Zero Rss

Feds Charge Atlanta Man Who Gave Border Agents 'Self-Destruct' Password For Phone

A federal judge in Atlanta is weighing whether to throw out the evidence in what appears to be the first US prosecution of a traveler over a phone's built-in "duress password" - a privacy feature that erases a device when the wrong code is entered.

Samuel Tunick, an Atlanta resident and US citizen, was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a), which makes it a crime to destroy or damage property to prevent the government from seizing it. The offense carries up to five years. He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking to suppress the government's evidence, arguing the search and seizure that produced it were unlawful. A ruling is not expected before the end of October.

Tunick was returning from vacation on January 24, 2025, when Customs and Border Protection pulled him into secondary inspection at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. According to his motion to suppress, agents demanded access to his phone on the stated suspicion that it contained child exploitation imagery, without offering evidence to support that suspicion. They told him they did not need a warrant because he had not yet crossed into the country - the government's long-standing position that arriving travelers are not on US soil until admitted.

His lawyers say he asked for an attorney repeatedly and was refused, and that he was never advised of his rights.

Tunick provided a passcode. An officer entered it. The screen went dark, flashed repeatedly, and the device restarted with its contents gone. Agents seized the phone anyway and told him he was free to enter the country.

The indictment, returned in the Northern District of Georgia, alleges he knowingly destroyed, damaged, wasted, disposed of or otherwise acted to delete the phone's digital contents in order to impair the government's lawful authority to take the property into its custody. The document contains the typo "Untied States Code."

At a hearing last Monday, a Justice Department attorney and the agents who ran the stop characterized the encounter as an ordinary airport inspection. They were looking for "anything that's prohibited," CBP officer Larry Findley testified.

What Preceded The Stop

Three hours before Tunick's plane landed, a Homeland Security agent circulated an email carrying his name and photograph and stating that he was under investigation for suspected terrorism activities. It went to agents on CBP's tactical terrorism response team and to an officer with the FBI's Atlanta joint terrorism task force, according to The Guardian, which first reported the case.

Tunick's attorneys argue the child-exploitation rationale was a pretext, and that the real interest was his association with Defend the Atlanta Forest, the movement that spent years opposing the police training campus known as Cop City. The state's own sprawling racketeering case against 61 people tied to that movement was dismissed last year by a Fulton County judge, with the Georgia attorney general appealing.

CBP's tactical terrorism response teams were created in 2015 and have operated with almost no public visibility. The ACLU sued the agency in 2019 seeking records on the units, describing them as highly secretive teams that target, detain and interrogate travelers.

GrapheneOS

Tunick's attorneys have confirmed his Google Pixel was running GrapheneOS, a hardened Android replacement stripped of Google's tracking components. Among its options is a duress PIN - a second code, indistinguishable from the real one, that triggers an irreversible wipe. No warning, no confirmation prompt, nothing to give it away. Whoever types it cannot know what it is doing until it is finished.

GrapheneOS documents the feature as intended for people who may be forced to unlock a device, naming journalists, activists and travelers facing border searches - and warns in the same documentation that a triggered wipe could be treated in some jurisdictions as destruction of evidence. 

Matthew Dodge, an assistant federal public defender on Tunick's team, called the use of the statute in this context incredibly rare. Runa Sandvik, who runs the security consultancy Granitt, said she had never seen a case built on a duress password, though she has spent years walking journalists and activists through the scenario. Christophe Boutry, a French cybersecurity and surveillance specialist, said the prosecution mirrors what is already unfolding in France and Spain, where authorities have run into GrapheneOS on the phones of journalists, lawyers and political opponents. His argument is one of ownership: the device belongs to the user, and the state does not get to dictate how it is configured.

Unfriendly Venue?

The Eleventh Circuit may be the government's biggest advantage in the case. In United States v. Touset (2018) it held that border agents need no suspicion of any kind to search a device, forensic or manual, reasoning that if none is required to open a suitcase, none should be required for a phone. In the Fourth or Ninth Circuits the pretext argument would carry real weight - both require reasonable suspicion for forensic searches, and the Ninth confines border phone searches to digital contraband rather than general evidence of domestic crime. In Atlanta, the defense has to attack the scope of the search rather than the absence of grounds for it.

The statute, meanwhile, is also narrower than it looks. Section 2232(a) requires impairing the government's lawful authority to seize such property. Lawfulness is an element of the offense, not merely a suppression question, so an unlawful seizure could put the conduct outside the statute altogether. 

A Fourth Amendment win may not end the case regardless. The alleged offense occurred in the agents' presence, in response to the demand the defense says was unlawful, and courts generally hold that a new crime committed in reaction to an illegal search is not suppressible.

The Fifth Amendment may be the more promising route, because the act constituting the offense is speaking a passcode. If that was compelled in custody without warnings or counsel, the utterance itself may be suppressible. There is a wrinkle in Tunick's favor: the same circuit that is least protective on border searches is among the more protective on compelled decryption, having held in 2012 that forced decryption can be testimonial. Prosecutors will argue that secondary inspection is not custody and that "unlock it or we keep it" is not legal compulsion.

Then there is intent. Officers typed the code, not Tunick, so the government must prove purpose rather than infer it from a physical act - and the defense has pointedly declined to concede he meant to wipe anything. The evidence that a duress code was configured at all lived on the device that now holds no data.

We'll be keeping an eye on this one...

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 22:10

Utility Profits In The Crosshairs Amid Affordability Concerns

By Herman Trabish of UtilityDive,Last month, protesters angry over high electricity costs disrupted a Las Vegas conference of executives for the nation’s biggest investor-owned utilities — a vivid example of growing public outrage that has forced the industry to again defend their legally guaranteed profit margins. 

As affordability concerns increase political pressure, several states have taken steps to lower utilities’ return on equity, either through regulatory or legislative action. Consumer advocates say these measures are long overdue, while utilities say suppressing their ROE could impact their credit rating, which would carry over into higher customer costs. 

It is possible the combination of how vital electricity has become in the 21st century and its rising cost in the 2020s could lead to a turning point at this moment in the acceptable level of utility profits, experts told Utility Dive.

In a potentially pivotal and soon-to-be-decided Maryland rate case, utility executives said the matter should be left to state regulators, while consumer advocates said regulators should lower the utility’s profits closer to its costs for serving its customers. 

Utilities in the hot seat

Affordability has become a more pressing issue as national average electricity prices have outpaced inflation, and many people blame utilities. A March Pew Research poll found 85% of respondents saw utilities “wanting to make more money” as a reason for increased home energy prices. 

The impact of profits is not only a matter of public perception. According to a series of reports from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, prices charged by investor-owned utilities, which represent about 70% of national electricity sales, are higher and have risen faster compared to public utilities without strong profit motives.

The reports also found that IOU revenue requests are higher than they have been in decades – totaling $18 billion last year – and that over the past five years, regulators have approved, on average, 64% of the dollar value of these increases, compared to an average of 52% over the previous two decades. 

Energy affordability concerns have also merged with popular backlash to data centers and their huge resource demands. The resentment has stirred up a large, receptive audience for consumer advocates questioning the regulated utility profit model.

Utility profit margins are set by regulators around the country and averaged 9.7% in 2025, while fluctuating from 9% to 10.5%, according to Synapse Energy Economics. Unregulated economic sectors have ROEs within, far above, and far below that range, but do not have the obligation to serve and are not required to seek approval for their profits like regulated utilities, according to the Regulatory Assistance Project’s 2016 Guide. 

ROEs are a matter for state utility regulators, said Dani Marx, spokesperson for the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for U.S. investor-owned utilities and utility holding groups.

“Independent state regulators work through open and transparent proceedings to evaluate infrastructure needs,” Marx said. 

Utility infrastructure often includes “an equity component, including a return on equity, to attract sufficient investment to fund these projects,” she added.

In December, California regulators lowered the ROE for its three largest investor-owned utilities by 0.3 percentage points each. Several states, including Pennsylvania, are weighing legislation to tie utility ROE to 10-year Treasury bonds, among other reforms.

ROEs get political

Some states, like Maryland, have begun chipping away at utility returns by passing laws requiring power companies to join regional transmission organizations in order to do away with so-called adder – additional ROE the company earns on transmission for being a voluntary member. 

Meanwhile, state leaders in Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have asked regulators to consider rate requests carefully, signaling they may take more direct action in rate cases. 

The issue has also gained momentum in Congress. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, has gathered more than 20 cosponsors for the Lowering Utility Bills Act (H.R. 8568). The bill would require a utility to “calculate the return on equity at the lowest return on equity in an established range of reasonableness” determined by its regulators.

Reducing utility profits “saves all electricity users money on their bills,” said Mark Ellis, a former chief of strategy and economics with Sempra who now works as an independent consultant. 

In his opinion, today’s utility profits are “an unjust enrichment of utility investors at the expense of customers,” he added.

Utilities argue their profit margins must be set high enough to attract capital at low interest rates, which saves their ratepayers money in the long run while allowing utilities to maintain grid reliability.

If a utility’s authorized returns “are below those of comparable utilities, its ability to attract capital is at risk,” said Robert Leming, vice president of regulatory policy and strategy for Pepco Holdings, which is now engaged in a regulatory debate over profits at the Public Service Commission of Maryland.

Utilities need that capital “to provide safe and reliable service for customers,” he told Utility Dive in an interview.

