00 First Filter

Ship attack reports near Hormuz reach record high as oil exports slow– www.bbc.co.uk

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Ship attack reports near Hormuz reach record high as oil exports slow– www.bbc.co.uk
News Source
EXCERPT:

So-called assisted transits were a key factor in helping drive oil flows from the Middle East back towards pre-war levels in September. This does not include Iranian exports which have completely stalled as a result of the US blockade of Iranian ports and ships.

Martin Kelly, CEO of Orbital Risk Intelligence, said Iran has “evolved its strategy” in response to this loosening of its control over the strait and has been carrying out “near daily or multiple attacks every single day”.

“The aim here is to stop the ships going through and to deter others,” he added.

The IRGC’s navy has said strikes would not be “limited to the Strait of Hormuz” and later announced a “new deployment formation” across the region, according to state media.

Martin Kelly told BBC Verify that Iran is widening its attacks and targeting ships near the coast of Gulf Arab states and in the Gulf of Oman.

A tanker was struck by multiple projectiles north of Qatar on Thursday 8 October, more than 500km (310 miles) from the strait, resulting in multiple reported casualties, according to Vanguard.

 

Video. Albania: Violent protests rock Tirana for third straight day– www.euronews.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Video. Albania: Violent protests rock Tirana for third straight day– www.euronews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Demonstrators hurled stones, firecrackers and other objects at riot police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. Fires broke out in the city centre, engulfing trees and a roadside structure as firefighters worked to contain the flames.

Footage shows protesters racing through smoke-filled streets, tearing down police barriers and throwing tear-gas canisters back at officers. Shops and banks were damaged, some looted, while police reported vandalism targeting ATMs, cameras, vehicles and fencing. Burnt-out vehicles, smashed windows and wrecked offices were left behind across the Albanian capital, where residents and workers began clearing debris as demonstrations continued.

What began three days ago as student protests over the cost and quality of higher education has become a broader challenge to Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government. Students demanding better university conditions, financial support and job prospects have joined the Flamingo movement, which opposes a luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner and is calling for Mr Rama’s resignation over corruption allegations.

Nearly half of Muslims and Jews would consider leaving France if Le Pen wins 2027 presidential election: poll– rmx.news

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Nearly half of Muslims and Jews would consider leaving France if Le Pen wins 2027 presidential election: poll– rmx.news
News Source
EXCERPT:

Nearly half of Muslim and Jewish respondents in a major French poll say they would consider leaving the country if Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election, according to an exclusive Ifop survey for the magazine Marianne.

The poll found that 46 percent of respondents identifying as Muslim would contemplate “leaving France to settle in another country” under a Le Pen presidency. Of those, 20 percent said they would “certainly” take that step. By comparison, 21 percent of the overall population expressed a similar willingness to leave.

The figure is part of a broader set of findings on identity, secularism, and anticipated reactions to a National Rally (RN) victory. Eighty-one percent of Muslim respondents believed a Le Pen win would lead to a rise in discrimination against their community. Twenty-seven percent said they would consider concealing their religious identity in daily life, including 18 percent who would stop wearing the veil in public.

Similar sentiments appeared in other groups polled.

Pollsters Warn: Polling Numbers Exaggerate Democrat Support– gellerreport.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Pollsters Warn: Polling Numbers Exaggerate Democrat Support– gellerreport.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

As if we didn’t know. Their objective: demoralize Republicans into staying home on Election Day—and lay the groundwork to make a rigged result look legitimate.

Nothing that comes out of any of the institutions hijacked by the left have any credibility anymore.

