Zero Hedge

Were The Brits Behind Bloomberg's Russian-US Leaks?

Were The Brits Behind Bloomberg's Russian-US Leaks?

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service warned earlier the same day as Bloomberg’s report that the Brits are hellbent on discrediting Trump in order to undermine his latest peace efforts for resolving the conflict from which they profit.

Bloomberg shared what it claimed to be the transcripts of calls between Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin’s top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov as well as between Ushakov and Putin’s other advisor Kirill Dmitriev about the Ukrainian peace process. The gist of the Witkoff-Ushakov call was Witkoff’s proposal to have Putin suggest a Gaza-like 20-point peace deal for Ukraine during an upcoming call with Trump while the Ushakov-Dmitriev one implied that the leaked draft was Russian-influenced.

Ushakov declined to comment on his talks with Witkoff but said that “Somebody tapped, somebody leaked, but not us” whereas Dmitriev flat-out described his purported call with Ushakov as “fake”. For his part, Trump defended Witkoff’s alleged “coaching” of Ushakov on how Putin should deal with him by reminding everyone “That’s what a dealmaker does. You got to say, ‘Look, they want this – you got to convince them with this.’ That’s a very standard form of negotiations.”

As regards the possibility that the draft framework was Russian-influenced, the notion of which has been pushed by the legacy media to discredit the proposed mutual compromises therein, that was already debunked. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as National Security Advisor, said that “The peace proposal was authored by the U.S. It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”

Therefore, neither transcript is scandalous even if their contents were accurately reported, yet the question arises of who might have tapped and leaked these calls. Intriguingly, earlier the same day that Bloomberg later published their report, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service warned that the UK “aims to undermine Trump’s efforts to resolve the conflict by discrediting him.” Readers will recall the UK’s role in Russiagate, which they conspired with the CIA, FBI, and the Clinton camp to cook up to against him.

Seeing as how they can no longer collude in this way with their three prior conspirators, the UK might therefore have resorted to leaking those two calls with Ushakov that they might have tapped (possibly among many others) as a last-ditch attempt to discredit the latest unprecedented progress towards peace. This provocation might also have been meant to make Trump panic and fire Witkoff out of fear of another Russiagate 2.0 investigation if this scandal helps the Democrats flip Congress next year.

Firing Witkoff, who’s been central to the recent progress towards peace, could ruin the process right at its most pivotal moment as Zelensky is reportedly considering meeting with Trump very soon to finalize the details of the US-mediated peace framework with Russia. By holding firm, Trump is therefore obstructing efforts to ruin everything that he’s achieved thus far on a Russian-Ukrainian peace deal and consequently revive the Russiagate hoax for helping the Democrats during next year’s midterms.

Accordingly, Bloomberg’ Russian-US leaks can be considered a British intelligence operation for derailing the peace process and perpetuating the conflict from which the UK profits, not to mention meddling in the midterms by giving a fake news-driven boost to the Democrats. Trump revealed that Witkoff will meet with Putin on Monday and might even be joined by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who helped negotiate the Gaza deal, so more British provocations are expected out of desperation to ruin their talks.

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Tyler Durden Wed, 11/26/2025 - 14:45

Legal Cases Challenging Trump's Agenda - Key Issues To Watch

Legal Cases Challenging Trump's Agenda - Key Issues To Watch

Authored by Stacy Robinson and Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A flood of litigation continues to hamper President Donald Trump’s agenda, with hundreds of lawsuits challenging his actions on gender issues, tariffs, immigration, National Guard deployment, and other matters.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A common theme of many lawsuits is the claim that the president has overstepped his executive authority.

Some of the cases have already reached the Supreme Court, where Trump scored a major win in June and a series of wins on the emergency docket.

Eventual decisions on outstanding cases could have long-lasting effects. If Trump wins, he can press forward with his key policies and the court will have carved out a clearer scope of executive power.

Here are some of the key issues, the legal battlegrounds in which they will be fought, hints on how judges might rule, and their implications for the future.

Tariffs, Emergency Economic Powers

Trump’s broad tariff agenda sparked a legal battle that has been heard by the Supreme Court. Judgment is pending.

A group of states and businesses have challenged the tariffs the president imposed on Canada and Mexico over their failure to police drug trafficking and illegal immigration at their borders, as well as the reciprocal tariffs he imposed on scores of other countries.

