More Americans Are Asking If College Is Really Worth It

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times,

Jessica Iannacchino landed on Madison Avenue in New York City, but a career in her chosen field just wasn’t in the cards.

The 21-year-old from Poughkeepsie, New York, attended public colleges in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, to complete a bachelor’s in advertising, paying out-of-state tuition and committing to monthly student loan repayments for years to come.

She moved to Manhattan to get her foot in the door somewhere, but none opened.

Iannacchino delivered food to pay the rent and found enjoyable work in acting, appearing in a few small roles. She has several friends who also haven’t secured jobs in their fields, and are saddled with sky-high debt from attending Columbia and New York University.

“We moved here for career opportunities and then found everything was so competitive and the job market wasn’t what we thought it would be,” Iannacchino told The Epoch Times.

“It’s a lot of financial stress, and you don’t know if you’ll get a break.”

A recent Pew Research Center survey underscores Iannacchino’s situation: Seven in 10 adults say America’s higher education system is headed in the wrong direction, up from 56 percent providing that response five years ago. Policy experts, federal lawmakers, and President Donald Trump, all aware of national doubt about whether college is worth the cost, are pushing for more transparency over its return on investment.

“A college degree isn’t what it used to be,” Andrew Gillen, a research fellow at Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, said.

“It’s no longer an automatic ticket to the American Dream and the middle class. It’s been that way for a while now, but public perception is still catching up.”

Why Americans Have Doubts

The Pew survey said 79 percent of the 3,445 respondents indicated that colleges and universities are doing an unsatisfactory job of keeping costs affordable, and more than half rated higher education institutions as fair or poor in preparing students for well-paying jobs in today’s economy.

The College Board’s most recent “Education Pays” report indicates that 39 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 had a bachelor’s degree in 2021, up from 22 percent 40 years prior. It also listed the median income for a four-year degree at $73,300 compared to $44,300 for a high school diploma and $52,100 for an associate’s degree.

However, those figures, commonly cited by high school guidance counselors, are very general and don’t pertain to all programs of study. Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, published research earlier this year that noted that 23 percent of bachelor’s degrees and 43 percent of master’s degrees had a negative return on investment.

“All universities should strive to uphold the educational Hippocratic oath,” Cooper wrote in his April report. “Students should not be worse off financially for having attended college.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s online College Scorecard tool provides median earnings information by degree type, academic major, and institution.

A search of bachelor’s degree programs in sociology, for example, yielded 1,003 colleges and universities that offer the program, but most did not list the median earnings and debt of graduates. One of those that did, Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut reported median earnings at $42,513 after four years in the sociology program and median student loan debt for that program at $34,360, based on responses from 17 graduates.

In 2020, Gillen reported that more than 3,700 U.S. college degree programs failed a “debt-to-income test,” and at least 7,000 programs were at risk of failing.

Given that more than 100 higher education institutions have closed since then, and millions more students are struggling with student debt, a return-on-investment calculator should, ideally, be available for every major and school in the country based on federal income tax data, not just voluntary responses from graduates, he said.

“It opens the door for a better way to think about college,” he told The Epoch Times.

Federal Attention

Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, offered to several schools across the country, would provide preferred consideration for federal funding if the institution agrees to several conditions related to admissions and hiring practices, institutional neutrality, and affordability and transparency. One of the stipulations is publicly listing the average graduate income by program and major.

A panel of university professors, during an Oct. 28 Heterodox Academy webinar, indicated support for cost controls, transparency, and accountability as proposed in the compact.

“There is an erosion of academic excellence,” said Anna Krylov, a chemistry professor at the University of Southern California. “That’s a big problem we need to address.”

In Congress, the bipartisan College Transparency Act, was reintroduced in the House and the Senate in late July. If enacted, it would task the National Center for Education Statistics with analyzing higher education costs and financial aid, as well as evaluating student enrollment patterns, completion rates, and “post-collegiate outcomes.”

Republican House members, during a recent subcommittee meeting, said that they’re aware of many young constituents in their districts who are burdened with student loan debt and struggle to find decent-paying jobs.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said 21-year-old truck drivers for Walmart in his district make about $135,000 annually, while a cashier with a master’s degree he recently spoke with at a local grocery store is paid close to minimum wage.

“It happens all the time,” he said. “It’s the norm.”

Walmart has stated that a driver for its company can make as much as $110,000 per year.

What’s Ahead for Higher Education?

The population of traditional college-age students in the United States is decreasing. Many schools are struggling financially as their customer base shrinks, and an increasing number are expected to close in the years ahead.

A look at websites for K–12 districts, state university programs, and workforce development partnerships reveals that high school students across the nation have access to college degree credits before they complete their diplomas, which further affects income and enrollment at higher learning institutions. Additionally, vocational education and apprenticeship programs are enjoying a resurgence.

Gillen said that even if colleges and universities resist Trump’s push to disclose average graduate incomes by program of study, market forces will eventually exert themselves. Schools can’t afford to maintain “ghost majors” with low enrollments and little return on investment.

“The way colleges are set up, you basically need a crisis to start changing something,” he said. “I think we are going to see that happen.”

Regardless, opportunities exist for those willing to abandon teenage career dreams as adults.

Nathan Sharpe, of Rome, New York, enrolled in Mohawk Valley Community College’s computer science program after seeing an advertisement there touting career prospects for $60,000 a year.

A decade later, Sharpe hadn’t received a single job offer in that field. Instead, he worked his way up from a payment processor to a business analyst at a local bank before taking a job in a copper product manufacturing plant, where he now works as a trained chemist.

“It [the degree] was essentially useless outside of the fact that I can brag about being the first in my family to finish any sort of college,” Sharpe told The Epoch Times.

“I will raise my son to lean more toward a skilled trade—plumber, electrician, type of thing. I don’t want him falling into the same mistakes that I did. It set me back years.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 19:15

More Americans Are Asking If College Is Really Worth It

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times,

Jessica Iannacchino landed on Madison Avenue in New York City, but a career in her chosen field just wasn’t in the cards.

The 21-year-old from Poughkeepsie, New York, attended public colleges in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, to complete a bachelor’s in advertising, paying out-of-state tuition and committing to monthly student loan repayments for years to come.

She moved to Manhattan to get her foot in the door somewhere, but none opened.

Iannacchino delivered food to pay the rent and found enjoyable work in acting, appearing in a few small roles. She has several friends who also haven’t secured jobs in their fields, and are saddled with sky-high debt from attending Columbia and New York University.

“We moved here for career opportunities and then found everything was so competitive and the job market wasn’t what we thought it would be,” Iannacchino told The Epoch Times.

“It’s a lot of financial stress, and you don’t know if you’ll get a break.”

A recent Pew Research Center survey underscores Iannacchino’s situation: Seven in 10 adults say America’s higher education system is headed in the wrong direction, up from 56 percent providing that response five years ago. Policy experts, federal lawmakers, and President Donald Trump, all aware of national doubt about whether college is worth the cost, are pushing for more transparency over its return on investment.

“A college degree isn’t what it used to be,” Andrew Gillen, a research fellow at Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, said.

“It’s no longer an automatic ticket to the American Dream and the middle class. It’s been that way for a while now, but public perception is still catching up.”

Why Americans Have Doubts

The Pew survey said 79 percent of the 3,445 respondents indicated that colleges and universities are doing an unsatisfactory job of keeping costs affordable, and more than half rated higher education institutions as fair or poor in preparing students for well-paying jobs in today’s economy.

The College Board’s most recent “Education Pays” report indicates that 39 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 had a bachelor’s degree in 2021, up from 22 percent 40 years prior. It also listed the median income for a four-year degree at $73,300 compared to $44,300 for a high school diploma and $52,100 for an associate’s degree.

However, those figures, commonly cited by high school guidance counselors, are very general and don’t pertain to all programs of study. Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, published research earlier this year that noted that 23 percent of bachelor’s degrees and 43 percent of master’s degrees had a negative return on investment.

“All universities should strive to uphold the educational Hippocratic oath,” Cooper wrote in his April report. “Students should not be worse off financially for having attended college.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s online College Scorecard tool provides median earnings information by degree type, academic major, and institution.

A search of bachelor’s degree programs in sociology, for example, yielded 1,003 colleges and universities that offer the program, but most did not list the median earnings and debt of graduates. One of those that did, Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut reported median earnings at $42,513 after four years in the sociology program and median student loan debt for that program at $34,360, based on responses from 17 graduates.

In 2020, Gillen reported that more than 3,700 U.S. college degree programs failed a “debt-to-income test,” and at least 7,000 programs were at risk of failing.

Given that more than 100 higher education institutions have closed since then, and millions more students are struggling with student debt, a return-on-investment calculator should, ideally, be available for every major and school in the country based on federal income tax data, not just voluntary responses from graduates, he said.

“It opens the door for a better way to think about college,” he told The Epoch Times.

Federal Attention

Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, offered to several schools across the country, would provide preferred consideration for federal funding if the institution agrees to several conditions related to admissions and hiring practices, institutional neutrality, and affordability and transparency. One of the stipulations is publicly listing the average graduate income by program and major.

A panel of university professors, during an Oct. 28 Heterodox Academy webinar, indicated support for cost controls, transparency, and accountability as proposed in the compact.

“There is an erosion of academic excellence,” said Anna Krylov, a chemistry professor at the University of Southern California. “That’s a big problem we need to address.”

In Congress, the bipartisan College Transparency Act, was reintroduced in the House and the Senate in late July. If enacted, it would task the National Center for Education Statistics with analyzing higher education costs and financial aid, as well as evaluating student enrollment patterns, completion rates, and “post-collegiate outcomes.”

Republican House members, during a recent subcommittee meeting, said that they’re aware of many young constituents in their districts who are burdened with student loan debt and struggle to find decent-paying jobs.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said 21-year-old truck drivers for Walmart in his district make about $135,000 annually, while a cashier with a master’s degree he recently spoke with at a local grocery store is paid close to minimum wage.

“It happens all the time,” he said. “It’s the norm.”

Walmart has stated that a driver for its company can make as much as $110,000 per year.

What’s Ahead for Higher Education?

The population of traditional college-age students in the United States is decreasing. Many schools are struggling financially as their customer base shrinks, and an increasing number are expected to close in the years ahead.

