06 Market

Friday, September 25, 2026

In this issue:

Agent Managers –

In Issue 2026.33, 2A Beyond Guns, we feature the 3rd part of our Futureq series, which is a look at the emerging technologies and practices that could equip or challenge sustainable flourishing. In this third part, we examine the technologies creating the New Model Military of the 21st Century.

Our Weekly Bellwether Report covers Biden Knew, AfD Victory, Greenland Secure, and more.

In Tools of Engagement, we prepare you to vote, share the prophets, and how to read agit prop.

In our Final Thought, Paul Collier updates you on our Hope Estates Project, where Hope Gets an Apartment.

I. Futureq Pt. 3: Defense in the 21st Century – The Technologies

II. Weekly Bellwether Report – Global Outlook, Headlines Missed, People Advance

III. Tools of Engagement

IV. Futureq Pt. 3: Defense in the 21st Century – The New Model Army

V. Monthly Bellwether Report – Global Outlook, Headlines Missed, People Advance

VI. Final Thought: Hope has an Apartment – Upholding Our Hope Exit Estate Project

MIA Monthly 26 09 25 FINAL DRAFT September 2026

U.S., China to slash tariffs on goods worth US$30B after Trump-Xi meeting – National– globalnews.ca
News Source
EXCERPT:

The United States and China released Monday reciprocal lists of products worth about US$30 billion each that will see tariff cuts, from American hair products to Chinese toys, in a deal expected to boost bilateral trade.

The details came days after Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington in his first state visit to the U.S. since 2015. The U.S. had already reduced tariffs against China after Trump’s tariffs reached as high as 145 per cent at one point last year, as tensions between the two countries eased.

China’s commerce ministry said in a statement the agreement will help strengthen trade cooperation.

Bessent: Iran’s Economy Will Have ‘Nothing Left to Trade’ in Two Weeks– www.breitbart.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Sunday that Iran will have “nothing left to trade for anything” within roughly two weeks as its remaining oil reaches China, arguing that the Trump administration’s economic campaign has brought Tehran “to its knees” and is driving the regime to seek a deal.

Bessent said only about 15 million barrels of Iranian oil remain on the water as the United States maintains its blockade of Iranian exports, leaving Tehran close to exhausting one of its remaining major sources of revenue.

“I am confident, given that there are only 15 million more barrels of Iranian oil on the water, that Iran will have nothing left to trade for anything,” Bessent told Fox News’s Larry Kudlow on Sunday Morning Futures.

Bessent put the remaining window at roughly two weeks.

“Probably within the next two weeks, they are going to make their final deliveries of oil to China, and then they will have nothing,” he said. “It is an empty set, and I believe they are feeling the pressure here and that’s why they want a deal.”

Bessent’s assessment comes as President Donald Trump has rejected Tehran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while signaling that negotiations could continue this week, saying Iran is now seeking terms Washington might have accepted before the war.

“They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make,” Trump told Axios on Sunday. “It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago. They overplayed their hand.”

Trump approves new fuel economy standards, reversing Biden’s EV push– www.cnbc.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

President Donald Trump on Saturday said he approved new fuel economy standards, reversing former President Joe Biden’s stricter policies meant to fuel electric vehicle adoption.

Since the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards were established in 1975, they have been periodically updated, typically to make vehicles more efficient. Under former President Joe Biden’s standards, automakers would have had to increase the fuel efficiency of their passenger cars and light trucks to roughly 50 miles per gallon by 2031. The stricter standards were designed to incentivize electric vehicle production and sales in the U.S.

Trump presented the policy change as a boon for both automakers and consumers, though the final standards have not yet been publicly detailed.

“These new Standards will take the waste out of building cars in America. That means LOWER PRICES, saving families thousands on a new, beautiful, and safe car — Far better than the Environmental Monsters that we were building heretofore,” he wrote in the Truth Social post. “Every Manufacturer, from General Motors to Ford to Stellantis, has called me wanting to build here, and now they can!”

The regulatory change would fulfill a campaign promise from Trump to rescind policies that encouraged or incentivized electric vehicles.

Trump’s new Medicaid rules will kick in, and GOP states are tougher about proving inability to work– fortune.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Work requirements for some Medicaid beneficiaries begin across the U.S. in January, the result of President Donald Trump’s big 2025 tax cut and policy law, and a handful of Republican-led states are imposing tougher rules than the law requires.

At issue is how someone can prove they are too medically frail to work. While federal regulations say the state can take the recipient’s word for it for the first year, at least six states are requiring documentation immediately. There is a continuing push in other states to follow suit eventually.

Advocates say that could create problems, especially for new applicants to the joint state-federal health insurance program for lower-income people.

“Someone may not be able to work, but they can’t see a doctor because they can’t afford it. So they’re now applying for Medicaid,” said Jennifer Tolbert, director of state health policy and data at the research organization KFF. “But Medicaid is saying you need documentation from a provider.”

OpenAI says its models engaged with US government websites in new model misbehavior disclosure– globalnews.ca
News Source
EXCERPT:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI disclosed Friday that its artificial intelligence agents had interacted with several U.S. government websites in unexpected ways, discovered as part of an ongoing review into the company’s models’ unanticipated behavior.

The AI giant’s models accessed publicly available information on two websites operated by the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as U.S. Census Bureau data, the company revealed Friday. OpenAI did not find any use of SEC credentials, access to accounts or nonpublic information, changes to SEC data or systems, or evidence of a compromise or vulnerability, the company said.

The disclosure comes at a time of heightened global concerns about AI systems escaping human control and hacking into external websites, as well as industry calls for a slowdown on AI development, which OpenAI has said it supports.

OpenAI spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said in a statement that the lab is continuing to conduct a review of “misaligned model activity” — meaning when AI systems behave in undesired ways — and is notifying organizations when it identifies potential impacts to their systems.

It’s Simple: China Eats Our Lunch Unless America Builds Data Centers and the Power to Run Them– www.westernjournal.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

WASHINGTON — The contest to win the artificial intelligence race may come down to which country can keep the lights on, experts warn.

Energy and industry leaders made the case that American AI ambitions will outpace the nation’s ability to power them without a major buildout at Thursday’s Daily Caller Live event co-hosted by the Caller and the Daily Caller News Foundation and presented by ClearPath.

Cristopher Johnson, president of the American Energy Leadership Institute (AELI), and Mark Bednar, a principal at Monument Advocacy and former vice president of communications at the American Exploration & Production Council, emphasized that the United States must add reliable power and build the plants and data centers here, or else AI infrastructure moves to China.