Trump issued those tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which allows the president to take actions such as regulating imports during a national emergency. Before Trump, presidents had used the law only to impose sanctions.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in May that the IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.

In a separate case in May, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump’s tariffs did not address the issue of drug trafficking, and were therefore unjustified. It also ruled that the IEEPA does not give Trump power to impose “unlimited” tariffs because that power belongs to Congress and has not been delegated to the president.

Those cases eventually reached the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on Nov. 5 and is yet to issue its decision.

During oral arguments, some justices expressed skepticism that Congress had authorized the type of tariffs Trump imposed.

The Supreme Court is also considering whether the law—if it does, in fact, authorize Trump’s tariffs—upsets the nation’s separation of powers and is therefore unconstitutional.

“Congress, as a practical matter, can’t get this power back once it’s handed it over to the President,” Justice Neil Gorsuch said. “It’s a one-way ratchet toward the gradual, but continual, accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people’s elected representatives.”

At one point during the Nov. 5 hearing, Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh seemed more sympathetic to the administration’s position. They questioned how, as one attorney argued, the law could allow Trump to impose something as large as a complete embargo but not a small tariff.

The U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City on May 29, 2025. The court ruled that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not give President Donald Trump power to impose “unlimited” tariffs. Spencer Platt/Getty Images National Guard, Posse Comitatus

Citing high crime rates, Trump has attempted to federalize and deploy National Guard troops to major cities across the United States.

Officials in Memphis, Tennessee, welcomed the move, but state and local governments have sued to block the action in Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.

The lawsuits challenge Trump’s invocation of Section 12406 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which allows presidents to federalize state National Guard troops under certain conditions.

The Trump administration has pointed to two of those conditions in particular: when the president is unable to execute the law using regular forces and when there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion.

Trump’s challengers have found limited success in courts, winning lower court blocks but facing hurdles in the appeals process.

Most recently, Judge Jia Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Nov. 20 that the president must end troop deployment in Washington, saying that the president can deploy troops only to address a specific situation, not for “whatever reason” he chooses. She paused that order to give the government time to appeal.

Judges in Oregon and Illinois also blocked Trump’s deployments while expressing doubt that the National Guard was needed to address crime in those areas. And a California judge ruled in September that Trump had violated a law known as the Posse Comitatus Act, which prevents federal troops from engaging in civilian law enforcement.

The administration is appealing each of those cases, and the Illinois ruling has reached the Supreme Court. The court has requested a briefing, asking both sides to clarify their interpretation of the line in Section 12406 stating that the president may call up the National Guard if he is “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.”

National Guard members patrol the National Mall in Washington on Aug. 27, 2025. On Nov. 20, Judge Jia Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the president to end the troop deployment, ruling that he may deploy troops for only a specific situation, not “whatever reason” he chooses. She then stayed her order to give the government time to appeal. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times Illegal Immigrants

Trump has focused on enforcing immigration laws, including through a ramp-up of deportations.

Previously, expedited removals were reserved for illegal immigrants detained within 100 miles of the U.S. border and within 14 days of illegal entry.

When he took office, Trump expanded rapid deportations to include illegal immigrants nationwide who had been in the country longer than two weeks, but less than two years.

On Jan. 22, advocacy group Make the Road New York sued, arguing that illegal immigrants were being removed without due process. A federal judge blocked the government’s policy in August, and on Nov. 22, a court of appeals declined to put that ruling on hold pending appeal.

Trump’s executive order in January revoking birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants was challenged by numerous plaintiffs across the country. Those challenges were consolidated into Trump v. CASA.

When the case reached the Supreme Court, the justices did not rule on the legality of the executive order or the question of birthright citizenship, but instead ruled that such nationwide blocks—called universal or nationwide injunctions—are likely an abuse of lower courts’ power.

This ruling signaled to lower courts that they should issue such nationwide injunctions against a president’s policies sparingly.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Briefing Room at the White House on June 27, 2025. Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images Alien Enemies Act

Part of Trump’s deportation plan involved using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which allows swift deportations during an invasion, to remove alleged criminals and transnational gang members from groups such as Tren de Aragua.