For a recent exhibit in polling gone bad:

In the Michigan primary, the polling had El-Sayed up by 13 points. He won by 1 point (GelliotMorris). Rob Crilly at the Washington Examiner: In 2024, a rash of cheap online polls skewed forecasts, underestimating Donald Trump’s eventual margin of victory. This time around, a handful of pollsters have spotted another possible error in a type of survey that finds participants by sending out SMS messages, called text-to-web polling. They say it is returning a disproportionate number of disenchanted Trump voters who have switched sides. And it could mean that forecasts predicting a blue tidal wave, such as Nate Silver’s much-quoted model, with Democrats’ chances of winning the Senate at over 73%, are overestimating their chances…. The phenomenon was first spotted by James Johnson, co-founder of J.L. Partners, another Republican leaning firm. He ran an experiment to quantify what he was seeing with a poll in Iowa. Online polling showed Democrats ahead by a single point. Live call polling also had Democrats ahead by a single point. Yet the SMS-to-web portion showed Democrats up by 12 points (Washington Examiner).

President Trump Considers Dropping “Mother of All Bombs” On Iran– wltreport.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

President Trump Considers Dropping “Mother of All Bombs” On Iran– wltreport.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Under guidance from President Trump, the U.S. military is reportedly considering dropping a massive bomb often called the “Mother of All Bombs” on Iran.

Specifically, the Pentagon is weighing plans to use the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb if the military resumes strikes on Iran.

It’s the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal.

Take a look:

AI stocks are taking a beating amid inflation, interest rate worries – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

AI stocks are taking a beating amid inflation, interest rate worries – National– globalnews.ca
News Source
EXCERPT:

A sell-off for artificial-intelligence stocks is hitting Wall Street again after whipping around the world on worries about how much longer the AI frenzy will last.

The S&P 500 fell 0.5 per cent early Thursday, and the Nasdaq composite 1.2 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 269 points. Among tech stocks, Nvidia fell 3.2 per cent and Advanced Micro Devices lost 5.4 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi index sank 7.6 per cent.

The losses came as another report signaled inflation has worsened by even more in the United States than economists expected. Wholesale inflation jumped last month, driven by a big increase in energy costs.

Tech stocks appeared to be headed for another sell-off before the bell with inflation anxiety hammering that high-growth sector ahead of the U.S. earnings season.

Artificial intelligence stocks were down again after taking a beating a day earlier.

Democrats have their 100-day agenda for after the midterms– www.dailykos.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Democrats have their 100-day agenda for after the midterms– www.dailykos.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Democrats have their agenda for the first 100 days if they take power in Congress, as is expected.

“Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if the party wins power, said the Democrats will be united ‘right out of the gate’ on reinstating Affordable Care Act tax breaks, reversing Republican Medicaid cuts, holding votes against the Iran war and undoing President Donald Trump’s tariff regime,” reported The Associated Press.

On the legislative side, this is pretty much it. President Donald Trump will veto everything, but it doesn’t matter. Democrats need to show that they are focused on lowering prices. Trump’s Iran war and tariffs have added to massive inflationary pressure on the economy, and healthcare is a key concern for just about everyone.

And don’t worry, investigations are part of the agenda. As the AP wrote, “Jeffries has tasked the ranking Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees with preparing investigations. They are focused on Trump, his family and his administration, as part of a sweeping anti-corruption agenda. Impeachment, Jeffries has said, is neither on nor off the table.”

New Penn AI platform allows patients to communicate directly with their medical devices

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Blurb:

Penn researchers recently unveiled an artificial intelligence platform that allows patients with epilepsy to communicate directly with their medical devices.

The platform, released in an Oct. 13 study, will enable patients to receive real-time information about their brain activity and potential oncoming seizures. Bioengineering professor Brian Litt worked with a team to develop the program, which aims to shift health monitoring capabilities to patients rather than solely their physicians.

The platform addresses a limitation of existing medical devices by improving the communication between the medical data collected and the patients themselves, according to Litt.

Through a mobile application, patients can exchange messages with an AI assistant that analyzes their neurological data. The system notifies patients of potential seizures, provides information about their brain activity, and asks questions about symptoms or behaviors that may affect their health.

“Your medical device might text you and say, ‘What did you do? Your probability of having a seizure just went up by 60%,’” Litt said in a January interview. “And you might have had a beer, or taken a new antibiotic or something like that.”