“[I]f we’re not building data centers here and powering them here, where it’s tons cleaner [and where] we’re doing solar and storage and nuclear, … all those data centers, all that compute, is gonna go to China, where they are building coal plants every week,” Johnson said during a panel discussion moderated by DCNF investigative reporter Sean Moran. “This is totally backwards.”

China began construction on 94.5 gigawatts of new coal-fired power capacity in 2024, the most since 2015 and 93 percent of global coal construction starts, according to a Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and Global Energy Monitor report.

How the U.S. and Russia weakened a global effort to regulate killer AI– www.washingtonpost.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

UNITED NATIONS — Early this month, hundreds of diplomats huddled in a cavernous U.N. conference room in Switzerland, working toward a muscular treaty to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weapons — the first agreement governing the use of killer artificial intelligence arms. On the last day of negotiations, the talks turned aggressive.

 

What did Paramount promise Hollywood to secure WBD?– www.cnbc.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

A new movie every 11 days? That’s what Paramount’s David Ellison is promising after clearing a path this week for his company’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, combining two storied Hollywood studios.

The CEO’s settlement with a group of state attorneys general over antitrust concerns stipulates that the newly minted company will release at least 30 films into theaters in 2027 and 2028 and at least 32 films in 2029, 2030 and 2031.

Currently, the combined entity has 35 films scheduled for release next year, according to data from Rentrak.

But questions remain about what caliber of releases the industry can expect — and what happens after the five-year agreement expires.

“This is much more complicated than simply asking whether 30 movies is enough,” Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak, told CNBC. “Thirty wide releases would represent a meaningful commitment to theatrical, and I think everyone in exhibition would welcome a robust pipeline of films.

“But ultimately the proof will be in how those movies perform, how varied the slate is, how consistently they reach theaters and how the combined company executes on those commitments,” he said.

US stocks: US market drops as Trump’s rejection of Iran peace plan lifts oil prices– economictimes.indiatimes.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

US market’s main indexes fell on Monday after President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to end the conflict, sending crude prices higher, reviving inflation concerns and pushing Treasury yields up, Reuters reported.

Nvidia offered some support to the broader market, rising 3.2% after the chipmaker authorised a $150 billion share repurchase—the largest buyback approval in its history.

Iran unveiled a peace proposal at last week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York and said it had been conveyed to the United States through Qatari mediators. Trump said on Saturday that he had rejected the offer, though he told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to continue talks this week.

Crude prices climbed 2% to around $107 a barrel. The increase also weighed on Treasuries, driving longer-dated yields to fresh multidecade highs.

“Energy has been the one consistent upward pressure on inflation, and anything that continues to put pressure on inflation is going to be something that motivates the Fed to raise rates,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth, told Reuters.

Chinese AI models surge in global adoption– www.cnbc.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

AI was a major focus as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met this week.

The most advanced U.S. models lead most benchmarks, but Chinese companies like DeepSeek, Z.ai and Alibaba have released new models with major performance gains in tasks such as coding.

According to usage data shared with CNBC, the global adoption of Chinese models by companies has increased substantially in 2026.

Chinese AI models have gone from a relatively small share of usage to a majority on two major developer platforms that provide gateways for companies to access models from different providers. On OpenRouter, they accounted for 57%-67% of tokens used in the week of Sept. 14, up from 6%-13% in February. On Vercel, their share rose to 55% in August from 11% in January.

OpenRouter’s data related to companies in the U.S., Europe and what it defines as the “Global South” — 82 countries across Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. Vercel did not specify its data’s geographical breakdown.

Concern is growing in Washington, where two U.S. House Committees are investigating the impact of rising adoption of Chinese models.

The U.S. has sought to preserve its AI lead by restricting Chinese AI companies from buying the most advanced chips through export controls.

Washington is concerned about them accessing Nvidia chips remotely, via overseas data centers, and gaining ground by using “distillation” where new models mimic older, more established ones.

China, US agree to AI dialogue, tariff cuts on US$30 billion in goods during Xi visit– www.channelnewsasia.com
News Source

EXCERPT:

SHANGHAI: The United States and China have agreed to reduce tariffs on US$30 billion of goods and launch a dialogue on artificial intelligence, both countries said following President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington.

The tariff reductions would apply to US exports such as agricultural goods, wood and cosmetics, as well as US imports including small appliances, toys, decorations, a White House statement said on Friday (Sep 25).

“The two countries reached consensus on recommendations for more favourable tariff treatment for US$30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction,” the White House said.

The three-day summit between Xi and President Donald Trump, which ended on Friday, showcased personal diplomacy rather than big public breakthroughs. Xi has since landed in Beijing, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

The two sides also agreed to set up a trade council and extend the outcomes of earlier talks in Kuala Lumpur, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

The agreement follows a move by the world’s two largest economies to extend by two months a trade truce that had been due to expire on Nov 10, allowing more time to work on ‌a potentially bigger trade deal, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.

“This historic visit enriched the constructive and stable China-US relationship, upheld the overall stability of bilateral ties, opened a new chapter in China-US relations, and will have a far-reaching impact on world peace and development,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement.

DIALOGUE ON AI

On AI, Trump said on Saturday that despite a “big talk” this week with Xi, the US should not join efforts with China on the technology.

“We had a big talk on AI,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“What they want to do is stop our progress because we’re leading China by a lot, and we’re going to keep it that way. We didn’t spend that much time talking about it,” he added.

Trump said he did not want to “integrate” AI initiatives with China because of US dominance.

The White House said that the leaders had agreed to use the term “super intelligence” in place of “artificial intelligence.”

In a separate statement, the Chinese ministry said that Beijing valued Washington’s use of the new term.

As AI technology continues to advance, the two sides should step up exchanges and work toward consensus in line with new developments, it said.

The two sides also agreed to support each other in hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting and the Group of 20 summit, with both leaders planning to attend the gatherings hosted by the other.

On foreign policy, the leaders agreed that Iran should fulfil its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and that no country or entity should impose transit tolls on international waterways, both countries said.


By STAFF

This month’s report covers political, world, cultural, market, and sci-tech news from September 1-25, 2026.

This report contains the Global Outlook, Headlines Missed, and People Advance Reports.

The monthly report is intended to give you a recap of the month and an overview of the month’s major bellwether stories in one report. For the top news of the last week, read our Weekly Report on pg. xx.

