India's Reliance To Stop Processing Russian Oil At Giant Jamnagar Refinery

India's Reliance Industries said it would stop processing Russian oil at part of its giant Jamnagar oil refinery as US sanctions force the company to shy away from dealings with Moscow, Bloomberg reported.  

The export-focused part of the refinery took its last shipment of Russian crude on Thursday, the company said in statement adding that some purchases bought before the US put sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies would discharge at another part of the facility.

Starting Friday, four of Russia’s top producers - accounting for as much as 80% of the country’s exports to India - are under sanction, leaving counterparties at risk of secondary sanctions. 

Reliance’s plant at Jamnagar can process more than 1.4 million barrels a day of crude and in turn supply products to both the domestic market and overseas. 

Jamnagar refinery at night

In a sign that Trump's sanctions on Russian oil may finally be working by alienting its largest clients, a Bloomberg source said that Reliance isn’t currently buying Russian oil and hasn’t taken a view yet on whether it will resume doing so.

Last month, the Trump admin announced sanctions on Russian oil giants, Lukoil and Rosneft, meaning a swath of Russia’s flows are pumped by blacklisted firms. This week Intercontinental Exchange Inc. said that it would not allow diesel from refineries served by ports that receive Russian crude to be used in the settlement process for January ICE gasoil futures contracts.

As Bloomberg notes, a deadline to wind down deals with the two firms is set to pass on Friday, putting pressure on the companies and countries that had continued to buy barrels from Moscow. And while Indian refiners have been booking ships for alternative cargoes over recent weeks, sending tanker rates soaring, the impact on oil prices of the sanctions has been relatively muted, suggesting there’s little panic in the market.

Separately, Bloomberg reports that at least 7.7 million barrels of Russia’s flagship Urals crude loaded on 11 tankers (full list below), linked to the two sanctioned producers are set to reach India’s shores after the US restrictions take effect today, according to data from Kpler. That raises questions on whether the crude will be able to discharge smoothly, given the deadline.

Most of the tankers are heading either to the Jamnagar refinery or to Rosneft-linked Nayara Energy’s Vadinar port. Delivery dates range from the end of November and into December.  Should the ships fail to arrive by Nov. 21, they could idle off India’s shores while they consider their next moves, which can include ship-to-ship transfers to other tankers and diversions to new destinations such as the waters off Malaysia or even further to China.

It remains unclear if other Indian companies have sought any exemptions from the US to continue buying some crude parcels from Rosneft or Lukoil after the Friday deadline. Earlier in November, Hungary won an exemption on procurement of Russian oil and gas and the US has also extended a waiver for some Lukoil transactions.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 18:50

RFK Jr. Says Government Going To Figure Out What's Causing Food Allergies

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Government agencies are going to pinpoint causes of food allergies, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Nov. 17 at an event held by an organization that funds and promotes research aimed at preventing and treating food allergies.

Kennedy said that while there have been lots of animal studies on food allergies, there has been a dearth of human studies, including research that looks at whether allergies are caused by aluminum-containing vaccines.

“It’s pretty easy to figure this out, and we will figure it out,” Kennedy said at the Washington event held by the Food Allergy Fund.

A number of vaccines contain aluminum salts as adjuvants, or ingredients that help trigger a stronger immune response.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website that aluminum salts “have been used safely in vaccines for more than 70 years,” although it notes that a study from CDC researchers and other scientists in 2022 found a possible link between exposure to aluminum from vaccines and the development of asthma.

A study based on surveys from mothers of homeschooled children, published in 2017, found that vaccinated children were more likely to have allergies than unvaccinated children.

President Donald Trump said in September that the government was removing aluminum from vaccines. No official steps have been taken, but the panel that advises the CDC on vaccines recently said it would analyze the safety of vaccine ingredients such as aluminum, and plans to discuss in a December meeting “adjuvants and contaminants.”

Some experts believe the rise in allergies to peanuts and other substances over the years stems from avoidance of those substances. The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2000 said parents should not expose children to peanuts until they turn 3 years old. Peanut allergies have dropped since those recommendations were reversed, a recent study found.

Kennedy said he does not think the spike in food allergies is due to avoidance, citing that his own home was filled with peanut products, yet five of his children still developed allergies, and that countries where peanut butter was introduced did not see large increases in peanut allergies.

He said that aluminum is one possible cause, but there are others, including pesticides. He questioned why scientists, both within and outside the government, have not been working to rule out possible causes.

“You make a list of all the potential culprits that fit those criteria, and then you begin eliminating them. But those studies have never been done. We are going to do them now, and we will identify what is causing these allergies,” he said.

Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger, acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said later it was a trial funded by the institute that discovered early peanut exposure could prevent peanut allergies.

“What we need to do now and to go forward is to think about more research on prevention, and that is the back to this key of how do we shape the developing immune system early in life so that it doesn’t have these kind[s] of allergic responses but has more of a tolerant response,” Taubenberger said.

Some of the factors could include changes in the microbiome, he said.

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Taubenberger’s superior, asked Taubenberger how the government could study the hypothesis that aluminum exposure contributes to the development of allergies.

“This would require clinical trials, prospective clinical trials—well-designed—and they would have to be long-term,” he said. “It would be expensive, but these are things that should be discussed.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 18:25

Louisiana Has The 2nd Highest Incarceration Rate In The World...

Millions of prisoners are detained in America, but incarceration rates vary widely by state.

Overall, detaining inmates costs an estimated $182 billion each year across 1,566 state prisons, 3,116 local prisons, and 98 federal facilities.

Despite being the world’s largest economy, America has the fourth-highest incarceration rate globally.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows prisoners per 100,000 people by state, based on data from the Prison Policy Initiative.

Incarceration Rates Are Highest in the South

Below, we rank states by incarceration rates, using 2021 state-level data applied to the 2024 national prison population:

With 1,067 prisoners per 100,000 people Louisiana has a staggeringly high rate of people behind bars.

Not only is this nearly double the national average, it is more than 12 times higher than in Canada.

Despite being the “incarceration capital of the world”, it has the second-highest murder rate in the country, after Mississippi.

Making matters worse, several prisoners, including juveniles, face life sentences in Louisiana without the chance of parole.