A look at websites for K–12 districts, state university programs, and workforce development partnerships reveals that high school students across the nation have access to college degree credits before they complete their diplomas, which further affects income and enrollment at higher learning institutions. Additionally, vocational education and apprenticeship programs are enjoying a resurgence.

Gillen said that even if colleges and universities resist Trump’s push to disclose average graduate incomes by program of study, market forces will eventually exert themselves. Schools can’t afford to maintain “ghost majors” with low enrollments and little return on investment.

“The way colleges are set up, you basically need a crisis to start changing something,” he said. “I think we are going to see that happen.”

Regardless, opportunities exist for those willing to abandon teenage career dreams as adults.

Nathan Sharpe, of Rome, New York, enrolled in Mohawk Valley Community College’s computer science program after seeing an advertisement there touting career prospects for $60,000 a year.

A decade later, Sharpe hadn’t received a single job offer in that field. Instead, he worked his way up from a payment processor to a business analyst at a local bank before taking a job in a copper product manufacturing plant, where he now works as a trained chemist.

“It [the degree] was essentially useless outside of the fact that I can brag about being the first in my family to finish any sort of college,” Sharpe told The Epoch Times.

“I will raise my son to lean more toward a skilled trade—plumber, electrician, type of thing. I don’t want him falling into the same mistakes that I did. It set me back years.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 19:15

Pinched By Penny Shortage, US Retailers Beg Congress To Step In

Two months after the US Mint stopped churning out pennies, American retailers are feeling the pinch as a shortage of the coins is compelling many of them to round prices down on cash transactions -- a practice that could start adding up over time and leave a mark on their bottom lines. Wary of angering customers by rounding up -- and running afoul of state and federal laws that complicate rounding in either direction -- companies are pursuing creative solutions while begging for federal intervention. 

There are about 165 Federal Reserve coin terminal facilities in the country, where banks deposit excess coins or withdraw coins as needed. More than 60 of these coin facilities have now halted penny transactions altogether, according to the American Bankers Association. That's starting to cause major headaches for businesses in various locations across the country.

A sign at a Kwik Trip lets cash customers know their price will be rounded down -- and encourages exact change

In a statement issued this week, McDonald's was one of the latest retailers to publicize their dilemma:

"Following the discontinuation of pennies nationwide, some McDonald’s locations may not be able to provide exact change. We have a team actively working on long-term solutions to keep things simple and fair for customers. This is an issue affecting all retailers across the country, and we will continue to work with the federal government to obtain guidance on this matter going forward.”

McDonald's told USA Today that its restaurants that run out of pennies are rounding either up or down to the nearest nickel. In contrast, KwikTrip is among those only rounding down to the nearest five-cent interval, steering clear of potential controversy. (We await viral video of an irate woman -- after having her price rounded up two cents -- hurling condiments at a McDonald's cashier while clutching an infant.)

There's more than potentially angry customers in the mix: Rounding could put retailers in legal jeopardy. For starters, federal laws prohibit price differences for SNAP (nee "food stamp") customers. Meanwhile, many states have laws requiring exact change and/or prohibiting charging different prices for cash transactions, which could push penny-poor retailers to change their pricing increments so everyone's bill ends up at a nickel interval, with the need to account for sales taxes as they do their calculations. The National Retail Federation is pushing the White House and Congress to issue guidance or pass laws to override state regulations that are compounding their headaches. 

There are about 250 billion pennies out there -- but many of them are idling in sock drawers and jars 

The National Association of Convenience Stores is also asking for federal help:  

“Businesses are desperate for Congress to address this issue by passing a law allowing them to round to the nearest nickel. Without federal legislation, businesses are left in the impossible position of trying to figure out what to do and at risk of being out of compliance with other laws. We urgently need Congress to act,” said NACS strategic advisor Anna Ready Blom. 

In the meantime, businesses are trying to ease the penny crunch in a variety of ways. That starts with posting notices to alert you to their shortage up-front, and urging you to pay with a credit or debit card (or, where applicable and eligible, to swipe your EBT.) At a Pennsylvania location, Reuters observed a Sheetz gas station encouraging customers to round their purchase up and donate the difference to charity.

Working on the supply end, the same Sheetz store was offering a self-serve drink at the price of 100 pennies. The Giant Eagle supermarket chain declared Nov 1 a "Penny Exchange Day," issuing a store gift card valued at twice the value of the pennies submitted. Customers could bring in up to $100 in pennies, for which they'd receive a $200 gift card. It looks like it was a hit: 

Penny lane in Pittsburgh. People were cashing in their pennies today at Giant Eagle stores. The grocery is offering double their money in gift card form. I tried Waterfront and the line was out the door. This is Braddock Hills. I gave mine away pic.twitter.com/iWY5l5T0F2

— Ben Schmitt (@bencschmitt) November 1, 2025

There are some 250 billion pennies in circulation, equivalent to about 700 per American. "It’s not a shortage in the traditional sense—there are plenty of pennies out there," notes the American Bankers Association. "But circulation is slowing down. Many people stash pennies in jars or drawers, and without new ones being minted, banks and retailers are relying solely on recycled coins."  

In February, President Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop making pennies. Explaining the move on social media, Trump wrote, "For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time." The US Mint reported last year that it cost 3.69 cents to produce and distribute a penny. In terms of the difference between the monetary value of the final product and the production cost, the Mint's FY 2024 loss on penny-production was about $85.3 million. 

Trump's move followed similar eliminations of lowest-denomination coins by countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Note that the penny has not been officially eliminated: Trump merely ordered the Mint to stop producing them. Final constitutional authority rests with Congress. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 18:50

A Cautionary Solar Tale: Billions Wasted Thanks To A Rush To Market

Authored by Gary Abernathy via The Empowerment Alliance (emphasis ours),

Back in the late 1970s there was a popular wine commercial with the film director Orson Welles reminding us that “some things can’t be rushed,” and concluding with what became a famous catchphrase: “We will sell no wine before its time.”

One of the biggest yet least discussed problems with the race to establish the solar industry before the subsidies run out is that the product has arguably been rushed to market before it is perfected. The construction is getting ahead of the expertise—meaning that billions of dollars could be invested in solar devices that are soon to become outdated.

The haste to establish solar fields across more than a million acres of U.S. farmland—along with countless more installations around the world—has seemed to come with relatively little long-term planning as to deployment, functionality with existing electric grids and eventual decommissioning and disposal.

Modern solar devices are relatively new creations, in many cases still being studied and upgraded. And yet, giant arrays of solar panels mounted on posts—replacing acres of corn, wheat, and soybean fields—are being established as though the technology is finalized and the form complete.

A stark example of the folly of rushing solar products to market was recently provided. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in the Mojave Desert, built from 2010–14 at a cost of $2.2 billion—including $1.6 billion in three federal loan guarantees from the Obama Energy Department—is now “set to close in 2026 after failing to efficiently generate solar energy,” according to a recent story in the New York Post.

“The facility’s 5 square miles of desert were covered with some 173,500 heliostats, adjusted via computer to catch maximum rays,” the story noted. “The computer-controlled mirrors can reflect light from the sun at temperatures that can reach 1,000 degrees in part of the installment.”

“The idea was that you could use the sun to produce a heat source,” alternative energy consultant Edward Smeloff told the Post. “The mirrors reflect heat from the sun up to a receiver, which is mounted on top of the tower. That heats a fluid. It creates steam [that spins] a conventional steam turbine. It is complicated.”

But as the technology rapidly evolved, the Ivanpah facility “couldn’t compete with newer and less expensive forms of creating solar power,” the Post reported. The result? The reckless hurry to “go green” once again ended up with a project deep in the red.

Modern solar technology is so emergent that it’s a long way from being perfected. For instance, new research at the Autonomous University of Querétaroin in Mexico is studying “a new thin-film solar cell design capable of converting more than twice the standard percentage of sunlight into usable electricity,” according to Metal Tech News.

The technology is designed to utilize “only Earth-abundant, non-toxic materials in a breakthrough that could help reshape the solar industry” and have applications “both environmentally friendly and suitable for large-scale manufacturing.”

“Higher efficiency means a solar panel will produce more electricity for a given amount of sunlight, which can be crucial in applications with limited available space or where maximizing energy output is essential,” the story noted.

Another innovation involves “bifacial” solar panels, which operate by “capturing sunlight from both the front and back of the module,” allowing them to “utilize reflected sunlight from various surfaces, such as the ground, water, or nearby structures, resulting in increased electricity yield,” according to an industry report.

Left unsaid is that such breakthroughs would mean that many existing solar installations are operating with outdated technology generating less electricity than would have been likely if patience, continued research and a more complete product had been brought to market.

Yes, technology is always evolving and improvements are constantly being made on everything from automobiles to microwave ovens to cell phones to laptop computers. But in few areas—none to the extent to which taxpayers have propped up solar—have billions of dollars in subsidies been allocated to rush such a still-evolving product into production, installation and implementation.

Even more concerning is the fact that there is no need for such urgency. Our traditional, affordable hydrocarbons, especially natural gas, are sufficiently abundant to last at least through the remainder of this century. With more time and continued research, solar energy might someday be deployed more efficiently and cost-effectively, possibly requiring a fraction of the footprint currently required. Such foresight could preserve more farmland for agricultural use and minimize potential brownfield damage when solar fields reach their decommissioning stage.

The solar industry should only launch validated, fully realized products that are economically viable without government subsidies. As Steven Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute, said in regard to the Ivanpah solar debacle, “No green project relying on taxpayer subsidies has ever made any economic or environmental sense.”

The “renewables” sector should learn a lesson from the wine-making industry and promise to install no solar before its time.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 18:25

Trump Boasts He "Pushed" Netanyahu Into Gaza Ceasefire In Candid Reveal

US President Donald Trump has said some very revealing things about his sometimes tumultuous relationship with Israel and especially its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a fresh 60 Minutes interview which aired Sunday evening.

Among the most interesting remarks came in the below, wherein he painted a picture of bringing strong pressure to bear against 'Bibi' after which the Israeli leader complied with Trump's policy and wishes. "He's a guy that's never been pushed before actually," Trump stated, in an unusually candid assessment coming from a sitting US president. "I don't think they treat him very well... I pushed him. I didn't like certain things that he did, and you saw what I did about that." Watch:

.@POTUS on PM Netanyahu: "He's a very talented guy. He's a guy that's never been pushed before... I don't think they treat him very well... I pushed him. I didn't like certain things that he did, and you saw what I did about that." pic.twitter.com/C71wHfW5h7

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 3, 2025

This is unusual also for a Republican President to say as well, given GOP leaders never openly criticize Israel. Trump had at one point in the remarks emphasized again, "I did, I pushed him." 