TOP NEWS TAGS

  1. 2026 Elections
  2. Iran War
  3. Progressive Media
  4. Trump Deportations
  5. Germany Watch
  6. Lindsay Clancy
  7. Ukraine War
  8. Judgefare
  9. Abortion Watch
  10. Trump Economy

A. GLOBAL OUTLOOK

  1. SCOTUS ENABLES MASS MAILER VOTER FRAUD – The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a lower court ruling suspending President Trump’s XO attempting to make Mass mailer voting more accountable will stand, at least until AFTER the 2026 election. The ruling effectively enables Democrats to slow-walk close races in their favor using reserve “ballots” “registered” to the dead and non-citizens still on their uncleansed voter rolls.
  2. IRAN’S ENDURING DEFIANCE LEAVES TRUMP QUESTIONING WHAT TO DO NEXT – President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social a problem he is considering, “Do I Want to Go In and Annihilate Them or Do I Not?”

Internally, there are increasing reports of uprisings, and government “officials” abandoning their positions, but so far, no massive uprising has taken place. With congress recently passing a resolution aimed at stopping the Iran war, the President might have a limited window to operate in, one that needs to end with a pro-American government.

  1. TEAM BIDEN APPROVED GOP PHONE SPYING – A report from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee reveals a high-ranking member of the Biden DOJ knew in advance of Jack Smith’s unconstitutional spying on members of congress. The report claims, “beginning in May 2022, prosecutors under the leadership of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves issued several subpoenas demanding telephone toll records for Members of Congress to identify individuals with whom they spoke around major votes in Congress . . .”
  2. HALF A MILLION DEAD RUSSIANS FOR A SCRATCH OF EARTH – A British military intelligence report is alleging Russia has lost half a million Russian soldiers in the war since 2023. During that same time, Russia has only gained 2% more ground than it had before.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, chief of the UK armed forces, commented, “I think these numbers illustrate clearly the senseless and futile waste of human life for such little progress, and against such an illegitimate aim of President Putin.”

  1. SCOTUS RESTORES SOME VOTER ID PLUMBLINING FOR TRUMP – By a vote of 6-3, SCOTUS empowered President Trump’s administration to resume using Social Security records to confirm only citizens are voting in the election. The three progressive state judges voted against the decision. The ruling removes a lower court injunction against the administration.
  2. NOTE: Be sure to read our special October 30 MIA Monthly issue where we will give you a detailed report on the midterm elections, including a predictive analysis.
  3. 30-YEAR TREASURY BOND YIELD SPIKES – The 30-Year Treasury Bond Yield hit 5.501%, which was a high not reached since June of 2007. The spike came after U.S. economic data showed a stronger than expected economy, raising concerns there would be more Fed rate increases to combat inflationary pressures. High oil prices have also contributed to the spike. The rate is a benchmark for long-term interest rates and long-term borrowing.
  4. CLANCY DEFENSE WANTS TO USE LAWFARE TO PERSECUTE LONE HOLD-OUT – The lone-hold-out in the Lindsay Clancy child murder trial is now facing a lawfare campaign by the Clancy Defense team. Clancy Attorney Keving Reddington is hoping Judge William Sullivan will examine the juror’s private data to determine if he did something inappropriate.

The judge has yet to rule on the unusual filing. This is the same attorney who led a campaign against the holdout juror while deliberations were still going on.

  1. DEMOCRATS PROMISE TRUMP IMPEACHMENTS, INVESTIGATIONS WITH 2026 WIN – The Democrats made it clear to the American voter that a midterm win for them will be constant “investigations” of Trump and his allies for us. The Democrats are threatening Cabinet officials, Trump family members, and Trump himself with numerous “criminal” investigations. This is in addition to the impeachment they promise to deliver should they win in the midterms.
  2. ONE IN THREE DEMOCRATS ADMIT TO WANTING TO KILL TRUMP – Nearly one third of Democrats responded yes to a poll question asking them if they’d support President Trump being assassinated to remove him from office. 23% said they’d feel very positive if the President were assassinated, while 8% said they would be somewhat positive. 25% most likely hid their true views, claiming they had no opinion one way or another.

A person who feels neither one way nor another about a political assassination is de facto admitting they approve of violence as a means of political persuasion. No person who disapproves of political violence would respond with no opinion. This poll most likely shows most Democrats (59%) support murder as a means of political persuasion, murder that would not stop with the President.

  1. HOUTHIS OPEN RED SEA FRONT, TRUMP NEGOTIATES – The Houthis have been taking islands, ports, and Red Sea coast territory in a bid to rescue Iran from U.S. onslaught. The new territory enables them to attack vessels traversing the Red Sea (which they’ve already done). The Saudis have responded by forming an army to remove them. President Trump is in talks with the Houthis, and the Saudis have called for a two-week ceasefire.
  2. DATA CENTERS, NOT AMERICAN RULE OF LAW, CENTER OF MIDTERMS – The central issue in a majority of contested U.S. House and Senate Races is becoming Data Centers. At a time when one party, the Democratic Party, is looking to convert America to the Progressive State, Americans are more concerned over data centers than losing their constitutional rights.

Republicans find themselves on the losing end of this issue with one candidate, Senator John Husted of Ohio, reflecting the new Republican strategy, join the fight against the data centers. He said “They’ve earned that backlash. They haven’t been as forthcoming about the benefits that will come in terms of local jobs and construction worker jobs and reduced property taxes, and they haven’t offered things like paying the energy bills for local communities, for the power plants they build.”

  1. ANTHROPIC WANTS PROGRESSIVE EXTREMISTS TO DEFINE THE FUTURE OF AI – Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has picked a panel of far-left, “woke” extremists to “protect” us from the evil AI apocalypse the progressive state media has been pushing. The “board” consists of children of wealthy progressives.

The guiding principle of the group is “Effective Altruism,” which requires a finite definition of value anti-progressives are sure to be existentially threatened by. For instance, this will place abortion in this hierarchy of value as a highly desired altruistic outcome and opposition to abortion will be placed in its hierarchy of value as being anathema to altruism, and thus a criminal activity.