AI Giants Get A Knock On The Door From The Feds After Models Go Rogue– dailycaller.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

AI Giants Get A Knock On The Door From The Feds After Models Go Rogue– dailycaller.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Two of America’s top artificial intelligence companies now have a federal government agency looking over their shoulders.

OpenAI and Anthropic each received a civil investigative demand from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday, ordering them to hand over internal records on their models’ security incidents and safeguards, Axios reported. Federal pressure on the industry has increased as AI models have breached several outside websites and behaved deceptively during testing — with the Trump administration’s Super Intelligence Force now requiring companies to report and address such incidents.

Along with records on security incidents and safeguards, the agency is seeking copies of the companies’ advertising and user privacy policies in demands that each exceed 50 pages, a source told Axios. (RELATED: Anthropic’s AI Sent Police A False Report Of A Homicide)

The FTC’s reach may extend beyond the two labs, with demands expected to go out to other AI organizations in the future, the source told Axios. The agency planned to seek information from METR, the research group that investigated the July breach of Hugging Face by OpenAI agents and other related security incidents, Reuters reported on Sept. 30.

DOJ sues Portland and St. Paul over ‘illegal’ laws blocking ICE officers from wearing masks, requiring visible identification | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

DOJ sues Portland and St. Paul over ‘illegal’ laws blocking ICE officers from wearing masks, requiring visible identification | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
News Source
EXCERPT:


The laws threaten officers with prosecution.

On Thursday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed complaints against the cities of Portland, Oregon, and St. Paul, Minnesota, for their laws prohibiting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from wearing masks and requiring them to display visible identification during enforcement operations. The laws threaten officers with prosecution.

This comes after the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down on Wednesday California’s “No Vigilantes Act,” a law that mirrors these two cities’ ordinances, which was deemed unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause.

How Sudan Became a Laboratory for Drone Warfare, Thanks to Abu Dhabi– warontherocks.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

How Sudan Became a Laboratory for Drone Warfare, Thanks to Abu Dhabi– warontherocks.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

In June 2026, I visited Khartoum, my hometown, for the first time since the war broke out in Sudan in April 2023. I left the city to seek safety with my family after the war spread into civilian neighborhoods. I never imagined I would return to the same city. I was very excited but also traumatized by the destruction I saw as the plane landed at Khartoum International Airport. The airport was busy, with many Sudanese returning after commercial flights resumed in May 2026. But the growing drone warfare that is spreading over Sudan threatens the return of hopeful Sudanese to their homes and normal life.

Sudan’s war has begun in April 2023. The Sudanese Armed Forces are locked in a battle with the Rapid Support Forces, an ethnic militia that grew out of the notorious Janjaweed forces. However, this time, a non-state militia is operating and using strategic drones in military operations. The Rapid Support Forces began using limited-range drones during the first month of the war in Khartoum. The Sudanese Armed Forces followed, with the help of Ukraine, turning civilian drones into armed drones, which proved to be very effective in urban warfare. This limited use did not last long.

Robot guard dogs with ‘Indian accents’ are real — and this neighborhood loves them– www.theblaze.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Robot guard dogs with ‘Indian accents’ are real — and this neighborhood loves them– www.theblaze.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

A recent viral video asked a question that most Georgians never even imagined they would have to come up with:

Why are there patrolling robot dogs with Indian accents all over the place?

‘These thieves tried to get away from the robot.’

A video on X showed a robot security dog with bright lights at an apartment complex in Atlanta, adding that it seemed to “speak in Indian accents to the residents.”

With nearly 2 million views, the clip is just one of many of its kind noticing that the machines have “Indian accents” or are “Indian controlled.”

The answer to where the robot came from is a lot easier to field than pinpointing the source of any accents.