But this moment is confirmation straight from Trump himself of what Vice President J.D. Vance described last week while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi.

"The most recent Gaza peace plan that all of us have been working on very hard for the past few weeks — the president of the United States could only get that peace deal done by actually being willing to apply leverage to the State of Israel," the vice president had said. 

"When people say that Israel is somehow manipulating or controlling the President of the United States, they're not controlling this President of the United States," he added bluntly.

As we highlighted earlier, US leaders don't usually talk about Washington's relationship with Israel in terms of applying 'leverage' to get the desired outcome, as typically in US politics it's the other way around (given AIPAC's outsized influence etc.).

As for the ongoing Gaza ceasefire, which Trump has been proud of as a major peace accomplishment, Trump described that the truce is not fragile and that he would intervene to help Netanyahu when it comes to his legal troubles in Israel.

"The ceasefire agreement in Gaza is not fragile, but very solid. I would force Hamas to disarm very quickly if I wanted to, and it would be eliminated," Trump told the CBS 60 Minutes host. "Netanyahu is the person Israel needed in times of war," he said. 

Trump on Netanyahu: "I don't think they treat him very well. He's under trial for some things. We'll be involved in that to help him out a little bit because I think it's very unfair." pic.twitter.com/M0C7DWW1Kv

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 3, 2025

He added, "I don't think they treat him very well. He's under trial for some things, and... I think it should – you know, we'll – we'll be involved to help him out a little bit, because I think it's very unfair."

This isn't the first time the US President openly talked about intervening in the legal case, which involves several graft-related charges, which Netanyahu has decried as politically motivated. However, the Israeli opposition has warned of external interference in the case, for obvious reasons.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 18:00

AI Taking Its Toll On Jobs - What To Know

Authored by Panos Mourdoukoutas via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Some major companies have recently triggered a wave of layoffs, eliminating tens of thousands of jobs. Most cited artificial intelligence (AI) integration and automation as factors behind these moves.

In this photo illustration, a phone screen displays an AI logo on May 16, 2025. AI use in customer service is rising, with 70 percent of interactions expected to involve AI in 2025, according to Wifi Talents. Oleksii Pydsosonnii/The Epoch Times

Experts say that while a significant portion of jobs cannot be replicated by machines, AI will likely usurp white-collar analytical roles and robotics will replace manual labor jobs.

Amazon announced on Oct. 28 that it will eliminate about 14,000 corporate positions to stay “nimble.”

UPS, meanwhile, revealed that it had cut 34,000 operational jobs during the first nine months of this year—a significantly larger reduction than the 20,000 layoffs announced in April—as part of its “efficiency reimagined” initiative.

Nestlé said on Oct. 16 that it will reduce 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years in an effort to achieve “operational efficiency” by “leveraging shared services and automating [its] processes.”

In August, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff disclosed on an podcast that the company had replaced about 4,000 customer support workers with AI agents.

In the past, businesses typically downsized during economic downturns, but these recent staff reductions occurred during a period of robust profitability, signaling something different—a transformation in the way work itself is organized, driven by the rapid diffusion of AI.

Unlike past automation waves that mimicked the functions of the human body—replacing manual or routine tasks—AI targets the human brain’s cognitive abilities. It doesn’t just perform repetitive processes; it learns, analyzes, and makes decisions.

Together, these twin shifts—manual automation and cognitive automation—are remaking both unskilled and skilled labor. The result: some jobs are being transformed, others are being cut.

In a statement included in its job cut announcement, the company explained that AI’s transformative force requires new organizational structures: “It’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before ... We’re convinced that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.”

However, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said during the company’s Oct. 30 earnings call that the recent layoff announcement was not “really AI-driven, not right now, at least.”

AI Diffusion Across the Workforce

Economists, central banks, and think tanks have documented AI’s rapid spread across workplaces.

A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that by early 2023, generative AI—the class of AI capable of creating new content—had become widespread across the American workforce. Tools such as ChatGPT were embedded in browsers, office software, and search engines, making large language model usage routine for millions of workers.

The bank found that occupations adopting generative AI most intensively—particularly computer and mathematical fields—experienced the steepest unemployment gains.

“Our results suggest we may be witnessing the early stages of AI-driven job displacement,” the report noted. “Unlike previous technological revolutions that primarily affected manufacturing or routine clerical work, generative AI can target cognitive tasks performed by knowledge workers—traditionally among the most secure employment categories.”

A Brookings Institution report estimates that 30 percent of all U.S. workers could see at least half of their job tasks disrupted by generative AI. Unlike earlier automation, which primarily affected blue-collar work, AI is expected to reshape a broad range of “cognitive” and “nonroutine” occupations—especially those in middle- and high-income professions.

Similarly, the McKinsey Global Institute has projected that automation (a combination of AI and robotics) could displace up to 54 million workers in the United States by 2030.

Meanwhile, a Goldman Sachs analysis projects that widespread AI adoption could displace 6 to 7 percent of the U.S. workforce, equivalent to millions of jobs.

Goldman Sachs economists estimate that temporary unemployment spikes by roughly 0.3 percentage points for each percentage-point gain in productivity from labor-saving technology.

Jobs Most at Risk

A Society for Human Resource Management study, published on April 25, offers a detailed snapshot of U.S. employment exposure to AI.

According to the report, 12.6 percent of jobs—approximately 19.2 million positions—face a high or very high risk of automation-related displacement. Among them, 14 percent of blue-collar jobs, 12.3 percent of white-collar jobs, and 12.1 percent of service-sector jobs are considered at high risk.

Meanwhile, a June 9 report from the freelance work platform Upwork identifies 120 jobs that are hard to be replaced by AI, including clinical, creative, and skilled trades roles.

AI and Changing Nature of Skills

A December 2024 Harvard Business School paper shows that AI has a mixed impact on businesses’ labor demand.

In automation-prone roles, AI reduces the need for specialized expertise by simplifying complex tasks. In augmentation-prone roles, however, it boosts productivity and increases demand for advanced, complementary skill sets.

“As generative AI continues to evolve, understanding its heterogeneous effects on labor demand is critical,” the authors wrote. “Policymakers and business practitioners must recognize the dual forces of automation and augmentation to ensure that workers are equipped to adapt and thrive.”

At the same time, research by Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu and colleagues—published in the Journal of Labor Economics—shows that as establishments adopt AI, they reduce hiring in non-AI positions and shift skill requirements across remaining roles.

Andy Zenkevich, founder and CEO of Epiic, a digital agency specializing in generative engine optimization (GEO), told The Epoch Times that the fear of mass AI-driven job losses is overstated.

“Among the companies we work with in digital marketing—including major tech firms—layoffs haven’t been the story,” he said. “Instead, jobs are morphing. A junior copywriter becomes an ‘AI content editor,’ responsible for prompt engineering, fact-checking, and editing AI-generated copy.”

Zenkevich estimated that roughly 2.5 percent of jobs are genuinely at risk under a full-scale AI rollout, noting that “true end-to-end automation is much harder than headlines suggest.”

“Over a third of jobs now require hybrid skill sets that combine technical literacy with human qualities machines can’t replicate,” he said.

Georgios Koimisis, associate professor of finance at Manhattan University, echoed a similar skepticism.

“There’s a growing fear that artificial intelligence is wiping out jobs, but the reality is more complex,” he told The Epoch Times. “Companies aren’t cutting workers simply because AI made them redundant. In an uncertain economy, firms want to appear modern and future-ready. Announcing an ‘AI transformation’ reassures investors that management has a plan.”

Koimisis argues that some layoffs, framed as part of AI restructuring, are more about signaling discipline to shareholders than about reflecting genuine technological necessity.

“AI is changing not just how work is organized, but how value itself is defined,” he said.

Izhar Haq, director of the School of Professional Accountancy at Long Island University, agrees that the slowing economy and business cycle are also contributing factors to recent job reductions.

Haq told The Epoch Times that while the long-term economic effects of AI remain uncertain, “white-collar analytical jobs are most at risk from AI integration, while manual labor jobs face risk from robotics.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 17:40

"We're Seeing Demand Explode": UAE, US Sign AI And Energy Pact As Microsoft To Invest $7.9B On Infrastructure

The UAE and United States have agreed to work together to 'accelerate collaboration' on energy and artificial intelligence. According to The National;

Under the agreement, the UAE and the US will work together on increase advanced industrial capabilities and adopt smart manufacturing technologies. It covers the use of AI in robotics and automation, alongside efforts to promote the sharing of knowledge and capacity building.

UAE President Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, and executive chairman of XRG, and Doug Burgum, US Secretary of the Interior and Chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council were all present at the signing. 

Meanwhile, Microsoft plans to invest more than $7.9 billion in the United Arab Emirates over the next four years as part of the Gulf state’s push to become a global tech hub, according to Bloomberg.

Announcing the commitment in Abu Dhabi, Microsoft President Brad Smith said, “This is not money we’re raising here. It’s money we’re investing and spending here… We are seeing demand here explode.”

The investment includes nearly tripling the number of advanced Nvidia chips the company will run in the UAE — hardware that had previously faced US export restrictions. Smith said Microsoft received US licenses in September after meeting “very strict conditions” to keep the chips “under our control.”

Bloomberg writes that Microsoft expects to spend $5.5 billion on cloud and AI infrastructure from 2026–2029 and around $2.4 billion on hiring and operations. The company already has about 1,000 engineers and an AI lab in the country.

The UAE is central to Microsoft’s global AI expansion as it races other tech giants to add data-center capacity. Microsoft reported $34.9 billion in global capital spending in the latest quarter and recently announced a $9.7 billion Texas data-center deal.

The software giant has invested $5.8 billion in the UAE since 2023, including $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi AI company G42, where Smith now serves on the board. OpenAI — backed by Microsoft — has also picked the UAE for its first Stargate data-center project outside the US.

Washington continues to scrutinize chip access in the Gulf amid concerns the technology could leak to China. Microsoft previously deployed 21,500 Nvidia A100-class chips in the UAE and plans to send 60,400 more — including Nvidia’s new GB300 — arriving “in months, not years.”

