x01a Research Archives

Ex-Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell sounds alarm over political interference | Jerome Powell– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser June 2, 2026 0

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Jerome Powell, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, has warned that a single act of political interference in monetary policy could permanently destroy public trust in the central bank.

As Donald Trump’s administration continues to test the Fed’s longstanding independence, Powell said in a speech on Sunday night that the institution was in the midst of a “stress test”.

Powell, who was accepting the 2026 John F Kennedy Profile in Courage award in Boston, stepped down as Fed chair last month, and was succeeded by Kevin Warsh, but remains on its board of governors.

Ebola cases in Congo reach 282 as Brazil investigates 2 suspected cases – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser June 2, 2026 0

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At least 282 confirmed cases of Ebola have now been reported in Congo’s ongoing outbreak as authorities in Brazil said they were looking into two suspected cases.

The two patients who recently arrived in Brazil from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the outbreak is ongoing, exhibited symptoms such as fever and chills.

The first patient is a Belgian traveller who came from Uganda to Rio de Janeiro. The Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases, of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), administered initial testing, which came back positive only for malaria. The patient remains isolated and the people who had contact with him are being monitored, according to health officials.

SPLC Wants Indictment Thrown Out For “Vindictive Prosecution”– legalinsurrection.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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We have previously covered the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in great detail:

The latest development is that SPLC has filed a Motion to Dismiss the Indictment for Vindictive Prosecution, focused very heavily on public statements from Trump and others in his administration both before and after the indictment.

From the Motion:

President Trump’s triumphant statement on April 24, 2026, three days after an indictment was unsealed against the Southern Poverty Law Center (“the SPLC”), was the latest manifestation of a top-down, retributive campaign in which he directed his Justice Department to go after those individuals and groups he deemed his political enemies, including the SPLC.

To carry out the President’s directive, others in the Administration targeted the SPLC, which now faces criminal charges for exercising its First Amendment right to identify, report on, and criticize extremist hate groups. The Administration has falsely accused the SPLC of being “anti-Christian,” of aiding the Biden Administration’s “weaponization” of the Department of Justice, of participating in political violence, and, most recently, of helping to “rig” the 2020 election against President Donald Trump. These examples of this Administration’s animus over the past year culminated in the criminal charges against the SPLC—an indictment premised on conclusory accusations but devoid of provable facts or a proper statement of the law….

Then, after praising the indictment his Justice Department handed him, President Trump went further. He publicly proclaimed the improper political motive behind the case, branding the SPLC a “Democrat Hoax, along with Act Blue and many others” and claimed that when the allegations are proven “the 2020 Presidential Election should be permanently wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect!” 2 President Trump doubled down on these farcical claims on a nationally televised 60 Minutes interview a few days later. He falsely proclaimed that the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia “was all funded by the Southern [Poverty] Law [Center].”3 President Trump asserted that the SPLC had funded this “total fake” event “to make me look bad.”4 The SPLC’s efforts, according to the President, were “a part of the rigging of the [2020] election.”5

Iran Responds After Major ‘Development’ Reported In Negotiations– trendingpoliticsnews.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, which has affiliations with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that a potential memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Iran and the United States has not been finalized.

According to Tasnim, Iran has not notified the Pakistani mediator involved in the talks that any agreement text has been completed. The agency indicated that Iranian officials would inform both the mediator and the public once an MOU is ready.

This statement came in response to earlier reports on the same day from outlets such as Reuters and Axios, which described negotiators as having reached a draft MOU. Reuters reported that U.S. and Iranian negotiators had reached a memorandum of understanding concerning a 60-day extension of the existing ceasefire and the initiation of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

Romania condemns ‘irresponsible escalation’ after Russian drone hits apartment building– www.france24.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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A Russian drone struck an apartment building in NATO-member Romania, its defence ministry said on Friday, wounding two people in a city near the Ukrainian border.

“During the night of May 28–29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania,” the Romanian defence ministry said, condemning an “irresponsible escalation”.

“One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire,” it said.

