Anaheim Man Shot After Charging Cop With Shovel Outside Elementary School

Bodycam and dashcam footage show a fatal September 15 confrontation in Anaheim where 36-year-old Rudy Anthony Martinez II was shot after charging an officer with a shovel outside John Marshall Elementary School, according to the NY Post.

Police say the officer responded around 12:45 p.m. to a 911 call about a man, possibly on drugs, wielding a shovel and a brick. As soon as Martinez spotted the patrol car across an intersection, he sprinted toward it, shovel raised.

Photos: NY Post

In the dashcam video, the officer exclaims “oh s–t” before even stepping out of his cruiser. Martinez immediately begins swinging, ignoring repeated commands to “sit down” and warnings of “you’re gonna get shot.”

The NY Post writes that the officer fires two warning shots, but Martinez keeps advancing. The officer then opens fire. “When the officer arrived and encountered the subject, an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Anaheim police said in a statement.

"The subject was struck by gunfire, at which point the officer began to render first aid. The subject was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced deceased approximately 30 minutes after arrival. A shovel was recovered at the scene. The officer was not injured during this incident," Anaheim PD said.

The school went into lockdown, though officials said no students witnessed the incident. After the shooting, the officer provided first aid until paramedics arrived. Martinez was taken to a hospital, where he died about 30 minutes later.

*  *  *

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 17:20

If Mamdani Wins, The Gig (Work) Is Up

Authored by Jonathan Wolfson via RealClearPolitics,

One of Zohran Mamdani’s most harmful proposals is getting the least attention: his plan to restrict “gig” work – the freelancing that’s so popular across the Big Apple. Mamdani wants to wrap freelancing in so much red tape, it’ll be significantly harder for New Yorkers to work for themselves or get side income.

New Jersey, too, is flirting with severely limiting independent work. But whether it comes from Gracie Mansion or Trenton, a crackdown on gig work would hurt not just workers and those who hire them, but every New Yorker or New Jerseyan who relies on freelance workers in their daily lives.

As America’s biggest city, it should be no surprise that New Yorkers have a diversity of work arrangements. Studies before the pandemic found that more than a million New Yorkers freelance. Now at least 20% of working New Yorkers find gigs through apps.

Gig workers do all kinds of jobs. Some drive or deliver, others shoot freelance photography for major brands, and others build websites or repair bicycles. Whatever form it takes, freelancing is popular because it gives workers flexible hours, the chance to be their own boss, and the opportunity to earn extra money.

Millions of Americans perform independent work in addition to full-time work and millions more need the flexibility of independent work to balance work and caregiving responsibilities. And studies find these entrepreneurs are pleased with their choice to freelance.

Despite this growth and freelancer satisfaction, critics like Mamdani want to make it harder for Americans to be independent contractors. While they frame their opposition as a matter of “protecting workers,” they really want to put government in the driver’s seat of employment, while making it harder for workers to freelance at all.

In particular, Mamdani wants to increase scrutiny of the contracts between workers and businesses; impose stricter licensing requirements on delivery companies; and mandate wage, unemployment, and health insurance benefits for workers who utilize the delivery platforms. But since many independent workers have health insurance from another job or a spouse’s job, these “benefits” are less valuable than cash.

Bottom line, politicians like Mamdani believe freelancers are being duped and don’t understand the deal they are making. And they believe that it’s better to shut down the independent economy than to risk that some workers might make a bad deal.

It comes down to worldview. Some policymakers believe the only good job is a traditional full-time role that provides employee benefits and a W-2 tax return. And many labor union leaders fight against freelancing because they want more members, and they know independent workers don’t see the need to join a union. Some big businesses seeking to stifle competition from upstart entrepreneurs are happy to join the cause.

So what will happen if independent work gets limited, in New York City, New Jersey, or anywhere else?

California shows the answer. In 2019, California passed a law attacking independent work. The state’s many photographers, freelance writers, translators, and designers quickly discovered that their once-lucrative work had dried up. Company after company cut jobs. The Mercatus Center found that one out of 10 self-employed jobs disappeared in short order. Even worse job losses were surely on the horizon.

Recognizing the danger, California voters almost immediately passed a ballot measure that gave app-based workers and app-based companies the freedom to once again enter into freelance arrangements. The legislature then passed another law to carve out a dozen more professions. But those carve-outs didn’t apply to many other freelancers, like independent truckers, whose ability to work in California remains much more difficult. To this day, because politicians strangled freelance work, Californians have fewer of the jobs they want and need.

Freelance work has transformed New York City’s economy while opening doors for workers to supplement their incomes or start their own businesses. New Yorkers today have more ways to get around the city, get takeout more easily, and make money thanks to the gig economy. Zohran Mamdani’s ideas could put it all at risk – and every New Yorker should be worried.

Jonathan Wolfson is a visiting fellow at the Institute for the American Worker and led the policy office at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2019-2021.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 17:00

Jimmy Kimmel's Suspension Viewership Bump Evaporates; Traditional TV Meltdown Continues As Advertisers Scramble

Disney briefly suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! in September after host Jimmy Kimmel falsely claimed that Tyler Robinson, the furry-obsessed suspect in the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, was affiliated with the "MAGA gang." That claim was later debunked by court documents revealing Robinson's radical left-wing views. Nexstar and Sinclair temporarily pulled the late-night show from their network, but since Kimmel's return, the latest audience data shows viewership has plunged from the levels observed during the hyped comeback show.

As we noted in late September, shortly after Kimmel's much-hyped return on Sept. 23, his audience numbers began to sink, and this comes as progressive late-night television has faced numerous reckonings, including the cancellation of Stephen Colbert. The crackdown on pharma ads also adds to pressure. 

A Fox News report shows that last Thursday (Oct. 2), Kimmel averaged only 1.9 million viewers, a 71% collapse from his much-hyped comeback show. In the 25 to 54-year-old demographic, viewership tumbled by 85%, falling to 265,000, the lowest since his suspension. This puts the show back near its 2025 pre-scandal viewership average of 1.6 million, erasing any suspension bump.

The return shows that ABC really fumbled a perfect opportunity to cancel an underperforming show that has lost touch with reality and the broader shift in what's now socially acceptable.

the irony: it's free speech's fault all their shows imploded pic.twitter.com/d5Ej4RaTWK

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 19, 2025

In other words, the American people are no longer tolerating the lies and propaganda pushed by unfunny and unhinged leftist comedians and the progressive corporate media that spew endless streams of misinformation and disinformation. 

Remember when wanna-be “comedians” like Stephen Colbert, turned late-night TV into a nonstop left-wing and vaccine-pushing propaganda machine?

Instead of making us laugh, they spoon-fed us Pfizer propaganda and discriminated against the unvaccinated.

They told us to “trust the… pic.twitter.com/YCmkgVNIus

— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) October 18, 2024

More broadly, adding to the ongoing headwinds for traditional television, Nielsen ratings data, as cited by a new Goldman Sachs report, show an accelerating erosion of viewership across legacy networks.

