Why Family-Run Grocers Are Suing New York Over City-Run Stores

Authored by Russ Jones via The Epoch Times,

Josefina Aguirre grew up among the piñatas hanging from the ceiling of Little Mexico Meat Market, the store her parents opened in New York City's El Barrio in 1997, three years after her father crossed the border from Mexico at 17.

She has a bachelor's degree in business management, a qualification her parents, Oscar and Guadalupe Aguirre, insisted on. But she came back to work at the store anyway - to the same three coolers of fresh cheese and cilantro, the same shelves of jalapeños and tomatillos, and the same customers who still bring in their mail so she can read it to them in English.

The store has survived the opening of a Costco nearby. It survived COVID-19, barely. Her father caught the virus and died before he ever got to enjoy the retirement he had worked 28 years for.

Now, Aguirre and her sisters, who run the shop together, are bracing for what they see as the biggest threat yet: a city-subsidized grocery store that can sell a $10 steak for $7, because, unlike them, it doesn't have to turn a profit.

"We're not scared of competition," Aguirre told The Epoch Times on Aug. 29 from behind the counter in Spanish Harlem. "We just want fair competition."

A dozen blocks south, Yessica Lezama hears the same fear from her parents. Benito and Carmen emigrated from Mexico and became U.S. citizens before opening El Pueblo Mexicano Grocery on Third Avenue 25 years ago. They were drawn to the stretch of neighborhood known for its Mexican community.

Lezama, 38, has worked with her parents for three years, serving the same customers and stocking the same shelves of fruits, vegetables, and Mexican products that have kept the store going for a generation.

"I think it will have a bad impact on sales," Lezama said of the mayor's grocery store plan. "Since we're a Mexican store, the city-run store won't sell the same products, but it will still hurt us."

Lezama said nearby business owners have formed an informal network to share information and support one another as the plan moves forward, meeting regularly to talk through their options.

"We help each other," she said. "It is hard enough already. We don't get a lot of help, and we're worried about going out of business."

Her parents are hoping to do more than just survive, Lezama said. They are working with a small-business association to modernize the store.

"My parents need help to make it more beautiful," she said.

2 Lawsuits, 1 Target

Aguirre is one of hundreds of small-business owners now represented in two lawsuits filed against New York City by the Multicultural Business Coalition, a group representing roughly 1,000 minority-owned bodegas, delis, and supermarkets. The group argues that Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan to open city-run grocery stores will drive them out of business rather than help their neighborhoods.

The coalition filed a class-action complaint in the New York County Supreme Court on Aug. 24, alleging antitrust violations and predatory pricing, and a second suit the same day alleging that the city retaliated against members after they began organizing against the mayor's plan.

Together, the suits mark one of the most direct legal challenges yet to a marquee policy of Mamdani's first year in office.

The first complaint states, "The Defendants' municipal grocery stores deny the Class Members, hundreds of grocers, many small grocers equal protection, as they are not able to offer discounts that markedly depart from globalized commerce, thereby violating New York's Civil Rights Law."

The second suit states that the "opening of the underlying municipal grocery stores ... is diametrically opposed to the City's longstanding reasons for refusing to allow Walmart to operate grocery stores in the City: that the fallout from allowing Walmart to operate deep discount business, while bringing 'affordability,' further enriching a multibillion-dollar business, would eliminate an untold amount of opportunity for minority businesses, and small business at large."

Mamdani responded to the suits the same day they were filed.

"I'm confident in both the legality of this - that it will stand up in court - and the importance of delivering it," he said at an Aug. 24 news conference.

Frank Garcia, the coalition's chairman and head of the New York State Coalition of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, said the mayor's confidence misses what's actually at stake for the coalition's members.

"My grandfather opened up one of the first bodegas in the late 1960s, when East Harlem was burning," he told The Epoch Times.

"I am proud to be following in his tradition, because what Mayor Mamdani is doing is disgracing his memory."

Inside the $70 Million Plan

Under the plan, first unveiled last year, the city will spend $70 million to open five publicly owned grocery stores, one in each borough, offering staples at prices roughly 30 percent below market rate.

The stores won't sell beer, cigarettes, or lottery tickets and will be designed to keep prices low rather than turn a profit. The goal, Mamdani has said, is to make food more affordable in neighborhoods with high poverty rates and limited access to full-service supermarkets.

The Bronx location, in an affordable housing complex in Hunts Point, is expected to open in 2027. The East Harlem store will be located at the 9,000-square-foot marketplace La Marqueta and is projected to open in 2029, according to city officials.

Mamdani has repeatedly defended the initiative.

"I continue to be fully confident in both the legality and the importance of our initiative to deliver five city-run grocery stores, one in each borough, to the people of our city," he said in a statement in July, noting that grocery prices in the city have climbed by roughly 30 percent in recent years and that City Hall could also ease regulations to help existing store owners in the meantime.

Garcia said the coalition tried repeatedly to meet with Mamdani before filing suit, without success, and that the city moved ahead without ever conducting an economic impact study.

"Why are they going against immigrant business owners who can't speak English and defend themselves?" Garcia said. "I don't see that the mayor is being fair."

Mark Jaffe, general counsel for the Multicultural Business Coalition and president of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, told The Epoch Times that the city's plan goes further than officials have admitted.

"Their plan is to eventually put every independent store owner out of business," Jaffe said. "And if you're lucky, maybe they'll give you a job."

When he pressed city officials for details on how the stores would actually be run, he said, he got no real answer.

"We asked what the business plan was," Jaffe said. "They told us, 'We don't need a plan, because the people we select will be responsible for coming up with the plan.'"

Jaffe also questioned whether a single store per borough would even reach the people Mamdani says he wants to help.

"Who is this really going to serve?" he said. "By the time you get on the train and spend two hours traveling, you're paying more" than you would have shopping at a neighborhood store.

An Economist's Warning

Economists are divided on what the lawsuits and the underlying policy mean for the city's food supply chain.

Christian Briggs, a political and economic analyst who has advised members of Congress, argued that the plan fits a broader pattern of government expansion into private markets.

"This is a manmade takeover of the food supply system," Briggs told The Epoch Times, comparing the initiative to nationalization efforts he attributed to past presidential administrations.

He noted that grocery stores typically run on net margins of just 4 percent to 5 percent, making a government-subsidized competitor selling goods 30 percent below market what he called "the beginning of the nationalization of our food chain supply system."

Briggs also predicted that despite the coalition's legal argument, consumer behavior would ultimately favor the city-run stores.

"'Free' is the most powerful word in the English language," he said, likening the grocery plan to the long-term trajectory of entitlement programs.

"The lawsuits are valid. They're justified. But in the end, you will not win over the word 'free,' because voters love free."

'Using Taxpayer Money'

Back at Little Mexico Meat Market, Aguirre said the math is simple and unforgiving. Her margin on a $10 steak helps cover her mortgage, her children's tuition, her rent, and utilities.

A city-run competitor selling the same steak for $7, funded by taxpayers rather than sales, doesn't have to make that math work.

"He can afford it because he's using taxpayer money," Aguirre said. "We don't have any help. Loans have been made difficult to get."

She and her sisters have quietly begun discussing plan B, such as teaching or other careers, or anything that doesn't mean losing more of what their father built before he died. That loss follows her behind the register every day - behind the same counter where her father used to stand.

"Is it fair for me to leave and start a new career?" Aguirre asked.

It's not a question she wants to answer. Not yet, anyway.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 20:05

Citi Says LatAm "Poised For Take-Off" As Powerful Tailwinds Align. Here's Why

Our focus on South America's improving investment outlook, underpinned by a generational shift from left-wing governments to more business-friendly governments, gained support Thursday from Citi's report, "LatAm Poised for Take-Off: The Macro Cycle Turns Latin America's Way."

Citi chief Latin America economist Ernesto Revilla wrote in a note earlier today that a right-wing political shift is serving as a tailwind alongside a weaker dollar, firm commodity prices, and global supply-chain realignment, while stressing that lasting gains depend on reforms and execution. 

Here is Revilla's take on improving LatAM markets: 

Latin America is entering one of its most favorable environments in years, with external and domestic conditions supporting a potential acceleration in growth. The global economy has remained resilient despite recent shocks, while a weaker U.S. dollar and firm commodity prices provide important tailwinds for the region. Latin America is also benefiting from shifting trade patterns, standing out as one of the few regions gaining import market share from both the U.S. and China. At the same time, stronger macroeconomic management, improving policy frameworks, and a more business-friendly political backdrop in several countries are strengthening the investment case. In this report, we examine whether these forces can translate into sustained growth and market outperformance. Our conclusion is clear: the opportunity is significant, but lasting success will depend on reforms, execution, and policy consistency.

Latin America is poised for take-off. Or to be more precise: the conditions for Latin America to achieve a higher rate of growth are the best they have been in decades, and it is time to capitalize on the opportunity.

The last time the region achieved a sustained acceleration in growth was from 2003-2008. Back then, a weak dollar (USD) and strong commodity prices combined to form the backdrop for growth. Those conditions, and more, are present again today.