As we can see, Southern states make up eight of the 10 highest incarceration rates, disproportionately impacting people of color. Over the past 25 years, penalties for non-violent offenses have also become increasingly severe, with detainees serving longer sentences.

By contrast, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island have the lowest rates in the nation—however, they remain higher than most countries.

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the cost per prisoner by U.S. state.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 18:00

Florida Dem. Rep. Indicted On $5 Million FEMA Money-Laundering Scheme, Faces Up To 53 Years In Prison

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) is facing suspension from Congress and up to 53 years in prison after being indicted on federal charges for stealing $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds.

The funds were allegedly overpayments to Trinity Health Care Services, a family-run company she previously led, which had a state contract for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.

McCormick allegedly laundered the proceeds to support her 2021 congressional campaign.

Prosecutors claim she and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, conspired to funnel the money through multiple accounts and used it for campaign contributions and personal benefit.

She faces additional charges along with her tax preparer for allegedly filing a false federal tax return by inflating deductions and charitable contributions.
If convicted, she could face up to 53 years in prison.

“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.

“No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain. We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”

Republican Rep. Greg Steube, a fellow Floridian, stated Thursday that he will file a resolution to expel McCormick later today. In response to her indictment Wednesday night, Steube had initially indicated he would be moving to censure her.

“On second thought, I have decided to skip censure and move straight to expulsion,” the Republican posted on X, Thursday morning.

“Defrauding the federal government and disaster victims of $5 million is an automatic disqualifier from serving in elected office,” he added.

"Cherfilus-McCormick needs to be swiftly removed from the House before she can inflict any more harm on Congress, her district, and the State of Florida.

I’ll be filing the resolution today. If she refuses to resign and save Congress the embarrassment of having to expel her, I will bring this resolution to the floor for a vote."

Cherfilus-McCormick, who has been under House Ethics Committee investigation since 2023, denies the charges, calling the indictment “unjust” and “baseless,” and has pledged to fight the allegations in court.

Cherfilus-McCormick is the third Democrat member of Congress to be under current federal indictment.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were indicted in May 2024 on federal charges including bribery, money laundering, conspiracy, and acting as agents of foreign principals.

The charges stem from allegations that between December 2014 and November 2021, the couple accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company controlled by the government of Azerbaijan and a bank headquartered in Mexico City.

These payments were allegedly funneled through sham consulting contracts to shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work.

The indictment includes multiple counts such as conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and money laundering, with potential penalties totaling up to 204 years in prison if convicted.

Cuellar, who denies any wrongdoing, continues to serve in Congress and is running for re-election.

LaMonica McIver (N.J.) was indicted in June for allegedly interfering with federal officers during a scuffle outside an immigration detention facility in Newark on May 9.

An online video shows McIver,  a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, screaming at law enforcement officers as they tried to break through their blockade,  throwing punches and shoving the officers as they tried to regain control.

US Attorney Alina Habba announced on X that a Newark federal grand jury had returned a three-count indictment charging McIver with “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers.”

A federal judge last week dismissed McIver’s bid to have the federal charges dismissed, rejecting her claims that she was conducting congressional oversight and is just the victim of selective prosecution.

“Defendant has not met her burden of establishing that her predominant purpose in physically opposing the Mayor’s arrest was to conduct oversight or gather information for a legislative purpose. No genuine legislative purpose was advanced by Defendant’s alleged conduct,” U.S. District Court Judge Jamel K. Semper wrote.

The N.J Democrat faces up to 17 years in prison for her aggressive conduct.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 17:40

New NTSB Images Show Moment UPS Air Freighter's Engine Ripped Off On Takeoff

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board have released frame-by-frame images showing the left engine of the UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11F freighter separating from the aircraft during a straight-out departure earlier this month in Louisville, leading to a horrific crash.

NTSB's preliminary report showed the left engine (No. 1) and entire pylon assembly tore away from the wing immediately after rotation, igniting into a massive fireball.

With the wing on fire, the air freighter managed only about 30 feet AGL before losing lift. It cleared the blast fence on Runway 17 Right at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport but struck the roof of a UPS warehouse with its left main gear, then crashed into a nearby industrial park.

In total, three pilots died and 11 people on the ground. Twenty-three others on the ground were injured.

UPS has since grounded all MD-11 air freighters operating in its fleet. The Federal Aviation Administration issued emergency directives grounding all MD-11/MD-11F and later DC-10 series aircraft pending inspection due to a similar wing design.

The NTSB pointed back to a similar crash in 1979 when American Airlines Flight 191, a DC-10, experienced a catastrophic engine-pylon separation on takeoff.

*  *  * GRAB A MULTITOOL! (Christmas is right around the corner... maybe get a few for the volume discount)

Christmas is right around the corner... pic.twitter.com/TXc7STNYQW

— ZeroHedge Store (@ZeroHedgeStore) November 3, 2025

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 15:05

$1.2 Billion Suspicious Epstein Transactions? Wyden Demands Investigation After JP Morgan Failed To Report For Years

Now that we're making progress on Epstein - after President Trump and Mike Johnson were forced to cave under overwhelming pressure for DOJ disclosure - a logical next step is to look into who was funding the notorious sex-trafficker. 

Jeffrey Epstein, former Barclays / JP Morgan exec Jes Staley

On Thursday morning, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) called for an investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase deliberately concealed suspicious transactions by Epstein. 

You really just need to look at Exhibit A in Wyden's memo (dated Wednesday) based on unsealed court records: the number of transactions flagged as suspicious between 2002 - 2016, vs. a flurry of almost $1.3 billion in suspicious transactions that the bank scrambled to file right after Epstein died in jail awaiting trial. 

Wyden writes: 

The unsealed court records include copies of SARs that JPMC filed on Epstein’s accounts between 2002 and 2019. Between 2002 and 2016, JPMC filed 7 SARs flagging only $4.3 million in suspicious transactions from Epstein’s accounts.¹ Only after Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges did JPMC report the full extent of Epstein’s suspicious financial activity. In August and September of 2019, JPMC filed two SARs flagging more than 5,000 suspicious wire transfers moving approximately $1.3 billion in and out of Epstein’s accounts.² This is the strongest evidence yet that JPMC should face an investigation for failure to appropriately monitor and report Epstein’s financial activity.

