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“You are his trauma," the judge said.

24 States To Sue US Postal Service Over Mail-In Ballot Restrictions

When did "election integrity" become such a contentious issue in the US?  Perhaps it was election night in November 2020 when Joe Biden and the Democrats received an impressive "hockey stick" spike in votes after most Americans went to bed.  Most of these votes came from absentee mail-in ballots, an event which inflated Joe Biden's numbers to 81.2 million - The greatest number of votes any candidate has ever received in US history.

That's right, the candidate who was rarely seen for half of the campaign cycle and who could barely fill a room during campaign speeches was apparently the most popular candidate of all time.  

It's understandable why a large percentage of the public viewed this incident with great suspicion.  In 2024, with covid confusion gone and all eyes watching the polls carefully, Kamala Harris fell short of Biden by 6.3 million votes.  Ironically, many Dems suggested that that the election was "rigged" in Trump's favor because of the sizable discrepancy between Harris and Biden. 

They didn't consider the possibility that the 2020 election might have been rigged in Biden's favor, giving him a vote count that probably won't be matched again for many elections to come.

Or, maybe Joe Biden really was that charismatic, earning the most votes of all time.  He's a sharp and engaging guy.  In any case, the Trump Administration has made election integrity the centerpiece of its political mission.  Two important policies are at stake:  Voter identification which nearly 80% of the public supports, and limitations on mail-in ballots including tracking and verification to prevent fraud. 

Democrats are aggressively opposed to both, calling the measures "racist" and "fascist". 

Why?  Probably because they want the option to cheat.  There's really no other explanation for standing against secure voting.  Trump's efforts to pass these rules into law through traditional congressional measures has been met with numerous obstacles, including a small handful of Republicans who are siding with the Democrats. 

Trump is now trying alternative pathways. The March 2026 executive order that triggered the USPS rule is titled Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections. It says unique ballot-envelope identifiers such as barcodes “enable confirmation that only citizens receive and cast ballots, reducing the risk of fraud and protecting the integrity of Federal elections.”

The Postal Service also reserves the right to reject ballots without proper verification of legal voter recipients.  Sounds like commons sense, and the Supreme Court has agreed, for now.  The court issued a procedural stay that let the executive order move forward, but the legality remains in question.  

Meanwhile, 24 states and the District of Columbia have moved to sue the Postal Service to prevent ballot tracking measures.  The rule would require states to enroll mail-eligible voters in a USPS portal, use USPS-approved ballot envelopes with trackable barcodes, and allow USPS not to deliver ballots that do not meet those conditions.

The states argue that this exceeds USPS’s authority, interferes with states’ control of elections, and risks blocking lawful ballots shortly before the November 2026 midterms. 

Democrats in multiple states have been rather open about their intentions to allow illegal immigrants to vote in elections.  For example, the D.C. Council (Democratic) passed the Noncitizen Voting Act in 2022. It lets noncitizens vote in local D.C. elections. During House voting to repeal that law (2024 and again June 2025), 148 Democrats voted no - meaning they wanted D.C. to keep illegal immigrant voting in place.

Ballot measures help to prevent blue states from skirting federal voting laws when it comes to citizenship.  

The blackpill argument in light of voter fraud is that the system is "already too far gone to save", but there's no such thing as an overnight fix.  Such problems take years to develop and they take years to remedy, starting with basic baby steps and fundamentals. 

Extensive tracking of mail-in ballots to make sure they're secure and legitimate is a no-brainer.  It should already be law.  The fact that certain groups don't want any verification in place for voting tells us everything we need to know about their intentions.    

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/31/2026 - 08:05

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Bessent Convenes G20 Finance Chiefs To Confront China's $1.2 Trillion Trade Surplus

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors later today in Asheville, North Carolina, to discuss strategies for reviving economic growth, correcting global imbalances, reassessing trade relationships with China, and addressing the sovereign debt mess.