Still, the development misfortune of Latin America is how little (or no) convergence it has achieved toward higher income levels. Convergence is the expectation that an emerging market will achieve higher growth rates to catch up to developed markets. As a region, Latin America has achieved little sustained convergence over the past 120 years. Consider that in 1990, LatAm's GDP per capita as a share of the U.S. was 28%; in 2024, it was 26.4%. Other regions, particularly Emerging Asia, have achieved significant rates of growth and convergence.

When looking at different eras of growth and development for Latin America, it is not easy to extract common characteristics of high growth episodes. Generally, one would expect that strong commodity prices, domestic political stability or at least policy continuity, and pragmatic governments are minimum conditions. Latin America has those again today. However, history shows that there were periods of strong growth without particularly strong commodity prices (1950 to 1973), or strong investment (the commodities boom of the 2000s).

However, the common denominator across eras when Latin America has achieved high growth and convergence (an increase in its GDP per capita as a share of the U.S. GDP per capita) is when the USD has been weak. This is because a weak USD implies easier financial conditions for emerging markets: Capital flows increase searching for stronger currencies and returns, debt repayment is cheaper, and commodity prices move higher. Right now, the global economy is facing a weak(er) USD regime that has benefited Latin America, and that for various reasons might be expected to continue in the medium term.

The region is enjoying many other tailwinds as well. Commodity prices, and hence terms of trade for the region, are the highest they have been since the supercycle of the 2000s. Latin America has benefited from the global trade reconfiguration as it has been one of the few places in the world that has gained market share both in China and in the U.S. since 2016 when trade tensions started. This is due in part to the extraordinary geographic advantage that Latin America enjoys, being far away from geopolitical conflict, and its possession of large reserves of the minerals and commodities that a world in flux demands. The nearshoring of manufacturing finds the region ideally positioned. Macro management in the region has matured as the successful fight against post-pandemic inflation demonstrates, even ahead of other developed and emerging markets.

The political cycle is a tailwind as well with a turn towards governments that are more explicitly business-friendly and reform-oriented. The right-wing turn, additionally, better aligns the region with a U.S. that is more active in the region at a time when increased foreign investment and attention is being focused on the region.

Despite the many tailwinds that are aligning in favor of the region, growth is not yet accelerating. Growth remains resilient but low, stuck around the 2% trend, below potential and what is needed to escape the non-convergence trap. That is why we see the current period as one of opportunity but not one of a guaranteed era of success. The bull case does not rest on current growth, but on valuation, level of currencies, carry, terms of trade, policy credibility, and the serendipitous combination of favorable factors not seen in more than a decade. Opportunity is there but needs to be captured through action and reforms.

There are challenges of course. We discuss in depth the fiscal one, which in a number of countries requires forceful action amid political constraints and institutional rigidities. We do not discuss others, such as the complex security situation, which has been on top of mind for voters in the region.

Not all favorable circumstances will be in place forever, and some of them are beyond LatAm's control. That is, some of the tailwinds are cyclical, not structural, and some depend on external circumstances, not internal ones. However, across modern Latin American history it is hard to find episodes when a set of positive factors combine serendipitously to set the stage for a higher level of growth and convergence. The stakes for 660 million people living in the region, for investors leveraged to the region's future, and for future generations are high. It also underpins the political stability of the western hemisphere.

This Citi Research report digs deep into the current set of positive factors surrounding Latin America, discusses macro, trade, fiscal and productivity dimensions, and discusses investment implications across asset classes. We are proud to welcome the perspectives of the region's heads of Banking and Wealth as well to add to our view.

Latin America is in the right place, at the right time.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index is testing a breakout above a price ceiling that has capped several rallies since roughly 2014. The red dashed line marks resistance near 3,000, where advances stalled around 2017-19. The circled area shows the latest rally pushing back above that level.

The key question is whether 3,000 becomes a new support level, given the political tailwinds from recent elections that have shifted much of the continent to the right after years of failed progressive experiments.

The next big election to watch is Brazil (read the latest report).

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 19:40

Sinopec Sees China Oil Demand Falling 8.9% in 2026

By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

China’s Sinopec, the world’s top refiner by capacity, expects Chinese oil demand to drop by 8.9% in 2026 from a year earlier amid demand destruction from higher oil prices and the acceleration of electric vehicle adoption.

Oil demand in the world’s biggest crude oil importer is expected to drop by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average this year compared to last year, according to estimates by Sinopec’s research arm quoted by Reuters.

Gasoline demand is set for an 8.7% decline, while diesel consumption is expected to crash by 11.4%, Sinopec Economics & Development Research Institute says.

The only petroleum product used in transportation that would see an increase is jet fuel, whose demand is expected to increase by 1.3% this year compared to 2025.

The high oil and fuel prices amid the Iran war accelerated the structural shift toward EVs this year, eating into the road transportation fuel demand.

China has managed the Strait of Hormuz crisis better than most expectations as it slashed its imports of crude oil and temporarily banned fuel exports in the spring and early summer.

The high oil prices destroyed some demand and sped up the adoption of EVs, which has been growing anyway in recent years, suppressing total oil demand even without blocked crude supplies in the Middle East.

Amid falling road fuel demand, Sinopec, or China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation as it is officially known, is looking to transform its business.

Sinopec will be allocating more capital to new energy and chemicals by the end of the decade to grow revenues and profits amid the lowest domestic fuel sales in China in nearly a decade.

In its first-half earnings release, Sinopec flagged falling domestic fuel sales, which have been weighing on the company’s earnings for two years now.

“Due to the dampening effect of high oil prices on demand and accelerated substitution by new energy, domestic refined oil products consumption declined by 8.6% year on year, among which gasoline decreased by 7.9%, diesel decreased by 11.5%, while jet fuel (kerosene) rose by 1.3% driven by holiday travel and the recovery of international routes,” Sinopec said in its press release.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 19:15

Several US Warplanes Damaged In This Week's Iranian Attack On Base In Jordan: Report

The Iranian ballistic missile attack on an American base in Jordan this week ranks as one of the single biggest missile volleys sent over Jordan since the start of the US-led war.

The Tuesday night into Wednesday attack targeted Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, multiple international reports say. Widely shared but unconfirmed social media videos appeared to show several direct impacts on the base. But at least some of the images have been authenticated by outlets like Dropsite News.

Source: USAF

US Central Command (CENTCOM) sought to downplay the attack, saying initially that all troops were account for, but not immediately divulging whether casualties resulted. 

Since then, the Pentagon has said that no deaths resulted from the strikes on Jordan, during which time over 30 Patriot missiles were deployed as an aerial defensive measure.

While the Pentagon has remained mum on specifics, officials have acknowledged light material damage at the base.

New reporting from CBS says that several US military aircraft were damaged in the attack, based on anonymous defense officials, with at least one warplane being knocked out of commission:

Multiple American military aircraft were damaged in Iranian strikes overnight Tuesday into Wednesday local time on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, people with direct knowledge of the matter told CBS News. 

One A-10 Thunderbolt, an attack aircraft known as the Warthog, was struck and lost a wing, the sources said. 

Roughly eight F-15s sustained light damage and were reportedly put back into service, according to the people familiar with the damage, who spoke to CBS News under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Video shared by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency purportedly shows multiple Iranian missiles striking Jordan’s Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base as dozens of air-defense interceptors are fired. Drop Site has not independently verified the video. pic.twitter.com/YB0yMuSWLU

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) September 9, 2026

If the report is accurate, this means that clearly a number of missiles got through the dozens of Patriots launched to intercept. In summary...

• Around eight F-15s reportedly suffered damage, while an A-10 Warthog was struck and lost a wing
• US forces fired more than 30 Patriot missiles during the attack, costing over $126 million

Unconfirmed video: "The US Army is transferring Black Hawk helicopters from the American Muwaqqaf Al-Salti base in Jordan, including damaged helicopters."

الجيش الأميركي ينقل مروحيات بلاك هوك من قاعدة موفق السلطي الأميركية بالأردن، بينها مروحيات متضررة. pic.twitter.com/mNO7PT0fjo

— Ali BKK (@cameliaii32) September 9, 2026

Dozens of expensive aircraft, including large refuelers, have been destroyed by Iran's 'retaliation' throughout Operation Epic Fury as part of its 'debasifaction' campaign.

This has led to a broad retreat of US forces from 'frontline' Gulf bases, which may actually never be fully reconstituted again, or even rebuilt.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 18:50

Trump Broadens Interior's Role In National Energy Emergencies

Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump expanded the number of Cabinet officials who can independently exercise emergency powers involving the nation's energy supplies for the second time in six months.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum testifies on Capitol Hill on April 29, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

An executive order issued Sept. 8 gives the interior secretary authority under the Defense Production Act that had previously rested largely with the energy secretary. Trump added the energy secretary alongside the commerce secretary under a similar provision in March.

Before March, the commerce secretary held authority under one provision intended to maximize energy supplies. Trump's action Tuesday leaves the three officials independently authorized to act on energy-related matters under the Defense Production Act.

The Defense Production Act, created five years after the end of World War II, allows the president to tell private companies to give federal contracts priority over private-sector customers. It also allows the president to provide financial incentives to increase the supply of materials and technologies considered vital to national defense. Congress has reauthorized the law more than 50 times since its enactment in 1950.

