HUD Launches Hotline To Crack Down On Crime, Illegal Immigrants In Public Housing

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner announced the launch of a new national hotline that allows public housing residents to report on criminals and illegal immigrants in HUD-funded housing.

The hotline, 1-800-347-3735, can be used by residents to call the HUD Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for reporting “criminals, illegal aliens, sex offenders, human traffickers, and those guilty of gang activity, drug distribution, and fraud,” Turner said at a Nov. 24 press briefing in Memphis, Tennessee.

Residents can also submit tips on the 24/7 monitored Hudoig.gov/hotline website.

Housing Secretary Scott Turner (R) with President Donald Trump in Washington on July 22, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

According to Turner, law enforcement personnel stand ready to assist with any complaints received through the hotline or website. The activity is coordinated with assistance from the FBI, the Department of Justice, and state and local partners.

He encouraged public housing residents to make use of the reporting platforms.

“We'll clean up our public housing so that they can fulfill their function of sanctuaries for the most vulnerable people in our country, where American citizens can get a temporary hand up and then gain independence from government help,” the Housing secretary said, adding that the department wanted to assist American citizens specifically.

“Illegal aliens have no place in public housing. It’s outrageous that people who should not be here come across our borders, and now usurp spots and housing units that support American people.

“Establishing this hotline is an important step in fighting this injustice for both the people of Memphis and for Americans nationwide.”

Turner said the hotline was part of President Donald Trump’s effort to make the city safe again, which includes the Memphis Safe Task Force. The task force was set up following a Sept. 15 directive from Trump that ordered the National Guard and government agencies to assist in restoring law and order in Memphis.

More than 3,000 violent fugitives have so far been arrested by the task force since the operation began in October, Turner said. This includes more than 300 known gang members and up to 12 homicide suspects.

An estimated 6.8 million Americans rely on public housing assistance, based on data from the National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH).

According to a September 2020 report from NCHPH, crime rates are higher in areas where Public Housing Primary Care (PHPC) Health Centers are located than the national average. These centers provide medical services to patients living in public housing or in close proximity to it.

“There is an average of 505 violent crimes per 100,000 population in PHPC Health Center counties compared to the national average of 386 per 100,000,” the report reads.

Mixed-Status Families

Trump signed an executive order in February ordering agencies to ensure that “no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.”

Following the executive order, Turner issued a letter to HUD grant recipients and stakeholders in April, informing them that federal housing assistance benefits will no longer be granted to illegal immigrants.

“The Department will take steps to ensure that Federal resources are not used to support ‘sanctuary’ policies of State and local jurisdictions that actively prevent federal authorities from deporting illegal aliens,” the letter reads.

Meanwhile, in a Sept. 15 post, policy research group Urban Institute raised concerns about how HUD’s policies would affect mixed-status families in which members have varied immigration statuses.

The institute said that fewer than 1 percent of households receiving housing assistance are mixed-status and that the “HUD’s data request will have dire consequences” on this group, including psychological distress, financial hardship, and harm to children’s development.

HUD said in a Nov. 21 statement that it has supported housing affordability for more than 1 million Americans this year.

Since January 2025, the Federal Housing Administration, an agency under HUD, has insured mortgages for more than 700,000 homebuyers and refinance borrowers, which includes first-time homebuyers and senior citizens, it said.

During this period, the Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae, has supported more than 430,000 Veterans Affairs loans, HUD said, adding that nearly a third of these loans went to first-time homebuyers.

“President Trump’s bold leadership is empowering HUD to use every tool at our disposal to make the American dream of homeownership a reality,” Turner said in a statement.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 20:05

FBI To Interview Lawmakers In "Illegal Orders" Video

FBI agents are seeking to interview lawmakers who appeared in a video telling members of the military not to obey illegal orders, the lawmakers said on Nov. 25.

The FBI contacted the sergeants at arms for the House of Representatives and Senate, requesting interviews with the lawmakers, Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) said in a joint statement.

“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution,” they stated.

“We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who also participated in the video, said on X that the FBI has “appeared to open an inquiry into” her over the video.

“This isn’t just about a video. This is not the America I know, and I’m not going to let this next step from the FBI stop me from speaking up for my country and our Constitution,” she wrote.

As Zachary Stieber reports for The Epoch Times, The FBI did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

In the video, released on Nov. 18, members said they wanted to speak to service members and people who work in the Intelligence Community. They said that the audience should disobey orders that are illegal. Deluzio said that “you must refuse illegal orders.”

“Your vigilance is critical,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) added later. “And know that we have your back,” Slotkin said.

No allegedly illegal orders were specified in the video, and after posting the video, lawmakers have largely declined to list specific examples during television appearances beyond referring to how President Donald Trump has been accused of telling officials in 2020 that they should shoot protesters in the legs.

“If we wait until the moment that he gives a manifestly unlawful order to a young soldier, then we have failed them,” Crow said on CBS over the weekend.

“We have to start that conversation now and get people thinking about the distinction, which is exactly what we did.”

Trump has accused the Democrats of seditious behavior and suggested they should be arrested and charged.

Military officials announced Monday that Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy officer, is under investigation for allegedly violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice and federal law, including one law that bars actions intended to interfere with the “loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military or naval forces of the United States.”

“The video made by the ‘Seditious Six’ was despicable, reckless, and false,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement.

“Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of ‘good order and discipline.’ Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion—which only puts our warriors in danger.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington that the White House supports the investigation.

“You can’t have a functioning military if there’s disorder and chaos within the ranks—and that’s what these Democrat members were encouraging,” she said.

In an interview that aired on X on Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel said career analysts and agents will make any determination on the Democratic lawmakers who urged members of the military to disobey illegal orders, when asked what his reaction to it was.

"Is there a lawful predicate to open up an inquiry and investigation or is there not? And that decision will be made by the career agents and analysts here at the FBI," Patel said in the interview.

When asked if the FBI was involved, Patel said, "based on the fact that it's an ongoing matter, there's not much I can say."

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 19:40

A Looming Mexican Coup?

Authored by Kit Klarenberg,

On November 15th, incendiary protests engulfed over 50 cities across Mexico.

The Western media has universally adopted the narrative disaffected local “Gen Z” sought to vent their righteous rage against the government, over corruption, and the administration’s purported ties to drug cartels. Footage of law enforcement clashing with demonstrators spread like wildfire, and many outlets widely emphasised how the upheaval injured at least 120 people. Few acknowledged the overwhelming majority of those hurt - 100 - were police officers.

A New York Times report made the insurrectionary designs of those causing mayhem on Mexico’s streets clear.

“The goal of this march is precisely to remove the President, and to show we are angry, that the people are not with her,” one protester was quoted as saying.

Oddly absent from mainstream coverage of the hullabaloo was any recognition President Claudia Sheinbaum enjoys popularity of which Western leaders can only fantasise.

Polls throughout her first year in office indicate 70 - 80% of the public support her.

Sheinbaum has charged the fiery demonstrations were “inorganic”, “paid for”, and “a movement promoted from abroad against the government.” There are strong grounds to believe this was absolutely the case. For one, a key local amplifier of the protests, and supposed police brutality, was media outlet Animal Politico. The National Democratic Institute, a wing of avowed CIA front the National Endowment for Democracy, lists the organisation among its “partners”. Mexican newspaper Milenio has documented in detail the news site’s voluminous US funding.

