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"We're At War": Ecuador Deploys 75,000 Troops, Launches Anti-Cartel Missile Strikes; Colombia Warns "We're Being Bombed" "We're At War": Ecuador Deploys 75,000 Troops, Launches Anti-Cartel Missile Strikes; Colombia Warns "We're Being Bombed" On Sunday, Ecuador launched a massive anti-cartel offensive involving 75,000 troops, armored vehicles, and helicopters, with support from the U.S., in what Interior Minister John Reimberg described as a "very strong offensive," according to https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp32vy321r7o. "We're at war," Reimberg said. "Don't take any risks, don't go out, stay home." 35 mil efectivos de https://twitter.com/PoliciaEcuador?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw desplegados en Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas y El Oro. Listos por 🇪🇨. A las mafias: se les acabó su tiempo. Nada nos detiene. https://t.co/q2vP6CSG73 — John Reimberg (@JohnReimberg) https://twitter.com/JohnReimberg/status/20333205142617705… The cartel crackdown is part of a new 17-country alliance against cartels, unveiled by President Trump earlier this month. While authorities have not said whether U.S. troops will directly participate in the operation, the two countries have already carried out joint strikes earlier this month, and the FBI is opening a field office in Ecuador to help target organized crime, money laundering, and corruption. On March 3, Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces launched operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador. The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism. Together,… https://t.co/MrkKZcrDbs — U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) https://twitter.com/Southcom/status/2029011785567572285?r… Last week, the U.S. and Ecuador signed a trade agreement that will unlock "commercially meaningful market access" for U.S. agricultural and industrial exports to 18 million consumers, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a press release. Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa, one of Trump's top allies in the region, has spent the last few years targeting drug cartels and criminals. For context, about 70% of the cocaine produced in Colombia and Peru transits Ecuador. Before the operation, Latin American leaders attended an international meeting, called "Shield of the Americas", and hosted by Trump in Mar-a-Lago. At the summit, Trump said cartel gangs were "cancer" and urged Latin American counterparts to eradicate the cancer. "We don't want it spreading," Trump added. Shortly after the summit, Noboa wrote on X: "For too long, the mafias thought that America was their territory. That they could cross borders, move drugs, guns and [spread] violence without consequences. Their time has run out." Meanwhile, on Tuesday, as the operation is underway, Noboa rejected allegations that the military operation against cartels was bombing targets in neighboring Colombia. 🔴 https://twitter.com/hashtag/Urgente?src=hash&ref_src=twsr… El gobierno de Daniel Noboa ataca con cohetes militares y destruye 129 campamentos de minería ilegal en Zamora Chinchipe. Los campamentos se encontraban dentro del Parque Nacional Podocarpus. https://t.co/rlwlGvfChW — Reacción Nacional (@RNacional_News) https://twitter.com/RNacional_News/status/203369225819776… Noboa said on X that his government "is fighting narco terrorism in all its forms" and "bombing places that serve as hideouts for those groups, of which many are Colombian," but only within Ecuadorian territory. ¡EL BLOQUE DE SEGURIDAD EN ACCIÓN! 3 OBJETIVOS MILITARES NEUTRALIZADOS; OBJETIVO DE ALTO VALOR DE “LOS TIGUERONES” CAPTURADO! 💪 1⃣ Durante el toque de queda, el https://twitter.com/hashtag/BloqueDeSeguridad?src=hash&re… a través de las https://twitter.com/FFAAECUADOR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw destruyó 3 objetivos militares, eliminando así uno de los espacios… https://t.co/T9rq2akAxw — Ministerio de Defensa Nacional del Ecuador (@DefensaEc) https://twitter.com/DefensaEc/status/2033611177259868195?… Noboa was responding to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who said on X on Monday, "We are being bombed from Ecuador, and it's not rebel groups who are doing it." 🇨🇴🇪🇨 | LO ÚLTIMO: Gustavo Petro denunció que el territorio colombiano "está siendo bombardeado desde Ecuador". Dijo que se encontró una bomba en la zona fronteriza que, según él, fue "lanzada desde un avión". Afirmó que los responsables no son grupos armados irregulares, y… https://t.co/eOjPjj6lRj — Alerta Mundial (@AlertaMundoNews) https://twitter.com/AlertaMundoNews/status/20337652695170… We suspect the hostilities in South America would not have been lost in the news cycle if it weren't for the US-Iran conflict, which https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/not-our-war-allies… ¡ATAQUE NOCTURNO: MINERÍA ILEGAL BAJO FUEGO EN “OPERACIÓN PODOCARPUS”! Atacar la minería ilegal es velar por la seguridad de nuestras familias ecuatorianas. ➡️Las https://twitter.com/FFAAECUADOR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw mantienen una ofensiva sostenida contra las estructuras criminales dedicadas a la minería ilegal… https://t.co/vZ7xTgKslK — Ministerio de Defensa Nacional del Ecuador (@DefensaEc) https://twitter.com/DefensaEc/status/2033906320726777882?… 🚨https://twitter.com/hashtag/URGENTE?src=hash&ref_src=twsr… ¡BLOQUE DE SEGURIDAD GOLPEA LAS RUTAS DEL NARCOTRÁFICO: SE INHABILITA PISTA CLANDESTINA UTILIZADA POR EL CRIMEN ORGANIZADO!💪 ➡️El https://twitter.com/hashtag/BloqueDeSeguridad?src=hash&re… a través de la https://twitter.com/FuerzaAereaEc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw, ejecutó una operación estratégica para inhabilitar un área utilizada para… https://t.co/UX2ul1TIRm — Ministerio de Defensa Nacional del Ecuador (@DefensaEc) https://twitter.com/DefensaEc/status/2033720931017781567?… 🚨¡OPERACIÓN “PODOCARPUS”: DESTRUCCIÓN DE 129 CAMPAMENTOS DE MINERÍA ILEGAL Y AFECTACIÓN ECONÓMICA DE $3 MILLONES A LAS MAFIAS PARA RECUPERAR TOTALMENTE ESTE TERRITORIO!🚨 ➡️Con un gran despliegue militar, durante nueve días de operaciones sostenidas en el Parque Nacional… https://t.co/acae76SmhX — Ministerio de Defensa Nacional del Ecuador (@DefensaEc) https://twitter.com/DefensaEc/status/2033657640077955102?… 🔴 https://twitter.com/hashtag/Urgente?src=hash&ref_src=twsr… El Gobierno de Daniel Noboa en Ecuador dispone capturas de narcoteroristas vivos o mu3rtos https://t.co/ULhhj6947o — Reacción Nacional (@RNacional_News) https://twitter.com/RNacional_News/status/203340586704796… The anti-cartel operation in Ecuador comes weeks after Mexican special forces killed a top cartel leader. Earlier this year, the U.S. conducted a regime-change operation in Venezuela, and communist Cuba increasingly appears to be the next domino at risk of falling. Taken together, the Trump administration is dismantling the old order across the Americas - one long defined by drug cartels, leftist rule, and economic decay. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 16:40 https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/were-war-ecuador-d…