The Interior Department oversees federal lands and waters containing significant energy and mineral resources. Its agencies administer onshore oil and gas leasing and production, while the interior secretary approves the five-year schedule for offshore oil and gas lease sales. The department's energy portfolio also includes coal, critical minerals, geothermal energy, and wind and solar development on public lands.

The new order gives the interior and energy secretaries independent authority to require that certain energy-related contracts receive priority and to allocate energy resources when necessary to support national defense.

The order also establishes a process for resolving disagreements between the two departments. Energy-related disputes between the interior and energy secretaries will be referred to the National Energy Dominance Council. Disputes involving national defense infrastructure or military operations will be referred to the National Energy Dominance Council and the National Security Council while coordinating with the Department of War.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former North Dakota governor, also chairs the White House National Energy Dominance Council. In March, Burgum went to Venezuela to meet with leader Delcy Rodriguez to discuss investments and expansion of the country's natural resources.

Nearly six months later, Trump announced a deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels from Venezuela's oil reserves. Trump said the deal was a partnership of private businesses and was brokered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth while working with Rodriguez.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 18:25

Right-Wing Bolsonaro Overtakes Socialist Lula On Polymarket As Brazil Election Nears

Polymarket's "Brazil Presidential Election" market, with nearly $150 million in trading volume, now favors right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro over leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of October's election. The shift follows polling data released earlier this week showing Bolsonaro pulling ahead in a hypothetical runoff, although the candidates remain statistically tied within the margin of error.

Bolsonaro took the lead on Polymarket around 8:20 a.m. ET, and by early Thursday afternoon, he stood at around 52.8% versus Lula's 44%.

On Tuesday, the BTG Pactual/Nexus survey showed that Bolsonaro had edged ahead of Lula for the first time. This comes as a deepening Supreme Court scandal strengthens the conservative challenger's campaign.

As the gap between Bolsonaro and Lula narrowed in recent weeks and the race became a toss-up, we pointed out an "explosive surge" in call open interest in the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ).

And someone appears to be making a huge bet on just that: explosive surge in EWZ call OI https://t.co/nqFaGgms4R pic.twitter.com/uen9bXmqBw

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 8, 2026

On Thursday, Citi chief Latin America economist Ernesto Revilla told clients that Latin America is "poised for take-off," as a right-wing political shift across the continent, a weaker dollar, firm commodity prices, and global supply-chain realignment were producing tailwinds for the region.

Also this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off his South America tour on Tuesday, first meeting with Trump-backed Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella to strengthen security and economic ties as several countries in the region shift toward right-wing governments. 

A Bolsonaro victory would cement South America's broader shift from unhinged left-wing regimes toward the common-sense right.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 18:00

Trump Admin Proposes Excluding Illegal Immigrants From Census Count

Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times,

The Trump administration is proposing to change how the U.S. Census is conducted by excluding illegal immigrants from the population totals that are used to determine political representation.

The Census Bureau posted a proposed rule on Wednesday that said it also wants to prohibit the inclusion of questions about race and ethnicity or sexual orientation on the census in "short-form questionnaire or any questionnaire used for purposes of the enumeration."

The proposed rule said that questions about race and sexual orientation have a "sensitive" nature and could impede responses, and removing them could lead to a higher rate of participation.

The proposed rule cites the definition of "usual residence" as a reason to exclude illegal immigrants.

It states, "Given the historical meaning of 'usual residence' as tied to allegiance, durable permission from the sovereign to settle within the United States, and establishment of domicile within the United States, the Census Bureau proposes to include lawful permanent residents within the apportionment base, while excluding from the apportionment base illegal aliens and aliens whose legal status is less durable and indefinite in length than lawful permanent resident status."

The proposal would extend beyond unauthorized immigrants. It would also exclude foreign citizens whose legal status is "less durable and indefinite in length" than lawful permanent resident status.

The Census Bureau said it is considering using its "enormously broad access" to administrative records to determine an individual's legal status.

The proposed restrictions on demographic questions would apply to the census conducted every 10 years, but not to the American Community Survey or other Census Bureau surveys.

The Census determines how the 435 seats in the House are divided among states, affects Electoral College representation, and the distribution of federal funding.

Excluding undocumented immigrants could reduce the representation of states with large immigrant populations, such as New York and California.

New York Attorney General Letitia James's office said it was exploring legal options over the proposed changes in a post on X on Wednesday.

"The Constitution is clear. Every person living in the United States, regardless of immigration status, must be counted in the Census," James's office stated.

"We stopped the Trump administration's Census attacks in 2020, and we're exploring our legal options to fight back again."

The White House didn't respond to an email seeking comment.

Trump directed the Commerce Department to develop a plan for the U.S. Census that excluded undocumented immigrants in August 2025.

Trump said the count should use modern data, including information from the 2024 election, but did not specify whether he wanted an additional Census before 2030 or a change applying to future counts.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 17:40

Ten AI Jobs That Pay Up To 85% More Than Traditional Tech Jobs

Tech professionals who add AI skills to their existing expertise can earn significantly more than those in traditional roles, according to a September 2026 study by software talent marketplace Lemon.io. In some cases, the salary premium approaches 85%, while several career transitions could take less than six months, according to Lemon.io.

The research compared established tech jobs with their AI focused equivalents using average base salary data from Indeed, Built In, and Coursera. It also analyzed Google Jobs postings and monthly search volume to determine which AI titles have genuine hiring demand. The roles were then ranked by the salary increase over their traditional counterparts.

ML site reliability engineers came out on top, earning an estimated $240,000 a year compared with $130,000 for traditional site reliability engineers. That is an increase of nearly 85%, or $110,000 annually. The role builds on distributed systems expertise while adding skills such as GPU fleet management and maintaining reliable machine learning training workloads. The transition is estimated to take five to nine months, with 587 job postings identified.

AI/GPU cloud engineers followed with a salary of $250,000, the highest overall pay in the study. Traditional cloud engineers earn around $140,000, meaning AI specialization could increase their salary by nearly 79%. The role requires additional expertise in GPU computing, high speed networking, and storage for large AI workloads. The estimated transition takes five to nine months.

AI solutions architects can earn around $215,000 a year, nearly 60% more than the $135,000 average for traditional solutions architects. The additional skills center on areas such as RAG architecture, model selection, and AI governance rather than deep infrastructure expertise. Experienced architects could potentially make the transition in three to six months, and the study found 765 job postings for the role.

The Lemon.io study shows that Software engineers moving into AI engineering could increase their average salary from $145,000 to $230,000, adding about $85,000 to their annual pay. Existing programming, system design, and CI/CD experience remains valuable, while additional skills include LLM orchestration, RAG pipelines, and AI agent frameworks. The transition takes an estimated four to eight months, and nearly 1,000 job postings were identified.

AI product managers earn an estimated $210,000 annually, compared with $135,000 for traditional product managers, a salary increase of nearly 56%. The role does not require engineering level expertise, but it does demand a solid understanding of AI technologies and their capabilities and limitations. With an estimated transition time of three to six months, it is also one of the more accessible moves in the ranking.

AI analytics engineers can increase their average salary from $122,000 to $185,000, a gain of almost 52%. The transition is among the quickest, taking an estimated three to five months. The research identified 700 job postings for the position.

AI infrastructure engineers earn around $185,000 annually, compared with $130,000 for traditional infrastructure engineers, representing an increase of about 42%. The transition takes an estimated six to 12 months, making it one of the longer paths, but hiring demand is substantial, with 993 job postings identified.

AI data architects earn approximately $190,000 a year, around 40% more than the $136,000 average for traditional data architects. Professionals could potentially make the transition within four to seven months. The study recorded 488 available positions for the role.

LLM engineers earn an estimated $215,000 annually, compared with a baseline salary of $155,000, resulting in a salary premium of nearly 39%. The role also generated more search interest than any other position in the study, with 1.27 million monthly searches. The research identified 817 job postings, while the transition is estimated to take three to six months.

AI application developers round out the top 10, earning around $180,000 a year compared with $137,000 for traditional application developers, an increase of just over 31%. Despite having the smallest salary premium in the ranking, the role had the most job openings, with 1,254 postings. The estimated transition takes four to six months.

The findings suggest that tech professionals may not need to completely change careers to benefit from growing demand for AI expertise. Adding AI capabilities to existing experience in software development, cloud computing, infrastructure, data, or product management could translate into tens of thousands of dollars in additional annual pay.

The salary advantage may not last indefinitely, however. A senior talent sourcer at Lemon.io said employers are currently paying a premium because qualified AI candidates remain relatively scarce. As more professionals acquire these skills and the talent pool expands, the gap between traditional tech salaries and their AI equivalents is likely to narrow.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 17:20

South Koreans Rally Against Hormuz Deployment In Front Of US Embassy

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com

Protesters gathered near the US Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday to rally against joining the US war with Iran, as the South Korean government is considering deploying military forces to help the US efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Carrying signs that read "Do Not Join a War of Aggression" and "No Military Deployment to Hormuz," the protesters chanted, "We cannot send our young people into a sea of death," according to AFP, which reported from the scene and estimated that about 60 people took part in the demonstration.

via AFP

"Sending our troops to an illegal war waged by the United States is unacceptable," Choi Young-ok, a member of Korean Peace Solidarity for Sovereignty and Reunification, a group that is highly critical of the US military presence in South Korea, told AFP.