Trump invoked that law and used it against the Venezuelan gang in March, but lower courts temporarily blocked the plan in April when a group of deportees sued.

The Supreme Court at first upheld the block, but later ruled that the Venezuelan plaintiffs were each required to bring a habeas petition individually challenging his or her removal and must be given time to do so.

In one ongoing case, W.M.M. v. Trump, an appeals court ruled 2–1 that the mass illegal entry of Tren de Aragua gang members does not necessarily constitute an “invasion” as defined by the Alien Enemies Act.

Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, dissenting from the majority, highlighted the current friction between Trump and the judiciary.

“The majority’s approach to this case is not only unprecedented—it is contrary to more than 200 years of precedent,” he wrote in his dissent.

“It reflects a view of the Judicial power that is not only muscular—it is herculean. And it reflects a view of the Executive power that is not only diminutive—it is made subservient to the foreign-policy and public-safety hunches of every federal district judge in the country.”

The Fifth Circuit vacated that ruling at the end of September and plans to hold an en banc hearing; the full slate of circuit judges may reach a different conclusion.

In another case, J.G.G. v. Trump, a federal judge ordered the government to halt deportation flights headed to El Salvador’s Terrorist Confinement Center.

The judge is pursuing a criminal contempt-of-court inquiry against the Trump administration, alleging that the order was ignored.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Wed, 11/26/2025 - 14:25

"It's Utilities Versus Rent" - Data Centers Send Energy Prices Soaring

"It's Utilities Versus Rent" - Data Centers Send Energy Prices Soaring

The surge in data center construction to power today’s AI and cloud computing demands has sent electricity prices skyrocketing over the last few years. And, as Bloomberg reports, it is only getting worse.

With electricity costs now as much as 267% higher compared to five years ago in some parts of the US, fingers are being pointed directly at data center activity for blame. And while some - especially generously funded lobbies - are eager to dissemble and distort, claiming that on the contrary, electricity prices are barely keeping up with inflation and that data centers have little to no impact on electrical bills, the map below shows that more than 70% of the nodes that recorded pricing increases are located within 50 miles of significant data center activity.

Take Nicole Pasture: the Baltimore resident said her utility bills are up 50% over the past year. She is also a judge who rules on rental disputes in the city’s district court and sees people struggling with their power bills.

“It’s utilities versus rent,” she said. “They want to stay in their home, but they also want to keep their lights on.”

New data center construction projects are announced weekly, sometimes every day. Some of the construction timelines have upwards of 100 MW of new data center demand being built only two years from groundbreaking. This has to be contrasted against the rate of new energy generation construction, with the recent vite among PJM Interconnection stakeholders resulting in a failure to even select a plan for how to add data centers to the grid. 

“The voting reflects the nearly impossible challenge of trying to ensure resource adequacy and control ratepayer costs, while also allowing data center development in a market that is already short on generation supply and faces a 5-to-7 year timeline to bring on new large-scale generating resources,” Jon Gordon, a director at Advanced Energy United, a clean energy trade group, said in a bulletin on the meeting.

While some utilities have been able to pass the burden of higher electricity costs onto the owners of the large loads, most of the costs of expanding grid capacity inevitably find their way to consumers.

According to Bloomberg, in northern Virginia, Dominion Energy cited data center demand, inflation and higher fuel costs when asking regulators to raise its customer bills by about $20 a month for the average residential user over the next two years. Dominion also forecasts peak demand would rise by more than 75% by 2039 with data centers. It would be just 10% without.

And it's only getting worse: with hundreds of gigawatts of future power demand from data centers built by companies like Oracle and Microsoft, Goldman writes that "eight out of the 13 US regional power markets are already at or below critical spare capacity levels."

In other words, the electricity crisis is not around the corner: it's here already.

And since surging electricity costs are borne by everyone, the topic is rapidly becoming a political one...

... and we previously highlighted that the blame game has already started between Republicans and Democrats. Yet some localities seem to be more focused on solving the problem than merely grandstanding: consider the case of Texas where most data centers already have their own "behind the meter" onsite power generation, a key step to keeping overall power costs contained.

Luckily for US consumers, the race for data center developers to secure behind the meter power is already on, with demand for modular reactors ratcheting higher.