An ROE case study

Some say the AI boom has introduced bottlenecks that are forcing utilities to consider alternatives to building, but others worry that the opposite is happening, and the hype cycle is fueling ill-conceived spending that will be on ratepayer bills for decades.

The current Pepco rate case offers an illustrative example of the state of the debate. The utility has proposed an ROE of 10.5%, an increase from its current 9.5% allowed ROE. The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel has proposed 7.7%.

The head of the OPC, David Lapp, told Utility Dive that many of the utility’s recent infrastructure investments could have been deferred. 

“Pepco is investing too much too fast and not in things that are cost effective and needed going forward,” Lapp said.

Pepco Holdings’ Leming disagreed. “Maryland’s ambitious climate and electrification goals require investment to modernize and upgrade the system,” he said.

Ellis, Lapp and others see high utility ROEs as a perverse incentive because it biases utilities toward expensive investments that add to a utility’s base of financed costs that earn ROEs and increase rates.

In addition, Lapp argues Pepco’s ROE is “inflated” by a financial strategy called ”double leveraging,” involving Exelon Utilities, Pepco’s parent corporation and only investor.

OPC contends that Exelon’s lower cost debt is being used by Pepco as higher cost equity, allowing it to borrow more lower cost debt.

Double leveraging “is not illegal if regulators approve it,” Lapp said. But if Pepco counts Exelon’s debt as equity in its capital structure, it raises the total ROE and, as a result, customer rates, he added.

“Exelon’s role does not change Pepco’s ROE needs,” Pepco consultant Adrien McKenzie told Maryland commissioners. Equity to support Pepco operations “must be raised in the capital markets,” based on returns competitive with “risk-comparable alternatives,” he added.

If Exelon debt to be paid back in 10 years is invested by Pepco in 50-year assets, Exelon would not be reimbursed soon enough to meet its debt, Pepco’s Leming added.

To justify the proposed 10.5% ROE, McKenzie presented multiple quantitative analyses and “a proxy group of risk-comparable electric utilities.” Credit ratings for Pepco of Baa1 from Moody’s and A- from S&P were central to his conclusion, McKenzie testified.

“Rating agencies and potential debt investors tend to place significant emphasis on maintaining strong financial metrics,” McKenzie told the commission. And this emphasis on financial metrics and credit ratings is shared by equity investors, he added.

Pepco’s Leming told Utility Dive he is focused on utility operations.

“Affordability is one of Pepco’s top priorities right now,” he said. Recent rising rates are linked to investments that have made Pepco highly ranked for customer satisfaction, he added.

But Pepco must be adequately funded to meet today’s “unprecedented” demand with new infrastructure, Leming continued. “That underscores the importance of having a competitive ROE to attract capital,” he said.

Lapp said his focus is customers.

“Everyone agrees investors in utilities should have the opportunity to earn the same return as an entity with a comparable level of risk,” he said. “But Pepco’s proposed 10.5% ROE is unfair to customers because its cost of equity is not just a little bit less, but significantly less.”

A ruling on Pepco’s ROE is expected in August.

Finding solutions

Reducing ROE can in fact impact a utility’s credit quality. Several Connecticut utilities, including Eversource and Avangrid, saw their credit ratings downgraded by credit agencies citing an inconsistent and unsupportive regulatory environment.

But that impact can be offset, Ellis said. “Increasing the equity portion of the debt-equity ratio and lowering the ROE produces ratepayer savings” without significantly altering the utility’s credit ratings, he added.

Ellis is a proponent of “competitive direct equity” as the “structural and political solution,” he said. “It would replace administratively set ROEs with a supply and demand-determined cost of equity through a competitive auction that would fundamentally change the utility incentive structure,” he explained.

In today’s rate cases, ROE determination “is a charade that is not calculated consistently or accurately,” Ellis continued. “The utility says it should be 11% and the consumer advocate says it should be 9% and the regulators compromise at 10% and move to the next proceeding.”

Utilities are accustomed to obtaining satisfactory ROEs through rate cases adjudicated by their state regulators and have no widely proposed alternative political solution. They warn regulators that reducing working capital puts reliability at risk.

But utilities’ rate case filings, like Pepco’s, typically include complex formulas for calculating ROE that overwhelm regulators and conclude that the utility needs an ROE increase, said Karl Rabago, a former Texas utilities commissioner and a frequent rate case intervenor on behalf of consumers.

“The original focus on balancing cost-of-service and earnings anticipated regulators would substitute for the forces of competition, and that has been lost,” Rabago said.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 21:45

Inside America's Left: Mapping The Five Factions Battling For Power

Many transformations are unfolding within America's political left, and its shifting factions can be difficult to track.

The Democratic establishment is fighting to preserve its grip on power as progressives and reformist socialists gain ground in local elections, with some openly promoting the dismantling of capitalism and adopting increasingly hostile rhetoric toward America.

Fox News has begun publishing explainers to educate its audience about the emerging far left, while Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have declared war on the radical left and foreign subversion networks linked to Cuba, China and elsewhere (read report).

Related:

• "Fatal Cancer On Civilization": Trump's War On Marxism Enters Action Phase As Rubio, Miller And Bessent Address 65 Nations

Understanding the left requires recognizing that it is not a monolith. To help map its many layers, Karlyn Borysenko, who describes herself as an anti-communist analyst, published an easy-to-understand infographic on X titled "Mapping the Modern Left," noting that "not all leftists are created equal."

The graphic is a five-tiered "rainbow cake" view of the American left, ranging from establishment Democrats who favor incremental reform within capitalism to revolutionary socialists seeking to abolish and destroy the nation from within.

I have updated my Mapping The Modern Left Framework to make the language more precise regarding which groups are on the far left and what they believe.

Specifically, we are now delineating between reformist and revolutionary socialists.

Learn more. Link in reply. pic.twitter.com/m8sfUxtCAP

— Karlyn Borysenko, anti-communist cult leader (@DrKarlynB) July 25, 2026

Her infographic divides the left into two main camps. The "neoliberal left" includes Democrats, liberals, and progressives, while the "far left" comprises reformist and revolutionary socialists. The graphic claims that progressives may favor policies associated with socialism, such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, without seeking to eliminate capitalism. Reformist socialists, by contrast, pursue a post-capitalist system... 

Borysenko also uses symbols to indicate which tiers she believes have adopted elements of queer ideology.

Borysenko's infographic provides an easy-to-view understanding of the  intensifying power struggle within the Democratic Party as the party establishment attempts to fend off a takeover by far-left socialists:

• Bill Clinton Insider Warns Of Socialist Takeover, Calls For Probe Into Possible DSA Foreign Ties
• "I'm A Lifelong Democrat": Another Clinton Insider Sounds Alarm Over DSA's Far-Left Hijack Of Party

With fewer than 100 days until the midterm elections, the left's internal power struggle is already emerging as one of the campaign cycle's most intriguing spectacles of the summer. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 21:20

Washington Gets A Win After Post-Maduro Venezuela Withdraws From ICC

Via Middle East Eye

The US has welcomed a decision by the new Venezuelan government to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a post on X, the US State Department hailed the move as marking a "partnership on American-led efforts to dismantle the corrupt and worthless ICC."

It pointed to an investigation by the court into former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who was abducted from the South American country during a US military assault in January 2026, saying it had produced "no result".

"The ICC has instead wasted its resources on investigating and charging persons from countries that have competent, independent judicial systems and which never submitted to the jurisdiction of the court," the statement read.

"This is blatant overreach, political bias and selective enforcement," it said, adding that the court is "neither credible, independent, nor legitimate".

"It is time to dismantle the ICC," it said, calling for all its members to "withdraw from the Rome Statute".

via AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who he said reaffirmed Washington's intention to act "forcefully" against the ICC.

In a statement, Netanyahu said the court "endangers justice around the world" and "threatens the right of democratic, sovereign states to exercise their sovereignty," adding that it sought to subject their security "to the decisions of a corrupt clique in The Hague."

The development comes after ICC member states voted on Friday to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan over misconduct claims.

On Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia announced that the government had informed the UN of its "irrevocable" decision to quit the court, citing the body's "geographical bias" against countries in the global south.

The move signals a greater alignment by Venezuela with US policies, a week after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed “a whole-of-government response to systematically disable” the tribunal.

The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to undermine the international court, levelling sanctions against prosecutors involved in investigating the actions of US and Israeli militaries.

In an executive order signed last year, Trump wrote that the ICC "has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel", citing the arrest warrants issued in November for Netanyahu and his then defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 20:55

Ex-Wife In Korea's $645M "Divorce Of The Century" Gets Iced Out Of AI Boom

A Seoul court has ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife 944 billion won ($645 million), in the largest divorce award in South Korean history. And while the figure is a record, it was calculated against a stock price more than two years old - before it went ballistic in the AI boom. 

Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group. Lee Young-hwan/Newsis/Associated Press

The Seoul High Court's First Family Division, presiding judge Lee Sang-ju, issued the ruling on Friday, nine years after Chey filed for divorce mediation in 2017. The court ordered the money paid in cash with 5 percent annual interest from the day after the judgment becomes final, and declined to hand over any stock, citing the role Chey's shares play in his control of the group, according to the WSJ. Neither side has said whether it will appeal again.

Chey did not attend. He was in California, accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on a San Francisco trip and dining with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang in Woodside.