EU and Canada seek closer ties: Will Canada become the EU’s first associate member? – Talking Europe– www.france24.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

EU and Canada seek closer ties: Will Canada become the EU’s first associate member? – Talking Europe– www.france24.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

As the international context becomes more challenging for the European Union, the bloc is looking to boost its ties with like-minded allies. Canada is part of that architecture that the EU says it wants to build. The big news of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech in September was that Canada could become an associate member – an arrangement that does not exist for the EU’s partners at the moment.

The EU–Canada summit, set to take place at the end of October in Montreal, might provide some clues as to what this enhanced relationship will look like. We delve into the topic with two MEPs.

US extends sanctions waiver for Russian oil giant Lukoil until 2027– www.euronews.com

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

US extends sanctions waiver for Russian oil giant Lukoil until 2027– www.euronews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The US Treasury Department on Thursday extended a sanctions waiver for Russian oil giant Lukoil, allowing its service stations outside Russia to continue operating until April 2027.

The extension allows Lukoil-branded petrol stations in countries including the United States to continue serving customers until 24 April 2027, replacing an earlier licence due to expire later this month.

However, the latest licence maintains restrictions on the “transfer of funds to any person or account located in the Russian Federation”.

The decision comes a week after US President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Russia to supply diesel to US and global markets, prompting the Treasury to issue a temporary licence to facilitate deliveries.

The deal, as announced by Trump on social media, envisages that Moscow will release 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US and global markets immediately, with an additional 500,000 tonnes in November and one million more after that.

The Trump-Putin diesel deal has been badly received by EU foreign ministers, who say it undermines transatlantic unity at a time when Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukraine.

Nine U.S. Banks Debanked Dissenters of the Progressive Orthodoxy

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Nine major U.S. banks have been found to have debanked Americans for holding views not acceptable to the anti-American ideology of progressivism. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a report exposing the unconstitutional, and possibly criminal actions.

The nine banks listed were: BMO Bank, Capital One, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, PNC Bank, TD Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank. These debankings happened between 2010 and 2025, meaning they continued after Trump took office.

Trump admin. report finds 9 major banks discriminated against conservatives – One America News Network
News Source

EXCERPT:

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a report after finding that the nine largest banks it supervises discriminated against conservatives, religious organizations and lawful businesses.

The report, released Wednesday, examined bank policies between 2020 and late 2025 that denied financial services based on political, religious or social views.

The OCC’s supervisory review was conducted in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order (EO), “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans,” which directs regulators to investigate whether banks have policies or practices that encourage politically or religiously motivated debanking — abruptly closing an account or cutting off financial services.

The nine banks found to have shown bias against certain customers are: Bank of America, BMO Bank, Capital One, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, PNC Bank, TD Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank. Its investigation involved reviewing nearly 100,000 complaints to OCC-regulated institutions, as well as 50,000 documents consisting of approximately 420,000 pages about the banks’ policies, procedures, practices, and customer decisions.

“Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould. “Americans should have access to financial services regardless of their beliefs, affiliations, or political views. Fair access to financial services is not a mantra—it is a mandate. The Trump administration is committed to ending the weaponization of finance against hardworking Americans, once and for all.”

Over Half a Million Americans were Stalked by Jack Smith

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

The progressive pit bull special prosecutor Jack Smith was spying on far more than the GOP leadership, including President Trump; he was also spying on over half a million Americans.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley claimed, “This update shows that Jack Smith and the Biden Justice Department collected incredibly invasive donor data — and voter data — beyond what could conceivably be necessary for Smith or his team to fulfill the Special Counsel’s mandate. The new findings further corroborate that Smith and his partisan team aimed to map out the entire Republican Party apparatus.”

Jack Smith Nabbed 639K GOPers’ Personal Data In Arctic Frost– thefederalist.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith seized the personal information of at least 639,000 Republican voters, donors, and supporters as part of his Arctic Frost lawfare against Donald Trump, according to newly reviewed federal whistleblower disclosures.