We recently we highlighted the $700 million capital raise for privately-held modular reactor developer X-energy, as Amazon backs their 12-reactor project in Washington State to meet data center demand. We also highlighted the recent announcement between Nano Nuclear and BaRupOn for potentially developing upwards of 1 GW worth of nuclear energy to power the LAMP and Innovation Hub in Texas. Fermi America’s Matador Project, also in Texas, will utilize nuclear energy among other power generation sources, including gas, wind, and solar, to power a massive data center campus using a behind the meter grid.

So while power bills are soaring due to the ongoing avalanche of data center deployment to power the chatbot revolution (because someone has to write junior's high school essay), there is some hope that recent developments will put a lid on just how high the prices rise.

Tyler Durden Wed, 11/26/2025 - 14:00

Why Are The Elites Moving Into High Security 'Fortress Communities'

Why Are The Elites Moving Into High Security 'Fortress Communities'

Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

The elite aren’t stupid. They can see that our society is coming apart at the seams all around us, and so they want to live some place safe. In fact, for many among the elite security has become the number one priority when choosing a new home. Unfortunately, the vast majority of us do not have the resources to move into high security communities guarded by teams of armed professionals. When things really start hitting the fan, most Americans are just going to have to deal with the chaos that is suddenly erupting all around them.

But for the ultra-wealthy, one of the benefits of having so much money is being able to shut yourself off from the rest of the world.

In Delray Beach, Florida a community known as Stone Creek Ranch has become extremely trendy among the elite for one particular reason.

It has a heavily armed security unit that watches over it 24 hours a day…

On paper, Stone Creek Ranch—a “prestigious” enclave made up of less than 40 luxury homes—is a world away from Miami, Manalapan, and Palm Beach: It offers no beaches, no celebrity-approved nightlife, and no glitzy designer shopping.

Yet it offers one very particular luxury that is proving to be quite the draw among the one percent: total and absolute privacy that is safeguarded by a team of armed professionals who watch over the community 24/7—a majority of whom come from previous jobs in law enforcement or the military.

Prospective residents’ entry into the community is policed just as carefully: Any homebuyers seeking to purchase one of just 37 private residences within Stone Creek are required to go through rigorous criminal background checks before they can even attempt to secure a home there.

Considering how fast conditions in our society are deteriorating, it sounds like a wonderful place.

But you will never get to live there unless you have tens of millions of dollars…

Just last month, Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg made headlines when he dropped $37 million on a newly constructed megamansion inside the enclave — only to be followed weeks later by Rockstar energy drink founder Russ Weiner, who is in contract on two properties in the community, worth a total of $43 million.

Indian Creek Village is another high security community in southern Florida.

The island boasts “a high-tech security system that’s straight out of a spy movie”, and the list of residents includes Tom Brady and Jeff Bezos…

Indian Creek Village, known as the “Billionaire Bunker,” isn’t just another gated community. It’s the ultimate fortress for the ultrarich. Nestled in South Florida’s Biscayne Bay, this private island is where some of the world’s wealthiest people, including Jeff Bezos and Tom Brady, have decided to stake their claim. But living here isn’t just about luxury. It’s about security and lots of it.

You can’t just stroll onto Indian Creek. Not a chance. The island is locked down with a high-tech security system that’s straight out of a spy movie. “The wealthier you become, the more you want perfect security,” Setha Low, director of the Public Space Research Group at CUNY, told Business Insider recently. And Indian Creek delivers. An Israeli-designed radar system rings the island. It’s a system that can detect anyone approaching half a mile away. Cameras are everywhere: hidden in hedges, mounted on poles and linked to a command center that monitors every move.

The police force here? They’re more like personal bodyguards for the residents. With 19 officers for just 89 residents, Indian Creek has a cop-to-citizen ratio that makes New York City look understaffed. And these aren’t your average officers. They’re trained in tactical operations and armed with fully automatic weapons. They also spend most of their time patrolling the island’s perimeter, ensuring no one gets too close.

Once upon a time, the ultra-wealthy preferred living in large cities such as Los Angeles or New York City.

But now everything has changed.

On Twitter, New York City Council Member Vickie Paladino shared a very disturbing incident that just occurred in her area…

Last night in Malba, a large group of individuals from outside my district conducted an illegal ‘takeover’ of a quiet residential street at approximately 12:30am. This is not the first time it’s happened.

