Indeed, if our actions as a nation sometimes have had tragic consequences – in wars, segregation and financial mismanagement – so have we as Americans demonstrated the sometimes devastating  results of our inactions.

It is not an overstatement to trace at least some of the problems of our society to an insufficient understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in this free society and the values they must share. A requisite understanding of these starts in the home but must be further molded and honed in civic education classrooms throughout our educational system. Too often and in too many places, civic education inaction has won the day and, with it, a withering of our civic culture.

Perhaps the most troubling example of civic inaction’s dangers can be found in the rise of 20th-century totalitarianism. From Lenin and Stalin’s communist revolution in Russia to Hitler’s fascist takeover of Germany, tyrants took advantage of a lack of actions, pushbacks, in their early stages. Even when these regimes began to threaten the West, our own civic ignorance led to shortsighted policies of appeasement and even cooperation. The consequence was a shattered continent and the tragedy of war and genocide –over 6 million in the Holocaust alone, and 70 million over the course of World War II.

Peoples inspired with a greater confidence in their civic tradition, however, have the power to stop the march of tyranny.

While we, thankfully, do not currently face the kind of revolutionary extremism that led to catastrophe in the last century, our civic health is trending in the wrong direction. More and more young people are turning to socialism, communism, or other forms of radicalism because they have not been educated in how our American form of government provides the greatest individual freedom and opportunity. But the good news is that parents, educators, and philanthropists have had enough of this civics inaction. At our organization, the Jack Miller Center, we are taking a number of specific steps to reinvigorate civic education.

For more than two decades, we have supported the careers of university scholars devoted to teaching the principles and history of our country – in intensive, multi-week institutes that bring together new post-doctoral academics with the senior scholars in political science and history, and, once on campus, by supporting campus centers focused on this scholarship. In all, there are 1,300 of these academics – whom we call Miller Fellows – on more than 300 higher-ed campuses.

In recent years, we have been engaging a growing number of these scholars in teaching graduate-level seminars for K-12 teachers, enriching their understanding of our founding documents and strengthening their ability to lead discussions and debates in their own classrooms – the hallmark of our democracy.

And today, the Jack Miller Center is helping to bolster and support a civics renaissance in higher education. Across the country, state legislatures are establishing Schools of Civic Thought at their flagship universities. These separate and independent academic units are sanctioned to teach our founding principles, American history, and Western civilization. Not only are Schools of Civic Thought restoring the traditional liberal arts for a new generation of college students, they are also providing training and content K-12 teachers can use in their classrooms. Schools of Civic Thought are rapidly expanding, and will be a major game changer.

Taken together, these efforts are helping to lead what can truly be called a civics renaissance in our classrooms and on our campuses. We join with others who have recognized the consequence of our inactions and the extraordinary influence that civic learning can have for America.

Reform must begin with acknowledging the crisis at hand: Due to generations of inaction, Americans are forgetting who we are supposed to be. “Something’s eating away at the national memory,” the popular historian David McCullough once said, “and a nation or a community or a society can suffer as much from the adverse effects of amnesia as can an individual.”

Especially as the 250th anniversary of our country’s birth approaches, it has never been more important to remember who we are – and to act so that those memories come alive for the next generation of citizens.

Jack Miller is founder and chairman emeritus of the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles & History.

Michael Weiser is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jack Miller Center.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:55

Having Solved All Other Problems, Philly Passes Bill To Charge 10 Cent Fee On Paper Bags

Straws, soda, now paper bags. Is there anything batshit insane Democratic government officials don't want to tax or micromanage? 

In Philadelphia, that answer is apparently 'no', according to 6ABC.

While drug ravaged Kensington remains an issue, homeless people litter the streets and violent crime remains a problem, Philadelphia’s City Council just voted 10–5 for a truly groundbreaking idea (eye roll): charging 10 cents per paper bag.

The bill is now on Mayor Cherelle Parker’s desk, and she hasn’t said if she’ll sign it.

The fee would hit grocery stores and retailers alike, though bags without handles—like the ones from food trucks—get a free pass. Officials say it’s all about reducing waste and nudging people toward reusable bags.

This follows the city’s plastic bag ban from 2021, because apparently lugging your own bags wasn’t inconvenient enough already.