The agenda today will also include plans to deepen Iran's economic isolation, Reuters reported, citing a senior US Treasury official. The discussions signal a continuation of the financial-pressure campaign Bessent unveiled last week (read here).

"The world cannot have a China with a $1.2 trillion trade surplus," Bessent told the outlet on Sunday. "The rest of the world is going to have to examine their terms of trade with China."

Bessent accused Beijing of attempting to "export its way" out of an economic slowdown by flooding overseas markets with cheap Chinese goods that undermine foreign industrial bases. He said G20 members should pressure China to stimulate domestic consumption rather than dump goods in overseas markets.

A Treasury official told Reuters, "And so we're really focusing on this head-on in our G20 discussions to ensure that our economies compete on productivity, innovation, and investment, and not on just sort of policies that push excess production and excess capacity into global markets."

The comments from Bessent and the Treasury official echo similar comments from the administration, which is pressuring Beijing to change its export-heavy economic model because of the damage it inflicts on foreign industrial bases. Europe's auto manufacturing base has found that out the hard way with the flood of BYD EVs. 

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Axios earlier this month, "We did that for 25 years with our best people, and everything got worse," referring to efforts to persuade China to shift toward greater consumption.

The Treasury's warning ahead of today's G20 meeting comes as the Trump administration prepares to impose a 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods over excess manufacturing capacity. The measure would restore Trump's second-term tariffs on China to roughly 20%.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters earlier today that any differences with the US should be resolved through dialogue.

"China-US economic and trade ties are mutually beneficial in nature," Guo said at a regular briefing in Beijing. "China never seeks a trade surplus and opposes unilateral tariff measures in all forms."

Last Monday, Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast" against Iran, resulting in sanctions against nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, including many based in China. The objective is to break China's reliance on cheap crude imports from the Gulf region.

Politico recently reported that hawkish lawmakers on Capitol Hill have urged the Trump administration to target large Chinese banks to cut off Iran's economic lifeline.

The Trump administration appears to be recalibrating its pressure campaign against the world's second-largest economy carefully ahead of President Trump's summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month. We suspect the Trump team is negotiating with China before the meeting, with any meaningful escalation in tariffs or sanctions more likely to follow after the meeting. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/31/2026 - 07:20

The Democratic Socialists of America are pushing for a federal government spending spree that could top $200 trillion over the next decade.

China's Record Ship Swarm Around Taiwan Sends Decoupling Alarm To Wall Street

One of our emerging investment themes (beyond nuclear, AI, and "Powering Up America") is the accelerating US-China decoupling, with a particular focus on companies with robust ex-China supply chains as Beijing increasingly weaponizes exports of strategic materials, including tungsten and germanium.

At the same time, the Trump administration's expanding sanctions campaign against Chinese entities linked to Iran is adding another friction point to an already deteriorating bilateral relationship. Looking toward 2027, one of the biggest geopolitical tail risks could be a Chinese blockade of Taiwan, which would severely disrupt global trade, semiconductor production, and critical supply chains.

The latest report from Taiwan's main English-language daily newspaper, the Taipei Times, shows that China deployed a record 244 coast guard, research, and other government vessels around the island.

The surge in Chinese vessels surrounding Taiwan, in what may be a mock blockade run, exceeded June's total of 55 vessels and averaged nearly 8 ships per day. Another 152 were detected during the first three weeks of August.

About 60% of the ships were Chinese coast guard ships, while research and other government vessels accounted for the rest. The figures exclude the People's Liberation Army Navy warships operating around Taiwan almost daily.

"When we say the situation is becoming increasingly severe, we mean that the number of their government vessels in the waters surrounding Taiwan has increased, and there was a marked increase in July," a senior Coast Guard Administration official told the local outlet.

The outlet said the Chinese vessels were likely involved in "oceanographic sampling and seabed survey operations," which could contribute to China's "anti-submarine warfare databases."

Ryan Martinson, an expert on China's maritime strategy at the US Naval War College, told the outlet that "any kind of data/knowledge is highly useful for Chinese naval forces, which will operate in these waters in the event of a conflict."

