pgnewser

‘Universal’ detector spots AI deepfake videos with record accuracy– www.newscientist.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

A universal deepfake detector has achieved the best accuracy yet in spotting multiple types of videos manipulated or completely generated by artificial intelligence. The technology may help flag non-consensual AI-generated pornography, deepfake scams or election misinformation videos.

The widespread availability of cheap AI-powered deepfake creation tools has fuelled the out-of-control online spread of synthetic videos. Many depict women – including celebrities and even schoolgirls – in nonconsensual pornography. And deepfakes have also been used to influence political elections, as well as to enhance financial scams targeting both ordinary consumers and company executives.

But most AI models trained to detect synthetic video focus on faces – which means they are most effective at spotting one specific type of deepfake, where a real person’s face is swapped into an existing video. “We need one model that will be able to detect face-manipulated videos as well as background-manipulated or fully AI-generated videos,” says Rohit Kundu at the University of California, Riverside. “Our model addresses exactly that concern – we assume that the entire video may be generated synthetically.”

Kundu and his colleagues trained their AI-powered universal detector to monitor multiple background elements of videos, as well as people’s faces. It can spot subtle signs of spatial and temporal inconsistencies in deepfakes. As a result, it can detect inconsistent lighting conditions on people who were artificially inserted into face-swap videos, discrepancies in the background details of completely AI-generated videos and even signs of AI manipulation in synthetic videos that don’t contain any human faces. The detector also flags realistic-looking scenes from video games, such as Grand Theft Auto V, that are not necessarily generated by AI.

 

White House defends firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics head as critics warn of trust erosion– japantoday.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

hite House economic advisers on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, pushing back against criticism that Trump’s action could undermine confidence in official U.S. economic data.

Later on Sunday, Trump again criticized BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, without providing evidence of wrongdoing, and said he would name a new BLS commissioner in the next three or four days.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CBS that Trump had “real concerns” about the BLS data, while Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said the president “is right to call for new leadership.”

Hassett said on Fox News Sunday the main concern was Friday’s BLS report of net downward revisions showing 258,000 fewer jobs had been created in May and June than previously reported.

Trump accused McEntarfer of faking the jobs numbers, without providing any evidence of data manipulation. The BLS compiles the closely watched employment report as well as consumer and producer price data.

The BLS gave no reason for the revised data but noted “monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.”

Gov Abbott Threatens to Arrest & Expel Texas House Democrats Who Fled State to Avoid Vote– slaynews.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

Republican Governor Greg Abbott has dropped the hammer on the Texas House Democrats who fled the state to block a critical redistricting vote.

Gov. Abbott has warned the Democrat lawmakers they must return by Monday afternoon or face arrest and expulsion.

The Texas Democrats, a group of dozens, arrived in Chicago on Sunday night in a last-ditch attempt to stall the vote.

Their dramatic departure came just as Abbott sent out a defiant message, stating that they must return or risk losing their positions.

The Texas House is scheduled to reconvene at 3 p.m. on Monday.

Scientists transform peacock feathers into tiny biological laser beams– www.techspot.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

TL;DR: Scientists have long been fascinated by the vibrant colors and intricate structures found in the feathers of birds like the Indian Peafowl (commonly known as the peacock). A new study has shed light on a surprising property of these iconic tail feathers: their ability to act as tiny laser resonators when infused with a common fluorescent dye.

The research, conducted by researchers from several US universities and published in Nature, set out to explore the behavior of peacock feather barbules – microscopic structures that help create the bird’s famous shimmering eyespots – when treated with the laser dye rhodamine 6G. The aim was to determine if light emitted from these dyed feathers would reveal insights about the underlying biological structure, and whether the colorful photonic crystals in the feathers themselves might serve as feedback mechanisms to produce laser light.

To conduct the experiment, scientists obtained natural peacock feathers, carefully cut them to isolate the eyespot area, and repeatedly wetted and dried specific regions with a solution containing rhodamine 6G. This dye is well-known for its bright fluorescence when exposed to green laser light. Using pulses from a green laser, the team illuminated the prepared feathers and collected the emitted light through a specialized spectrometer system.