According to internal bank emails, JPMorgan may have held off on filing the SARs (suspicious activity reports) because it wanted "to continue working with Epstein," who was a great source of referrals despite firing him as a client in 2013, the report found.

The bank said in late October that "it was flagging about 4,700 transactions, totaling more than $1 billion, because they were potentially related to reports of human trafficking involving Mr. Epstein. It also mentioned Mr. Epstein’s wire transfers to Russian banks and sensitivities around “his relationships with two U.S. presidents.” Mr. Epstein at times was close with President Trump and former President Bill Clinton," according to the NYT.

Wyden said in a statement that it was "clear that JPMorgan Chase ought to face criminal investigation for the way it enabled Epstein’s horrific crimes," and that both Congress and the DOJ should investigate the bank - which has repeatedly issued statements of regret for working with Epstein, and claims it did all it could with the information it had at the time.

"The second the government finally made public the sex trafficking details in 2019 — information they clearly had for years — we identified for law enforcement a range of Epstein’s past transactions intended to assist with the investigation," said bank spokeswoman Patricia Wexler on Thursday. 

Will Wyden actually follow the money?

Related:

The Overlooked Shell Company Operated By Epstein's Accomplices

Epstein's Inbox Lays Out Gift Networks, PR Tactics, And Strange Habits

Revelation Of Epstein Investment Tied To Peter Thiel Adds To Growing Concerns About Palantir

Victoria's Secret Boss Wexner Swears He Didn't Know About Epstein Penchant For Pedophilia

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 14:25

5 Plead Guilty In First Antifa Terrorism Case Relating To Texas Detention Center Attack

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

Five people pleaded guilty on Nov. 19 to terrorism-related charges after facing accusations of supporting Antifa in a July shooting that wounded a police officer outside a Texas immigration detention center.

The Justice Department prosecution followed President Donald Trump’s executive order designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Antifa, short for “anti-fascists,” is a militant group that functioned as the violent arm of the communist party in Germany, giving the modern Antifa movement its nickname and symbols that are still in use today.

FBI Director Kash Patel described the Texas charges as the first time that material support to terrorism has been applied to Antifa. The incident took place on July 4 outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas. Prosecutors allege a “North Texas antifa cell” attacked the facility with gunfire and fireworks.

Nathan Baumann, 20; Joy Gibson, 30; Seth Sikes, 22; Lynette Sharp, 57; and John Thomas, 32, each entered guilty pleas to one count of providing material support to terrorists during a hearing in federal court in Fort Worth. They each face up to 15 years in prison.

Erin Kelley, an attorney for Sharp, told The Associated Press the plea was just one “step one in a long process” before the final sentence is determined.

Attorneys for the other defendants couldn’t be reached.

Proceedings against other suspects involved in the shooting remain ongoing. A federal grand jury recently indicted nine additional individuals on charges such as rioting, using explosives, obstruction, and the attempted murder of federal officers.

Those indicted are Cameron Arnold (also known as Autumn Hill), Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris (also known as Meagan Morris), Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada. Their arraignments are scheduled for next month.

Court documents lay out a tumultuous scene at the detention center, a facility used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold individuals awaiting deportation.

Prosecutors allege group members clad in “black bloc” attire—dark clothing and face coverings—arrived late at night. They allegedly vandalized vehicles, a guard shack, and a security camera, as well as launched fireworks at the building.

As an Alvarado Police Department officer responded to a 911 call from correctional staff, one suspect reportedly yelled “get to the rifles” ahead of opening fire, striking the officer in the neck area. The wounded officer fell but shot back. Additional rounds were then shot at the injured officer and an unarmed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) correctional officer, who was seeking cover.

Gibson, Baumann, and Sikes were arrested in the near vicinity shortly after the attack. Sharp and Thomas are accused of assisting the main shooter evade capture until July 15.

The group allegedly acquired over 50 firearms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area ahead of the incident and used encrypted messaging apps with auto-delete features to coordinate the operation, including reconnaissance and discussions on supplies, such as medical kits and explosives.

The indictment alleged that Song was a group leader who distributed weapons and recruited members at gun ranges, combat training sessions, and from ideologically similar groups. Some defendants, such as the Sotos and Batten, are allegedly tied to producing “zines”—insurrectionary pamphlets promoting anti-government and anti-ICE ideas.

Defense attorney Patrick McLain, representing Evetts, stated there is “no evidence that such an organization [as a North Texas antifa cell] ever existed” and that his client is not affiliated with any such group.

Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson praised the investigation involving the FBI, ICE, ATF, Texas Department of Public Safety, Alvarado Police, and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is the first indictment in the country against a group of violent antifa cell members,” she said in a statement, reaffirming a commitment to safeguarding federal facilities from “organized domestic terrorist cells.”

If convicted on the more severe charges, some defendants face life imprisonment. Others could receive sentences up to 50 years.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 14:00

BitMine Sits On $3.7B Loss As DAT 'Hotel California' Meets BlackRock's Staked ETH ETF

Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com,

Concerns are mounting over the sustainability of corporate crypto-treasury firms as BlackRock moves forward with a staked Ether fund that analysts say could compete directly with existing digital-asset treasuries.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, the world’s largest corporate Ether holder, is currently down $1,000 per purchased ETH, implying a cumulative unrealized loss of $3.7 billion on its total holdings, according to a Thursday research report from crypto insights company 10x Research.

The decline in net asset value (NAV) across these firms is making it difficult to attract new retail investors while leaving many existing shareholders effectively “trapped” unless they sell at a steep loss, 10x Research founder Markus Thielen wrote in a LinkedIn post.

“When the premium inevitably shrinks to zero, as it is doing now, investors find themselves trapped in the structure, unable to get out without significant damage, a true Hotel California scenario,” he said.

He added that, unlike exchange-traded funds (ETFs), digital-asset treasury companies, or DATs, “layer on complex, opaque, and often hedge-fund-like fee structures that can quietly erode returns.”

BitMine, Ethereum, right-hand side (RHS) price. Source: 10X Research

The mNAV ratio compares a company’s enterprise value to the value of its crypto holdings. An mNAV above 1 allows a company to raise funds by issuing new shares to accumulate digital assets. Values below 1 make it much harder to expand capital and holdings.

BitMine’s basic mNAV stood at 0.77 while its diluted mNAV stood at 0.92, according to data from Bitminetracker.

