EU Finally Unblocks €90 Loan For Ukraine, Weighted Toward Military Spending

Ukraine has hailed the long awaited approval and release of a whopping a €90 billion loan by the European Union, which belatedly happened Thursday after months of negotiations.

"The European support loan for Ukraine has been unblocked - €90 billion over two years," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.

European Union photo

"For us this is important, and it will strengthen, of course, our army, Ukrainian forces, and allow us to boost production of air defense systems and work more to protect our energy system for the winter. Together we will solve many issues of protecting lives. And of course, we will keep working to push Russia to real diplomacy to end this war," he said.

Hungary and Slovakia, which had blocked the package, did not object before the 3 p.m. deadline, clearing final approval. This after a major Hungarian election wherein PM Viktor Orban suffered defeat, and rapid political transition is underway.

These countries lifted their vetoes after oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline finally resumed Thursday following earlier damage from Russian strikes. The timing interestingly corresponded with Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar cinching victory in a historic election.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the decision while traveling to Cyprus for talks with European leaders on the Middle East-driven energy crisis.

"While Russia doubles down on its aggression, we are doubling down on our support to the brave Ukrainian nation enabling Ukraine to defend itself," von der Leyen wrote on X.

The loan is heavily weighted toward military spending, and the NY Times says that it signifies that Kiev's Western backers see peace as being very far away. And additionally, this was unleashed by Brussels: 

The latest EU sanctions against Russia – the 20th round since the invasion – blacklist Russian banks and energy companies, as well as entities in the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and China, including Hong Kong, for helping Moscow evade western restrictions.

Again, as for what changed to finally unlocked the loan, Washington Post bluntly points out the obvious big elephant in the room...

"The two-year loan is moving forward after its main opponent, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, lost his campaign for reelection this month," WaPo writes.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/24/2026 - 02:45

Europe's Rooftop Solar Orders Triple As Gas Prices Surge

Submitted by Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

Rooftop solar installations in Europe have surged since the Middle East war triggered a new oil and gas supply crisis and hiked power prices.

Demand from households and businesses willing to install rooftop solar systems soared in March and continues to rise at even higher rates in April as consumers look to insulate themselves from spiking gas and electricity prices, equipment wholesalers and renewable utilities in Northwest Europe have told Reuters.

Rooftop solar demand in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK has jumped by between 30% and 50% since the war in the Middle East began on February 28, according to various industry executives who spoke to Reuters.

Sales at Germany's solar equipment wholesaler Solarhandel24 more than tripled last month and are set to triple again in April, amid soaring demand for rooftop solar, company representatives told Reuters.

German solar solutions provider Enpal also reported strong rooftop solar demand driving a 30% jump in orders in March from a year earlier, and expects a further 33% surge in April.

A fence made of solar panels stands along a garden in Amsterdam, Netherlands April 23, 2024. REUTERS

The UK is also looking to boost rooftop solar installations as part of the government's measures unveiled this week and aimed at breaking the outsized influence of gas prices on electricity prices.

UK firm OVO Energy said in an analysis last month that there are around 13.7 million homes across the UK that are ready for solar panels – nearly half of all residential buildings. If these are installed, they would generate 28.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) of renewable energy every year—enough power to charge all of the UK's 1.2 million EVs for almost 10 years, OVO Energy says.

Separately, industry association SolarPower Europe has found in research that solar power saved the EU $130 million (111.7 million euros) every day in the first 17 days of the Middle East conflict—savings from avoided fossil fuel imports.

Without solar electricity, the EU's fossil fuel import bill would have been 32% higher than it currently is, according to the research.

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/24/2026 - 02:00

Supreme Court To Decide Whether Colorado Can Deny Funding For Catholic Preschools

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a significant religious liberty case that pits Colorado’s universal preschool funding program against Catholic schools’ faith-based admissions and operational policies.

Earlier this week, the Court granted certiorari in an unsigned order (no dissents noted), limiting review to two questions from the petitioners’ November 2025 petition. Arguments are expected in the Court’s October 2026 term.

The Supreme Court building in Washington on April 13, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

In 2020, Colorado voters approved Proposition EE, creating dedicated funding for voluntary universal preschool. The state’s Early Childhood Act and related rules established the UPK program, which provides free preschool (initially 15 hours per week, later expanded in some descriptions) to families at participating public, private, or faith-based providers. The goal: expand access and choice for all families, including through private options.

To participate and receive taxpayer funds, preschools must sign a nondiscrimination agreement. It requires offering “equal opportunity” to enroll and serve children regardless of race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, income, disability, or other protected characteristics. The program includes some targeted preferences or exemptions (e.g., for children of color, low-income families, those with disabilities, gender-nonconforming children, or LGBTQ+ families), but participating providers must still comply with the core nondiscrimination rule.

Catholic Preschools

Catholic preschools operated by the Archdiocese of Denver (including St. Mary Catholic Preschool in Littleton and Wellspring Catholic Academy/St. Bernadette’s in Lakewood) integrate religious formation with early education. They serve as faith-filled communities where children learn, pray, and grow alongside families who share or at least respect core Catholic teachings on faith, morals, sexuality, and gender (e.g., traditional Catholic doctrine on biological sex, marriage, and gender identity). Enrollment policies typically require families to affirm support for these beliefs; some policies also address practical matters like bathroom use aligned with biological sex.

The state determined these practices violate the equal-opportunity mandate - particularly with respect to sexual orientation, gender identity, and religious affiliation - because the schools do not guarantee enrollment to families whose beliefs or identities conflict with Catholic doctrine. As a result, the Archdiocese’s roughly 30+ Catholic preschools were categorically excluded, affecting over 1,500 children and families. At least one preschool closed, and enrollment at others dropped sharply (nearly 20% in some cases), forcing families to pay out-of-pocket or choose non-Catholic options.

Plaintiffs (two parishes/preschools, the Archdiocese, and parents Daniel and Lisa Sheley, who wished to use the benefit at a Catholic preschool) sued in 2023 via the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, arguing Free Exercise Clause violations.

Lower Court Rulings

• District Court (2024): After a bench trial, it largely sided with the state on the nondiscrimination requirement but enjoined enforcement as to religious affiliation (due to certain program preferences). It found no broader First Amendment violation.
   
• 10th Circuit (Sept. 30, 2025): Unanimously affirmed for the state. It held the rule is a neutral, generally applicable law under Employment Division v. Smith (1990), so rational-basis review applies (and the rule survives). The court called Colorado’s approach a “model example” of balancing nondiscrimination with religious accommodation efforts, distinguishing it from recent Supreme Court precedents like Trinity Lutheran, Espinoza, and Carson v. Makin (which bar explicit religious-status discrimination in public benefits). No evidence of anti-religious hostility (unlike Masterpiece Cakeshop).

The 10th Circuit joined a minority position in a circuit split on when exemptions or discretion undermine a law’s “general applicability” under Smith. As the Epoch Times notes, the appeals court held that Colorado’s secular exemptions and discretion “did not undermine general applicability” - applying a Supreme Court precedent known as Employment Division v. Smith (1990). By doing this, the appeals court threw its lot in with the minority position in a circuit split regarding what kinds of exemptions and discretion are considered to undermine general applicability, the petition said.

The case is expected to be heard in the court’s next session, which begins in October.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 23:50

Europe Bets On Newsom To Reverse Trump's America - And Save Its Own Model

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

America remains a country of high social mobility and upward opportunity—something we no longer see on today’s European continent. It may sound kitschy to many Europeans, yet its vibrant economic centers, high geographic mobility, and the flexibility of its people still create the conditions for this unique phenomenon.

Admittedly, the narrative of the “land of unlimited opportunity” may sound exaggerated today—something akin to self-promotion. Yet at its core, it still holds true. Can one still make something of oneself there? Donald Trump’s deregulation program, combined with tax cuts for businesses as well as small and medium incomes, has in any case helped to revive this promise of upward mobility.

Trump’s policies go hand in hand with the elimination of fiscal privileges and subsidies. His goal: the systematic dismantling of the fiscally secured and media-backed strongholds of power of a socialist apparatus that reflects the spirit of European regulatory policy.