A private security guard attempted to calm the situation — he was assaulted by the mob and his vehicle was set on fire. He suffered significant injuries. A local resident was also assaulted.

Response to this incident was less than ideal. Residents reporting the incident to 911 were told that ‘quality of life team’ and 311 should handle the situation. Unacceptable. In fact, these violent street takeovers should be met with maximum force by the police department.

We have NEVER had these problems before. Now it’s an epidemic. What changed? We stopped arresting criminals.

I am meeting this morning with the chief of department and the local precinct at the scene to discuss exactly what happened last night. I have already been assured that Malba will receive four dedicated patrol cars from this point forward, as well as additional security upgrades that we cannot disclose.

However, the city MUST do something to stop this lawlessness. All the speed cameras in the world do absolutely NOTHING to prevent these incidents — we need police response and the most severe consequences for these criminals, not to simply allow them to drive away after they’ve completed their mayhem.

These incidents are happening citywide, and they’re happening because there are no longer any real consequences to this kind of criminality. But let me make something very clear to the criminals — you are risking your lives bringing this chaos into our neighborhoods.

Why would the elite want to live in a place where this sort of thing is happening?

Why would anyone want to live in a place where this sort of thing is happening?

Of course conditions are not just deteriorating in our core urban areas.

In southeastern Wisconsin, thieves from South America are systematically looting home after home…

A wave of high-end residential burglaries across southeastern Wisconsin has prompted a coordinated law enforcement response and drawn political attention at both the local and national levels.

The Mequon Police Department (MPD) says the burglaries share striking similarities, suggesting a professional operation.

The suspects, dressed head to toe in black, with faces covered and gloves on, have entered homes through wooded backyards, often targeting cul-de-sacs or properties near golf courses.

Stolen items include jewelry, designer handbags, watches and cash, all consistent with organized theft groups that target affluent neighborhoods nationwide.

All over the nation, crime and violence are out of control.

If you have the resources to move somewhere more secure, that is probably a good idea.

But of course most of the population doesn’t have the resources to move somewhere more secure.

In fact, we have reached a point where millions upon millions of Americans are just trying to figure out a way to keep the lights on…

Misty Pellew’s family lived in the dark for several days this month.

Pellew’s power was shut off Nov. 13 because of $602 in unpaid bills, the latest in a string of financial humiliations that began six months ago after her husband lost his $20-an-hour excavation job in northeastern Pennsylvania. The recent government shutdown dealt another blow, delaying federal funding for programs that helped the family pay for food and utilities.

Although Pellew’s lights were temporarily turned back on last week, they were set to be disconnected again if she didn’t pay another $102. With an overdrawn bank account, she was bracing to be without power again. Last time, her family ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner and slept in hoodies and gloves to keep warm.

This is what life looks like for so many people out there right now.

In New York City, residential power shutoffs are up fivefold compared to one year ago…

In some areas, such as New York City, the surge has been dramatic — with residential shutoffs in August up fivefold from a year ago, utility filings show.

Needless to say, Americans aren’t just getting behind on their power bills.

As economic conditions have steadily gotten worse, delinquency rates have risen to historic levels…

Credit card balances alone jumped $24 billion, reaching an all-time high, while the share of balances in serious delinquency—90 days past due—climbed to a nearly financial-crash level of 7.1 percent.

Auto loans tell a similar story, with serious delinquency rates at 3 percent, the highest since 2010. And a spike in resulting defaults has triggered a wave of repossessions in 2025, with 2.2 million vehicles already repossessed, per figures from the Recovery Database Network (RDN), and forecasts of a record 3 million by year’s end.

“Delinquencies, defaults, and repossessions have shot up in recent years and look alarmingly similar to trends that were apparent before the Great Recession,” the Consumer Federation of America said in a recent report.

When you are drowning in debt, relocating to a better place that will be more secure for your family is nothing but a pipe dream.

Most Americans will have to deal with whatever is ahead wherever they are located right now.

But the ultra-wealthy have enough money to live wherever they want, and the fact that so many of them are choosing to live in “fortress communities” says a lot about where things are heading.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

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Tyler Durden Wed, 11/26/2025 - 13:40

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