"There is no reason for us to send troops when no other country has done so or said it would," added Choi, who also warned that sending South Korean troops would "inevitably lead to casualties."

Also on Wednesday, the office of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said it has not yet made a final decision on whether Seoul will send troops to the Strait of Hormuz. "The government has not yet finalized its policy and is cautiously assessing it," said Seong Ghi-hong, a press secretary for the presidential office.

Due to its reliance on energy and other exports from the Persian Gulf, the US’s war with Iran has triggered an energy and economic shock in South Korea, and the US is now reportedly putting pressure on Seoul to join the war in some way.

The South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday that the South Korean Defense Ministry has sent a fact-finding mission to the region to assess the potential deployment.

The team is expected to visit the UAE, which hosts US military bases, and could serve as a hub for operations if South Korean forces are deployed to assist in the war.

Amid the South Korean government’s deliberations, Iran has warned Seoul not to get involved.

South Koreans protest a possible military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran warns Seoul and polls show majority opposition.

Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton reports. pic.twitter.com/d3mAfiApXE

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 10, 2026

"The military presence or operational participation of other nations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz would inevitably be viewed as direct support for the party committing acts of aggression, and would lead to serious consequences," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei wrote on X on Monday.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 17:00

Oracle Rises After Cloud Revenues Beat Thanks To Massive CapEx, Soaring Debt

Earnings season may be over, but the occasional earnings reports are still trickling through, and moments ago we got the latest off-season report from the most indebted company in AI, Oracle, which reported adjusted revenue for the first quarter that beat the average analyst estimate, and which helped push the stock higher, but just barely above where it opened. 

Here's what ORCL reported moments ago for its fiscal first quarter:

• Adjusted revenue $19.35 billion, +30% y/y, beating estimates of $19.13 billion 
  • Cloud Infrastructure revenue (IaaS) $7.39 billion vs. $3.3 billion y/y, beating estimates of $7.19 billion
  • Software revenue $5.55 billion, -3% y/y, missing estimates of $5.67 billion
  • Hardware revenue $774 million, +16% y/y, beatring estimate $671.1 million
  • Service revenue $1.41 billion, +4.8% y/y, estimate $1.38 billion
    • Software Support revenue $4.90 billion, -1.2% y/y, beating estimates of $4.88 billion
    • Software License revenue $655 million, -14% y/y, missing estimates $718.8 million
• Adjusted operating income $8.15 billion, +31% y/y, beating estimates of $7.81 billion
• Adjusted operating margin 42% vs. 42% y/y, beating estimates of 40.8%
   
• Adjusted EPS $1.92 vs. $1.47 y/y, beating estimates estimate $1.75 
   
• CapEx $28.5BN, Exp. 22.3BN

Oracle's cloud computing revenue growth topped analysts’ estimates, suggesting the company’s large AI data center projects are helping boost its financial results. Of note, sales in the cloud infrastructure business jumped 121% to $7.4 billion, above the median estimate of $7.19 billion, however this was all on the back of far greater capex spending (see below). As a reminder, this is the hockeystock the company projected for its Cloud Infra Revenue a year ago. Good luck with that.

The financial highlights visually:

A breakdown of ORCL's cloud revenue: the growth rates while material, are well below some of its largest - and far less indebted - peers.

Looking ahead, the company projects EPS to be between $1.83 and $1.91 in constant currency and between $1.85 and $1.93 in USD, which represents growth of 19% to 23% in constant currency and 21% to 25% in USD (excluding a one-time gain from Q2 FY2026.)

Including the investment gain, Q2 FY27 non-GAAP EPS is expected to decline between -19% and -15% in constant currency and decline between -18% and -14% in USD.

For the full fiscal year 2027, Oracle expects total revenue to be at least $90 billion (up 34% in constant currency), and non-GAAP EPS to be at $8.10 (up 18% in constant currency).

While we doubt the market will give it much credit for its RPO, especially since it comes with so much massive off-balance sheet debt, that if one were to actually look at how it is funded, the stock would crater, 

The bigger question is when will ORCL's massive capex convert into actual revenues...

... and more importantly cash flow, as the company continues to burn billions every quarter and is forced to fund itself with ever greater amounts of equity sales and debt. 

ORCL also said it completed an earlier-announced plan to sell $20 billion of equity from time to time at market value. Ahead of Thursday’s earnings, several analysts had raised questions about the timing of the at-the-market equity sale. 

Oracle, traditionally a boring provider of database software, has refashioned itself as a provider of computing power for artificial intelligence work and is embarking on a major build-out of data centers for OpenAI and other customers. It has done so by spending massive amount of capital and taking on even more massive amounts of debt as its cash flow is deeply negative. 

Wall Street is watching the scale of spending on these ambitious projects and how quickly Oracle can complete them. The company said it added 850 megawatts of data center capacity in the quarter.

In response to the beat, ORCL shares gained modestly, rising 4% in extended trading after closing at $152.94, sliding sharply into the earnings. In other words, the stock is now where it closed yesterday.

The stock had dropped 38% since its June 1 high for the year on concerns over financing needs, rising component costs and news reports on data center construction challenges, wrote Derrick Wood, an analyst at TD Cowen, ahead of the results.

And since there is little indication the cash burn will end any time soon, buying ORCL CDS here appears like the far more prudent thing to do than buying the stock and praying...

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 16:46

Supreme Court Blocks Missouri Republicans' New Congressional Map

The U.S. Supreme Court blocked Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins on Thursday from using the state's Republican-drawn 2025 congressional map, an order that puts Missouri back under the districts adopted in 2022. The order ran one page, disclosed no vote, gave no reasoning, and drew no noted dissents.

In this photo taken with a smartphone, people opposed to a congressional redistricting plan rally outside the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

Missouri Republicans drew the new map - known as HB 1 - during a 2025 special session called by Gov. Mike Kehoe, part of a wider redistricting push President Trump encouraged. It was intended to give Republicans seven of the state's eight House seats, reworking the Kansas City-based 5th District held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, one of Missouri's two Democratic members.

Opponents submitted more than 300,000 signatures late last year to put the map to a statewide vote. Hoskins rejected the petition on Aug. 4 - the day of Missouri's primary - arguing the state constitution "does not authorize a referendum on congressional redistricting plans passed by the General Assembly."

The Missouri Supreme Court disagreed unanimously on Sept. 3, holding that the constitution "authorizes a referendum as to 'any act of the general assembly' and no exception applies." Because the petition was "legal, sufficient, and timely," the court concluded, the new map was never in effect and will not take effect "unless and until approved by the voters at the November 2026 general election."

The court also dismantled Hoskins' warning that abandoning the new map would cause confusion and expense, calling the argument "wholly unpersuasive" and noting that "these arguments are particularly misplaced given the secretary's delay created" the problems he was complaining about.

The constitutional argument

Hoskins went to the U.S. Supreme Court that Friday night, telling the justices Missouri was "genuinely unsure whether it can switch its governing congressional map in time to run a timely federal election." His core claim was an elections-clause theory: that the Constitution gives state legislatures, not voters signing a petition, the power to set the "Times, Places, and Manner" of federal elections. He added that the state ruling disenfranchised "hundreds of thousands" of voters by moving them into districts where they would be "forced to vote on General Election candidates they had no role in choosing."

Richard von Glahn, who led the referendum committee People Not Politicians, argued the justices had no power to review a ruling resting purely on state law, and that on the merits Hoskins' "Elections Clause theory runs headlong into more than a century of precedent recognizing that state constitutional referendum procedures may constrain congressional-redistricting legislation."

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles emergency matters from Missouri, turned Hoskins down Tuesday afternoon without referring the request to the full court.

Then it got complicated

Less than an hour later, a federal judge ordered the opposite. Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued a temporary restraining order requiring the state to use the 2025 map, in a case filed Sept. 4 by Rep. Robert Onder, a Republican representing Missouri's 3rd District, among others. Clark acknowledged that "conducting state elections in accordance with the Missouri Constitution undoubtedly qualifies as an important interest," but found the federal challengers faced irreparable harm "because many Missouri voters would have to cast their general-election votes for candidates whom they had no role in nominating."

Missouri spent the next two days under directly conflicting orders from its own supreme court and a federal one. Hoskins had instructed election administrators to implement the 2022 map immediately after the state ruling. On Sept. 8 he sent a second email telling them to use the 2025 map instead - the act that put him in contempt proceedings.

Von Glahn's team went to the Eighth Circuit Tuesday night. That court declined. They returned to Kavanaugh Wednesday afternoon with a 25-page filing, and this time he referred it to the full court. Attorney Abha Khanna told the justices Clark's order "has been in place for mere hours, but the chaos it guarantees has already taken root," and that leaving it in place would cause the disruption Purcell forbids "by subjecting election officials to irreconcilable judicial commands on the eve of an election, with a federal court inserting itself to wreak havoc on the State's elections."

Their central procedural argument: Clark lacked authority to act without convening a three-judge court, which federal law generally requires for constitutional challenges involving congressional apportionment.