Put simply, under Trump, American nationalism and a rejection of ideological engineering have returned to the political agenda. With intense competition and market-driven policies at home, alongside a trade and tariff strategy reminiscent of presidents like Alexander Hamilton and William McKinley, this forms a clear countermodel to his predecessors. They had significantly advanced the European model of climate socialism as a tool of power consolidation.

For the record: it was President Barack Obama who, in 2009, identified carbon dioxide as a lever of power, integrated European regulatory frameworks, and began systematically undermining the traditional American values of individual liberty, mobility, free markets, and minimal government.

The public outrage over Trump’s reversal in key questions of political power architecture stems largely from the fact that too many had grown comfortable in a world of subsidies, NGOs, and public sector employment. European climate socialists now pin their hopes on California Governor Gavin Newsom. In two and a half years, he is expected to enter the White House and initiate a return to the status quo ante.

In Berlin, Brussels, Paris, and London, they are likely already counting the days until a possible political shift in Washington.

Trump has fallen out of favor with Europeans because his agenda of prioritizing American national interests mercilessly exposes the ideological contradictions and intellectual weakness of European socialism. Whether in foreign policy—where the U.S. asserts itself forcefully toward countries like Venezuela or Iran—or in its confrontation with the climate lobby and the left-wing NGO complex, Trump’s policies reflect the will of many Americans to finally address the consequences of globalist policies and draw the logical conclusion: dismantling this socialist overreach.

It is telling that his migration policy meets fierce resistance in the strongholds of Democratic Party power. Where migration and poverty industries have taken root, the immigration authority ICE encounters near civil-war-like resistance.

Yet it is not Trump’s fault that the European social model lies in ruins.

Europe suffers from a lack of self-criticism and a general unwillingness to confront its own ideological failures. Meanwhile, nuclear cooling towers are demolished, coal seams flooded, and gas infrastructure dismantled. The politics of ideological immaturity collide with Washington’s hard-nosed approach and the necessary repair work on a deeply damaged social and economic body.

No matter whom the Republican Party nominates as Trump’s potential successor—be it J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio—the German press has already made its choice. It longs for America’s return to European-style climate socialism: more comfortable, more predictable, and promising continued access to public funding—even for its own future. To underline this, the German weekly WirtschaftsWoche recently published a guest article by Gavin Newsom.

Newsom seeks to persuade foreign governments to view California as an independent economic entity—the world’s fifth-largest economy, still embodying the spirit of boundless opportunity.

The implicit message is clear: California’s economic stagnation is not the result of high taxes or aggressive climate policies in the European mold—nor of its war on oil and gas—but solely the fault of Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

California is Europe in miniature—a shadow of the Old Continent cast across the United States. It now finds itself exposed by Washington’s market-driven reforms, which throw its model into stark contrast. The results are increasingly visible: one system succeeds, the other falters.

In his guest contribution, Newsom naturally avoids addressing the consequences of California’s climate policies. As in Europe, CO₂ costs are placing enormous strain on industry. Companies are leaving—just as they are in Germany—and relocating to states like Texas or Florida, where industrial production is still valued.

Newsom’s socialist course, which began in 2019, is evident not only in rising public debt. More striking is the emergence of a full-fledged poverty management industry. Years of open-border policies enabled the development of a deeply corrupt system of dependency management. California has become a magnet for illegal migrants, drug addicts, and other lost individuals; at the same time, the political framework sustains an extraction economy similar to what we observe in Germany’s migration sector. The parallels are striking.

The Sunshine State, once a place of aspiration for so many, now resembles—especially in its urban centers—the kind of social decay familiar from Europe’s migration-driven slums.

Hardly a model to be proud of—yet, for WirtschaftsWoche, seemingly the ideal form of postmodern urbanity.

Newsom frequently points to the success of Silicon Valley, the powerhouse of digital innovation. Yet this engine of growth quite literally fell into his lap; he has contributed nothing of substance to enhancing the state’s innovative capacity. Silicon Valley existed before Newsom—and it will exist after him, if necessary in a different location, in new form, after escaping the suffocating grip of bureaucratic overreach.

A final word on those Europeans who hope for Trump’s failure: with Newsom and a return of the United States to European climate socialism and mass immigration, capital flight from the EU might temporarily slow. It is entirely possible that European leadership could buy time by pointing to a faltering America. But it would change nothing about Europe’s decline—only delay the inevitable.

About the author: Thomas Kolbe, a German graduate economist, has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 23:10

37 Senate Democrats Urge USPS To Refuse Trump's Vote-By-Mail Executive Order

Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times,

Thirty-seven Senate Democrats sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Postal Service’s board of governors calling on the agency to refuse to implement a March 31 executive order that directs the USPS to use state-submitted lists to determine which voters may receive mail-in and absentee ballots.

The order specifically mentions U.S. citizenship as a key element for eligibility.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led the effort alongside three ranking committee members: Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee; and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Executive Order 14399, signed March 31 by President Donald Trump, directs the Postmaster General to initiate a rulemaking within 60 days establishing uniform standards for mail-in and absentee ballot processing. 

Under the order, USPS would be prohibited from transmitting mail-in or absentee ballots to any voter not enrolled on a state-submitted eligibility list, which the order calls a “Mail-In and Absentee Participation List.” A final rule must be issued within 120 days of signing.

The order also directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile federal citizenship records into state-by-state voter eligibility lists, drawn from Social Security Administration and immigration databases, and transmit those lists to state election officials at least 60 days before each federal election.

The senators argued that the order unconstitutionally transfers authority over federal elections to the executive branch, noting that the Constitution vests authority over the ’times, places, and manner' of federal elections with the states, subject to alteration by Congress.

“The Constitution provides no role for the President in regulating federal elections,” the Democratic senators wrote. “And no statute delegates to the President any authority to regulate elections or voter eligibility either, including via USPS. By issuing the executive order, however, the President is attempting to unconstitutionally consolidate power to personally regulate American elections.” 

The senators said the order would effectively ban mail-in voting in any state unwilling to submit its absentee voter lists to the USPS, and would give the postal agency power to determine which voters’ ballots get delivered to election officials at all.

The senators also pointed to language in a December 2025 USPS rule on postmarking procedures, in which the agency described its limited role in elections. 

“While the Proposed Rule contains information of potential relevance to election officials and to citizens who choose to vote by mail, the Postal Service does not administer elections, establish the rules or deadlines that govern elections, or determine whether or how election jurisdictions utilize the mail or incorporate our postmark into their rules,” the rule noted. “The Postal Service also does not advocate for or against any particular voting practices (including mail-in voting).”

The order has generated legal battles on two fronts.

1. On the voter data side, the federal government sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for refusing to hand over voter registration records to federal officials, and at least five federal judges have ruled against that effort. 

2. On the mail-in ballot side, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a lawsuit on April 1, arguing that the order restricts Americans’ ability to vote by mail. A coalition of 12 Republican state attorneys general filed motions on April 20 in Massachusetts and Washington to defend the order against that challenge. 

The White House and USPS did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

The letter was addressed to USPS Chairwoman Amber McReynolds, Vice Chairman Derek Kan, Governors Ronald Stroman and Daniel Tangherlini, and Postmaster General David Steiner.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 22:10

Judge Blocks Trump Admin's Move To Halt Wind, Solar Approvals

Authored by Owen Evans via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to halt federal approvals for wind and solar projects.

Chief U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction on April 21, sought by a coalition of renewable energy groups.

The injunction blocks five specified agency action measures, including Interior review rules, a wildlife permitting ban, land-use limits, an Army Corps memo, and a legal opinion that had tightened permitting and slowed wind and solar approvals.

The judge said the plaintiffs were “likely to succeed on the merits of their claims” that the Interior Department and other agencies adopted policies that violate the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how U.S. agencies make and justify policy decisions.

Her ruling applies to members of the plaintiff organizations, which include RENEW Northeast and Alliance for Clean Energy New York.

“This is an undeniable victory for members of our coalition and the broader clean energy industry, as well as American households and businesses,” ​the groups said in a joint statement.

The Interior Department said in a statement that while it does not comment on litigation, “America sets the global standard for energy production.”