BitMine overview, holdings, share metrics. Bitminetracker.io

BitMine holds about 3.56 million ETH valued at roughly $10.7 billion, representing 2.94% of the total Ether supply. The firm’s average cost basis is $4,051 per ETH.

Other DATs also suffered a sharp decrease in their mNAVs, including Strategy, Bitmine, Metaplanet, Sharplink Gaming, Upexi and DeFi Development Corp.

BlackRock steps in with lower-cost competition

BlackRock has registered a new staked Ether ETF offering in Delaware, marking the first step for the $13.5 trillion asset management giant’s diversification into Ethereum-based products, Cointelegraph reported earlier on Thursday.

Source: Eric Balchunas

BlackRock’s proposed Ether staking ETF could offer another low-cost, yield-generating fund, without the hidden costs associated with traditional treasury firms.

This development may threaten the economics of DATs, according to 10x Research.

“With BlackRock now seeking approval to stake ETH in its ETF, offering a low-cost source of yield, the economics of DATs are likely to face increasing scrutiny,” the research report states.

More investors may start reallocating toward a potential staked Ether fund from BlackRock when they realize that the 0.25% management fee is far smaller compared to the embedded costs of DATs, according to 10X.

Asset managers REX-Osprey and Grayscale have already launched staked ETH ETF products in September and October.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 13:20

Jasmine Crockett Shares List Of Republicans Who Took Money From Epstein - Only Problem - It Was A Different Epstein!

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) has publicly beclowned herself for the second time in a week by falsely accusing several Republican politicians of taking money from “somebody named Jeffrey Epstein.”

“Folks who also took money from somebody named Jeffrey Epstein, as I had my team dig in very quickly—Mitt Romney, the NRCC, Lee Zeldin, George Bush, McCain-Palin,” Crocket declared on the House floor on Tuesday.

Crockett: Folks who also took money from somebody named Jeffrey Epstein, as I had my team dig in very quickly, Mitt Romney. The NRCC. Lee Zeldin. George Bush. McCain-Palin. pic.twitter.com/CdwuSacQpb

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 18, 2025

Federal campaign finance records show that Epstein donated primarily to Democrats, including two current sitting members of Congress, Delegate Stacy Plaskett (D-V.I) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), both of whom have retained the donations, despite scrutiny.

Even worse, newly released documents from Epstein’s estate include text messages between Plaskett and Epstein that show he advised her on what questions to ask President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen during a 2019 congressional hearing.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee also recently released documents revealing that a fundraising firm representing Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ( D-N.Y.) solicited donations from Epstein in 2013, shortly after Jeffries’ first election to the House and well after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

“I just want to be clear, if this is the standard that we gonna make, just know we’re gonna expose it all. And know that the FEC filings, they are available for everyone to review,” Crockett said, hoping to deflect from these Democrat embarrassments.

Public records however indicate that most of the donations highlighted by Crockett came from an entirely different person, a Republican physician named Jeffrey Epstein.

Zeldin, currently Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, blasted the congresswoman on X: “Yes Crockett, a physician named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (who is a totally different person than the other Jeffrey Epstein) donated to a prior campaign of mine. NO FREAKIN RELATION YOU GENIUS!!!”

Records also showed that Dr. Epstein made two $250 donations to former Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney during his presidential run in 2012,” the Daily Caller reported.

All of the donations mentioned by Crockett reportedly came from other people named Jeffrey Epstein, and came in some cases, came after the convicted sex trafficker had died.

The emails released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday show Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ campaign soliciting money from Epstein in 2013 and inviting him to a Democrat fundraising dinner with then-President Barack Obama.

The fundraising firm Dynamic SRG refers to Jeffries in the email as “Brooklyn’s Barack” and a “progressive voice,” and encourages him to “get involved with the dinner” or “get an opportunity to get to know Hakeem better.”

Jeffries stated he has “no recollection” of the outreach and emphasized he “certainly” never met Epstein or accepted any money from him.

Plaskett, meanwhile, has dismissed accusations that she colluded with the sex offender in an effort to get Trump.

“I believe that Jeffrey Epstein had information and I was going to get information to get at the truth,” she said during an interview on CNN, Wednesday.

“There are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes and as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can.”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett responds to Lee Zeldin saying he never took donations from that Jeffrey Epstein — but instead a physician who is also named Jeffrey Epstein — following her comments on the floor. pic.twitter.com/ReN4IbTW6K

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 20, 2025

Republicans in the House on Tuesday attempted to censure Plaskett and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee, but failed in a 209-214 vote, with three Republicans joining Democrats in opposition, allegedly to protect Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) from being censured himself, and referred to the House Ethics Committee for investigation.

Crockett, last week, was brutally called out by CNN when she tried to claim that Republicans had redacted a name in an email released by Democrats to smear Trump.

When the CNN host pointed out that Democrats had redacted the exonerating information, Crockett immediately flipflopped, claiming that Democrats redacted the name because their “biggest concern” was to “actually make sure” they were “protecting victims.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 12:40

Zelensky 'Agrees' To Engage On US Plan To End War, Features Territorial Concessions

At this point Axios, the Financial Times, the NY Times, and Ukrainian regional media have all said that the new peace plan being 'secretly' pushed by the Trump administration contains significant territorial concessions. Additionally, there are reportedly stipulations that would see Ukraine scale back its armed forces, stop receiving some Western weapons, and stops hosting all foreign troops.

A source has also told RBC-Ukraine that a key provision is that the Ukrainian government commits to a formal refusal for future NATO membership. The same report said things are taken further, as Russian officials and troops would receive amnesty for all wartime crimes.

Via Reuters

Additionally, international and US-led sanctions would reportedly be lifted on Moscow, paving the way for Russia's return to the global economy.

The US-proposed 28-point peace plan would cede control of the eastern Donbas to Russia, but other partially controlled territories like Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions would see concessions made by Russia.

As we featured previously, Kremlin officials have finally said their position is being 'heard' - especially given this is the first time Washington appears to be getting serious about pushing territorial concessions. 

The plan appears to have been primarily drafted by President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev - but so far the Zelensky government has expressed dismay that it is being cut out of the process.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since written on X that achieving a "durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions."

He acknowledged current talks are all about consulting both sides in order to "develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war."