Who is really behind data center opposition?– www.americanthinker.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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We are often best defined not by the company we keep, but by our enemies. Having the right—left—enemies tends to be a very good thing indeed, as it’s a reliable indicator we’re doing the right things with the right people and for the right reasons.

It’s not always easy, however, to know the motives of people, or nations, when we’re dealing with issues of technology and/or public policy. One such issue is the proliferation of data centers, necessary for the burgeoning AI revolution, but controversial for that and other reasons. Among them is the amount of water and power they require. This is particularly ironic because they tend to be built in sparsely populated states like Wyoming, which often have water usage and power issues. More densely populated states tend to have reflexive “not in my backyard” sensibilities.

How America Lost Its Most Important Defense Tech Habit– warontherocks.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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On April 15, technology podcaster Dwarkesh Patel published a two-hour interview with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. For roughly forty minutes, Patel asked one question six different ways. The question was this: If American-made compute trains AI models with the serious cyber-offensive capabilities Anthropic’s Mythos Preview demonstrated — and that compute is sold to a strategic adversary — what responsibility does the seller bear?

Huang’s answers hovered a safe distance away from the question. AI is a “five-layer cake,” he told Patel, and ceding any layer to China would be industrial suicide. The Chinese, he argued, already have enough compute to do whatever they intend to do, so marginal sales do not change the strategic balance. By the end, Patel was visibly worn down. Huang accused him of arguing from extremes and of thinking in absolutes.

Iran, U.S. reach tentative deal to extend ceasefire, peace talks: sources – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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The United States and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters, though U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve it and Iranian state media said it had not been finalized.

According to four sources familiar with the matter, the agreement would extend the truce for another 60 days and allow traffic to flow through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle difficult issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.

If approved by leadership in Washington and Tehran, it would amount to the biggest step towards peace since the conflict began on February 28. News of the possible agreement came after a round of tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries, the latest such incident since the ceasefire took effect in early April.

Trump has not yet approved the deal, the sources said. The White House declined to comment, and Iran has yet to comment on news of the proposed deal, which was first reported by Axios.

Left’s Anti-Data Center Activism Plays Right Into China’s Hands– dailycaller.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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Anti-data center activists typically cite concerns about water usage, pollution, or the cost of building the data centers themselves.

Many individuals are sincere in their activism. But public opinion on data centers is likely being shaped by foreign actors, according to a report from the Bitcoin Policy Institute. (RELATED: CHRIS JOHNSON: AI Data Centers Can Win Over Skeptics. But It Must Learn From Fracking) 

BPI’s head of research Sam Lyman explained Wednesday that China uses social media as a “gain of function for their propaganda” on The Hill’s “Rising.”

Weapon Iran Claims To Have Used To Shoot Down US Drone. What It Is– www.ndtv.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 1

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Iran has claimed that it has deployed a new air defence system to take down a United States MQ-9 Reaper drone near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week. Iran’s state-sponsored media said the American drone– that costs between $16 million and $30 million per unit– was brought down near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz using a locally developed system called Arash-e-Kamangir.

If the claim is correct, the interception marked the first combat use of the defence system named after the legendary Iranian character Arash-the-Archer. It would mean Tehran has retained its military capacity to repel US and Israeli attacks despite months of war in the Middle East.

Iranian media claimed the drone was brought down over regional waters during an operation to protect the country’s airspace and maritime borders. “This operation, which was carried out using a system with hidden capabilities, is a clear and decisive message from Iran,” Iran’s Fars news agency quoted unnamed officials as saying.

However, so far, no independent source has corroborated the Iranian claim of a new interception system.

Trump DOJ’s SPLC Indictment Exposes Hate Industry– www.standingforfreedom.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, recently handed down an 11-count indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to the Department of Justice, the SPLC secretly moved more than $3 million in donor money between 2014 and 2023 to individuals affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan and other violent extremist groups. To hide the trail, prosecutors say, the payments were routed through fictitious entities such as “Fox Photography.”