VDH: Our New Ungracious Immigrants VDH: Our New Ungracious Immigrants https://amgreatness.com/2026/03/17/our-new-ungracious-imm… The Traditional Immigrant Silicon Valley was energized by legal immigrants from all over the world who founded eBay, Google, Nvidia, SpaceX, Stripe, Sun Microsystems, Tesla, Yahoo, and a host of others. The Greek American Elia Kazan’s 1963 film America, America is a fictional account based on the Herculean struggle of the director’s uncle to immigrate to the United States from an impoverished and hostile Turkish Anatolia. The film summed up Americans’ traditional view of immigrants: They had risked everything for the chance to reach America, and once there, became hyperpatriotic in their gratitude for the magnanimity of their new hosts. An excellent example is the recently released memoir from Encounter Books, American Trojan, by former University of Southern California president and Cypriot immigrant Dr. Max Nikias. It resonates with thankfulness to America for offering him opportunities undreamed of elsewhere. He and his wife arrived in the U.S. from war-torn Cyprus nearly penniless but determined to work hard, master English, and enrich the country that welcomed them with their talents and education. What followed was an amazing American trajectory that saw Nikias become president of the University of Southern California—arguably the most successful one in recent memory. I grew up in rural California surrounded by hard-working immigrant farm families from Armenia, India, Japan, and Mexico. Their work ethic, love of America, and productive farms were models for U.S. non-immigrants. Such immigrants explained why the San Joaquin Valley was the most productive and richest agricultural region in the nation. My own Swedish grandfather, disabled by poison gas while fighting on the Western Front in World War I, loved all things Swedish, but not nearly as much as his beloved America. Four Hansons fought on the front lines of World Wars I and II. One was disabled, and another was killed on Okinawa. And all felt blessed that their parents and grandparents had gotten to America. Gratitude and Ingratitude But recently, something has gone terribly wrong with immigration—an open border, of course, but also a change in legal immigration as well as student visitors. During World War II, Japanese Americans fought heroically in horrific conditions in Italy in the famous 442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Infantry Battalion—even as their families were interned in the Western United States. Few native-born Americans were more loyal or patriotic than the Japanese Americans. And now? While America is at war with Iran and de facto with its terrorist proxies, crowds of immigrants, visitors, and foreign students in New York scream anti-American slogans as they cheer on our enemies in theocratic Iran and its terrorist proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas. Are we surprised, then, when Islamic terrorists begin hunting down Americans on our own soil? On campuses today, thousands of Middle Eastern international students, mostly arriving from autocratic, tribal, and failed nations, have staged often violent demonstrations in the years following the October 7, 2023, massacre. They are not shy about cheering on the Hamas slaughter of Israeli civilians. These pro-Hamas students have not just damned Israel but also often harassed Jewish Americans. They revile their host America and expect Americans to smile and shrug. It is hard to determine whether such zealots hate the U.S. more than they love living in America and preserving their student visas and work permits. Hating or Loving the Great Satan? Take Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani. She is the daughter of Ali Larijani, one of the late Supreme Leader Khamenei’s murderous henchmen. He sent his daughter Fatemeh to the top schools in the satanic United States. She was eventually even hired as a professor at Emory University—at least until popular outrage at the Larijani family’s hypocrisy prompted her dismissal. To our enemies in Iran, we may be the “Great Satan.” But Iranian theocrats apparently prefer their children and other relatives to study and get rich in Luciferian America. So, many send their kids to universities in the USA. Another surreal example is the case of Mahmoud Khalil, who arrived on a student visa at Columbia University and soon led the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” When the State Department sought to revoke his temporary visa, the Left made Khalil a veritable martyr. Apparently, his university supporters reasoned that the U.S. had an obligation to invite to its shores those who are active supporters of terrorists like Hamas. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a naturalized citizen from Uganda whose parents became public figures and multimillionaires in America, in the past has had little good to say about his adopted country. His quite public wife, Rama, whose parents were naturalized Syrian citizens, illustrated a book that was rife with antisemitism. It’s no accident that after October 7, she posted “likes” of social media praise of the terrorist Hamas killers, who are sworn enemies of her own country. Many Somali immigrants of Minneapolis repaid the kindness of Americans in welcoming them from war-torn Somalia by committing the greatest welfare fraud in U.S. history, which may reach $9 billion in theft. Their iconic representative, Ilhan Omar, has voiced antisemitic vitriol, downplayed 9/11, claimed the U.S. has a dictatorship worse than the one she fled, and said the U.S. was turning into one of the worst countries in the world. That is the thanks she returns for entering a hospitable America under controversial circumstances and dubious legality. Hating—or Hating to Leave—America? Stranger still is the attitude of visitors and illegal aliens when they finally face deportation. Joe Biden allowed 10–12 million foreign nationals to illegally enter the U.S. during his tenure, among them some 500,000 known criminals. In the years since his inauguration, not a day goes by without news that illegal aliens of that era have murdered, assaulted, been arrested for felonious acts, or caused horrific auto accidents. One of them was Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, an illegal alien from El Salvador, who long ago was ordered to be deported for his unlawful entry and residence. Instead, he too became an icon to the Left when he was recently and belatedly facing permanent deportation. He had clearly ignored his earlier deportation orders, and was an alleged gang member, an often violent spousal abuser, and a human trafficker. Ábrego Garcia apparently felt he had a right to enter the U.S. illegally. He successfully made a mockery of our immigration laws. But he presciently expected that soon hundreds of thousands of dollars of free legal help would come his way, ensuring he could stay in the country for which he showed utter contempt. And in the U.S., one of the most bizarre aspects of recent protests against ICE efforts involved episodes of Mexican nationals waving the flag of the country to which under no circumstances they wished to return, even as they burned the flag of the nation in which they insisted they had an innate right to stay. Our New Americans Killing Americans Yet the immigration disaster transcends student visas and illegal aliens, since it extends to many naturalized citizens as well. Consider the terrorist acts that have transpired in just the last eight days. On March 1, Ndiaga Diagne, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Senegal, shot up a beer garden in Austin, Texas. He murdered three people and wounded 14 others. Diagne wore a “Property of Allah” sweatshirt, along with an Iranian flag T-shirt. On March 7, 2026, Emir Balat, the son of a naturalized citizen from Turkey, and Ibrahim Kayumi, the son of naturalized Afghan refugees, threw IEDs toward a conservative protest outside Gracie Mansion, the New York mayor’s residence. The media sought to cover up their Islamist motives but could not, given that the two terrorists openly boasted of their aims. Indeed, the two bragged that they wanted to achieve something “bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing.” That was a reference to Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the murderous Chechen-immigrant brothers. In 2013, they murdered three and injured hundreds at the Boston Marathon. Their aim too was apparently to further the so-called global “Islamic cause.” This same week, on March 12, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, another naturalized U.S. citizen, this time from Sierra Leone, went into an ROTC meeting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Once there, he murdered the instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah, a decorated combat veteran. Jalloh shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he fired. Jalloh had previously been convicted for attempting to support ISIS but was released before serving his full sentence. That same March day, Ayman Muhammed Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, whose family in the Middle East currently has strong Hezbollah terrorist ties, drove his car rigged with explosive fireworks into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Ghazali was killed by security guards before he could carry out his homicidal plan. Hezbollah, remember, in the past, butchered hundreds of Americans in Lebanon. There is an endless list of illegal aliens and naturalized citizens who have killed hundreds of Americans, both as common criminals and as would-be jihadists. And not all the killing is intentional. Thousands of driver’s licenses have been issued to both illegal aliens and legal residents from all over the world, including those who do not understand English, cannot pass a commercial driver’s test, and are utterly unqualified to drive. Is it any surprise that we have recently witnessed serial horrific crashes, where incompetent drivers rammed their 80,000-pound semi-trucks into unsuspecting drivers? What Happened to Immigration? So what made the U.S. adopt such a suicidal immigration and visitation policy—one that welcomes in millions illegally, hundreds of thousands who are known criminals, tens of thousands of students who despise the U.S., and thousands of terrorists themselves and their sympathizers? In the mid-1960s, amid the Great Society’s dreams of transforming America, new immigration laws were passed that ended the older quota process. That traditional system tended to favor better-off immigrants from Europe and the former British Empire to reflect somewhat the founding demographics of the republic. But the new law junked the prior merit-based system and instead admitted immigrants chiefly on the basis of family ties and the purported need of the host country for inexpensive labor—with most now arriving from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Suddenly, far less important for entry were critical skill sets, English mastery, high school diplomas, proof of self-support, and knowledge of, or familiarity with, the American system. But in the subsequent 60 years, Democrats went even further beyond the 1965 Hart–Celler Act efforts to change the demography of the U.S. They began welcoming in anyone, legal or not, who simply crashed the border or claimed they wanted to study in the U.S. The old melting pot was banished, replaced by the “salad bowl.” Immigration was seen by the Left as the answer to why they had never been able to complete their socialist agendas amid a skeptical American public. Supposedly, by welcoming in a “diverse” demographic, poor and without English fluency, they would grow the welfare state, creating a new dependent constituency. The new immigrants and visitors were envisioned as left-wing voters-to-be who would look to the Democratic Party as their guarantors of open borders, a new entitlement society, and a criminal justice system that saw the perpetrator as a victim—and the real criminal as a racist America itself. Diversity, the Immigration Force Multiplier The new “diversity” ideology peaked under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The subtext of their open-borders nihilism was a new oppressor/oppressed binary. It dictated that traditional America was still too white, too traditionalist, too Christian, too unfairly successful—and too hostile to the Democratic-socialist agenda of a mandated equality of result achieved through massive coercive government redistributive efforts. Under this warped view, the criminally minded Ábrego Garcia became a victim of supposed “Gestapo” ICE “goons” (ironic, when patriotic and skilled Mexican American officers disproportionately staff ICE ranks). The Tsarnaev Boston Marathon killers became “hot” underdog freedom fighters. So the supposedly sexy, photogenic young murderer Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was highlighted on the cover of Rolling Stone. The more Mahmoud Khalil took on the mantle of an anti-American, pro-Hamas activist, the more the Left rallied to his cause. When Major Nidal Hasan, the son of naturalized Palestinian immigrants, slaughtered 13 and wounded 32 fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, the Pentagon resisted efforts to tie him to the Islamic terrorist cause. That was hard to do, since he screamed “Allahu Akbar!” as he mowed down his fellow soldiers. Then Army Chief of Staff George Casey responded to the mass murder with his lamentation on CNN that, “As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well.” He sought to quash any speculation about Hasan’s Islamic motives, in fear that the ensuing truth might endanger the Army’s diversity efforts. Then we come to the case of Eileen Gu, the recent American Winter Olympic multi-medalist skier. She was born in San Francisco to a Chinese immigrant mother and an American father and lived her entire life in the U.S. But Gu chose to compete in the games for communist China, despite its efforts to isolate, dehumanize, and eventually vastly “reduce” its Uyghur minority population. Dr. Frankenstein and his Monster The final irony: Why do so many criminals believe they can enter the U.S. illegally and get away with murder? Is it because they feel contempt for any nation that opens its borders, requires no background checks, destroys its own immigration laws, and weaponizes its criminal justice system to make the criminal the victim and the state his victimizer? Why do so many burn the U.S. flag while waving the flag of Mexico, a country they have no intention of returning to? Is it because they sense they might be praised for “celebrating diversity,” as the popular culture would term such abject cultural schizophrenia? Why would the Tsarnaev brothers repay the country that took them in by killing innocent Americans? Would it be because, in their formative years in American schools, their teachers and texts emphasized what was wrong with a supposedly exploitative U.S.? Why, in the middle of a near-existential war with Iran to stop its efforts to obtain nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles pointed at the U.S. and its allies, would naturalized citizens feel so free to slaughter Americans for the cause of Islam? Would it be because they sense from left-wing universities and popular culture that it is a virtual open season on Jews? Or that any time an Islamic terrorist commits an act, a Democratic operative will warn America of “Islamophobia”—as if, say, mowing down soldiers at Fort Hood is the lesser crime? Why would a rich, privileged Eileen Gu feel no discomfort competing for a murderous regime whose agenda is to displace her country from its global preeminence in favor of a communist dictatorship? Is it because in our relativist modern America, Gu’s “truth” is just as meaningful as any other? And who, after all, is qualified to judge anything or anyone? Who created our current Frankensteinian monstrosities? We did. We are the Dr. Frankensteins who asked nothing of immigrants, in a complete break from our nation’s past. And we got our wish for a new, quite different class of immigrants, who treated the U.S. the very way they were taught to do by the Left: as an evil entity that deserved what it got. And we sure have gotten it. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 16:20 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/vdh-our-new-ungraciou…