The Two-Year-Old Price

The court fixed the valuation at April 16, 2024, the date arguments closed in the earlier appeal. SK Inc. finished that session at 160,000 won ($110) a share, putting Chey's 17.9 percent stake at roughly 2.07 trillion won ($1.4 billion). When arguments closed in the remand trial on June 26, 2026, the stock closed at 810,000 won ($555). Five times higher thanks to an AI boom that runs from Nvidia's high-bandwidth memory orders through SK Hynix, up through SK Square, and into the holding company at the top.

Roh's lawyers argued for the June 2026 date. Chey's argued for April 2024. The court sided with Chey. Supreme Court precedent holds that divisible property is measured as of the closing of the last fact-finding trial, which the court took to be the pre-remand appeal. It added that share prices are volatile and listed stock is a cash-equivalent asset that can be sold at any time, so declining to split gains that land after a marriage has legally ended does not obviously defeat the purpose of an equitable division.

The court acknowledged the price had risen sharply between the two dates, said Chey's management deserved credit for part of that, and stated that it had taken the surge into account in setting the division ratio rather than in the valuation. 

On what Roh contributed, the court was more generous than the first-instance judge had been in 2022, when he ruled the SK shares were Chey's separate property and awarded her 66.5 billion won ($45 million). Her homemaking, her raising of the couple's three children and her public activity on the group's behalf, the court found, had helped form and sustain the value of the stock. It rejected Chey's argument that the shares were inherited and gifted assets outside the marriage. Then it set her share at one-third.

The Bribe That Counted For Nothing

Two years ago a different panel awarded Roh 1.3808 trillion won ($945 million) after she argued that her father's money helped build the company, and that Chey's SK shares were therefore a joint dynastic project rather than his alone. To prove it, her side put a slush fund memo written by her mother, Kim Ok-sook, into evidence, documenting 90.4 billion won ($62 million), and argued that 30 billion won ($21 million) of former President Roh Tae-woo's slush money had passed to SK founding chairman Chey Jong-hyun in 1991 and gone toward the acquisition of Pacific Securities and other business.

In May 2024, the appellate court accepted it. It found the transfer real, treated the money as seed capital, and found that Roh Tae-woo had smoothed regulatory obstacles for SK's move into mobile telecoms during his 1988-1993 presidency, playing what it called "the role of a protective shield" for the elder Chey. It valued the couple's joint property at some 4 trillion won ($2.7 billion), set Roh's share at 35 percent, and ordered 1.3808 trillion won ($945 million) paid.

On October 16, 2025, the Supreme Court's First Division threw that out. The money may well have moved, the justices held, and that was the problem. Roh Tae-woo was arrested in 1995 and convicted the following year of taking hundreds of billions of won (hundreds of millions of dollars) from businessmen, and Article 746 of the Civil Act bars anyone from suing over a benefit conferred for an illegal purpose. A president routing part of a bribe to his in-laws and staying silent about it was, in the court's words, so markedly anti-social, unethical and immoral as to fall outside the protection of the law. Since the conduct had no legal value worth protecting, it could not be counted as his daughter's contribution when the marital estate was divided.

Roh's lawyers had a reply. She was not trying to recover the money, only to have its effect acknowledged. The court was not interested.

On remand, the 30 billion won ($21 million) came out and her ratio slipped from 35 percent to one-third - a small move, because the slush fund had never carried much weight in the ratio to begin with. The larger cut came from a second holding in the same Supreme Court ruling: shares Chey had gifted to his younger brother and other relatives before the marriage collapsed were not divisible property either. The estate shrank while her percentage held roughly steady, and the award fell by 436.8 billion won ($300 million).

Now He Has To Find The Cash

Chey holds 12,975,472 SK Inc. shares, 17.90 percent, worth roughly 8.5 trillion won ($5.8 billion) at last Thursday's close. The award is about 11 percent of that - and the court told him to pay it in money, not stock.

Roh Soh-yeong arrived at court in June. YONHAP/AFP/Getty Images Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 20:30

The Left Is Using Kids As A Trojan Horse For Total Online Surveillance

Authored by Lewis Dovland via American Thinker,

It is the oldest trick in the authoritarian playbook. Anytime a Democrat politician looks into a television camera and declares a new policy is "for the kids," history tells us it is time to do three things: grab your Bill of Rights, lock your wallet, and check your firearms.

The political left has mastered the art of semantic camouflage. Because leftists' true intentions - total state control and the systematic dismantling of individual liberty - are entirely unpalatable to the average citizen, they must cloak their radical agendas in the warm blanket of public safety.

We are seeing this exact misdirection play out today across two seemingly different battlefronts: the push for Universal Background Checks (UBCs) on firearms, and the sudden, "bipartisan" stampede to pass online child safety legislation. Under the microscope, however, they share the exact same DNA. They were never about protecting children. They are about building lists to target political opponents. Period.

Currently making waves in Congress are the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) in the Senate and the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS) in the House. On paper, the marketing pitch is flawless. Proponents claim these bills will shield innocent children from online predators, groomers, and illicit adult content.

At face value, it sounds reasonable. Who could possibly oppose protecting children?

The answer lies in the structural mechanics of the legislation. Just as gun control advocates use "safety" to pierce the veil of constitutional privacy, digital regulators are using children as human shields to bypass the First Amendment.

To understand the trap being set online, one must first look at the ongoing battle over Universal Background Checks. Under current federal law, licensed firearm dealers must maintain physical ATF Form 4473. Crucially, under the Firearms Owners' Protection Act (FOPA) and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) regulations, the federal government is strictly prohibited from centralizing these forms into a master database. If a firearm is used in a crime, investigators must work backward - from manufacturer to dealer to buyer. It is a localized, investigative process that protects law-abiding gun owners from mass government discovery.

Enter the left's obsession with Universal Background Checks for private transfers. Proponents claim this keeps weapons out of the hands of criminals - ignoring the obvious reality that criminals, by definition, do not obtain weapons through legal channels.

The real objective is structural. A Universal Background Check law is completely unenforceable unless the state knows who owns every firearm in the country beforehand. The law has no teeth without a mandatory, centralized gun registry. It is the ultimate camel's nose under the liberty tent.

This brings us back to the digital arena. Changing the law would mean de facto digital ID for every American. The database concept that makes UBCs so dangerous is the exact same mechanism driving KOSA and KIDS.

To enforce age restrictions online and block youth from specific platforms, websites cannot simply rely on the honor system. Platforms must mandate strict age verification. To prove your age, you must verify your legal identity. Proponents make it sound like it's just the kids who must register.

However, they conveniently fail to mention the rest of the action. In order to prove they are not children, adults will be forced to upload government-issued identification simply to access standard political commentary, religious forums, or independent news sites. Platforms will choose the path of least resistance, implementing blanket identity checks to avoid massive federal fines. The immediate casualty of this regime will be political anonymity.

The author has personally witnessed this phenomenon, having friends in the UK with whom we've corresponded for many years. They have become extremely guarded in answering certain political-type questions in the past couple of years, basically avoiding commenting. And we all read now about British subjects being arrested for making comments in public or posting online viewpoints that oppose official positions.

Independent outlets like American Thinker rely heavily on robust, pseudonymous comment sections. Thousands of everyday Americans utilize digital pen names to engage in fierce partisan debates. They do not do this out of cowardice; they do it to protect their careers, their livelihoods, and their families from targeted harassment campaigns by the radical Left. KOSA and KIDS would mean the end of the dissident commenter.

If KOSA and KIDS become law, the era of the pseudonymous internet is dead. Email providers, forums, and social platforms will require positive legal identification just to open an account.

When you strip away the emotional appeals, the underlying architecture becomes clear:

• Step 1: Force the population into centralized databases (whether via gun registries or digital IDs) under the guise of public safety.
• Step 2: Eliminate the anonymity that allows for free, uninhibited political dissent.
• Step 3: Weaponize those databases when political fortunes shift.

If progressive Marxists secure unchecked power over the administrative state and the judiciary, they will no longer need to hunt for dissidents. The compliance architecture currently being built in Washington will hand them a pre-verified list of their political opponents on a silver platter. And since they would have already emptied all the prisons, they'd have plenty of beds to hold us all.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 20:05

Taxpayer Millions Couldn't Stop Seven Save A Lot Grocery Stores From Going Dark In Crime-Ridden Chicago

Save A Lot shuttered seven locations across Chicago's crime-ridden South and West sides over the weekend, once again exposing the dysfunction of a metro area run by unhinged progressives. City officials poured millions of dollars into the grocery outlets in hopes of improving food access, only to watch the stores remain unprofitable amid persistent theft.

Seven Save A Lot grocery stores in Chicago are closing their doors on Saturday, citing financial difficulties.

The company says the stores were severely impacted following the Trump administration’s cuts to SNAP benefits, which it says contributed to the closures. pic.twitter.com/DywVtWGv7B

— Goofies Of Chicago (@Chicago_Goofies) July 24, 2026

Local outlet ABC 7 reports "frustration, anger, and concern" among the community as Save A Lot shuttered seven stores on Saturday, with many residents saying this would reduce their access to food.

The outlet noted:

Save A Lot began a partnership with retail company Yellow Banana in 2023 in an effort to keep grocery stores open on the city's South and West sides and combat food deserts.

A company spokesperson cited financial struggles and cuts to SNAP benefits as reasons for the closures. In a statement, the company said, "We are committed to the wellbeing of the communities we serve. We will continue to engage with City and Community leaders to explore ways to provide access to quality food and services for residents, and we are actively supporting impacted Yellow Banana team members throughout the transition."