According to the indictment, a 55-year-old organization that built a brand on hunting hate has actually been bankrolling it. The temptation for conservative Christians will be to read that as simple vindication, and to a degree, it is. But that reading is too small. The SPLC did not collapse into alleged fraud because it found some exotic evil; it collapsed because it surrendered to an ordinary one. Fear is easier to sell than hope, and an enemy keeps the donations coming. This indictment is as much a mirror as a verdict, and the Church should be the first to look into it.

Trump to step up Cuba regime change campaign – Axios — RT World News– www.rt.com

pgnewser May 29, 2026 0

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The US will continue to ramp up economic pressure on the island, sources have told the outlet

US President Donald Trump is set to escalate Washington’s economic pressure campaign on Cuba in an attempt to force regime change, Axios reported on Friday, citing sources. The island is already enduring near-total fuel starvation and daily blackouts stretching up to 20 hours.

The US has thus far opted for a phased campaign designed to choke Havana, but which avoids a direct military invasion, several unnamed officials told the outlet.

“The best way to describe it is ‘accelerationism,’” one senior official said, referring to the philosophy of hastening societal collapse. “But we don’t want to kill off the regime just yet. There’s a method to this. It’s in stages.”

Core inflation hit an annual rate of 3.3% in April, as expected, Fed’s preferred gauge shows– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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Inflation continued to hit consumer wallets in April, likely keeping the Federal Reserve on the sidelines until the current wave subsides, fresh pricing data released Thursday showed.

The personal consumption expenditures price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 3.8%, the Commerce Department reported. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for respective readings of 0.5% and 3.8%.

Excluding food and energy, core prices rose 0.2% for the month and 3.3% for the year, against estimates of 0.3% and 3.3%.

While the annual rates were in line with forecasts, the soft monthly readings could provide some hope that the burst in prices over the previous month had begun to ease.

The Fed takes in a wide dashboard of indicators, but uses the PCE measures as its prime forecasting and policy tool. Officials generally consider core a better indicator of long-term inflation trends as it excludes the volatile gas and groceries components.

ANALYSIS | Crackdown on Chad’s opposition threatens return to one-party rule– www.news24.com

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Déby attends a working lunch on reforming the international financial architecture at the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi on 12 May.

Rather than learning from Chad’s history of coups and deadly conflicts, current leaders seem determined to repeat the cycle, writes Remadji Hoinathy in ISS Today.

Just two weeks after eight opposition leaders were arrested for planning a march against Chad’s governance problems, they were sentenced to eight years in prison without parole. Their Political Actors Consultation Group (GCAP) had scheduled the demonstration for 2 May.

A day before their sentencing on 8 May, the Supreme Court announced that the GCAP – the country’s main political opposition coalition – had been dissolved. The jailed leaders join key opposition figure Succès Masra, head of The Transformers party, who was imprisoned for 20 years in August 2025 for ‘incitement to hatred.’

Live Updates: Iran claims to target U.S. base after new strikes, as Trump says regime "negotiating on fumes" – CBS News– news.google.com

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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  1. Live Updates: Iran claims to target U.S. base after new strikes, as Trump says regime “negotiating on fumes”  CBS News
  2. Iran War Live Updates: U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes, Further Threatening Negotiations  The New York Times
  3. Oil jumps 2.5% after Iran says it targeted U.S. airbase following fresh American strikes  CNBC
  4. Iran and U.S. trade strikes and 11 presumed dead in chemical implosion: Morning Rundown  NBC News
  5. U.S. and Iran trade strikes as Trump cites no pressure for a peace deal  The Washington Post

South Africa and Afrikaners reject US claims of humanitarian crisis for white people– www.euronews.com

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

South Africa and Afrikaners reject US claims of humanitarian crisis for white people– www.euronews.com
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The South African government and advocacy groups for the country’s Afrikaner white minority rejected on Wednesday the Trump administration’s position that there’s a humanitarian emergency affecting white people in South Africa.

The argument served as the administration’s rationale for raising the US refugee cap, but only for white Afrikaners.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it will admit an additional 10,000 white South Africans into the US as refugees this year, increasing its annual quota, but blocking people from other countries from entering through the programme.