On Thursday US Army and top Pentagon representatives are in the Ukrainian capital in an effort to pressure the Zelensky government into engaging in talks on the US-Moscow peace plan:

Senior Pentagon officials have arrived in Ukraine to "discuss efforts to end the war" with Russia, the US military has said.

The team, led by US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, held talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Thursday morning. They are expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later in the day.

But it remains that Zelensky has throughout the war consistently rejected any proposal which features territorial concessions. He is supported especially be Ukrainian hardliners, both in the military and in parliament. 

⚡#BREAKING Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the matter: Zelensky received signals from the United States that he must accept the agreement reached in consultation with Moscow. pic.twitter.com/Py7hzBipx0

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 20, 2025

However, fresh news headlines say Zelensky has expressed 'openness' to working with this framework:

• ZELENSKIY: UKRAINE IS READY TO WORK WITH US, EUROPE FOR PEACE
• ZELENSKIY SAYS HE AGREED TO WORK ON US DRAFT PLAN TO END WAR
• OIL TURNS NEGATIVE AS ZELENSKIY SIGNALS OPENNESS TO PEACE TALKS

But already (and somewhat predictably) European hawks are chiming in negatively, urging Kiev against any 'compromise' with Moscow. "EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that for any plan to work, it would need to have Ukrainians and their European allies on board," BBC writes.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has seconded this viewpoint, saying "the Ukrainians do not want any form of capitulation."

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 12:20

Watch: Sam Harris Blames Trump 'Cult' For Kirk Assassination

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Atheist philosopher Sam Harris, known for his anti-religion books like “The End of Faith” and his “Making Sense” podcast, has absurdly pinned Charlie Kirk’s assassination on President Trump and his “cult” of followers.

During the rant on the Trigger Nometry podcast, Harris conveniently absolved radicalized leftists brainwashed by years of Democrat and media vitriol calling conservatives “Nazis” and “threats to democracy.”

Asked about Charlie Kirk’s murder, Harris responded, “I would put most of the onus, as will not surprise you, on the president and his cult.” 

He claimed that there’s “no party left of center” supporting the assassination, instead blaming Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, and Alex Jones for ‘fueling the fire.’ 

This twisted logic ignores how Dems and their mouthpieces spent years radicalizing lunatics with “Trump is Hitler” smears—directly egging on violence while now playing innocent.

NEW: Atheist Sam Harris blames President Trump and his "cult" for Charlie Kirk's assassination, claims there is "no party left of center" that supported the assassination of Kirk.

Harris also blamed Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, and Alex Jones for 'fueling the fire.'

"I would put… pic.twitter.com/H2Y1okhFKF

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 19, 2025

Recall how in 2022, Harris admitted to not caring about the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, stating it “absolutely should have been covered up” to stop Trump.

“At that point, Hunter Biden literally could have had the corpses of children in his basement—I would not have cared,” Harris sickeningly suggested.

He justified suppression, noting “Whatever the scope of Joe’s corruption is… it is infinitesimal compared to the corruption we know Trump is involved in.” 

“Hunter Biden could have the corpses of children in his basement, I wouldn’t care”

When people tell you who they are, believe them pic.twitter.com/aj6h0IgAJY

— Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) January 13, 2025

This reveals Harris’ ends-justify-means mindset, excusing lies and censorship for political gain—now extending to blaming Trump for left-driven violence.

Harris’ victim-blaming seeks to exonerate the radical left he helped inflame, proving elite intellectuals like him prioritize anti-Trump narratives over truth.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 12:00

Stocks & Crypto Slammed As NVDA Erases Post-Earnings Gains

Who could have seen that coming?

Sure enough - as has been the pattern - NVDA's overnight gains have been erased...

That has dragged all the majors back to day-session lows, with Nasdaq now unchanged (from up 2.4% at the highs)...

The plunge was exacerbated by all the majors breaking below key technical support...

Bitcoin is puking...

And it appears crypto was leading the majors lower...

Bitcoin slammed, everything else follows. Daily thing now https://t.co/oz9i6dfOOm pic.twitter.com/vhOAfSdskG

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 20, 2025

As we detailed earlier with regard to whether the rally would stick, Goldman's Rich Privorotsky lays out the tactical bull and bear case:

• The dream today is NVDA up 10%…GOOG powering on…useful-life comments killing the worst fears around CoreWeave and the debt-fueled AI buildout…sentiment snapping back as crypto, retail and systematic flows all rip and we grind back to the highs. Cherry on top would be a 20k-type NFP that puts cut pricing back near 75%. 

• Worst case is NVDA pops at the open then slides as forward constraints cap the 2nd derivative of growth…crypto pukes, CTAs are still sellers, NFP is hot, and Dec drops to 25% while credit refuses to tighten to match the equity rally and remains the lead indicator. 

It appears the 'worst case' is looming as rate-cut odds are fading lower again now too...

Tomorrow brings the largest November OpEx in history - which will likely not help.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 11:44

Native-Born Workers Rise By 2 Million Under Trump To A New Record High, As Foreign-Born Plunge By 1.6 Million

One can debate how effective Trump has been in following up on his various campaign promises, but one place where he has been steadfast is reversing the Biden admin's disastrous labor policies which favored foreign-born workers (mostly illegal aliens) over native-born workers.

Today's jobs report, which had something for everyone, including forecast-busting payrolls offset by the highest unemployment rate in 4 years at 4.4% (driven by another jump in black unemployment), was indisputably strong when it comes to one thing: the rotation from foreign born workers to domestic ones. 

To wit: in September, the number of native-born workers surged by 676K (after the August drop of 561K), while foreign-born workers dropped by 70K.

Now since the month-to-month changes are largely driven by seasonal factors, they don't convey the full picture. What does, is a longer-term study such as the one below, which shows that since Trump entered the White House and his policies started impacting the economy, the number of foreign born workers has slumped from a record 33.7 million in March 2025 to 32.1 million, a drop of $1.6 million. This has been offset by a slow but consistent increase in native-born workers which had been unchanged for six years since 2019 until the start of 2025, at which point it started to rise again, and has increased from 131.2 million in March 2025 to a new record high of 133.2 million in September.

As a reminder, right before the covid crash the number of foreign-born workers was about 28.7 million, and increased by a whopping 4.5 million under Biden, while the number of native-born workers was actually down, a decline which serious "economists" blamed on demographics, a lack of willingness to work, and anything else.