No word on whether or not DA Larry Krasner will supports the idea, or if he still supports just cashless bail, instead of 'cashless bale'. 

Meanwhile, in Northeast Philadelphia...

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:30

Having Solved All Other Problems, Philly Passes Bill To Charge 10 Cent Fee On Paper Bags

Straws, soda, now paper bags. Is there anything batshit insane Democratic government officials don't want to tax or micromanage? 

In Philadelphia, that answer is apparently 'no', according to 6ABC.

While drug ravaged Kensington remains an issue, homeless people litter the streets and violent crime remains a problem, Philadelphia’s City Council just voted 10–5 for a truly groundbreaking idea (eye roll): charging 10 cents per paper bag.

The bill is now on Mayor Cherelle Parker’s desk, and she hasn’t said if she’ll sign it.

The fee would hit grocery stores and retailers alike, though bags without handles—like the ones from food trucks—get a free pass. Officials say it’s all about reducing waste and nudging people toward reusable bags.

This follows the city’s plastic bag ban from 2021, because apparently lugging your own bags wasn’t inconvenient enough already.

No word on whether or not DA Larry Krasner will supports the idea, or if he still supports just cashless bail, instead of 'cashless bale'. 

Meanwhile, in Northeast Philadelphia...

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:30

Gigi Suhanec reports on how Canada's pension system ranks against the rest of the world's:

Canada’s pension system received a better score in an ongoing survey of programs around the world, but still has room for improvement.

Canada was given a grade of B, the same as last year, by the Mercer CFA Global Institute Pension Index 2025, but its score rose to 70.4 out of 100 from 68.4.

“We have a strong system,” F. Hubert Tremblay, partner and senior wealth adviser at Mercer Canada, said. “And one of the main strands of the Canadian pension system is that we have a diversified system with multiple sources of income into retirement.”

Mercer looked at the Canada Pension Plan, income supplement programs such as Old Age Security (OAS), the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), workplace private plans and voluntary retirement savings like registered retirement savings plans and tax-free savings accounts to assess the state of the system.

“When I’m talking about multiple sources of income into retirement, I’m talking about all those pillars,” Tremblay said. “Yes, we are good with the government plans. The plans are not too generous, but they are sustainable over the long term, so that’s good and they have really good governance. That’s a strength of our system.”

Where Canada comes up short is in the area of workplace-sponsored plans, he said. They are good in the public sector, but much weaker in the private sector.

Mercer raised Canada’s score based on new information about the pension system’s creditworthiness, updated economic growth data from the International Monetary Fund and “clarification” regarding the protection of funds.

The index’s grading and scoring is based on three metrics: adequacy, sustainability and integrity, with grades assigned from A to E. Canada received grades of B, B and A in those three sub-indexes. The B-grade systems were described as having a “sound structure with many good features,” but they have “some areas for improvement that differentiate it from an A-grade system.”

The 2025 Mercer index graded 52 systems, covering 65 per cent of the world’s population.

Other countries that received Bs included Switzerland, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and Germany.

The Netherlands, Iceland, Denmark, Israel and Singapore were singled out as having the best pension systems in the world, all receiving As.

The most notable difference between the top countries and Canada was that they have mandatory private-sector workplace pension contribution programs.

Canada can improve its pension performance by increasing coverage for people, mostly in the private sector, who don’t have a workplace-sponsored scheme, increasing the participation of older people in the workforce to reduce the numbers of Canadians who are living longer, but may not have enough money to pay for their retirement, increasing household savings and reducing the ratio of government debt to gross domestic product.

Higher household savings could help fund retirement and controlling government debt is critical to ensuring programs such as OAS and GIS are funded.

Mercer also tackled the issue of the federal government urging major pension funds, which include but are not limited to the Canada Pension Plan, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, to invest more at home.

In October, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told the Financial Times that “I’ve had lots of conversations with our banks and our pension funds. There’s a sentiment that we need to think about Canada first and that we need to put capital where our mouth is.”

But a pension’s first priority is to provide retirement income for its members and their families.

Mercer recommended that governments offer direct subsidies, tax concessions, financial incentives and public and private partnerships to encourage the pension plans to invest more in Canada.

“Canada has so far asked and not constrained pension plans,” Tremblay said. “So, that’s in the direction we are suggesting.”