Analysts Michael Ng and his team wrote in a note to clients that cable and broadcast networks continue to experience significant audience declines, particularly among key demographics targeted for advertising. However, Disney was the only network to show gains in the fourth quarter. Overall, the report reinforces the view that a continued shift away from traditional TV toward digital and streaming platforms continues full steam ahead. 

For the full report on Goldman's traditional TV viewership tracker, ZeroHedge Pro Subs can read the full report in the usual place. 

Ng's note builds on the UBS note we cited in early July, which stated that "Streaming surpasses traditional TV in May."

For advertisers, the continued collapse of traditional TV ratings should be ringing alarm bells. Kimmel's inability to retain any of the suspension bump is another troubling sign. This ongoing decline in legacy television suggests that marketers will continue to scramble toward newer, more innovative platforms to reach prime consumers, such as influencers, short-form video ads, and alternative media outlets. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 16:40

Israeli Families Express Optimism For Peace On 2nd Anniversary Of Oct. 7 Attack

Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,

Two years ago today, the lives of many Israelis were upended at 6:30 a.m. local time when a wave of terrorists invaded from the Gaza Strip, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Now, on the anniversary of the atrocities, all eyes are on Hamas—the terrorist group that launched the surprise attack that triggered the Israel–Hamas war—to see if leaders will comply with a 20-point peace plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 29.

Hamas said on Oct. 3 that it would release the remaining hostages and the bodies of those who died while held captive. Questions remain about whether or when the exchange will take place, but some Israelis say they are confident in Trump’s plan.

“There’s optimism in the air, and we definitely put our trust in President Trump,” said Avichai Brodutch, whose wife and three children—aged 4, 8, and 10 at the time—were taken hostage along with a young neighbor during the siege and subsequently released after 51 days.

On the day of the attack, he was injured by a rocket-propelled grenade when about 250 terrorists overwhelmed and killed half of the 14 men defending the kibbutz where his family lived, he told The Epoch Times.

Some of the invaders wore Israeli military uniforms and spoke limited Hebrew to trick Israeli families into opening their homes, he said.

During his family’s imprisonment, Brodutch raised awareness about the plight of hostages by standing outside the Israeli Defense Ministry demanding their rescue.

He lauded Trump’s approach to diplomacy and what he described as the U.S. president’s perpetually bullish outlook when tackling challenging situations.

“His biggest virtue is his optimism, and I think he spreads it,” Brodutch said. “People in Israel right now are very optimistic that this deal is going to come through differently. The families of hostages have never been so optimistic.”

The most important aspects of the deal and Trump’s agenda are the elements meant to secure long-term peace in the region, he said.

“Whenever he speaks, he talks about the hostages, which means a lot to us, but if we go one step further, he speaks a lot about peace as well,” Brodutch said.

Terror’s Long-Term Toll 

Aimee Labann gave birth to her son Kai 10 days before Hamas attacked.

She put him in his bed early in the morning on Oct. 7 to get a drink of water when the nation’s alert system—which consists of sirens and a woman’s voice repeating the words “red alert”—warned Israelis of potential danger.

“It goes into your bones, and you hear it, and you start acting immediately,” Labban told The Epoch Times.

Alerts are not uncommon in the region, and they usually last about 10 minutes, she said.

“But it was different that day because it just did not stop,” Labban said. “It was a never-ending red alert.”

She quickly gathered her family, including her infant child, husband Uriel Labban, and her mother, Deborah Mintz, and huddled in their safe room.

Terrorists attempted to breach it, but she and her husband were able to hold them back and keep the door closed.

Before fleeing the home, the invaders set fire to the building, trapping Mintz’s dog in the inferno.

“Her dog burnt alive, and we heard every single little bit of air he used up until we couldn’t hear him anymore, and that just tore my mother apart,” Labban said. “You can’t imagine the sound of a dog screaming.”

She was on the phone with the fire department as they worked to find and rescue her family. In the meantime, she moved a metal safety panel from her window to get fresh air in the room for her baby, occasionally placing Kai on the windowsill and quickly pulling him back when she saw terrorists approaching.

Years later, anxiety and stress remain. The thought of how to respond to another attack is always at the back of her mind.

“I don’t go out late at night because I don’t feel safe,” Labban said. “All I think about when I walk outside is what if something happens.”

The toll is emotionally and physically draining, she said.

“That’s what keeps your brain constantly moving and thinking and busy,” Labban said. “You’re just tired all the time. Your body is in a fight or flight situation.”

Testing Battle Readiness

Amit Govrin was on vacation with his wife at the Sea of Galilee when they noticed news reports of the invasion.

A member of the Israeli Defense Forces, later promoted to combat company commander and subsequently to the head of foreign affairs at Israel’s National Defense College, Govrin immediately decided to head toward the action.

Within minutes of entering the impacted area, he noticed dead bodies, destruction, and hundreds of vehicles stuck on the road.

“It seemed like it was a surrealistic kind of image that you cannot understand,” Govrin told The Epoch Times.

He said the ensuing battle, a guerrilla warfare-style engagement in close quarters with civilians, was harrowing and traumatic. Hamas fighters are generally indistinguishable from others unless they’re pointing a weapon, he said, making the situation more difficult to navigate.

While he was fighting the terrorists, shrapnel struck his right eye, causing a loss of vision and permanent damage.

Diplomacy in Action

Now a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Govrin is looking for diplomatic solutions to long-term problems. A regional security agreement is one prospect that deserves more attention, he said.

“The end goal needs to be an agreement that all of the pragmatic Arab countries are part of,” Govrin said. “We need to have structure. We need to have a border strategy.”

He called on other nations to pressure Hamas to release the hostages.

“Then we need to have a collective effort to disarm Hamas, and then we need to finish this war by signing a regional security agreement with all the problematic forces in the region,“ Govrin said. ”This is how these atrocities of Oct. 7 need to end.”

Following recent developments, Trump thanked some countries in the region—including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar—on Oct. 3 for their role in supporting the peace negotiations.

“We'll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down in concrete,” Trump said in a video posted on Truth Social. “Very importantly, I look forward to having the hostages come home to their parents.”

He described the negotiations as “unprecedented” and vowed to continue pressing for success.

“Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East, and we’re very close to achieving that,” Trump said.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 16:20

Tesla Unveils Cheaper Model Y Starting at $37,990 After Tax Credit Loss

Tesla unveiled a cheaper Model Y today with prices starting at $37,990–$39,990, about 15% below the previous base model, as the company works to reverse slowing sales and lost U.S. tax incentives.

Elon Musk has long promised a mass-market EV, though he scrapped a $25,000 car plan last year. Still, he argued in July: "The desire to buy the car is very high. (It's) just (that) people don't have enough money in the bank account to buy it. So the more affordable we can make the car, the better."