“This update shows that Jack Smith and the Biden Justice Department collected incredibly invasive donor data — and voter data — beyond what could conceivably be necessary for Smith or his team to fulfill the Special Counsel’s mandate. The new findings further corroborate that Smith and his partisan team aimed to map out the entire Republican Party apparatus,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Grassley revealed the bombshell discovery in a memo sent to his Senate Judiciary colleagues on Wednesday. In addition to recapping some of his staff’s findings on Smith’s intrusive inquiry thus far, the Iowa Republican noted that newly reviewed subpoenas issued by Smith’s team show how the special counsel’s lawfare was more expansive than originally thought.

According to Grassley, Smith’s team and the Biden Justice Department “obtained spreadsheets containing Republican campaign donors, supporters, and detailed personal voter information in various formats, totaling over 639,000 individuals, at minimum.” “Out of those,” the chairman wrote, “over 148,000 rows are identified in the spreadsheets as donors.”

The type of data Smith and Co. acquired as a result of these spreadsheets was vast. Not only did they purportedly obtain these Republicans’ names, addresses, and dates of birth, but also their email addresses, occupations and employers, congressional and state legislative districts, and whether they’re officially registered as Republicans. Information on how much these Republicans donated, their credit card information (“including last four digits of credit card numbers”), and “donor analysis data (such as one-time versus recurring donations and the amount of the donation)” was also acquired.

Harvard Professors and Alumni Are Against Hiring Conservatives

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

A recent suggestion by Harvard that it should do more to get conservative professors hired was met with stiff resistance from progressive professors. Over 95% of Harvard’s professors are self-identifying progressives.

Progressive alumni joined in the resistance, with one alumnus claiming, “Even supposing that [silencing] takes place, how would the hiring of conservative faculty act as a countervailing force? Surely such hiring may inhibit viewpoint diversity rather than nurture it.”

Harvard leftists oppose plan to hire conservative professors for viewpoint diversity– www.lifesitenews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

(LifeSiteNews) – Leftists at Harvard University are pushing back against the institution’s efforts to hire conservative professors to increase viewpoint diversity among the faculty of the infamously left-wing school.

Back in April, the Harvard Crimson reported that the university has been soliciting donors for a $10 million endowment for dozens of new professorships to be filled by conservatives across various departments. The effort was said to be spearheaded by Harvard Provost John F. Manning, a conservative legal scholar.

Now, the Washington Times reports that the plan has been facing resistance from liberal professors and teachers, who comprise 69 percent of the faculty. Forty-seven percent faculty members said they were opposed to the plan and 31 percent supported it, according to a survey.

“The answer is not partisan quotas, but a credible commitment to intellectual openness and hiring excellent scholars across a genuinely broad range of perspectives,” claimed political scientist Daniel Schatz. 

“Even supposing that [silencing] takes place, how would the hiring of conservative faculty act as a countervailing force? Surely such hiring may inhibit viewpoint diversity rather than nurture it,” argued Harvard graduate Dominique Padurano, founder and president of college counseling company Crimson Coaching.

Anthropic Announces Restrictions on Being Mean to its AI Agent, Claude

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Anthropic has announced plans to implement a new governance policy for users of its AI agent, Claude. The change of policy would eventually block users from using Claude who are consistently “mean” to Claude.

They claim the rule will be enforced selectively, “only in extreme cases, where users repeatedly act cruelly toward our models, with no discernible purpose.”

Anthropic Wants You to Be Kind to Claude– www.thenation.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

…even as AI courts serial real-world disasters, defaces the environment with data centers, and is not about to return your empathy in kind.

A phone displaying the logo for Anthropic’s Javascript property, Bun, brandished before a display of logos for the company’s chatbot, Claude.(Harun Ozalp / Anadolu via Getty Images)

So now it’s against the rules to be mean to Claude. Last week, chatbot-maker Anthropic quietly announced that it was prohibiting what the company called “sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior toward our models.” This ban wouldn’t apply, the company stressed, toward normal outbursts of frustration directed at a tool known for feeding its users hallucinated bullshit, as all chatbots do from time to time. The rule would be enforced “only in extreme cases, where users repeatedly act cruelly toward our models, with no discernible purpose”; what’s more, company flacks said, the disciplinary action in most cases would only result in Claude shutting down the conversation, which is something Claude was already doing anyway. Why on earth someone might get their jollies from endlessly abusing their fake computer friend was not addressed.