Overall, Microsoft says its UAE investments will total $15.2 billion from 2023 to 2029.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 17:20

Illinois Bars ICE Arrests In State Courthouses And Safe Zones

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Illinois has now joined California and Connecticut in barring federal immigration agents from conducting “civil arrests” of illegal aliens in or around state courthouses. The sanctuary law appears largely performative since it also appears unconstitutional. It is difficult to see how a state can bar the exercise of federal jurisdiction, at least after the Civil War.

Gov. JB Pritzker has been ratcheting up the rhetoric against ICE and the Trump Administration for months, including analogies to the Nazis and claims that democracy is dying. The new law, however, crosses the constitutional Rubicon by not only limiting the operation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but also establishing a 1,000-foot “buffer zone” outside of buildings.

The law makes courthouses equivalent to churches, where suspects can claim sanctuary not only when they cross the threshold but also within 1000 feet, unless, of course, ICE ignores the law.

Recently, the chief judge in Cook County issued an order with the same prohibition. A few other judges in other states have issued similar orders.

The authority for the orders is highly dubious.

The federal government can cite laws mandating the arrest of certain individuals for immigration violations. See, e.g., 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) (mandatory detention of certain aliens who are removable due to criminal convictions or terrorist activities); id. § 1231(a) ( detention and removal of aliens with final orders of removal).

The most immediate problem for Illinois is the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof[] . . .  shall be the supreme Law of the Land[] . . . any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.” U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2.

The second problem is the Supreme Court, which has repeatedly rejected such state authority to dictate federal enforcement or policies. See, e.g., Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342 U.S. 580, 588–89 (1952) (the United States has the “exclusive[]” control over “any policy toward aliens”); see also South Carolina v. Baker, 485 U.S. 505, 523 (1988); Mayo v. United States, 319 U.S. 441, 445 (1943).

Ironically, as I have previously pointed out, these blue states will face an unusual authority cited against them: Barack Obama. It was President Obama who went to the Supreme Court to strike down state laws that interfered with federal immigration enforcement (even in assisting that enforcement). In Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. 387, 394 (2012), he largely prevailed and the Supreme Court affirmed that “[t]he Government of the United States has broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration and the status of aliens.”

This recognized authority goes back to the Nineteenth Century. The Court has ruled that “Congress [has] the right, as it may see fit, to expel aliens of a particular class, or to permit them to remain,” and “has undoubtedly the right . . . to take all proper means to carry out the system which it provides.” Fong Yue Ting v. United States, 149 U.S. 698, 714 (1893).

The law also creates the ability to sue federal authorities for false imprisonment under state law.

Keep in mind that the law creates a 1,000-foot circle around any state court, creating safe zones for illegal immigrants.

The provision in the Senate legislation stated:

Section 15.

Civil arrest prohibited; certain locations.

(a) A person duly and in good faith attending a State court proceeding in which the person is a party, a witness, a potential witness, or a court companion of a party, witness, or potential witness is privileged from civil arrest while going to, remaining at, and returning from the court proceeding, including:

(1) at the place of the court proceedings;

(2) within the courthouse building;

(3) on the premises of the courthouse, including parking facilities serving the courthouse;

(4) on any sidewalk, parkway, and street surrounding the courthouse and its premises; and

(5) on any public way within 1,000 feet of the courthouse including a sidewalk, parkway, or street.

Presumably, if you rent an apartment within one of those zones, you would be able to create effective immunity by simply signing a lease. As long as you stay within the specified public areas, you will be protected from civil arrest. With Illinois and other states pushing apps tracking ICE operations, a suspect could step outside onto a sidewalk or public space to claim protection from any civil arrest. It is unclear whether landlords will raise their rents in light of the new immunity amenity.

Keep in mind, if this were constitutional, the state could add to the list of sensitive places from city services to clinics. The result would be a mosaic of safety zones that would be maddening for federal authorities. Notably, blue states have attempted the same tactic to circumvent Second Amendment rights.

The legal infirmities behind these laws is irrelevant for politicians seeking to virtue signal. However, it will come at a real cost for individuals who mistakenly rely on these assurances and assume that they are protected within safe zones.

Many states during the desegregation period challenged federal authority in the fight against civil rights. They also failed.

Of course, the greatest irony is that the two figures who will be cited against this move are the two favorite sons of Illinois who became presidents: Lincoln and Obama. Both reinforced the supremacy of federal jurisdiction.

Indeed, the bill was passed just a couple days before the anniversary of Lincoln’s election as the 16th President of the United States. He then faced states that claimed that they could take the ultimate step of removing themselves from federal authority and jurisdiction.

Illinois now claims the right to dictate where federal authority can be exercised and makes federal authorities liable for violating specified state safe zones.

Good luck with that.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 17:00

"Most Expensive Stock I've Ever Seen": Palantir Smashes Estimates But Stock Fades After Hours Surge As Valuation Questions Swirl

Palantir, which after Nvidia is perhaps the current AI bubble's most symbolic stock trading at a forward PE of over 300x, reported Q3 earnings which saw the company beat on the top and bottom line and boosted its revenue guidance for the full year; beating the average analyst estimate, sending the stock to fresh all time highs although the after hours action has been decidedly soggy with the stock first surging 7% before reversing all gains. 

The company, whose market cap is just shy of $500 billion and which has quarterly revenue which is about 1/500th of this amount, posted its best-ever quarterly results reporting $1.18 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of 21 cents per share, above the 17c median estimate. Palantir broke records once again with its third-quarter earnings as the company's artificial-intelligence offerings drove aggressive business growth. 

Here is what the company reported for the just concluded 3rd quarter:

• Adjusted EPS 21c, beating estimates 17c (EPS 18c vs. also beat 6.0c y/y)
• Revenue $1.18 billion, +63% y/y, beating estimate $1.09 billion
  • US commercial revenue grew 121% y/y to $397m
  • US government revenue grew 52% y/y to $486m

The 63% revenue growth was largely driven by Palantir's biggest segment, US commercial, which saw sales rise by 121% year-over-year. Ryan Taylor, Palantir's chief revenue and legal officer, said that Palantir is prioritizing the domestic market, which now comprises 75% of the business' total revenue. The latest quarter was the fourth in a row in which Palantir's U.S. commercial business was larger than its U.S. government segment. 

Looking inside the income statement everything was good here too:

• Operating profit $393.3 million vs. $113.1 million y/y, estimate $255.6 million
• Adjusted operating profit $600.5 million vs. $275.5 million y/y, beating estimates of $498.7 million
  • Adjusted operating margin 51% vs. 38% y/y, beating estimate 45.8%
• Adjusted EBITDA $606.5 million, beating estimates of $502.1 million
  • Adjusted free cash flow $539.9 million, +24% y/y
• Cash and cash equivalents $1.62 billion, estimate $1.31 billion

In keeping with tradition, the company raised its full-year guidance as a result of its momentum. Palantir now anticipates around $4.40 billion in revenues for the 2025 fiscal year, up from the $4.14 billion to $4.15 billion the company had guided for in the second quarter. Here are the details for the coming quarter... 

• Sees revenue $1.33 billion to $1.33 billion, above the estimate $1.19 billion
• Sees adjusted operating profit $695 million to $699 million, above the estimate $574.7 million

... and the full year:

• Sees revenue $4.40 billion to $4.4 billion, saw $4.14 billion to $4.15 billion, beating estimate $4.17 billion 
• Sees adjusted operating profit $2.15 billion to $2.16 billion, saw $1.91 billion to $1.92 billion, beating estimate $1.93 billion
• Sees adjusted free cash flow $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion, saw $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion
• Sees US Commercial revenue above $1.43 billion

The company's earnings beat sends a strong message of continuing demand for Palantir's products. Prior to the earnings report, Citi analyst Tyler Radke questioned if Palantir could surpass the high expectations set by last quarter's results, which saw the company crossing $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time.

Analysts expect Palantir to post a 50% increase in third-quarter revenue, with adjusted earnings per share jumping nearly 70%. Those are impressive numbers. But whether they’re enough to keep the rally going is another issue.

Commenting on the quarter, CEO Alexander Karp said in a letter to investors that the "business generated $1.2 billion in revenue for the third quarter of the year, a new record in our more than twenty-year history, representing an accelerating and otherworldly growth rate of 63% over the same period the year before."

Palantir has been a controversial name on Wall Street due to its rich valuation: the stock trades at 85 times forward sales, and a stunning 240x forward PE ratio according to Bloomberg; and reliance on government contracts which can flip quickly especially if Republicans lose control.

“Valuation is our big stumbling block,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Sanjit Singh, who has the equivalent of a hold rating on the shares. “The most expensive I’ve seen in my career.”

That said, concerns about the data analysis company’s hefty price tag are nothing new. Most analysts continue to shy away from full-throated recommendations, with twice as many assigning the stock sell or hold ratings than buy.

Indeed, only 24% of the analysts covering Palantir polled by FactSet assign the stock a buy or buy-equivalent rating. But what Palantir lacks in institutional support, it makes up for with its fervent retail following, which CEO Alex Karp emphasized as a key part of what distinguishes Palantir from other software businesses.

"People who are most excited about our results in America now are average Americans," Karp told MarketWatch.

In the shareholder letter, he said Palantir "has made it possible for retail investors to achieve rates of return previously limited to the most successful venture capitalists in Palo Alto."

Perhaps, but beyond Wall Street, Palantir has a controversial reputation. According to Bloomberg, its involvement with government programs like immigration control, an AI fraud detection partnership with mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae and relationship with the Israeli goverment have all sparked criticism. And its Chief Executive Officer Alex Karp has himself been outspoken on various political topics.

Palantir has a “great CEO, a legitimate business, and a great product,” said Vikram Rai, portfolio manager and macro trader at First New York. But its stock price is being fueled by broader trends lifting momentum plays rather than fundamentals, he said.

Others agree. “When the music stops, this stock is going to get hit harder than others,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. He applauds Karp and notes that Palantir is one of the few companies out there that’s making money from its AI investments. However, the stock price gives him pause.

“There are other AI plays which are cheaper, like Nvidia, that will be a little safer right now,” Maley said.

Others are more optimistic: Palantir “will grow into its valuation,” tech bull Dan Ives wrote in a research note last week. Wall Street is “still underestimating the company’s commercial efforts,” he added. 