The new pricing on Tesla's website today, reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, followed teaser clips earlier this week posted on X showing headlights and a wheel with the date “10/7.” Tesla reportedly began building this lower-cost version in June but delayed production until after $7,500 tax credits expired. CFO Vaibhav Taneja warned output will ramp up slower than initially expected.

While Tesla just had a record quarter, global sales are down about 6% this year, and analysts expect U.S. EV sales to fall sharply after the credit’s removal. Recall, about a week ago the company reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter delivery figures. Deliveries came in at 497,099 vehicles, a 7.4% increase from a year earlier and smashing Bloomberg consensus estimates of 439,612. The numbers also beat the recently-boosted guidance from Goldman and UBS.

The bulk of the growth came from the company’s mass-market lineup: Model 3/Y deliveries reached 481,166, up 9.4% year-over-year and surpassing expectations of 424,828. Deliveries of Tesla’s other models totaled 15,933, representing a 53% jump from the previous quarter but slightly below estimates of 17,184.

On the production side, Tesla built 447,450 vehicles, down 4.8% from a year earlier and just under the consensus of 450,313. Model 3/Y production totaled 435,826, a 1.8% decline but still ahead of forecasts. Production of other models slipped to 11,624, down 13% from the prior quarter.

The strong delivery numbers likely reflected a pull-forward effect ahead of the loss of the US tax credits. Federal incentives that provided buyers with up to $7,500 for new EVs and $4,000 for used EVs expired on September 30 under new legislation passed by Congress. Tesla and its rivals had been factoring these credits into competitive lease and purchase offers, boosting demand in the final weeks of the quarter.

UBS said in a note that a push to take advantage of the tax credit would help delivery numbers: "Strong deliveries in the US as Tesla pushes, and consumers take advantage of, the $7,500 IRA EV tax credit before its expiry at the end of September 2025. We believe 3Q25 could be the highest quarterly US deliveries since mid-2023 and potentially the highest ever. We believe demand is very likely being pulled forward so we'd expect a q/q drop in 4Q25, even if the new "lower cost" Model Y is introduced."

Now we'll see if a lower cost Model Y can do the same...

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 14:45

Tesla Unveils Cheaper Model Y Starting at $37,990 After Tax Credit Loss

Tesla unveiled a cheaper Model Y today with prices starting at $37,990–$39,990, about 15% below the previous base model, as the company works to reverse slowing sales and lost U.S. tax incentives.

Elon Musk has long promised a mass-market EV, though he scrapped a $25,000 car plan last year. Still, he argued in July: "The desire to buy the car is very high. (It's) just (that) people don't have enough money in the bank account to buy it. So the more affordable we can make the car, the better."

The new pricing on Tesla's website today, reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, followed teaser clips earlier this week posted on X showing headlights and a wheel with the date “10/7.” Tesla reportedly began building this lower-cost version in June but delayed production until after $7,500 tax credits expired. CFO Vaibhav Taneja warned output will ramp up slower than initially expected.

While Tesla just had a record quarter, global sales are down about 6% this year, and analysts expect U.S. EV sales to fall sharply after the credit’s removal. Recall, about a week ago the company reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter delivery figures. Deliveries came in at 497,099 vehicles, a 7.4% increase from a year earlier and smashing Bloomberg consensus estimates of 439,612. The numbers also beat the recently-boosted guidance from Goldman and UBS.

The bulk of the growth came from the company’s mass-market lineup: Model 3/Y deliveries reached 481,166, up 9.4% year-over-year and surpassing expectations of 424,828. Deliveries of Tesla’s other models totaled 15,933, representing a 53% jump from the previous quarter but slightly below estimates of 17,184.

On the production side, Tesla built 447,450 vehicles, down 4.8% from a year earlier and just under the consensus of 450,313. Model 3/Y production totaled 435,826, a 1.8% decline but still ahead of forecasts. Production of other models slipped to 11,624, down 13% from the prior quarter.

The strong delivery numbers likely reflected a pull-forward effect ahead of the loss of the US tax credits. Federal incentives that provided buyers with up to $7,500 for new EVs and $4,000 for used EVs expired on September 30 under new legislation passed by Congress. Tesla and its rivals had been factoring these credits into competitive lease and purchase offers, boosting demand in the final weeks of the quarter.

UBS said in a note that a push to take advantage of the tax credit would help delivery numbers: "Strong deliveries in the US as Tesla pushes, and consumers take advantage of, the $7,500 IRA EV tax credit before its expiry at the end of September 2025. We believe 3Q25 could be the highest quarterly US deliveries since mid-2023 and potentially the highest ever. We believe demand is very likely being pulled forward so we'd expect a q/q drop in 4Q25, even if the new "lower cost" Model Y is introduced."

Now we'll see if a lower cost Model Y can do the same...

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 14:45

From Manheim Consulting today: Wholesale Used-Vehicle Prices Decline Slightly in September

Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix, mileage, and seasonally adjusted basis) were down slightly in September compared to August. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) declined to 207.0, lower by 0.2% versus August levels but showing an increase of 2% from a year ago. The seasonal adjustment caused the index to decrease for the month, as non-seasonally adjusted values moved slightly higher in September. The non-adjusted price in September increased just 0.1% compared to August, moving the unadjusted average price higher by 2.1% year over year. The long-term move on average for non-seasonally adjusted values is a decline of 0.3% in the month, demonstrating that the unadjusted depreciation trends in September were less than normally seen.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

This index from Manheim Consulting is based on all completed sales transactions at Manheim’s U.S. auctions.

The Manheim index suggests used car prices were declined slightly in September (seasonally adjusted) and were up 2% YoY.

Furlough Backpay Not Automatic, Instead - Congress Must Authorize: Leaked WH Memo

Democrats are in a panic today after Axios reported a leaked memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which challenges a 2019 law widely interpreted to guarantee back pay to furloughed employees during a government shutdown.

According to OMB general counsel Mark Paoletta, the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act doesn't guarantee back pay, but instead creates the conditions for Congress to authorize those payments - for which lawmakers must set aside additional funds to compensate workers returning from furloughs - in this case, some 750,000 employees. 

"Does this law cover all these furloughed employees automatically? The conventional wisdom is: Yes, it does. Our view is: No, it doesn't," an official told the outlet. 

If the White House runs with this interpretation, it would 'dramatically escalate' pressure on Senate Democrats to end the week-old shutdown, Axios suggests. 

"This would not have happened if Democrats voted for the clean CR," a senior administration official told the outlet. 

Last month a FAQ on the White House's website was amended to exclude reference to the 2019 law, as first reported by Government Executive today. 

Prior to Oct. 3, OMB’s Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations document highlighted the Government Employees Fair Treatment Act, the law enacted in 2019 as part of the deal to end the 35-day partial government shutdown during President Trump’s first term to ensure both furloughed and excepted federal workers receive backpay once government funding has been restored. Prior to the law’s passage, Congress had to OK furloughed workers’ backpay following each individual lapse in appropriations.