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump pledged to maximize U.S. oil and natural gas production and suspended offshore wind leases.

On April 20, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to issue a series of memorandums focused on strengthening coal supply chains, ​natural gas transmission, and ​liquefied natural gas capacity.

The president also signed memos aimed at boosting domestic petroleum production, enhancing grid infrastructure, and expanding the deployment of “large-scale energy” and related infrastructure.

In a post on X, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the memos would allow the Energy Department to use funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to strengthen the country’s “grid infrastructure and unleash reliable, affordable, secure energy.”

The Defense Production ​Act is ​a ⁠Cold War-era legislation that grants the president authority to expand and expedite the supply of materials from the domestic industrial base for national security purposes.

In April 2025, the Trump administration ordered a halt to the development of Norway-based company Equinor’s Empire Wind project, which the Biden administration approved in 2023. However, the stop-work order was lifted a month later, and construction was allowed to resume.

The Trump administration’s actions are a significant shift from the Biden administration’s effort to expand wind-power leasing, which aimed to build 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030 and another 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind power by 2035.

According to legal firm Latham & Watkins, Foreign Entity of Concern rules, strengthened by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, aim to block the Chinese regime’s influence in the solar and renewable energy supply chain by denying clean energy tax credits to projects that involve entities linked to the regime.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the BBC in September 2025 that the Trump administration had “serious concerns” about Europe’s reliance on Chinese renewable technologies.

“It looks like the Chinese could control what’s going on with your energy system,” he said.

Wright also claimed in a Sept. 2, 2025, post on X, “Even if you wrapped the entire planet in a solar panel, you would only be producing 20 percent of global energy.”

“One of the biggest mistakes politicians can make is equating electricity with energy,” he added.

Trump, a vocal critic of wind energy, particularly in the UK, has described it as “the most expensive energy ever conceived.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 20:20

Mercuria, Goldman, JPMorgan See Major Aluminum Market Shock

Analysts at Mercuria, the Geneva-based Swiss commodities trading firm, are sounding the alarm on the global aluminum market after severe disruptions in the Gulf region, adding to a growing list of trading desks and research teams warning of a deepening supply shock.

"The scale of the supply shock we're seeing in the aluminum market is probably the largest single supply shock a base metals market has suffered in the post-2000 era," Mercuria commodities analyst Nick Snowdon told Reuters on the sidelines of the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Snowdon then told Reuters, "We are already in a 'black swan' event. No one could have foreseen something on this scale."

Mercuria is a Swiss commodities trading house based in Geneva. Its traders sell, ship, store, and finance physical commodities across markets such as oil, gas, power, LNG, and metals.

Snowdon's alarm over the global aluminum market is mainly because the Gulf region accounts for 9% of world supply, and with major smelters already declaring force majeure and the Hormuz chokepoint blocked for much of this week, this is shaping up to be one of the most memorable shocks in the metal market in decades.

Aluminum prices have already surged to a four-year high, and Mercuria estimates the market could face at least a 2 million-ton deficit by the end of the year, potentially worse if the US-Iran conflict drags on and alumina flows through Hormuz chokepoint remain heavily constrained.

"That shortfall compares with about 1.5 million tons of visible inventory and just over 3 million tons of total global stock, including non-visible units, leaving the market with limited buffers," Snowdon said, adding that a larger deficit is possible. 

He warned that the most exposed supply chains to the Gulf shock are in the US and Europe. He noted both regions rely heavily on Middle Eastern aluminum imports and already have low stockpiles.

Last week, JPMorgan analysts warned that the aluminum market is descending into a black hole, or a "metaphorical point of no return," where the "global aluminum market will face a serious and prolonged supply outage," even if vessel flows through the Hormuz chokepoint resume in the near term.

Separately, Goldman commodity specialist James McGeoch recently warned clients, "Hard to think of a bigger metal supply shock: High degree of expectation this was where it was heading, but the initial reaction was to fade the uncertainty yesterday. That should be replaced by fresh length if history is a guide."

From Mercuria to JPM to Goldman, traders and analysts at these mega institutions are all warning of a metal supply shock, with major risks that could curtail the production of anything from planes to tanks to cars and even power infrastructure. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 19:55

CIA-Backed AQ-Linked Syrian Leader Watching Dance Performance To Missy Elliott Song Goes Viral

Via Middle East Eye

A video of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (previously, Abu Mohammad al-Julani) watching a dance performance to Missy Elliott's Work It has gone viral, sparking a mix of amusement and confusion on social media.

The performance took place on Monday at the recently reopened al-Feyhaa Sports Hall in Damascus, which Sharaa had inaugurated earlier that day before a Syria-Lebanon basketball match later that evening.

The game marks the first time Syria and Lebanon have played against each other since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. 

Ahead of the game, a group of dancers took to the stage, performing a dance routine to Work It, a song containing sexually explicit lyrics, by US rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. Other performances reportedly included Rihanna's Rudeboy and Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl. 

The Syrian leader is seen sitting in the audience with a deadpan expression on his face. 

In light of Sharaa's background as a former militant and member of al-Qaeda, his attendance at a performance of a western song, featuring sexually explicit lyrics, stunned many social media users. 

"The ISIS president of Syria Al-Sharaa vibing to @MissyElliott is not something I was ready to see this year", one person commented on X.

After Sharaa’s Islamist group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, seized Damascus on December 8, 2024, ousting longtime ruler Assad, Sharaa became Syria's interim president and rapidly transformed from a militant into a statesman.

The concept of a former terrorist Leader publicly jamming to "Work It" by Missy Elliott pic.twitter.com/i7Y7nXvVl3

— Moh (@Daimohnds) April 21, 2026

"Never thought I'd mention al-Sharaa and Missy Elliot in the same sentence, but then here we are. Not touching the lyrics (I doubt Sharaa knows what Missy E is singing about)... but damn, what a “flip it and reverse it” moment!", another person posted on X, in response to the video.

Shortly after celebrating his victory in December 2024, Sharaa warmly began embracing world leaders he once eschewed and appeared in western media outlets, where he spoke of Syria's "diversity as a strength" and of "unifying the country".

He also promised to pursue former government personnel and loyalists implicated in war crimes, trimmed his beard and lost his turban and thobe for a suit and tie. 

The ISIS president of Syria Al-Sharaa vibing to @MissyElliott is not something I was ready to see this year. https://t.co/y19UVH3Bup

— Joel Jenkins (@boganintel) April 22, 2026

His attendance at the performance was seen by many online as a further sign of his departure from his past, albeit with raised eyebrows, given the swiftness of his transformation.

"Al Qaeda is dead and Missy Elliott is alive!" one user posted on X.

While Syria's transitional administration has initiated economic reforms, including public-sector employee reductions, tax system reforms, and the reopening of border crossings, several people have questioned the sustainability of Sharaa's transformation and pointed out that the Syrian leader has, to date, not publicly apologized for past actions. 

His transition from head chopper to Missy Elliott fan has to be one of the most remarkable transformation stories ever. Yet we have heard virtually zero explanation as to his change, nor any apologies for his past actions

— Sheriff Detmer (@SheriffDetmer) April 21, 2026

"His transition from head chopper to Missy Elliott fan has to be one of the most remarkable transformation stories ever. Yet we have heard virtually zero explanation as to his change, nor any apologies for his past actions," a social media user commented on X. 

* * *

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 18:40

PIMCO Privately Lends Over $10 Billion To Dollar-Strapped Gulf States

Just days after the UAE hinted at a growing dollar shortage in the Gulf nation by requesting swap lines with the Fed, Bloomberg reports that as Iran's struggling neighbors scramble to build cash buffers to deal with any potential economic fallout from the Iran war, one large buyer has stepped in: the world's largest bond manager, Pacific Investment Management Co.

Since the start of the Iran war, Pimco has lent more than $10 billion to state-backed and government borrowers in the Gulf via so-called private placements. The $2.27 trillion asset manager has been a significant buyer of privately placed bonds issued by the governments of Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Kuwait, as well as by Qatar National Bank. Pimco also participated alongside other investors in several placements that boosted the size of existing Abu Dhabi bonds by a combined $2.5 billion. 