Furthermore, former Mexican President Vicente Fox attended the protests, and posted extensively on social media in support of the demonstrators. In 2001, he was bestowed NED’s Annual Democracy Award. Another prominent supporter was oligarch Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Mexico’s third-richest man. In March 2023, in conjunction with the shadowy Atlas Network, he launched Universidad de la Libertad, to “advance free-market principles, business development, and innovation” in the country.

Atlas Network comprises a web of libertarian think tanks, bankrolled by major US corporations, with deep and cohering ties to Western foundations and intelligence cutouts, including NED. The Network itself doles out millions annually “supporting pro-freedom organizations” worldwide. A longtime beneficiary of its largesse is the Venezuela-based Center for the Dissemination of Economic Information (CEDICE), which operated at the forefront of the April 2002 US-orchestrated coup that temporarily ousted elected President Hugo Chávez.

Fast forward to today, and Washington again appears to be plotting the Venezuelan government’s downfall. A huge military buildup around the country, and belligerent actions in the Caribbean supposedly intended to thwart drug trafficking operations directed by Caracas, could be harbingers of all-out invasion. The widely-admired Sheinbaum, who stands steadfastly opposed to US machinations in Latin America, represents a significant barrier to realising that goal. It stands to reason the Empire must neutralise her first, before training its crosshairs elsewhere in the region.

‘Legal Justification’

It may be no coincidence the foreign-sponsored upsurge of anti-government agitation that unfolded in Mexico followed not long after murmurings the Trump administration is considering inserting US forces and intelligence operatives into the country, to conduct aggressive covert operations supposedly targeting cartels. On November 3rd NBC reported this “new mission” would represent “a break” with the approach of past US governments, which have hitherto “quietly deployed CIA, military and law enforcement teams” to “support local police and army units” battling drug syndicates:

“If the mission is given the final green light, the administration plans to maintain secrecy around it and not publicize actions associated with it, as it has with recent bombings of suspected drug-smuggling boats…Under the new mission…US troops in Mexico would mainly use drone strikes to hit drug labs and cartel members and leaders…Some of the drones that special forces would use require operators to be on the ground to use them effectively and safely.”

Similar action was previously mooted in April, prompting a firm rebuke from Sheinbaum. The President declared: “The US is not going to come to Mexico with the military. We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out.” However, NBC notes while Washington “would prefer to coordinate with the Mexican government on any new mission against drug cartels…officials have not ruled out operating without that coordination.”

US military action being waged inside Mexico without state approval would represent an absolutely egregious and unprecedented breach of the country’s sovereignty. Moreover, at Washington’s demand, Sheinbaum has already deployed 10,000 troops to the US border, significantly increased fentanyl seizures, and extradited 55 senior cartel figures Stateside. These escalations are nonetheless seemingly insufficient, raising obvious questions as to whether an ulterior motive lies behind the Trump administration’s new mission - for which elite military and CIA personnel have apparently already begun training.

One explanation could be Sheinbaum representing a potent barrier to regime change in Caracas - a monstrous objective for which Trump strived over much of his first term in office, that has become turbocharged over recent months. Sheinbaum has publicly rubbished the US President’s claims there is evidence linking Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to drug dealing, called for constructive dialogue between the pair, and repeatedly condemned extrajudicial US airstrikes on boats purportedly ferrying drugs, which have killed scores of potentially innocent people.

US strike on supposed narco-terrorists, September 2025

Those attacks, which began in September, are widely perceived to be a prelude to all-out US invasion of Venezuela, and have frequently been conducted in Mexico’s territorial waters. In addition to openly admitting they aren’t certain targeted boats are in fact ferrying narcotics, and the identities of victims are unknown, Trump administration officials have struggled to provide any legal justification whatsoever for the deadly strikes. On October 30th, a classified bipartisan Congressional briefing was convened, at which government representatives attempted to explain their rationale.

Attendees from both primary US political parties “were not happy with the level [of] information that was provided, and certainly the level of legal justification that was provided,” Republican Mike Turner complained. Meanwhile, Democrat Sara Jacobs declared, “I’m not convinced that what they said was accurate,” concluding the administration’s strategy “is actually not about addressing” the flow of narcotics into the US, or crushing Latin American drug smuggling networks. Her comments may be more illuminating than she intended.

‘Big Problems’

On top of clearing a beachhead for invading Venezuela, Sheinbaum could be earmarked for removal by Washington because, from the CIA’s perspective, the Mexican President’s hardline crackdown on local cartels may be proving too successful for her own good. Within six months of taking office, police and security forces dismantled 750 drug labs across the country, arrested close to 20,000 cartel operatives, and seized over 140 tons of narcotics. Drug barons who evaded capture have been forced into hiding, while suffering multimillion dollar losses.

Mexican authorities arrest high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel member, February 2025

Markedly, these efforts largely haven’t been conducted in coordination with Washington. This raises the prospect that individuals and groups ensnared by Sheinbaum’s anti-cartel crusade - which has been praised in many quarters - might one way or another have been working for and/or with the CIA. Investigations by veteran deep state researcher Peter Dale Scott reveal how since World War II, the core component of any international drug cartel’s success has consistently been maintaining a clandestine relationship with US intelligence.

Indeed, per Scott, it is difficult if not impossible to prosper in the narcotics trade without the CIA’s protection. A palpable illustration of this phenomenon is provided by the Guadalajara Cartel’s extraordinary rise. After its founding in the late 1970s, the group rapidly became one of North America’s largest drug suppliers. Key to its success was its covert bond with Mexico’s Federal Security Directorate (DFS), which was created by and enjoyed a deeply intimate relationship with the CIA.

In return for a 25% cut of the Guadalajara Cartel’s profits, the ultra-violent drug syndicate was not only insulated from legal repercussions, but actively assisted by DFS. Joint US-Mexican anti-drug efforts in the early 1980s deliberately targeted solely minor traffickers, eliminating the Cartel’s competition. Resultantly, by 1982 Mexico had replaced Colombia as the States’ leading supplier of marijuana, and was providing up to 30% of the country’s cocaine. All along, the CIA and DEA did and said nothing, despite full cognisance of the Cartel’s activities.

Guadalajara might still be in business today, were it not for its February 1985 kidnap, brutal torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique Salazar. Allegations the CIA and DFS colluded in his killing, to conceal their complicity in the Latin American drug trade, have long-abounded. Nonetheless, Salazar’s slaying was so sickeningly savage it led to sizeable US public and political pressure for Mexican authorities to bring those responsible to justice. Within four years, several of the Cartel’s leaders were jailed, and the enterprise folded.

Enrique Salazar’s mutilated corpse is returned to the US

There is no knowing whether Sheinbaum has inadvertently trodden on the ‘wrong’ person’s toes in her battles against organised crime in her country. Yet, the violent protests have evidently provided Washington enormously useful ammunition. Commenting on the unrest, Trump remarked, “I looked at Mexico City over the weekend. There’s some big problems there…I am not happy with Mexico.” He added military action “to stop drugs” there was “OK with me.” The opening salvo in a new US war may have just been fired.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 19:15

DHS's "Operation Red Sunset" Investigating Chinese Bitcoin Mining Giant Over National Security Concerns

The Department of Homeland Security has launched an investigation dubbed "Operation Red Sunset” into Bitmain Technologies, China's leading Bitcoin mining equipment maker, over concerns its hardware could compromise U.S. national security, sources told Bloomberg.