It turns out, the number of native-borns could have very easily gone up if only someone remove the massive overhang of millions of illegals flooding through the border and taking away jobs (at a massive paycut) which perfectly capable native-born Americans would have taken. 

 

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 11:25

Qatar Warns Gaza Ceasefire On Brink Of Collapse After 24 Hours Of Israeli Strikes

Qatar and others are warning that the status of the over month-long Gaza ceasefire is precarious, and faces imminent collapse, after Israel mounted large-scale airstrikes on some areas of the Gaza Strip starting Wednesday. There have been several episodes of brief assaults over the past month, but the situation is escalating fast once again.

Some attacks have continued into Thursday, killing at least 32 Palestinians since the renewed assaults began. It all started after the Israeli army (IDF) said its troops in Khan Younis were fired upon, allegedly by Hamas or other Palestinian militants. But the IDF confirmed there were no troop casualties as a result.

This new flare-up marks by far the deadliest since the Trump-backed ceasefire went into effect. Hamas in response rejected the allegations of attacking IDF troops and condemned the new Israeli strikes as a "shocking massacre."

Via Reuters

Hamas in its statement called the IDF assertions "a flimsy and transparent attempt to justify ongoing crimes and violations." Israel had very soon on the heels of the alleged shooting incident launched airstrikes on Gaza City.

The Wednesday Palestinian death toll from the widespread airstrikes came to at least 28 killed, with a reported 17 of them women and children, according to Palestinian sources. At least three more have been killed in ongoing strikes Thursday in Gaza's south, with at least 88 wounded over the last 24 hours.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry in a statement on its official website said it "strongly condemns the brutal attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip." Doha was a key player in helping mediate the Trump 20-point peace plan.

US officials have also frequently visited southern Israel since the truce went into effect, with the White House having since revealed that Trump 'pressured' Prime Minister Netanyahu to finally accept the plan.

There are some hardliners within Netanyahu's government who want to see the deal collapse, in order to pursue the final complete eradication of Hamas, and to ultimately open up Gaza to Jewish settlement.

Just as things are escalating again in Gaza, despite the fragile truce, IDF attacks are being renewed in southern Lebanon as well:

The Gaza strikes coincided with a barrage of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday on what the Israeli military said said were Hezbollah sites, including weapons storage facilities. A day earlier, an Israeli airstrike killed 13 people in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, the deadliest of Israeli attacks on Lebanon since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago.

This week kicked off with the UN Security Council having formally backed the Trump Gaza plan. A resolution was backed by thirteen countries, with no country voting against and Russia and China abstaining.

Gaza authorities said Israel has launched more strikes on the enclave, killing at least three. Meanwhile, Israel's military says its forces have been fired upon again, this time in the West Bank. https://t.co/LCoR1QgZIv

— DW News (@dwnews) November 20, 2025

The UNSC signed off on the establishment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF), which is included in the 20-point plan, and several countries have sent military representatives to assist.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 11:10

30,000 Missing Illegal Immigrant Children Located: Tom Homan

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

More than 30,000 missing illegal immigrant children have been located by the Trump administration, border czar Tom Homan said in a Fox News interview clip published on Nov. 18.

Illegal immigrants await processing by U.S. Border Patrol agents outside of San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 5, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson had recently said the Trump administration’s policies were similar to restarting the Civil War. Responding to the accusation, Homan said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “is out there enforcing the law. We’re taking really bad guys off the street.”

He said the left wants “to attack ICE. They want to throw all these false narratives.”

“Where were they when half a million children were smuggled into this country, and they lost track of 300,000? You know what President [Donald] Trump has done? I was with HHS today. We’ve already found over 30,000 of these kids. Three weeks ago, we were at 24,000. Now, we’re over 30,000. And we’re gonna keep working till we find every one of these kids,” he said, referring to the Department of Health and Human Services.

JUST IN: Tom Homan says over 30,000 missing migrant children have been found under the Trump administration.

"We already found over 30,000 of these kids. You know, about three weeks ago, we were at 24,000."

"We're going to keep working until we find every one of these… pic.twitter.com/pcR6W9tKZ1

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 19, 2025

Under Trump, America has seen the “most secure border” in the country’s history, Homan said.

According to a Nov. 5 statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), border encounters nationwide in October were 30,561, the lowest for the month in history and the “lowest start to a fiscal year” ever recorded by the Customs and Border Protection.

In his interview, Homan said there is now “less fentanyl killing Americans, less sex trafficking of women and children. And we’re finding children that Biden administration wasn’t even looking for. And we’re the bad guys? It’s disgusting.”

Democrats have criticized the Trump administration’s policies on handling illegal immigrant children.

On Sept. 29, a group of lawmakers led by Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.) wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem expressing “deep concern” over reports that the department was allowing illegal, unaccompanied children aged 14 and above to self-deport back to their home nations.

Such actions go against requirements of the bipartisan Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, under which DHS is obliged to transfer illegal immigrant children into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and place them into proceedings before immigration courts, the lawmakers said.

“We expect that DHS’s new policy will deprive children of due process and place them in grave danger of trafficking and other harm,” said the letter.

On Oct. 3, HHS informed migrant shelters that some of the illegal, unaccompanied children aged 14 and older who are in federal custody have expressed interest in leaving the United States, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The DHS “will provide a one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500 ... to unaccompanied alien children, 14 years of age and older, who have elected to voluntarily depart the United States as of the date of this notice and moving forward,” the letter said.

The payments are aimed at supporting “reintegration efforts following departure,” it said.

ICE spokesperson Emily Covington said in a statement that the offer would initially apply to children aged 17 years. Moreover, the payment would only be approved once an immigration judge approves the child’s voluntary departure and the individual arrives in their home nation, she said.

“Many of these UACs [unaccompanied alien children] had no choice when they were dangerously smuggled into this country,” she said.

“ICE and the Office of Refugee and Resettlement at HHS are offering a strictly voluntary option to return home to their families. This voluntary option gives UACs a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future.”

Meanwhile, Homan’s comments on rescuing missing illegal immigrant children follow ICE’s launch of an initiative last week aimed at protecting unaccompanied children illegally smuggled into the United States and placed in the care of unvetted sponsors during the Biden administration.