In total, regional borrowers raised $13.8 billion from Feb. 28 to April 23, in privately placed bonds denominated in hard currency, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, with Pimco accounting for a majority of that lending.

Private placements offer trade-offs for issuers rushing to get to market: they can be more expensive than public debt (and thus soffer higher returns for buyers such as Pimco). In return, sellers are able to borrow faster, with more privacy and greater flexibility on deal terms.

The coupon on Qatar’s privately placed bond was 4.8%. That was about 0.3% higher than implied by the yield curve for the country’s public traded bonds, according to Bloomberg calculations. The actual yield for bondholders depends on the price at which they bought it from the issuer, which wasn’t disclosed.

“Not all countries have the option of borrowing at reasonable interest rates at a time of geopolitical uncertainty. It’s notable that the three Gulf nations with the strongest balance sheets are the ones tapping the market,” said Ziad Daoud, chief emerging markets economist at Bloomberg Economics. “And they’re resorting to private borrowing instead of public issuance. The latter probably requires more disclosure and higher transparency.”

To Pimco, which has been invested heavily in emerging market bonds, the Gulf scramble to find buyers for its bonds has been a boon. The Newport Beach-based fund opened an office in Dubai last year, joining a rush of investment companies seeking to deepen their presence in a region flush with sovereign wealth. Pimco said this move built on over 20 years of managing assets for investors in the Middle East.

Pimco intends to hold the bonds over the long term, a Bloomberg source said. Earlier this month, Pimco - which is rapidly emerging as a lender of last resort - bought all of a $400 million bond issued by a Blue Owl Capital, in an important vote of confidence for the private credit specialist.

Gulf bond markets have been among the busiest globally in recent years, with regional borrowers selling about $50 billion of public debt in the first two months of this year. But those markets have effectively shut since the conflict began.

Before a ceasefire between the US and Iran was agreed in early April, Gulf Arab states contended with thousands of missiles and drones over several weeks, intercepting the vast majority. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted energy exports — a key source of government revenue — prompting the International Monetary Fund to cut growth forecasts across the region.

Over the weekend, the WSJ reported that the UAE informally inquired about a currency swap, if the economic and financial impact of the war worsens. The Emirati ambassador to Washington signaled the country had no need for external financing, and Bloomberg Economics’ Daoud described the inquiry as “a call for confidence, not a call for help.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that many Persian Gulf allies had requested foreign exchange swap lines with the US, a day after President Donald Trump said an arrangement with the UAE is under consideration.

 

 

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 18:15

Air Force Extends Use Of Iran Attack Plane A-10 'Warthog' To 2030

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Air Force said on April 20 that it would extend the life of the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft—commonly referred to as the “Warthog”—for another four years beyond its previously stated retirement deadline of 2026.

Air Force Secretary Troy ​Meink wrote on X that following consultation with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the Air Force “will EXTEND the A-10 ‘Warthog’ platform to 2030,” adding that this decision “preserves combat power as the Defense Industrial Base works to increase combat aircraft production.”

The A-10 is being deployed in operations in Iran, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which said in a March 25 post on X that it had been used to strike Iranian naval vessels during Operation Epic Fury.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine previously revealed at a March 19 Pentagon news conference that the craft was “now in the fight across the southern flank and is hunting and killing fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz.”

According to an Air Force fact sheet, the Warthog was the first Air Force aircraft designed specifically to provide air support for ground forces. It can fly near combat areas for extended periods of time, and be used as an attack aircraft against ground targets, “including tanks and other armored vehicles.”

Former F-16 Thunderbird fighter pilot Ryan Bodenheimer, who runs the YouTube channel “Max Afterburner,” described A-10 in a March 15 video as “America’s flying tank.” He said it could be used to take down Shahed drones, as well as some of the fast-attack boats Iran still had in service at the time.

The Warthog is resilient, able to survive hits from armor-piercing and high-explosive projectiles up to 23mm, according to the Air Force.

However, they’re not invulnerable. On April 3, a pilot ejected from an A-10 after it was hit, with Iranian forces taking credit. The pilot parachuted to safety in Kuwait before the Warthog crashed.

Attempts to Retire the A-10

Some in the Air Force said that the A-10, which first flew in 1976, is too old, too slow, and too expensive to maintain, ​prompting calls for its retirement to free up funds to develop modern defense solutions such as hypersonic weapons. But those opposed to the retirement say that cutting the fleet before there is a suitable replacement could leave ground troops without adequate air support.

In 2021, then-President Joe Biden wanted to retire dozens of the aircraft to free up resources for modernization, but  Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.)—in whose state many of the craft are based—pushed back and secured language in defense legislation that blocked retirements.

Kelly argued that the aircraft should not be taken out of commission until a replacement is available.

That same year, Air Force Lt. Gen. David Nahom told a House of Representatives hearing that if the number of A-10s is not reduced, the Air Force will face a shortage of mechanics for newer planes.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II undergoes pre-flight inspections at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona on March 23, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jesse Shipps

The Warthog has some enthusiastic defenders outside the Pentagon.

Defense analyst Mike Fredenburg wrote in a March 24 opinion piece in The Epoch Times: “Despite Air Force claims that the A-10 has no place on the modern battlefield, a claim it has been making for decades, the A-10 is once again using its unmatched versatility and loitering capability to destroy fast-attack watercraft, drones, and enemy positions.

“And for the role it is performing in Operation Epic Fury, the Warthog is vastly superior to any F-35, F-15, F-16, or B-2, or even the most advanced drone in the U.S. arsenal.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 17:50

Texas Instruments Jumps Most Since Dot-Com On Upgraded Outlook; Goldman Sees Analog Recovery

Shares of Texas Instruments jumped the most since the Dot-Com bubble era after the chipmaker issued a stronger-than-expected second-quarter forecast, signaling that demand is rebounding across industrial markets and data centers. Goldman analysts told clients the guidance suggests the "analog recovery is continuing." 

Revenue guidance of $5 billion to $5.4 billion and profit guidance of $1.77 to $2.05 a share both came in well above the Bloomberg Consensus estimate of estimate $4.85 billion, while first-quarter results also beat expectations.

Here's a snapshot of first-quarter results (courtesy of Bloomberg):

EPS $1.68 vs. $1.28 y/y, estimate $1.38

Revenue $4.83 billion, +19% y/y, estimate $4.53 billion

• Analog revenue $3.92 billion, +22% y/y, estimate $3.68 billion
• Embedded processing revenue $723 million, +12% y/y, estimate $683 million
• Other revenue $178 million, -16% y/y, estimate $168.7 million

Operating profit $1.81 billion, +37% y/y, estimate $1.54 billion

Capital expenditure $676.0 million, -40% y/y, estimate $689.9 millio

Free cash flow $1.40 billion, estimate $1.2 billion

R&D expenses $510 million, -1.4% y/y, estimate $530.7 million

Cash and cash equivalents $3.55 billion, +28% y/y, estimate $3.25 billion

CEO Haviv Ilan told analysts on an earlier call that the resurgence in demand for industrial components was broad-based across all geographies and segments. He added that while the company's revenue remains below its previous peak, that's only spurring optimism that upside momentum will continue.

"There is a lot of room to grow," Ilan said. "I saw it across all sectors in industrial."

Institutional commentary from Goldman analyst James Schneider had some very positive takeaways from earnings:

Key stock takeaways: We expect the stock to trade higher following a quarter and guidance that came in well above the Street. We believe expectations were somewhat elevated given management's constructive commentary at recent conferences, and based on our conversations we believe most investors were positioned more constructively ahead of the quarter.

We see the strong recovery in the industrial end market as a particularly encouraging read-across for the sector. Although we continue to see a recovery across the analog sector (including for TI), we believe peers have managed their inventory levels far more proactively — and hence we believe gross margins are likely to recover much faster for peers (along with significant upward earnings revisions) than for TI.

We continue to have a preference for peers (including Microchip, NXP, and Analog Devices) who are likely to see greater upward earnings revisions in the near term, and we retain our relative Sell rating on TXN given the ongoing gross margin headwinds we expect in the coming quarters.