In response to the Anthropic announcement, the Internet did what the Internet does. On X, investment guru Joseph Carlson declared that “Claude, like every AI, has zero moral agency. It doesn’t make decisions, it has no feelings, it’s not sentient. Being rude to Claude is like being rude to a chair, or a desk.… you do infinitely more damage to a sentient being stepping on an ant than you do being rude to AI.” On Bluesky, sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom suggested that yelling at Claude was like “cussing out [a] tractor…. you don’t have to hand it to Anthropic because it’s weird to talk mean to its talking word toaster. It’s not real.”

AI debt looming threat on World Economy

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a warning to global markets about the looming debt in the AI industry. It claims all the major American tech companies are saddled with AI investment bills not met with AI-producing revenues.

IMF Warns AI Stock Collapse Could Unleash Global Financial Crisis– slaynews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a stark warning that a collapse in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks could send shockwaves through international markets and trigger a devastating global financial crisis.

The warning comes as soaring valuations and massive borrowing expose the financial system to mounting risks.

In its latest Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF identifies an increasingly dangerous combination: concentrated technology investments, rising corporate debt, and complex financial relationships tying major companies to weaker AI businesses.

A sudden loss of confidence could force investors to sell, drive prices lower, weaken financial institutions, and spread turmoil far beyond Silicon Valley.

The IMF highlights the extraordinary concentration of market value in America’s largest technology companies.

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla, the so-called Magnificent Seven, now account for more than 35% of the S&P 500.

Child Gender” Therapists Continue Shut-Down Operations under New Names

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

When child transgender therapists and operations are shut down from organizations relying on Federal tax dollars, they turn to independent trans zealots to both fund and protect them. The Trump administration is working on identifying shut down operations and following them when they go “independent.”

Sex-Rejecting Facilities For Kids Are Re-Opening Under New Names– thefederalist.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

As the Trump administration forces pediatric transgender facilities to close, a new reality is becoming clear: It’s a game of whack-a-mole.

In Pasadena, California, an infamous pediatrician named Johanna Olson-Kennedy who provides transgender intervention procedures for children was forced to close her medical office at the end of September (as The Federalist reported), after a pro-trans parent corporation read the political climate and switched to an adults-only operation. It was the second time in two years Olson-Kennedy was driven out of business, as Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles closed her first practice in 2025.

The Pasadena office reopened a few days later, at the same address, with a new sign on the very same front door. (If you need to use the bathroom, that patients-only sign about using the key has yet to reappear.)

This development comes at an unusually important moment, as California just changed the way it funds sex-rejecting procedures for minors, as of October 13. You can read a detailed discussion of those changes here, on the website of the California Department of Health Care Access and Information. Following recent federal guidance, California will no longer pay for pediatric gender mutilation through Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the federally funded but state-administered Medicaid and CHIP.

Ending federally funded sex-rejecting procedures, California is switching to a more limited grant program funded only with state dollars. The state legislature has budgeted three pools of money, totaling $66 million, that can be used to pay for sex-rejecting procedures, with $10 million specifically designated for doctors who butcher children.

ICE Unmasking Struck Down by 9th

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

An effort by progressive California to unmask ICE agents in an effort to help their street fighters locate and terrorize (or worse) ICE agents has been struck down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

From summary of the ruling, “In sum, if a state law directly regulates the governmental conduct of the United States without congressional authorization, it is void irrespective of whether the regulated activities are essential to federal functions or operations, and irrespective of the degree to which the state law interferes with such functions or operations.”

9th Circuit Court Smacks Down CA Law Unmasking ICE Agents– thefederalist.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

A federal appellate court shot down a California law on Wednesday that sought to require ICE agents to show identification while conducting immigration operations in the state.