In the past couple of months, Martinson said he had observed a "very large increase" in the number of Chinese research ships operating around Taiwan, especially to the east of Taiwan proper.

"This is not a new 'play' in its 'playbook.' Rather, the novel aspect is that the scale of these operations around Taiwan is unprecedented," he said.

Overnight news:

Overnight, 3 out of 3 sorties consisting of PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels, and 5 official ships crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and eastern ADIZ.

-Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense pic.twitter.com/MTIYAH2Cob

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 30, 2026

What is becoming evident is that China may not even have to fire a shot to isolate Taiwan. However, we do not expect a future quarantine or blockade before Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Trump in Washington on September 24.

After the Trump-Xi summit, however, China hawks on Capitol Hill could get their way, as a new Politico report says lawmakers are pressing the Treasury Department to target Chinese banks over Iran.

"Any country complicit in providing an economic lifeline to Iran's terrorist regime, including China, must be held accountable," said Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), a member of the House Select Committee on China.

LaHood noted that sanctions on Chinese banks that do business with Iran would send "a clear message to China and every other nation that enabling Tehran's malign actions will come at a cost."

Taken together, the surge in Chinese government vessels around Taiwan appears less like routine maritime activity and more like preparation for a future quarantine or blockade. 

For markets, any move toward a blockade would accelerate US-China decoupling and trigger severe disruptions across semiconductors, shipping, energy, and critical-material supply chains.

Decoupling Theme:

• China's Tungsten Chokehold Turns Almonty Into a Critical-Metal Lifeline
• "BlackDiamonds Are Forever": How To Profit From The China-Driven Germanium Squeeze

We're already mapping out critical material supply chains outside China to help readers be well prepared for what seems to be an incoming crisis. 

Notably, a blockade or quarantine could be imposed at virtually any time of year and is not weather-dependent. However, a full-scale Chinese invasion has two favorable windows:

• Spring: roughly March through May, with April often cited as the best month
• Autumn: roughly late September through November, with October often cited as the best month

Beijing does not need favorable invasion weather to begin isolating Taiwan. The record number of ships around Taiwan may only suggest that much more is to come.

This also comes as President Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz a "New U.S. Territory," complicating matters for China because about 45% to 50% of the country's crude oil imports normally transit the critical waterway.

The US has also struck the "biggest oil deal in history" by taking a majority stake in Venezuela's oil industry, cutting into yet another source of cheap crude for China.

Taken together, China might feel more pressure than ever to blockade Taiwan, particularly given that the U.S. military is experiencing a "beyond critical" shortage of missile interceptors and other critical weapons. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/31/2026 - 06:55

Feds Arrest Foreign National In California On Voter Fraud Charges

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

Federal officials on Aug. 28 arrested a foreign national living in California who they say illegally registered to vote and made false statements.

Election workers conduct ballot tabulation at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center during California's state primary election in the City of Industry, Calif., on June 2, 2026. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores, 30, a Honduran national and lawful permanent resident living in Southern California, is accused by prosecutors of making felony false claims of being an American citizen on voter forms. He faces two charges-making a false claim to U.S. citizenship and fraudulent voter registration.

Rivera, who entered the United States in 2002, was also accused of physically disrupting federal immigration operations during a protest at the federal office earlier this year in Camarillo, California. For that, he was given a misdemeanor citation before pleading guilty and receiving a one-year probation sentence, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Aug. 28.

According to the DOJ, Rivera sent a federal agent text messages between April and July, writing to the agent at one point: "Your not the good guy I can't wait until the mid terms you dont have qualified immunity then we can start and indict all you guys one bye one [sic]."

Following an investigation, Rivera allegedly was discovered to have registered to vote and proclaimed that he was a U.S. citizen in his 2025 application. Records that were obtained by the California secretary of state and the County of Los Angeles show that the "United States of America" was listed as his birthplace, according to the DOJ.