On the commercial side, Gil Luria, managing director and head of technology research at DA Davidson & Co., expects strength because Palantir can “get their customers to an AI solution faster and more effectively than anybody else.” He’s kept his stock rating at neutral due to its high price, but doesn’t “see a reason for the valuation to come down right now either,” he sa

PLTR shares closed Monday above $207, after opening at $10 when the company conducted its 2020 direct listing. And while they spiked as high as $222 after hours, they have since faded to their closing price as the market assesses how much higher the forward multiple can rise.

The stock jumped as much as 3.5% on Monday ahead of results due after the close of trading, putting it on track to close at an all-time high.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 16:46

Son Of LA Crips Leader Murdered On Halloween Night Outside His Smoke Shop

Jabari Henley — 34-year-old former rapper and son of Rolling 60’s Neighborhood Crips figure and music manager Eugene “Big U” Henley — was shot and killed on Halloween night in South Los Angeles, Breitbart reported this weekend.

The shooting occurred around 11 p.m. outside his smoke shop near 69th Street and Figueroa Street. According to the LAPD, “The victim, described as a 34-year-old Black male, walked up to the suspect vehicle when an unknown suspect or suspects shot at him.” Police said the attackers fled, declined to identify Henley by name, and would not comment on possible gang ties.

The report says that Henley’s father, “Big U,” is widely known for working with rapper Nipsey Hussle and has long been associated with “checking in” — alleged extortion of celebrities entering Crips territory.

One federal affidavit stated, “While Henley and other supporters attempt to persuade the public that the ‘check in’ provides safety and security for those who do so, as set forth herein, he and the Big U Enterprise also manufacture the very danger they purport to protect against.”

Eugene Henley Jr.

Eugene Henley has previously faced charges including kidnapping and robbery, and was linked — though not charged — to the 2021 murder of rapper Rayshawn Williams. Another of his sons, Daiyan Henley, currently plays for the Los Angeles Chargers.

In March, the elder Henley surrendered to federal authorities over accusations he led a “Mafia-like” criminal operation tied to violence and extortion in Los Angeles, the NY Post wrote this weekend. He was one of 18 alleged Rollin 60s members charged in a sweeping federal racketeering case.

Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally said earlier this year: “As the indictment alleges, Mr. Henley led a criminal enterprise whose conduct ranged from murder to sophisticated fraud that included stealing from taxpayers and a charity."

“Eradicating gangs and organized crime is the Department of Justice’s top priority. Today’s charges against the leadership of this criminal outfit will make our neighborhoods in Los Angeles safer.”

The suspect remains at large. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 16:40

Is Nov 5th's 'Trump Must Go Now' Action Set To Kick Off Civil War 2.0?

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

Last Ditch?

“The question is, can communist subversion be defeated without using ‘authoritarian’ measures? Is a constitutional republic equipped to deal with this kind of threat? When someone wages war on your society internally, is there a way to fight them while being civic minded? Probably not.”

- Brandon Smith

Doesn’t it kind of look like the Nov. 5 “Trump Must Go Now” action in Washington is designed to be our time’s Fort Sumter moment, to kick off Civil War 2.0? The organizers behind it are the usual suspects: George & Alex Soros’s Open Society Foundation at the hub and spin-offs such as the Tides Foundation, Revolutionary Communist Party, and Refuse Fascism doing the logistical grunt work. . . buses. . . snacks. . . signs. . . brickbats, frog costumes. . . .

The idea is to entice a million Wokesters to surround the White House and literally exorcise the president, get Donald Trump teleported out through the roof into the cosmic ethers, to be seen no more. We’ll have to stand by to see how it works. Something like it was tried in October, 1967, when anti-(Vietnam)-war celebrities — poet Alan Ginsberg, The Fugs’ Ed Sanders, hippie rabblerousers Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin — led incantations to “levitate” the Pentagon. (Failed.)

You might have noticed by now that the most hysterical voices crying about “fascism” are exactly the people who yearn to push everybody else around, tell them what to think, run your life, wreck every institution and relationship in society, and take all your stuff.

The Left never notices how all that resembles their notion of what fascism is. Self-awareness is not the Wokesters’ strong suit.

The Nov. 5 event is predicated on — and coordinated with — the Democratic Party’s government shut-down, especially the suspension of SNAP benefits (free food), in hopes that famished mobs will rise up, loot the supermarkets, and force the president to vigorously put down food riots: Look, Fascist. . . !

But over the weekend Judge John J. McConnell Jr. (Rhode Island) foiled that ploy, commanding the president to use “contingency funds” out of the US Department of Agriculture to keep SNAP running.

The president coyly replied, “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”

Seeing as how the contingency fund contains only $5.25-billion, and the actual cost of running SNAP through November is $8.5-billion, we have a math problem. So, stand by on Judge McConnell spelling-out what appropriate legal direction can get that done. The president might have demonstrated how federal judges are not competent to carry out his Article II executive duties, and why the Constitution was written as it is. Of course, all this will be moot if the Democrats fold, as expected, by mid-month and vote to re-open the government.

The Lefty federal judges have been uniformly humiliated as one temporary restraining order (TRO) after another gets tossed by the SCOTUS. Judge James Boasberg of the DC District, the very model of a judicial “Resistance” activist, is about to get his ass impeached after ten-years of dabbling in malicious abuse of judicial process (28 U.S.C. § 2680-h under the Federal Tort Claims Act), plus 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements or concealment in federal matters, potentially covering abusive filings), and 8 U.S.C. § 1503/1512 (obstruction of justice via tampering or corrupt persuasion, applicable to malicious process abuse), Stand by on that. Might be a caution to the rest of the federal judge gang to back off their Resistance shenanigans.

In case you haven’t followed the story — since The New York Times and network news won’t report on it — we are in the midst of the “Arctic Frost Investigation” scandal when, in 2022, “Joe Biden” induced AG Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray to go mad-dog on Donald Trump and hundreds of political conservatives, including nine US Senators, whose phone records were seized, with gag orders (from Judge Boasberg) to prevent notification of the seize-ees, which has raised accusations of violating their First Amendment rights, and grand jury secrecy. Arctic Frost is still unspooling, with reverberations to come, including insights on the Jack Smith / Norm Eisen lawfare spree in 2023-24 against Donald Trump that followed it.

Altogether, how successful has the Resistance movement to defy, thwart, and overthrow President Trump been going since January 20? Looks a little lame, so far. The summer of “No Kings” was entertaining enough, with the Boomer-geezers wetting their Depends every Saturday morning to stay out past noon, and the mentally-ill Antifas roistering as inflatable dinosaurs and Teletubbies to mask their homicidal tendencies. Don’t be so sure they will get the Second Civil War they yearn for. What it actually looks like is the Left has turned the Democratic Party into a suicide cult. And ask yourself: what is the end point of that, exactly?

*  *  *

Now live: JHK’s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. Amusing excerpt from the book at this link.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 16:20

Energy Secretary Clarifies No Nuclear Explosions 'For Now'

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday clarified that the US has no plans to conduct nuclear explosions, at least for the time being, comments that came amid confusion over President Trump’s order for the Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons.

"I think the tests we’re talking about right now are system tests," Wright told Fox News. "These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call non-critical explosions."

Nuclear bomb test at the Nevada Proving Grounds in 1951.

Wright added that such tests involve "all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry and they set up the nuclear explosion,” but don’t involve a nuclear detonation. The tests, also known as "subcritical experiments," have been ongoing and would be nothing new for the Energy Department.

It was unclear when Trump first issued the order in a post on Truth Social if he meant the US would restart tests that involve detonating nuclear bombs, something that the US hasn’t done since 1992, or if he meant testing nuclear-capable missiles, something the Pentagon does regularly.

The president said he directed the US War Department to "start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis" as other countries, but all nuclear-armed powers except for North Korea, which last detonated a nuclear weapon in 2017, have maintained a moratorium on detonating nuclear bombs since the 1990s. In response to Trump’s post, Russia warned that it would respond if the US broke the moratorium.

Trump could have been referring to Russia’s recent tests of a nuclear-capable missile and a nuclear-capable drone. The last known US test of a nuclear-capable missile was on May 21, when the US Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from California for a 4,200-mile flight to the Marshall Islands.

Underwater nuclear test in the bikini attol , 1946 pic.twitter.com/s8KW848e5f

— War Monitor Clips (@WarMonitorClips) January 26, 2025

If the Energy Department ever did move toward detonating a nuclear bomb, arms control experts say it would take about 36 months to restart such tests.

The explosions would be conducted underground since the US is a party to the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits all nuclear test detonations except for those conducted underground.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 15:25

Trump Admin Will Partially Fund November Food Stamps: Filing

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

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will fund food stamps for November at reduced levels, Trump administration officials said on Nov. 3.

A woman walks by a sign advertising the acceptance of food stamps, in Miami, Fla., on Oct. 31, 2025. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The USDA will spend billions of dollars in contingency funds, but will not use any additional money, administration lawyers said in a court filing.

That means many SNAP recipients will only receive half as much in benefits as they usually do, the lawyers said.

The government met its deadline of 12 p.m. on Monday to give an update on funding the federal food stamp program, known as SNAP, for November.

U.S. District Judge Jack McConnell previously ruled that the USDA had to at least partially fund the November benefits by using contingency money allocated in federal law “as may become necessary to carry out program operations.”

“Because of the lack of appropriations for Fiscal Year 2026 (i.e., ’the shutdown'), use of those contingency funds has now become required because available funding is necessary to carry out the program operations, i.e., to pay citizens their SNAP benefits,” McConnell said in a Nov. 1 order.

Congress allocated $6 billion in contingency funds, but nearly $1 billion has already been spent, administration officials have said. Officials had resisted using the contingency money, saying it was unavailable because there was no more underlying funding for SNAP in place due to the government shutdown that started on Oct. 1. Congress has not yet reached a deal to reopen the government or provide new funding for SNAP.

McConnell ordered officials to fund SNAP from the bench during a hearing on Friday. President Donald Trump later on Friday said that he directed White House lawyers to seek clarification on how the administration could keep funding SNAP.

SNAP payments were suspended on Nov. 1 as that unfolded.

It costs about $9 billion to fund SNAP each month. SNAP pays an average of $187.20 a month to electronic cards for about 42 million people, according to the USDA.

