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By the time New Yorkers learn that he can't actually make this idea work, the 2029 election will already be over — and that’s the plan.

The Panthers can’t catch a break. 

Cocaine Valued At Roughly $20 Million Seized From Truck At US Border

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

Federal authorities have seized more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine from a commercial truck at a southern border entry point, estimated to be worth at least $20 million, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Federal law enforcement officers seized more than half a ton of cocaine worth more than $20 million hidden in a truck at the Calexico Port of Entry in California. Courtesy of the DOJ

The drugs were hidden in the floorboards of the truck and the attached flatbed trailer, the DOJ said in a July 29 statement. The cocaine was seized at the Calexico Port of Entry, the border crossing linking California with Mexico.

This is the "second-largest cocaine seizure" made this year in the Southern District of California, the department said. The biggest single seizure for the year was recorded in May when more than 2,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $45 million was confiscated.

When the truck arrived at the port of entry, officers from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other agencies X-rayed the trailer and identified anomalies with the floorboards. After the rebar aboard the trailer was unloaded, officers lifted the wooden floor to discover the hidden drugs.

In total, 366 packages of cocaine weighing 1,002.13 pounds were seized.

The driver of the truck, Jose Manuel Lopez Lopez, 44, Mexico, was arrested by authorities and charged with illegally importing cocaine into the United States.

Lopez has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, with a minimum of 10 years in jail.

The amount of confiscated cocaine is a "tremendous amount of drugs, even by the standards of this district," the government said in a motion to detain the defendant, according to the DOJ.

The Epoch Times was unable to reach Lopez's legal representative for comment.

The case was investigated by the California Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America.

The task force was set up following a January 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, tasking it with ending the presence of criminal cartels and foreign gangs in the United States.

Operation Take Back America was established in March 2025 through a memorandum issued by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. One of the operations' objectives is to establish HSTFs.

The CBP has seen a surge in drug seizures, including cocaine, according to a July 16 statement from the agency.

In June, the total amount of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana seized nationwide was 49 percent higher than in June 2024 under the previous administration. Cocaine seizures alone rose by 71 percent in June from the previous month.

"CBP is preventing dangerous criminal aliens and illicit narcotics from entering our communities, enhancing the safety of every American for generations to come," CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott said in the statement.

The robust seizure numbers come amid concerns about the drug's use in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in a report in August 2025 that overdose deaths involving stimulants, mainly cocaine and psychostimulants with abuse potential, "increased substantially" since 2011.

In 2011, a total of 4,681 cocaine-related overdose deaths were reported, which surged to 29,449 deaths by 2023, according to the report.

Among 309,274 overdose deaths between January 2021 and June 2024 in 49 states and Washington, D.C., 30 percent were found to involve cocaine.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 18:25

Indian strawberry farmers rely on varieties imported from the US and Europe, but that could change.

Two persons of interest detained after Guthrie vanished were released on legal grounds — not because they are definitely innocent, Chris Nanos insisted.

It is unclear where Davis went between the time of his disappearance and when he was attacked, or how he traveled to the Upper East Side.

See The Hilarious AI Ads That Furious California Democrats Want Banned

Two California Democrats are moving to outlaw AI-generated campaign ads at the federal level, just days after a Republican rival for the governor's mansion used the technology to hammer their party.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Monday reintroduced the AI Ads Act, which would make it a federal violation to use artificial intelligence to impersonate candidates or committees in federal races.

This is the satire Ro Khanna and Adam Schiff want to make illegal so democrats aren't the butt of jokes.

— Charles Curran (@charliebcurran) July 30, 2026

The push comes on the heels of two AI-generated spots from GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, who went after Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrat gubernatorial nominee Xavier Becerra.

Enough Is Enough. Let's Fix California.

— Charles Curran (@charliebcurran) July 23, 2026

Of course, Hilton isn't the only one having fun with the technology. The campaign of Spencer Pratt, the reality television star turned Los Angeles mayoral candidate, made waves with his creative and side-splitting ads from Los Angeles-based director Charles Curran.

Be the Hero LA needs. Vote Spencer Pratt. pic.twitter.com/VTskAwynpB

— Charles Curran (@charliebcurran) May 20, 2026

LA is worth saving. Vote Spencer Pratt. pic.twitter.com/sQQQUjN9YY

— Charles Curran (@charliebcurran) June 1, 2026

Unsurprisingly, Schiff claims his bill isn't about politics, but about protecting against a so-called "serious threat to our democracy."