Trump Administration Putting Cuba Invasion Plans Into Motion– trendingpoliticsnews.com

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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The Pentagon has reportedly spent months putting key military assets into position near Cuba, fueling speculation that the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for potential military action against the communist-led island nation.

U.S. military planners have quietly expanded naval deployments, surveillance operations and regional force positioning in the Caribbean as tensions between Washington and Havana continue to intensify according to a recent report from Politico.

The developments come after President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year labeling Cuba an “extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security. The administration has accused the Cuban government of strengthening ties with hostile foreign actors, including Russia, China, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, while allegedly allowing foreign intelligence operations to target the United States from just 90 miles off the Florida coast.

‘They don’t care whether civilians get hurt’ – German police union chief warns of soaring foreign gang violence after 515 shots fired in Berlin in 2025– rmx.news

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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As the left discusses increasing diversity and acceptance, violence is escalating across Germany. Today on the streets of Berlin, four Turkish-Kurdish gangs are fighting for dominance in the drug trade, and

According to Manuel Ostermann, federal chairman of the DPolG Federal Police Union, these gangs are extremely well-connected and structured, maintain global financial networks, and know no bounds in their fight for power.

“They don’t hesitate for a second to use firearms or explosives. They have no inhibitions,” he tells Bild. “This is certainly not the end of the escalation. Today, it’s no longer just brawls, but open gun violence and hand grenades.”

Teen transgender athlete in case before Supreme Court wins girls’ state track championship– www.washingtontimes.com

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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Transgender athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson did very well last weekend at the West Virginia girls’ state track championships – maybe too well.

The Bridgeport High School sophomore placed first in the girls’ shot put and fourth in the girls’ discus in Class AAA at the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission’s (WVSSAC) state track and field championships, prompting the state attorney general’s offifice to notify the U.S. Supreme Court.

The problem? The student-athlete is the defendant in West Virginia v. BPJ, a case before the high court on whether state laws banning biological males from female scholastic sports violate the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, the federal ban on sex discrimination in education.

The American Civil Liberties Union has described the student as a middling athlete who poses no threat to competitive fairness in girls’ sports, a characterization disputed by West Virginia Solicitor General Michael R. Williams.

“As a high school sophomore, BPJ is not finishing ‘near the back of the pack,’ contra [the respondent’s brief], but is instead defeating every female – or nearly every female – in the State in these events,” he said in his letter to Supreme Court Clerk Scott Harris.

Chinese interference ‘systemic,’ report says as minister returns to Canada – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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Canadian researchers are calling for a more coordinated response by G7 countries to counter “systemic” Chinese foreign interference, particularly as technology and tactics evolve and Beijing’s agents embed themselves further into societies.

Wednesday’s report by the Montreal Institute for Global Security comes a day before Canada is set to welcome China’s foreign minister to Ottawa for the first time in a decade.

Speaking alongside the report’s authors on Parliament Hill, former member of Parliament John McKay urged Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand to raise the issue of foreign interference with her counterpart Wang Yi during his visit.

Carney says Canada will buy European surveillance planes over two American options– abcnews.com

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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TORONTO — Canada will buy early warning radar planes built by Sweden’s Saab and Canada’s Bombardier over two American options, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday.

Carney said his government has entered negotiations to procure Saab’s Airborne Early Warning & Control Aircraft, which is built on the Canadian-manufactured Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft and will support domestic production.

Carney also noted it is made with 20% U.S. content. The federal government has previously said it’s in the market for six radar aircraft.

Carney has made a point of diversifying its military spending away from the United States.

Ghana begins repatriating citizens from South Africa due to anti-immigration tensions– abcnews.com

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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JOHANNEBURG — The first group of around 300 Ghanaian nationals flew to their country on Wednesday as their government started a voluntary repatriation program for its citizens in response to anti-immigration tensions in South Africa.

Families and travelers gathered at the Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg with their luggage as officials and police coordinated the departure process.

The repatriation follows renewed demonstrations over illegal immigration in parts of South Africa, where frustrations over unemployment, crime and access to services have fueled tensions.