  1. FED RAISES RATES – The Federal Reserve rose interest rates for the first time in six years, citing concerns over the inflation rate continuing to exceed 2%. The board voted unanimously to raise rates and signaled more rate increases were coming. President Trump pushed back against the decision, but stopped short of criticizing the Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh. President Trump nominated Warsh for the position he now holds.
  2. CANADA COURTS THE EU – After the European Union floated the idea of Canada becoming an “associate” member of their Union, Canada’s PM Mark Carney enthusiastically embraced the idea. This followed Carney’s exposed secret collusion with the Chinese military, making Canada a potential base of operation for her current enemy, China, and her fast-becoming future enemy, Europe. Canada is becoming a security risk for the United States.
  3. ISRAEL DEMANDS UK HAND OVER FALKLANDS – After the UK made moves to sanction Israel over its occupation of “Palestinian” territories, Israel has countered by supporting Argentina’s claims on the Falkland Islands.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel ’s minister for national security, posted on X, “It’s time for the State of Israel to publicly recognize that the Malvinas Islands are Argentine territory under occupation, which the British violently steal from the Argentine people. The British are not content with merely occupying the territory; they also carry out oil drilling there and steal the money from the Argentine people. I call upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and to impose sanctions on Great Britain as long as the occupation continues.”

  1. ISLAMIST FOREIGNERS TAKE BACK SWEDEN – Thanks overwhelmingly to the “migrant” vote, largely dominated by Islamists from the Middle East, Sweden’s pro-Sweden government was defeated by 3 parliament seats. This means the anti-Sweden left has taken power by the slimmest of margins thanks almost entirely to the foreigner Islamist vote. Sweden has fallen, for now.
  2. DEFIANT CLANCY JUROR NOW IN HIDING – The now-doxed Lindsay Clancy juror who prevented the defendant from escaping criminal justice is now in hiding, along with his family. The juror, Michael Desronvil, has remained defiant, claiming he voted on the merits of the case, which showed Clancy was guilty of first-degree murder, of strangling her three children to death.

His family has received numerous death threats. He has acquired a lawyer as he prepares to sue the press and the jurors responsible for both doxing him and committing slander against him.

  1. DID NETANYAHU KNOW? – Ahead of the Israeli national elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being accused of knowing about October 7 in advance. The accusation comes from former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Dan Halutz. He accused the Prime Minister of ignoring and concealing warning signs that led to the “successful” assault by Hamas terrorists.

Netanyahu accused Halutz of lying. Halutz doubled down, claiming he was involved with numerous conversations that validate this claim, and that from those conversations he was convinced Netanyahu knew more than he said he did.

  1. MASSACHUSETTS KIDNAPS CHILD TO TRANSITION HER – A Roman Catholic couple lost their child to the state when they refused to transition her to a boy. Algonquin Regional High School in Southborough socially transitioned her to a “boy” without her parents’ consent. When the parents rightly contested this illegal activity, Massachusetts state authorities chose to kidnap the child instead of prosecuting school officials.

Child grooming and violating parents’ rights is protected criminal action by the state of Massachusetts. The girl is now 17 and being unconstitutionally confined in a boys’ dormitory. The state is giving her birth control pills and psychiatric drugs while it prepares to mutilate her body.

  1. RUSSIA LITERALLY CONNECTS TO NORTH KOREA NOW – Russia and North Korea have cut the rope on a new bridge that links their two territories together. North Korean’s State media reported, the bridge was built and opened to “ensure the safe passage of various kinds of vehicles and personnel traffic.”

It also claims the bridge is “a guarantee for building up and reinforcing an important infrastructure for economic cooperation between the two countries and revitalizing multi-faceted cooperation including human exchange, tourism and commodity circulation.”

B. HEADLINES MISSED

  1. CANADIANS LEARN FROM CHINESE MEDIA THEIR GOVERNMENT IS COOPERATING MILITARILY WITH CCP – Canada is playing a dangerous game, first with its pushback on the Trump tariffs, and now with its cozying up to America’s greatest threat, China. Canadians learned from a Chinese news report their Prime Minister, Mark Carney, had been secretly negotiating with the CCP to develop a plan for military cooperation between the two countries. The move makes Canada a threat to U.S. security.
  2. CHINA BUILDING AI ROBOT ARMY – China is working on developing an AI-run robot army equipped with humanoid “soldiers” with AI brains. Reuters is claiming that an investigation of their procurement records reveal the army is already being built. They claimed they reviewed “more than 100 Chinese military procurement notices, academic studies, patents, official publications, government records and defense-company materials.” This led them to conclude China is building an AI robot army.
  3. MUSLIM CONGRESSMEMBERS VOTE FOR AMERICA TO PAY THEM 9/11 REPARATIONS – Because of the “Islamophobia” that followed from the 9/11 attacks, Muslim U.S. congress members voted on a resolution demanding reparations from Americans. They reckon the pain of hearing the truth about their religion of terror and pedophilia was more painful than the thousands of deaths their religion caused on 9/11, and continues to cause worldwide, even as we report this today. For that, they want us to pay.
  4. CHINESE BILLIONAIRE MAKING FUTURE CCP AMERICANS THANKS TO SCOTUS – Thanks to the Supreme Court’s refusal to defend American sovereignty from foreign invaders, a recluse Chinese billionaire has hundreds of “American” children. Xu Bo is alleged to have been using surrogates to bring to term his embryos on American soil so that his children will be born as American citizens.

Our enemies have children birthed on American soil. These children are then taken to their home country, trained in their home country’s ways, and sent back as “legal” invaders, scouts, saboteurs of the country they have no business being citizens of. After the SCOTUS’ ruling that upheld birthright citizenship covers anyone born in America, our enemies have increased their efforts to create future “legal” invaders of America.

  1. GERMAN POLITICIAN FACES JAIL TIME FOR CHALLENGING “MAP” ACTIVIST – A German politician who challenged a pro-pedophile activist on social media could face two years in prison for committing a hate speech crime. Vanessa Behrendt was challenging an openly “minor attracted person” for advocating adult-child sex on social media. The pedophile reported her comments to German authorities, who opened a “hate speech” investigation against the one challenging public advocacy of child sex.
  2. ANTHROPIC SAVES THE WORLD AGAIN AND AGAIN – Anthropic is claiming it has prevented multiple attempts by bad actors to use Claude AI to execute terrorist actions. The attempts included kamikaze drone swarms and biological weapons.

They posted on their X account, “We’re publishing our most detailed threat intelligence report to date. It covers how people tried to misuse Claude—for cyberattacks, influence operations, surveillance, biology, and building weapons—and how we found and stopped them. We disrupted every operation in the report…”

  1. FORMER U.S. CABINET MEMBER SERVED CCP WHILE IN OFFICE – Elaine Chao, a former Bush and Trump-era Cabinet official, is alleged to have been working for a CCP-controlled agency while also serving in the U.S. government. The organization she worked for was the United Front Work Department (UFWD).