Muslim Journalist on Live TV: “I Wish The Nazis Had Burned All The Jews”– gellerreport.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 1

Source Link
Excerpt:

Lebanese journalist Khoder Taleb, publisher of the Jareeda website, and former advisor to the Lebanese Prime Minister discussed talk of a peace agreement with Israel during a July 24, 2025 broadcast on Al-Manar TV (Hizbullah–Lebanon). He asked what kind of peace can be made with “criminals” and “child killers.” Taleb said that the current situation is worse than the Nazi Holocaust in Germany, adding: “I wish the Nazis would have burned all those Jews.” He cited a hadith describing Muslims fighting Jews on Judgment Day and said that Jerusalem and Palestine will be liberated. Also appearing on the broadcast was British-Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan.

Khoder Taleb: “What peace are we talking about? Peace with criminals? Peace with killers? With child killers? I say this for history’s sake, this is worse than the Nazi Holocaust in Germany. I say this on live TV: I wish the Nazis would have burned all those Jews.

[…]

“On [Judgement] Day, the trees and the rocks will say: ‘Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ This is what we believe in. This is our historical imperative, as Muslims at least. Jerusalem will be liberated. Palestine will be liberated. If not today, then tomorrow. That’s fine, but we must not surrender.”

Texas Gerrymanders for Trump & Dems Freak: Racism or Good Politics?– www.louderwithcrowder.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

 

It’s that time of year! Time for a bunch of anachronistic hippies to go do drugs in the desert and set a giant statue on fire. Would any of us have imagined that the Burning Man attendees and staffers are a bunch of degenerates? A swamp witch was cast as Jesus Christ Superstar and we have video of the performance. Texas Democrats have fled the state to deny Republicans redistricting plans. Let’s take a walk down memory lane to see all the other times they’ve done this.

 

Biden Policy Allowing Unlimited Abortion Pills is Increasing Abortions in America– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, declared: “We now overrule those decisions [Roe and Casey] and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.” Following the Dobbs ruling, several Republicans — including President Trump — said abortion was now in the hands of the states. “The states will determine … whatever they decide must be the law of the state,” Trump insisted.

While I disagree with the notion that abortion should be regulated solely at the state level, the reality is that most pro-life protections have historically been advanced at the state level. During my time in the Louisiana legislature, I authored and passed numerous laws defending the sanctity of life.

Since Dobbs, 41 states have acted to protect the unborn in some form. Twelve now have comprehensive protections beginning at conception, while 28 have established gestational limits.

Yet, despite this, abortion hasn’t decreased. In fact, according to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, abortions have increased more than 10% since Dobbs, rising from roughly 930,000 to over one million annually — more than 2,800 abortions each day.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Patel Set to Release More Evidence Proving FBI Covered up Clinton’s Collusion Hoax While Amplifying Steele Dossier– conservativeroof.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 1

Source Link
Excerpt:

In an explosive new interview with former Congressman and Fox News host Trey Gowdy, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said more declassified documents are coming that expose the FBI’s coordinated effort to bury the truth and amplify a lie—all to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and destroy Donald Trump’s presidency.

Ratcliffe confirmed that he and current FBI Director Kash Patel are preparing to declassify additional records proving that the FBI actively suppressed a counterintelligence referral about Hillary Clinton’s plan to frame Trump while giving full legitimacy to the now-debunked Steele Dossier, paid for by Clinton herself.

According to Ratcliffe, foreign intelligence services had already flagged a plot by Hillary Clinton to smear Trump as a Russian agent, a scheme known internally as the “Clinton Plan.”

Yet this intelligence was never shared with Congress. Instead, it was buried, while Obama’s inner circle, including Biden, were fully briefed on it.

According to declassified materials already made public by Ratcliffe and former Special Counsel John Durham, the Clinton campaign not only greenlit the collusion hoax, but also coordinated with foreign groups including the Soros Foundation to build a disinformation war chest against Trump.

Massachusetts police training group lists Moms for Liberty as ‘extremist’ organization– www.lifesitenews.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

According to training materials obtained by The Daily Wire, the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), which trains over 20,000 police officers across the state, listed the parental rights group Moms for Liberty as a “hate group” along with the Marxist extremist group Antifa and neo-Nazi organizations. 