What Thursday's order does and doesn't do

The order stays Clark's ruling - the second time the dispute reached the Supreme Court in a single week - and resolves nothing else. It does not decide standing, the three-judge-court question, or the merits. The stay holds while the appeal proceeds in the Eighth Circuit, and ends automatically if the justices decline to hear the case.

"The law is the law, the Missouri constitution is clear, as was the Missouri Supreme Court," von Glahn said in a statement, adding that Hoskins "has shown that he cannot effectively do the job he was elected to do."

Hoskins' lawyers had filed minutes before the ruling came down, warning that election authorities were already preparing ballots under the 2025 map and that switching back risked the Sept. 19 deadline for military and overseas ballots. The U.S. solicitor general joined the state in opposing the stay.

The order came the same morning Hoskins was due before the Missouri Supreme Court to argue why he should not be held in contempt over that Sept. 8 email. He had asked Clark to block the state proceeding. Clark declined.

Missouri's deadline to finalize general election ballots has already passed. Some counties paused work on congressional ballots entirely while others prepared the portions unaffected by the fight. Voters will decide the map itself in November as Proposition A. The first ballots go out Sept. 19.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 16:40

When Grievance Enters The Huddle

Authored by Andre Billeaudeaux via American Thinker,

The NAACP is asking some of America's best black high-school football players to consider withholding commitments from public universities in eight states because of congressional redistricting. Current athletes are encouraged to consider transferring and using their NIL platforms to support the cause. The slogan is direct: "No Representation. No Recruitment. No Revenue."

The campaign followed the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision striking down Louisiana's intentionally created second majority-black congressional district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Rather than leaving that dispute in the courthouse and statehouse, the NAACP is asking black athletes to carry it into their college choices, campuses, and locker rooms.

That is a heavy psychological load to place on a 17-year-old who may have spent a decade developing the talent, discipline, and confidence required to be recruited by Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas, or another major program. Universities want him, NIL money may follow, and the NFL may eventually follow that. At the moment when his talent has given him control over his future, he is being encouraged to see himself as a victim and act on that grievance.

Black Studies professor Elwood Watson called it "grossly irresponsible and unfair" to enlist young athletes in such a political fight, warning against turning them into "athletic guinea pigs or pawns." Educator Rann Miller questioned asking young black athletes to sacrifice NIL and career opportunities when comparable sacrifices are not being demanded from the adults asking them to join the fight.

Sports psychology supplies another warning: mental fatigue. It is not simply being tired, but a state associated with sustained cognitive demands, reduced cognitive efficiency, impaired attention, and increased perceived effort. The athlete's body may be capable of performing while his brain is required to process too much.

Now consider the NAACP's ask, particularly the age of the people being asked. Research following decision-making from adolescence into adulthood has found that younger people place greater value on immediate rewards and that the capacity for planning ahead continues developing into young adulthood. The NAACP is asking athletes at this stage to weigh immediate political and social rewards against educational, financial, and professional opportunities that may not fully materialize for years - maps, representation, family expectations, teammates, transferring, and whether to use his NIL identity politically - all while coaches try to get him to read a defense and execute the next play.

A 2026 BMC Psychology meta-analysis involving 19 study records found mental fatigue associated with poorer reaction time, technical execution, and decision-making. The measured effects were roughly one-half of a standard deviation for reaction time, six-tenths for technical performance and two-thirds for decision-making, where the results were the most consistent.

Elite athletic performance seeks the opposite condition: flow. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described flow as complete absorption in an activity, where action and awareness merge, concentration intensifies and irrelevant thoughts are excluded. The athlete's attention is consumed by what he is doing now.

I was a student of Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who used Walter Mischel's famous marshmallow experiment to demonstrate the importance of time perspective. The child faced an immediate reward - one marshmallow now - or delayed gratification for two later. When researchers returned 14 years later, those who had resisted the immediate reward averaged 250 points higher on the SAT, got into less trouble and were described as better students, more self-confident, and determined. Zimbardo's point was that "they were future-focused rather than present-focused."

Put that against the NAACP's call. The immediate reward is obvious: take a stand, demonstrate solidarity, and receive the approval accompanying the cause. The delayed reward may be worth millions over a lifetime: choose the university and coach offering the best chance to develop talent, earn an education, maximize NIL value and perhaps reach the NFL.

The marshmallow has simply become considerably more expensive.

Elon Musk supplied the cultural shorthand "woke mind virus," warning against replacing individual "skills and integrity" with race and group identity and describing the constant injection of race into issues as "divisive and corrosive to society."

Former college coach Tommy Tuberville put the football problem this way: if a quarterback effectively takes himself out of the common mission, "that tends to tear down your team" and takes the "moral loyalty out of it." Before a game his players stood to honor America and afterward knelt to honor God. Coaches build common identity, loyalty and concentration because eleven individually talented players still have to perform as one.

Reverse that process - introduce distraction, immediate political reward, victimization and racial division - and then expect it to disappear when the ball is snapped.

Colin Kaepernick gave us an opportunity to see what happened next.

On August 26, 2016, Kaepernick sat during the national anthem before a preseason game against Green Bay, explaining that he would not stand for a flag representing a country that "oppresses black people and people of color." He subsequently began kneeling, turning an ordinary pre-game ritual into a national argument involving race, police and America.

The 49ers were already expected to be bad, with Las Vegas setting their preseason win total at only 5½ games. They finished 2-14, a 64% shortfall from that already miserable expectation. Kaepernick started eleven games and went 1-10, while his individual statistics - 16 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 90.7 passer rating - were hardly disastrous.

In 2015, the season before the kneeling controversy, San Francisco surrendered 387 points. By 2016 it finished 32nd in yards and points allowed, surrendering 480 points - 93 more than the previous season, a 24% increase. Kaepernick did not play defense, but his teammates shared the locker room, media attention, anthem controversy, and decisions about whether to participate, disagree or remain silent.

I began describing the phenomenon at the time as Self-Inflicted Degradation of Performance Syndrome, or SIDOPS - my term for grievance and resulting distraction degrading individual performance and spreading through a team's shared environment. Work I published in 2017 - 18 compared protesting teams against Vegas expectations and asked whether a victim-based mental state and social contagion might show up in athletic performance - years before the 2026 mental-fatigue research reported measurable degradation in reaction time, technical execution and decision-making.

"Hands Up, Don't Shoot" became a national rallying cry following the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, but Eric Holder's Justice Department later found no credible witness who could establish that Brown was shot while clearly surrendering. Witnesses supporting that account were contradicted by physical evidence, changed their accounts or recanted, while investigators found no eyewitness who said Brown uttered "don't shoot."

The slogan survived the facts, just as grievance can survive the event that created it.

Ten years later, Kaepernick says the NFL is still "actively blackballing" him and that he no longer watches professional football: "I watch college football."

Before the kneeling, Kaepernick had quarterbacked a Super Bowl team and earned a contract potentially worth more than $100 million. During the kneeling season he went 1-10 and never played another NFL game. Ten years later, he still describes himself as a victim of the league that once made him a star.

Now the NAACP is encouraging young black athletes to bring a similar grievance into decisions that may determine their own futures. Kaepernick's career cannot prove what SIDOPS predicts, but it provides a warning of what may follow.

Before asking another gifted young athlete to organize his future around grievance, look at the scoreboard - and remember what happened to the last quarterback who took a knee.

Image generated by ChatGPT.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 16:20

Fetterman Condemns Socialism In Surprise Video Message To GOP Convention

Pennsylvania's Democratic senator made a surprise video appearance in Dallas on Wednesday night in front of a sea of Republicans at the GOP midterm convention.

In a short video message, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) condemned the rise of socialist politicians in the United States and welcomed his Republican counterpart, Sen. Dave McCormick, as the next speaker for the event.

"Yes, I'm a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I'm a common sense Democrat," he told the crowd.

"I'm always going to stand with America. I'm always going to reject the extremes of socialism and that anti-American way of life."

As Troy Myers reports for The Epoch Times, Fetterman has, for years, distanced himself from socialist policies promoted by people in his own party. His Wednesday appearance stoked further speculation that he may leave the party altogether. Democrats and Republicans are vying for the majority in Congress in the midterm elections on Nov. 3.

If the Democrats wish to achieve that, they will need to flip four seats in the Senate and hope that Fetterman doesn't vote with Republicans or switch parties before he is up for reelection in 2028.

Fetterman described his close relationship - both professionally and personally - with McCormick, despite their being from opposite parties.

"Dave McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done, and he's going to fight for Pennsylvania," Fetterman said. "I'm proud to count him as my friend."

Standing in front of a Pennsylvania steel mill in his video, the Democratic senator reaffirmed his and McCormick's combined goals in working together, along with President Donald Trump, to boost the steel industry in their state.

"That's exactly the kind of thing that will work together and will work with President Trump to fight and defend: the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley," Fetterman said.

As the notoriously casually dressed senator has distanced himself from his fellow Democrats in Congress, he's seen a boost in support from Republicans in his state.

In fact, a recent New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena University poll found that Fetterman has more support among Pennsylvania Republicans than McCormick does.

The rift between Fetterman and his Democratic colleagues from other states has widened in recent years over his support for Israel. The Pennsylvania senator has maintained a staunch support for the country since the horrific Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.