Schneider continued: 

Read-through to our coverage: We expect a positive initial reaction for the analog group, with the most direct read-across for MCHP (Buy) and ADI (Buy) given their relatively high industrial exposures.

He raised Goldman's 12-month price target to $200 from the previous $175 and maintained a "sell" rating: 

Here's what other institutional desks are saying:

Barclays (raised to equal-weight from underweight, PT to $250 from $175)

• Upgrade reflects multiple quarters of growth in the company's Industrial business

• While a lot seems baked into the stock, "Industrial exposure is the place to be in Analog today"

BofA Global Research (raised to buy from neutral, PT to $320 from $235)

• Upgrades rating after solid 1Q earnings on "industrial strength, data center power content, and US-based manufacturing"

• "Pricing has not been a factor, but could offer incremental good news in 2H which we conservatively model below seasonal trends"

Truist Securities (hold, PT $225)

• The results show broad-based upside, including "strong cash flow performance" 

• "Capital allocation was constructive for equity"

• The outlook is better than expected

Bloomberg Intelligence

• "Texas Instruments' 1Q results and 2Q outlook significantly beat consensus, solidifying a robust and broad recovery across its industrial markets, likely aided by new data-center sales"

Evercore ISI (outperform, PT to $316 from $270)

• The results were better than expected, while the outlook is "above seasonal"

Citi (buy, PT to $280 from $235)

• The results are strong, while the outlook is "well above seasonal"

Bloomberg Consensus Breakdown:

Traders rewarded Texas Instruments for its upgraded earnings outlook with buying panic mania on Thursday.

Shares in late-afternoon trading were up nearly 20%, the largest intraday move since the 24% gain on October 19, 2000. 

Shares are in bluesky breakout territory:

Professional subscribers can read Goldman's TI takeaway here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 17:25

12 AGs Petition Court To Defend Trump's Executive Order On Citizenship Verification In Elections

Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times,

Attorneys general from a dozen states on April 20 asked to intervene in two lawsuits that oppose President Donald Trump’s executive order on citizenship verification and other election integrity efforts.

The coalition of attorneys general filed motions in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, expressing support for the president’s March 31 executive order, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.”

After Trump issued the order, “left-leaning activists and progressive states” immediately challenged it, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office said in a news release, “claiming it represents a federal intrusion on state authority over elections.”

She characterized Trump’s actions as “common-sense election integrity measures” in a statement and resolved to “defend every lawful step that promotes accurate [voter] rolls, secure absentee processes, and transparent administration.”

The president also issued a broader order in March 2025, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.”

Both election-related orders have spawned numerous courtroom battles.

On April 17, a federal judge in Rhode Island became at least the fifth to rule against the Trump’ administration’s voter-roll-collection attempts. Some states agreed to turn over the requested data, but the Trump administration sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for refusing to do so.

Trump’s 2026 order requires federal agencies to compile a state citizenship list to assist state election officials in confirming which people are U.S. citizens, over 18, and residents of the state—all mandatory to be eligible to vote.

The order also instructs the U.S. Postal Service to improve security of mail-in ballots, using means such as barcodes that allow tracking of official election mail.

“Missouri and the other states are fighting for access to these resources and to work alongside the federal government in guarding the integrity of American elections,” Hanaway wrote.

Attorneys general who joined Hanaway’s coalition hail from Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (L) and President Donald Trump before signing an executive order on election integrity in the Oval Office on March 31, 2026. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The Washington lawsuit against Trump, filed on April 1 by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other Democrats, frames Trump’s order as another attempt to “rewrite election rules for his own perceived partisan advantage.”

The lawsuit also calls provisions of Trump’s order “convoluted and confusing,” adding, “What is clear is that it dramatically restricts the ability of Americans to vote by mail, impinging on traditional state authority.”

In a separate action filed in the District of Columbia court on April 21, a grassroots organization, Common Cause, is asking a judge to stop what it calls “an illegal and unprecedented quest to stockpile millions of Americans’ confidential voter data.”

Common Cause requested the court to “hold unlawful, stay, vacate, and set aside” the national Voter Registration Nationalization Policy and to prohibit the Justice Department from “unlawful disclosure and use” of voter data.

The Massachusetts lawsuit, filed April 2, alleges that Trump’s order “violates the constitutional separation of powers because the president doesn’t have authority to set election rules. Only the states and Congress may do so,” a news release from the Brennan Center for Justice says.

The Brennan Center’s attorneys worked with lawyers from other groups to file the federal complaint on behalf of the lead plaintiff, the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, and additional organizations.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 17:00

Intel Shares Soar On Strong AI-Fueled Outlook, Surpassing August 2000 Peak

Chipmaker Intel, which less than a year ago was trading like a distressed company, and required a capital infusion from the US government, and earlier today hit a 90x forward PE...

... soared after hours after giving a strong sales forecast for the current period, signaling that the recently struggling chipmaker is finally beginning to benefit from the giant build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure. But before we get there, here is a quick look at what the company reported for the first quarter: 

• Adjusted EPS 29c vs. 13c y/y, beating estimate 1.0c
   
• Revenue $13.58 billion, +7.2% y/y, beating estimates of $12.36 billion
  • Intel Products revenue $12.78 billion, +8.7% y/y, beating estimate $11.53 billion
  • Client Computing revenue $7.73 billion, +1.3% y/y, beating estimate $7.1 billion
  • Datacenter & AI revenue $5.05 billion, +22% y/y, beating estimate $4.41 billion
  • Intel Foundry revenue $5.42 billion, +16% y/y, beating estimate $4.81 billion
  • All Other revenue $628 million, -33% y/y, beating estimate $605.3 million
  • Intersegment eliminations revenue -$5.25 billion, -12% y/y
     
• R&D expenses $3.38 billion, -7.3% y/y, beating estimate $3.18 billion
• Adjusted gross margin 41% vs. 39.2% y/y, beating estimates of 34.5%
• Adjusted operating income $1.67 billion vs. $690 million y/y, beating estimate $386.2 million
• Adjusted operating margin 12.3% vs. 5.4% y/y, beating estimate 3.08%

The Intel Foundry Services division - the company’s factory unit - generated revenue of $5.4 billion, up 16%. That unit currently relies almost exclusively on Intel product divisions for orders, though it is seeking outside customers. Its PC chip division had revenue of $7.7 billion, and the data center unit posted sales of $5.1 billion. All of those totals topped Wall Street estimates.  Gross margin was 41% on an adjusted basis. When Intel was at the height of its powers, it regularly reported margins north of 60%. It predicted a margin of 39% in the current period.

Commenting on the results, CFO David Zinsner said that “we remain focused on maximizing our factory network to improve available supply and meet our customers’ needs throughout the year.“

CEO Lip-Bu Tan chimed in: “The next wave of AI will bring intelligence closer to the end user, moving from foundational models to inference to agentic. This shift is significantly increasing the need for Intel’s CPUs and wafer and advanced packaging offerings." 

While Q1 results were solid, especially at the data center level, it was the Q2 forecast that caught the market's attention: 

• Revenue will be $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion in the quarter ending in June, beating estimates of $13 billion.
• Adjusted EPS will be about 20 cents a share, also beating estimates of 9 cents.
• Margin is projected to rise to 39.0%, 

The upbeat outlook suggests that CEO Lip-Bu Tan is making progress on a challenging comeback plan. After lining up major investments in Intel last year which helped to strengthen the company’s balance sheet - Thursday’s results suggest he’s now delivering on a promise to improve its operations. 

The earnings report shows that the need for data center chips to power the massive AI expansion is lifting demand for Intel’s flagship Xeon server processors. That type of generalist semiconductor is a renewed focus for companies trying to turn their AI software into services that bring in revenue.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Tan said Intel delivered a “solid result” that was ahead of its projections. He expects the strong demand for processors used in AI systems to expand and said the company is “laser-focused” on increasing output from Intel’s factories, which still can’t produce enough to fill all its orders. 

“There is huge demand,” Tan said. “We are working very hard with our team to make sure we deliver, that we meet that demand but we are still short because the demand keeps increasing from the customers.