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Yellow Banana had a $26 million redevelopment agreement with the city of Chicago and received more than $13 million in taxpayer financing to renovate and reopen Save A Lot locations. The rest of the funding came from federal grants and loans.

Despite the debate on X over whether the seven locations qualified as "government grocery stores," they were privately owned and operated but supported with taxpayer funding. Even with public backing, the stores failed to turn a profit. Theft was likely a major factor in the shutdowns, although the operator cited broader financial pressures and reductions in SNAP benefits.

Add Save A Lot to the growing list of retailers reducing their exposure to Chicago, alongside Walgreens, Aldi, and Walmart. Walgreens and Aldi explicitly cited theft, burglaries, and violent incidents in certain closures, while Walmart and Save A Lot pointed more broadly to persistent losses and financial headwinds.

The accelerating retail exodus suggests Chicago's progressive governing model enforced by City Hall is backfiring. Without basic public safety and a commercially viable operating environment, progressives risk even broader food and pharmacy deserts in low-income areas as businesses want no part of lawless neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, socialist politicians gaining power at the local level are promoting taxpayer-funded supermarkets and "free food for everyone." Yet history offers little evidence that government-run grocery models can remain efficient, financially sustainable, or responsive to consumers without persistent subsidies. But, of course, these politicans pitch 'this time is different' ... 

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 19:40

Los Angeles Mayoral Candidates Spar Over Response To Rise In Homelessness

Authored by City News Service via The Epoch Times,

Mayor Karen Bass and her challenger in the Nov. 3 election, Councilmember Nithya Raman, criticized one another on July 24 over the increase in homelessness in Los Angeles.

Homeless tents are seen in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles on June 11, 2026. Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

Homelessness increased by 3.4 percent in the city to an estimated 45,194 people, and unsheltered homelessness also rose by nearly 8 percent, according to figures from the 2026 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. The data showed the first increase in the unhoused population following two consecutive years of decreases.

Raman, who represents the Fourth Council District, held a news conference in Studio City to discuss the results of the count released on the afternoon of July 24.

"By now you've probably seen the reports: despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent - and repeated assurances that Los Angeles had turned a corner - unsheltered homelessness increased by nearly 8% in this city," Raman said in a statement.

"That is a moral outrage. And it is a failure of leadership," Raman added.

The councilwoman noted her district experienced a 49 percent decrease in unsheltered homelessness.

"We track every case, break through the barriers holding up placements, connect people with housing and care, and stay involved until they are housed," Raman said in her statement.

Raman said, if elected, she would bring that approach and results citywide.

She added homelessness is "not an unsolveable problem. It's a mismanged one."

In response, Bass's campaign said Raman claimed credit for the decrease in her district while avoiding the rest of the city's data as chair of the City Council's Homelessness and Housing Committee.

Bass's campaign said Inside Safe brought 236 people in the Fourth Council District into interim housing since 2023. It further alleged Raman has not attended a single Inside Safe operation in her district last year.

The homeless count further showed that the Fourth Council District had a reduction of recreational vehicles used as housing for people experiencing homelessness from 103 in 2023 to 38 in 2026, a 63 percent decline.

Bass's campaign said the removal of RVs involves towing, storage, and relocation operations that the city's homelessness teams run.

"Nithya Raman is taking credit for the results of Inside Safe while campaigning against it," Alex Stack, a spokesman for Bass's campaign, said in a statement.

"While Raman takes credit for the city's work in her district, ignoring the fact that she's the chair of the Homelessness & Housing Committee for all of Los Angeles, Mayor Bass is working to move our city forward and address years of neglect," Stack added.

Bass served on the LAHSA Commission for a three-year term that ended June 30. The commission consists of 10 appointed members - five representatives from the city and five from the county.

Commission members hold authority over budgetary, funding, planning and program policies.

Bass, who is seeking a second term, continues to campaign on what she has deemed as progress in her first term - part of that includes her administration's ability in moving unhoused people into temporary housing.

The 2026 Homeless Count represents an opening for Raman, who is attempting to garner voter support with a new approach to address homelessness.

Raman has criticized Bass's Inside Safe program for being too costly, and failing to produce better results.

While Bass has defended Inside Safe, her signature program for encampment resolution, a Los Angeles Times analysis found that in the nearly four years since the program began, about 41 percent of unhoused people who participated in the program had returned to homelessness.

In a statement Thursday, Bass blamed the Trump administration for the increase in homelessness, saying its policies have driven up the cost of living and while reducing federal funding for safety net programs. She noted that reductions in state funding for homelessness have also impacted the city's ability to respond to the crisis.

The mayor also criticized Los Angeles County for a "lack of adequate services," which she said was a contributing factor to people cycling in and out of homelessness. The county provides cities with services such as mental health and substance-abuse counseling.

Bass noted the city has reduced unsheltered homelessness by 11 percent since 2023, and housing more than 1,000 homeless veterans.

Recently, critics have expressed frustration with Bass over the slow cleanup of rotting food left by the Lineage Logistics cold-storage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, as well as concerns raised over a crisis communications consultant who worked for Bass's office for free, among other issues.

Meanwhile, Republican Party of Los Angeles County Chair Roxanne Hoge told City News Service in an email that the rise in homelessness was caused by existing leadership.

"Every parent knows that you get more of behavior you reward. Karen Bass, Nithya Raman, Lindsey Horvath and the entire Homeless Industrial Complex comprised of NGOs and the California Democrat Party reward everything from criminal vagrancy, drug addiction, untreated mental illness and the takeover of public spaces. The results we see are the results they want," Hoge said in a statement, referring to Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and nongovernmental organizations.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 19:15

Mitch McConnell Pokes Head Out Of Shell With New 'Proof Of Life' Pic From Rehab

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday 'said' he's undergoing physical therapy, but that he hasn't been medically cleared to leave rehab after being admitted to the hospital after his June 14 fall. 

"I'm still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors' orders," McConnell, 84, one of the oldest members of the Senate, said in a statement - adding that he won't be able to make it to a popular event called Fancy Farm slated to take place in Kentucky on Saturday.

The reason for the hospitalization was not disclosed until July 12, with McConnell stating at the time it was due to a fall that left him briefly unconscious. He's also apparently suffering from a mild case of pneumonia and has totally not been dead for six weeks. 

BREAKING BOMBSHELL

New audio and video have been leaked showing Sen. Mitch McConnell being loaded by stretcher into an ambulance when transported to the hospital - EMS recordings conform they found an unknown person who was "unconscious" due to "cardiac arrest," with "CPR in… pic.twitter.com/F5Aug8pmg8

— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) July 10, 2026

On Monday, Congress's Office of the Attending Physician said that McConnell fell while at home in June and that he has been moved from the hospital to another facility.

"Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls," the office said.

Mitch McConnell is fine 👀 pic.twitter.com/hMn29peojD

— Politi_Rican 🇵🇷 𝕏 🇺🇸 (@TheRicanMemes) July 27, 2026

"His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility. He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office."

McConnell said on Monday that he was sorry to miss Fancy Farm and wished the community the best for the event.

"As always, I appreciate all of your continued well wishes, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky soon," he wrote.

McConnell has previously dealt with a number of health problems, including documented instances of him freezing while being near or addressing reporters. His office has said he experienced momentary lightheadedness at those times.

Mitch: Faithful servant of the people and spring chicken, on his 2026 re-election bid pic.twitter.com/1rlfzhKXc1

— Ben Bartee (@BenBartee) July 7, 2026

The senator said in 2025 that he would not run for another term. His current term ends on Jan. 3, 2027.

In the primary elections for the race to succeed McConnell, Republican voters chose Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), while Democratic voters selected former Kentucky Rep. Charles Booker.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 18:50

YouTube, Instagram, And The Future Of Ministry

Authored by Van Mylar via RealClearReligion,

Meta is testing Instagram on television. Pinterest has acquired a connected-TV ad-buying platform. Social media content is becoming one of the most-watched video types on American television. And YouTube is leading the way, with tens of millions of Americans now watching YouTube on the biggest screen in the house.

YouTube's move into creator-led, 24/7 "Stations" points to something larger: digital and social platforms are no longer simply competing with television. They are becoming television.

For nonprofits and ministries, this is not a passing media trend. It is a strategic signal.

The migration of social behavior back to the living room represents a fundraising, awareness and discipleship opportunity too large to ignore. It is also a warning to organizations still treating television, streaming, social, direct mail, radio and email as disconnected channels.

That means the old channel-by-channel mindset is no longer enough. Direct mail, television, radio, email, YouTube, social media and connected television must work together as one integrated donor journey.

A short clip may create discovery. A long-form video may build trust. A host-read appeal may deepen credibility. A direct mail package may provide a tangible response moment. A TV placement may bring the mission back into the shared household space.

The living room has always carried emotional weight. It is where families hear breaking news, watch stories that move them and encounter moments that shape belief, identity, generosity and action. But the new living room is different. It blends broadcast, streaming, social video, creator content, streaming channels and algorithmic discovery into one environment.

And every generation brings a different expectation to that screen.

Gen Z views television as an extension of the feed. They are not easily moved by polished institutional messaging. They want authenticity, immediacy and evidence. They want to see who is being helped, who is telling the story and whether the mission feels credible. Creator brands are becoming television brands, and the trust younger audiences place in a familiar face is proving just as valuable as a traditional network name.

Millennials are the bridge generation. They move fluidly between television, streaming apps, YouTube, podcasts, social feeds and mobile giving. They respond to content that is useful, transparent, emotionally honest and easy to act on. They do not want friction. If the story moves them, the next step must be immediate and clear.