When asked about it on Tuesday, President Trump said that it "depends on who we're talking about."

NEW: President Trump tells me White House does not believe all furloughed federal workers are necessarily entitled to backpay during the shutdown:

TRUMP: "I would say it depends on who we're talking about. I can tell you this. The Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk… pic.twitter.com/ZKsxHTbZ81

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) October 7, 2025

That said, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)'s shutdown guidance - last updated Sept. 28 - still states that furloughed workers will receive back pay at the conclusion of the shutdown. 

"After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were furloughed as the result of the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those furlough period," reads the guidance. "Retroactive pay will be provided on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."

The OMB memo that @MarcACaputo scoops here saying furloughed workers aren't necessarily allowed backpay seems to be in direct contradiction to the OPM shutdown guidance the administration issued LAST MONTHhttps://t.co/NQns9i7uxs pic.twitter.com/vUuvJqmW01

— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 7, 2025

Until the White House comes out and explicitly outlines their position, the backpay issue will be both leverage and in limbo.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 14:05

Furlough Backpay Not Automatic, Instead - Congress Must Authorize: Leaked WH Memo

Democrats are in a panic today after Axios reported a leaked memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which challenges a 2019 law widely interpreted to guarantee back pay to furloughed employees during a government shutdown.

According to OMB general counsel Mark Paoletta, the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act doesn't guarantee back pay, but instead creates the conditions for Congress to authorize those payments - for which lawmakers must set aside additional funds to compensate workers returning from furloughs - in this case, some 750,000 employees. 

"Does this law cover all these furloughed employees automatically? The conventional wisdom is: Yes, it does. Our view is: No, it doesn't," an official told the outlet. 

If the White House runs with this interpretation, it would 'dramatically escalate' pressure on Senate Democrats to end the week-old shutdown, Axios suggests. 

"This would not have happened if Democrats voted for the clean CR," a senior administration official told the outlet. 

Last month a FAQ on the White House's website was amended to exclude reference to the 2019 law, as first reported by Government Executive today. 

Prior to Oct. 3, OMB’s Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations document highlighted the Government Employees Fair Treatment Act, the law enacted in 2019 as part of the deal to end the 35-day partial government shutdown during President Trump’s first term to ensure both furloughed and excepted federal workers receive backpay once government funding has been restored. Prior to the law’s passage, Congress had to OK furloughed workers’ backpay following each individual lapse in appropriations.

When asked about it on Tuesday, President Trump said that it "depends on who we're talking about."

NEW: President Trump tells me White House does not believe all furloughed federal workers are necessarily entitled to backpay during the shutdown:

TRUMP: "I would say it depends on who we're talking about. I can tell you this. The Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk… pic.twitter.com/ZKsxHTbZ81

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) October 7, 2025

That said, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)'s shutdown guidance - last updated Sept. 28 - still states that furloughed workers will receive back pay at the conclusion of the shutdown. 

"After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were furloughed as the result of the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those furlough period," reads the guidance. "Retroactive pay will be provided on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."

The OMB memo that @MarcACaputo scoops here saying furloughed workers aren't necessarily allowed backpay seems to be in direct contradiction to the OPM shutdown guidance the administration issued LAST MONTHhttps://t.co/NQns9i7uxs pic.twitter.com/vUuvJqmW01

— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 7, 2025

Until the White House comes out and explicitly outlines their position, the backpay issue will be both leverage and in limbo.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 14:05

CDC Says COVID-19 Vaccination Now Up To Each Individual

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer broadly recommends COVID-19 vaccination. The agency now says that each person should take a range of factors into account, and consult with their doctor, before receiving a shot.

A nurse holds a COVID-19 vaccine, in a file illustration photograph in Miami, Fla. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

“Informed consent is back,” Jim O'Neill, the CDC’s acting director, said in a statement on Oct. 6 after accepting advice from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel. “CDC’s 2022 blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination for the individual patient or parent. That changes today.”

The official term for the updated posture is shared clinical decision-making. Under other tiers, vaccination is recommended for everyone or everyone in a certain age or risk group.

“Shared clinical decision-making recommendations are individually based and informed by a decision process between the health care provider and the patient or parent/guardian,” the CDC states on its website.

The CDC for years recommended virtually all people aged 6 months and older receive a COVID-19 vaccine, along with updated versions on an annual basis.

Around 44 percent of people aged 65 or older received a COVID-19 vaccine in late 2024 or early 2025, according to CDC data. About 14 percent of adults aged 18 to 49, 13 percent of children, and 10 percent of health care workers received a vaccine during that time.

Under orders from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the agency in May stopped recommending COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children and pregnant women.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, in September unanimously said that the CDC should change from its near-universal recommendation to shared clinical decision-making, in part because panel members said data supporting vaccine effectiveness is weak.

“At best, the additional protection provided by a seasonal booster is moderate and of short term,” Retsef Levi, chair of the panel’s COVID-19 immunization workgroup, said during the meeting.

Members also said that they were concerned about side effects the vaccines can cause, including myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation.

The panel’s advice is typically accepted by the CDC.

The Food and Drug Administration recently withdrew emergency authorization for the COVID-19 vaccines.

In updated approvals, it cleared the shots for people who are at least 6 months old who have one or more risk factors, as well as for people 65 and older.

Two of the shots are made by Moderna. One is made by Pfizer and BioNTech. The other is made by Novavax.

Some outside groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, still recommend COVID-19 vaccination for broader populations, including all children aged 6 to 23 months.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 13:40

CDC Says COVID-19 Vaccination Now Up To Each Individual

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer broadly recommends COVID-19 vaccination. The agency now says that each person should take a range of factors into account, and consult with their doctor, before receiving a shot.

A nurse holds a COVID-19 vaccine, in a file illustration photograph in Miami, Fla. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

“Informed consent is back,” Jim O'Neill, the CDC’s acting director, said in a statement on Oct. 6 after accepting advice from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel. “CDC’s 2022 blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination for the individual patient or parent. That changes today.”

The official term for the updated posture is shared clinical decision-making. Under other tiers, vaccination is recommended for everyone or everyone in a certain age or risk group.

“Shared clinical decision-making recommendations are individually based and informed by a decision process between the health care provider and the patient or parent/guardian,” the CDC states on its website.

The CDC for years recommended virtually all people aged 6 months and older receive a COVID-19 vaccine, along with updated versions on an annual basis.

Around 44 percent of people aged 65 or older received a COVID-19 vaccine in late 2024 or early 2025, according to CDC data. About 14 percent of adults aged 18 to 49, 13 percent of children, and 10 percent of health care workers received a vaccine during that time.

Under orders from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the agency in May stopped recommending COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children and pregnant women.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, in September unanimously said that the CDC should change from its near-universal recommendation to shared clinical decision-making, in part because panel members said data supporting vaccine effectiveness is weak.