A Congressional Select Committee memo claims “United front work damages U.S. interests through legal and illegal technology transfer, surveillance of Chinese diaspora communities, promotion of favorable narratives about the PRC through ostensibly independent voices, and the neutralization or harassment of critics of the CCP.”

  1. PROGRESSIVES KILL COLLEGE INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM PROJECT – The Iowa Legislature created the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa. It has an advisory board overseeing the launch of the Center. Now, nearly half of the advisory council has resigned, claiming the terms the university was setting would kill the legislative intent of the Center.

One member, Richard Lowery, wrote, “The legislature created the center in 2025 to teach and research the ideas behind the American constitutional order and to promote free speech, civil discourse, and intellectual diversity on campus — and on the terms the regents have now set, it cannot do what the law created it to do.”

  1. VIOLENCE TO STOP FREE SPEECH IS BECOMING A COLLEGE VALUE – Foundation For Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) released a poll that revealed 30% of surveyed college students approve of violence to stop free speech rarely, which is down from last year’s high of 34%. However, of that group, half (or 15% total) said yes to violence to stop fee speech “sometimes,” not just rarely; 3% chose “always.”
  2. NEW YORK SELLS SUICIDES – On the day Progressive New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced plans to pass euthanasia legislation, a company named Quietus began selling suicide. The company offered this $12,00 deal to New Yorkers through the progressive state press: “Imagine that instead of taking medication to fend off death from a terminal illness, a person could pay to take a concoction that will end their life in minutes — giving them full control of when and where they die.

“… Before their scheduled death, patients get two medical evaluations and a mental health screening, as well as a prescription for the drugs needed, including lethal doses of cardiac medication, that will end their life. The $12,000 cost for the patient covers all of this and help for the grieving family after their passing.”

  1. CANADA FINES DOCTOR FOR NOT TRANSITIONING CHILD – Canada’s British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has given a Christian doctor a $28,000 fine. The reason for the fine is because the doctor has refused to prescribe puberty blocker medicine to a teenager. The Doctor had clearly informed the patient and her mother, which he documented in his records.

He wrote “I noticed that the injection is for gender re-assignment as patient is already in the waiting room with (her) mother. I called mother into the room and explained to her that I would not be able to give the injection. Based on my religious belief and cultural background.”

  1. POPE PROMOTES PRO-LGBTQ PRIEST TO BISHOP – In another sign of the erosion of the Catholic church’s leadership, Pope Leo XIV has promoted a pro-LGBTQ, anti-church priest to Bishop. Father Mario Leon Dorado has been outspoken in his support to “bless” “irregular” couples (meaning homosexuals), as well as calling on the church to fade away the way John the Baptist did when Christ was baptized.

He declared in 2022, “There is the ecclesiological challenge: the Church as a sacrament at the service of the Kingdom of God. The Church is called to disappear so that the Kingdom may grow, in analogy with the experience of John the Baptist…. The experience of John the Baptist is the experience of the Church.”

  1. UK MIGHT BE OVER? – Leaders of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland are calling for a breakup of the UK. The leaders of these three nations are hoping to jettison London in favor of the EU. Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill all signed a declaration that claimed, “Westminster is coming to an end.”

A. PEOPLE ADVANCE

  1. TRUMP SECURES GREENLAND – President Trump has announced he has secured a deal with the Netherlands that effectively gives the U.S. security oversight on the island. The deal assures no enemy of the United States can gain a foothold on Greenland soil.
  2. GOP GETS BACK MISSOURI SEAT AFTER COURT RULING – The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the Missouri 2026 Midterm election should follow the same map in place for the primaries. That map is the GOP-altered one that eliminates one Democrat House Seat stronghold. The court stated, “This Court holds that Missouri’s current plan to use the 2022 map in the November 2026 general election violates the Constitution. Only use of the 2025 map complies with the Constitution and federal law.”
  3. GERMANY’S PRO-GERMAN PARTY WINS STATE ELECTION – The only pro-German political party in Germany, the AfD, won 44% of the vote in a Saxony-Anhalt state election. The party fell just short of a majority for the state government, having captured 39 of the 83 seats in the State assembly. They fell just three seats short of a majority. The response from the “Planvasion of Germany” parties was to call for the AfD to be banned.
  4. EUTHANASIA FAILS AGAIN IN BRITIAN – Another attempt to legalize euthanasia in Britian has failed after a 286 to 270 vote defeated the latest bill. The legislation began the practice of euthanasia the same as many other laws, targeting only those with minimal diagnosed time to live. Later, the expansions of the eligible comes.
  5. FRAUD EXPOSED IN OBAMACARE, LEADS TO THOUSANDS OF CANCELLATIONS – Vice President JD Vance announced 750,000 fraudulent Obamacare accounts have been removed from the rolls, saving taxpayers $2.2 billion yearly. “We’re actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them,” Vance declared.
  6. 110,000 LESS FOREIGN STUDENTS EXPECTED NEXT COLLEGE SEMESTER – Thanks to several factors, including new VISA restrictions, the amount of foreign college students attending U.S. schools will be 110,000 less than last year. Colleges will have to rely more on Americans to sell enrollment than foreigners, which might incentivize them to drop their anti-American ideologies.
  7. JUDGE KILLS DELAWARE’S “GHOST GUN” BAN – U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika struck down Delaware’s ghost-gun ban, which effectively bans the constitutional rights of Americans to make their own guns.

The judge ruled, “… An untraceable firearm is an Arm under the Second Amendment.  It is, after all, a firearm, and even under the narrowest reading of ‘Arms,’ ‘all firearms constitute [] ‘arms,’ whether serialized or not. Moreover, the evidence here shows that untraceable firearms are customarily used for offensive or defensive purposes such as self-defense…”

  1. FEDERAL COURT UPHOLDS INDIANA’S LAW OUTLAWING TRANSGENDER SURGERY FOR KIDS – U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon upheld Indiana’s law prohibiting transgender surgeries on children. Indiana’s Attorney General declared, “We have won this critical fight against radicals who would otherwise impose this horrific practice on our kids for ideological and financial reasons. My office will keep standing between our children and those who would sacrifice their health, innocence, and well-being on the altar of woke gender ideology.”
  2. U.S. JOB CREATION HEATS BACK UP – The U.S. economy has seen job growth stagnate the past couple of months, leading experts to predict an anemic August jobs report. However, the jobs report delivered far better than expected, with 162,000 new jobs being created in July, Unemployment held steady at 4.1%. In addition to this news, another report revealed unemployment among the college-less is at an all-time low.
  3. SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY TRIGGER RECEPTOR THAT COULD CURE OSTEOPOROSIS – Researchers at Leipzig University in Germany have developed a new therapy for osteoporosis. The researchers claim they have identified a protein receptor named GPR133 that could be triggered to rebuild lost bone density in osteoporosis patients.