Power supply units for mining rigs made by Bitmain Technologies Ltd.
Photographer: Bloomberg

Federal officials are examining whether Bitmain's machines, deployed at mining sites near military installations and critical infrastructure, are vulnerable to remote manipulation by foreign actors, according to the report. Additionally, the probe is also reviewing potential import duty violations by the Beijing-based company.

Among the locations of particular concerns is a facility in close proximity to an U.S. Air Force nuclear missile base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In July, a Senate Intelligence Committee report flagged the risk of Chinese-made devices being remotely controlled, spotlighting potential vulnerabilities in the nation's security perimeter.

DHS inspectors currently examine mining hardware and components at U.S. ports of entry, conducting chip and firmware analyses to detect backdoors or other security flaws, yet the agency hasn't disclosed its findings.

Bitmain has rejected the allegations as "unequivocally false," claiming it adheres to all U.S. legal requirements. In a statement, the company said that it “strictly complies with U.S. and applicable laws and regulations and has never engaged in activities that pose risks to U.S. national security” and that it “has no awareness of or any information at all regarding any alleged federal investigation purported to be called ‘Operation Red Sunset.’”

Bitmain also attributed past equipment detentions to routine Federal Communications Commission queries rather than espionage concerns, and disputed the Senate committee's characterization of security risks.

Bitmain faced similar accusations during Bitcoin's 2017 "block size wars," when the cryptocurrency community fractured over network scaling, Gizmodo reported. While the developer ecosystem and most users backed the Segregated Witness upgrade, which required 95% miner approval to activate, Bitmain drew suspicion over its hardware's role in the contentious debate.

At the time, Bitmain dismissed the accusations as a smear campaign, but the episode raised questions about whether the world's largest mining equipment supplier was leveraging its market position to influence protocol decisions for competitive advantage. SegWit ultimately activated without the block size increase Bitmain had advocated for, resolving the standoff, Gizmodo pointed out.

"Operation Red Sunset” has drawn heightened attention following American Bitcoin's $314 million purchase of 16,000 Bitmain machines in August. The venture, linked to former President Donald Trump's family, said it conducted comprehensive security assessments and found no threats.

In late March, a small publicly traded company made a surprising announcement: It would spin off part of its business into a new venture that counted Eric and Donald Trump Jr. as investors. This new company, American Bitcoin, “aims to become the world’s largest, most efficient pure-play Bitcoin miner,” according to a press release. The startup inherited options to acquire Bitmain equipment that its predecessor had arranged.

Headquartered in Miami, the company plans to build data centers in Texas, New York and Alberta, Canada, that would run 76,000 mining machines, according to corporate filings. -Bloomberg

And to get that all going, American Bitcoin went to Bitmain. 

Eric Trump, co-founder and chief strategy officer of American Bitcoin, center, at the Nasdaq MarketSite in September.Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

Of course, the assessment won't stop anti-crypto zealot Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) from demanding an investigation into American Bitcoin.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 18:50

AI Toys Pose 'Unprecedented Risks' To Infants And Children, Advisory Warns

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

Toys embedded with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots undermine children’s healthy development and pose unprecedented risks, according to a new advisory published by advocacy group Fairplay, which warned parents against buying AI toys for their children during this holiday season.

The Nov. 20 advisory was endorsed by more than 150 child development and digital safety experts and organizations.

“AI toys are chatbots that are embedded in everyday children’s toys, like plushies, dolls, action figures, or kids’ robots, and use artificial intelligence technology designed to communicate like a trusted friend and mimic human characteristics and emotions,” Fairplay said.

“Examples include Miko, Gabbo/Grem/Grok (from Curio Interactive), Smart Teddy, Folotoy, Roybi, and Loona Robot Dog (from Keyi Technology). Top toy maker Mattel also plans to sell AI toys. They are marketed to children as young as infants.”

Harmful AI interactions with children have come under scrutiny by lawmakers, especially after the much-publicized lawsuit against Character.AI that accused the company of triggering suicidal thoughts in children and causing the death of a 14-year-old.

“The serious harms that AI chatbots have inflicted on children are well-documented, including fostering obsessive use, having explicit sexual conversations, and encouraging unsafe behaviors, violence against others, and self-harm,” Fairplay said.

The toy manufacturers’ primary target is young children, who are even less developmentally equipped to protect themselves than older children and teens, the advocacy claimed.

A one-page advisory released by the advocacy group briefly outlines five main reasons parents should not indulge their children with AI toys.

These include the fact that AI toys are typically powered by the same intelligence that has already harmed children. Additionally, these kinds of toys prey on children’s trust, disrupt healthy relationships and the ability to build resilience, invade family privacy by collecting sensitive data, and displace key creative and learning activities, according to the advisory.

“Testing by U.S. PIRG has already found instances of AI toys telling children where to find knives, teaching them how to light a match, and even engaging them in sexually explicit conversations,” said Fairplay, referring to the Public Interest Research Group.

Children tend to trust whatever the AI tells them, while the AI is preprogrammed to keep them happy and entertained, the group noted.

After collecting private details about the family and children the advisory said, “AI toy companies can use all of this intimate data to make their AI systems more life-like, responsive, and addictive, allowing them to build a relationship with a child, and ultimately sell products/services.”

When children play with a standard teddy bear, they use their imagination and engage in pretend play, which supports critical foundational development.

“On the other hand, AI toys drive the conversation and play through prompts, preloaded scripts, and predictable interactions, potentially stifling this development,” the advisory reads.

The claims of educational benefits by toy companies are “minimal,” with a child possibly picking up a “few facts or vocabulary words,” Fairplay said.

“Companion AI has already harmed teens. Stuffing that same technology into cute, kid-friendly toys exposes even younger children to risks beyond what we currently comprehend,” Rachel Franz, director of Fairplay’s Young Children Thrive Offline program, said in a Nov. 20 statement.

“It’s ridiculous that these toys are unregulated and being marketed to families with a promise of safety, learning, and friendship, promises that have no evidence behind them, while mounting evidence shows that similar technology can do real harm,” she said.

“The risk is simply too great. Children should be able to play with their toys, not be played by them.”

On Sept. 11, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was launching an inquiry into AI chatbots acting as companions.

“Protecting kids online is a top priority for the Trump-Vance FTC, and so is fostering innovation in critical sectors of our economy,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson.

“The study we’re launching today will help us better understand how AI firms are developing their products and the steps they are taking to protect children.”

AI-Embedded Toys

Fairplay’s warning was issued as toy manufacturers are increasingly seeking to integrate AI into their offerings. For instance, in June, Mattel announced a collaboration with OpenAI to support the development of AI-powered products.

In an October statement reaffirming its stance on AI toys, The Toy Association, which represents more than 900 companies in the United States, supported the judicious use of artificial intelligence and internet-connected toys.

“Toy safety is the top priority of the toy industry and protecting children and maintaining the trust of parents are part of that mission. Indeed, all toys sold in the U.S. are required to comply with over 100 different safety standards and tests to ensure the physical safety of children at play,” it said.

“As The Toy Association tracks new technologies, including the growth of AI, we are committed to educating our members about the potential applications of connected technologies in toys and how to maintain the safety of children and families above all else.”

A Nov. 13 report from PIRG detailed the results of its assessment of four toys containing AI chatbots that interact with children.

The group found that certain toys talked about inappropriate topics and doled out danger-prone advice.