Screenshots shared with the conservative outlet show Moms for Liberty listed as an “anti-government extremist group,” the designation given to them by the progressive political outlet Southern Poverty Law Center in 2023. The screenshots show MPTC putting the group’s stated agenda of defending parental rights in mocking quotation marks to indicate insincerity. It isn’t just Moms for Liberty – groups like Katy Faust’s children’s rights organization Them Before Us has also been designated a “hate group” by the SPLC: 

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Defunds Planned Parenthood– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order that will fully defund Planned Parenthood and any abortion business that would attempt to receive taxpayer funds.

Stitt has issued an executive order blocking Medicaid funds from entities and individuals affiliated with abortion businesses.

“Oklahoma is a pro-life state, and our policies should reflect that at every level of our government,” Stitt said in a news release. “We won’t allow tax dollars to indirectly subsidize and flow into the abortion industry under the guise of women’s health. My order makes sure every public dollar aligns with our values and supports providers who respect life at every stage.”

The executive order issued late Thursday directs the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) to terminate and refuse to renew any SoonerCare contracts with entities that perform, refer to or are affiliated with abortion services. SoonerCare is the state’s Medicaid program. This ensures that taxpayer dollars are not directed to abortion companies.

Even CNN Knows That Illinois Was the Dumbest Place for Texas Democrats to Flee – PJ Media– pjmedia.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

As my PJ Media colleague Stephen Green previously reported, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had a blunt message for the Democrats who fled the state to sabotage a redistricting vote: “You’re fired.”

Abbott didn’t mince words, calling them “derelict Democrats” and vowing to take legal action if they refused to return, up to and including arrest, removal from office, and triggering special elections under a 2021 AG opinion. He also raised the possibility of felony charges for those accepting outside funds to dodge their $500-a-day absentee fines, calling it a potential violation of state bribery laws.

More than 50 Texas Democrats skipped town, staging a quorum break designed to grind the legislature to a halt. But where did they flee? To Illinois, a state that Democrats run, which is notorious for having some of the most blatantly gerrymandered congressional maps in the nation. That choice alone exposes the real story here.

These Democrats claim they’re fighting for “fair maps” and “voting rights,” but they ran straight to the state that’s made an art form out of silencing Republican voters through crooked gerrymandering. If this were really about principle, they’d be hiding out anywhere but Illinois. Instead, they sought political asylum in the capital of partisan redistricting.

Texas House Democrats Humiliate Trump And Greg Abbott– www.politicususa.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

After Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to have the state House Democrats who left the state to deny Republicans a quorum so that they could pass a new gerrymandered election map, Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu went on CNN’s News Central and during an interview with John Berman discussed Abbott’s threat.

Video:

Rep. Wu said:

First of all, I would say, you know what? Today is a great day to end the corruption of Greg Abbott. This has gone on far too long.

The public has been enraged about this. How politicians continue to tell the public pretty words, but never actually do what they say they would do. This is Governor Abbott being upset about that because he’s been caught doing exactly that. And to Governor Abbott, frankly, he doesn’t know how to read the attorney general’s opinions because he used to be attorney general. And frankly, Democrats say come and take it.

CNN’s John Berman asked, “Come and take it. Do you think he could be successful taking your seats away?”

Leader Wu said, “No, it’s all bluster, sound and fury signifying nothing.”

Texas Democrats Make an Even Dumber Move, and You Just Have to Laugh at This Point – RedState– redstate.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

Texas Democrats have become famous, or infamous, depending on who you talk to, for cutting and running to try and stop Republican state lawmakers from passing legislation they don’t like, and history has repeated itself in 2025.

As RedState reported, Democrats there fled into the arms of Illinois Gov. and prospective 2028 presidential candidate JB Pritzker (D) on Sunday after Republicans unveiled a new Congressional map that some have called a “bloodbath” for Democrats headed into the 2026 midterms if enacted.

“We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent. As of today, this corrupt special session is over,” Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu proclaimed in a statement.

Already, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is laying the smack down on those who fled amid the special session, noting that consequences could soon be coming, including arrests on abandonment grounds and possibly appointing others to fill the vacancies created thanks to Democrats deliberately walking off the job.Though infuriating on one hand, on the other, you have to laugh at this stage in the game. I mean, as we pointed out, going to Illinois, which is home to one of the most corrupt and blatantly rigged Democrat political machines in the country, is not exactly the brightest idea these folks have had.