McConnell suggested Saturday that officials should “find the additional funds necessary (beyond the contingency funds) to fully fund the November SNAP payments.” They could draw from a tranche of more than $23 billion that came from tariffs, he said.

If officials choose to fully fund November payments, they must do so by the end of Nov. 3, he said; however, if officials choose not to fully fund the November benefits, they are to use the total remaining contingency funds to make a partial payment by Nov. 5.

In the new filings, officials said that they recently paid $450 million in contingency funds to states for SNAP administrative expenses and $300 million for unrelated grants. They said that they will pay another $450 million for SNAP operations and an additional $150 million for the Nutrition Assistance Program grants.

That leaves $4.6 billion in contingency money for November SNAP benefits, which “will all be obligated to cover 50% of eligible households’ current allotments,” Patrick Penn, a USDA official, said in a declaration to the court.

People whose SNAP applications are verified in November will not receive any money, according to the document.

The USDA is preparing to notify states of the update on Nov. 3, which will prompt states to calculate how much in benefits each household will receive, Penn said.

States will likely have difficulty distributing the reduced SNAP benefits, he said.

“For at least some States, USDA’s understanding is that the system changes States must implement to provide the reduced benefit amounts will take anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months,” he said.

Officials said they opted not to use tariff revenue or additional money because those funds are required for child nutrition efforts and other programs.

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Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 14:40

Sliding Cardboard Box Sales Sets Off Economic Alarm Bells Ahead Of Holiday Shopping Season 

Nearly every physical good in the modern economy is transported or stored in a corrugated cardboard box. That's why box shipments act as a reliable real-time economic barometer, especially very useful now, as the government shutdown enters day 33 and key agencies like the BLS have halted official economic data releases, leaving private high-frequency data sets to fill the void.

The latest box shipment data from Bloomberg, citing a report by the Fibre Box Association, shows some of the weakest volumes in years, reflecting waning consumer sentiment and potentially signaling a subdued holiday shopping season. These shipments were at their lowest levels since the third quarter of 2015.

Bloomberg Intelligence noted that box orders remained flat or below normal in October, while consumer sentiment hit a five-month low and manufacturing activity contracted for an eighth straight month. 

The economic picture is cloudy: US manufacturing surveys were mixed in October, while Goldman analysts warned the other day about waning consumer sentiment. 

"We're not getting a lot of lift, obviously, from the economy," Packaging Corp of America President Thomas Hassfurther warned last month, adding, "And these starts and stops that we've seen consistently go on throughout the year relative to tariffs and a bunch of other things certainly are impacting the business."

Here are dismal earnings from top box makers companies point to a slowing economy: 

• Smurfit Westrock posted an 8.7% YoY decline in Q3 North American box volumes, sending shares to their lowest since mid-2024.

• Packaging Corp. of America shares also slid, and International Paper cut its sales outlook for both 2025 and 2027, triggering a nearly 13% stock plunge.

• International Paper now expects US box shipments to fall 1–1.5% in 2025, reversing earlier forecasts for growth, citing soft consumer sentiment, trade uncertainty, and a sluggish housing market. CEO Andy Silvernail said targets were "obviously" adjusted downward absent a "major pickup" in US and European volumes.

Dismal box shipments and earnings build on an earlier report from Deloitte's holiday sales forecast released in early September, which warned that the upcoming holiday shopping season could see one of the slowest growth rates since the pandemic (read report). 

Meanwhile.

Atlanta Fed Q3 GDP tracker at 4.0% https://t.co/CUj9betrQL

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 3, 2025

Just a mixed picture. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 14:05

Kimberly-Clark Suffers Biggest Loss Since 'Black Monday' After Unveiling $40 Billion Merger With Tylenol-Maker Kenvue

Update (1405ET):

Kimberly-Clark shares remain down around 14.5% in late-afternoon trading.  If the losses hold into the close, it would mark the company's steepest one-day drop since October 16, 1987, or just days before the Black Monday crash on October 19, 1987. Earlier, the Kleenex maker unveiled plans to acquire Tylenol producer Kenvue in a $48.7 billion cash-and-stock deal. The announcement sent Kenvue soaring, up 20%. 

Shares of Kimberly-Clark are at their lowest point since late 2019. 

Wall Street analysts are divided on the proposed merger between Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue. Some expect short-term pressure on the stock, while others praised the merger as "strategically transformative"...

Commentary from Wall Street desks (courtsey of Bloomberg):

RBC Capital (Nik Modi)

• Says the deal is strategically transformative for Kimberly-Clark in the long run as it adds significant positive diversification to its business mix

• "We believe it will take investors some time to process the long-term implications and would expect KMB shares to come under pressure today and likely trade sideways until investors get more context around recent KVUE regulation/litigation headlines as well as confidence that Kimberly-Clark can turn Kenvue's business around"

Vital Knowledge (Adam Crisafulli)

• "KVUE brings some iconic brands into the KMB umbrella, and the ~$21/shr purchase price isn't extremely expensive (this only gets KVUE back to where it was trading in Sept.), especially considering ~$2B in synergies, but KMB investors will be wary of the deal given the mounting legal risks facing Tylenol"

• Says the consumer staples industry has struggled for several quarters due to macro pressures. KVUE has experienced particular strain given company-specific challenges, such as management turnover and scrutiny from the White House

Bloomberg Intelligence (Diana Gomes)

• Says Kimberly-Clark's cash-and-stock offer for Kenvue reinforces the view that any recovery in Kenvue sales is based on an aggressive step-up in investment, which would act as a further drag on mid-term profit

• "Another Kenvue organic sales miss in 3Q and lack of overlap in over-the-counter and beauty limits realization of synergies, pegged at 8% to combined operating expenses" 

 *   *   * 

Consumer products company Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced it will acquire Tylenol maker Kenvue in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at nearly $49 billion, marking one of the largest consumer health mergers in history. 

Kimberly-Clark revealed in a press release that the deal values Kenvue at 14.3x its latest twelve months (LTM) adjusted EBITDA. In return, Kenvue shareholders will receive $3.50 in cash and .14625 Kimberly-Clark shares per Kenvue share, for a total of about $ 21.01 per share. The deal is valued at $48.7 billion. 

The deal is expected to close in 2H 2026. Upon completion, Kimberly-Clark shareholders will own 54% of the combined company, while Kenvue shareholders will own 46%. Both boards have unanimously approved the acquisition. JPMorgan Chase is providing committed financing for the deal. 

The merger unites two mega consumer-product giants, creating a global health and wellness powerhouse with top brands, including Kleenex, Huggies, Tylenol, Neutrogena, Listerine, and Band-Aid, that reach consumers worldwide. 

Here's the justification for the merger:

• Combines Kimberly-Clark's commercial execution and digital marketing capabilities with Kenvue's science-backed innovation and healthcare professional networks.

• Expands global footprint across key growth categories in personal care and health.

• Enhanced R&D and quality investments to accelerate product innovation and address evolving consumer health needs.

• Kimberly-Clark CEO Mike Hsu will continue leading the merged company, supported by senior executives from both firms.

Based on Kimberly-Clark's current projections, the merger would generate 2025 annual net revenues of about $32 billion and adjusted EBITDA of about $7 billion. 

All sounds great, but this comes at a time when Tylenol faces political scrutiny via the Trump administration, warning mothers to avoid giving their newborns acetaminophen.

Related:

• "Don't Take It": Trump Warns Pregnant Women To Avoid Tylenol Over Autism Concerns

• Tylenol Manufacturer Resists Proposed Label Changes

In markets, Kimberly-Clark shares tumbled 15%, while Kenvue shares jumped 20%. 

The question now is whether government regulators will approve the deal, especially given President Trump's recent comments surrounding Tylenol.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 14:05

US Manufacturing Surveys Mixed In October; Prices Down, Production Up

Amid the month-long vacuum of macro data, thanks to the shutdown, 'soft' survey data has become almost the only leg left standing to judge the economy by (absent the housing data).

Following better-than-expected prints across Europe, and beats in Brazil and Canada, this morning's S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI rose more than expected to 52.5 (52.2 exp), up from 52.0 - tracking hard data higher.

That signaled a third successive month that the S&P Global PMI has posted above the critical 50.0 no-change mark and indicative of a solid improvement in operating conditions that was in line with the survey’s trend pace.

The PMI was supported in October by concurrent and accelerated gains in both output and new orders.

Production was increased at a solid pace, whilst the gain in new orders was the best recorded in 20 months. Growth in new work has been registered consistently throughout the year to date, albeit to varying degrees, and panelists noted in October an uplift in market demand and success in securing new contracts. However, October’s growth was increasingly reliant on the domestic market as new export orders faltered.

BUT...

...as usual in the baffle 'em with bullshit world, ISM's US Manufacturing PMI missed expectations, falling from 49.1 to 48.7 (worse than the 49.5 exp) - the 8th straight month of contraction (below 50)

Source: Bloomberg

“US manufacturers reported a solid start to the fourth quarter with production rising at an increased rate in response to an encouragingly robust jump in new orders," according to Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"However, lift the hood and the picture is not so healthy."

“Most worrying is the unprecedented rise in unsold stock reported in October, widely linked to weaker than anticipated sales to customers, especially in export markets, which could trigger a downshifting of production in the coming months unless demand revives.

Indeed, ISM shows prices falling fast and new orders and employment improving MoM (though both below 50 - contracting).

The index of prices paid for raw materials fell 3.9 points to 58, the lowest since the start of the year. Since a recent peak in April, during the height of the tariffs rollout, the price gauge has dropped nearly 12 points...

Source: Bloomberg

Companies have also become less optimistic about the year ahead, with sentiment back down close to the gloomy levels seen around the April tariff announcements.

"US trade policy uncertainties are again a big factor in dampening business spirits, with tariff policies being increasingly blamed both on rising export losses and import supply chain disruptions.

These export and import worries are being exacerbated by more domestically focused political concerns, including the federal shutdown, which are manifesting themselves most prominently in consumer-focused industries."

Tariffs remained a key source of higher input costs during October with S&P Global's latest data showing another round of historically elevated inflation – albeit the lowest since February.

Selling prices were raised markedly in response, and to a quicker degree than September’s recent low.

Finally, Williamson notes that business confidence among producers of consumer goods is now down to its lowest for two years "as firms growing increasingly worried about household spending in the US and falling sales to consumers in export markets."