"There is no record of Rivera seeking or obtaining U.S. citizenship," said the DOJ in a news release about his arrest, adding that he hasn't voted in an U.S. election.

"Noncitizens who commit fraud so they can vote in American elections do so in violation of federal law and should expect to be prosecuted," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, in a statement. "Let this criminal complaint serve as a reminder that the Justice Department stands ready to enforce the laws Congress enacted to ensure only American citizens vote in federal elections."

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement that "today's arrest is the first of many to come" in his district.

"Because states like California allow non-citizens to easily register to vote and receive a ballot by mail, there is no telling how many non-citizens are currently registered," he added in an X post.

Video footage that was included in the U.S. attorney's post showed law enforcement officials surrounding a man who was being handcuffed.

It's not clear if Rivera Flores has legal representation who can speak on his behalf. He was expected to make an initial court appearance in the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles on Aug. 28.

It comes weeks after Essayli announced is office is pursuing several election fraud investigations alongside the FBI to carry out a "comprehensive audit of California's voter rolls" amid questions about the state's election systems.

"California's election system has serious structural vulnerabilities," Essayli wrote on X in June. "Universal vote-by-mail with no voter ID requirements creates conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished, eroding public confidence."

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/31/2026 - 06:30

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"The governor's office has to step in and resolve this issue. The Gaming Commission falls under the auspices of the governor."

Unitree's Blockbuster IPO Short Circuits

Shares of Unitree Robotics have nearly halved since the Chinese company's blockbuster IPO almost two weeks ago, as concerns about a humanoid robotics bubble continue to mount. Not even China's World Humanoid Robot Games or World Robot Conference generated enough enthusiasm among retail or institutional investors to rekindle upward momentum.

The warning signs were first visible from the opening bell in Shanghai. Unitree initially surged 629% when it began trading on Shanghai's Star Market, immediately transforming China's first publicly traded humanoid robot manufacturer into a real-time indicator of the industry.

Unitree's valuation remains detached from even the assumptions of its own underwriting team. Citic Securities analysts valued the company at between 50.6 billion yuan and 55.9 billion yuan six to 12 months after listing. Even after the stock was halved, it is still worth more than four times the top of that range.

Through July, Unitree said it had produced about 18,000 humanoids, while first-quarter revenue increased 68.5% from a year earlier to 423 million yuan. Its current market capitalization is roughly 147 times its annualized first-quarter revenue.

"Given that level of uncertainty, Unitree's high valuation is probably not justified," said Chen Dong, CIO for Asia at Bank J. Safra Sarasin, citing the stock's lofty price-to-earnings ratio and the difficulty of staying ahead in an "infant-level" industry where competition is intensifying.

Zhang Ying, an economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said, "Widespread adoption is currently hindered by financial constraints, such as high upfront and maintenance costs, and technical limitations, such as short battery life, which make it difficult for manufacturers to justify the investment."

Unitree founder Wang Xingxing told the World Robot Conference in Beijing shortly after the IPO that mass-market adoption of these robots would be achieved within the next decade. That timeline is broadly in line with the forecasts we have provided readers from multiple institutional desks.

Unitree Strikes Double Gold on Day One🥇🥇🏃
The First World Humanoid Robot Games
Unitree takes first place in all Day-One races
1500m track race — 6:34.40 (Unweighted)
(Unitree H1 humanoid robot — the same model featured in the Spring Festival Gala)
400m track race — 1:28.03… pic.twitter.com/V1BPoNQMMP

— Unitree (@UnitreeRobotics) August 15, 2025

More broadly, the Solactive China Humanoid Robotics Index (a yuan-denominated equity benchmark tracking Chinese companies involved in humanoid robotics, including robot manufacturers, AI systems, motion controls, precision actuators, and industrial automation) shows that the bubble has been deflating since peaking in mid-2025.

The next big test for Unitree and China's robotics industry is whether they can scale commercially before Tesla brings its humanoid robot to market, which JPMorgan analysts expect to occur in the second half of 2027 (read here).

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/31/2026 - 05:45