Some toy companies put in guardrails to ensure the AI toys were kid-appropriate, PIRG said, but “we found those guardrails vary in effectiveness—and at times, can break down entirely.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Keyi Technology, Mattel, and OpenAI for comment but did not receive any response by publication time.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 18:25

These Are America's Most (And Least) Affordable Cities

Today, Tupelo, MS is the nation’s most affordable city, where your dollar can stretch 21% further than the U.S. average.

Similarly, several Southern cities have the lowest cost of living in the country, typically seeing smaller populations and more affordable housing. In contrast, New York and California continue to rank among the most expensive places to live.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows the U.S. cities with the lowest and highest cost of living, based on data from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

Where Are America’s Affordable Cities?

Below, we rank cities by their cost of living index, which measured 61 items in Q2 2025:

Oklahoma stands out for affordability, with three of the nation’s 10 most affordable cities. Texas and Kansas follow closely, each with two.

In Oklahoma City, the median home sale price sits at $225,167, and more than half of homes sold in August went for less than the list price. Down south, McAllen, Texas saw the third-lowest grocery costs in the country.

At the other end of the spectrum, living costs in Manhattan are more than twice the national average—72% higher than even San Francisco. Neighboring boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens also rank among the least affordable in the U.S., driven by an influx of Manhattan buyers during the pandemic.

Honolulu, meanwhile, takes the lead for grocery expenses, with prices more than 32% above the U.S. average, and 13% higher than in Manhattan.

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s most expensive real estate markets.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 18:00

CAIR Sues Texas Over Terrorist Organization Designation

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after he designated the controversial Muslim advocacy group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Transnational Criminal Organization.

Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 15, 2025. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

CAIR Litigation Director and General Counsel Lena Masri said in a statement that the group filed the lawsuit on Nov. 20 to defend itself.

“No civil rights organizations are safe if a governor can baselessly and unilaterally declare any of them terrorist groups, ban them from buying land, and threaten them with closure,” she said.

In a Nov. 18 proclamation, Abbott also assigned the same designations to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization created almost a century ago.

Although the Muslim Brotherhood, which has branches all over the world, says it has renounced violence and now aims to establish Islamic rule through elections and other peaceful means, the proclamation said the Muslim Brotherhood “provides support to localized branches in countries and territories throughout the world, including groups that conduct terrorism internationally.”

The proclamation describes CAIR as a Muslim Brotherhood “successor organization,” and notes that the FBI has described CAIR as a “front group” for “Hamas and its support network” in the United States.

The new state-level designations empower the Texas attorney general, currently Ken Paxton, to sue to shutter both groups and block them, as well as their affiliates, from acquiring land in Texas, the Republican governor said. The organizations were designated under the Texas Penal and Property Codes, according to the proclamation.

“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’” Abbott said in a statement.

“The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable,” he said.

After the lawsuit was filed, President Donald Trump said on Nov. 23 that he was planning to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a move that he has considered since his first term.

On Nov. 24, Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of designating “certain chapters or other subdivisions” of the Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorist entities under federal law.

Although neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood had to date been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the president, the State Department has designated specific branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as Specially Designated Global Terrorist entities, according to the proclamation.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned or labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization in several countries, among them Austria, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.

Under U.S. law, a Foreign Terrorist Organization is a foreign organization that the federal government recognizes as engaging in or having the capability of engaging in terrorism that threatens U.S. national security. U.S. law forbids persons in the United States from providing material support to such a designated organization and requires U.S. financial institutions to report funds in the organization’s possession to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department.

A Specially Designated Global Terrorist is a person or entity that the State Department or the Treasury Department has designated as a terrorist. The person or entity has been deemed to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism “that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.” The designation allows the federal government to direct U.S. financial institutions to block the assets of the person or entity.

The Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters of CAIR filed the new lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, calling Abbott’s proclamation “defamatory.”

The group alleged in its complaint that the governor is attempting “to punish the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization simply because [he] disagrees with its views.”

Abbott allegedly violated the First Amendment by issuing the proclamation, which “chills Plaintiffs’ freedom of speech and freedom of association, and retaliates against Plaintiffs for their exercise of their rights,” the complaint stated.

The group also stated that Abbott’s statement that it functions as a “front group” for Hamas is “inflammatory” and has no basis in fact.

The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the governor’s office and the Muslim Brotherhood. No replies were received by publication time.

Aldgra Fredly and Jacob Burg contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 17:40

America's Largest Teachers Union Is Doubling Down On Radical Left Ideology

Recently obtained internal documents from the National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the US, focus on training educators to become far-left activists in support of spreading woke propaganda to their students.  

According to information gathered by a conservative non-profit called Defending Education, the NEA's upcoming training at an undisclosed location this December doesn’t focus on academics, but on attacking Republicans as “racist and transphobic,” pushing race-class-gender narratives, and promoting gender-transition guides for staff.

The training is targeted for union staff and teams as part of the NEA UniServ and Organizing Training Program 2025–2026.  

The goals of the session include, but are not limited to, “dismantling systems of privilege and oppression as it relates to LGBTQ+ educators and students” and “deepening skills and strategies to confront implicit bias, micro-aggressions and stereotypes.”  

Republicans are characterized as using an “arsenal of racist dog whistles,’ according to training materials. Participants are instructed how to evoke a “Race Class Gender Narrative” to push back.  

“Over the last ten years, Republicans in state legislatures have increasingly turned to anti-transgender rhetoric and legislation as a powerful complement to their arsenal of racist dog whistles used to whip up fear and consolidate power...they have paired these attacks with fear-mongering about Critical Race Theory, mobilizing their base with a potent mix of racist and transphobic tropes.”

The documents focus heavily on issues like "structural oppression" and transgender propaganda with an emphasis on defending the medical transitioning of children.  Teachers are encouraged to use gender fluid language (like neutral pronouns) with students while avoiding scrutiny from parents and administrators. 

Teacher's unions have consistently acted as a root source for woke indoctrination, feeding talking points and activist strategies to leftist teachers who then operate as grooming agents rather than academic educators.  As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis notes on X:

"The radical partisanship of these teacher unions has been a major contributor to education decline in the US.  They see the K-12 school system as as a political means for adults to further their agenda.  This is why the unions fought so hard to close schools during COVID; it was never about the kids."

“The NEA is the largest teachers’ union in the country, and they have decided to vilify half the country in an upcoming training,” said Erika Sanzi, senior director of communications for Defending Education.  “As far as they are concerned, the only reasons anyone could oppose their preferred ideologies are racism and transphobia and they name Republicans as villains, in writing!” 

Sanzi added:

“Their federal charter was granted because they promised to ‘elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States...Seeing as their leadership—and by extension, the organization itself—has morphed into a far-left insane asylum that is actively destroying the cause of education, that charter is no longer defensible..."

Leftist activism within the education system is perhaps one of the greatest existential crises in America's recent history.  Children are brainwashed by teachers to believe in deconstruction ideology; to hate western civilization, to embrace moral relativism, to ignore biological facts and adopt mentally unhinged sexual theories. 

Since progressives are increasingly refusing to have their own children and build their own families, the only way they can carry on their doctrine to the next generation is to poison the minds of other people's children.  Teachers unions have played an integral role in this agenda.   

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 17:20

DOJ Renews Bid To Have Court Unseal Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Materials

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

The Department of Justice (DOJ) renewed its request on Nov. 24 to unseal grand jury materials related to the case of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act last week.