Gen X may be the most overlooked audience in this shift. They are skeptical, independent and media-savvy. They still understand the authority of the television screen, but they verify before giving or getting involved. For them, the formula is trust plus proof. They want to know where the money goes, whether the organization is effective, and whether the appeal is grounded in reality rather than hype.

Boomers still have a deep relationship with the living room screen, but they are not passive viewers anymore. Many stream church services, watch YouTube on their Smart TVs, and respond to familiar hosts, strong storytelling and appeals tied to faith, family and legacy.

The Silent Generation, though smaller, remains significant for legacy giving. They respond best to clarity, consistency, trusted messengers, and a sense that their giving will outlive them.

That is why the question for ministries shouldn't simply be how to buy more advertising space, but rather who they are trying to reach.

What shaped them? What do they trust? What do they question? What kind of story moves them? What makes them believe an organization is worthy of their generosity?

There is also a deeper reason platforms are chasing the living room: mobile is running out of room to grow. Social media platforms need new attention, new inventory and new environments. Television is where much of that remaining attention lives.

That should reframe how ministries and nonprofits think about television. Connected TV (like Smart TVs or TVs with an Amazon Fire Stick) is not simply an experimental add-on to a digital media plan. It is where engaged attention is moving next.

It is also where discovery and trust can converge.

Many viewers now begin watching full programs because of a short clip they first saw on social media. For a ministry or nonprofit, that matters. A short, honest clip may be the first step in a person's journey that ends in a gift, a prayer request, a church visit, a volunteer application or a deeper relationship with the mission.

Connected television is not just another media-buying channel. It is where generational habits, creator trust, algorithmic discovery and shared household viewing collide.

The ministries and nonprofits that thrive will build integrated ecosystems: short-form content for discovery, long-form content for trust, authentic storytelling for credibility and simple response paths for action.

The ministries and nonprofits that win will be the ones that understand who is sitting on the couch - the teenager scrolling and streaming, the Millennial parent multitasking, the Gen X skeptic verifying, the Boomer watching with a giving history and the older donor thinking about legacy.

For ministries and nonprofits, the calling is simple: Do not just reach the living room. Earn a place in it.

This article was originally published by RealClearReligion and made available via RealClearWire.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 18:25

Putin Admits Escalation: Enemies Unable To Defeat Russia On Battlefield, Resort To 'Open Terrorism'

This month has witnessed a string of major Wildberries warehouses and logistics hubs go up in flames due to wave after wave of Ukrainian drones strikes. The Russian online retailer, which is by far the largest and widely deemed the 'Russian Amazon' - is bracing for likely more attacks to come.

Ukraine's long-range drones strikes have very clearly moved beyond just oil and defense industrial sites, and have even included an attack on a holiday camp in Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia over the weekend, which killed at least twelve civilians. The Kremlin called it a terror attack, given it was a direct assault on a resort area.

Fresh Monday comments from President Vladimir Putin have highlighted this shift in Ukraine's strategy. Putin says that its forces are unable to advance the battlefield, and so are increasingly moving to outright terrorism tactics.

Image via Sputnik 

"[Enemies] are unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield so they are betting on using openly terrorist methods against our people," Putin said at a Kremlin meeting with members of the outgoing Eighth State Duma (lower house of parliament).

"However, no one has ever succeeded in breaking the Russian people. It has never happened and it will never happen," he stressed. He further highlighted a broader Western effort to 'rattle' and 'break' Russia which the populace has successfully endured for years at this point. 

"Seeking to rattle the Russian state and provoke social division in our country, [Western countries] have attempted to strangle our economy, financial system, and banking sector, and sought to undermine the potential of science, industry, and education," Putin said.

But he admitted some serious challenges as a result of the 'special military operation' in Ukraine. "In response to historic trials and aggressive external pressure, our multi-ethnic people have responded with internal solidarity. That has always been the case, and that is precisely what we see today," he said.

"The past five years - the period of your tenure as deputies - have been challenging and immensely responsible for our country," Putin told the legislators. 

"We have long been confronted with unlawful restrictions, with attempts at containment and pressure - both after the 'Russian Spring' of 2014 and even before that. But since 2022, the West has put the Russophobic machine into full swing," he recalled.

Ukrainian drones strikes on a Wildberries facility in the vicinity of St. Petersburg last week:

Compilation of most Ukrainian drones strikes on a Wildberries facility in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, Russia this morning. https://t.co/8E7IJ7ZNI6 pic.twitter.com/fY7zmDyKDn

— Woofers (@NotWoofers) July 24, 2026

Some analysts have observed that over the last several months the war has moved toward escalation - and a more 'total war' environment which puts civilians on either side at greater risk.

Russian ballistic missile attacks directly on the Ukrainian capital have been more devastating of late, and so have Ukraine's long-range drones sent deep into Russia. With Russian missiles and drones increasingly falling on residential neighborhoods in and around Kiev, the Zelensky government is also hurling the terrorism charge right back at Moscow.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 18:00

Renewables 'Can't Keep Up' With Data Center Pace. As Usual, The Left Wants Government To Step In...

Authored by Gary Abernathy via The Empowerment Alliance,

The political left is worried that the rapid expansion of data centers across the U.S. - a controversial but necessary development considering our competition with China - is increasingly accompanied by the corresponding construction of stand-alone natural gas plants to provide the power demands of the centers.

In Ohio, 10 gas-fired power plants are in the works to fuel new data centers. In West Virginia, a startup business building AI compute campuses plans to utilize hundreds of gas generators by 2028. Newly minted trillionaire Elon Musk has purchased a gas turbine company specifically to power the Tennessee-based data centers fueling Grok.

Across the nation, similar stories are playing out region by region, with dedicated gas plants often backed by tech giants who once swore off fossil fuels before reality set in.

Natural gas plants can be stood up relatively quickly and deliver the massive power required to keep the U.S. ahead of its adversaries in the AI/data center race. While data centers have resulted in controversies in some local communities - an unsurprising NIMBY reaction - other places have welcomed the developments.

As stated here before, artificial intelligence is here, like it or not. The only question is who will make the rules, the U.S. or China?

Soldiers in the anti-fossil fuel brigade are once again coming face-to-face with their biggest enemy: reality. And as usual, rather than seeking to engage fairly in the free market, backers of renewables are demanding that government write regulations requiring their use.

The Associated Press recently reported that "tech giants are demanding power at such speed and scale - some data centers consume more energy than a mid-size city - that the construction of wind and solar simply can't keep up," giving natural gas a substantial advantage. Most people call that the free market playing out as it naturally will. The climate change fearmongers call it foul play.

To level the field, the same old playbook is once again being deployed. For instance, in Michigan, Oregon and Minnesota, laws have been enacted in the last 18 months "designed to protect their pre-existing requirements that electric utilities use only emissions-free energy sources by 2040," AP reported, adding that similar bills are emerging in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

New York, not surprisingly, leads the way when it comes to the heavy hand of government mandates. There, legislation would force data centers over a certain size "to meet renewable energy benchmarks starting in 2030 and, by 2040, get at least 90% of their energy from renewable energies."

The arrogance of those demanding that alternatives be given special consideration was once more on display courtesy of a New York state lawmaker who wrote the bill in question. "We are literally talking about the wealthiest companies in the world that are looking to build in New York state," said state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez (D), adding, "and if they have the resources to put billions of dollars into data center development, then they certainly should have the resources to build out renewable energy sources to power them."

So there!

Insisting what other people can and should do with their money - and writing legislation forcing them to do it - is a familiar page from the playbook of the left. Such attitudes will only be magnified by the new crop of socialists who are winning Democratic Party primaries across the country.

Of course, to back up the demand that renewables be governmentally propped up to power data centers, the left will trot out friendly new studies to bolster its arguments. So, right on cue, here comes the Environmental Integrity Project with another study condemning the big, bad gas plants.

"Dozens of planned gas plants to directly power data centers in the United States could emit as much greenhouse gas annually as Australia or France," according to a Reuters story on the findings of the study.

"An industry of the future should not be chained to dirty fuels of the past and the air pollution from fossil fuels that cause real harm to communities," said Jen Duggan, executive director of the EIP.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin countered, "I think that a lot of Americans would agree that we should win this race against China to be the AI capital of the world." Amen.

The climate change movement flourished under the Obama and Biden administrations, costing taxpayers billions of dollars and funneling industries and consumers into a no-choice scenario of less reliable, less effective alternative power options. Thankfully, the Trump administration has unleashed all American energy resources - including inviting alternatives to compete in the free marketplace.

For now, the left acknowledges that the federal government is not friendly turf. So, when it comes to emerging data centers, the subsidies-and-mandates game is playing out at the state level, because without such help, as AP reported, "the construction of wind and solar simply can't keep up."

In the free marketplace, things that can't keep up eventually fall by the wayside. But in the fantasyland of far-left (and socialist) idealism, government regulations keep them afloat or even put them in preferred positions - at least until their deficiencies become too obvious and too dangerous to pretend anymore. (For example, see the massive 2025 power outage in Spain, Portugal and parts of France, where alternatives failed and natural gas came to the rescue to restore power.)

The U.S. will likely win the AI race, but only because it got under way in earnest during the Trump administration. If it had happened under the Biden regime, our government would be mandating artificial benchmarks for renewables while China focused on controlling artificial intelligence for the world.