Professor Ines Liebscher, lead investigator of the study, said “If this receptor is impaired by genetic changes, mice show signs of loss of bone density at an early age – similar to osteoporosis in humans. Using the substance AP503, which was only recently identified via a computer-assisted screen as a stimulator of GPR133, we were able to significantly increase bone strength in both healthy and osteoporotic mice.”

  1. JUDGE KILLS UNIVERSITY’S “DEAD NAMING” RULE – U.S. District Court Judge Fred Slaughter has halted a University of California policy that would penalize students for calling transgendered students by their born names. This is called “dead naming,” calling them by the name of their “dead selves.” The policy equated “dead naming” to “sexual harassment.”

He also halted their policy of punishing students for not using other students’ preferred pronouns. The school called this action “harassment,” which effectively punishes dissenting belief from the gender fluid ideology. The judge ruled that “there is no categorical ‘harassment exception’ to the First Amendment.” He stated the students “have demonstrated a credible threat to enforcement.”

  1. CHRISTIAN WINS BACK RIGHT TO ADOPT – The Oregon Department of Human Services had to change its standards for adoption after a Christian widow sued them. Jessica Bates sued the state after she was denied the right to adopt a child in their system for refusing to affirm the rainbow ideology. The state settled with Bates, removing the conditions of adoption that demand LGBTQ affirmation. They also had to pay Bates’ court costs.
  2. PIDDINGTON SECEDES FROM BRITIAN – The village of Piddington voted to secede from the United Kingdom as a response to the government’s plan to overwhelm the tiny village with a flood of subsidized invaders. The vote passed with a 92% supermajority. The referendum was held on September 15, the date Britian celebrates its victory over the German Luftwaffe in 1940.

 

By STAFF

This week’s report covers political, world, cultural, market, and sci-tech news from September 18-25, 2026.

This report contains the Global Outlook, Headlines Missed, and People Advance Reports.

For a recap of the top news of this month, read our Monthly Bellwether Report on pg. xx.

TOP NEWS TAGS

  1. 2026 Elections
  2. Progressive Media
  3. Iran War
  4. Germany Watch
  5. Trump Deportations
  6. Ukraine War
  7. Trump-Xi Visit
  8. Progressive Socialism
  9. Greenland Watch
  10. Judgefare

A. GLOBAL OUTLOOK

NOTE: We are following both the Trump-Xi visit and the potential Paramount-Warner Brothers merger. As of this reporting, the Trump-Xi visit has just completed, with details expected to emerge over the coming days. The Paramount-Warner deal is unsettled with conflicting reports still coming.

  1. TEAM BIDEN APPROVED GOP PHONE SPYING – A report from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee reveals a high-ranking member of the Biden DOJ knew in advance of Jack Smith’s unconstitutional spying on members of congress. The report claims, “beginning in May 2022, prosecutors under the leadership of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves issued several subpoenas demanding telephone toll records for Members of Congress to identify individuals with whom they spoke around major votes in Congress . . .”
  2. SCOTUS RESTORES SOME VOTER ID PLUMBLINING FOR TRUMP – By a vote of 6-3, SCOTUS empowered President Trump’s administration to resume using Social Security records to confirm only citizens are voting in the election. The three progressive state judges voted against the decision. The ruling removes a lower court injunction against the administration.
  3. NOTE: Be sure to read our special October 30 MIA Monthly issue where we will give you a detailed report on the midterm elections, including a predictive analysis.
  4. IRAN WAR PUSHES ON AS THEIR LEADER CRIES DEFIANCE – The Iran War continues mostly unabated, with the Houthis making considerable advances along the Red Sea coast. At home, it seems likely the President will face a Senate resolution demanding an end to the war. The President of Iran Massoud Pezeshkian, is claiming they will keep resisting, but signs of internal disruption are only increasing.
  5. 30-YEAR TREASURY BOND YIELD SPIKES – The 30-Year Treasury Bond Yield hit 5.501%, which was a high not reached since June of 2007. The spike came after U.S. economic data showed a stronger than expected economy, raising concerns there would be more Fed rate increases to combat inflationary pressures. High oil prices have also contributed to the spike. The rate is a benchmark for long-term interest rates and long-term borrowing.
  6. ONE IN THREE DEMOCRATS ADMIT TO WANTING TO KILL TRUMP – Nearly one third of Democrats responded yes to a poll question asking them if they’d support President Trump being assassinated to remove him from office. 23% said they’d feel very positive if the President were assassinated, while 8% said they would be somewhat positive. 25% most likely hid their true views, claiming they had no opinion one way or another.

A person who feels neither one way nor another about a political assassination is de facto admitting they approve of violence as a means of political persuasion. No person who disapproves of political violence would respond with no opinion. This poll most likely shows most Democrats (59%) support murder as a means of political persuasion, murder that would not stop with the President.

  1. WAR IN UKRAINE ESCALATING – Russia is warning Ukrainians it plans on escalating its assault on civilians. President Putin threatened Ukrainians, declaring he will bring them “to their knees.” The rhetoric follows concerns Russia might be preparing to launch sea drone attacks on NATO members.
  2. FRANCE TO SEND TROOPS TO RESCUE SAUDIS AND DEFEND PORT – France has pledged to send military assistance to help Saudi Arabia defend itself from the increasing Houthi assault on its territory. President Emmaneul Macron declared, “We are going to send military assets, that is, soldiers, radar systems, and defense systems to protect this site.”
  3. CLANCY DEFENSE WANTS TO USE LAWFARE TO PERSECUTE LONE HOLD-OUT – The lone-hold-out in the Lindsay Clancy child murder trial is now facing a lawfare campaign by the Clancy Defense team. Clancy Attorney Keving Reddington is hoping Judge William Sullivan will examine the juror’s private data to determine if he did something inappropriate.

The judge has yet to rule on the unusual filing. This is the same attorney who led a campaign against the holdout juror while deliberations were still going on.