The key focus of the initiative is to conduct welfare checks on the children to ensure they live a safe life, free from any exploitation, DHS said.

The department blamed the open border policies of the Biden administration for having “empowered” human traffickers and sex traffickers. The Trump administration is taking a “sledgehammer” on such trafficking activities, it said.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 10:55

Commerce Department Authorizes Export Of Advanced AI Chips To Companies In UAE, Saudi Arabia

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Nov. 19 that it had authorized exporting tens of thousands of American advanced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor chips to two companies in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The microchips will go to G42, a state-run AI company in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, and Humain, a Saudi government-backed AI business. Both companies have large data center projects planned in each of their respective nations.

The announcement came a day after Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in the United States for the first time since 2018 and is reflective of both countries’ interests in developing AI technology.

“Both companies are receiving approvals to purchase the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips (GB300s),” the Commerce Department said in a statement.

“These approvals will promote continued American AI dominance and global technological leadership—consistent with President Trump’s July 2025 AI Action Plan.”

A purchase of 35,000 Blackwell chips is estimated to be worth $1 billion, although prices vary.

“The approvals are conditioned on both companies meeting rigorous security and reporting requirements,” the Commerce Department said, adding that its “Bureau of Industry and Security is engaging with the companies regarding these requirements and will monitor compliance on an ongoing basis.”

The agency said that beyond its announcement on Wednesday, it will continue supporting the export of the American AI technology stack to “Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other allies and partners around the globe.”

Humain said earlier in the day that it planned to buy 600,000 Nvidia AI semiconductors.

The company plans to jointly build data centers, which will include a 500 megawatt facility, in Saudi Arabia alongside Elon Musk’s xAI.

G42, a leader in the UAE’s AI industry, is planning to construct one of the largest data centers in the world in the country with American technology.

It is receiving help from technology companies Nvidia, OpenAI, Cisco, and Oracle, alongside Japan’s SoftBank, to complete the first phase set to go online in 2026, known as Stargate UAE.

Trump Touts Saudi Investments

While meeting with the crown prince in the White House on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States and Saudi Arabia had inked $270 billion in new business deals in energy, AI, finance, and aerospace.

On Nov. 19, oil giant Saudi Aramco said it had signed 17 memoranda of understanding and agreements with U.S. companies worth more than $30 billion. The projects span liquefied natural gas, financial services, advanced materials manufacturing, and procurement of materials and services, the company said.

Additionally, GE Aerospace will supply dozens of airplane engines for Boeing 787 Dreamliners owned by Saudi Arabia’s leading air carrier Saudia.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 10:20

Existing Home Sales Beat In October As Mortgage Rates Tumbled

With mortgage rates tumbling, housing market participants have been disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm by homebuyers to apply for mortgages (though there was a decent bounce in refi activity)...

Source: Bloomberg

This morning's existing home sales data (admittedly for October) will give us a further glimpse into the reality oh home-buying vs home-selling as the gap between current mortgage rates and the average existing mortgage rates remains vast...

Source: Bloomberg

Analysts (rightfully, given the shift in rates) expected a bounce, albeit tiny (+0.5%), in existing home sales for October and were surprised to the upside with a 1.2% MoM rise...

Source: Bloomberg

Which lifted the home sales SAAR a little more off record lows (to eight month highs)...

Source: Bloomberg

This print represents signings - so when sales probably went through from August and September (before rates really started to decline). 

“Home sales increased in October even with the government shutdown due to homebuyers taking advantage of lower mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.

Is momentum about to start picking up?

The median sales price gained 2.1% from a year ago to $415,200, furthering a run of year-over-year price increases dating back to mid-2023.

Last month, the supply of previously owned homes for sale fell 0.7% to 1.52 million, still near its highest level since mid-2020, NAR data show.

Homes remained on market 34 days last month, the longest stretch for any October since 2019, Yun said on a conference call.

But to get back to pre-Covid levels, “it requires drastically larger supply,” Yun said.

“We’re not seeing that. And much more meaningful decline in mortgage rates.”

In the NAR report, sales in the South, the nation’s biggest home-selling region, increased 0.5%, marking the strongest rate since February.

Sales in the West fell 1.3%, while sales were flat in the Northeast. The Midwest led US regions with a 5.3% sales gain.

Nationwide, sellers outnumbered buyers last month by about 500,000, giving the latter some power to demand discounts and other concessions, Redfin estimated in a separate report this month.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 10:10

EU's Ukraine Funding Scheme Will Trigger Lawsuits, Collapse Of Euro & Be On Grandchildren's Shoulders: Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has issued a new warning that the European Commission (EC)-proposed new loan amount to Ukraine of 135 billion euros will end up being paid for by the grandchildren of EU country populations.

"An astronomical sum that does not exist today. It simply does not exist," he began by saying. "The Brussels 'magic trick' would again be a joint European loan, a step that would guarantee that even our grandchildren would have to pay for the costs of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict," he said.

AFP/Getty Images

This was his further response to a letter recently issued to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, seeking to desperately raise more funds for Kiev in order for it to close a some $150 billion budget gap.

"It will now be key to rapidly reach a clear commitment on how to ensure that the necessary funding for Ukraine will be agreed at the next European Council meeting in December," she wrote. 

But Orban chaffed and pointed out that this whopping amount is at least 65% of the annual volume of the Hungarian economy and almost 75% of the annual EU budget, an "absurd" ask. He quipped:

"This is more than impossible. This is absolutely ridiculous. Hungary's response will follow immediately," the Hungarian Prime Minister stressed.

He has also warned that if Brussels decides to use frozen Russian assets, it will trigger lawsuits and potentially the collapse of the Euro.

"Turning to frozen Russian assets. A convenient solution, but the consequences are unpredictable. Lengthy legal proceedings, numerous lawsuits, and the collapse of the euro. This is what awaits us if we choose this path," Orban wrote on social media.

We earlier featured some of his initial reaction, as previously this week he flatly rejected the call for sending more support to Ukraine: 

"I received a letter today from President von der Leyen. She writes that Ukraine’s financing gap is significant and asks member states to send more money," he wrote on X. "It’s astonishing."

"At a time when it has become clear that a war mafia is siphoning off European taxpayers’ money, instead of demanding real oversight or suspending payments, the Commission President suggests we send even more."