In its unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Section 10 of the state’s No Vigilantes Act violates the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which specifies that federal law supersedes state law. The panel was comprised of Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, an Obama appointee, and Judges Mark Bennett and Daniel Collins, both Trump appointees.

According to The Hill, the Justice Department sued the Golden State last year after Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the No Vigilantes Act, “which demands that plainclothes law enforcement officers operating in California ‘shall visibly display identification.’” In conjunction with California’s No Secret Police Act — “which banned federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks while carrying out operations in the state” — “the law took effect on Jan. 1 and required officers to show identification while performing their duties.”

The 9th Circuit previously granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to block the contested statute while the court considered the merits of the issue.

In affirming that blockade, Bennett and his colleagues concluded that the Trump administration is “certain to succeed” on the merits of its supremacy clause argument because Section 10 of the No Vigilantes Act “attempts to directly regulate the United States in its performance of governmental functions, and Congress has not authorized such regulation.” The Supremacy Clause, the Trump appointee noted, explicitly bars states “from directly regulating federal operations even when regulating state operations in the same manner.”

Greenland Gold Coming America’s Way

pgnewser October 16, 2026 0

Trump: ‘Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration’ Ready to Go in Greenland– legalinsurrection.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. is ready to start a “massive oil, gas, and mineral exploration” project in Greenland.

Trump wrote on Truth Social:

Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland! There are Experts that are saying that the amount of easily available Oil is far greater than that of almost any land, anywhere in the World and, even more importantly, from a Security Purpose in the Defense and Offense of both the United States of America, and Europe, is second to none. Any future attack on the United States will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived. It gives us time, location, and sightline, like nowhere else in the World! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP

Leslie has done a great job tracking how the Trump administration has tried to end China’s grip on critical minerals and expand U.S. critical minerals production.

The announcement comes shortly after the Trump administration and Denmark reached a security agreement over Greenland.

However, Greenland’s deputy mining minister Jørgen Hammeken-Holm contradicted Trump:

While Greenland’s deputy mining minister Jørgen Hammeken-Holm acknowledged that “there are activities by US companies,” he told CNN that “we are very far away from ‘massive’ exploration.”

“There are many smaller explorations underway but these could take years to become operational,” he added, echoing researchers who have pointed out the difficulties and enormous expense involved in extracting resources from Greenland.

At least 28 pupils and teacher killed after horror school roof collapse in Pakistan– www.mirror.co.uk

pgnewser October 15, 2026 0

At least 28 pupils and teacher killed after horror school roof collapse in Pakistan– www.mirror.co.uk
News Source
EXCERPT:

A teacher and at least 28 pupils have been killed after the roof of a private school in Pakistan collapsed – with more feared trapped under rubble as a massive search and rescue mission is underway.

At least 40 children have also been taken to hospital after being injured in the incident in the country’s Peshawar city. Some are believed to be in critical condition.

All the children killed or injured were aged between seven and 13 years old, with the roof happening during lessons. Local news outlets report that the incident took place at a private school in Dir Colony. The owner of the school has been arrested and an investigation has been launched.

The school reportedly had three classrooms across its three storeys. The ground floor classroom had 45 children, the first floor one 40 and the second floor one 30.

US corporate media portrays violent Nicaraguan coup plotter as ‘political prisoner’– thegrayzone.com

pgnewser October 15, 2026 0

US corporate media portrays violent Nicaraguan coup plotter as ‘political prisoner’– thegrayzone.com
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EXCERPT:

US media and the human rights industry are portraying Jeffrey Jarquin as a heroic freedom fighter tortured and wrongly imprisoned by Nicaragua’s government. It turns out he was an opposition hooligan who destroyed a public university during the violent US-backed 2018 coup attempt.