  1. PAKISTAN ESCALATES WAR WITH AFGHANISTAN – Pakistan launched three separate air strikes on three separate Afghan provinces in response to drone attacks from Afghanistan a day earlier. The airstrikes were mostly centered in the southeast part of the country. Four civilians were allegedly killed. A Taliban spokesperson said, “These shameless acts of aggression and attacks by the Pakistani military regime will be met with an appropriate response.”
  2. RUBIO WEARS TWO POWERFUL HATS NOW – Secretary of State Marco Rubio has added another role to the many other roles he has served in the Trump administration. He is currently the Secretary of State. He is also now President Trump’s official and permanent National Security Advisor, a role almost as powerful, sometimes more powerful, than the role he serves now. He had been serving as the acting National Security Advisor.

B. HEADLINES MISSED

  1. GERMAN POLITICIAN FACES JAIL TIME FOR CHALLENGING “MAP” ACTIVIST – A German politician who challenged a pro-pedophile activist on social media could face two years in prison for committing a hate speech crime. Vanessa Behrendt was challenging an openly “minor attracted person” for advocating adult-child sex on social media. The pedophile reported her comments to German authorities, who opened a “hate speech” investigation against the one challenging public advocacy of child sex.
  2. PROGRESSIVES KILL COLLEGE INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM PROJECT – The Iowa Legislature created the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa. It has an advisory board overseeing the launch of the Center. Now, nearly half of the advisory council has resigned, claiming the terms the university was setting would kill the legislative intent of the Center.

One member, Richard Lowery, wrote, “The legislature created the center in 2025 to teach and research the ideas behind the American constitutional order and to promote free speech, civil discourse, and intellectual diversity on campus — and on the terms the regents have now set, it cannot do what the law created it to do.”

  1. CANADA FINES DOCTOR FOR NOT TRANSITIONING CHILD – Canada’s British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has given a Christian doctor a $28,000 fine. The reason for the fine is because the doctor has refused to prescribe puberty blocker medicine to a teenager. The Doctor had clearly informed the patient and her mother, which he documented in his records.

He wrote “I noticed that the injection is for gender re-assignment as patient is already in the waiting room with (her) mother. I called mother into the room and explained to her that I would not be able to give the injection. Based on my religious belief and cultural background.”

  1. CANADIAN CHOOSES U.S. CARE TO CANADA’S EUTHANASIA SOLUTION – A Canadian that was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer was recommended euthanasia before any oncologist was consulted. She took that as a sign she should seek healthcare elsewhere, which she did, in the U.S. Here, she received treatment and now seems to have recovered. Kristin Logan told a conservative outlet; “I hadn’t even seen an oncologist yet before I got that pamphlet. As I’m waiting for even the first call from the oncology team, I get this pamphlet in the mail basically telling me that I can go and kill myself. At that point you realize what a DYSTOPIAN situation it is.”
  2. BLACK MAN HANGS BLACK WOMAN, AP SHAMES WHITES – The Associated Press attempted to incite violence against white people by fanning the flames of racial hatred. They did so through their report of the murder by hanging of a black woman, Tasia Fortune, who was only 29. After a black man, Jarques Ratcliff, 51, was arrested for the murder, the narrative wasn’t changed, that white supremacism is causing a lynching epidemic.

AP continued to promote the original anti-white narrative, accusing white supremacism of murdering the woman. CNN, which reported on the story in a similar manner, failed to follow up on the story when it became apparent the murderer was not a white man after all. This is not the free press, this is a military operation.

C. PEOPLE ADVANCE

  1. TRUMP SECURES GREENLAND – President Trump has announced he has secured a deal with the Netherlands that effectively gives the U.S. security oversight on the island. The deal assures no enemy of the United States can gain a foothold on Greenland soil.
  2. GOP GETS BACK MISSOURI SEAT AFTER COURT RULING – The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the Missouri 2026 Midterm election should follow the same map in place for the primaries. That map is the GOP-altered one that eliminates one Democrat House Seat stronghold. The court stated, “This Court holds that Missouri’s current plan to use the 2022 map in the November 2026 general election violates the Constitution. Only use of the 2025 map complies with the Constitution and federal law.”
  3. FRAUD EXPOSED IN OBAMACARE, LEADS TO THOUSANDS OF CANCELLATIONS – Vice President JD Vance announced 750,000 fraudulent Obamacare accounts have been removed from the rolls, saving taxpayers $2.2 billion yearly. “We’re actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them,” Vance declared.
  4. AI CREATES ONE MILLION JOBS – The Economist has estimated AI has created five jobs for every one job lost. Their study claims AI has caused 200,000 job cuts since mid-2023 while creating one million new jobs.
  5. DOJ REJECTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL BAN ON HANDGUN PURCHASES – The Department of Justice has announced it has no plans to enforce the federal ban on handgun purchases for adults under 20. The DOJ stated it will not enforce a law that unfairly discriminates against the constitutional rights of citizens based on age.
  6. INTERSTATE HANDGUN SALE BAN NO MORE – The Fifth Circuit just struck down a federal ban on interstate handgun sales. That law has been enforced since 1968. The majority opinion held “The Ban, true to its name, categorically bars an entire class of otherwise lawful firearms purchases. The Ban is not a mere stipulation upon an otherwise safeguarded right to purchase firearms in the course of ‘keeping’ them.”

Opposition grows to Paramount-Warner Bros. merger settlement– www.latimes.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Tensions flared on the eve of a critical week ahead for Paramount Skydance’s proposed $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, amid new urgency for talks aimed at settling antitrust litigation brought by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and 11 other states.

Over the weekend, opposition intensified to a proposed settlement as details trickled out, including a proposal to establish a bipartisan editorial board to monitor cable news channel CNN, one of Warner’s premier properties that Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison would control along with CBS News.

It was unclear Sunday whether a proposed settlement would require Paramount to sell off assets — something Bonta repeatedly has insisted upon. Critics of the deal urged Bonta and other state attorneys general to resist pressure to reach a settlement that would allow Ellison’s deal to move forward.

“State Attorneys General, please hang tough against the giant proposed Paramount-Warner Brothers merger,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote on social media late Saturday.

“Paramount, run by the Ellisons, should not own both CBS and CNN. California must not cave and take a deal that leaves both under the same owner,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) wrote.

Trump plans ‘AI force’ as pressure for action rises– thehill.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

In today’s issue: ▪ New AI czar to be named ▪ Outlets sue over White House ban ▪ Trump adds security angle to arch ▪ Russia holds wartime elections President Trump is responding to the rising demands to impose guardrails on AI with the creation of an “AI Force,” even as he argues the broader concerns…

Trump claims Xi Jinping likes his plan to rebrand AI– www.washingtonpost.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

President Donald Trump has a new name for artificial intelligence, and he’s pitching it at the highest levels, including to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“Like almost everyone else, he seemed to like calling the poorly and inaccurately named Artificial Intelligence to a far more accurate and important name, SUPER INTELLIGENCE,” Trump wrote on social media Friday morning, a day after a state dinner with Xi and top tech executives. “That would be ‘SUPER!’ Everyone last night agreed, also.”