SITREP: Exposing the Clinton Hoax, If We Don’t Act Now, We Lose the Republic– warroom.org

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

In a high-stakes WarRoom segment, Steve Bannon and investigative bulldog John Solomon laid out the case that the Hillary Clinton-led Russia hoax was never a conspiracy theory—it was an orchestrated political dirty trick that corrupted our intelligence agencies, weaponized the media, and nearly derailed the presidency of Donald J. Trump.

And the most explosive part? The key players did it again in 2020—and they’re positioning to repeat it in 2026.

“This isn’t about old news,” Bannon declared. “This is about a pattern of institutional abuse that, if unpunished, will finish off our constitutional republic.”

QUICK CLIP:

Bill Maher Spars With Dem Over Trump’s War On Universities– dailycaller.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

Comedian Bill Maher and Democratic Colorado Rep. Jason Crow debated President Donald Trump’s moves against universities, with Maher saying they had turned into “indoctrination camps.” Crow claimed Trump was not interested in improving universities and making them more affordable and argued that he was engaged in “his culture war” against them, prompting the comedian to point to responses to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel as an example of universities producing radicalism. The Daily Caller’s Natalie Sandoval breaks down the exchange for Media Madness. SUBSCRIBE to the Media Madness YouTube channel and please support our work by becoming a Daily Caller Patriot subscriber today.

Missouri Sues Planned Parenthood for Lying to Women about the Dangers of Abortion Pills– www.standingforfreedom.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Federation of America in a bold and necessary move to protect women and uphold truth. His charge argues that Planned Parenthood lies to women, and those lies are costing lives.

Bailey’s suit, filed under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, accuses the nation’s largest abortion provider of misleading Missouri women about the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone.

For decades, Planned Parenthood has marketed itself as a health care provider and a champion of women’s rights. But behind the pink logos and the slick messaging lies a profit-driven machine that has consistently downplayed the physical, emotional, and spiritual risks of abortion, including chemical abortion. Now, under legal scrutiny, that deception is receiving the pushback it deserves.

According to Bailey’s complaint, Planned Parenthood falsely equated Mifepristone to over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol, misleading women into believing that chemical abortion is a minor and routine procedure. In reality, the risks are anything but minimal.

Illegal Alien With Multiple Arrests Kills Mom and Daughter in New Jersey Crash– townhall.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

Raul Luna-Perez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, killed a New Jersey mom and her 11-year-old daughter who were on their way to get milkshakes from Wawa, according to the New York Post. Perez was reportedly drunk behind the wheel of an SUV when he veered into oncoming traffic and crashed into their compact car.

 

The suspect had two previous arrests for DUIs in March and April and a domestic violence arrest in 2023.

Californians Making Us Proud Following Ninth Circuit Decision– townhall.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit killed California’s ammunition restrictions in July. They ruled that background checks for ammunition were unconstitutional, which opened the door.

And Californians did it right.

See, while they had to deal with an absolute headache in trying to buy ammo, including not being able to get it online at all, before the ruling. While there’s a stay in place, basically, and it sure as hell sounds like they did just that for the time they had.

Lifelong hunter J.R. Young of San Jose rushed to an online ammunition dealer last week after a federal court decision overturned a California gun law that required background checks in person at every point of sale.

“Is this freedom week?” he said. “I was just curious to see if this striking down of the law is allowing companies to ship into the state again.

“The way we live in society now — when we want to buy something, we don’t want to go and take a trip to the store.”

Many bullet junkies, hunters and gun enthusiasts like Young quietly celebrated the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that may or may not ultimately put a dent in the state’s strict policies for purchasing ammunition.

Pope Leo XIV urges over 1 million Catholic young people to spread faith, enthusiasm– abcnews.go.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

ROME — ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged more than a million Catholic youths to “spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith” when they return home to some 150 countries, during a Mass closing a weeklong encounter with the next generation of faithful.

“Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are,’’ Leo urged the young faithful. “Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.”

The young people camped out in sprawling fields southeast of Rome overnight after attending a vigil service for the Jubilee of Youth on Saturday, also presided by Leo who has been ferried to and from Vatican City by helicopter.

The Vatican said more than 1 million young people were present, along with 7,000 priests and 450 bishops.

The special Jubilee celebration is part of the Holy Year that is expected to draw 32 million people to the Vatican for the centuries-old pilgrimage to the seat of Catholicism.