“At best, the additional protection provided by a seasonal booster is moderate and of short term,” Retsef Levi, chair of the panel’s COVID-19 immunization workgroup, said during the meeting.

Members also said that they were concerned about side effects the vaccines can cause, including myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation.

The panel’s advice is typically accepted by the CDC.

The Food and Drug Administration recently withdrew emergency authorization for the COVID-19 vaccines.

In updated approvals, it cleared the shots for people who are at least 6 months old who have one or more risk factors, as well as for people 65 and older.

Two of the shots are made by Moderna. One is made by Pfizer and BioNTech. The other is made by Novavax.

Some outside groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, still recommend COVID-19 vaccination for broader populations, including all children aged 6 to 23 months.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 13:40

Subpar 3Y Auction Stops Through Despite Pullback In Foreign Buying

The week's first coupon auction just priced, and it was quite solid, taking advantage of the broader risk off mood. 

At 1pm ET, the Treasury sold $58BN in 3Y paper, at a high yield of 3.576%, up from 3.485% last month but not that far off the lowest high yield in the past three years. The auction stopped 0.8bps through the 3.584% When Issued, the biggest stop since February.

The bid to cover was 2.663, down modestly from 2.726 last month but above the six auction average of 2.550. 

The internals were a tad soft, with Indirects taking 62.7%, down from 74.2% in Sept and also below the 64.1% six-auction average. 

And with Directs jumping to 26.6% from 17.4%, that left just 10.7% to Dealers, just shy of the lowest on record.

Overall, this was a softish auction which despite the pullback in foreign buyers, did not have a problem stopping through amid the broader risk off that has seen yields slide for much of the session and hit a LOD just after the auction priced. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 13:19

'Bigger, Faster, More Permanent Than All Waves Combined': No Sector Will Be Untouched By AI

Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

Hajnen Payson is a highly valued internet search and marketing expert.  He’s worked for companies such as Experian, UFC, LifeLock/Norton, international banks and big companies that hold government contracts that require top security clearances.  Governments and companies around the world are rushing into Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Some big names are hiring Payson to navigate the pathway to incorporate AI into just about everything you see, touch and feel.

Payson explains, “This, right now, is the very beginning of the AI Revolution..."

" I work with industry peers, executives and marketing experts daily. 

Half believe that AI integration was not as bad and won’t be as bad going forward because this year was not a disaster.  However, the other half believe it was a disaster because they experienced department cuts and hiring freezes all due to AI. 

In fact, I have a good friend where her son was denied work as an intern this summer before college because AI took the job.”

Payson goes on to say, “If we look at this and say what should younger people do?  There is no easy answer here..."

"  We are at the very beginning of the AI Revolution, and that is exactly what this is.  This is no different than the Industrial Revolution.  This is going to be a time where we are changing.  This is just like Google revolutionized what happened in search . . . AI is going to revolutionize everything.  The difference is there will be no sector, no category that will not be touched by AI. . . . For decades, businesses cut cost by offshoring and outsourcing . . .. In both cases, people still did the jobs.  This time is different.  AI does not hand the work to another human.  It deletes the need for humans in entire categories of work.  This shift will be bigger, faster and more permanent than all waves combined.”

Payson brought some real-world sources to back up what he is finding.  Payson says, “The International Monetary Fund says 40% of jobs globally are exposed to AI..."

"  In advanced economies like the United States, 60% with some jobs being replaced or complemented. . .. The World Economic Forum forecasted by 2030 AI and other tech will displace 92 million jobs . . . Even the US Treasury Department released a report that says 25% of US workers will fall into highly exposed job categories.”

In closing, Payson says, “Geoffrey Hinton is considered the grandfather of AI, and he is also a Nobel Prize winner in physics..."

"  He resigned from Google in 2023 so he could speak freely about AI, which he could not do while working for Google.  He compares the dangers of AI to nuclear weapons...

Sam Altman is the cofounder of Open AI, and he said that AI could cause lights out for all of us.”

There is much more in the 46-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on One with search and marketing strategist Hajnen Payson of DriveGrowthHQ.com with a new newsletter giving you a free deep dive on the AI Revolution that is just getting started.

To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here

Payson’s free website is called DriveGrowthHQ.com.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 12:25

"Matters Of Corruption": Biden Staff Blocked CIA From Distributing Hunter-Ukraine Concern Memo

Newly declassified memoranda show then-Vice President Joe Biden’s staff intervened in February 2016 to block the Central Intelligence Agency from circulating an intelligence report to policymakers that summarized how senior Ukrainian officials perceived his son’s business dealings and his December 2015 trip to Kyiv.

According to the documents, the request came from the vice president’s national-security adviser and was relayed inside the intelligence community by Biden’s Presidential Daily Brief briefer: “I just spoke with VP/NSA and he would strongly prefer the report not/not be disseminated. Thanks for understanding.”

A senior CIA official described the intervention as “extremely rare and unusual,” saying the material otherwise met the threshold for distribution to U.S. officials working on Ukraine policy.

The report compiled reactions from officials in the government of then-President Petro Poroshenko following Mr. Biden’s visit. Those officials “privately mused” about U.S. media scrutiny of Hunter Biden’s business ties in Ukraine and “viewed the alleged ties of the U.S. Vice President’s family to corruption in Ukraine as evidence of a double-standard within the United States Government towards matters of corruption and political power,” the CIA relayed. The same officials “expressed bewilderment and disappointment” that the vice president did not engage in expected substantive discussions with Mr. Poroshenko or other senior figures, Just the News reports.

Today, I declassified @CIA intelligence regarding Ukraine after determining it is in the public interest.

Read the report here: https://t.co/W0W1IjYFef

— CIA Director John Ratcliffe (@CIADirector) October 7, 2025

At the time, Biden had been designated President Barack Obama’s point person on Ukraine policy after the Maidan Revolution and Russia’s seizure of Crimea. His December 2015 trip has drawn scrutiny because the vice president decided then to press for the dismissal of Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, warning that a substantial U.S. loan guarantee would be withheld if the move wasn’t made. Mr. Shokin was investigating Burisma and its owner, Mykola Zlochevsky; Hunter Biden had formally joined Burisma’s board in May 2014.

Prior to the trip, then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt warned Mr. Biden’s top advisers that Washington considered Burisma corrupt. Mr. Pyatt later told his successor, Marie Yovanovitch, that Hunter Biden’s role “undercut the anti-corruption message the VP and we were advancing in Ukraine,” echoing what Ukrainian officials were thinking, according to the CIA.

A senior CIA official told Just the News that, in the agency’s assessment, the report merited dissemination at the time it was drafted and would have been useful to U.S. officials dealing with Ukraine because it reflected the views of multiple senior Ukrainian figures. It was also “extremely rare and unusual,” the official said, for someone outside the intelligence community to weigh in on whether to distribute such a product; typically that decision is made within the community. The documents offer no indication of how the vice president’s office learned of the report before intervening.