€135 billion. That's how much money the head of the Brusselian bureaucracy, President @vonderleyen, wants to scrape together for Ukraine. This is the price of prolonging the war.

The President has one problem: she doesn't have this money. What she does have are 3 proposals on… pic.twitter.com/XFic4Fsgmr

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) November 20, 2025

Given Ukraine's corruption, and there's a raging scandal currently in the headlines which has resulted in the dismissal of several top officials and ministers, Orban likened the scheme to giving a drunk person more vodka. 

But he vowed that Hungary has not lost its common sense and described, "This whole matter is a bit like trying to help an alcoholic by sending them another crate of vodka." Budapest won't go along with it.

* * * 

More of PM Orban's scathing critique on Thursday:

The [EC] President has one problem: she doesn't have this money. What she does have are 3 proposals on the table:

1. That the member states should chip in. Willingly and cheerfully, from their own budgets. As if they had nothing better to do.

2. A well known Brusselian "magic trick": joint borrowing. There's no money for the war today, so our grandchildren will pay the bill. Absurd.

3. A proposal to seize the frozen Russian assets. A convenient solution, but its consequences are impossible to foresee. Lengthy legal wrangling, a flood of lawsuits and the collapse of the euro. This is what awaits us if we choose this path.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 09:20

Democratic Lawmakers Call On Military Members, Intelligence Community To "Refuse Illegal Orders"

Authored by Jackson Richman & Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,

Six Democratic lawmakers have called on members of the military and the intelligence community to disobey “illegal orders” from the top command.

A video was released on X on Nov. 18 featuring Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.). Each of these lawmakers served in the military or the intelligence community.

We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.

The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.

Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r

— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025

“We want to speak directly to members of the military—and the Intelligence Community—who take risks each day to keep Americans safe,” said Kelly, Slotkin, Crow, and Deluzio, one by one, each speaking different sections of the sentence in the video.

Slotkin said service members are “under enormous stress and pressure right now” amid national disputes over the limits of executive authority and military operations.

Kelly, Slotkin, and Crow accused the Trump administration of “pitting our uniformed military and Intelligence Community professionals against American citizens.”

The Democratic lawmakers didn’t specify in their short video any specific orders from the administration they are targeting. Meanwhile, a handful of issues related to military and intelligence operations have flared up recently, including the Trump administration’s National Guard deployment to several major cities in recent months, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland, Oregon.

Some local officials and Democratic governors opposed these deployments, which the administration said were intended to reduce crime and protect federal agents and property during federal law enforcement operations. The use of the National Guard for protection of federal property and other interests is permitted under federal statutes. Other functions, such as law enforcement, are more restricted.

The administration’s airstrikes on alleged drug boats—now numbering more than 20 strikes that have killed more than 80 alleged traffickers—have also come under scrutiny.

Critics, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), have argued that these strikes constitute the military carrying out law enforcement functions and are contrary to American legal traditions and norms. In law enforcement matters, officials must follow the legal process, including obtaining warrants on suspects and receiving permission to make arrests or use lethal force.

The administration has stated that drug traffickers are foreign terrorists and that the airstrikes constitute self-defense amid an opioid crisis in America. The Department of Justice has said military service members who take part in the strikes will not be subject to prosecution.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who has received classified briefings on the strikes, has called for the administration to share more information with the public on the strikes. Rogers said that the evidence presented to him showed that the strikes are “completely legal.”

“They should be more transparent about it, in my view,” he said of administration officials.

In the video, Kelly and Goodlander noted that members of the military and the intelligence community swore an oath to defend the Constitution.

“The threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad—but from right here at home,” Deluzio, then Crow said.

“Our laws are clear,” said Kelly, who added with Slotkin, “You can refuse illegal orders.”

“You must refuse illegal orders,” Deluzio continued.

“No one has to carry out orders that violate the law—or our Constitution,” said Slotkin, then Houlahan.

Under U.S. military law, members of the military are obligated to refuse “manifestly unlawful” orders, including orders to commit a crime or violate the Constitution. Federal law prohibits members of the intelligence community from taking part in unlawful or unconstitutional activities, even when ordered to do so by superiors.

The Trump administration criticized the video.

“Stage 4 [Trump Derangement Syndrome],” posted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

White House Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller in a post on X: “Democrat lawmakers are now openly calling for insurrection.”

Speaking later on Fox News, Miller described the video as a “rebellion” by Democrats.

“It is insurrection, plainly, directly, without question,” Miller said.

“It’s a general call for rebellion from the CIA and the armed services of the United States by Democrat lawmakers, saying that you have not only the right, but the duty and the obligation to defy orders of the commander-in-chief that those who carry weapons in America’s name should defy their chain of command and engage in open acts of insurrection.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for comment on the video and did not receive a response by publication time.

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 09:00

Jobs Shocker: Sept Payrolls Print Above All Forecasts, But Unemployment Rate Hits 4 Year High

In our preview of today's jobs report, we showed that the range of estimates is (extremely) broad, from 105K on the upper end, to just -20K on the lower.

We also said that if today's jobs number is atrocious, the Fed would once again be viewed as being behind the curve. So perhaps working in conjunction with the newly returned BLS employees, the outgoing Fed chair snuck in a pointer or two, and in an attempt to avert allegations of blowing up the economy, moments ago the BLS reported that the (delayed) September number came in a stronger than all estimates 119k jobs...

... a 5 sigma beat to the median estimate...

... which however followed yet another downward revision, as the total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised down by 7,000, from +79,000 to +72,000, and the change for August was revised down by 26,000, from +22,000 to -4,000 (so much for Goldman's thesis August would be replaced sharply higher).

With these revisions, employment in July and August combined is 33,000 lower than previously reported, and continues the trend of relentless downward revisions.

Manufacturing jobs fell for the sixth straight month...

After August's surge in part-time jobs (decline in full-time), September flipped the script with a surge in full-time jobs as part-tiume jobs tumbled...

BUT... The US unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% in September - its highest in four years...

Led by Black unemployment...

The participation rate rose for the second month in a row...

But earnings growth slowed in September...

Rate-cut odds are higher following the jump in the unemployment rate...

Now, what will FedSpeak do now?

Tyler Durden Thu, 11/20/2025 - 08:53