And, as Bloomberg notes, for now Intel has also been able to navigate another challenge the PC industry is facing: memory-chip shortages.

To be sure, the company has a long way to go to restore its former chip-industry glory. Its annual revenue of $53 billion last year was roughly $25 billion shy of the company’s peak revenue, achieved in 2021, when the stock was far lower. Wall Street projects 3% growth in 2026.

Red-hot demand for server products has lured memory suppliers into concentrating on the high-speed processors for those machines. That’s cut into production of standard products used in phones and personal computers, meaning fewer of those mass-market devices are being built and the prices are going up.

In addition to making progress on production, Tan has restored Intel’s balance sheet via outside investments - to the point where the company bought back part of a factory in Ireland that it had been forced to sell to raise cash. That purchase was seen as a sign of future confidence by investors. Adding to the optimism, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that he will use Intel technology as part of his effort to build an in-house chip manufacturing plant. Tan declined to provide further details on the relationship.

Finally, Intel said it would spend more than originally budgeted on capex, according to CFO Dave Zinsner. The company has plenty of factory space and will add more machines to fill it out, he said. Capital expenditures will now be about flat from where they were last year. Intel had earlier said it planned to reduce its outlay. 

In response to the strong earnings and guidance, Intel shares rose 14% in extended trading. The stock had gained 81% this year before the results were released, closing at $66.78. This has now pushed the company's fwd PE well above 100x.

With the 14% surge after hours, Intel stock has finally surpassed its dot com bubble high of $74.88 hit in August of 2000.

As Shay Boloor writes, "all it took was a CPU shortage, AI agents, SpaceX + TSLA terafabs and a bit of help from the U.S. government + NVDA." 

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 16:46

Israel Waiting For US Greenlight To Renew Iran War: New 'Targets Marked', Says Katz

It should come as no surprise that the Netanyahu government is not happy with this current lull in the Iran war, as Trump's initially declared 3-5 day ceasefire extension has become more of an indefinite truce, with the Hormuz Strait blockade still on.

Israel is now preparing for the possibility of a return to fighting, the country's media is on Thursday reporting. Israel's leadership has consistently stated that it wants to see regime change or else total government and societal collapse, saying that only then would Iran never more be a 'threat to Israel.

Fresh remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz have made clear that "Israel is prepared to renew the war against Iran. The IDF is prepared for both defense and offense, and the targets are marked."

But tellingly, he admitted a big obstacle stands in the way before the go ahead for a renewed bombing campaign can be given.

"We are waiting for the green light from the U.S., first and foremost, to complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty and to return Iran to the dark and stone ages by destroying Iran's major energy and power facilities," Katz said.

"This time, our strikes will be different and more deadly, and will deliver further devastating blows to the most painful places, which will shake and collapse the regime's foundations," he added.

Currently, the only place where Israeli forces are still actively engaged in combat related to the Iran conflict is in Lebanon. Technically a 10-day ceasefire, which is hanging by a thread, is still on. 

But there has been ongoing fighting and shelling targeting Hezbollah in the south, and the last days have seen it grow more intense, per local reports.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to chair security consultations on Thursday evening, against backdrop of growing difficulties in the US-Iran talks, which appear to have been effectively frozen for the time being.

Israel says it is "prepared for any scenario" and is without doubt intensifying its intelligence-gathering and military preparedness, which includes the urgent restocking of its dwindled interceptor and missile arsenal.

Israel Defense Minister Katz:

Israel is prepared to renew the war against Iran. Waiting on a U.S. green light. pic.twitter.com/MTGFSAe5wh

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 23, 2026

Al Arabiya, citing Israel Channel 13 is reporting that there's general anticipation in Israel that the war could resume "by the end of the week."

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 16:40

Euthanasia Is Now 6% Of All Deaths In The Netherlands

Via Remix News,

Euthanasia is now responsible for 6 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands, and this figure is increasing every year.

According to a report by the regional euthanasia review committee (RTE), cited by the news portal Hirado, 10,341 people died by euthanasia in 2025, and while three-quarters of the applicants were over 70 years old, one case involved someone between the age of 12 and 18.

The number of those choosing to die by euthanasia due to mental illnesses decreased by almost a fifth (174 cases), but more than 85 percent suffered from physical diseases such as cancer, nervous system disorders, and lung or cardiovascular diseases.

There were 499 cases of euthanasia performed on patients with dementia, and the RTE investigated 11 cases where the patient was no longer competent. In addition, 475 cases involved the co-existence of multiple age-related illnesses, and 278 cases involved “other reasons.”

Pro-life advocates have argued that these “other reasons” often include selfish human interests, such as family members pressuring or emotionally manipulating an older relative to go through with euthanasia in order to obtain inheritance faster. In these cases, euthanasia is often carried out even when, according to supporters, it could not be justified.

Another seven cases involved doctors who did not fully comply with the required standards of care, and these are under investigation.

Just recently in Spain, a 25-year-old woman, Noelia Castillo Ramos, ended her life, despite her parents waging a two-year legal battle, fighting until the last minute for their daughter’s life. Although a ruling by the Constitutional Court in Madrid states that euthanasia cannot be used in cases where the source of suffering is mental illness, since “the state has the duty to protect these individuals from the risk of suicide,” Castillo Ramos was nevertheless was allowed to go through with euthanasia.

According to the Christian Lawyers organization, which represented the woman’s parents at various levels during the legal battle, “this case highlights the failure of the euthanasia law, since it facilitates suicide without the individual having received prior mental health treatment,” meaning that they would have had a chance to recover and live a full and happy life.

Spain’s Catholic bishops warned that “euthanasia and assisted suicide are not medical acts, but deliberate interruptions of the bond of care, and represent a social defeat when presented as a response to human suffering.”

In Castillo’s specific case, they added, “we are not dealing with a fatal illness, but with deep wounds that cry out for attention, treatment and hope.” Their call was also significant because it could help prevent further cases that lead to the taking of innocent lives.

The Spanish bishops also reminded society that “the dignity of the human person does not depend on their state of health, their subjective perception of life or their degree of autonomy,” but rather “is an intrinsic value that must be recognized, protected and helped in all circumstances.” For this reason, the response to human suffering “can never be to cause death, but rather to offer closeness, accompaniment, appropriate care and comprehensive support.”

“When life hurts, the answer is not to shorten the path, but to walk it together. Only in this way can we build a truly just society, where no one feels alone or excluded,” they concluded.

A group of Dutch experts in the field of child psychiatry recently called attention to the need to be particularly careful when it comes to cases of young people under the age of 25 requesting euthanasia due to psychological suffering. Their research suggests that the decision-making abilities of members of this age group can be influenced by brain development and a number of external influences.

According to the professors cited, the condition of those under the age of 25 is less likely to be considered permanent than that of those older than them. In addition, they are more exposed to social pressure and online influences, which can cause significant damage and lead them to make a compulsive and short-sighted decision.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 16:20

"Gone In 60 Seconds": Feds Uncover DC-Area International Car Theft Ring

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Federal authorities in the Washington area have uncovered an alleged international vehicle theft ring involving six people suspected of stealing cars and shipping them to Africa, where they are sold for top dollar.

Six people were charged on April 22 in connection with their roles in the alleged scheme.

A 15-count federal indictment was unsealed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charging the defendants with conspiracy to steal at least 20 vehicles in the Washington metropolitan area and Pennsylvania.

The cars are transported over state lines and sold to buyers in the United States and the African nation of Ghana, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington.

The indictment follows a year-long investigation into an alleged auto-theft ring in the District of Columbia area that involved vehicles stolen using electronic devices that allowed thieves to reprogram cars to accept blank key fobs, prosecutors said.

“They don’t need keys, and they don’t need hot wiring—no smashed windows, no drama—just a sleek electronic device called an ‘Autel’ and under a minute the car’s brain is rewritten,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said during a press conference on April 22.

“The car is gone in 60 seconds.”

An Autel device can be used to erase a vehicle’s records and reprogram its keys. Law enforcement is continuing to investigate the case, Pirro said.

The auto theft ring could involve more than 100 vehicles in the District of Columbia and more than 30 vehicles in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Police officers working on the case executed a search warrant on April 21 at an automobile storage facility in Decatur, Georgia, locating several of the missing vehicles, prosecutors said.