The memos surfaced after a review of CIA databases that began in late 2024 under the prior administration. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has framed the disclosure within a broader push to curb politicization: “Mr. President, the CIA is being restructured at your direction to focus on our core mission and to eliminate the political – the well-documented politicization that has taken place in the intelligence community from bad actors in the past to focus on our core mission and to Make America Safe Again,” he said at a Cabinet meeting in April. The senior CIA official said Mr. Ratcliffe views the 2016 intervention as part of that politicization and opted to release the document in the interest of transparency.

The episode also intersects with long-running debates over Ukraine policy. Just the News previously reported that Biden’s push to oust Mr. Shokin “broke” with State Department and European Union assessments that the prosecutor’s progress on anti-corruption reforms was sufficient to warrant new loan guarantees. Following that reporting, fact-checkers revised their narrative and concluded that Joe had “called an audible” aboard Air Force Two on the way to Kyiv, deciding to call for Mr. Shokin’s removal.

What remains uncontested in the newly released records is the unusual nature of the vice president’s office weighing in on an intelligence-distribution decision. As the senior CIA official summarized, the information would ordinarily have been shared - absent external intervention - because it captured contemporaneous thinking among Kyiv’s senior leadership about a visiting U.S. principal and the sensitivities surrounding his family’s business ties.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 12:05

Rabobank: Gold Confirms The World Has Passed The Fiscal Event Horizon

By Benjamin Picton, Senior Market Strategist at Rabobank

France is once again engulfed in political crisis following the resignation of Prime Minister Lecornu just hours after his cabinet was sworn in. Lecornu lasted less than a month in the job, a tenure that makes Liz Truss look like Lord Liverpool. Jordan Bardella, President of the right-wing National Rally, has urged President Macron to dissolve the National Assembly and call fresh elections.

Lecornu’s is the third French government to collapse in the last 12 months. Former EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier lost the Premiership in December following failed attempts to pass budget measures and Francois Bayrou similarly lost a no-confidence vote last month after his attempts to rein in France’s runaway deficit were rejected by parties on the left and right.

French 10y OAT yields rose 6bps to 3.57% while 10y Bunds were comparative outperformers with yields rising just 2bps to 2.72%. The 10y OAT spread of 85bps is now 2bps wider than the spread between 10y Italian bonds and the equivalent Bund, highlighting Italy’s newfound status as an island of (comparative) political stability on the continent.

Equity markets took a similarly dim view of the latest evidence that France lacks the political capacity to pull the country out of its fiscal nosedive. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell by 0.41% to underperform all of the major American indices as well as the Nikkei, KOSPI, CSI300, ASX200 and TAIEX. The picture was even gloomier when drilling down into the performance of the CAC 40, which recorded a 1.36% fall on the day while the German DAX closed flat.

The Euro fell by 0.26% to 1.1711 while Sterling – presumably operating on the ‘least dirty shirt’ theory of comparative value (though, the British public finances and political apparatus are little better than the French) – rose slightly to close at 1.3485. The Dollar and gold were the big winners on Monday. The DXY index gained 0.39%, while gold rose another 1.92% to close at (another) all-time high of $3,960/oz and USDJPY gapped higher following news that Abe-acolyte Sanae Takaichi had won the LDP leadership race in Japan.

The S&P 500 also hit a fresh all-time high to close at 6,740 as chipmaker AMD surged 24% on news that it had struck a multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI to build AI data centers with AMD chips. The deal involves OpenAI purchasing 6 gigawatts worth of chips and also receiving warrants for up to 160 million AMD shares if certain milestones for chip deployment are reached. This kind of circularity is becoming a feature of the AI frenzy, with NVIDIA (the market leader in AI chips and AMD’s main competitor) recently announcing a $100bn investment in OpenAI, the proceeds of which would be used to buy – you guessed it – NVIDIA chips.

Given the confluence of events and price action in gold and equities on Monday, perhaps some European investors have been reading Bloomberg and are now adopting the ‘Turkish portfolio’ of 50% gold, 50% equities as their formerly developed markets behave more and more like an emerging market?

AI sceptics (including yours truly) have regularly made comparisons to the ‘irrational exuberance’ that characterized the dotcom boom and subsequent bust. There are many similarities, whether it be the classic ‘new era thinking’ (usually a harbinger of impending doom), the techno-optimism or the eyewatering P/E levels. But there are differences, too. This time around the companies driving the boom do actually have earnings, and perhaps it makes sense to pay very high valuations to get a slice of those earnings if you are afraid that your country has passed the fiscal event horizon and the only way out is a general inflation via debasement of the currency that will obliterate the value of your wages and savings.

The gold price (and arguably stock prices, and arguably house prices in many markets) is sending a signal that such a general inflation is already underway. Some might quibble with that characterization, pointing to EM central bank buying as a the main driver of the gold price rally, but why are those central banks buying gold in the first place? Does the breakdown of the liberal globalized trading system that drove inflation lower and lower for decades presage lower, or higher, inflation in the future? Perhaps the answer to that question explains why the 10y Treasury yield busted through the top of a 40-year trend channel in 2022 and has stayed up there ever since?

Signs of breakdown of the globalized trading system are not hard to find. Fears have been stoked in Australia after China’s state-owned China Mineral Resources Group placed a ban on Dollar-denominated purchases of iron ore from Australia’s BHP. Australian politicians have sought to downplay the action as a “commercial matter” related to pricing, but the real tell is that iron ore shipments denominated in Chinese Yuan continue to flow.

The international market for iron ore is monopsonistic – China is the only buyer of scale because China produces ~54% of global steel output. The market has also, historically, been oligopolistic, with Australia and Brazil being the two suppliers of scale who could feed China’s insatiable demand for the raw material. However, that is changing as Chinese demand moderates and supply sources are diversified by Belt and Road-backed (not a coincidence) Simandou mine in West Africa coming online. Those factors have seen China gain market power over Australia, and it appears that China is now using that market power to pressure Australia to receive payment for what is (by far) it’s most important export in CNY, rather than USD.

This episode is likely to be much larger than a commercial disagreement between a mining company and an importing company (whose state-backed nature should not be forgotten). Xi Jinping was clear at last month’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit that he wanted to increase the global role of the CNY, and thereby chip away at the USD’s position as the world reserve currency. That would weaken the US’s ability to use the Dollar as a weapon by applying sanctions, increasing the cost of Dollar-denominated borrowing or cutting other countries out of the SWIFT payments system.

A logical next step could be for Chinese exporters to require Australian importers to pay for manufactured goods in CNY, rather than Dollars. Using China’s market power as a major exporter of goods would create demand for the currency that they are offering in exchange for Australia’s exports, and pry Australia further away from the Dollar. Of course, the United States does not want this to happen and neither does Australia, because it wants Dollars to pay for its imports from every other country and also to pay for the AUKUS submarines that it has committed to buy from the United States.