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 10:06

​​​​​​​Amazon & OpenAI Strike $38 Billion Compute Deal As Microsoft Exclusive Ends

The circular AI funding headline arrived 30 minutes ahead of the U.S. cash session.

And the circular funding headlines arrive

*AMAZON INKS $38 BILLION DEAL WITH OPENAI TO SUPPLY NVIDIA CHIPS

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 3, 2025

This time, Amazon shares jumped 6%, extending last week's post-earnings rally after news broke of a massive $38 billion deal between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and OpenAI.

*AMAZON JUMPS 6.1% ON DEAL TO SUPPLY OPENAI WITH NVIDIA CHIPS https://t.co/hubchYVq5T

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 3, 2025

The seven-year contract will see OpenAI run and scale its core AI workloads on AWS's cloud infrastructure, an agreement that takes effect immediately and positions AWS as a key compute provider for OpenAI's expanding portfolio of generative-AI products, including ChatGPT.

The AWS-OpenAI deal comes just one week after Microsoft's exclusive cloud rights with OpenAI expired, freeing up Sam Altman's AI chatbot startup to sign compute deals with other hyperscalers. 

Amazon said the new partnership will provide dedicated compute capacity for both AI training and inference, powering next-generation models and ChatGPT-like services:

The infrastructure deployment that AWS is building for OpenAI features a sophisticated architectural design optimized for maximum AI processing efficiency and performance. Clustering the NVIDIA GPUs—both GB200s and GB300s—via Amazon EC2 UltraServers on the same network enables low-latency performance across interconnected systems, allowing OpenAI to efficiently run workloads with optimal performance. The clusters are designed to support various workloads, from serving inference for ChatGPT to training next generation models, with the flexibility to adapt to OpenAI's evolving needs.

OpenAI has been on a dealmaking spree, signing cloud and hardware pacts totaling a staggering $1.4 trillion with Nvidia, Broadcom, Oracle, and Google as AI data center bubble concerns mount.

ZeroHedge Premium subs have been informed about how these circular flowing deals work, described in a recent note titled The Stunning Math Behind The AI Vendor Financing "Circle Jerk"...

"OpenAI will immediately start utilizing AWS compute as part of this partnership, with all capacity targeted to be deployed before the end of 2026, and the ability to expand further into 2027 and beyond," Amazon wrote in a statement. 

The deal highlights AWS's large-scale AI infrastructure and brings it closer to frontier model developers, including clients such as Peloton, Thomson Reuters, Comscore, and Triomics. 

OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman stated, "Scaling frontier AI requires massive, reliable compute," adding, "Our partnership with AWS strengthens the broad compute ecosystem that will power this next era and bring advanced AI to everyone." 

However, doesn't Amazon need all these vast computing resources for its own operations, yet in this case, it serves as a seller of computing capacity... 

In recent weeks, Goldman's James Schneider told clients, "The net impact of our model updates extends the duration of peak datacenter occupancy well into 2026 (from the end of 2025 previously). After this point, we forecast a modest, but gradual loosening of supply/demand balance in 2027..."

Is this GS model wrong, and peak datacenter occupancy comes much earlier? 

Related: 

• OpenAI-Microsoft Friction Grows As ChatGPT App Growth Slows, Data Center Buildout Risks Overcapacity

The AWS-OpenAI compute deal was enough to send Amazon shares up 5% in the early cash session in New York, building on gains from last week's earnings. 

It's only a matter of time before another AI compute deal is unveiled ... you can almost guarantee it'll happen when AI stocks start to lose momentum ... like clockwork. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 09:50

Putin And Xi Are 'Serious People' & 'Not To Be Toyed With': Trump Interview

President Trump offered some candid and revealing thoughts on his Russian and Chinese counterparts Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping during a CBS 60 Minutes interview which aired Sunday.

Trump has not appeared on the program in a half-decade, but had much to say, especially regarding America's two top 'superpower' rivals. He called Putin and Xi "very strong leaders" who are "tough" and "smart" but which are "not to be toyed with."

AFP/Getty Images

When asked which of the two was more difficult to deal with, Trump replied "both". He described they are "Both tough. Both smart. They’re both very strong leaders. These are people not to be toyed with" - and seemed conciliatory without going on the verbal attack.

He followed with more commentary which suggested a high degree of respect for them as leaders. "They’re serious people, not the type to walk in talking about how nice the weather is," Trump conceded.

Trump also in the interview took the opportunity to reiterate that the Russia-Ukraine war would never have occurred under his leadership.

"That was a war that would’ve never happened if I was president," he said, and then noted Putin had himself acknowledged this. "I inherited a country where Putin thinks he’s winning. Joe Biden was the president when it happened."

It was at this point in the interview that Trump said he has "a very good relationship" with Putin while expressing hope that the US-Moscow relations can be turned around.

Despite setbacks, including the effective cancelation of the Budapest summit, Trump expressed he hopes to get a lasting truce in Ukraine "in a couple months" - though battlefield realities suggest this remains wishful thinking and not based in any solid developments toward peace or compromise.

"We’re gonna get it done… [Putin] wants to come in and he wants to trade with us, and he wants to make a lot of money for Russia, and I think that’s great," Trump said.

As for China, one notable moment was addressing rare-earth minerals and potential tit-for-tat amid a trade war. "We got no rare-earth threat… We have tremendous amounts of dollars pouring in, because we have very big tariffs, almost 50%," Trump explained.

Russian media has been taking note...

'Putin & Xi NOT to be toyed with' — Trump pic.twitter.com/PpS6bdjdUZ

— RT (@RT_com) November 3, 2025

This rhetoric from the president in the 60 Minutes interview seems a marked change compared to that of early September, wherein he said the following:

President Donald Trump accused Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday of "conspiring against" the United States as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended China's military parade commemorating the end of World War II and victory over Japan.

"May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Still, the general vibe and tone of the fresh CBS appearance seemed a return to Trump as 'peace president' who is more interested in major deal-making around the globe as opposed to starting conflicts. However, we should note that Venezuela would certainly not agree with such a characterization of Washington policy at this point.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 09:15

Nigerian President Responds To Trump's Call For Military Action Against Christian Persecution

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Nigerian government on Sunday responded to a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that the United States could take military action in the African nation if its government does not more to curb the persecution of Christians there by Islamic terrorists.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu attends an ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on June 22, 2025. Olamikan Gbemiga/AP Photo

“We welcome U.S. assistance as long as it recognizes our territorial integrity,” Daniel Bwala, an adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, told Reuters.

On Saturday, Tinubu rejected accusations of religious persecution against Christians and defended Nigeria’s “sincere efforts” to protect religious freedom.

“The characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” Tinubu said in a statement released on X. “Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.”

He also said Nigeria is a country that also has “constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths,” adding that his government will work with the United States on this matter.

In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump stated that Islamic terrorists were carrying out mass killings of Christians and that the religion is “facing an existential threat” in the West African country.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” the president said. “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action.”

He added: “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to Trump’s post, writing that “the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria—and anywhere—must end immediately.”

“The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

For years, human rights groups such as Amnesty International have warned that the Nigeria-based Boko Haram terrorist group and similar organizations have launched attacks and kidnappings targeting civilians namely in the northeastern part of Nigeria.

Boko Haram, which has previously explicitly stated that it is targeting Christians and churches, has killed at least 50,000 Christians in the country since its insurgency began in 2009, according to a 2023 report from the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law. Aside from Boko Haram, terrorist organization Islamic State West Africa Province has also launched attacks in the country.

Some analysts have said that Boko Haram also targets Muslims but says that it seeks to attack Christians as a cover because northeastern Nigeria is predominantly Muslim.

“Insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa often present their campaigns as anti-Christian, but in practice their violence is indiscriminate and devastates entire communities,” Ladd Serwat, senior Africa analyst at U.S. crisis-monitoring group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), told Reuters. “Islamist violence is part of the complex and often overlapping conflict dynamics in the country” due to multiple issues, including political power struggles and inter-ethnic conflicts, he added.

Trump’s call for military action to end the persecution of Christians drew praise from some celebrities, including pop star Nicki Minaj. She released a lengthy statement on X praising the president’s promise to protect Christians in Nigeria.

Open Doors, a group that monitors the persecution of Christians worldwide, says that the worst offender is North Korea, which is run by a communist dictatorship, followed by Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan.

The Chinese communist regime also ranks high on Open Doors’ list, and the International Republican Institute recently released a report regarding religious freedom in China in mid-October, saying that “Christian ministers are imprisoned for refusing to conform to [Chinese Communist Party] ideology, and public access to the Bible is banned,” alongside the persecution of other groups such as Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 06:30

Anduril's YFQ-44 Fury "Fighter" Drone Has Flown

By Joseph Trevithick of The War Zone

Anduril’s YFQ-44A ‘fighter drone’ prototype has now made its maiden flight. The YFQ-44A is one of two designs currently being developed under the first phase, or Increment 1, of the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. The other is General Atomics’ YFQ-42A, which took to the skies for the first time earlier this year.

A TWZ reader has shared pictures with us of the YFQ-44A in flight, which were taken earlier today at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California. The drone was also seen accompanied by two L-29 Delfin trainer jets acting as chase planes. We have reached out to Anduril for more information.

The YFQ-44A Fury prototype seen in flight in Victorville, California, earlier today. TWZ ReaderThe YFQ-44A prototype seen flying alongside an L-29 chase plane. TWZ reader.

Additional imagery of the YFQ-44A in flight is now beginning to circulate online.

Last year, the Air Force announced that it trimmed back the field of prospective Increment 1 CCA designs to the proposals from Anduril and General Atomics. However, Fury’s story traces back to the late 2010s and an aggressor drone concept from a company called Blue Force Technologies, which Anduril acquired in 2023, as you can read about in extensive detail in this past War Zone feature.

“This marks another major milestone for the CCA program, now with two new uncrewed fighter aircraft going from concept to flight in less than 2 years,” the Air Force has now said in a press release confirming the YFQ-44A’s first flight. “This flight testing expands the program’s knowledge base on flight performance, autonomous behaviors, and mission system integration. By advancing multiple designs in parallel, the Air Force is gaining broader insights and refining how uncrewed aircraft will complement crewed fifth-and sixth-generation platforms in future mission environments.”