The suspects are Jacob Hernandez, 29, of Los Angeles; Dustin Wetzel, 23, of Woodbridge, Virginia; James Young, 23, of Hyattsville, Maryland; Khobe David, 24, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; and Chance Clark, 25, of Waldorf, Maryland.

Another defendant remains at large and is considered a fugitive. Prosecutors did not release the name of that defendant, whose indictment remained sealed.

According to the indictment, the stolen vehicles—mostly newer Honda Civics and CRVs, and Acura TLXs and RDXs—were first taken to be “cooled off” in storage locations in southeast Washington. Theeves allegedly disguised the cars by swapping license plates and obscuring the vehicle identification numbers (VINs), according to prosecutors.

Before shipping the stolen cars, the conspirators allegedly disabled the GPS and Bluetooth systems to deter detection.

A car transporter in Maryland was loaded with several of the recovered vehicles from an alleged international auto-theft ring that federal authorities say was connected to six people in the Washington metropolitan area. U.S. DOJ

“This isn’t joyriding,” Pirro said. “These are high-end vehicles loaded on transport carriers headed to ports in Savannah [Georgia] and Baltimore, Maryland.”

The stolen cars were then loaded onto shipping containers labeled as furniture to avoid more scrutiny and sent to Africa, where they were able to get “top dollar,” Pirro said.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 15:20

Beyond Cookies - How To Stop The Invisible Browser Fingerprint That Tracks You Everywhere

For years, the privacy advice was simple: clear your cookies, use incognito mode, or click "Reject All" on those annoying consent banners. That advice is now outdated.

A groundbreaking study published last year has delivered the first peer-reviewed proof that the $600 billion online advertising industry has moved on from cookies. The new tracking method is called browser fingerprinting, and it works even if you never log in, never accept cookies, and have legally opted out under privacy laws.

Researchers from Texas A&M University and Johns Hopkins University built a tool named FPTrace to measure exactly how this works in the wild. They simulated real user sessions, systematically altered browser fingerprints, and watched what happened to the ads being served and the bids advertisers placed in real time. The results were clear: when the fingerprint changed, the price advertisers were willing to pay to target that "user" changed with it. Tracking signals dropped. The system was actively using the fingerprint to follow people across sessions and sites.

And crucially, this happened even in tests where cookies were fully deleted and users were in "opt-out" mode under GDPR and CCPA rules. The law’s exit door for cookies does not cover fingerprinting.

How Browser Fingerprinting Works (No Permission Required)

Every time your browser loads a page, it leaks dozens of tiny, seemingly harmless signals:

• Screen resolution and color depth
• Installed fonts
• GPU model and graphics capabilities
• Audio processing signatures
• Browser version, plugins, and language settings
• Time zone
• Canvas rendering differences (how it draws hidden shapes)
• Whether you run an ad blocker
• Even battery level in some cases

Alone, each detail is common. Combined, they create a unique "fingerprint" that can identify your device with startling precision. No cookies. No login. No pop-up asking for consent. Just loading the page is enough.

Studies have long shown how pervasive this is. Princeton’s Web Transparency Project and related research have repeatedly found fingerprinting scripts running on a significant share of popular websites.

Princeton researchers tested the top 10,000 websites.

Fingerprinting scripts on 88% of them.

The EFF tested browsers directly.
83% had a fingerprint unique enough to track with no cookies at all.

You do not have to visit a shady site.
You just have to open a browser.

— AI Highlight (@AIHighlight) April 21, 2026

The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s long-running Cover Your Tracks test (formerly Panopticlick) has demonstrated that a large majority of browsers produce fingerprints unique enough to track users without any cookies at all—historically around 83% or higher in large samples.

Why This Matters Now

Cookies are dying. Google has been phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome, and Apple has aggressively blocked them in Safari for years. Advertisers needed a replacement that users cannot easily clear, block, or reset. Browser fingerprinting is that replacement: it is invisible, persistent, and rebuilds itself if your setup changes slightly.

The result? Targeted ads that follow you across devices and sessions, even when you think you’ve gone "private." And because it operates below the surface of most privacy laws, the protections many people rely on simply don’t apply.

What Actually Works to Protect Yourself

Most people get privacy wrong by making their setup more unique (rare browsers + 30 extensions = the most identifiable fingerprint on the internet). True anonymity comes from uniformity, not obscurity.

Here are the proven defenses, ranked by effectiveness:

1. Choose the right browser (the single biggest decision)

• Tor Browser – The gold standard. It forces every user to share the exact same fingerprint. Anonymity through uniformity.
• Brave – Excellent middle ground for everyday use. It randomizes canvas, WebGL, audio, and other fingerprintable surfaces every session.
• Firefox (with strict settings) – Strong out of the box and highly customizable. Avoid Chrome for privacy-sensitive activity; it offers no native fingerprint resistance.

2. Add the right extensions (Firefox or Brave only)

• uBlock Origin – Blocks fingerprinting scripts before they can run. (Note: Chrome’s Manifest V3 severely limited the full version; Firefox is required for maximum protection.)
• CanvasBlocker – Randomizes your canvas output whenever a site tries to read it.

3. Flip one powerful Firefox setting Type about:config in the address bar → search for privacy.resistFingerprinting → set it to true. This standardizes canvas, timezone, fonts, and other outputs so you blend in with everyone else. Takes 30 seconds and makes a measurable difference.

Bottom line: Clearing cookies no longer protects you. The advertising industry has quietly built a more resilient tracking system that operates in the shadows of your browser. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 15:00

39 Going On 40 (Trillion)

Authored by Robert Aro via The Mises Institute,

A little over two weeks ago, on April 7th, the U.S. national debt crossed $39 trillion. Since then, another $150 billion has already been added to the ledger. While major news outlets missed the milestone, every trillion is worthy of mention.

House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) put the figure in perspective:

America is now $39,000,000,000,000 in debt—yes, $39 trillion. It took roughly 200 years to accumulate the first $1 trillion. Now we add that in a matter of months… Compounding the problem, we now spend more than $1 trillion a year just on interest to service our debt—more than the entire defense budget.

Almost three years ago, I wrote about the U.S. debt crossing the $32 trillion and $33 trillion marks. If there’s one economic projection to stand by, it’s this: within the next several months, the $40 trillion debt level will be breached.

Looking back at the last 200 years, or even the last three, it becomes clear that debt growth is not linear; the curve is moving up exponentially.

While the future is always uncertain, the trajectory is unmistakable.

One reason stands above the rest: the interest on the debt itself.

For context, net interest outlays were equivalent to 22.1% of total revenues through Q1 of FY 2026. Even if the national debt were frozen at $39 trillion today, the interest payments alone would be staggering. With the 10-year Treasury yield hovering between 4% and 4.5% at the time of writing, and annual interest surpassing $1 trillion, solvency should be a real concern.

Naturally, one might argue that with a Federal Reserve, solvency is not a concern. However, that’s the crux of the matter. America technically won’t become insolvent thanks to the Fed’s ability to create money (literally) out of thin air, and so, the final outcome is certain. Expanding debt and the accompanying expansion of the money supply are features of the system. History shows that monetary inflation, currency debasement, and the eventual crack-up boom are the recurring final outcomes.

Couple the interest problem with global conflict and the endless crisis response cycle of political outlays, and it’s fair to say that Congress has as much appetite for cutting spending as they do for ending the Federal Reserve

39 going on $40 trillion is an achievement only in the sense that many once thought we’d never see numbers this large. Over forty years ago, during the Reagan administration, the debt tripled from $1 trillion to $3 trillion, and life went on. Applying that same logic today and accounting for exponential growth, we are talking about $40 trillion becoming $120 trillion in our lifetime.

The idea of $50 trillion, $60 trillion, or even $80 trillion seems absurd, but history gives us no reason to assume a ceiling exists.

I still wouldn’t bet against America; the U.S. dollar persists largely because liberty and freedom still mean something in the USA, and the greenback remains the cleanest shirt in the dirty pile. But that doesn’t change the fact that life could be better for almost everyone. That is everyone except those who continue to steer society down a path Austrians have warned about for generations.