Is China about to tell the Land Down Under that it is time to choose? We’ve been warning of those sorts of risks in this missive for years now. Economic statecraft (not collaborative free trade policed by the WTO) is the law of the jungle, and it’s eat or be eaten.

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 11:45

Ford Shares Hammered On Report Aluminum Plant Fire May Disrupt Ford F-150 Production

A devastating fire at a major aluminum plant in New York in mid-September is set to roil the U.S. auto industry and could even disrupt production of Ford Motor's F-150 pickup trucks, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. 

The Novelis aluminum mill in Oswego, New York, suffered a fire on September 16 that destroyed the building housing the hot mill, rendering the plant inoperable until at least early 2026. This part of the facility is where sheet aluminum used by the auto industry is produced. 

The plant supplies about 40% of all aluminum sheet used by U.S. automakers, making it a very critical production node for America's auto industry. WSJ noted that Ford is the mill's largest customer and primarily uses the lightweight industrial metal for its top-selling and most profitable model, the F-150 pickup.

Shares of Ford in New York were hammered on the news by midday, down 7%, marking the worst intraday decline in eight months. 

WSJ cited industry analysts who warned the impacts of the mill's closure are widespread: 

Novelis produces more than 350,000 metric tons of sheet aluminum annually for the automotive industry, according to industry analysts. Around a dozen automakers get aluminum from Novelis, including Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Jeep maker Stellantis, according to a regulatory filing.

Kaustubh Chandorkar, an aluminum-industry analyst, said this incident "represents a serious question for the production of F-150 because that's the aluminum that comes out of Oswego." He pointed out that the automaker switched the F-150's exterior skin from steel to aluminum about a decade ago. 

"Since the fire nearly three weeks ago, Ford has been working closely with Novelis, and a full team is dedicated to addressing the situation and exploring all possible alternatives to minimize any potential disruptions," a Ford spokesperson stated.

Novelis, owned by India's Hindalco Industries, is preparing to mitigate production losses in the U.S. by sourcing the metal from overseas plants in Europe, Brazil, and South Korea. However, a 50% tariff on imported aluminum complicates things.

This incident could trigger one of the most severe supply shocks for North American automakers in years. All eyes are on Ford's upcoming earnings call for more details on the situation, as well as on its Dearborn Truck Plant and Kansas City Assembly Plant, for any signs of slowing production that would only signal snarled supply chains. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 11:30

Tech, Crypto Dump On Report Exposing ORCL's 'Razor Thin' Margins On AI Chips

Is the 'batshit insane' delusion of AI/ORCL about to break?

As a reminder, a month ago, ORCL stock soared after forecasting extraordinary growth:

 "We signed four multi-billion-dollar contracts with three different customers in Q1," said Oracle CEO, Safra Catz.

"This resulted in RPO contract backlog increasing 359% to $455 billion. It was an astonishing quarter—and demand for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure continues to build."

Since then it has been up, up, and away... until today...

The Information reports that internal documents show the fast-growing cloud business has had razor-thin gross profit margins in the past year or so, lower than what many equity analysts have estimated.

In the three months that ended in August, Oracle generated around $900 million from rentals of servers powered by Nvidia chips and recorded a gross profit of $125 million—equal to 14 cents for every $1 of sales, the documents show.

That’s lower than the gross margins of many non-tech retail businesses.

As sales from the business nearly tripled in the past year, the gross profit margin from those sales ranged between less than 10% and slightly over 20%, averaging around 16%, the documents show.

In some cases, Oracle is losing considerable sums on rentals of small quantities of both newer and older versions of Nvidia’s chips, the data show.

In the three months that ended in August, Oracle lost nearly $100 million from rentals of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, which arrived this year.

That’s partly because there is a period between when Oracle gets its data centers ready for customers and when customers start using and paying for them, the documents show. It’s not clear what causes the gap or how Oracle plans to shorten it.

Stocks (broadly) and crypto were both hammered lower on the report.

Is the world's biggest bubble about to burst? Or is this just another opportunity to BTFD?

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 11:18

German Mayor Stabbed By 'Gang Of Men' In Broad Daylight, Manhunt Underway

A large-scale manhunt is underway after a newly elected mayor of a town in the western-central part of Germany was found critically injured in her apartment on Tuesday.

Iris Stalzer, who a mere weeks ago became the mayor of Herdecke in North Rhine-Westphalia and is a center-left Social Democrat, sustained multiple stab wounds and is reported to be fighting for her life after being airlifted to the hospital.

dpa/picture alliance

Emergency responders discovered her alive but in a life-threatening condition, after one or more attackers tried to kill her, after which she was still conscious enough to crawl inside of her home. German sources report she was "attacked in front of her residence around midday and managed to drag herself inside before collapsing."

Within hours after the attack, there is still no suspect or known motive for the attack, which could be deemed an assassination attempt of an elected official. It's also unclear if there was a political motive.

A 'gang of men' has been mentioned as behind the attack, according to further emerging details of the brutal crime:

Iris Stalzer, 57, a member of the centre-Left Social Democrats party, was found by her son in her apartment with multiple stab wounds. She told him she had been attacked by a group of men, German tabloid Bild reported.

...The attack, which, according to German media, is being investigated as an attempted murder, took place around lunchtime on Tuesday.

Ms Stalzer managed to get back inside her home, where she lives with her adopted son, 15, and her daughter, 17, after being repeatedly stabbed.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed shock and condemned the assault. "We have received news of a heinous act from Herdecke. It must now be quickly clarified. We fear for the life of the designated mayor, Iris Stalzer, and hope for her full recovery," Merz wrote on X. "My thoughts are with her family and loved ones."

Iris Stalzer is in critical condition, via Instagram

SPD parliamentary group leader in Berlin, Matthias Miersch, issued a statement saying he hopes she will "survive the terrible act" - but offered no further details in terms of circumstances or possible motive.

developing...

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 10:20

Legal Battles Rage Over National Guard Deployments To 5 States - What To Know

Authored by Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President Donald Trump has announced his intent to send National Guard troops to major cities across the United States in an effort to combat criminal activity.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

In response, some government officials have alleged that he’s exceeding his legal authority by disregarding certain limits Congress placed on his ability to federalize the National Guard.

The resulting controversy has raised questions about the balance of power between state and federal governments.

Trump has already encountered legal battles over his attempts to federalize state National Guard troops, in part due to a law known as 10 U.S.C. § 12406. In that law, Congress set limits on presidents’ ability to federalize the National Guard—specifically requiring either an invasion, rebellion or danger of rebellion, or an inability by the president to execute the law with regular forces.

This law has already come up in lawsuits from California, Oregon, and Illinois and could resurface depending on how state and local governments respond to future deployments.

Here are some of the key things to know about the battle over National Guard deployments to Portland, Ore., Chicago, Memphis, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

Portland

War Secretary Pete Hegseth called 200 members of the Oregon National Guard into service but a judge quickly ruled against it.

