Homan Seeks Cooperation In Minnesota: Vows ‘Drawdown’ On Streets In Exchange For Jail-Based ICE Ops Border czar Tom Homan said on Thursday that federal immigration authorities have made “a lot of progress” in recent days in Minnesota, signaling a possible shift in enforcement tactics as tensions remain high following deadly shootings and protests tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Border czar Tom Homan […]

EU Formally Designates IRGC A Terrorist Group, Granting Trump Political Cover Update(1034ET): As expected, it happened in a meeting of top EU leaders on Thursday: EU foreign ministers agreed Thursday to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist” group, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” she […]

Venezuela Signals Historic Energy Reset As Oil Laws Open To Foreign Capital Authored by Cyril Widdershoven via oilprice.com, Venezuela is moving to overhaul its hydrocarbons law, opening the door to deeper foreign and private-sector participation. The reforms introduce far more flexible operating and fiscal structures, allowing private and mixed companies to take on operational control. If paired with sanctions relief, […]

US Factory Orders Surged In November While sentiment is sagging to multi-year lows, ‘hard’ data is pushing growth forecasts higher (GDPNOW) and holding stocks at record highs. This morning we get a fresh glimpse at America’s manufacturing segment – hard data – with US Factory Orders (admittedly for November) surging 2.7% MoM (significantly better than the +1.6% MoM expected), bouncing strongly from the 1.3% MoM decline in […]

Trump Says John Deere Will Invest $70 Million To Build Excavator Factory In North Carolina Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 27 that farm equipment maker John Deere will invest $70 million to build an excavator factory in North Carolina. A John Deere excavator piles road salt in preparation for a winter storm at the Boston Public Works Department yard in Boston […]

Brent Surges To 4 Month High Above $70 After Trump Threatens Iran With Military Force By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com Brent Crude prices topped $70 per barrel – and $71 shortly after – early on Thursday for the first time since September, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that a “massive armada” of U.S. Navy ships is headed to the Persian Gulf.  At the time of writing, Brent Crude prices had jumped by 3.38% at […]

Rubio Announces Start Of US-Denmark-Greenland Talks Amid Arctic Security Push Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times, Technical discussions between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland on improving Arctic security have begun, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday. The talks originate from a working group created earlier this month during a Washington meeting including Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and the […]

Shutdown Approaches As Schumer, White House Attempt 11th Hour Deal Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the White House are negotiating a framework to advance five of the six remaining fiscal 2026 funding bills, alongside a short-term measure to keep the Department of Homeland Security operating, according to Punchbowl News, citing people familiar with the discussions. The talks come as Congress once again barrels toward a […]

Futures Rise As Meta Jumps, Microsoft Plunges; Gold Just Won’t Stop Futures are higher, led by tech, after the first batch of Mag7 earnings with gold breaking new record highs again, rising as high as $5600. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are up 0.2% while the Nasdaq if barely in the green; pre-mkt it’s a mixed picture with META (+7.9%) rising on higher than expected capex forecast, while MSFT (-6.6%) tumbles on… higher than […]

‘No Hire, No Fire’ Economy Exposed As Continuing Jobless Claims At Lowest Since Sept 2024 The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time decline from 210k (upwardly revised from 200k) to 209k (slightly above the 205k exp), but remaining near those multi-decade lows and showing no signs of labor market stress. Unadjusted claims plunged as the seasonal pain ebbed away… Source: Bloomberg Even more […]

US Heating Bills Expected To Spike Nationwide As Gas, Electricity Costs Continue To March Higher As Americans brave a brutal cold snap, households are facing higher heating bills this summer.  According to a report released last week by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), heating prices are expected to rise by 9.2% in the 2025-2026 winter vs. one year ago. According to the NEADA analysis, electricity […]

SAP Shares Plunge Most Since 2020 As Cloud Backlog Miss Amid AI Worries SAP SE shares in Europe plunged the most since late 2020, as Wall Street analysts told clients the enterprise software company’s 2026 guidance appeared underwhelming relative to elevated expectations. The 25% growth in the current cloud backlog on a constant-currency basis was not enough to spark investor enthusiasm. As a result, shares in Frankfurt plunged […]

Decline Rewritten: The Changing Face Of American Shopping Malls Authored by Panos Mourdoukoutas via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Shopping malls, long an economic and cultural fixture of American life, are facing sustained pressure but are not disappearing altogether. A sign at the Mall of America is pictured in Bloomington, Minn., on Feb. 2, 2006. Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images Instead, the sector is undergoing creative […]