"AI-generated fraudulent advertising which uses the likeness or voices of candidates to misrepresent their positions, campaigns, or causes, or otherwise misrepresents a candidate's point of view is not only wrong - it poses a serious threat to our democracy that should concern all Americans regardless of their party," said Schiff. "Fraudulent AI advertising has already proliferated in races across the country, and if Congress does not act, this runaway challenge will only get worse as AI becomes increasingly capable of blurring the lines between fact and fiction. With November elections around the corner, time is of the essence to reign in false political advertising."

Groups that support the bill include Common Cause, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Campaign Legal Center, Protect Democracy and Public Citizen, according to the New York Post.

"AI will transform our lives and our society in many ways, but it can't be used to mislead voters or undermine our democracy. I'm proud to lead the AI Ads Act with Senator Schiff to ban AI-generated content that deceives the public about candidates or elections," Khanna said in a statement.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 18:00

Two pre-season World Series favorites will finish their three-game set on Thursday night.

The Yankees fell to 1-8 in extra innings this season.

Hilton's campaign features whistleblower allegations, a new website seeking tips, and claims Becerra ignored concerns over the placement of unaccompanied migrant children.

The seven muggers chucked rocks at two 15-year-olds and one 17-year-old as they demanded the trio hand over what they had minutes before 4 p.m. at 111th Street and 49th Avenue in Corona, police said. 

Politics is rapidly becoming more profane, with a staggering 87% of swear words from presidents dating back to 1919 coming from commanders in chief within the past 10 years.

The former NFL athlete also dished on the superstar couple's incredible guest list.

The former NFL athlete also dished on the superstar couple's incredible guest list.

The dad of Nolan Wells' self-described best friend has slammed the attorney representing the teen's family for allegedly using the tragedy for political and financial gain.

Federal Judge Rules Race-Based Portion Of Houston Program Unconstitutional

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge on Tuesday permanently barred the city of Houston from enforcing the race-based parts of a program that includes numerical goals for awarding public contracts to minority-owned businesses, ruling that doing so is in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

A judge's gavel, in this file photo. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

U.S. District Judge David Hittner described his decision as the first to extend the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling against race-conscious college admissions to municipal public contracting programs. He found Houston could not justify treating businesses differently due to the race of their owners.

"The public interest favors a permanent injunction because there is no public interest in permitting the government to continue enforcing an unconstitutional race-based policy," Hittner wrote in his findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Landscape Consultants of Texas Inc. and Metropolitan Landscape Management Inc., two Spring-based landscaping firms owned by Jerry and Theresa Thompson, a white married couple, filed the original lawsuit in September 2023. They were represented by Pacific Legal Foundation. In their filing, they argued Houston's Minority, Women, and Small Business Enterprise Program, as well as a similar policy at the Midtown Management District, precluded them from opportunities due to their race.

"Equal protection means equal protection for everyone, not preferential treatment for some," Erin Wilcox, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the Pacific Legal Foundation, said in a statement. "The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees every business owner the same shot at a government contract, regardless of race."

Houston City Attorney Arturo Michel said the city may appeal.

"The city will abide by the court's decision regarding existing contracts and recently awarded contracts pending any further court order," Michel said.

The program requires the city to establish annual goals for contracts going to minority-owned businesses. It also allows departments to impose contract-specific goals.

Non-minority firms were often required to subcontract a percentage of work to certified minority-owned businesses even if they had no operational need to subcontract. Minority-owned firms could fulfill the requirement with their own workers.

Hittner held a four-day bench trial in December 2025, ultimately concluding that under the Supreme Court's framework in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. Harvard, government may use race only to remedy specific, identified past discrimination.

"Houston is required to identify concrete, particularized discrimination and demonstrate that its use of race is necessary to remedy that discrimination," Hittner said. "Houston has not done so."

Hittner noted the city's own expert witness testified that a 2024 disparity study commissioned by the city identified no specific instances of intentional discrimination by Houston officials or employees in recent years. The city had not disciplined anyone for contracting discrimination in the previous five years and found no particular constitutional or statutory violations.

Hittner limited the injunction to the race-conscious guidelines. Preferences based on gender or small-business status were not struck down. The order also applies to the Midtown Management District's parallel policy.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 17:40

A self-described "journalist" interrupted and berated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as he was touting his proposal to establish a new federal agency called the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

The new plane could hit the runway as soon as 2030

Code it up!

The pair came away from the talk "knowing where everybody stands" and "how to move forward," the official added.