He has said he will leave the Democratic party if it ever officially adopts an anti-Israel position.

"If they put that in our platform - no aid for Israel - and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that's a red line for me," Fetterman told NBC News July 16. "Democrats, we always should support Israel. That's our special ally."

On July 27, he specifically distanced himself from progressives and socialists in the party's far-left wing.

"These people aren't Democrats. That's not a big tent situation," he told reporters.

Fetterman has also repeatedly voted with Republicans on major issues such as rejecting a war powers resolution on July 23 and July 30 to end U.S. military operations in Iran. On this topic, he was the only Democrat to join the majority on the other side of the aisle.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 15:40

Charlie Kirk Built A Conservative Institution. Can It Survive Him?

Authored by Brigham Tomco via Deseret News,

Just inside the Turning Point USA Freedom Center in Phoenix, Arizona, there is a gold-framed painting, about three feet tall, glowing in a warm spotlight mounted on the wall.

Captured mid-throw is Charlie Kirk, lobbing red and white MAGA caps into a mass of ecstatic students, cheering against the brilliant-blue backdrop of a September afternoon.

His outstretched arm pulls taut the word "FREEDOM" across his white T-shirt. Rendered in commemorative brushstrokes: the moment Kirk's "American Comeback Tour" arrived in Orem, Utah.

The same wall previously featured the faces of 36 Turning Point USA staffers who had showcased Kirk's signature "grassroots humility," "warrior spirit" and "persistent innovation."

Four of them were in attendance at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, when their role model was ripped away in one of the most public acts of political violence in U.S. history.

Kirk's shocking absence continues to fill all six buildings at Turning Point headquarters.

His leather seat on the set of "The Charlie Kirk Show" sits permanently empty. On the glass table by his microphone rests a plush hand puppet and plastic moose positioned there by Kirk less than a month before he died so his two toddler-aged children would know he was thinking of them as they watched with their mother, Erika.

Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder and president, answers interview questions on the set of The Charlie Kirk Show at Turning Point headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Most days, the children still come by to play. Team members help with childcare while Erika works from the office her husband once used; his chair, again, intentionally left vacant.

For a while, Kirk's kids, now ages 4 and 2, got a new toy during every visit, chosen from a collection of gifts sent by well-wishers, affectionately called "daddy's friends," that took up entire rooms.

When I returned to Turning Point's campus in August the makeshift tribute had been moved for remodeling. A new eight-foot fence circled the perimeter of the nonprofit company's campus.

It was a year to the day since my first visit to Turning Point. In some ways it felt like entering a place frozen in amber. Enshrined memories converted every shelf into a time capsule.

As I came around a corner, I saw where Kirk stood a year ago after our interview beside a pair of front-page newspaper stories announcing the failed assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.

Now each department displays news clippings of Trump delivering Kirk's eulogy.

A museum-like reverence hung in the air. But around Kirk's empty chairs, team members pulsed with a restless determination to do everything they could to keep their founder's vision alive.

Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point Action chief operating officer, answers interview questions in his office at Turning Point headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

"You've got to prove that you can actually make an impact, that you can do things that we were working towards prior to his assassination," Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyer told me.

At Erika's insistence, Kirk's producers Andrew Kolvet and Blake Neff emerged from behind the scenes to take over his daily program, doing their best to opine on the issues as Kirk would if he were here.

Meanwhile, the political infrastructure Kirk told me was Turning Point's "lifeblood" has expanded at a pace Bowyer and Turning Point USA COO Justin Streiff are struggling to match amid maximum turnout at chapter leadership summits, record-breaking renewals for school chapters and a landslide GOP primary win in Arizona's gubernatorial election.

While Turning Point's activist machine remains a vehicle for the conservative empire Kirk built, it also finds itself at the nexus of forces tearing the American right apart in the wake of his death.

Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder and president, talks with employees at Turning Point headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

In interviews with the Deseret News, the leaders at Turning Point recognized Kirk as irreplaceable. His influence was unique, they said, because it ran so much deeper than the political fights that made him famous. They hope his legacy will be quieter; a movement of strong marriages, big families and full churches; something akin to a revival.

It is not lost on them that this effect might be impossible to replicate. The void Kirk left can only be filled one way, they agreed: young people putting down their phones, and picking up the mic.

The Day Everything Changed Charlie Kirk speaks before he was shot during Turning Point USA’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News

It was an unusually warm 90 degrees in Orem as Kirk sat down beneath his trademark "prove me wrong" tent at the bottom of an outdoor amphitheater overflowing with around 3,000 fans and curious onlookers.

Back in 2018, when Kirk first decided that college debates would form the core of his youth outreach, he could barely turn out 300 students. By 2025, scenes of Kirk scoring viral clips on the quad were ubiquitous.

Kirk had just finished lowering his mic after clarifying a question from his interlocutor about gun violence when a "pop" rang out. The blood, and the chaos that followed, were immediately uploaded across the internet.

Read the rest from Deseret here... Meanwhile, as the Epoch Times notes further... 

Impact Reverberates

For many, Kirk’s death became the modern-day equivalent of the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy - an unforgettable moment of intense personal and national significance.

“It was traumatic, I think, for the entire country - of all ages, but really for Gen Z and millennials,” Kolvet said. Those groups born after 1981 grew up watching Kirk’s videos on the internet, logging billions of views.

“After his death, it was almost like round two,” Kolvet said. “Everybody rediscovered all the videos again - and a wider audience did.”

Through debates and public speeches since early adulthood, Kirk became a driving force in U.S. politics. He was credited with lassoing young voters for Trump’s election wins in 2016 and 2024. He also had contact with foreign leaders, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His regular themes were faith in Jesus Christ, advocacy for traditional marriages and parenthood, and his belief that America is the greatest nation to ever exist.

The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk was shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News

But Kirk’s blunt declarations about race, gender, and politics also stoked controversy. Defenders say Kirk debated passionately but civilly, and they alleged that some critics misconstrued his remarks.

Challenges loom for those continuing Kirk’s crusade. High on their list is building TPUSA further and educating younger voters about the dangers of socialism.

At the same time, pursuing justice and the truth about Kirk’s assassination have become part of the organization’s mission, too, Kolvet said.

TPUSA tries to ignore the conspiracy theories that still swirl, he said, dismissing those as “distractions.” But questions, as well as wild speculation, continue to be raised with each stage of the criminal case against alleged gunman Tyler Robinson.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a friend of Kirk, said during an Aug. 20 podcast that it “enrages” him when people make accusations implicating people close to Kirk such as his widow, who now heads TPUSA.

Prosecutors allege that Robinson, 23, assassinated Kirk over political differences. Yet Kirk had once stated: “We heal our divides by talking to people we disagree with. ... You heal the country when you allow disagreement.”

Turning Point Surges

Within weeks of Kirk’s slaying, 120,000 students inquired about starting a new Turning Point chapter, according to TPUSA.

Following that initial surge, growth has continued at a more manageable rate, Kolvet said, while still tallying large increases.

TPUSA reported a 300 percent jump in church partnerships, a 200 percent increase in Club America groups at high schools, and 64 percent more college chapters, he said.

More than 3,500 schools are represented, according to the group’s website.

A TPUSA women’s gathering drew 3,000 attendees to San Antonio in June.

The next month, a chapter leadership gathering in Washington attracted 2,500 young people. That was double the previous year’s total, Kolvet said, noting that two-thirds of those participants became involved with TPUSA after Kirk’s death.

More than 1,200 employees and 1 million donors - 95 percent of whom gave $1,000 or less - support the group’s activities, he said.

Kolvet cited other indirect trends that could reflect Kirk’s influence: surges in church attendance, baptisms, and Bible sales.

And across the nation, young people emulating Kirk’s “happy warrior” style sometimes make headlines. In Indiana, an angry woman confronted a 17-year-old girl who was sitting at a TPUSA table and handing out plain red, white, and blue bracelets.

Despite the woman hurling profanity and insults, the teen didn’t back down.

“There’s story after story like that,” Kolvet said. “It’s really inspiring. ... That’s an amazing legacy that just continues rolling on.”

Concerns as Midterms Approach

Longtime Florida political analyst Susan MacManus, a retired professor, said the aftermath of Kirk’s death did seem to “turn down the temperature” in politics—at first.

However, the atmosphere seems to be getting uglier again, she said, as the crucial Nov. 3 midterm elections approach.

All 435 U.S. House districts and 33 of the 50 Senate seats are up for grabs. Republicans now hold a slim majority in both chambers. If they lose too many races to Democrats in November, Trump’s second-term agenda could be greatly hampered.

“I’m fearful that we’re moving away from people trying to get along - and back toward the nastiness,” she said.

On one side, MacManus said, she sees people who “glorify” political violence or vitriol; on the other, people in “Kirk mode” are calling for “a more peaceful environment and dialog.”

She senses a strong commitment in the people who want to follow Kirk’s example and his “life model,” as well as his views on what constitutes good governance.

Many fans of Kirk adopted the slogan “I am Charlie,” showing that they were stepping up to fill the void left by his death.

“[They seem dedicated to] making sure that our voice is heard and that our way of doing politics is heard,” MacManus said. “And we won’t back down.”