Slovak PM Fico Accuses Media Of Sabotaging Relations After Trump ‘Psychologically Dangerous’ Claim Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico unloaded on Politico on Wednesday, accusing the outlet of peddling “lies” over its reporting on alleged private conversations he supposedly held with European leaders following his recent meeting with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Jan. 17. “I STRONGLY REJECT THE LIES OF THE […]

Inside Syria’s Largest Oilfield After The Battle For Control Via Middle East Eye Abu Aicha patrols the desert in northeastern Syria by car and on foot, an armed man permanently at his side. Around him stretches an apocalyptic landscape: rusted pipelines, shredded buildings, scorched earth and the traces of explosions. “This is more important to protect than a bank. Oil is what brings money into a bank,” Abu Aicha tells […]

Ukraine’s Biggest Corruption Scandal: Interpol Arrest Warrants Requested For Zelensky Associate Suspected Of €100M Fraud Via Remix News, Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities have appealed to Interpol to issue an international warrant against Ukrainian-Israeli Timur Mindics and his business partner Alexander Zuckerman, both considered fugitives from justice and both reported to hold Israeli citizenship. The corruption scandal […]

Fire Engulfs Former Volkswagen Factory, Which Now Makes Chinese Brand, South Of Moscow Fire crews extinguished a fire that broke out early Wednesday at the former Volkswagen plant in Russia’s Kaluga region, now repurposed as part of Moscow’s post-sanctions auto ecosystem. There’s been little in the way of a cause mentioned in international reports, amid an investigation, though skeptical headline consumers will note there’s been a […]

Orbán Backs Weidel’s Demands That Ukraine Pay Germany Reparations For Nord Stream 2 Sabotage Via Remix News, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán backed Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel, who is demanding compensation from Ukraine for the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and tens of billions of euros in German financial support. Orbán responded to the German politician’s statement with a short […]

Turkey Says It Foiled Iranian Intelligence Plot At US Incirlik Base Various Turkish and Middle East sources are reporting that Iranian intelligence attempted to spy on the major US airbase at Incirlik, and that a cell of Iranian agents has been busted. The report, originally in Turkey’s Sabah newspaper on Wednesday, said that Turkish intelligence and Istanbul police detained six people across five provinces. The report claims […]

UK Government To Create ‘British FBI’, Roll Out Nationwide Facial Recognition Cameras Authored by Chris Summers via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The British Home Secretary unveiled plans in Parliament on Jan. 26 for a new National Police Service (NPS), which is modeled on the FBI and will take over the fight against terrorism and organized crime in the United Kingdom. Undated image of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood speaking in […]

Why The US Was Right To Leave The WHO Authored by Jeffrey A. Tucker via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Commentary The United States has pulled its membership in the World Health Organization (WHO), and many other nations are rethinking their participation. Of course, this could change with some future administration. The institution itself is not going anywhere. This is why it is crucial to understand the case for why the United […]

New Footage Appears To Show Alex Pretti Spit At ICE, Break SUV Tail Light In Prior Minneapolis Confrontation The killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last Saturday sparked national outrage – particularly when it comes to the 2nd Amendment and his right to carry while protesting. The incident resulted in two federal agents involved in the shooting being placed on leave, and the ouster of US border patrol chief Gregory […]

The Campaign Against ICE Is All About Open Borders Authored by Kevin M. Spivak via RealClearPolitics, Most of the recent vitriolic opposition to ICE is a feint by unrepentant open-borders progressives. They won the first round when Joe Biden was elected president, lost the second when Donald Trump returned to office, and are back for a rematch. Democratic leaders portray ICE agents as violent Gestapo thugs and murderers. They […]

Putin Hosts Syria’s Sharaa As Russian Forces Exit North In Tandem With US Drawdown  Syria’s self-declared President Ahmad al-Sharaa is in Moscow on Wednesday, where he has met with President Vladimir Putin, at a moment Russia’s long-running presence in Syria is in question. Sharaa, formerly Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who founded Syrian al-Qaeda and began fighting the ousted President Assad under the flag of ISIS, is trying to shore […]

Free Speech Isn’t Free and It Cost Charlie Kirk Everything Authored by Kristan Hawkins via RealClearPolitics, The First Amendment protections for free speech have inspired people worldwide and laid the foundation not just for American society but also for entire industries – from social media to this very publication. But as someone who travels the country both speaking and setting up events on college and university campuses, I […]