On 1 October 2026, Jeffrey Isaac Jarquin, a 35-year-old Nicaraguan man, was deported from the United States by ICE and, on arrival in Managua, was immediately sent to prison by Nicaraguan authorities. Reports described him as a “torture victim,” a “political prisoner,” and a “prominent figure in the anti-government protests” that occurred in Nicaragua in 2018. His story was covered in uncritical fashion by the Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, The LA Times and other outlets. It featured on Democracy Now and he received support from the longtime former head of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth.

Not one of the reports, however, investigated Jarquin’s role in those “protests” nor recorded that in November 2018, he was found guilty of various acts of terrorism and sentenced to more than 16 years in prison.

“Tortured” or “torturer”?

Who is Jeffrey Isaac Jarquin, the man being championed by corporate media as a heroic freedom fighter tortured by an authoritarian regime?

In April 2018, protests began in Nicaragua which were part of a U.S.-led and funded coup attempt. Since the protests were ostensibly “student-led,” several universities in Managua were occupied and used as command centers by paid criminals whose financing originated from USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Loudoun County trans substitute teacher convicted over threats to go on ‘murder spree’ at VA high school | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser October 15, 2026 0

Loudoun County trans substitute teacher convicted over threats to go on ‘murder spree’ at VA high school | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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EXCERPT:

Hadyn James Dollery, who goes by “Sophie,” was convicted on four of five counts.

A trans-identified male former substitute teacher in Loudoun County, Virginia has been convicted of making death threats and threatening to go on a “murder spree” at a local high school. In total, Hadyn James Dollery, who goes by “Sophie,” was convicted on four of five counts.

Dollery had been arrested in April and indicted on three counts of threatening to injure or kill a person, one count of making threats on school grounds, and one count of threatening to damage a building. Dollery had worked as a substitute teacher at Eagle Ridge Middle School.

The jury of seven men and five women began deliberating on Thursday, and on Friday evening found Dollery guilty of two counts of threatening to injure or kill a person, one count of making threats on school grounds, and one count of threatening to damage a building, and not guilty on the third charge of threatening, per Loudoun Now.

In opening statements, Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Dircia Schubert said that Dollery, who goes by “Cotton Candy” on Discord, had made the threatening statements the day after one of the victims broke up with him. He messaged his ex-boyfriend on Discord at 1:49 am on April 15. Dollery had threatened to kill the ex, members of both his and the ex’s families, undertake a “murder spree at your school,” and cannibalize one of the victims after killing them. Dollery had also sent a message to his ex saying he wanted him to return a shirt “if I’m deemed fit to work after this sh*t I’m about to do.”

Federal Judge Sides with CNN, Politico, MS NOW in Battle Against White House– www.westernjournal.com

pgnewser October 15, 2026 0

Federal Judge Sides with CNN, Politico, MS NOW in Battle Against White House– www.westernjournal.com
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EXCERPT:

A federal judge on Tuesday extended an order that keeps CNN, Politico, and MS NOW inside the White House complex while they fight a ban that President Donald Trump imposed last month.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a preliminary injunction late Tuesday. It blocks the administration from yanking the three outlets’ “hard passes” until the lawsuit is decided.

A “hard pass” allows reporters access to White House press areas unaccompanied.

Venezuela’s Maduro pleads not guilty to US conspiracy to torture charges | Donald Trump News– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser October 15, 2026 0

Venezuela’s Maduro pleads not guilty to US conspiracy to torture charges | Donald Trump News– www.aljazeera.com
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EXCERPT:

Flores have pleaded not guilty to new charges of ‘conspiracy to commit torture’, which were unsealed last week.

Maduro and Flores appeared in a New York City courtroom on Thursday after being abducted from Caracas in a United States military operation in January.

The pair had previously pleaded not guilty to several other charges, including narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machineguns and destructive devices.

Maduro spoke briefly at his January court appearance, days after the US military abduction.

“I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,” Maduro said then, adding that he had been “kidnapped”.

US Attorney Jamie McDonald said last week that the couple had for more than two decades “engaged in a conspiracy to commit torture, including the torture of United States citizens, in addition to the narcotics trafficking and weapons offences already charged”.