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 17:40

Court Rules Illinois' In-State Tuition Benefits For Illegals 'Unconstitutional And Invalid'

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

A federal court ruled in favor of the Trump administration in a lawsuit challenging Illinois’ laws that offered education benefits to illegal immigrants while denying the same for out-of-state Americans.

In a July 24 order, the District Court for the Southern District of Illinois declared that in-state tuition provisions under the state’s Acevedo Bill (which became law in May 2023), its 2024 amendment, the DREAM Act, and the Retention of Illinois Students and Equity (RISE) Act, as applied to illegal immigrants, violated the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and are “unconstitutional and invalid.”

The Trump administration argued that these three laws, which provide postsecondary education benefits to illegal immigrants, were in violation of Title 8 of the U.S. Code Section 1623.

Section 1623 bans illegal immigrants from being eligible for post-secondary education benefits in a state unless the same benefits are provided to all U.S. citizens, regardless of their state of residence.

In its complaint filed last September, the Trump administration highlighted that the Acevedo Bill allows illegal immigrants to pay a lower tuition rate in the state’s public colleges and universities than a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident from other states.

The Illinois DREAM Act, signed into law in 2011, created a scholarship program funded by private donations.

This benefit was later limited to illegal immigrants students in the state.

The RISE Act, which came into effect in 2020, extended state financial assistance to illegal immigrants.

In a motion to dismiss filed in November 2025, Illinois challenged the validity of Section 1623. The state argued that Section 1623 violates the anticommandeering doctrine outlined in the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment, which recognizes that Congress has no power to issue direct orders to a state.

Section 1623 “runs afoul of the anticommandeering doctrine because it regulates states rather than private actors,” Illinois said. Because Section 1623 violates the anticommandeering doctrine, “all the federal government’s claims against all defendants must be dismissed.”

However, in the July 24 order, the court disagreed with this argument, affirming that restrictions under Section 1623 do not constitute “commandeering” under the 10th Amendment.

The doctrine bans the federal government from dictating what state legislatures can or cannot do. It also prohibits Washington from compelling states to enact or enforce federal regulatory programs. Section 1623 “does none of these things,” the court observed.

Instead, Section 1623 “functions as a limit on the eligibility of noncitizens rather than a command that states legislate or administer any particular program.”

The court permanently enjoined Illinois and other defendants in the case, including state entities, from enforcing the three laws disputed by the Trump administration.

The case was brought by the Department of Justice’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois, according to a July 24 statement from the department.

“Illinois sought to incentivize illegal immigration on the taxpayer’s dime by treating illegal aliens better than U.S. citizens living in other states, in clear violation of federal law,” U.S. Attorney Steven D Weinhoeft said in the statement.

“This ruling enforces the statute Congress wrote and stops the State from putting illegal aliens ahead of American citizens.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the office of Illinois governor for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

The case is one of several in which the Trump administration is targeting state educational benefits being provided to illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens.

On July 23, the Justice Department announced that it had filed a case against Colorado over this issue. Similar lawsuits have been filed against California, Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Kansas, and Minnesota, all of which are pending.

In Texas, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, the Trump administration has succeeded in getting permanent injunctions against in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 17:00

Cracker Barrel Dumps CEO After Woke Logo Fiasco

Shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store have yet to fully recover from outgoing CEO Julie Masino's brief "woke" rebranding effort last year. The family-dining chain quickly restored its iconic "Old Country Store" logo and nostalgic aesthetic. Still, the failed overhaul now appears to have cost Masino her job after exposing a serious failure of brand stewardship.

The Cracker Barrel controversy began on Aug. 18, 2025, when the company published a simplified logo that removed the "Old Timer" and barrel, sparking an immediate online backlash that intensified over the following week.

President Trump called for the oldlogo'ss restoration on Aug. 26, and Cracker Barrel reversed the redesign later that day.

Shares plunged by more than half in the months following the disastrous rebranding attempt and remain about 14% below where they traded before the controversy started.

Bloomberg reports that restaurant industry veteran David Deno will replace Masino.

Deno, who led Outback Steakhouse parent companyBloomin'’ Brands from 2019 to 2024, will take over on Aug. 10. Masino, CEO since late 2023, will remain as an adviser until early October.

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Michael Halen and Amir Islam said Deno inherits favorable comparisons against last year's logo-driven sales drop, though his long-term success will depend on rebuilding traffic and recruiting experienced executives.

Rebuilding customer traffic starts with Deno understanding the brand's core audience and recognizing where America's Overton window now sits. It has shifted away from the left and far-left fringes toward the political center, as "woke" branding has largely vanished despite efforts by revolutionary socialist activists to revive it.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 16:40

Will The "Fat Lady" Finally Sing For Fauci?

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

"The Fauci diary is amazing. He monologues like a Scooby Doo villain."

- El Gato Malo on "X"

Remember Covid-19? Seems like long ago in a world that time forgot. Well, you get to revisit the whole sketchy business on Wednesday, July, 29, when Dr. Anthony Fauci is called to testify about it to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).

Though half the USA is still psychotic and unable to process reality, the other half of the country understands that Dr. Fauci has some ‘splainin’ to do.

Dr. Fauci was initially invited but declined to appear (didn’t feel like it), so the committee issued a subpoena compelling him (under penalty of up to a year in jail for failure to show).

Because Dr. Fauci was given a peremptory pardon by “Joe Biden,” he cannot legally invoke the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination.

He will have to answer the questions.

Of course, Dr. Fauci has demonstrated in previous appearances that he is a world champeen of failing-to-recall stuff and, at age 85, one might expect him to work that angle to the max.

One big question hanging over the whole proceeding is whether Covid-19 was concocted in the Wuhan Institute of Virology or “jumped from animals to humans” as Dr. Fauci posited around the 2:14 mark (near the end) of this video from a White House press conference, April, 13, 2020:

The Intel Community now kind of leans toward the lab leak theory.

Anyway, that all leads to another question as to whether Dr. Fauci directed his agency, the NIAID, to arrange funding for gain-of-function research at Wuhan on coronaviruses found in Asian bats.

In other words... did they make the chimeric virus on-purpose?

In past testimony, Dr. Fauci has equivocated and dissembled about that, played word games that led to raised voices between himself and Sen. Paul.

As it happened, then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard recently unearthed the paper trail of emails and memoranda between Dr. Fauci and his colleagues / partners in other corners of the epidemiological world that show how, at the time, they were all scrambling to cover their collective asses in the Covid-19 business.

One partner in particular, Peter Daszak of the New York based EcoHealth Alliance, which had channeled many grants to Wuhan since 2014, was especially active in fabricating alibis and ruses — including a major paper in the UK’s leading medical journal, The Lancet (the article was later nullified).

Behind that smokescreen of confabulation lies the wreckage of American society by the evil Covid-19 business.

It was even evident at the time (spring 2020) that President Trump suspected he was being played by the committee of “experts” that had been set up to make Covid-19 policy. His body language suggested as much in news conferences where he shifted uncomfortably from side to side, watching while others spoke at the podium, as if rehearsing his later YMCA dance.

At one point, April 23, 2020, (Fauci wrote in an email) President Trump called advisor Deborah Birx (“Scarf Lady”) into the Oval Office and yelled at her:

“You and Fauci have destroyed the country and the economy. I should never have listened to you. You have completely destroyed us.”

(Thanks to @JeffreyTucker on “X” for citation.)

And that was only the beginning of an event that led to a more momentous string of operations against the welfare of the American people, including the mass shutdown and ruin of small businesses, the orchestrated George Floyd riots, the year-plus of no school, and the mass mail-in ballot policy that enabled widespread voting fraud, ushering-in the election of Deep State tool “Joe Biden,” with the epic fuckery his handlers later laid on the body politic — including the open border, universal DEI, transsexuals celebrated on the White House lawn, the Ukraine money-laundry, weaponization of law and intel, build-out of the USAID-NGO grift matrix to fund Democratic Party operations, and much more.

Note, too, the concurrent disgrace of the medical establishment that went along with Covid policy. The doctors of America ganged up against the patients of America and broke the Hippocratic oath that says first, do no harm. The doctors went along with the fake mRNA vaccines long after it was evident that the shots didn’t work to prevent the disease and, in fact, induced widespread serious injuries, often fatal. The doctors, who followed the jive treatment protocol of ventilators along with remdesivir, the drug that destroyed patients’ kidneys in a matter of days and killed them. The doctors, whose hospitals collected as much as $35,000 per patient documented as dying from Covid (which was often a lie). The doctors who played dumb about the efficacy of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. The doctors who still won’t admit that the vaccines are producing increased rates of cancer deaths and immune system failure. Sane Americans today now regard their primary care doctors as no better than 18th century quacks operating out of barbershops. Nice going, docs!

(Apart from the colossal racketeering operation that you have enabled medicine to become.)

One abiding mystery in the bigger picture is why Donald Trump never really addressed the evil trip that was laid on him about Covid-19 by Fauci and many others. . . why he has not denounced the whole wicked business. . . why he has not already allowed HHS-Sec’y Robert Kennedy, Jr., to withdraw the Covid vaccine from approval. . . why one David Morens, a Fauci “advisor” is so far the sole official indicted for attempting to cover-up the funding chain for bat coronavirus research?

Perhaps after Dr. Fauci does his ‘splainin’ this Wednesday, President Trump will feel free to come clean about what happened in March and April of 2020 and do some ‘splainin’ of his own.