According to the Trump administration, federal immigration enforcement within Portland has been targeted with violence in recent weeks. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during an Oct. 6 briefing that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility had been “under siege.”

“We saw again a guillotine rolled out in front of this federal building,” she said. “And so the President wants to ensure that our federal buildings and our assets are protected, and that’s exactly what he’s trying to do.”

Agitators in Portland could be heard yelling explicit comments and death threats towards federal agents. “The guillotine would be ready for them,” one wearing black-bloc clothing shouted. Some yelled “ICE out of Portland,” while a crowd of pro-ICE supporters were also seen over the weekend—with one holding a sign that read “God Bless ICE.”

The state of Oregon and city of Portland acknowledged activity outside of the ICE facility but denied that it was the kind of protest that justified federal intervention.

U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut agreed when she issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 4. She recounted incidents such as individuals shining flashlights on drivers and setting up a makeshift guillotine. While these incidents were “inexcusable,” she said, “they are nowhere near the type of incidents that cannot be handled by regular law enforcement forces.”

The administration also violated the 10th Amendment, she said, by unlawfully attempting to federalize the troops. “Because the President is federalizing the Oregon National Guard absent constitutional authority, his actions undermine the sovereign interest of Oregon as protected by the Tenth Amendment,” she said.

The case became more complicated when the administration attempted to deploy members of the California National Guard to Portland—something California Gov. Gavin Newsom called a “breathtaking abuse of power.” That too was blocked by Immergut in a subsequent order on Oct. 5.

An Antifa member kicks back a smoke bomb deployed by federal officers in front of Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 5, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times Chicago

Trump and Republicans have long held up Chicago as an example of a crime-ridden city in the United States. Trump criticized Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on social media in August for not controlling crime in his state.

“He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!” Trump wrote at the time.

By Oct. 4, Hegseth had invoked Section 12406 to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard. As in Portland, Hegseth also tried to federalize troops from another state—this time Texas—and bring them to Illinois.

On Oct. 5, two people were charged over their alleged attempt to use their vehicles to strike another from Customs and Border Protection. That followed a lawsuit the administration filed but lost over Illinois’ and Chicago’s sanctuary policies.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has accused ICE of trying to violate residents’ constitutional rights and signed an order to establish what he called an “ICE free zone” in the city.

Like their counterparts in Oregon, Illinois’ and Chicago’s governments quickly responded to Trump’s recent actions with a lawsuit alleging that the president exceeded his authority under the law.

A judge has yet to rule on the state’s request for a temporary restraining order but the eventual decision will likely touch on similar legal issues as Immergut did. As those cases build, along with the one challenging Trump’s deployment in California, they could prompt involvement from higher courts to decide major legal questions surrounding the president’s authority.

Illinois’ lawsuit argued that Trump can’t use federal troops for civilian law enforcement because of a law known as the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits such use. However, the Trump administration argued that it doesn’t prevent the president from using troops to protect federal assets, such as an ICE facility.

Demonstrators march along the Magnificent Mile to protest against federal immigration operations carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago on Sept. 30, 2025. Scott Olson/Getty Images

While protests have occurred at an ICE facility near Chicago, the lawsuit said the protests would be a “flimsy pretext” for sending in troops. “ICE continues to operate the facility to process the hundreds of individuals it has detained in recent weeks,” it said.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson has defended the president’s actions.

In a statement provided to The Epoch Times, Jackson accused Pritzker of inaction. “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” she said.

Memphis

Trump has initiated a multi-pronged approach to tackling crime in Memphis, where violent crime was six times higher than the national average in 2024. For that year, the city ranked first in the nation for per capita violent crime as well as property crime.

Part of Trump’s approach involves sending the National Guard, but it’s unclear if they have started operations in the city.

Trump appeared to have the support of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who joined the president in the Oval Office last month when Trump signed an order establishing the “Memphis Safe Task Force.”

“We’ve made significant investments to address crime throughout my seven years in office, and thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Memphis Safe Task Force will ensure we have every resource at our disposal to create significant change,” Lee said.

President Donald Trump holds up a signed presidential memorandum that directs members of the National Guard and federal law enforcement agencies to Memphis in an effort to decrease crime in the city, in the Oval Office on Sept. 15, 2025. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Washington

National Guard troops remain in the nation’s capital nearly two months after Trump initially deployed them over concerns about crime. Leavitt said on Oct. 6 that troops remain in Washington because both the mayor and Trump recognize their presence helps keeps the city safe.

The commanding general, Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, said the National Guard will extend its encampment through Nov. 30. The nation, Blanchard said, deserved an effort to keep people safe on the streets of the city.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 10:00

 "Customers Are Hungry For AI ": Dell Upgrades Long-Term Outlook 

Shares of Dell Technologies jumped in premarket trading in New York after executives are expected to unveil a sharply higher long-term financial outlook at the company's Securities Analyst Meeting on Tuesday morning, boosting confidence in AI-driven demand across its data center and PC units. It seems that with each passing day, more AI-related headlines, from Monday's AMD-OpenAI deal to the ongoing AI vendor-financing "circle jerk", continue to propel AI and chip stocks to record highs. 

Chairman and CEO Michael Dell and other members of the executive leadership team will announce a new "long-term financial framework" that forecasts sales to rise at a rate of 7% to 9% annually for the next four years, while earnings per share, excluding some items, will increase 15% or more. The previous forecast, which was made in 2023, had an estimated revenue growth of 3% to 4% and adjusted EPS of 8% or better. 

Ahead of the Securities Analyst Meeting that begins around 0930 ET, COO Jeff Clarke told Bloomberg, "We were all wrong how big we thought the AI market was two years ago, and it's nothing but bigger." This growth is fueled by orders from CoreWeave, Elon Musk's xAI, the U.S. Energy Department, and Abu Dhabi's G42.

Here's more commentary from Dell leadership ahead of the analyst meeting:

• CEO Michael Dell: "Customers are hungry for AI and the compute, storage, and networking we provide to deploy intelligence at scale. The opportunity ahead is massive."

• COO Jeff Clarke: "We're actively shaping the future of AI infrastructure — growing AI into a $20 billion business in two years."

• CFO David Kennedy: "With our increased EPS target, we expect to double EPS again."

Shares of Dell in New York in premarket trading jumped 6% on the press release from the company detailing what executives were planning to unveil at the upcoming analyst meeting. Shares are up 26.5% on the year (as of Monday's close). 

News from Dell adds to the positive news flow that has sent the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor to record highs.

Yesterday's news:

• AMD Soars Most In Nearly A Decade On OpenAI Chip Deal; Semiconductor Index Hits Record High

Endless positive news flow generated by:

• The Stunning Math Behind The AI Vendor Financing "Circle Jerk"

. . . 

Tyler Durden Tue, 10/07/2025 - 09:40