Bank Of America Settles Lawsuit Over Ties To Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Crimes Bank Of America Settles Lawsuit Over Ties To Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Crimes Authored by https://headlineusa.com/author/jose-ninoheadlineusa-com/ viahttps://headlineusa.com/subscribe/, https://headlineusa.com/tag/Bank-of-America has reached a settlement with an anonymous woman who accused the financial giant of enabling https://headlineusa.com/tag/Jeffrey-Epstein sex trafficking operation and profiting from his criminal enterprise. A Bank of America flies backward, emblematic of the financial institution's backward mindset in prioritizing woke political objectives over shareholder profits and financial health. / IMAGE: Wcnc Newsroom via YouTube Lawyers for both parties informed a judge they had agreed to a “settlement in principle” according tohttps://www.ft.com/content/b87c516f-efb6-4d9b-be17-bccc97… made public on Monday that The Financial Times reported. The proposed agreement contains undisclosed terms and awaits judicial approval at a hearing scheduled for early April. Bank of America declined to comment on the matter. The woman filed her lawsuit in October of last year in Manhattan federal court under the pseudonym Jane Doe. She sought class action status and financial damages while accusing BofA of “participating in and financially benefiting from Jeffrey Epstein’s widespread and well-publicised sex-trafficking operation, as well as the direct financial benefits it received therefrom.” According to her complaint, the plaintiff first encountered Epstein while living in Russia in 2011. She resided in New York from 2011 to 2019 during which time the convicted sex offender abused her. The lawsuit alleged that Bank of America failed to file suspicious activity reports to law enforcement about questionable transactions “before it was far too late” and ignored red flags the bank had a legal responsibility to report. “A review of Jane Doe’s account history will show incredibly alarming and erratic banking behaviour,” the initial complaint stated. The anonymous woman described opening a Bank of America account in 2013 that Epstein and his accountant Richard Kahn allegedly used to pay her monthly rent. This arrangement purportedly created documentation used to “defraud immigration officials.” Kahn transferred $14,000 into the account immediately after it was opened and the plaintiff alleged it “continued to be utilised by Epstein and Kahn through Epstein’s death in 2019 for activities unknown and unexplained to Jane Doe.” The complaint also described how the woman was added to the payroll of a sham company that paid her through one of her BofA accounts. Federal law requires banks to monitor money laundering and report suspicious activity while blocking prohibited transactions. Epstein’s sex offenses became public knowledge as early as 2006 and the financier signed a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department in 2008. The lawsuit highlighted an “abnormal” $170 million payment that billionaire Leon Black made to Epstein from his BofA account for alleged “tax and estate planning advice.” Black was scheduled to be deposed as a witness later this month according to court filings. He is not a defendant and his lawyer declined to comment. Judge Jed Rakoff denied Bank of America’s attempt to dismiss the case just last month. The plaintiff had also filed a motion seeking class action status which could have substantially increased damages. Boies Schiller Flexner represented the plaintiff. The firm previously secured settlements from JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank in similar Epstein related cases. Those banks paid $290 million and $75 million respectively to settle class action allegations from trafficking victims. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:40 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bank-america-settles-…

$5 Diesel Means A 35% Jump In Prices For US Consumers $5 Diesel Means A 35% Jump In Prices For US Consumers While US gasoline prices have risen substantially since the start of the Iran war (although RBOB futures suggest there is much more upside should oil prices remain around $100), the average price of diesel has already soared above $5 per gallon in the US, the highest since 2022, and pushing up supply chain costs and setting the stage for broader inflation for consumers. The price spike is increasing costs for farmers, truckers and construction firms. With diesel at $5 per gallon, these industries are on track to spending around $6.1 billion this week on the fuel, according to BloombergNEF forecasts. The same amount of fuel would have cost just $4.5 billion ahead of the war, a 35% increase. According to BNEF, road diesel accounts for roughly 66% of US diesel consumption, with large trucking fleet operators like Walmart and Amazon highly exposed to fuel cost swings. The fuel also powers agricultural machinery, ships and trains hauling goods across the country. The widespread use of diesel feeds into the cost of goods across the economy. However, unlike gasoline, where consumers feel the pinch immediately at the pump, the higher diesel costs show up indirectly over time. Rapidan Energy's Director of Refined Products, https://www.rapidanenergy.com/linda-geisecke, offered insight into the diesel market: Diesel prices have surged globally to levels last seen since 2022, when Russian exports were at risk. But unlike 2022, the current tightness reflects physical supply disruptions rather than policy risk and trade reshuffling. Because of the Hormuz outage in the Gulf, global diesel prices are on track to average about $150/bbl this month. That's a 60% increase vs. February, vastly outpacing crude's 40% rise to near $100, with diesel's price risk skewed sharply to the upside – especially if Hormuz reopening takes longer than the early-April timeline we assume in our base case. We have global diesel prices easing toward $120/bbl in April, but only if shipping flows begin to normalize. If Hormuz flows do not resume in the coming weeks and diesel prices remain at $150/bbl into the second quarter, global economic growth will suffer because of diesel's close link to industrial production and freight activity. As the war on Iran extends into the third week and oil prices remain elevated, inflation pressure in the US will likely broaden beyond fuel and into consumer goods. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:20 https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/5-diesel-means-35-jump-…

Appeals Court Lifts Block On Expedited Third Country Deportations Appeals Court Lifts Block On Expedited Third Country Deportations https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/appeals-court-lifts-bloc… An appeals court ruled on Mar. 16 that the Trump administration could continue deporting illegal immigrants to places other than their native countries, without giving them a chance to protest against their destination. “There is more work ahead on this important issue, but this is a key win for [President Donald Trump’s] immigration agenda,” Attorney General Pam Bondi https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2033573880149712974?s=20 on X. The 2–1 ruling by the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit paused a previous https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-rules-illegal-immi… by Judge Brian Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, who ruled in February that the government’s policy was illegal. Murphy’s ruling concerned two Department of Homeland Security memos, which said that if the United States had diplomatic assurances from a third country that deportees would not face persecution or torture, they could be sent there without any extra procedures. “[The Department of Homeland Security] has adopted a policy whereby it may take people and drop them off in parts unknown ... and, ‘as long as the department doesn’t already know that there’s someone standing there waiting to shoot ... that’s fine,’” hehttps://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.… in his decision in February. The Trump administration filed an appeal, asking the First Circuit to halt Murphy’s order, which it said “contains multiple serious legal errors.” On March 5, it asked for a stay of that order while the case proceeds in court, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court had already halted Murphy’s previous rulings twice in this case. Murphy noted the same thing in his ruling and said he would give the government 15 days to appeal before his order took effect. “Ultimately, this court could be missing something in the final analysis,” he wrote. In its https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca1.… the Justice Department argued that neither courts nor immigration judges are allowed to “second-guess” the government’s conclusion about whether a country is safe or not. “The district court’s order creates an unworkable scheme that materially impairs the ability of the government to enforce the immigration laws,” the DOJ wrote. The https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-rules-illegal-immi… concerns a group of illegal immigrants that the government tried to deport to third countries in March 2025. They sued, and Murphy blocked those deportations before the Supreme Court overruled him twice. The First Circuit has https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca1.… both sides a little more than a month to file briefs, after which time it will hear oral arguments on the matter. The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Trina Realmuto of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, said in a statement, “While the order, unfortunately, delays the restoration of our class members’ ‌statutory and ⁠due process rights, we are glad that the 1st Circuit ordered a swift resolution of the merits of the case.” https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:05 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/appeals-court-lifts-b…

Warner Bros CEO To Collect $667 Million In Paramount Deal Warner Bros CEO To Collect $667 Million In Paramount Deal https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/warner-bros-ceo-to… (emphasis ours), Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav will collect about $667 million in compensation after the entertainment empire completes its sale to Paramount Skydance. Last month, the company accepted Paramount’s $110 billion https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/paramount-skydance… concluding a months‑long bidding contest after Netflix exited the talks. One of the key beneficiaries of the merger will be Zaslav, who could pocket several hundred million dollars, according to a March 17 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Zaslav is in line for approximately $34.2 million in cash severance, a package that includes salary continuation and bonuses tied to a change‑in‑control termination, the regulatory filing stated. He would also receive $115.8 million in vested equity, along with $517.2 million in unvested share awards that would vest upon finalization of the sale. Vested equity is stock or stock-based awards that executives have earned the legal right to keep. Unvested shares are shares that executives have been authorized to receive but have not yet earned the right to own. The payout could also include up to $335 million in tax reimbursements. However, this figure will decline over time depending on when the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal is finalized. Warner Bros. said this figure is based on tax‑code provisions “that are expected to cause it to significantly decline with the passage of time,” and noted that the tax payment would drop to zero if the deal closes in 2027. Paramount anticipates the acquisition will be completed by the third quarter this year. Ultimately, the filing states that these amounts may not be realized as they are “based on multiple assumptions that may or may not actually occur or be accurate as of the date referenced.” The companies expect to hold a shareholder vote in early spring and are targeting a Sept. 30 closing, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Current shareholders could receive a 25-cent-a-share “ticking fee” for each quarter the acquisition does not close, totaling approximately $650 million. Additionally, Warner Bros. would receive a $7 billion termination fee if the merger is not authorized due to regulatory pushback. Paramount paid Netflix a $2.8 billion https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/netflix-drops-out-of-war… in February after Warner Bros. terminated its agreement with the streaming service. The film and television studio agreed to pay $31 per share in cash to purchase 100 percent of Warner Bros.’ shares. The deal will be funded by $47 billion in equity, backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners. Additionally, the purchase includes $54 billion of debt commitments from Apollo, Bank of America, and Citigroup. Since landing on the winning side of the hostile takeover efforts, Paramount’s shares have declined about 25 percent to below $10. Conversely, Netflix stock has rebounded about 16 percent, potentially targeting $100. Regulatory Hurdles Whether it was Netflix or Paramount buying Warner Bros., the merger was likely to face pushback from a growing chorus of U.S. lawmakers. In a March 12 letter, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.), and 11 other members of Congress demanded that the Department of Justice and the Treasury Department investigate antitrust and national security concerns related to the merger. “Congress has a responsibility to ensure that merger enforcement in concentrated creative industries—particularly transactions involving substantial foreign capital—is conducted rigorously and in strict adherence to federal law,” the letter states. “The structural reduction in independent studios, the Pay-1 foreclosure risks, and the downstream impact on exhibitors warrant thorough and transparent review.” But the purchase may not receive heightened scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told CNBC earlier this month that the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal was “cleaner” than the Netflix alternative. “There’s a lot of concerns when Netflix was the potential buyer there. That particular combination raised a lot of competition concerns,” Carr said on March 3. “If there’s any FCC role at all, it’ll be a pretty minimal role. And I think this is a good deal, and I think it should get through pretty quickly.” It remains to be seen whether the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States—also known as CFIUS—will object to the deal. Paramount’s offer includes about $24 billion from Gulf state sovereign wealth funds. Kimberly Hayek and Jill McLaughlin contributed to this story. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 14:25 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/warner-bros-ceo-colle…