In a motion filed to a U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, the DOJ said the Epstein Files Transparency Act—which President Donald Trump signed into law on Nov. 19—reflects the congressional intent to override grand jury secrecy.

“In the light of the Act’s clear mandate, the Court should authorize the Department of Justice to release the grand jury transcripts and exhibits and modify any preexisting protective orders that would otherwise prevent public disclosure by the Government of materials of which is required by the Act,” it stated.

The DOJ said it would make appropriate redactions to protect victims’ identities and other personal information. The law requires that any redactions be accompanied by a written explanation, which must be published in the Federal Register and submitted to Congress.

It requested that the court issue an expedited ruling, as the Act requires the DOJ to release all unclassified records and investigative materials related to the case within 30 days.

In August, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman denied the DOJ’s bid to unseal the grand jury materials, ruling that officials had failed to provide sufficient justification for unsealing the files and citing potential safety risks to victims.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer on Aug. 11 denied a similar motion in Maxwell’s case, finding that granting the motion “would bloat the ‘special circumstances’ doctrine, which to date has warranted disclosure in only a tiny number of cases, all involving unique testimony by firsthand witnesses to events of obvious public or historical moment.”

After the Epstein files bill cleared the Senate, the DOJ filed a renewed motion on Nov. 21 to a U.S. District Court in Florida to unseal the grand jury materials, followed by a second filing in the Southern District of New York on Nov. 24.

Grand jury materials are typically kept private. Exceptions outlined in federal rules allow the unsealing of materials, and special circumstances, including public interest, can permit unsealing outside those exceptions.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 in a Florida state court for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute after pleading guilty. He was later arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges.

His former girlfriend and associate, Maxwell, was sentenced in 2022 after she was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offenses. In August 2019, Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in what was ruled a suicide.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 17:00

Housing Market Winter Deepens As Delistings Soar To Eight-Year High

Building on our earlier housing-market note that "current conditions point to more persistent headwinds" across major metro areas, we now turn to new Redfin data showing a surge in delistings - a clear sign the market is slipping into year-end paralysis.

According to Redfin's report, roughly 85,000 U.S. homes were pulled off the market in September - a 28% jump from last year and the highest September total in eight years. Redfin classifies a home as delisted when it's removed for more than 31 days without selling. 

Redfin points to a set of underlying market dynamics fueling the rapid rise in delistings:

• Stale listings dominate: 70% of all listings in September had been on the market 60+ days. The median delisted home sat 100 days before being pulled. Markets remain oversupplied, with roughly 500,000 more sellers than buyers.

• Demand is very weak: High rates, high prices, and broad economic uncertainty are sidelining buyers.

• Sellers refuse to take losses: 15% of delisted homes were at risk of selling at a loss—the highest in five years—leading many owners to withdraw rather than accept lower bids.

• Turn to renting: Many would-be sellers prefer to rent out the property and wait for better conditions.

Delistings accounted for 5.5% of all September transactions (vs. 4.8% a year earlier), the highest share for that month since tracking began in 2016.

Redfin economists say the jump is more serious than it appears because sellers "give up" after long periods without offers.

"That increase is bigger than it looks on paper; it represents a fairly significant jump in delistings from last year," Redfin senior economist Asad Khan stated, adding, "More sellers are giving up because their homes have been sitting on the market for a long time, and they don't want to or can't afford to settle on accepting a low price."

Redfin data showed that 20% of the homes delisted in summer were relisted within three months - this is typically a pricing reset tactic and also to show up on the top feeds of popular online real estate marketplaces. 

Wonder how many of those are Airbnbs?

On a geographic basis, these are the metros experiencing the most delistings in September:

• Virginia Beach +74.5%

• Washington, D.C. +53.9%

• San Jose +53.3%

• Dallas +52.1%

• Houston +49.6%

Highest delisting share of all listings:

• Miami 7.8%

• Fort Lauderdale 7.7%

• Dallas 7.5%

• Philadelphia 7.5%

• West Palm Beach 7.5%

The latest Case-Shiller data shows U.S. home prices in the 20 largest cities rose 0.13% MoM in September (very slightly better than the 0.1% rise expected) and are up for the second month in a row (after falling for five straight months before). This MoM rise left the average prices up just 1.36% YoY - the lowest since July 2023...

Declining mortgage rates suggest a looming rebound in aggregate prices...

Home Prices are now falling (YoY) in a majority (11/20) of America's largest cities...

Additionally, new listings remain stagnant because many homeowners are opting not to list. That's because they're locked in ultra-low mortgage rates (2020–2022) and won't give them up unless they get a premium. 

The latest weekly data from Bright MLS shows cancellations running at above-trend levels across its Mid-Atlantic coverage area.

Translation: housing-market paralysis has deepened, which is why President Trump proposed a 50-year mortgage to break the ice.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 16:40

On a monthly basis, retail sales increased 0.2% from August to September (seasonally adjusted), and sales were up 4.3 percent from September 2024.

From the Census Bureau report:

dvance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for September 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $733.3 billion, up 0.2 percent from the previous month, and up 4.3 percent from September 2024. ... The July 2025 to August 2025 percent change was unrevised from up 0.6 percent.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows retail sales since 1992. This is monthly retail sales and food service, seasonally adjusted (total and ex-gasoline).

Retail sales ex-gasoline was unchanged in September.

The second graph shows the year-over-year change in retail sales and food service (ex-gasoline) since 1993.

Retail and Food service sales, ex-gasoline, increased by 4.4% on a YoY basis.

The change in sales in September were below expectations, however, the previous two months were revised up slightly.

Polymarket Receives Approval From CFTC For Official US Return

Prediction platform Polymarket has received regulatory approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate an intermediated trading platform.

In a Tuesday notice, Polymarket said the CFTC issued an Amended Order of Designation, which will allow the company to “operate an intermediated trading platform subject to the full set of requirements applicable to federally regulated US exchanges.”

As Bitcoin Magazine's Micah Zimmerman reports, the move enables the market to onboard brokerages and customers directly. Users can now trade through futures commission merchants (FCMs) and access traditional custody, reporting, and market infrastructure.

“People rely on Polymarket because we provide clarity where there is confusion,” said Shayne Coplan, the founder and CEO of Polymarket.

“This approval lets us operate with the maturity and transparency the U.S. regulatory framework demands. We’re grateful for the constructive engagement with the CFTC and look forward to leading as a regulated exchange.”

Polymarket has upgraded its systems in line with the new order. It now has enhanced surveillance, market supervision policies, clearing procedures, and Part 16 regulatory reporting. 

Additional rules and processes for intermediated trading will be implemented before the official launch.

Polymarket remains subject to the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, including self-regulatory obligations.

Polymarket was barred in 2022 for running an unregistered derivatives exchange but has returned to the U.S. after acquiring QCX, a regulated contract market and clearinghouse.

CFTC leadership in flux

The CFTC notice under acting chair Caroline Pham came as the US Senate is expected to soon vote on the nomination of SEC official Michael Selig as the next chair of the commodities regulator. Lawmakers in the Senate Agriculture Committee voted along party lines to advance Selig’s nomination. 

Even if Selig were to be confirmed, the CFTC would continue to have four empty commissioner seats. As of Tuesday, US President Donald Trump had not announced any potential replacements for the regulator’s leadership.

Polymarket now accepts bitcoin

Earlier this year, the platform also announced support for direct bitcoin deposits. Users can now fund accounts with BTC alongside stablecoins like USDC, USDT, and other crypto. 