The debt clock keeps ticking. The numbers keep rising. And while life will go on, we must ask: what kind of life will it be? And for whom?

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 14:40

MSFT Plans First Voluntary Buyout In 51-Year History; Gates Foundation To Slash 20% Of Staff Summary: 

• First CNBC reports MSFT's first-ever Voluntary Buyout in 51-Year Company History,

• Then a report by BBG on Meta planning 10% Workforce Cut, All Within Hours

• To note: Reuters First reported Meta's 10% cut late last week (report)  

Meta Layoffs 

First, Microsoft unveiled a voluntary buyout program, a move that could incentivize thousands of employees to leave.

Now, Meta Platforms has reportedly followed with plans to cut 10% of its workforce. Taken together, today's back-to-back announcements suggest that as Big Tech continues to spend aggressively on AI infrastructure and data center buildouts, management teams are trimming excess fat to reallocate capital toward the AI race.

Bloomberg reports that Meta plans to reduce its workforce by 10%, or roughly 8,000 employees, and leave 6,000 open roles unfilled. The layoffs are expected to occur on May 20.

Meta had nearly 79,000 employees at the end of last year, according to Bloomberg data.

The outlet cited an internal memo written by Janelle Gale, chief people officer, in which she said, "We're doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset other investments we're making."

Meta shares are flat on the year but in-line in seasonal trends. 

"I know this is unwelcome news, and confirming it puts everyone in an uneasy state, but we feel this is the best path forward, given the circumstances," Gale wrote.

Reuters first reported last week that Meta planned to cut 10% of its workforce (read here). 

MSFT Plans First Voluntary Buyout In 51-Year History; Gates Foundation To Slash 20% Of Staff

Until early April, Microsoft shares were on track for their worst start to a year in Bloomberg data going back to 1997.

Then, in late March, The Information reported that the tech giant had imposed a hiring freeze across parts of its cloud and sales divisions.

Now, in yet another sign of belt-tightening, Microsoft is preparing its first voluntary employee buyout program in the company's 51-year history.

CNBC cites a new internal memo detailing a one-time retirement program for senior director-level employees and below whose combined years of employment and age total 70 or more.

While CNBC notes that voluntary buyouts are expected to involve a "small percentage of its workforce," a separate Bloomberg report states that the new voluntary retirement program could affect about 7% of its U.S. workforce.

Microsoft's latest annual report says it had about 126,000 employees in the U.S. The voluntary retirement program could allow the tech giant to cut upward of 9,000 employees. It reported 228,000 employees worldwide in 2025.

The adjustments to its workforce come as the hyperscaler is spending massive amounts of capital on data centers during the AI boom and heavy data-center spending cycle.

At the same time, Microsoft is changing how it rewards employees by separating stock awards from cash bonuses, giving managers more flexibility to reward top performers. It is also simplifying manager review choices, reducing compensation options from nine to five.

"Our hope is that this program gives those eligible the choice to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company support," Amy Coleman, Microsoft's executive vice president and chief people officer, wrote in a memo.

Separately but still related, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the Gates Foundation is slashing up to 500 jobs, or about 20% of its staff, as the left-wing NGO has come under fire for funding questionable protests and for Gates' ties to Epstein.

Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 14:20

Yet Another Dead NASA Scientist: Nuclear Propulsion Expert Was Found Charred Inside Crashed Tesla

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

The case of yet another top NASA nuclear engineer turning up dead in a fiery crash has hit the headlines, adding to the dark and mysterious pattern of experts tied to advanced propulsion and space secrets apparently being targeted.

Joshua LeBlanc, 29, a team lead on NASA’s most cutting-edge nuclear thermal propulsion projects, was found charred beyond recognition inside his burned Tesla after vanishing from his Huntsville, Alabama home. His family immediately feared abduction. He left his phone and wallet behind—an act they called completely uncharacteristic.

Tesla Sentry Mode data later showed the vehicle sat motionless at Huntsville International Airport for four hours the morning of July 22, 2025. The car was discovered that afternoon after colliding with a guardrail, slamming into trees, and erupting in flames. Authorities confirmed his identity days later through forensic examination.

A NASA nuclear scientist was found deceased in his Tesla after colliding with a guardrail, leaving his body so burned that he was completely unrecognizable, according to a new report from Fox News.

29-year-old Joshua LeBlanc, who worked on nuclear propulsion projects, died in a… https://t.co/C793en0aeU pic.twitter.com/8YIhgG7fE3

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 22, 2026

LeBlanc had worked at NASA for over five years, first as team lead for the Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) Instrumentation and Control Maturation project, then leading NASA’s Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operation (DRACO)—a nuclear thermal propulsion engine designed to slash travel times to Mars and beyond.

His family told local outlets the trip west was never part of his plans for the day, and he had been in regular contact right up until he vanished. “They feared he had been abducted,” reports confirmed.

NASA nuclear engineer found dead in burned Tesla after vanishing from his Alabama home last year https://t.co/gmqYCtfcvS pic.twitter.com/cQxPNevggj

— New York Post (@nypost) April 23, 2026

This case fits squarely into the disturbing wave of deaths and disappearances among scientists working on nuclear, propulsion, and space technologies—now totaling at least thirteen cases since 2022. LeBlanc’s death comes as President Trump has repeatedly signaled his intent to rip open the government’s UFO files.

The Huntsville airport connection is particularly intriguing. LeBlanc’s Tesla lingered there for hours before the fatal crash—just miles from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, a hub for exactly the kind of classified nuclear propulsion work he led.

As we highlighted yesterday, NASA payload specialist James “Tony” Moffatt and his entire family, also from Huntsville, Alabama, were killed last week in a plane crash.

This mirrors patterns highlighted in our earlier reporting on the scientist death mystery now explicitly linked to NASA.

The FBI has now confirmed it is spearheading a probe with the Departments of Energy and Defense into potential connections among the missing and deceased scientists. Trump himself addressed the issue last week: “I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half. I just left a meeting on that subject.”

Independent researcher Jesse Michaels has laid out the broader pattern in stark terms just days before LeBlanc’s case resurfaced publicly. In his April 21 episode, Michaels documented how scientists at the frontier of fusion, exotic propulsion, advanced metallurgy, and space surveillance are being silenced.

He highlighted the February 2026 disappearance of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Neil McCasland—former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, the alleged repository of Roswell materials—who vanished from his Albuquerque home eight days after Trump ordered the Pentagon to begin releasing UFO files. McCasland left his phone, glasses, and smartwatch behind. Despite massive searches, no trace.

Michaels connected this to the June 2025 disappearance of NASA material scientist Monica Reza, co-inventor of a breakthrough nickel-based superalloy for next-gen rocket engines developed under the very lab McCasland once oversaw. She vanished mid-hike, 30 feet behind her group.

He also detailed the December 2025 assassination of MIT fusion physicist Nuno Loureiro—shot in his own doorway—and the February 2026 murder of Caltech astronomer Carl Grillmair, who was working on the powerful Vera Rubin Observatory capable of spotting anomalous objects in Earth orbit.

Clearly these aren’t random tragedies. The expertise clusters around technologies that could upend energy cartels and expose long-hidden propulsion breakthroughs—exactly the kind of work LeBlanc was advancing at NASA.

The pattern is no longer deniable. While authorities insist there is “no evidence” of coordination, the sheer concentration of losses in these hyper-specific fields—nuclear propulsion, plasma physics, advanced materials—defies coincidence. Tesla’s own data in LeBlanc’s case raises further questions about remote access possibilities in modern vehicles, a capability long acknowledged in intelligence circles.

President Trump’s America First push for transparency on UAPs and government records is clearly rattling cages. These experts held the keys to technologies that could secure American dominance in space and energy independence. Their sudden, suspicious exits just as disclosure momentum builds scream for full, public investigation—not another quiet federal handwave.

Many believe that Trump’s commitment to releasing the files is the only path forward to protect innovation, expose the gatekeepers, and reclaim technological sovereignty for a free republic. Anything less leaves the best minds in America vulnerable to the very forces working against national strength.

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Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 14:00