Trump Signs Order Assigning Vance To Head Anti-Fraud Task Force Trump Signs Order Assigning Vance To Head Anti-Fraud Task Force https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-signs-order-assign… President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 16, officially creating an anti-fraud task force headed by Vice President JD Vance, a job that could be one of the most important in the country, the president said during an Oval Office signing ceremony. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson will serve as co-chair of the task force alongside Vance, Trump said, calling both men “extremely brilliant and just very talented.” Their work could return hundreds of billions of dollars to American taxpayers, Trump said. Officials have https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/vance-announces-new-phas… that fraudsters steal up to $300 billion per year from government programs across the nation. “This is a very big thing that we’re doing,” the president said. “The kind of money we’re talking about is country-changing.” Referring to Ferguson and Vance, Trump said, “If you guys can’t do it, we’ve got a problem—because nobody else will be able to do it.” The executive order formalizes an https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-announces-vance-le… that Trump made during his Feb. 24 State of the Union address, when he announced that Vance, who is a lawyer, would spearhead a “war on fraud” for the White House. Trump said fraud would be targeted “wherever it’s taking place” and denied critics’ accusation of political motivations for the fraud crackdown. However, he said, the problem seems to be dominant in Democrat-controlled states such as Minnesota. Trump said he believes that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) are both “complicit” in that state’s fraud problem. The Epoch Times sought comment from Walz and Omar but did not immediately receive a response. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, said illegal immigrants are using benefits from government programs, and he believes that this is the “first-ever effort in American history” to reclaim trillions of dollars in government benefits that were taken improperly. “If all of it were stopped, it would be enough to balance the budget. The extraction of wealth from American taxpayers to people who don’t belong here is the primary cause of the national debt,” Miller said. As soon as he started looking into fraud, Vance said, it became apparent that “one big hold that existed is that the agencies of the government weren’t actually talking to each other.” He said the president’s order will fix one major issue: how agencies share information. Ferguson said millions of Americans pay into these programs for “completely fake businesses,” robbing people who ought to receive that help. About three weeks ago, Vance and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/vance-announces-new-phas… $259 million in Medicaid from the state of Minnesota, following reports of rampant https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/new-angles-on-minnesotas… Although billions of dollars’ worth of fraud also has surfaced in California, Minnesota’s fraud problems have been a focal point for months, leading to multiple federal investigations and congressional hearings. On March 4, Walz and the state’s attorney general, Keith Ellison, testified to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. During the hearing, both men https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/4-takeaways-from-top-min… their work, but congressmen pointed out that payments kept flowing to recipients who were suspected of fraud dating back to 2020. Walz, in written testimony filed with the committee, said, “In Minnesota, if you defraud public programs, if you steal taxpayer money, we will find you, we will prosecute you, we will convict you, and we will throw you in jail.” He acknowledged that the governor has an important role in fighting fraud and that “the buck ultimately stops” with him. “I do not shy away from that responsibility, and I am prepared—as I have always been—to have a serious conversation with our federal partners about how to ensure fraudsters cannot take advantage of Minnesota taxpayers,” Walz wrote. In addition to federal actions, numerous states are trying to clamp down on fraud. The State Financial Officers Foundation—which includes members from 28 mostly conservative states—has been working to root out fraud. It found $5.7 billion in waste and returned $22.3 billion to taxpayers, according to that group’s 2025 https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/as-vance-leads-war-on-fr… released in February. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 13:45 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-signs-order-ass…

Stellar 20Y Auction Stops Through Amid Surge In Foreign Demand Stellar 20Y Auction Stops Through Amid Surge In Foreign Demand Moments ago the week's lone coupon auction priced in what was a stellar sale of 20Y Treasury paper. At 1pm ET, the US Treasury auctioned off $13BN in 20Y paper, with very solid metrics and even more solid buyside demand.  The auction priced at a high yield of 4.817%, up from 4.664%, but below January's 4.846%. The auction stopped 0.7bps through the 4.824% When Issued. This was the 3rd stop through auction in the past 4, following an especially ugly, tailing February 20Y auction.   The bid to cover jumped to 2.76 from 2.36, which was also above the six-auction average of 2.63. Internals were especially strong, with Foreign demand surging from just 55.2% in February, to 69.2% in March, the highest Indirect award since April 2025 (and obviously above the recent average of 62.1%). And with Directs taking down 21.6%, below the six-auction average of 27.0%, Dealers were left holding 9.2%, a big drop from 17.6% in February and one of the lowest Dealer allotments on record. Overall, this was a stellar 20Y auction despite the lack of concessions in today's session, and suggests that despite the recent selling across the curve, the bond market remains in solid shape one day ahead of the Fed's decision to keep rates on hold (as most expect).  https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 13:24 https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/stellar-20y-auction-sto…

Judge Orders DHS To Submit Internal Documents Over Concerns About ICE Detainees' Due Process Judge Orders DHS To Submit Internal Documents Over Concerns About ICE Detainees' Due Process https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-orders-dhs-to-subm… A federal judge ordered the Trump administration Monday to turn over data in response to claims that it corrupted bond hearings for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees. While U.S. District Judge Clay Land https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gamd… in his order these claims as a “conspiracy,” he said further legal proceedings will show whether the accusations are baseless or based in truth. The judge specifically requested documents describing policy or guidance on bond decisions from Jan. 1 to March 1 to compare them with those that existed during 2024 under the Biden administration. Lawyers for illegal immigrant detainees in the case alleged the executive branch turned the entire bond process into a “sham,” the judge stated. Land summarized the lawyer’s evidence as a perception that bonds are being denied more frequently, some immigration judges aren’t fully studying the record and appropriate factors before denying bond, and several immigration judges have been fired, which created a fear of retaliation by the executive branch. “The Court finds this evidence insufficient to support the inference that a systemic failure of due process has occurred within the alien removal process,” Land wrote. Land reasoned that some evidence exists of a dramatic decline in bond approvals recently. Furthermore, increasing immigration enforcement under Trump with a “stretch it to the limit approach” creates potential for a disregard of constitutional guardrails. Thus far, the claims presented to the court consist “primarily of unsubstantiated hearsay and speculation flavored with a degree of hyperbolic advocacy,” Land wrote in his Monday order. Accusations of biased and unconstitutional bond hearings for ICE detainees stemmed from several illegal immigrants, all awaiting removal proceedings, held in the Stewart Detention Center in Stewart County, Georgia. The ICE detainees argued that an immigration judge failed to provide them with adequate bond hearings. Ten similar cases were https://ecf.gamd.uscourts.gov/doc1/05315384948 into one, with Odrice Alisma being the petitioner in the lead case. Alisma’s lawyers, Rachel Sharma and Karen Weinstock, presented evidence of their claims to the court, which the judge described as “circumstantial.” Sharma and Weinstock did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Alisma and her lawyers will be allowed to try to prove their claims in a “limited and targeted discovery,” the judge said. Evidence that may “theoretically” exist to support their accusations is controlled by the Trump administration. The White House, Department of Homeland Security, and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Land said he found the administration’s objections to further discovery “unpersuasive.” He added that it was advancing a “‘trust us’ without a right to verify attitude” that “demonstrates a misunderstanding of statutory and constitutional law.” Although the executive branch’s authority with immigration law is broad, it is not unlimited, Land continued. Both parties must propose a joint schedule for further proceedings, including due dates for discovery requests, depositions, and any supplemental briefing after all discovery has been completed, by March 24. If both sides can’t agree on a schedule, they’re each ordered to submit their own proposal for scheduling by March 24. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 12:25 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/judge-orders-dhs-subm…