Opposition Still Obvious

Try as they might, people who try to spread positive messaging have their work cut out for them in an election year, when inflammatory language seems to be on the rise, she said.

And TPUSA still sometimes encounters violent or disruptive opposition at its events.

At the June women’s summit in San Antonio, TPUSA’s video journalists documented police clashing with protesters outside the venue. They also reported that one person dressed like Kirk was mimicking his assassination.

Meanwhile, legislative attempts to honor Kirk have at times become political hot potatoes.

Although lawmakers in 20 states - chiefly Republicans - proposed Kirk-inspired laws, a designated “Charlie Kirk Day,” or physical memorials, many of the measures hit snags. While Democrats often joined Republicans in condemning Kirk’s assassination, they typically opposed honoring him.

Some of the proposals did succeed, such as a Kansas law allowing students to sue schools over interfering with free speech and a Tennessee law urging “the positive impacts of religion” to be taught in American history courses.

Carolina Estevez, a New Jersey psychologist, explained why pro- and anti-Kirk factions could both become more entrenched in their views.

“His death changed him from a political communicator to a political symbol, and symbols frequently last longer than arguments,” she said.

A political assassination such as Kirk’s “may increase in-group solidarity,” she said, noting that the victim may be seen as a symbol of “perceived threats” to the whole group.

Wildaliz Caro, a licensed clinical psychologist in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, said, “The continued influence of Charlie Kirk may well rely on collective memory.”

“After a leader dies, movements tend to simplify their image,” she said. “Complex individuals are now simply symbols of something much bigger: grievance, identity, or cause ... supporters respond not just to what he said, but to what he has come to mean.”

As a result, the opposing factions may have an even harder time relating to each other, Caro said.

Socratic Method

However, Kirk knew how to connect with different types of people.

“Charlie was a bridge-builder with the generations,” Kolvet said. “He could speak ‘Boomer,’ but he could speak Gen Z. ... He understood how to speak to donors and to the political class, but he understood how to speak to kids, too.”

Kirk decided against going to college. Instead, he schooled himself in religion, history, politics, and philosophy—forming the foundation for the way he lived and the way he approached debates.

“He created a model, a way to think about things, the way to argue through things, a way to defend our values in America, unapologetically, courageously, full-throated,” Kolvet said.

Kirk explained his methods in podcasts, including during an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show on Aug. 18, 2025—less than a month before he was killed.

A listener wanted to know how conservatives can talk to liberals without devolving into name-calling.

Kirk advised: “Always make sure they’re the ones freaking out ... and use the Socratic method.”

The method is named after the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. After a person made an assertion, he would ask questions that eventually could reveal contradictions in the responder’s own logic.

Some people will refuse to change their minds no matter what. But others who seem to be staunch can be persuaded by using the Socratic method persistently “to get toward some approximation of truth,” Kirk said.

And, Kirk said, debaters ought to remember: “You’re not just debating a person. You’re performing for the audience of everyone else. And I try to do that at our prove-me-wrong events.”

Kirk seemed to have a special ability to inspire people who were open-minded and free thinkers, Kolvet said. Those people would walk away with “a fire in [their] belly that was just so contagious.”

Opposing Spread of Socialism

Through its Pick Up the Mic initiative, TPUSA is moving its founder’s legacy forward.

“Charlie Kirk built a movement from under a tent with one table, one mic, and a line of students stepping forward to debate. Now the tent is back, and a new generation of TPUSA chapters is bringing that presence to the center of campus,” the group’s website says, calling this “free speech in action.”

Kolvet predicted that 40 years from now, the “crop of young leaders that he inspired are going to go on and do great things, and they will be the firewall for freedom that this country needs.”

Before he died, Kirk made it clear to those leaders-in-training that they must stand firm against the spread of socialism.

“We’re doing our part to tell young people that free market capitalism is the most moral, proven, and effective system,” Kolvet said. “It’s lifted more people out of poverty across the world than any other economic system has.”

In contrast, socialism leads to stagnation, despair, and seizure of private property under communist rule—the antithesis of the American bedrock of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

“It’s tempting to go down this other path, but it doesn’t work, and that’s the problem,” Kolvet said. “And so, we are winning that debate with our people, but there’s a lot of people that still need to be reached and still need to hear that message.”

Justice for Kirk

Another important objective for TPUSA is fighting against “Charlie Kirk trutherism” - the rejection of officials’ accounts about what happened the day he was killed.

A “cottage industry” has sprung up around that skepticism, Kolvet said.

The antidote is for the justice system to handle the alleged gunman’s case properly and in the open, he said, noting, “Getting justice for Charlie is actually really, really important for the country.”

While it’s healthy to question government, “there has to be a foundation of rule of law, of justice, of facts, evidence, logic that undergirds all of our institutions,” he said.

Pursuing justice for Kirk “feels like a battle for truth itself,” Kolvet said.

“It’s part of a larger mission of fighting for the country. ... We want to make sure that we don’t lose all faith in our institutions, right?” he said.

Balancing all those considerations is challenging, but Kolvet said he believes that “God is doing a work through Charlie’s life.”

“Charlie’s life will continue to be one of the most important and pivotal expressions of God’s providential hand on this country for years to come,” he said.

“And I believe, on some level, I’m comforted by the fact that, yes, we can choose to be a part of that.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 15:20

Melania Trump's Team Finally Breaks Silence On Natalie Harp Frenzy

A key advisor to First Lady Melania Trump has broken his silence against the nonstop media frenzy surrounding President Donald Trump and loyal White House aide Natalie Harp.

Evan Vucci/Reuters/Aaron Schwarz/Getty Images

The speculation, circulating for weeks across mainstream and tabloid outlets, concerns whether Trump's working relationship with the 35-year-old aide exceeds professional norms - fueled by Harp's near-constant presence at his side in the Oval Office, at public events and on weekend golf outings, and by the first lady's own scarcity. Melania has appeared in public on roughly 40 days this year, regularly skipping events her husband attends.

Marc Beckman, exclusive senior advisor to the first lady, didn't mince words in an interview released Wednesday, Sept. 9 on host Stella Escobedo's YouTube show, the Daily Mail reports.

Escobedo set up the question by accusing the press of being "endlessly obsessed with garbage tabloid gossip of Natalie Harp, who, by the way, is a hardworking White House aide to President Trump, a cancer survivor who POTUS helped get off label treatment for and saved her life."

"The liberal media is ridiculous," Beckman said. "They don't know anything about the first lady's personal and private life. They don't even take the time to put us on air to cover these incredible achievements that our first lady has accomplished."

First Lady Melania Trump’s exclusive senior advisor, @MarcBeckman, responds to tabloid gossip about White House aide Natalie Harp.

MSM would rather focus on gossip than cover our First Lady’s real achievements helping America’s youth. pic.twitter.com/FXl1HQzRPK

— Stella Escobedo (@StellaEscoTV) September 9, 2026

Beckman then defended Harp and blasted the press for its obsession with tabloid-style rumors about the Trump family instead of real reporting.

"What they need to do is look in the mirror because they're all attacking this hardworking, very talented, very intelligent person in Natalie Harp," he said. "And they're obsessed with the gossip about this first family. And I can tell you firsthand that it's time for them to become journalists and stop looking at the gossip."

Harp, the 35-year-old special assistant to President Trump, has spent years flying under the radar as one of the president's most constant aides. Insiders call her the "human printer" because she packs a portable printer everywhere, churning out hard copies of news articles, social-media posts and anything else Trump wants to see on paper, according to the anti-Trump publication The Bulwark.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

That low profile shattered last month when Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) name-dropped her at a Georgia campaign rally, accusing Trump of preferring to "build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar" rather than fully attend to his official duties.

"The media doesn't know about the first lady's private life. Period. The media doesn't know about the first family's life. Period," Beckman added. "And what they do is they harp on the issues of gossip rather than going ahead and covering the substantial achievements that this First Lady and the President also have conducted during this past year and a half."

It is the second time in three weeks Beckman has been deployed to answer for the first lady. Last month he went on "Fox & Friends" to explain why Melania had publicly denied any connection to Jeffrey Epstein, saying she had decided "enough is enough" and had "debunked all of the lies surrounding her and Epstein." The pitch was the same then as now: cover the accomplishments, drop the rumors.

Harp first caught Trump's eye in 2019 when she publicly credited his Right to Try legislation with opening the door to experimental treatment for bone cancer, the New York Times reports. She spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention, worked at One America News from 2020 to 2022, and joined the campaign before moving to the White House staff.

Beckman's remarks come after Trump gave sizable holiday gifts to four White House aides, including Harp, according to new financial disclosures released by the administration.

The gifts of $45,000 each to Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin, and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris - as well as a $20,000 gift for director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta - were noted in the staffers' annual financial disclosure forms published by the administration last week. The payments have drawn ethical and legal scrutiny over whether a president can make personal cash gifts of that size to his own employees.

Watch the entire interview below:

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 15:00

Trump Warns 'Activity' Seen At Iran's Pickaxe Mountain Nuclear Site: 'Don't Get Cute'

This week there's been more mainstream reporting and chatter centered on Iran's Pickaxe Mountain. The nuclear development site has been of special interest and focus to the Trump administration due to how immensely fortified it is, meaning the Iranians can conduct uranium enrichment activities deep under the mountain if they so desire.