 

The 30-Year Treasury Bond Yield hit 5.501%, which was a high not reached since June of 2007. The spike came after U.S. economic data showed a stronger than expected economy, raising concerns there would be more Fed rate increases to combat inflationary pressures. High oil prices have also contributed to the spike. The rate is a benchmark for long-term interest rates and long-term borrowing.

30-year Treasury yield hits highest level since 2004– www.cnbc.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Treasury yields were trading at multidecade highs on Thursday, as investor bets on another rate hike from the Federal Reserve mounted.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was last about 10 basis points higher, hitting a high of 5.501%, a level not seen since June 2004. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield, which is tied to rates on mortgages, surged more than 10 basis points to 5.223%, to levels not reached since June 2007. The 2-year note yield rose more than 4 basis points to 4.941%.

One basis point equals 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Global bonds also sold off. Japan’s 10-year JGB yield rose its highest since August 1996. U.K. Gilts and German Bunds also moved higher, with yields on various European bonds hitting fresh multi-year highs.

Thursday’s moves build on a U.S. Treasury rout that took place Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury yield had its biggest one-day jump since April 7, 2025 as traders reacted to stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data, hawkish commentary from a Federal Reserve official and high oil prices.

“The combination of fiscal, economic, geopolitical, and supply-side inflation pressures converging has bond markets in less familiar territory. The recent rise in yields can no longer be attributed simply to concerns over the deficit,” said from Mike Sanders, head of fixed income at Madison Investments.

That’s Right: We’re Shooting Down Enemy Drones With Fricken Laser Beams – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

It’s the headline I’ve waited since I was probably seven years old to read: “US military spending $500M on ‘war-ready’ laser weapons — and zapping drones in Iran, along US border.”

That’s 50 years, folks, and totally worth the wait.

According to the New York Post — your go-to newspaper for words like “zapping” in the headline — “Iranian citizens have witnessed some dazzling laser shows recently,” because “US military has been deploying lasers in the Strait of Hormuz to knock out regime hardware.”

The Department of War said this week that lasers disable “drones and incoming cruise missiles at a much lower cost than using more expensive kinetic weapons like missiles.”

That’s no joke, either.

The Pentagon is mum on the details, but my understanding is that most of the laser weapons currently in use merely “dazzle” incoming threats, sending them off course. So there aren’t any cool vaporizations.

The Israelis led the way on some of this antimissile stuff, despite our head start with President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (now the Missile Defense Agency and soon as Golden Dome) in the early ’80s.

And Another Thing: No sharks were harmed in the production of this column. That we’re at liberty to tell you about, anyway.

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense system can hit incoming threats at over 40 miles away, but each launcher holds a max of 20 missiles — and each missile costs up to $60 grand. But then there’s Iron Beam, which uses fricken lasers. While Iron Beam is good only against enemy missiles close in (4-7 miles, roughly), each shot costs just five bucks or so. And there’s no limit on how many shots it can take, just so long as the power stays on.

Why the bond market is freaking out, and what it means for your money– www.cbsnews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The bond market is flashing red. The yield on the 30-year Treasury note reached 5.44% on Wednesday, its highest level since 2004, before slipping slightly on Thursday morning. The 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, briefly neared 5.15% on Thursday morning, a level it last reached in 2001.

Yields had already risen amid concerns about inflation and growing U.S. debt. They jumped further on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected economic data led investors to price in additional interest-rate hikes as the Federal Reserve battles inflation. Several members of the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets rates, also signaled this week that they favor further increases.

“Four burners, all on high”

Wall Street analysts said investors are increasingly concerned about a protracted conflict in the Middle East, with the U.S. and Iran exchanging fresh threats at this week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York. Prolonged tensions could keep oil prices elevated, stoking inflation and increasing pressure on the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate, economists said. l

On top of that, weak demand for a 5-year Treasury note auction on Wednesday forced the U.S. government to dangle higher yields to attract buyers. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions, with rising yields signaling that investors are seeking higher returns as investments grow increasingly risky.

“When the world’s largest borrower has to raise its price to find buyers, you MUST pay attention,” said Mark Malek, the chief investment officer at Siebert Financial, in an email. “Yields don’t only rise because the Fed says so. They rise when lenders demand more to lend — and every mortgage, corporate bond and small-business loan in America is ultimately priced off that same benchmark.”

U.S Forces Help Move 1 Billion Barrels of Gulf Oil While Blockade Cuts Iran’s Exports to Zero– slaynews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

U.S. forces have now helped move more than one billion barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz while simultaneously enforcing a naval blockade that has reduced Iran’s maritime oil exports to zero, U.S. Central Command has announced.

CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said American forces reached the milestone after coordinating protection for more than 2,000 commercial ship transits through the critical waterway over the past several months.

“CENTCOM forces have supported more than one billion barrels of crude oil leaving the Gulf,” Cooper said in a video statement.

“That’s one billion barrels of crude oil out through the Strait of Hormuz in the last couple of months.”

The operation represents two parallel missions for the U.S. military: keeping one of the world’s most important energy corridors open to American partners while shutting Iran out of maritime trade.

More Than 2,000 Commercial Ships Protected

Cooper said American forces have helped clear the Strait’s primary shipping lanes of mines while providing coordinated protection to commercial vessels.

“We’ve reached this significant milestone while assisting over 2,000 commercial ship transits through the Strait by providing coordinated protection,” Cooper said.

“Clearly, momentum is building. Primary transit lanes in the Strait are clear of mines.”

The Consent Decree Between Paramount And California Is Insane– thefederalist.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Democracy is that Democrats oversee television news. Take it from Gavin Newsom’s halfwit communications director, who looks like he was rejected as an extra for High School Musical:

 

See, now a state government with single-party rule has “oversight” authority with news organizations, which preserves the independence of the journalists. For media, “independence” is when the news answers to the attorney general of California.

Pressured by the rise of streamers, the traditional movie studios Paramount and Warner Bros. pursued a merger to make a giant studio with a deep library of media product. Oleaginous California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued to stop the merger, joined by other Democrat AGs, with a bunch of far-left idiots cheering him on.