Johnson Hits Back After Counterterrorism Chief Quits; Says Iran Threat To Americans Was 'Imminent' Johnson Hits Back After Counterterrorism Chief Quits; Says Iran Threat To Americans Was 'Imminent' Update (1220ET): Shortly after the departure of Joe Kent as director of the National Counterterrorism Center over the Iran war - insisting that Iran posed "no imminent threat to our nation," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) insisted there was.  "I’m on the Gang of Eight. I got all the briefings. We all understood there was clearly an imminent threat," Johnson said during a press conference, referring to the classified briefings that top Congressional leaders receive. "I don’t know where Joe Kent is getting his information, but he wasn’t in those briefings, clearly." Mike Johnson: "We all understood there was clearly an imminent threat that Iran was very close to the enrichment of nuclear capability ... I don't know where Joe Kent is getting his information ... the president felt he had to strike first to prevent mass casualties" https://t.co/r9VgPqfW8Y — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/2033919110749253641?re… Top Democrats who were in those meetings, however, disagree - saying they were not presented with evidence of an imminent attack from Iran, according to The Hill.    *  *  * Please consider supporting ZeroHedge with the purchase of a https://store.zerohedge.com/products/zerohedge-multitool - or anything else from our store. Thanks for your help. *  *  * In a massive break from President Trump and MAGA, Joe Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced his immediate resignation on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable opposition to the ongoing U.S. military operations against Iran. Kent declared he could not “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” stating unequivocally that Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation” and that the conflict was initiated “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” The move comes weeks into active strikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites, leadership, and infrastructure, with Iranian retaliation underway and global oil markets feeling the strain. After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today. I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this… https://t.co/prtu86DpEr — Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) https://twitter.com/joekent16jan19/status/203389724298620… Kent, a retired Green Beret with 11 combat deployments, former CIA paramilitary officer, and Gold Star husband who lost his wife Shannon in a 2019 ISIS-claimed suicide bombing in Syria, framed his exit as a defense of the "America First" principles Trump championed during his 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns. He praised Trump's first term for decisively striking Qasem Soleimani and defeating ISIS without escalating into endless wars, noting that until June 2025, Trump recognized Middle East conflicts as a "trap" draining American lives and wealth. However, Kent alleges that "early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign" that undermined Trump's platform, deceived him into believing Iran posed an imminent threat with a "clear path to a swift victory," and echoed tactics used to draw the U.S. into the "disastrous Iraq war." He explicitly compares the current situation to Iraq, warning against repeating the mistake that cost thousands of American lives. "As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people," Kent wrote. The resignation carries profound weight as Kent was a Senate-confirmed Trump loyalist installed in July 2025, not a career holdover. As head of the NCTC - tasked with assessing terrorist threats from Iranian proxies and beyond - Kent is directly challenging the administration’s justification for the conflict. The letter, addressed personally to the president and thanking DNI Tulsi Gabbard, signals deeper fractures in the MAGA coalition or prompts a policy pivot, Kent’s bombshell exit underscores the high personal and political stakes of America’s latest Middle East engagement. The resignation effectively places Kent within a growing bloc of Republican lawmakers who have opposed the Iran campaign from the outset, elevating what had been a vocal but limited faction into a more institutionally significant challenge to the administration’s approach. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), longtime advocates of non-interventionist “America First” foreign policy, were among the earliest critics of the strikes, warning they risk entangling the U.S. in another costly and open-ended Middle East conflict. Both have argued in recent weeks that the operation mirrors the strategic missteps that led to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, calling for de-escalation and greater congressional oversight. The most prominent political voice amplifying that message has been Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has emerged as one of the war’s fiercest critics within Trump’s base. Since the first strikes in late February, Greene has repeatedly denounced the operation in media appearances and on social platforms, calling it a betrayal of Trump’s campaign pledge to avoid new foreign entanglements.  On Saturday, Greene told CNN that the Republican base is fractured "along generational lines." “Many of the older Americans from the Baby Boomer generation that watch Fox News all day long very much believe the talking points on Fox News, and they have spent decades of their lives convinced that fighting these wars is the right thing to do,” she explained. Marjorie Taylor Greene: "It's turned into some perverted, deranged version of MAGA now that nobody wants" https://t.co/OceBnJpLnp — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/2033569641377755346?re…               Meanwhile, the knives are out. Trump's former Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich said that Kent is a "crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work."               Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work. He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States. This isn’t some principled… https://t.co/bcv0Kh6XVH — Taylor Budowich (@Budowich) https://twitter.com/Budowich/status/2033911541347586143?r…               https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 12:22 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-appointed-nctc-…

'No Rigged Voting': Trump Calls SAVE Act 'Most Important & Consequential' Legislation; Mike Lee Debunks Left's Favorite Lie 'No Rigged Voting': Trump Calls SAVE Act 'Most Important & Consequential' Legislation; Mike Lee Debunks Left's Favorite Lie President Trump on Tuesday called on Congress to pass the SAVE Act which requires ID to vote in federal elections, warning that lawmakers who vote against it will have a "guaranteed loss" in future campaigns.  "The Save America Act is one of the most IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL pieces of legislation in the history of Congress, and America itself. NO MORE RIGGED ELECTIONS!" Trump https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/1162444864… to Truth Social. "Voter I.D., Proof of Citizenship, No Rigged Mail-In Voting (We are the only Country in the World that allows this!), No Men in Women’s Sports, No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our Children. 90% to 99% ISSUES ALL!," he added. (Mutilization?) Trump's suggestion seems to be that if Democrats are allowed to steal elections, all of the woke societal ills will continue.  "Only sick, demented, or deranged people in the House or Senate could vote against THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. If they do, each one of these points, separately, will be used against the user in his/her political campaign for office - A guaranteed loss!" Trump added.  Trump also said on Tuesday that he won't endorse anyone who votes against it. Good https://t.co/8yF8XGbak9 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2033928851395645790?r… Meanwhile, Matt Margolis of https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/03/16/debunking-th… debunks the left's 'favorite lies' about the SAVE Act, writing; Democrats have been running the same tired playbook on the SAVE Act. They’ve claimed it’s racist, but those attacks haven’t exactly worked because majorities of minority voters support it. So, they try to scare people with outlandish claims like it will make it impossible for married women to vote. It’s a stupid claim, but some people are willing to believe it. And there are plenty of other accusations that are just as untrue. Sen. Dick Durbin tried to push those fake claims in a recent Senate hearing, rattling off a list of grievances about the bill’s voter registration requirements. Durbin kicked things off with the passport argument, a favorite among critics of the legislation, when it comes to registering to vote. "What is acceptable is a passport," he said. "50% of Americans do not have a passport. Those who want to obtain it so they can vote will pay $186 and wait three or four weeks for that to happen." He kept going with the married woman claim, arguing that anyone who changed their name after marriage would have to dig up not just a birth certificate but additional documentation to prove their eligibility. However, it’s all a lie, and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the lead sponsor of the bill, was ready for him. Lee let Durbin finish and then, with barely concealed amusement, delivered the kind of response that makes committee hearings worth watching. "I'm happy to report to my dear friend and colleague Senator Durbin from Illinois — you're in luck," Lee said. "We've taken care of that." He went on to point out that the SAVE Act includes an explicit accommodation for people who can't produce traditional documentation. Lee spelled it out in plain English: "When you read the bill, what you'll discover is that we've made special accommodation for those who don't have documentation, for those who can't find their birth certificate. Maybe their house burned down, maybe their dog ate it, or whatever it is." So what happens if someone genuinely has no paperwork? The bill has an answer for that, too. "When all else fails, if you don't have documentation establishing the information on your birth certificate or what would be in a passport or otherwise, the bill contains a provision requiring each state to allow an alternative mechanism by which someone can, by attestation, issue a sworn statement establishing the critical facts underlying their citizenship," Lee explained. The state then takes responsibility for verifying that sworn statement, using its own records and reciprocity agreements with other states. Durbin tried to interject a few times. He didn't get far. Lee kept going, methodically dismantling the argument piece by piece. "We took great pains to go out of our way to make sure that no American, no American would be left in the dark," he said. "This will not cost them a dime. And no one will be excluded if they can't find their documentation." Well, that’s a big problem for the Democrats because this undermines the whole Democratic line of attack. The passport fees, the birth certificate hunt, the cost and inconvenience - they all collapse the moment you actually read the legislation. The bill anticipates exactly the scenarios Democrats claim to be worried about and has a built-in workaround. With that in mind, they have no reason to oppose the legislation, that is, if those were truly sticking points for them They say things about the SAVE AMERICA Act that aren’t true I correct them Then they pretend they never said anythinghttps://t.co/PpZJ0Wuw6d — Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) https://twitter.com/BasedMikeLee/status/20331895868729717… Lee even extended an invitation at the end, suggesting Durbin would surely want to support the bill now that his concerns had been addressed. “I’m sure you'll be elated to hear that, and we look forward to having your affirmative vote when we vote on the SAVE America Act.” https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 12:05 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/no-rigged-voting-trum…