The US and IAEA are essentially operating blind on this, and that's exactly how the Iranians want it of course. A Thursday Bloomberg report begins: "The United Nations atomic watchdog said it’s observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily-fortified site suspected of housing nuclear-related activities."

Vantor/Reuters

It should be noted that Tehran has long complained that IAEA officials have leaked sensitive information to Israeli spies and leaders. The Iranians see it as a compromised organization.

Bloomberg continues, also referencing its own prior reporting: "The International Atomic Energy Agency has yet to inspect inside the tunnel complex but remote imagery indicates new movement at the site just south of Tehran’s main uranium-enrichment plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg Television."

President Trump has on at least two occasions drawn attention to the new reporting this week.

"We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not ‌to get ‌cute because we ‌will have to hit them very hard," Trump said in a speech at Wednesday night's midterm Republican convention.

Before this, Trump has threatened major attack on the mountain, though some pundits and analysts have speculated that it would take nothing less than dropping a tactical nuke in order to destroy or at least severely damage the fortification.

Some crazy hawks appear to lately be calling for just such a nuclear escalation from Washington, amid persisting frustration over fierce Iranian resistance and lack of 'options' the Trump administration has left itself with, also with negotiations at this point appearing totally abandoned.

Pentagon build Iran NUCLEAR PICKAXE MOUNTAIN in New Mexico

'ONILY NUKE can damage facility' — Iran Observer pic.twitter.com/M0H6oBlepx

— RT (@RT_com) September 10, 2026

Trump's Wednesday warning to Tehran was coupled with this surprising statement about the war extending to after the November midterm elections: "I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can't hold out any longer," the president told reporters.

He has continued to warn - amid growing public pushback over an unpopular extended war - that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. However even the CIA has long assessed that there's no clear or high-level evidence that Tehran is actually bent on achieving weapons status. But if anything, the war itself may have pushed the country in the direction of getting a nuke.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 14:20

Record-Breaking 30Y Auction Sees Huge Stop Through, 2nd Highest Foreign Demand On Record

One day after a blowout 10Y auction, which saw massive buyside demand thanks to the surge in yields earlier after the Bessent buyback disappointed which led to a huge concession into yesterday';s 10Y auction, moments ago we got the week's final coupon auctio when the Treasury sold $22BN in 30Y paper in an auction that was on the verge of blowing away many records.

Starting at the top, the auction priced at a high yield of 5.308%, up from 5.212% in August and the 5th consecutive 30Y auction pricing above 5%. It was also the highest yield going back all the way to August 2001. Just as notably, the auction stopped through the When Issued 5.335% by a whopping 2.7bps, the second highest stop through on record!

The bid to cover was likely impressive, surging to 2.612 from 2.392, the highest going back to February. 

The internals were even more impressive: Indirects were awarded a whopping 79.5%, up from 66.9% in August and the second highest on record (only Oct 2024 was higher).

And with Directs roughly in line at 18.3%, down from 21.6% (and below the 22.1% recent average), Dealers were left holding just 2.21%, down from 11.51%, and the lowest on record by a huge margin.

Overall, this was not only a stellar auction, but was perhaps the 2nd strongest 30Y auction on record. And yet, while yields across the curve did dip after the blockbuster auction results hit, the selloff has promptly resumed and 10Y yields are once again pushing wider, set to take out a new multi-year high as they near Bessent's red line of 5.00%

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 13:36

Trump Floats $5,000 "Stimmy" Checks For Every US Adult Citizen If GOP Holds Congress

During a speech Wednesday night at the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, President Trump proposed sending every adult American citizen a $5,000 "Trump dividend" if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in November.

"If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them," Trump said, "I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000."

He continued, "It will be called the Trump dividend," adding, "Now all we have to do is win."

NEW: President Trump makes a major promise at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas: $5,000 for every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans win both the House and Senate in the midterms.

“I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for… pic.twitter.com/XqiphY7y8a

— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 10, 2026

Trump told the audience at the American Airlines Center: "Your vote will decide whether our country stumbles at the starting gate of our next 250 years or surges forward and never looks back."

Quick math: A $5,000 payout to 270 million adults would cost the US government approximately $1.35 trillion. The proposal comes as US public debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time in recent weeks.

Bloomberg strategist Mark Cudmore warned that a large fiscal injection could intensify existing market pressures, including weaker Treasuries, dollar depreciation, and demand for commodities and other real assets.

"The general reaction from markets is very muted precisely as everyone sees almost zero chance of this happening. The US economy is strong and already at risk of running too hot, so pumping in so much extra fiscal stimulus when under funding pressure will exacerbate all the dynamics we're already focused on in markets: weaker Treasuries, a depreciating dollar and a rush to commodities and real assets," Cudmore said.

The proposal also arrives as Trump acknowledges that significant fuel-price relief may not come until after the midterms. The national average for gasoline remains above the politically sensitive $ 4-per-gallon level, while diesel prices are at record highs. Trump also indicated that the Iran conflict could continue beyond the elections.

President Trump's approval rating is around 38%, according to reporting by The Guardian.

Vice President JD Vance said that these proposed post-election direct payments to Americans could be funded by revenue from Trump's wide-ranging tariff program.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 13:00

Emergency Slide Accidentally Deployed On New Qatari-Gifted Air Force One Before Trump Flew To Texas

Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times,

The new Air Force One's emergency slide was accidentally deployed on Sept. 9 before President Donald Trump boarded to attend the first-ever 2026 Republican Midterm Convention.

The inflatable slide popped out shortly before the president was scheduled to board the plane and fly to Dallas for the high-profile GOP event.

When Trump was asked by a reporter if he was confident the plane was safe to fly, the president responded, "Yeah, I am, or I wouldn't be on it."

"As the President has said, the slide was checked out to make sure everything works perfectly," White House communications director Steven Cheung told The Epoch Times via email on Wednesday.

"Air Force One is on its way to Dallas so he can deliver his much-anticipated speech to a raucous and sold-out crowd."

Trump was scheduled to give the keynote address during the first night of the 2026 Republican Convention around 9:00 p.m. ET. The president will speak on Thursday to close out the event too.

A White House official separately told The Epoch Times that "military personnel accidentally triggered the slide" ahead of boarding.

The emergency slide was taken away before Trump boarded the jet, which is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Trump started flying on the jet in July after the government accepted the plane from Qatar as a gift in 2025.

Days after the plane started transporting the president, the Secret Service made Trump switch planes first to the old Air Force One plane, and then secretly to an unmarked C-32A military jet, to depart for a two-day NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

White House communications director Steven Cheung revealed on July 9 that the switch-up was part of a "distraction and misdirection" strategy intended to address threats against the president.

The plane is being used as the interim presidential aircraft while the White House waits for the fully equipped VC-25B planes, which are expected to arrive at the end of Trump's second term.

The Boeing VC-25B planes were supposed to arrive in 2024 but have been delayed for years and aren't expected to be ready for flight until mid-2028.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 12:45

Trump Open To Pardoning Cohen After Former Attorney Says He Was Pressured

Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would consider giving his former personal attorney Michael Cohen a pardon after Cohen said he felt he was "pressured and coerced" while testifying against Trump in a criminal trial.

"If everything is checking out, it's something I would consider," Trump told reporters when asked if he would pardon Cohen.

"I appreciate that at least he came out, although late, he came out and rectified the situation."

A presidential pardon forgives a federal offense but does not declare the recipient innocent or erase the conviction from the criminal record, according to the Office of the Pardon Attorney. It can remove certain civil restrictions resulting from the conviction, potentially restore federal firearms rights, and improve the recipient's ability to obtain employment, professional licenses or bonding.

Cohen was a prominent critic and a prosecution witness in Trump's 2024 New York criminal trial. Cohen testified that Trump was involved in arranging a payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign-finance violations, tax evasion, bank fraud, and lying to Congress. He received a three-year federal sentence and completed his prison term and supervision requirements in November 2024. Asked whether he might seek a presidential pardon, Cohen said he did not know but might consider it later.

Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records and denied wrongdoing. In January 2025, he received an unconditional discharge, meaning he was guilty but would face no penalty.

Trump appeared on Cohen's radio show in August and praised Cohen for recanting previous statements. It was Trump's first public conversation with Cohen in eight years.

"They weaponized you. They weaponized a lot of people," the president told Cohen on the latter's 770 WABC radio program in New York. "I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said. You're going to go down as a man of courage, great courage, because you did something that a lot of people wouldn't have the guts to do."

Cohen worked for Trump for more than a decade before their relationship collapsed amid criminal investigations, public criticism, and legal battles.

A federal judge in March 2024 denied Cohen's fourth request to end supervised release early, citing concerns that Cohen had contradicted his 2018 guilty plea.

Judge Jesse Furman said Cohen denied committing tax evasion while testifying under oath in Trump's civil fraud trial, despite previously pleading guilty to that crime.

Furman said that either Cohen lied during his plea or committed perjury during the 2023 trial, demonstrating a continued need for supervision.

Cohen and his attorney called the ruling legally and factually wrong, arguing he never disputed his underlying conduct and had accepted a coercive plea deal.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/10/2026 - 12:15