Another look at the YFQ-44A in flight.  Photo USAF

“This milestone demonstrates how competition drives innovation and accelerates delivery,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said in a statement. “These flights are giving us the hard data we need to shape requirements, reduce risk, and ensure the CCA program delivers combat capability on a pace and scale that keeps us ahead of the threat.”

Anduril and the Air Force had previously declined to provide a hard timeline for when the YFQ-44A would make its first flight.

“We have multiple vehicles at our test facility in ground testing right now, and we’re in the final stages before first flight,” Diem Salmon, Anduril’s Vice President of Air Dominance and Strike, had told TWZ and others at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2025 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference back in September. “All in all, we’re still well ahead of the program schedule in terms of getting YFQ-44A into the air. [We] feel really confident in our ability to do so and still feel really good about the program schedule.”

At that time, Salmon, as well as Jason Levin, Anduril’s Senior Vice President of Engineering for Air Dominance and Strike, offered additional details about the plans for Fury’s first flight, including the level of autonomy the company was hoping to demonstrate, which was a key schedule driver. You can read more about that here.

“It was not a race to get to first flight as fast as humanly possible. It was, how do we field this really advanced and novel capability as fast as we can,” Salmon had said. “And with that comes the recognition that the autonomy is the hard part here, and so that’s the thing that you actually need to burn down from a technical development, testing, and risk perspective. And so that’s how we’ve approached our program.”

Secretary of the Air Force Meink had also told TWZ and others at a separate roundtable at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference that his service was hoping to see the YFQ-44A fly by the middle of October. In a keynote address at the event, now-retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin described Fury’s first flight as “imminent,” as well.

“My engineers tell me that if we push the button … [the drone] will take off, it’ll fly around, and it’ll come back home,” Anduril founder Palmer Luckey had also told reporters earlier this month, according to Breaking Defense. “The Air Force is going through a process of evaluation that is very, very reasonable, I think.”

“Obviously, now the problem is we’re into the shutdown,” Luckey added at that time. “Certainly … a lot of stuff stops moving.”

The U.S. federal government remains in a shutdown. Efforts have been made to find continued funding for various priority efforts, especially within the U.S. military.

With the YFQ-42A and the YFQ-44A now flying, “developmental flight activities continue across both vendor and government test locations, including Edwards Air Force Base [AFB], where envelope expansion and integration work will inform future experimentation,” according to the Air Force’s press release today. “The Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit (EOU), located at Nellis AFB, will be instrumental in evaluating operational concepts as the program transitions from testing to fielding substantial operational capability for Increment 1 before the end of the decade.”

General Atomics YFQ-42A in flight. GA-ASI

How many Increment 1 CCAs the Air Force ultimately plans to acquire is not entirely clear. Air Force officials have said previously that between 100 and 150 drones could be ordered under the program’s first phase. It also remains to be seen whether the service buys YFQ-42As, YFQ-44As, or a mix of both.

“CCA is part of the Next Generation Air Dominance Family of Systems and leverages the Department’s Government Reference Architectures—enabling platform-agnostic autonomy development, streamlined integration across vendor systems, and more agile capability updates over time,” the Air Force’s release also noted. “The architecture is built to integrate with Allied and Joint partners, offering common autonomy and mission system standards that support seamless interoperability and teaming across Services and coalition forces.”

A previously released photo of the YFQ-44A prototype. Courtesy photo via USAF

There are still plans for at least one more incremental CCA developmental cycle, the requirements for which have yet to be publicly disclosed. However, the submissions for Increment 2 are already expected to be significantly different from the ones for Increment 1. in September, Lockheed Martin unveiled a new CCA-type drone, called Vectis, which the company suggested could be proposed for Increment 2. This week, Aviation Week also disclosed the existence of a new drone design from Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites, currently referred to just as Project Lotus, which that outlet described in terms of its similarities to Vectis.

Increment 2 has also long been expected to involve foreign participation. Earlier this month, authorities in the Netherlands notably announced they had signed the letter of intent about joining the CCA program.

The Air Force’s CCA effort is also directly intertwined with similar efforts underway within the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy. The Air Force still has many general questions to answer about how its future CCA fleets, whatever they are comprised of, will be deployed, launched, recovered, supported, and otherwise operated, not to mention employed tactically.

As such, in addition to being an important milestone in Fury’s development, the YFQ-44A’s first flight is also another step forward for the Air Force’s larger CCA plans.

Update:

Anduril has now put out its own release regarding the YFQ-44A’s first flight.

YFQ-44A took flight today. Anduril has launched a new age of airpower with the push of a button.

From clean-sheet design to one-click takeoff in 556 days. pic.twitter.com/hUxIZCP8Zz

— Anduril Industries (@anduriltech) October 31, 2025

“Flight testing is where we prove to ourselves, to the Air Force, to our allies, and to our adversaries that these proclamations about game-changing technology go beyond words. They’re real, and they are taking to the skies today,” Jason Levin, Senior Vice President of Engineering for Air Dominance and Strike at Anduril, writes. “The flight testing process is where we prove that our aircraft meets the mark in terms of speed, maneuverability, autonomy, stealth, range, weapons systems integration, and more. As YFQ-44A climbs higher, we’re proving that it doesn’t merely look like a fighter, but that it performs like one.”

“Flight testing for the CCA program is also about more than simply proving raw fighter performance in a vacuum. The real step change that autonomy is driving is enabling a team of robotic aircraft to collaborate to accomplish mission objectives,” he adds. We designed YFQ-44A for a specific Air Force mission: to enhance survivability, lethality, and mission effectiveness by teaming with crewed fighter aircraft or operating independently. Through flight testing, Anduril and the Air Force are developing those collaborative, manned-unmanned teaming concepts and tactics that will inform how we integrate, fight with, and sustain truly autonomous aircraft.”

Anduril’s release also includes details about the production plans for the YFQ-44A, which tie into a “hyperscale” production facility, called Arsenal-1, that the company is now building in Ohio.

“To achieve the scale we need at the speed that the threat demands, we are building and testing a new type of production system for YFQ-44A. Through the employment of a common software backbone called ArsenalOS, our production system multiplies the effects of the thousands of design-for-manufacturing decisions made during the development of YFQ-44A,” according to Levin. “That system is underpinned by a manufacturing philosophy focused on simple, mature, and low-risk production technologies, rather than relying on manufacturing miracles. YFQ-44A will be produced at rate by a broad labor pool, commoditized supply chain, and industry-standard manufacturing processes.”

“YFQ-44A is streaking through the skies, but its next chapter will be written on the factory floors of America’s heartland. Our investment in this aircraft is the driving force behind Arsenal-1, the 5 million square foot production facility that we’re building in Columbus, Ohio,” he adds. “YFQ-44A will be the first program to move into the factory when its doors open, and we are on track to begin production of prototype CCA at Arsenal-1 in the first half of 2026.”

“We’re not waiting for Arsenal-1 to start building, though. In the meantime, we have already more than doubled our manufacturing speed for YFQ-44A by rapidly optimizing our processes and workflows, and by making hundreds of tweaks to the design of the aircraft to further enhance producibility,” Levin also notes. “Making it this far has required herculean investments from the combined Anduril-USAF team measured in time and money.”

* * * 

During a press call today, Anduril’s Jason Levin provided TWZ and other outlets with additional information about today’s first flight and future testing plans. The company has so far declined to say how long the YFQ-44A’s first flight lasted or provide other, more specific details about what it entailed.

“I don’t think I can say any specifics, but the team is very excited,” Levin said in response to a question about whether the first flight went as planned. He did say that the YFQ-44A flew today with an Anduril flight autonomy mission package, but declined to speak to what additional mission autonomy capabilities might be integrated into the drone in future test flights.

pic.twitter.com/W65ir6NRSS

— Anduril Industries (@anduriltech) October 31, 2025

“I think it’s kind of the standard buildup that you would have in in in aviation. So I think it’s just checking out subsystems, continue to burn down risk, continue to prove that systems are flight worthy and things are working as expected, matching up the simulation, and then just to continue to start to push the envelope,” he added when asked about potential hurdles to further expanding Fury’s flight envelope. “So, I don’t see any specific risk. We’ve kind of designed Fury to be a simple, low-risk, producible system on purpose, so that we didn’t have to clear any huge hurdles while progressing through the flight test program.”

“We still have a lot to do. So, we’ve shown the airplane works. We’ve shown the autonomy works. The software brain that powers it works. We have a lot to do in terms of proving out the speed, maneuverability, autonomy, stealth, weapon systems integration, and more. And that’s when we’re going to start developing the tactics with experimentation with the Air Force,” he also said. “We’ve already begun integrating weapons with YFQ-44A, and we’ll execute our first live shot next year. And then over the next year, we’ll execute multi-ship mission autonomy, deploy weapons from YFQ-44A, fly in conjunction with crewed fighters, and operate outside of test locations.”

“I can’t talk to the specific build-up to firing a missile, but you can kind of imagine it’s not going to be too dissimilar from any aircraft doing a first shot. So we’re just going to build up in terms of flying, integrating systems, and testing them out,” he added when asked to elaborate on the weapon testing plans. “We have a test planning collaboration with the Air Force for things like that.”

It also gives us the hard data we need to shape requirements, reduce risk, and ensure the CCA program delivers combat capability on a pace and scale that keeps us ahead of the threat (2/2). https://t.co/qoCd9PY3do

— Office of the Secretary of the Air Force (@SecAFOfficial) October 31, 2025

He offered a similar response when asked about the plans for multi-ship flight testing, which is set to be conducted in coordination with crewed fighters.

“We have a flight test kind of procedure that I think is going to move quite rapidly, because we’ve built out a lot of the autonomy, so we can start hitting the other test points and showing the capability of the aircraft much quicker,” Levin said, speaking more generally. “And so we feel confident that’ll get us pretty quickly into the live shot, multi-ship autonomous flight, and then autonomous flight with crewed aircraft.”

“We’ve [got] currently multiple Fury fully-built aircraft in testing, as well as multiple aircraft in various stages of the manufacturing process,” he also noted. Anduril had previously disclosed this at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2025 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in September.

“Arsenal-1, it is going to open next year, and it can support the increment one demand that the U.S. Air Force has for CCA,” he added. “And so we’re scaling up that facility to build hundreds of aircraft.”

"> Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 05:00