Bitcoin's Ownership Base Is Maturing, Reducing Reliance On Retail: Analysts Bitcoin's Ownership Base Is Maturing, Reducing Reliance On Retail: Analysts https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/bitcoins-ownership-ba… Bitcoin investors have shown surprising resilience despite recent market turbulence, fueled by institutional investors and aggressive corporate treasury buyers.  Analysts say this trend highlights a structural shift in ownership that could support long-term growth. Institutional demand is clearly back, with “four consecutive sessions of ETF inflows and aggressive spot demand…suggesting one thing: institutional buyers have returned and they’re ready to increase their holdings around current prices, which recovered to above $70k as a result,” Bitfinex said in a note to Bitcoin Magazine. Bitfinex wrote that “a sustained break above resistance could trigger momentum expansion, as positioning and the balance of flows suggest that the market is preparing for its next directional move after weeks of range trading.” Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan also noted Bitcoin https://bitcoinmagazine.com/tags/etf have held up despite a roughly 50% price drop since October 2025, underlining institutional commitment. “The best evidence we have is in the ETF market,” Hougan said, according to Coindesk https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/03/16/institutions-…  “Bitcoin ETFs accumulated roughly $60 billion in net flows from their launch in January 2024 through October 2025. Since October 2025, prices are down 50%, but we’ve seen less than $10 billion in outflows from ETFs,” he said.  Hougan described institutional investors as exhibiting “diamond hands,” maintaining positions despite severe market drawdowns. He attributes this persistence to the non-consensus status of BTC. Hougan said that institutional investors who buy into BTC today are still sticking their neck out and standing out from their peers. That career risk, he explained, fosters unusually high conviction, meaning investors allocating capital to bitcoin today tend to be 80–90% convinced of its long-term value rather than mildly optimistic. This conviction underpins Hougan’s reaffirmed long-term bitcoin forecast of $1 million per coin.  “The wildest thing about my $1 million prediction is that it’s not wild at all,” he said. “All you need for bitcoin to get to $1 million is for the global store of value market to continue to grow as it has for the past 20 years and for bitcoin to become a minor but material part of that market.” Last week, Hougan https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/1-million-bitcoin-isnt-a… that skepticism over Bitcoin reaching $1 million stems from a misunderstanding of its valuation, as many analysts use “static math” that ignores the rapidly growing global store-of-value market.  Framing BTC as an emerging competitor to gold, he estimates that with a $38 trillion market and BTC’s fixed supply of 21 million coins, the $1 million price target is plausible. Bitcoin isn’t very speculative anymore Supporting this thesis, Bernstein analysts also noted that bitcoin’s ownership base has matured, reducing reliance on retail speculation. In a March 16 research note seen by Bitcoin Magazine, they highlighted the growing influence of spot BTC ETFs and corporate treasury buyers such as Strategy.  The firm described Strategy as a “bitcoin central bank of last resort,” citing its aggressive accumulation model, which has added more than 66,000 BTC so far in 2026 at an average cost near $85,000. Strategy’s total holdings now exceed 761,000 BTC, valued around $56 billion. Bernstein emphasized that institutional inflows are reshaping BTC’s ownership structure. Spot ETFs absorbed about $2.1 billion in inflows over three weeks, nearly offsetting year-to-date outflows of $460 million.  Institutional vehicles now control roughly 6.1% of BTC’s total supply, while coins inactive for over a year represent approximately 60% of circulating supply, signaling a growing base of long-term holders. On top of this, on-chain indicators point to a late-stage bear cycle, as Lacie Zhang of Bitget Wallet explained to Bitcoin Magazine: “The convergence of on-chain indicators such as realized price and MVRV suggests Bitcoin may be entering the late stage of a typical bear cycle, a phase historically associated with long-term accumulation rather than continued capitulation.”  Despite short-term macro headwinds, the current conditions signal a strategic accumulation phase, with BTC likely https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/bitcoin-price-roars-a… between $68,000 and $84,000 as longer-term investors position for the next cycle. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 11:45 https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/bitcoins-ownership-base-…

"I Am Extremely Disappointed In Donald Trump" – AfD Co-Leader Warns Of WWIII "I Am Extremely Disappointed In Donald Trump" – AfD Co-Leader Warns Of WWIII https://rmx.news/article/i-am-extremely-disappointed-in-d… The co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, is actively voicing his disapproval of the American and Israeli war against Iran. He has gone so far as to warn that the war could lead to a third world war and indicates that Trump has broken his campaign promises by launching the war. “I am extremely disappointed in Donald Trump when it comes to his campaign promises,” Chrupalla during an appearance on Markus Lanz, generally considered the most influential talk show host in Germany. “During the election campaign, he also accused Kamala Harris, that she would start World War III. And now we are on the cusp of having probably started the Third World War with Donald Trump. And that’s a breach of his word, which I really resent and which the American people also resent, who incidentally reject this war in Iran at a much higher rate than Germans. So, 70 percent of Americans do not want this war and do not support it." Chrupalla also stated it was clear the United States was dragged into the war by Israel. “And I think the Americans, as you can really see now if you look at all the events, were dragged into this war by Israel. There were serious negotiations where Oman, as a peacemaker, came to an agreement with Israel together with the USA, and they basically started bombing Iran on the same day. The Omani Foreign Minister has described this as a huge mistake. The entire Arab world has labeled it a mistake. The Norwegian Foreign Minister has described it as a mistake. It has also been labelled a mistake by Turkey. You can’t ignore all that. These are all countries in this region that are naturally extremely worried that this will escalate into a conflagration. And that’s what we’re seeing now. It’s a huge wildfire.” The AfD co-leader also warned that thousands have already died in the conflict, but in the worst-case scenario, this could reach even into the millions. He further warned that another refugee crisis could ensue, not just from Iran, but also from Lebanon, where Chrupalla said that 700,000 people have already been displaced. Chrupalla said the AfD party program remains against regime change in other countries, adding the end result is often worse, pointing to Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan — all of which have also fueled Europe’s migration crisis. He acknowledged there was internal division within his own party on the strike on Iran and on the topic of Israel, but said that the party can tolerate these divisions, as the AfD is a “pluralistic” party. Chrupalla indicated that if voters do not agree with his positions or the positions of others within the AfD, then they can be voted out or in. Chrupalla noted that at the beginning of his presidency, he was convinced that Trump was ending wars. In fact, the AfD co-leader traveled to the United States specifically for Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 to show his support. “Now, we are on the cusp of probably starting World War III with Donald Trump. These are broken words that I resent, that the American people also resent,” he said. Now, he said that Trump has to “explain his line to the voters.” Regarding the killing of Khamenei, Chrupalla stated: “So I think it’s difficult when you have a head of state, whether you like him or not. And Khamenei is certainly not a head of state who has done good things for his people. I want to make that very clear. Nevertheless, I think it is rare or unique for a head of state to be killed or eliminated in this way. And the question is: what is the purpose of this and what does it achieve?” He further said that he does not “see any exit strategy in this whole war, which is against international law, no strategy at all as to what they actually want to achieve. Do you want to create a new regime? I just don’t see that. And the Americans and the Israelis themselves can’t say that. And sometimes they contradict each other.” When asked about the war in Gaza, Chrupalla said, “If you look at the pictures from Gaza, then I don’t think my position was the wrong one either, namely that what happened there is also a war crime. I mean, in Gaza, in principle, if you go back to surgical warfare, I mean, there’s nothing more there. No stone is left standing on another. And once again, I also stand with the Israeli people. There is no discussion at all. But if you are a friend of Israel, and we are, you must also be allowed to criticize a government, the Netanyahu government. Otherwise, it’s not a friendship if you can’t back it.” https://rmx.news/article/i-am-extremely-disappointed-in-d… https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Tue, 03/17/2026 - 02:00 https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/i-am-extremely-dis…

SNAP Recipients Sue Trump Administration Over Sugary Food Restrictions SNAP Recipients Sue Trump Administration Over Sugary Food Restrictions https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/snap-recipients-sue-trum… Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries sued the Department of Agriculture on March 11 over the issuance of waivers to five states restricting certain types of foods that can be purchased under the program. On May 19 last year, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/usda-approves-nebraskas-… a waiver to Nebraska that bans SNAP recipients in the state from buying soda or energy drinks. As of March 4 this year, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved similar waivers for 22 states in total. In addition to soda and energy drinks, the additional waivers prohibit the purchase of fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50 percent natural juice, as well as candy, unhealthy drinks, soft drinks, prepared desserts, sugar-sweetened beverages, and processed foods and beverages. Different states ban one or more of these items. In the lawsuit, filed at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, plaintiffs argued that the USDA’s actions amount to “authorizing a patchwork of state-by-state food prohibition regimes.” “These changes deprive SNAP recipients and their families of the food they need to maintain their health and employment, and in some cases, to survive,” the lawsuit alleged. “Individuals with chronic illnesses are losing access to products they need to manage blood sugar or sustain diets they need to maintain baseline health care needs. “Families must choose between using scarce cash to purchase restricted items or foregoing essential household expenses such as rent, utilities, or transportation. These harms are tangible, ongoing, and irreparable.” The lawsuit specifically challenges SNAP waivers issued for Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia, the states in which the five plaintiffs reside. In 2018, the USDA had rejected similar food restriction proposals on SNAP purchases. According to the lawsuit, this was because the agency concluded that the restrictions would force the government to draw arbitrary lines among food products, limit food choices for households without clear evidence of health benefits, impose significant burdens on retailers, and increase administrative costs. “Even though the challenged waivers present the same defects USDA previously recognized, they were approved without any attempt to address, let alone resolve, those concerns,” the complaint stated. By approving the five waivers, the defendants are in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act and the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, the lawsuit claims. Plaintiffs have asked the court to deem the food restriction waivers as unlawful. The Epoch Times reached out to the USDA for comment but did not receive a response by publication time. SNAP Restrictions and Health While announcing SNAP waiver approvals for six states in December 2025, Rollins justified the need for food restrictions as a way to improve people’s health. “President Trump has made it clear: we are restoring SNAP to its true purpose—nutrition. Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic diseases epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long,” Rollins said in a Dec. 10 statement. “With these new waivers, we are empowering states to lead, protecting our children from the dangers of highly-processed foods, and moving one step closer to the President’s promise to Make America Healthy Again.” Rollins and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are strong https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/usda-approves-new-food-s… of banning food items deemed unhealthy from SNAP as part of the Make America Healthy Again agenda. Kennedy said he hopes that all states will have asked for, and received approval for, SNAP restrictions by the end of 2026. In June 2025, Kennedy https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/rfk-jr-calls-on-governor… on all state governors to exclude sugary drinks from the SNAP program. “Taxpayer dollars should never bankroll products that fuel the chronic disease epidemic,” he said at the time. A study published on Dec. 8, 2024, in Frontiers in Public Health found that consuming more sugary drinks was linked to a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than eating sweet food items such as pastries. “Liquid sugars, found in sweetened beverages, typically provide less satiety than solid forms—they make you feel less full, potentially leading to overconsumption,” Suzanne Janzi, the study’s co-author, said in a statement. “Context also matters—treats are often enjoyed in social settings or [for] special occasions, while sweetened beverages might be consumed more regularly.” The waivers have already been implemented in eight states: Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia. The waivers will come into effect in the remainder of the year in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The waivers are set to be implemented in 2027 or 2028 in three states: Kansas, Nevada, and Wyoming. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Fri, 03/13/2026 - 21:25 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/snap-recipients-sue-t…