The week has been a joyous gathering marked by bands of youths singing hymns as they move down cobblestoned streets, praying rosaries in piazzas and standing for hours at the Circus Maximus to confess their sins to priests offering the sacrament in a dozen languages.

Irregular Warfare Center Research Bibliography No.2: Lebanese Hezbollah in Latin America– smallwarsjournal.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Irregular Warfare Center Research Bibliography No.2: Lebanese Hezbollah in Latin America– smallwarsjournal.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

This subject bibliography is a selection of top resources on Lebanese Hezbollah in Latin America and includes journal articles, reports, books, sections of websites, and videotaped talks. The dates of the material range from 2010 to 2025, encompassing various aspects of the terrorist organization and its criminal activities which include narcotics trafficking and money laundering. The purpose is to provide ready-access resources for the study of Hezbollah and its linkages to allied organizations—both states and non-state actors—in Latin America.

Download the bibliography here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sudan: Thousands resort to eating animal feed to survive in besieged Al Fashir | World News– news.sky.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

Al Fashir is being suffocated to death.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has held the capital of North Darfur hostage in a 14-month siege – blocking food or fuel from entering the locality and forcing starvation on its 900,000 inhabitants.

The entire city is currently a militarised zone as Sudan‘s army and the Darfur Joint Protection Force fend off the RSF from capturing the last state capital in the Darfur region not currently under their control.

Rare footage sent to Sky News from inside al Fashir town shows streets emptied of cars and people.

The city’s remaining residents are hiding from daytime shelling inside their homes, and volunteers move through town on donkey carts distributing the little food they can find.

Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion starfish– www.boston.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists say they have at last solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars off the Pacific coast of North America in a decade-long epidemic.

Sea stars – often known as starfish – typically have five arms and some species sport up to 24 arms. They range in color from solid orange to tapestries of orange, purple, brown and green.

Starting in 2013, a mysterious sea star wasting disease sparked a mass die-off from Mexico to Alaska. The epidemic has devastated more than 20 species and continues today. Worst hit was a species called the sunflower sea star, which lost around 90% of its population in the outbreak’s first five years.

“It’s really quite gruesome,” said marine disease ecologist Alyssa Gehman at the Hakai Institute in British Columbia, Canada, who helped pinpoint the cause.

Healthy sea stars have “puffy arms sticking straight out,” she said. But the wasting disease causes them to grow lesions and “then their arms actually fall off.”

Trump administration suspends more than $200 million in research grants to UCLA, cites antisemitism, bias– www.thecollegefix.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

President Donald Trump’s administration has suspended more than $200 million in research grants to UCLA, citing antisemitism and bias as the reasons.

The suspended grants are primarily through the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, according to a memo to the community from UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk.

The Los Angeles Times reported that with the addition of halted Department of Energy grants, the censure represents $300 million in suspended grants, according to “information shared with The Times on Friday by UC and Trump administration officials.”

Frenk, in his memo, denounced the decision as wrongheaded.

“With this decision, hundreds of grants may be lost, adversely affecting the lives and life-changing work of UCLA researchers, faculty and staff,” Frenk wrote in his July 31 memo. “In its notice to us, the federal government claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons. This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination.”

Hassett Admits Donald Wants His Own People Cooking Jobs Report Data– crooksandliars.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett couldn’t offer any evidence that the Bureau of Statistics was involved in any nefarious actions with their jobs reports and admitted Trump just wants to put his own people in.

After the BLS issued the worst jobs report for years for July, Trump, in a fit of rage immediately fired Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Making Trump’s economy look even worse, the Bureau revised their jobs report for the last two months showing Demented Donald added 258,000 fewer jobs than initially reported.

Earlier in the interview, Hassett tried to claim the BLS numbers were propaganda, which is absurd.

WELKER: So is the president prepared to fire anyone who reports data that he disagrees with?

HASSETT: No, absolutely not. The president wants his own people there, so that when we see the numbers, they’re more transparent and more reliable.

The real reason the West is warmongering against China | International Trade– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

Over the past two decades, the posture of the United States towards China has evolved from economic cooperation to outright antagonism. US media outlets and politicians have engaged in persistent anti-China rhetoric, while the US government has imposed trade restrictions and sanctions on China and pursued military build-up close to Chinese territory. Washington wants people to believe that China poses a threat.