If he does, prepare for possible widespread head explosions.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 16:20

BMO Says Return Of Mexican Cattle Is "Clear Positive" For Two Beaten-Down Meatpackers

Following the USDA's announcement that it will begin lifting the year-long ban on Mexican live cattle imports on Aug. 24, BMO Capital Markets senior equity research analyst Andrew Strelzik called the decision a "key positive" for publicly traded meatpackers Tyson Foods and JBS.

The restrictions were imposed to combat the New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that threatens livestock. Restoring Mexican cattle flows should gradually ease tight U.S. supplies, improve slaughterhouse utilization, and support beef-processing margins.

"A combination of recent beef plant closures and the recovery of Mexican cattle imports should create a path to U.S. beef packer margin improvement," Strelzik wrote in a Monday morning note, identifying a potential new tailwind for Tyson Foods and JBS.

Strelzik outlined more color:  

Combination of recent beef plant closures and recovery of Mexico cattle imports should create a path to U.S. beef packer margin improvement.

Specifically, TSN's/ JBS's previously announced beef plant closures remove ~6% of industry slaughter capacity, while a full Mexico border re-opening would add an incremental ~5% of cattle supply. The 10%-11% improvement in cattle supply/slaughter-capacity balance would raise industry plant utilization closer to normal historical levels, though Mexican imports will take time to flow through the supply chain to slaughter, especially given the USDA's phased reopening strategy.

Notably, we estimate Douglas, AZ typically accounts for ~15% of Mexican cattle imports to the U.S. (note the closest active screwworm case is over 300 miles from the port).

There are uncertainties that will impact the pace and magnitude of beef margin recovery, including the rate at which cattle imports ramp and the type of cattle imported (e.g., fat cattle, feeder cattle). That said, the pace of imported Mexican cattle could materially accelerate with the reopening of New Mexico port of entries. In fact, we estimate the two New Mexico ports of entry combined account for just over half of all cattle imports from Mexico to the U.S. While timing is unconfirmed and hurdles will need to be cleared, we would not be surprised if New Mexico ports of entry were to re-open by early fall if the Arizona reopening is successful. Re-opening can be paused if the USDA identifies increased risk via post-opening audits or other observations/ information.

Border re-opening is a clear positive for Outperform-rated TSN and JBS, as meaningful inflection in U.S. beef margins could finally be on the horizon. Every $100mm change in TSN's beef performance has an ~$0.20 EPS impact (~5% of our FY27 EPS estimate), while every $100mm change in JBS's beef EBITDA is equivalent to ~2% of our 2027 EBITDA estimate. While heifer retention has been slow, the combination of plant closures and Mexico re-opening can create a bridge to underlying herd rebuilding. We note that heifers as a percent of slaughter decreased to 36% in June (from 40% previously), falling below the historical average.

Shares of both meatpackers have been pressured in recent months as New World screwworm detections in Texas and elsewhere have intensified concerns about already tight cattle supplies.

Mexican cattle represented about two-thirds of U.S. live cattle imports between 2020 and 2024, but most are lightweight feeder animals that require additional feeding before slaughter. The Aug. 24 reopening will begin at only one Arizona border crossing, meaning additional supply will enter gradually.

The immediate benefit should be lower cattle procurement pressure and improved margins for the meatpackers.

Related:

• Forget Beef. This Protein Is Way Cheaper

Yet beef prices are likely to stay elevated rather than enter a bear market. The U.S. herd remains near multidecade lows, and Bank of America's recent interview with a cattle expert suggested that elevated retail prices could persist for several years. Read the report.

We suspect the Trump administration's decision to restore live cattle imports from Mexico is part of a broader effort to ease food inflation and improve affordability ahead of the midterm elections.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 15:45

BofA Downplays China's DUV Tool Production Report, Sees Only "Modest Threat" To ASML

ASML Holding NV shares in Amsterdam suffered their steepest decline in more than a year, breaking below the crucial 50-day moving average after The Information reported that a Chinese state-backed company had begun producing immersion deep-ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines.

The Information did not cite the Shanghai-based company that plans to manufacture about five DUV machines this year and roughly 20 in 2027. The firm reportedly assembled teams from other Chinese chip-equipment firms, including Shanghai Yuliangsheng Technology.

ASML builds lithography machines that print transistor patterns onto silicon wafers. Its DUV machines are considered the workhorses of the semiconductor industry, producing highly advanced chips ranging from DRAM and NAND memory to logic and AI chips, as well as smartphone and automotive processors.

Only three weeks ago, we reported that China's leading memory-chip companies are quickly closing the technology gap with their South Korean chip-producing rivals faster than expected, raising concerns that expanding Chinese production could eventually spark a global memory glut.

First reported here on July 6

China CXMT Testing Production Line for Next-Gen Bonded DRAM, Closing Tech Gap With Korea "Far Faster Than Expected"https://t.co/oHI5VEVDRD https://t.co/93ks5sQAf2

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 27, 2026

China's largest memory company, CXMT, is reportedly testing a pilot line for bonded DRAM in Hefei (the heart of China's semiconductor industry), a technology that manufactures memory cells and peripheral circuitry on separate wafers before joining them. This process could deliver higher density and performance using older deep-ultraviolet lithography equipment, allowing China to reduce its dependence on advanced EUV machines restricted by US export controls.

The company is also developing HBM3 and HBM3E products, pursuing next-generation CXL memory, and preparing for a potential Shanghai listing. Its reported share of the global DRAM market reached 8% during the first quarter of 2026, and Apple is said to be considering CXMT as a supplier.

The US has been probing ASML for many months out of concern that one of its lithography machines ended up in Chinese hands despite US-led export controls.

Bank of America analyst Didier Scemama commented on The Information's report, telling clients:

According to The Information, China may have started production of DUV immersion litho tools. The article suggests that China have brought together immersion DUV development teams from other Chinese companies but warns that DUV advances are still "at an early stage". Yuliansheng Tech allegedly intends to produce 5 DUV tools this year and 20 next year for domestic Chinese customers, including SMIC, CXMT and Hua Hong. Of note, the article indicates that the immersion tools may be using components from both China and Japan, potentially violating export control restrictions.

Scemama continued:

China is a major market for ASML but threat likely modest

The leading domestic player, SMEE, has yet to demonstrate ArFi systems in high-volume production at 28nm or below, while reports of a Chinese EUV breakthrough have not resulted in a commercial product. China remains an important market for ASML, accounting for roughly 20% of group sales and 44% of DUV revenue in 2026. Replacing ASML would require a domestic alternative with comparable productivity, overlay and cost of ownership. That remains a high hurdle. ASML's NXT:1980Fi already delivers 330 wafers per hour and 2.5nm machine-matched overlay, while successive generations have further improved overlay performance. In leading-edge Chinese logic manufacturing, where EUV is unavailable and multiple patterning is required, even modest reductions in scanner performance could materially lower yields and increase cost per die.

. . .

We think today's weakness is an over-reaction and see current levels as an attractive opportunity.

Domestic DUV machines could eventually increase DRAM and NAND production in China, strengthening suppliers such as CXMT and YMTC while helping alleviate the global memory crunch. The report also suggests that ASML's long-term competitive position could face growing pressure, while the leverage exerted by US and Western export controls over China's access to advanced chips and chipmaking equipment could erode. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 15:30

US Treasury Sells $139BN In Two Polar Opposite Auctions: A Stellar 2Y And A Dismal 5Y

Ahead of Wednesday's FOMC decision (where according to SOFR futures, the odds of a rate hike are a significant 38%, even as most traders expect no action by the Fed), we had the week's first two coupon auctions take place according to an abbreviated schedule, with the sale of $69BN in 2Y notes taking place at 11:30am, followed by $70BN in 5Y notes. And while the former was unexpectedly strong, the latter was one of the ugliest 5Y auctions in years.

Here are the details.

The 2Y auction priced at a high yield of 4.315%, up from 4.189%, and the highest since December 2024. More importantly, it stopped through the 4.320% When Issued by 0.5bps, the third stop through in a row, and the highest since January. 

The bid to cover was solid, at 2.662, it was also the highest since January. 

The internals were likewise solid, with Indirects taking down 56.6%, up from 55.5%, if below the recent average of 58.2%. And with Directs awarded 34.1%, roughly flat with 34.3% last month, Dealers were left with just 9.4% of the auction, the lowest since January. 

But if the 2Y auction was strong - and thus an indication that at least the primary bond buyers don't expect any imminent rate hikes - the 5Y auction was a dismal mirror image.

The bond priced at a high yield of 4.408%, a big jump from 4.20% in June and the highest since December '24. It also tailed the When Issued 4.399% by 0.9bps, which made it an unprecedented 14th tailing auction in a row, and the biggest tail since March.

The bid to cover was worse: it dropped to 2.282, the lowest in almost 5 years, since Sept 22. 

The internals were just as ugly, with foreign demand sliding to just 59.24%, the lowest Indirects award since July 2025. And with Directs awarded 27.22%, the most since January, Dealers were left holding 13.5%, the highest since March.

In short, today's two auctions - which took place within 90 minutes of each other - couldn't be more different. The impressive 2Y showed remarkable buyside demand, while the dismal 5Y auction, separated by just 3 years in maturity, was one of the ugliest auctions for the tenor in years. Whether it is because someone expects inflation to spike aggressively 3-5 years from today (but not in under 2 years), or just jitters ahead of the Fed, remains to be seen, and when we get next week's 3Y auction, we will have a much better sense of what drove the striking divergence in today's two auctions. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 15:15

Flashback: Fauci Funded Technique To Hide Evidence Of Genetic Engineering According To RFK Jr.