New Mexico Bets Big On Fusion And Defense Startups New Mexico Bets Big On Fusion And Defense Startups New Mexico’s $70 billion sovereign wealth fund is making a major push to attract advanced technology industries to the state, betting that sectors such as nuclear fusion, defense systems, and advanced manufacturing can generate both financial returns and local economic growth, according to https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-11/new-me… . A centerpiece of the effort is a proposed $1 billion research and manufacturing campus by startup Pacific Fusion near Albuquerque. The company is working to commercialize nuclear fusion, the reaction that powers the sun and stars, though practical power generation remains years away. To help support the effort, the New Mexico State Investment Council has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to venture capital funds that invest in fusion companies, signaling that capital will be available if firms choose to build and expand in the state. The strategy reflects a broader overhaul of New Mexico’s in-state investment program. Over the past three years, the fund has allocated about $1.8 billion to dozens of venture capital managers willing to invest in local opportunities, with roughly one out of every five private-equity dollars directed toward the initiative since 2022. Officials say the goal is to back industries where New Mexico has structural advantages, including aerospace, national security technology, and energy innovation. The state hosts major federal research hubs such as Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, as well as Spaceport America, where Virgin Galactic conducts commercial spaceflight operations. These facilities, combined with large tracts of sparsely populated desert land, have made the state attractive to startups developing capital-intensive technologies that require testing space and specialized infrastructure. Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-11/new-me… that defense technology is emerging as another pillar of the investment strategy. Startup Castelion, founded by former engineers from SpaceX, is building a large manufacturing campus in Sandoval County aimed at scaling production of hypersonic strike weapons. Such systems, capable of traveling at extremely high speeds and maneuvering in flight, are becoming a priority for the U.S. military as rival powers develop similar capabilities. The project is expected to generate hundreds of jobs and significant economic activity in the region, illustrating how venture-backed defense startups are increasingly tied to national industrial policy. The initiative also aligns with a broader shift in venture capital toward sectors tied to national security, supply chains, and heavy industry. As the U.S. government emphasizes competition with China and the rebuilding of domestic manufacturing capacity, investors are channeling more money into energy infrastructure, aerospace systems, and defense technologies rather than purely software companies. For states with abundant land and research institutions, this shift may create new opportunities to host large-scale technology projects. Still, the approach carries risks. Earlier versions of New Mexico’s local investment program struggled to deliver returns and lost more than $500 million on past deals, raising concerns about mixing economic development goals with investment decisions. State officials say the redesigned program is intended to avoid those pitfalls by prioritizing financial performance while still encouraging venture firms to consider opportunities within New Mexico. Early results show modest returns so far, though most of the investments remain too young to fully evaluate. Ultimately, the state is betting that attracting companies at the frontier of emerging technologies could reshape its economic landscape. Projects such as Pacific Fusion’s proposed campus and Castelion’s weapons facility illustrate the ambition behind the strategy: using the state’s oil wealth to seed industries that could define the next generation of energy and defense technology, while positioning New Mexico as a hub for advanced innovation. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Fri, 03/13/2026 - 18:30 https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/new-mexico-bets-big-fus…

School Branded 1st Grader 'Racist' Over 'Any Life Matters Drawing; Court Slams Principal School Branded 1st Grader 'Racist' Over 'Any Life Matters Drawing; Court Slams Principal https://modernity.news/2026/03/13/school-branded-1st-grad… When a 7-year-old’s heartfelt sketch promoting equality gets twisted into “racism” by leftist school officials, it’s a chilling sign of how far indoctrination has gone—now finally overturned in a resounding First Amendment victory. This case exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of progressive education: punishing a child for daring to change “Black Lives Matter” into a message of universal value, all while claiming to champion inclusion. In 2021, at Viejo Elementary School in California, a first grader identified as BB created a simple drawing after her class learned about Martin Luther King Jr. and “Black Lives Matter.” The artwork showed four oval shapes in shades from orange to brown, representing friends holding hands, with the words “Black Lives Mater” above and “any life” below. A 7-year-old California girl drew four oval figures in colors ranging from orange to brown -- her friends holding hands -- and wrote "any life" above them. Her school principal called it racist. Now a federal appeals court has ruled she had a First... https://t.co/Bo88Q46X9U — The Washington Times (@WashTimes) https://twitter.com/WashTimes/status/2031831292879216840?… BB gifted it to a black classmate in a show of friendship. The child thanked her and showed no signs of offense. But the child’s mother complained to Principal Jesus Becerra, writing, “My husband and I will not tolerate any more messages given to our daughter because of her skin color. As the administrator we trust you know the actions that need to be taken to address this issue.” Becerra confronted BB, telling her the drawing was “not appropriate” and “racist,” according to her account. He allegedly forced an apology, banned her from recess for two weeks, and prohibited her from giving drawings to classmates—without notifying her parents. BB didn’t even fully understand “Black Lives Matter,” but added “any life” because she believed “all lives matter.” This innocent twist on the slogan clashed with the school’s apparent BLM doctrine, turning a gesture of friendship into a so called ‘microaggression’. The family eventually sued the Capistrano Unified School District in 2023, but a lower court dismissed the case, with U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruling that BB’s drawing “trampled on her classmate’s right to be left alone in school” and, remarkably, that First Amendment protections didn’t apply to such young students. 2/ B.B. was in first grade when she drew this picture after a classroom lesson on MLK. The principal called it "racist" and "inappropriate," banned her from giving out drawings, and made her sit out of recess for two weeks. The family challenged these unfair punishments. https://t.co/H3uyNgwyr9 — Pacific Legal 🗡⚖️ (@PacificLegal) https://twitter.com/PacificLegal/status/20314396784450969… More about the 9th circuit decision: https://t.co/5pnd0v9kCL — Pacific Legal 🗡⚖️ (@PacificLegal) https://twitter.com/PacificLegal/status/20314724462228360… The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that nonsense on March 10 of this year, affirming that constitutional rights don’t vanish at the school door—even for first graders. “In sum, elementary students’ speech is protected by the First Amendment,” the three-judge panel stated in an unsigned opinion. The court referenced the 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines, emphasizing that schools must prove actions are necessary to prevent disruption.  “Age is relevant as younger students are more vulnerable than students who are approaching adulthood. But, as all students, including elementary school students, have First Amendment rights, the school has the burden, under the Tinker balancing test, of showing that its actions were reasonably undertaken to protect the safety and well-being of its students,” the judges ruled. This sends the case back to the lower court to examine if Becerra’s response was justified. He denies calling the drawing inappropriate or racist and claims no punishment occurred, but the appeals decision puts the onus on the school to back that up. Pacific Legal Foundation, representing BB pro bono, celebrated the win. “The First Amendment requires schools to meet a demanding standard before punishing student speech,” said PLF attorney Caleb Trotter. “The court made clear that schools cannot simply label a child’s message inappropriate and impose discipline without showing that punishment was necessary to prevent disruption,” Trotter added. The drawing itself—a colorful symbol of unity—has become an icon in the fight against overreach. This incident highlights how leftist dogma infiltrates classrooms, where straying from approved narratives like BLM invites backlash. Schools plastered with BLM posters and lessons pushed one viewpoint, then branded a child’s attempt at broader equality as offensive—exposing the intolerance beneath the surface. Becerra’s actions smack of ideological enforcement, prioritizing political correctness over a 7-year-old’s pure intentions. It’s a reminder that radical leftist influences in education aim to stifle free thought early, molding kids into compliant echo chambers. Yet this ruling pushes back, reinforcing that individual liberty trumps bureaucratic control. Parents now have stronger ground to challenge such abuses, ensuring schools teach facts, not force-fed propaganda. BB’s story is a triumph of innocence over indoctrination. Her drawing wasn’t racist—it was the opposite, a child’s vision of true equality. The court victory safeguards that spirit, proving the Constitution protects even the youngest voices. Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support . https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Fri, 03/13/2026 - 18:05 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/school-branded-1st-gr…

'President Boasberg' Protects Powell, Quashes DOJ 'Pressure Campaign' Subpoena Over Fed Renovation 'President Boasberg' Protects Powell, Quashes DOJ 'Pressure Campaign' Subpoena Over Fed Renovation Another day, another activist judge deciding they're the president...  On Friday, chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked subpoenas issued by the Trump Justice Department to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the Fed Board of Governor Boasberg claims that the subpoenas were served for an improper, pretextual purpose, and that "a mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning," and that the government produced “essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual.” The order explicitly quashes the subpoenas. The subpoenas were issued as part of a DOJ probe into the Fed’s management of its headquarters renovation project - an investigation that Powell and others have called a pretext. Powell himself issued an unprecedented video statement in January 2026 saying the threatened indictment stemmed from his Senate testimony and the Fed’s independent interest-rate decisions rather than any actual crime. He described it as part of broader administration pressure to politicize monetary policy. White House officials have https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/omb-director-questions-p… the Federal Reserve over its handling of renovations to two historic buildings in Washington: the Marriner S. Eccles Building, the Fed’s headquarters, and the 1951 Constitution Avenue building. Renovation costs for the Fed’s headquarters have risen to $2.5 billion, $700 million over budget, according to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought. Last July, Trump indicated that Powell’s handling of the renovation project could be grounds to fire him, saying, “I think it sort of is.” “When you spend $2.5 billion on, really, a renovation, I think it’s really disgraceful,” he said. The Fed https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/fed-responds-to-criticis… on its website that major systems in both buildings, whose construction dates back to the 1930s, are “obsolete and in need of replacement for health and safety reasons.” The decision has drawn praise from those defending Fed independence and sharp criticism from Trump allies who view it as judicial interference. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has already said he will block confirmation of Trump’s nominee to replace Powell until the probe is dropped. Warsh’s nomination by President Donald Trump is bogged down because of an effective blockade imposed by Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who sits on the Banking Committee. That panel is the first hurdle for would-be Fed board members such as Warsh. Tillis has vowed to vote against passing along Warsh’s nomination or any other Fed nominee to the full Senate for a confirmation vote as long as a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell remains in progress. Now Tillis says that if the Trump admin appeals Boasberg's ruling, Warsh's confirmation will be delayed even further. Moments later, DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said that the decision will be appealed.  Boasberg’s Record of Interventions in Trump-Related Matters This just the latest instance where Judge Boasberg has stepped in to block, quash, or otherwise limit actions or probes tied to Trump - including: 2017 — Trump Tax Returns FOIA Lawsuit: Boasberg dismissed a Freedom of Information Act suit seeking President Trump’s personal tax returns, ruling they remained confidential without Trump’s consent or congressional approval. This effectively quashed public access efforts. 2022–2023 — January 6 Committee & Jack Smith Grand Jury Subpoenas: As chief judge overseeing the D.C. grand jury in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s post-2020 election conduct, Boasberg denied a Trump spokesperson’s attempt to claw back financial records subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 Committee. He also ordered former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before the grand jury (partially rejecting executive-privilege claims) and approved nondisclosure orders on phone records of Republican senators — actions Trump allies strongly opposed as advancing the probe against him. March 2025–2026 — J.G.G. v. Trump (Alien Enemies Act Deportations): In the highest-profile clash, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order halting the Trump administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport Venezuelan migrants (alleged gang members) to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. He ordered in-flight deportation planes to turn around. When flights proceeded anyway, he found “probable cause” of criminal contempt due to the administration’s “willful disregard” of his order and initiated contempt proceedings (repeatedly revived despite appeals-court stays). He later ordered the government to facilitate the return of over 100 deported individuals to allow due-process hearings. Appeals courts (often Trump-appointed panels) repeatedly limited or paused his contempt efforts, but the core blocking and remedial orders stood as major interventions against the policy. 2025 — American Oversight v. Hegseth (“Signalgate”): Assigned to the lawsuit alleging Trump administration officials (including Cabinet members) violated record-keeping laws by using the Signal app for sensitive military discussions, Boasberg issued preservation orders and described aspects of the conduct as concerning, while stopping short of ordering full message recovery. Bukele was right... Bukele: “We had to remove corrupt judges and corrupt attorneys and prosecutors." Activist judges must be impeached and removed. https://t.co/pg5NdQwjJe — Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/189455082439673… https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Fri, 03/13/2026 - 15:50 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/president-boasberg-pr…