China’s rise indeed threatens US interests, but not in the way the US political elite seeks to frame it.

The US relationship with China needs to be understood in the context of the capitalist world system. Capital accumulation in the core states, often glossed as the “Global North”, depends on cheap labour and cheap resources from the periphery and semi-periphery, the so-called “Global South”.

This arrangement is crucial to ensuring high profits for the multinational firms that dominate global supply chains. The systematic price disparity between the core and periphery also enables the core to achieve a large net-appropriation of value from the periphery through unequal exchange in international trade.

Democrat Calls Lawbreakers ‘Long-Term Residents’ in Stunning Display of Border Amnesia– townhall.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

In a stunning display of the Democratic Party’s ongoing effort to blur the line between citizenship and lawbreaking, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) claimed that illegal immigrants—who by definition broke federal law to enter or remain in the country—are merely “long-term residents of the United States who happen to be undocumented.” The remark highlights the Left’s continued push to downplay the rule of law in favor of feel-good rhetoric, redefining criminal entry into the country as nothing more than a paperwork issue.

During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Padilla doubled down on his defense of illegal immigration, claiming his mission is to protect the millions of undocumented individuals living in the United States from what he called an “aggressive” and “cruel” approach to enforcement. Padilla criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to arrest, detain, and deport those who entered the country illegally, painting law enforcement and immigration officials as the villains, rather than acknowledging the legal consequences of breaking U.S. immigration laws.

Padilla is just one of many left-wing voices in Congress that continue to weaken immigration enforcement, reward illegal entry with taxpayer-funded benefits, and vilify anyone who dares to demand secure borders. By rebranding illegal immigrants as “undocumented residents,” Padilla and his fellow Democrat colleagues are attempting to erase the distinction between those who respect the nation’s laws and those who break them.

White House Doubles Down on Baseless “Rigged” Claims About Poor Jobs Data – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

The shock and outrage over President Donald Trump firing the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner because of weak jobs numbers seems increasingly bipartisan.

Several Republican senators told NBC News that they did not support Trump’s firing of Erika McEntarfer if it was, in fact, motivated by his displeasure over the poor jobs numbers released on Friday. (All indications are that it was.) Democrats, meanwhile, said Trump’s latest move was the behavior of an authoritarian.

On Friday, Trump quickly claimed without any evidence that the revised jobs numbers, which showed weaker job growth in May and June than previously projected, had been “manipulated.” But experts on the work of the BLS, which is part of the Department of Labor, pushed back, saying Trump’s claim is not plausible.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who served in the Clinton administration, said on ABC’s This Week that Trump’s firing “is way beyond anything that Richard Nixon ever did.” Summers explained: “These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures that are in manuals. There’s no conceivable way that the head of the BLS could have manipulated this number.”

ABC: Trump White House Refused To Provide Guest To Talk About Poor Jobs Report– crooksandliars.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

The Trump administration declined to provide a guest to ABC News after the leader of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was fired over a poor jobs report.

On Sunday, This Week host George Stephanopoulos revealed that ABC had contacted the White House after President Donald Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.

“After the president fired the head of the BLS on Friday, we invited the White House to provide a guest to respond,” the host explained. “They declined.”

Instead, Stephanopoulos spoke to former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers about the BLS shakeup.

“I mean, this is way beyond anything that Richard Nixon ever did,” Summers remarked. “I’m surprised that other officials have not responded by resigning themselves, as took place when Richard Nixon fired people lawlessly. This is a preposterous charge.”

“These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures that are in manuals,” he continued. “There’s no conceivable way that the head of the BLS could have manipulated this number.”

China and Russia Start Joint Drills in Sea of Japan– www.themoscowtimes.com

pgnewser August 4, 2025 0

Source Link
Excerpt:

China and Russia began joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan on Sunday as they seek to reinforce their partnership and counterbalance what they see as a U.S.-led global order.

Alongside economic and political ties, Moscow and Beijing have strengthened their military cooperation in recent years, and their relations have deepened since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The “Joint Sea-2025” exercises kicked off in waters near the Russian port of Vladivostok and would last for three days, China’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The two sides will hold “submarine rescue, joint anti-submarine, air defense and anti-missile operations, and maritime combat.”

Four Chinese vessels, including guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, are participating in the exercises alongside Russian ships, the ministry said.