In other news, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), owner of the New York Stock Exchange, is considering a $2 billion investment in Polymarket. The deal could value the platform between $8 billion and $10 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In October, the company was reportedly exploring a funding round at a $12–15 billion valuation.

Shayne Coplan, 27, has become the youngest self-made billionaire following the investment. Just a few years ago, he was an NYU dropout building the company from his bathroom. 

The platform has also drawn investors such as 1789 Capital, backed by Donald Trump Jr., and acquired derivatives exchange QCEX for $112 million, gaining a CFTC license in the process.

One of it’s competitors, Kalshi, another major prediction market accepting bitcoin, recently raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation and plans to expand access to over 140 countries, with annualized trading volume soaring toward $50 billion. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 14:25

The post Tariffs and Trump Crazy: It Keeps Getting Worse appeared first on CEPR.

Campbell's VP Admits Soup Is "S**t For F**king Poor People" With "Chicken... From A 3D-Printer"

Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper,

Nearly every household in America has at least a few of the ubiquitous red-and-white cans in the pantry, but perhaps not for much longer. I’m talking of course, about Campbell’s soup, a brand so iconic that Andy Warhol captured it in one of his most famous works of pop art.

First of all, in a leaked recording, it was revealed that the soups contained lab-grown meat – or “chicken that came from a 3-D printer.” Campbell’s strenuously refutes this comment, though the company does use genetically modified ingredients such as canola, corn, soybeans, and sugar beets.

And, just in case that accusation wasn’t enough to make your guts gurgle, it isn’t even the worst thing on that recording.

The recording

Robert Garza, a cybersecurity analyst for the company, was meeting at a restaurant with Martin Bally, one of Campbell’s vice presidents, to discuss his salary.

I've not had Campbell soup since I was a kid but damn. VP of Campbell was recorded by a former employee saying that their soup is for "poor people" and filled with bio engineered meat.

He's since been put on leave but you probably better find a different soup this holiday… pic.twitter.com/uKdyU0mWZV

— Shipwreck (@shipwreckshow) November 25, 2025

He secretly recorded statements made by the VP and chief information security officer during a November 2024 meeting. In a rant that lasted over an hour, here are some of the things captured on the recording.

Local 4 News in Detroit broadcast portions of the recording. In it, a speaker identified as Bally is heard saying, “We have s**t for f***king poor people. Who buys our s**t? I don’t buy Campbell’s products barely anymore. It’s not healthy now that I know what the f**‘s in it.”

He also referenced “bioengineered meat,” saying, “I don’t wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer.”

Just in case that isn’t enough to make you sincerely dislike the speaker, he also disparaged some of his coworkers.

“F***ing Indians don’t know a f***ing thing,” and “Like they couldn’t think for their f***ing selves,” it said in part.

Initially, Garza decided to keep the recording to himself, though he was left with “pure disgust.” However, in January 2025, he reported it to his direct supervisor. Twenty days later, Garza’s employment was terminated.

His attorney, Zachary Runyon, says that Garza reported the incident to protect his coworkers, and that he had a spotless record at the company.

Runyan said Garza had no record of disciplinary action and had not been written up for performance issues.

“He had never had any disciplinary action, they had never written him up for work performance,” Runyan said.

Garza also told reporters that he received no follow-up from Human Resources after submitting his complaint.

Garza has filed suit against Campbell’s.

The lawsuit accuses Campbell Soup Company of maintaining a racially hostile work environment and retaliating against Garza for reporting discriminatory conduct. It asserts claims of employment discrimination and race-based retaliation under Michigan law.

Garza says it is “not the case” that The Campbell Soup Company “treats its employees like family.”

The Campbell Soup Company denies using lab-grown meat.

Campbell’s denies that the company uses lab-grown meat.

“We use 100% real chicken in our soups,” James F. Regan, director of external communications at Campbell’s, told Newsweek. “The chicken meat comes from long-trusted, USDA approved U.S. suppliers and meets our high quality standards. All of our soups are made with No Antibiotics Ever chicken meat. Any claims to the contrary are completely false.”

A spokesperson for Campbell’s also told Newsweek:

“If the recording is legitimate, the comments are unacceptable. They do not reflect our values and the culture of our company. Mr. Bally is temporarily on leave while we conduct an investigation.”

What is lab-grown meat?

Be prepared to learn how it’s better for you than actual meat from a butchered animal. Farm Forward explains the process.

Lab-grown meat, also called cultured or cultivated meat, is grown from the cells of an animal, without any need to slaughter an animal to obtain the meat. The animal’s cells are cultivated in stainless steel drums called bioreactors, which are engineered to encourage replication of cells or growth of biological mass. The products that result from this process have been met with excitement due to their potential to replace the millions of animals being raised on factory farms around the world. Because cultured meat is produced in laboratory environments, it does not suffer from some of the contamination and health issues that plague traditional meat producers, such as antibiotic resistance and foodborne and zoonotic illnesses.

And it’s sooooo wonderful, too.

Cultured meat is cellularly indistinguishable from the flesh of animals raised on a factory farm. However, there are several aspects of health in which cultured meat surpasses traditionally farmed meat. For example, animal agriculture is already one of the major contributors to antibiotic resistance worldwide, and the use of subtherapeutic antibiotics in animal farming is set to increase further in the coming years. Cellular meat does not require the heavy use of antibiotics, so its production does not contribute to this ongoing public health crisis.

Another aspect of cultured meat that makes it healthier than its farm-raised equivalent is its lower likelihood of causing zoonotic diseases. While animal agriculture is likely to be a source of future pandemics caused by illnesses that jump from animals to people, this risk is minimized in cell-cultured agriculture, because there are no animals involved once the cells have been collected.

The article lists one of the major “cons” of lab-grown meat as “cultural acceptance.”

If you haven’t yet, it might be time to meet a local farmer and fill your freezer with meat you can trust.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 14:05

Consumer Strain Moves Beyond Low-Income Into Heart Of Middle Class 

Goldman Sachs Managing Director Kate McShane provided clients with a summary of key takeaways from her meetings with the investor-relations and management teams of Bath & Body Works, BJ's Wholesale Club, The Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Walmart, and Williams-Sonoma.

McShane noted that nearly every retailer warned of weak consumer demand, especially among squeezed lower-income households. 

Low to middle-income consumers remain fragile, value-driven, and cautious ahead of the holiday shopping season that begins Friday.

One commentary that stood out the most came from Advance Auto Parts.

She noted, "They're seeing lower- to middle-income consumers decrease their spending across general merchandise."

Here's the breakdown:

McShane's note reinforces our earlier consumer notes, showing a clear tale of two worlds: one where wealthy households remain healthy, while working-class consumers bear the brunt of financial strain.

• A Tale Of Two Consumer Worlds - Captured In A Survey

• A Tale Of Two Consumer Worlds - Captured In A Single Chart

• Early Warning Indicator Signals Sharp Sentiment Deterioration Among Low-Income Consumers, Gen Z

• "Worst Consumer Sentiment In Decades": Goldman Goes Defcon 1 On Imploding US Consumer

The Trump administration has moved quickly to counter the downturn facing lower-income households, rolling out Operation Affordability in recent weeks.