"Negotiations Underway": Cuban President Acknowledges U.S. Talks Amid Fuel Supply Crisis "Negotiations Underway": Cuban President Acknowledges U.S. Talks Amid Fuel Supply Crisis Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated on state television that his government has entered talks with the Trump administration, aimed at "finding solutions through dialogue" to longstanding bilateral differences between the two neighboring countries. This admission comes as the Caribbean island faces crude oil and diesel stockpiles running dry by the end of the month, after Trump's multi-month crude shipment blockade sharply tightened pressure on the communist regime in Havana. In a speech broadcast on Cuban state TV, Díaz-Canel said that discussions with the Trump administration were intended to "determine the willingness of both sides to take concrete actions for the benefit of the people of both countries." "Agendas are being built, negotiations are underway, conversations are taking place and agreements are being reached, things from which we are still far away because we are in the initial phases," Díaz-Canel said. 🇺🇸🇨🇺 El momento histórico en donde el dictador de Cuba, Miguel Díaz Canel, anuncia en cadena nacional que han cedido a la presión y están oficialmente en negociaciones con los Estados Unidos. El régimen cubano completamente rendido, al borde de la muerte.https://t.co/lDAjV4cwh9 — Agustín Antonetti (@agusantonetti) https://twitter.com/agusantonetti/status/2032429542799761… This is the first time the communist regime in Havana has publicly acknowledged that talks between the US and Cuba exist, despite leaked US media reports. It appears that Trump's oil blockade of the Caribbean island is working as part of the administration's broader regime-change campaign across the Western Hemisphere, beginning with the removal of socialist leader Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela. The Trump administration has launched a political campaign to rid the West of socialists and communists. The balance of power in the Americas has been shifting from left-wing to right-wing in the Trump era. Díaz-Canel warned in a separate press conference with state media that the island has not received fuel shipments in three months. He said crude oil and diesel stockpiles are being depleted rapidly, resulting in instability across the national power grid. "Cuban officials recently held talks with representatives of the United States government to seek, through dialogue, a possible solution to the bilateral differences between our nations. These exchanges have been facilitated by international actors," Diaz-Canel said.  Late last week, at the White House, President Trump said a deal with Havana was nearing. "As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we also look forward to the great change that will soon come to Cuba," Trump stated. "Cuba is at the end of the line," the president added. "They have no money. They have no oil." On Thursday, Havana announced it planned to release 51 prisoners. This comes about two weeks after Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met with Pope Leo at the Vatican. Regime change in Venezuela and Cuba appears less complicated than Trump's Operation Epic Fury in Iran.   https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Fri, 03/13/2026 - 14:40 https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/negotiations-under…

56% Of Americans Now Suspect COVID-19 'Vaccines' Caused Mass-Deaths 56% Of Americans Now Suspect COVID-19 'Vaccines' Caused Mass-Deaths Authored by https://x.com/NicHulscher , Public opinion is shifting... and they want action. Ahttps://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/… of 1,158 likely U.S. voters - conducted September 7–9, 2025, with a ±3% margin of error - reveals that 56% believe side effects from the COVID-19 shots have likely caused a significant number of unexplained deaths. Nearly one-third (32%) say it’s very likely. Only 35% still dismiss the idea. This shows that what was once called a “conspiracy theory” has become the mainstream view. The majority of Americans now believe vaccine harms are real and widespread. Support for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reflects this shift. Half of voters (50%) say government health officials deserve criticism for their handling of the pandemic, while 42% even think CDC employees should be fired for their role in misleading the public. Among those who strongly believe the shots caused deaths, over 70% want CDC firings. Partisan divides remain—70% of Republicans, 46% of Democrats, and 54% of independents think the vaccines likely caused deaths—but the skepticism crosses party lines and racial groups. In fact, black (64%) and Hispanic (57%) voters are even more likely than white voters (54%) to suspect deadly vaccine effects. According to the survey, RFK Jr. is viewed favorably by 45% of voters, with strong support among Republicans and independents, even as Democrats turn sharply against him. The takeaway: A credible, nationally representative poll now confirms most Americans believe COVID-19 shots have killed many people, and they want accountability from the CDC and government health leaders. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Fri, 03/13/2026 - 14:20 https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/56-americans-now-suspe…

Trump Admin Sues California To Block Electric Vehicle Mandate Trump Admin Sues California To Block Electric Vehicle Mandate https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-admin-sues-califor… The Justice and Transportation Departments filed a lawsuit against California on Thursday to stop what they say is an illegal electric vehicle (EV) requirement, alleging that the state is mandating fuel economy standards that federal law places in the exclusive domain of the federal government. Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the lawsuit, which was filed for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The suit takes aim at regulations formulated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which mandates automakers comply with stricter mileage standards. CARB has implemented stringent rules, such as the Advanced Clean Cars II act approved in August 2022, which requires that 35 percent of new vehicles https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/california-regulato… in the state must be zero-emission starting in 2026, gradually increasing to a complete ban on new gas-powered car sales by 2035. The Clean Air Act bans states from https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/house-votes-to-repeal-bi… their own tailpipe emission standards for trucks and cars. However, California can get an exemption to the ban if it obtains a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Following the waiver approval, California can implement its own emissions rules. The waiver would allow state officials to enforce tougher standards than national ones, influencing automakers nationwide due to the state’s large market share. However, federal law bars states from implementing their own fuel economy laws, officials argue in the suit. California’s waivers were revoked in June 2025 when Congress passed resolutions under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which President Donald Trump https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-to-sign-resolution… , arguing that the CRA does not apply to EPA waiver decisions as they are not “rules.” The case is currently ongoing. The Golden State’s new laws seek to require manufacturers to redesign the vehicles they sell across the country, increasing prices and curtailing consumer choices, officials state. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta have not returned a request for comment. Newsom previously https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/california-sues-trump-ad… Trump of “destroying” the state’s clean air and “America’s global competitiveness.” He also said that without the high standards, the low air quality in the state would cost California taxpayers an estimated $45 billion in health care costs. The federal government’s legal action aligns with Trump’s “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” program, which targets the remaking of corporate average fuel economy standards and could save American families about $1,000 on the average new vehicle and also trim $109 billion in costs over five years, according to the Department of Transportation. “Oppressive, expensive electric vehicle mandates drive up costs for American consumers and violate federal law,” Bondi said in a statement. “California is using unlawful policies from the last administration to create exorbitant costs for our citizens—this Department of Justice is proud to stand with President Trump and Secretary Duffy to bring litigation that will make life more affordable for American consumers.” Duffy said the lawsuit is part and parcel of initiatives to halt EV policies. “I was proud to stand alongside President Trump to unveil our plan to eliminate the Biden-Buttigieg EV mandate and allow auto manufacturers to produce cars American families actually want to buy at a more affordable price. But Gavin Newsom is determined to continue pushing Democrats’ radical EV fantasy—even if doing so is illegal,” Duffy said in a statement. The departments filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against the California Air Resources Board and its executive officer. The case claims the Energy Policy and Conservation Act overrides state rules, which gives NHTSA sole authority over fuel economy. “This lawsuit continues [the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s] war on regulatory overreach by California that is set on undermining the national market for motor vehicles through unlawful state policies,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement. “The state vehicle standards we are challenging today are preempted by federal law, just like the standards that were blocked by a court in our challenge to California’s so-called Clean Truck Partnership.” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison also criticized EV policies. “This litigation will help automakers design and produce cars and trucks to meet one federal fuel economy regulation. It was a mistake by Presidents Obama and Biden to enable California to set its own backdoor fuel economy policies, which have now spiraled into a costly patchwork quilt of individual state fuel economy requirements. This litigation will correct that misstep,” Morrison said. https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden Fri, 03/13/2026 - 13:00 https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/trump-admin-su…