I think we can ignore Industry Minister Mélanie Joly's silly comments on pensions investing at home, she needs to stay in her lane.

Maple 8 CEOs have spelled it out in black and white, they don't want tricks, they want to invest more in domestic infrastructure. 

Will Carney's government finally partially privatize assets like airports, ports and toll roads so our large pension funds can invest in them?

I certainly hope so but I have my doubts and so do experts advising the federal government (one expert told me airports are a source of perpetual revenues for the federal government, they hardly invest any monies and collect great fees). 

We shall see what the Budget says on major projects and privatizing assets, I remain hopeful but skeptical.

As far as the Mercer CFA Global Institute Pension Index 2025, you can download and read more here.

Here are some of the global highlights:

Canada scored marginally better than last year but it's the same old story, despite having some of the best professionally managed pension funds, we are not covering enough Canadians adequately.

And relying on RRSPs, TFSAs, OAS and GIS to top out your paltry Canada Pension Plan benefit that pays for the groceries isn't a retirement strategy, you'll survive but be miserable.

What about housing? Hasn't this become Canada's de facto supplemental retirement program with the CHIP reverse mortgage? 

Sure, many homeowners are using it but read the fine print and understand what that means at the end of the CHIP rainbow.

I've been writing this blog for over 15 years and have been beating the drum, we need better coverage and we need radical change to cover private sector workers adequately with a gold plated DB pension, much like public sector workers enjoy.

Well, Leo, Canada's Big Banks don't want that, they want everyone investing in RRSPs and TFSAs. 

I couldn't care less what the banks want, I'm telling you we need radical change to significantly bolster our retirement system based on what works -- Maple 8 governance and long term performance.

Till then, I'll continue covering the Mercer CFA Global Institute Pension Index and keep repeating the same remarks. 

Below, Mercer Senior Partner Christine Mahoney joins host Mike Wallberg, CFA, to unpack key findings from the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2025. She explains how 52 retirement income systems are evaluated on adequacy, sustainability, and integrity—and what those measures reveal about the resilience of retirement systems worldwide.  

The discussion explores government influence on pension investments, the principle of “retirement first,” and the role of policy incentives in balancing national priorities with member outcomes. Listen now to hear what’s driving pension reform and innovation globally.

FDA Recalls Supplements Sold At Sam's Club Linked To Salmonella Outbreak

Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 31 issued a nationwide recall of powder supplements sold at Sam’s Club after 11 salmonella infections were reported.

The price of gas on a sign at Sam's Club in Annapolis, Md., on March 30, 2020. Susan Walsh/AP Photo

Health officials recalled Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder Supplements, sold at the members-only division of Walmart, after people fell ill between May and September.

Three were hospitalized and eight others reported falling ill.

Infections were mostly reported on the East Coast, such as in Florida, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia. There have also been reports of illness in Kansas and Michigan.

The supplements, sold nationwide at Sam’s Club and online, contained moringa leaf powder that health officials suspect may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

But FDA investigators fear that the Sam’s Club supplements may not be the only product contaminated with the problematic batch of moringa leaf powder from a farm in Johdpur, India.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed 10 of the 11 people who fell ill and even though nine of them admitted to eating powdered dietary supplements, only six reported eating Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder specifically. Three others reported consuming products containing moringa leaf powder from a different brand.

“The implicated lot of moringa powder was supplied to multiple U.S. distributors,” the FDA said.

The FDA’s recall includes all Member’s Mark Super Greens dietary supplement powder, “regardless of lot codes and best by/use before dates.”

“FDA is working to determine the point of contamination and what additional products were made with the implicated lot of moringa leaf powder,” the FDA added.

The Virginia Department of Health and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have collected samples from two of those affected. Both tested positive for salmonella.

The product has been removed from store shelves and health officials urge Americans not to eat, sell, or serve the product. They suggest people who bought it either throw it away or return it to the store for a refund.

The Epoch Times reached out to Walmart for comment.

Symptoms of salmonella infection can occur within a few hours to several days after eating food contaminated with the harmful bacteria.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. It can last four to seven days.

Seniors, children under the age of five and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe infections.

Salmonella is one of the most common forms of food poisoning, according to the Cleveland Clinic. More than a million people get salmonella every year, and about 420 cases are fatal.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:05

FDA Recalls Supplements Sold At Sam's Club Linked To Salmonella Outbreak

Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 31 issued a nationwide recall of powder supplements sold at Sam’s Club after 11 salmonella infections were reported.