ZeroHedge Pro subscribers can read the full note in the usual place, which includes much more commentary on consumer health.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 13:45

Mediocre 5Y Auction Tails As Foreign Demand Slides

After yesterday's sale of $69BN in 2Y notes, which came smack in the middle of market expectations with metrics that were just about average, moments ago the US Treasury sold $70BN in 5Y notes at a high yield of 3.562%, down from 3.625% last month and the lowest since last September when the Fed launched its current rate cut cycle; the auction tailed the When Issued 3.557% by 0.5bps, and was the 5th tailing 5Y auction of the past 6.

The bid to cover was 2.41, better than last month's 2.38 and the highest since April, although for a metric that has a 5bps range this is hardly a huge achievement: as shown in the chart below, the BtC has moved in a 3bps range around 2.40 for the past 3 years!

The internals were less impressive, with Indirects (i.e. foreign buyers) sliding to 61.35% from 66.84% and below the recent average of 64.7%. And with Directs rising to 27.6% from 23.9%, Dealers were left with 11.0% of the allocation, up from 9.3% last month but below the 10.4% recent average. 

In summary, it was another mediocre auction although with yields sliding across the curve after the Hassett report (which may or may not be a trial balloon), it appears that nobody noticed as the dovish euphoria swept across markets to contain the early selling and boost buying across all asset classes. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 13:27

Grid-Scale Battery Boom Sparks Lithium's Comeback

Lithium prices have awakened from a multi-year bust in the second half of this year, with Chinese lithium carbonate prices jumping from $6,000 a ton to $11,000 a ton, driven by what Goldman analysts describe as "temporary Chinese supply cuts" and "strong energy-storage-system (ESS) demand."

For some context, lithium markets flipped dramatically from the 2020 to 2022 "white-gold supercycle" hype to a two-year bust cycle as supply collided with much softer-than-expected worldwide EV demand growth.

With the EV adoption curve stalled and consumers balked at record-high new-car prices amid high interest rates, lithium prices have been on the rise due to a major surprise: tightening near-term supply and rising ESS demand. 

"This leads us to delay the timing of a price correction we still expect to the latter half of 2026. We maintain our view that supply delays will be required by 2027 to rebalance the market," Goldman analysts led by Lavinia Forcellese wrote in a note. 

Forcellese noted that the core driver in higher prices is stronger-than-expected ESS demand, which has significantly reduced available inventory. 

2026 Outlook: Tight in H1, Loose in H2

H1 2026: Market remains tight.

• ESS demand up 22% YoY, total lithium demand up 24%.

• Inventory cover falls to 54 days.

• Prices expected to hold around $11,000/t.

H2 2026: Market loosens as supply accelerates.

• Supply jumps +27% YoY with CATL's lepidolite restart and stronger spodumene output.

• Prices seen easing to $9,500/t (still above the prior $8,900 forecast but well below GFEX/CME forwards at $11,530–13,613/t).

2027: Surplus Risk Returns

• Supply will again outpace demand unless producers curb output.

• Without supply cuts, inventories would exceed 100 days (forecast is 75 days with cuts).

• Prices expected around $9,250/t, far below CME forwards near $14,950/t.

Earlier this month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the US could effectively double its usable electricity output simply by adding large-scale batteries to the grid. 

Elon Musk: Just by adding stationary batteries to the grid, we could double the electricity production in the United States.

“If you look at the total U.S. power generation capability, it's roughly a terawatt, but the average power usage is less than half a terawatt. That's… pic.twitter.com/aKyg4kFqFG

— ELON CLIPS (@ElonClipsX) November 11, 2025

The ESS boom has given the lithium market new hope, after it had been stuck in a multi-year bust since EV demand stalled. 

ZeroHedge Pro subs can read the full note in the usual place.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 13:10

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: FHFA Announces Baseline Conforming Loan Limit Will Increase to $832,750 in 2026

A brief excerpt:

After the release of the FHFA house price index for September this morning, the FHFA released the conforming loan limits for 2026.

From the FHFA: FHFA Announces Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2025

U.S. Federal Housing (FHFA) today announced the conforming loan limit values (CLLs) for mortgages Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will acquire in 2026. In most of the United States, the 2026 CLL value for one-unit properties will be $832,750, an increase of $26,250 from 2025. ….

For areas in which 115 percent of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit value, the applicable loan limit will be higher than the baseline loan limit. HERA establishes the high-cost area limit in those areas as a multiple of the area median home value, while setting the ceiling at 150 percent of the baseline limit. Median home values generally increased in high-cost areas in 2025, which increased their CLL values. The new ceiling loan limit for one-unit properties will be $1,249,125, which is 150 percent of $832,750

Note that there are different loan limits for various geographical areas. There are also different loan limits depending on the number of units (from 1 to 4 units). For example, next year the CLL is $832,750 for one-unit properties in low-cost areas. The four-unit limit is $1,601,750.

For high-cost areas like Los Angeles County, the CLL is $1,249,125 for one-unit properties (50% higher than the baseline CLL) and the four-unit limit is $2,402,625.

There is more in the article.

The Uproar Over 4 Dollar Fries Shows Just How Severely America's Standard Of Living Has Eroded

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

Once upon a time potatoes were what the poorest people in society would eat because they were so inexpensive.  But now we are being charged an average of $4.19 for a carton of medium fries at McDonald’s.  There are many that are very upset about the rapidly rising cost of fries, and this is yet another example that shows that our standard of living is being absolutely shredded.  As costs rise, the labor market just continues to get even weaker.  So we are being hit with much higher prices at the same time that paychecks are stagnating and mass layoffs are occurring all over the nation.  So what is going to happen to our standard of living if these trends continue to intensify during the months ahead?

By about a two to one margin, middle-income Americans feel like their financial situations have gotten worse over the past year…

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey showed that 44% of middle-income respondents said their financial situation was worse than it was a year ago, while 23% said it was better, based on a three-month average ending in September. Those who feel worse off overwhelmingly said it was because of higher prices.

Federal bureaucrats continue to insist that inflation is low, but everyone can see that is simply not true.

Compared to the year just prior to the pandemic, so many of the things that Americans regularly spend money on have gone up dramatically.

During a recent segment on Fox Business, viewers were shown how much some of the most popular menu items at McDonald’s increased in price from 2019 to 2024…

McDonald’s Price Increases from 2019 to 2024:

Medium French Fry $1.79 -> $4.19
McChicken $1.29 -> $3.89
Big Mac $3.99 -> $7.49
10 McNuggets $4.49 -> $7.58
Cheeseburger $1.00 -> $3.15

Some of this is over a 200% increase in price. This isn’t inflation — it’s legalized robbery.

$4.19 for a carton of medium fries is obscene!

For years, many of us warned that the very foolish decisions that our leaders were making would lead to very painful inflation.

Needless to say, that is precisely what happened.

A cheeseburger at McDonald’s is now more than three times as expensive as it was in 2019.

How are young families supposed to afford that?

How is anyone supposed to afford that?

We have never seen the price of cheeseburgers go up so rapidly.

Not even during the Carter administration did we see this sort of “burger inflation”.

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning, because the size of the U.S. cattle herd has dropped to the lowest level in about 75 years…

Tyson Foods will close a major beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, with about 3,200 employees in January after U.S. cattle supplies dropped to their lowest level in nearly 75 years, the meatpacker said on Friday.

The closure in the heart of cattle-feeding country signaled that supplies will remain tight, forcing meatpackers to pay steep prices for cattle to process into steaks and hamburgers.

You may think that you will just switch to turkey.