Four years ago, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made an accusation that got him shadowbanned, "fact-checked," and dismissed as a crank: that Anthony Fauci's NIAID had bankrolled the development of a laboratory technique whose primary utility was erasing the fingerprints of human engineering from a manipulated virus - and that the technique was then handed to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

With Fauci's personal diaries now public, Tulsi Gabbard's last-day document dump on the record, Ralph Baric stripped of his NIH grants and placed on leave by UNC, and Fauci himself scheduled to appear under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., Kennedy's remarks are worth revisiting.

Here's what he said:

"He [Fauci] funded Ralph Baric to develop a technique called seamless ligation. And that is a technique for hiding the engineering project."

"So, normally, when you do that kind of engineering, you can see it, and you can say, 'That bug was created in a lab.'"

"He [Baric] developed a way of hiding all traces [of what] was developed. And he taught that to the Chinese scientists - to Shi Zhengli."

"There is no public health [reason for this]; it is the OPPOSITE of what you would do if you are interested in public health... To teach people how to hide that only has a nefarious purpose."

RFK Jr. says Fauci funded a technique used for HIDING human fingerprints on lab-created bugs.

The technique is called “seamless ligation.”

Kennedy explains the only reason anyone would try to hide where a bug came from would be for a “NEFARIOUS purpose.”

"He [Fauci] funded… pic.twitter.com/B8rBc669q0

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 27, 2026

Kennedy made the same argument repeatedly around the release of The Real Anthony Fauci, and his complaint was never just that gain-of-function research is dangerous - everyone concedes that now, including the virologists. It was narrower: that U.S. taxpayers paid to develop, and then export, a capability whose only obvious application is defeating attribution.

What "Seamless Ligation" Actually Is

The technique is published, peer-reviewed, sitting on the National Institutes of Health's own servers, and was openly boasted about for the better part of two decades.

Assembling a full-length coronavirus genome from smaller synthetic fragments requires cutting and pasting DNA. Conventional restriction enzymes leave behind junction sequences - "scars" - at every splice point. Those scars are the tell. Line up the genome, spot the regularly spaced artificial seams, and you can say with confidence that a human being built the thing.

Baric's lab solved that problem. Using Type IIS restriction enzymes - which cut outside their own recognition sequence - his team developed an assembly method that leaves no residual site at the junction. The finished genome reads as though it were never cut at all.

Baric's own lab nicknamed it the "No See'm" method - and the full protocol was published in 2008 by Eric Donaldson, Amy Sims and Ralph Baric as Systematic Assembly and Genetic Manipulation of the Mouse Hepatitis Virus A59 Genome in Springer's Methods in Molecular Biology series. Its abstract describes demonstrating "the power of this unique site-directed 'No See'm' mutagenesis approach." "No See'm technology" is listed among the paper's official keywords. The underlying assembly platform had been laid out six years earlier in the Journal of Virology.

The stated scientific rationale is efficiency: no scars means no unwanted mutations at the junctions, and mutants can be generated fast. But efficiency and untraceability are, here, the same property. A seamlessly assembled synthetic genome is indistinguishable from a naturally circulating strain, which is what the method was built to achieve.

Kennedy has put the NIAID funding figure at roughly $212 million to $220 million flowing to Baric over the course of his career.

Meanwhile, Baric was the researcher most affected by the Obama administration's 2014 gain-of-function pause as noted by NPR in "How A Tilt Toward Safety Stopped A Scientist's Virus Research" - and that he was America's foremost coronavirus biologist on the federal dime. Baric and Shi Zhengli went on to co-author the 2015 chimera study in Nature Medicine that the journal was later forced to flag with an editor's note.

In Light Of Fauci's Diary...

Kennedy's longstanding claim is that evidence COVID-19 was man-made was engineered away. 

Baric confirmed the furin cleavage site was his job. In a voluntary transcribed interview with Sen. Rand Paul's staff in April, released this week, Baric - co-author of the 2018 DEFUSE proposal, key contributor to NIAID-funded work in Wuhan - confirmed that the furin cleavage site insertion described in that proposal was his assignment. Per Paul's Reading Room, he also confirmed running an experiment that undercuts the core scientific defense of natural origin, and still cannot explain how he ended up on the February 1, 2020 call with Fauci and the authors of "Proximal Origin."

Fauci's diary shows he knew on day one. The entries Paul released this weekend record that on January 31, 2020 - before most Americans had heard the phrase "lab leak" - Jeremy Farrar patched Fauci into a call with Kristian Andersen and Eddie Holmes about the SARS-CoV-2 furin cleavage site. Fauci's own contemporaneous note: they raised "the possibility that this could have been deliberately inserted and either accidentally released or deliberately released by a crazy person in the lab, the former being the most likely." Roughly half the scientists on that initial call thought the virus looked constructed. Days later, Fauci was on Newt Gingrich's podcast dismissing lab-origin questions: "I've heard these conspiracy theories. And like all conspiracy theories, Newt, they're just conspiracy theories."

A national lab said the same thing in writing. Gabbard's June 18 declassification included an eight-page May 27, 2020 assessment from Lawrence Livermore's International Assessments program concluding that "all of the necessary conditions for an accidental release of a laboratory-modified coronavirus - specifically a coronavirus adapted to recognize human cell receptors - were present" at the WIV in mid-to-late 2019. The documents are online.

Fauci says he expected their Gain of Function guy would say they shouldn't waste time looking at deliberate insertion? "Of course the virus mad scientist guy would say we shouldn't look into the virus mad scientist angle"?

WHAT pic.twitter.com/ci5JTT8TLT

— Cthocas (@cthocas) July 25, 2026

And Baric's career is over. As Paul Thacker noted, NIH has quietly removed Baric from all his grants; UNC has placed him on leave and refused to cooperate with federal document requests. Jeffrey Sachs - who chaired the Lancet COVID commission - now points at Baric directly. Robert Redfield told RCI he briefed Mike Pompeo in a SCIF in early 2020: "Mike, this is the smoking gun. This virus came from a lab."

A senior HHS official put it to RCI more bluntly: "Baric designed the gun. But the Chinese built it, and then they pulled the trigger."

The Fingerprint That Wasn't Erased

Kennedy himself never argued the erasure was total - noting a preprint arguing that Baric's fingerprints were visible after all. In October 2022, Valentin Bruttel, Alex Washburne and Antonius VanDongen posted a preprint titled Endonuclease fingerprint indicates a synthetic origin of SARS-CoV-2. Their argument: the SARS-CoV-2 genome contains an oddly regular pattern of BsaI and BsmBI restriction sites - exactly the spacing you'd want for efficient lab dis- and re-assembly, and an anomaly among wild coronaviruses. They found the pattern "more likely a product of synthetic genome assembly than natural evolution."

The preprint was aggressively contested and never formally published. If it holds, the implication is that whoever assembled the virus was less careful than the man who taught the technique.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 14:45

Mapping SpaceX's Lockup Expirations: HSBC Calculates When The Shares Could Hit The Market

As of early Monday cash trading in New York, SpaceX shares were hovering near an all-time low of $110.21 after briefly dipping into the $108 handle. The rocket/AI company bonds have also come under pressure, leaving investors searching for signs of where the post-IPO selloff might finally find a proper floor.

SPCX LOD (and all time low) 110.21 https://t.co/RMbpm3ogyF

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 27, 2026

Even a bullish note from Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu failed to correct increasing bearish sentiment. Yu's post-mortem concluded that Starship Flight 13 demonstrated "solid progress" toward full reusability, but the note was not enough to spark any meaningful wave of dip-buying.

One immediate overhang in the stock may be the quickly approaching lockup expirations. Traders appear reluctant to step in front of a potential tsunami of newly eligible shares that could dramatically expand the public float and put further pressure on the struggling stock.

HSBC analysts Nicolas Cote-Colisson and Charlie Rothbarth recently provided clients with a roadmap of SpaceX's lockup expirations. The first major release could make about 912 million shares eligible for public sale on Aug. 6, just two days after the company's first quarterly earnings report.

The unlock would expand SpaceX's free float to 11.8% from 4.9%, compared with roughly 639 million shares currently available for trading, creating a potentially significant supply overhang.

Here's more color from the analysts on the lockup schedule:

Investors should also consider potential share release post-lockup

SpaceX's IPO prospectus indicated that 555,555,555 shares would be issued to constitute the free float. We understand that the underwriters have exercised their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock in full, so the free float would have extended to 638,888,888 shares.

We identify 4,678m locked up shares and another 8,160m shares subject to an extended lockup. Based on the information provided by the SpaceX prospectus dated 12 June 2026, we calculate that 912m shares could be available for sale in the public market from 6 August 2026, compared with 640m shares constituting the free float at present. The free float would increase from 4.9% at present to 11.8%.

Another release event could occur on the same day depending on SpaceX shares trading above USD175.5 for at least five of 10 consecutive trading days ending on 4 August 2026 (i.e. between 22 July and 4 August 2026). The table below provides further event/date triggers for subsequent share releases.

Those restricted shares are currently owned by funds and individuals that have participated in the private rounds of financing and may be inclined to keep their shares. But we think investors should be aware of this.

via HSBC

One institutional trading desk we spoke with said it plans to wait for the lockup expirations before starting a position in the stock.

Professional subscribers can find more color on SPCX here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 14:05