The price of gas on a sign at Sam's Club in Annapolis, Md., on March 30, 2020. Susan Walsh/AP Photo

Health officials recalled Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder Supplements, sold at the members-only division of Walmart, after people fell ill between May and September.

Three were hospitalized and eight others reported falling ill.

Infections were mostly reported on the East Coast, such as in Florida, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia. There have also been reports of illness in Kansas and Michigan.

The supplements, sold nationwide at Sam’s Club and online, contained moringa leaf powder that health officials suspect may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

But FDA investigators fear that the Sam’s Club supplements may not be the only product contaminated with the problematic batch of moringa leaf powder from a farm in Johdpur, India.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed 10 of the 11 people who fell ill and even though nine of them admitted to eating powdered dietary supplements, only six reported eating Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder specifically. Three others reported consuming products containing moringa leaf powder from a different brand.

“The implicated lot of moringa powder was supplied to multiple U.S. distributors,” the FDA said.

The FDA’s recall includes all Member’s Mark Super Greens dietary supplement powder, “regardless of lot codes and best by/use before dates.”

“FDA is working to determine the point of contamination and what additional products were made with the implicated lot of moringa leaf powder,” the FDA added.

The Virginia Department of Health and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have collected samples from two of those affected. Both tested positive for salmonella.

The product has been removed from store shelves and health officials urge Americans not to eat, sell, or serve the product. They suggest people who bought it either throw it away or return it to the store for a refund.

The Epoch Times reached out to Walmart for comment.

Symptoms of salmonella infection can occur within a few hours to several days after eating food contaminated with the harmful bacteria.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. It can last four to seven days.

Seniors, children under the age of five and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe infections.

Salmonella is one of the most common forms of food poisoning, according to the Cleveland Clinic. More than a million people get salmonella every year, and about 420 cases are fatal.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:05

FICO Versus VantageScore And The Heavyweight Battle for America’s Credit Scores

Your credit score has long determined whether you can get a mortgage, car loan, or credit card. For decades, the FICO score dominated that decision. Created in 1956 by William Fair and Earl Isaac, it became the standard measure of a borrower’s risk and is used in about 90% of lending decisions in the U.S, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But WSJ writes that a recent $10 fee increase has sparked an open battle over control of this critical number. Fair Isaac Corp. depends on credit data from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Those three firms have spent years trying to weaken FICO’s power by promoting their own scoring model, VantageScore.

When Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte accused FICO of anticompetitive behavior and declared that VantageScore could be used in many mortgage approvals, tensions exploded. Pulte wrote, “FICO, and any other monopoly who has ripped off Americans for decades, should not be using improper efforts to threaten regulators.”

The relationship among the four companies has turned hostile. One longtime industry figure said what previously looked like a mutually beneficial partnership now appears closer to war. At FICO, CEO Will Lansing raised prices to reflect what he called the true value of their score. FICO’s mortgage-score fee climbed from just cents years ago to $4.95 in 2025 and is set to double to $10. Mortgage lenders complain the increases cut into already thin margins, especially when borrowers back out and lenders must absorb the fee.

Lansing argues that competition will motivate lenders to favor lenient scoring, warning that “choice encourages mortgage participants to shop for the most lax score” and creates a “race to the bottom.” He said, “The FICO score is the backbone of safety and soundness in the mortgage industry.” Meanwhile, the bureaus say VantageScore can evaluate millions of people who lack traditional credit histories and expand access to homeownership.

You know, the kind of people that probably shouldn't own homes...

As pressure rose in Washington, lawmakers took interest. Sen. Josh Hawley said, “FICO has abused its government-granted market power.” FICO lobbied aggressively, while Pulte and his agency pushed for more competition.

To limit the bureaus’ influence, FICO changed strategy and enabled “tri-merge resellers” to generate scores using the company’s algorithm. That move cut out the bureaus and shifted profits toward FICO, driving its stock higher and theirs lower. In response, the bureaus began offering VantageScore for free on many loans.

The outcome will determine who controls access to credit in America and how much borrowers pay. What began as a small fee hike has escalated into a fight over the financial future of millions. Stay tuned...

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 19:40