Well, the price of a frozen turkey is 40 percent higher than it was last year…

The USDA recently projected that wholesale prices for frozen whole turkey hens will reach $1.32 per pound in 2025. That’s a 40 percent increase from 2024’s price of 94 cents per pound.

“The 2025 rise in price is a response to lower production with HPAI pressures combined with steady demand,” according to a report from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

When talking heads on television tell us that “inflation is low”, I just want to scream.

Since 2019, the annual income needed to afford a median-priced home in rural U.S. counties has more than doubled…

Homeowners need an annual income of $74,508 to afford a median-priced home in rural U.S. counties, up a staggering 105.8% from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, rural buyers only needed to earn $36,206, according to Redfin’s analysis, which compares the third quarter of 2025 with the third quarter of 2019.

The income needed to afford a median-priced home in suburban counties rose 90.9% to $102,120 during that same period. Previously, potential buyers only needed an annual salary of $53,482. The income needed to afford a home in urban counties climbed 87.5% to $118,300. Buyers needed an annual salary of $63,103 prior to the pandemic.

Take a close look at those numbers again.

They are completely and utterly outrageous.

Let me ask you a question.

Has your income doubled since 2019?

If not, you are falling behind.

Vehicle prices have soared into unprecedented territory too…

Car prices are trending up and the average cost of a new car is at an all-time high, approaching the $50,000 mark for the first time.

The average transaction price for a new vehicle in October was $49,105, according to data from Edmunds.

In the old days, you could buy an entire house for $50,000.

But now thanks to the widespread adoption of “planned obsolescence”, $50,000 will just get you a “new vehicle” that has been designed to start breaking down shortly after the warranty expires.

Meanwhile, the employment market just keeps getting weaker and weaker.

At this point even the government is admitting that the unemployment rate just reached the highest level that we have seen since the early days of the last pandemic.

Young people are being hit particularly hard, and we are being told that this is the toughest market for college graduates in a very long time…

Rising youth unemployment could be an “early indicator that the economy is slowing down or maybe even heading towards a recession,” said Anders Humlum, assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago.

A college degree is often considered the best pathway to a well-paying job, but that may no longer be as true as it once was, experts say.

“For the first time in modern history, a bachelor’s degree is no longer a reliable path to professional employment,” Gad Levanon, chief economist at the Burning Glass Institute, told CNBC.

I feel very badly for college graduates that are searching for work in this very tough environment.

In fact, I feel very badly for anyone that is searching for work in this very tough environment.

Nobody can deny that economic activity is slowing down all around us…

There are not as many goods moving around the country. Ship counts from Asia to the US are down roughly 30% from last year. Railcar loadings are down roughly 6% against last year. The trucking industry also continues to see shrinking capacity. If there are fewer things to move around the country, then the industry will likewise need fewer drivers, loaders, and various workers. Idle trains and empty containers don’t need a lot of people to mind them.

When less stuff is being moved around the country, that means that the economy is slowing down.

We can all feel it.

Looking ahead, an alarmingly high percentage of Americans are convinced that they will be even worse off next year…

A report by Primerica found that in the third quarter of 2025, just 21% of middle-income Americans believe they’ll be better off financially in the next year, while 34% believe they’ll be worse off and 33% expect their situation to remain the same.

Those figures are notably more pessimistic than the firm’s data from the third quarter of 2020 showed, when 33% of middle-income Americans thought they would be better off financially in the next year versus just 17% who thought they would be worse off and 40% expected they would be about the same.

The mood of the entire country has changed dramatically.

I have heard from so many people that have cut back everywhere that they can, but it still isn’t enough.

Even many households that are bringing in six figure incomes have shifted into survival mode…

The effort to keep up with higher prices feels relentless to Teri Kopp, who lives in Southbury, Conn., and works as an administrator at a synagogue. “I’m tired,” she said.

Kopp and her husband Bill, an HVAC technician, earn a combined $115,000 a year. They often sit in the dark with only strings of LED lights on to save on electric costs. She is considering painting rocks to send to friends as Christmas gifts. Their biggest vacation this year, a road trip to Maine, was mostly covered by cash back from a shopping-rewards program.

Kopp, 59 years old, doesn’t see any way to quickly pay off the $15,000 in credit-card debt the family took on largely to cover medical bills for knee surgeries. She also has $30,000 in debt from her daughter’s undergraduate degree in biology, which has yet to yield any job offers in a tough labor market for new graduates.

It took a long time for us to get here.

We borrowed and spent tens of trillions of dollars that we did not have, and the Federal Reserve just kept shoveling more cash into the financial system.

As a result, the cost of living is out of control and our system is reaching a breaking point.

Our leaders kept kicking the can down the road, but in the process they kept making our long-term problems even worse.

Now a carton of medium fries is more than 4 dollars, and America’s middle class is being systematically destroyed.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 12:50

Stocks Hit Session Highs On Report Hassett Emerges As Trump's Next Fed Chair Pick

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is the front runner to succeed Fed Chair Powell, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. Speaking on CNBC earlier, Treasury Secretary Bessent said that President Trump could announce his choice before Christmas.

The pick could very well be a trial balloon: for a long time the frontrunner was viewed as Fed governor Chris Waller, although his odds faded in recent weeks, amid speculation that Hassett was Trump's favorite, and sure enough, Hassett's odds spiked to a contract high 50% on Polymarket.

With Hassett, Trump would have a close ally whom the president knows well and trusts installed at the central bank, the BBG sources - who may well be leaking information at Trump's behest - said.

"Hassett is seen as someone who would bring the president’s approach to interest rate cutting to the Fed, which Trump has long wanted to control", Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

Hassett is also closely aligned to Trump’s view on the economy, including that interest rates need to be lowered. He told Fox News on Nov. 20 that he would “be cutting rates right now” if he were the chair of the Fed because “the data suggests that we should.” Hassett has also criticized the central bank for losing control of inflation in the wake of the pandemic.

The Fed has repeatedly served as a punching bag for Trump, with the president lambasting Powell for being “too late” to cut borrowing costs and publicly musing about firing him. The president has also assailed renovations on the central bank’s campus and the White House is currently engaged in litigation over Trump’s attempted dismissal of Fed Governor Lisa Cook. 

That’s put pressure on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the selection process for the next Fed chair, to carefully balance candidates who are in favor of slashing borrowing costs and have the trust of both the president and financial markets.

Since the summer, Bessent has run the selection process to replace Powell, interviewing nearly a dozen candidates that have now been whittled down to five contenders: Hassett, Warsh, Waller, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and BlackRock’s Rick Rieder. 

Bessent said interviews with those candidates will end this week. A smaller subset of finalists will soon meet with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance.

Still, Trump is known to make surprise personnel and policy decisions, meaning a nomination is not final until it’s made public, and as anything Trump, there is a substantial chance of a major surprise when the announcement arrives. 

The next chair is likely to be named to a 14-year Fed governor term that opens on Feb. 1. The term that expires at that time is currently held by Stephen Miran, who is on unpaid leave from the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Powell’s term as chair of the central bank ends in May 2026, though he could remain on the board for two more years as a governor.

The BBG report that a dovish replacement is coming helped push stocks to session highs...

... and sent 10Y yields below 10%, in a steepening move that send short-end yields even lower.

Additionally, BBG notes that spread sellers in SOFR have also emerged, with notable interest in the March 2026/March 2027 12-month spread, covering the year after Fed Chair Powell’s term ends. 

Tyler Durden Tue, 11/25/2025 - 12:38