Zero Rss

Appeals Court Blocks IRS From Sharing Data With Immigration Authorities

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

The IRS may not disclose the addresses of illegal immigrants to immigration officials, a U.S. appeals court said on Sept. 8.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a February ruling from a district court that deemed an IRS policy to share the addresses of tens of thousands of people with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) illegal in part because the policy failed to meet requirements in the law.

The unanimous panel agreed, rejecting arguments from the government to the contrary.

The policy "indisputably contravenes the requirements of section 6103," a law that governs when the IRS can share taxpayer information, Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote for the panel.

The law allows the IRS to disclose certain tax return information to other federal agencies for use in criminal investigations. To make a request, the head of the agency needs to identify the taxpayer by name and address, specify the relevant tax period, and explain why the information may be relevant to the probe.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed in April 2025 between the IRS and ICE, the latter asked for the last known address for more than 1 million people believed to be illegally present in the United States. ICE did not provide an address for some of the people on the list. Under the agreement, IRS workers sent 47,289 records to ICE before the district court stayed the process.

IRS officials requested the appeals court overturn the ruling. Government lawyers said that the groups that sued did not have standing, that the IRS did not have to follow procedures in the Administrative Procedure Act because the agreement was not a final agency action, and that the practice did not violate federal law.

Pillard wrote that at least one of the plaintiff organizations was sufficiently injured by the policy that it could bring suit, that the IRS did have to follow the procedures because the policy was a final action, and that the action violated federal law because ICE in some cases did not supply an address, as required by the law.

The law provides that the IRS can disclose information about a taxpayer to officials "personally and directly engaged" in criminal proceedings or investigations concerning that taxpayer, allowing disclosure as long as the field for the ICE point of contact is filled in, even if it said "unknown" or "to be determined."

ICE ended up putting the same person as the point of contact for each of the 1.28 million listed taxpayers for whom it requested information.

The judicial panel found that the government's practice "entirely fails to ensure that ICE lists a federal employee, let alone one 'personally and directly engaged' in a qualifying investigation of a particular taxpayer."

"Today's order is a resounding victory for the protection of all taxpayers' right to the confidentiality of their tax information in the hands of the IRS," Nina Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, one of the groups that sued over the policy, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, told The Epoch Times in an email that the agency disagreed with the ruling.

"We will continue using every lawful tool available to locate and remove illegal aliens with final orders of removal, and this ruling in no way prevents us from doing so," the spokesperson said.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 19:15

Data Center Revolt Accelerates Ahead Of Midterms As Wells Fargo Warns Of Fourfold Jump In Active Moratoriums

With the midterm elections just 55 days away, the data-center buildout story has become a major political issue.

Socialists Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have proposed a nationwide moratorium on new data-center buildouts. President Trump, meanwhile, has promoted data centers and infrastructure development as sources of jobs and economic growth. 

Last month, Trump wrote on Truth Social, "The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backward and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign."

"If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China could not be happier with this anti-data center movement. Actually, they can't believe it is happening!" Trump continued.

Vice President JD Vance also addressed the issue, acknowledging the backlash around data centers and saying he believes the concerns stem from higher power bills. But data centers wouldn't be an issue if not for years of terrible grid management and climate change policies that have neutered the grid over the last decade. 

Data center messaging has been a major issue for hyperscalers, as local resistance, some of which is fueled by outside groups and ones linked to China, spread rapidly and threatens construction timelines, complicating the electricity-demand forecasts underpinning Wall Street's AI trade. 

We cited Morganley Stanley in mid-July, which warned:

"An estimated $156 billion of data center projects were canceled or delayed in 2025, and $130 billion in 1Q26.  Community pushback against data center construction has accelerated in 2026 as new moratoriums have been introduced, with the majority of the change happening at the local level. This puts pressure on costs and timelines and could alter the geographic distribution of data centers. Sustained data center pushback could ultimately extend the cycle and reduce future supply by lowering capex and financing needs." 

"An estimated $156 billion of data center projects were cancelled or delayed in 2025, and $130 billion in 1Q26. Community pushback against data center construction has accelerated in 2026 as new moratoriums have been introduced, with the majority of the change happening at the…

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 15, 2026

And according to Wells Fargo's latest data center tracker, the revolt continues to grow, with 374 active local moratoriums by the end of summer, compared with 92 reported in June. 

Analyst Shahriar Pourreza said the data center blowback centers on electricity costs, grid capacity, water use and the impact of large industrial developments on surrounding communities. He compared the organized opposition to the resistance that materialized around natural-gas infrastructure. 

Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa and Tennessee rank among the states with the most local moratoriums in Pourreza's report.

Pourreza continued:

State-level policy actions have also been increasing (recently Texas Audit/PA GRID & EO among others) alongside election rhetoric (PA, TX, GA, OH, IA, MI, WI, KS) because DCs are unpopular across the political spectrum. 

In our view, the most exposed to state- level DC political rhetoric risk are: The IPPs (CEG, NRG, TLN, VST), AEP, CMS, CNP, DTE, EXC, FE, LNT, PPL, SO, SRE, and WEC. That said, we think much of the current pressure is optical and election-driven and should moderate post-November.

We believe noise will quiet post-Nov. as election winds down, econ- dev/nat'l security interest wins out. While we are less comfortable calling the trend fully benign, we view risk as manageable for credible projects. The unregulated era is over, but load-growth is not. State involvement post-Nov. could even be constructive by giving local officials more comfort. We think the market will always allow responsible hyperscaler projects that do not shift costs & deliver meaningful community benefits. 

He pointed out that active moratoriums average about 346 days, while the average across all tracked measures increased to 311 days from 277. Some extend as long as five years. Even temporary pauses can delay projects enough to push developers toward other states. 

Map of Active Local Data Center Moratoriums

Mounting moratoriums pose an execution risk for the AI trade as local opposition and infrastructure constraints delay projects. 

A Democratic sweep in the midterms could increase investor concerns about nationwide restrictions, though passage would remain uncertain. If enacted, a broad construction moratorium could reprice stocks linked to the AI buildout and derail Trump's 'Digital New Deal,' holding up the entire economy - and, in fact, the entire global economy (read here). 

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 18:50

Jack Dorsey's Block Seeks US Trust Bank Charter For Bitcoin, Stablecoin

Authored by Ezra Reguerra via Cointelegraph,

Jack Dorsey's payments company Block seeks to establish a federally regulated trust bank to provide custody services for Bitcoin and stablecoins.

Block said Tuesday it had submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to create Builders Bank & Trust, an uninsured national trust bank.

If approved, the bank would operate under OCC supervision and offer custody and related fiduciary services.

Block said the charter would give its custody operations a consistent national framework as the business expands.

The proposed bank would not accept deposits or make loans, separating it from a conventional commercial bank.

Lee Woolley, Block's digital asset strategy lead, would serve as Builders Bank's president and CEO.

Woolley said the proposed institution would draw on Block's digital asset operations and its experience with Square Financial Services, the company's existing industrial bank.

Block joins a growing list of financial technology and crypto companies pursuing national trust bank charters.

Ripple has received conditional approval for a similar charter, while Circle and BitGo have received final approval.

Kraken parent Payward and crypto infrastructure provider Zerohash have also submitted applications.

[ZH: We would imagine these firms are in a hurry to get these approved before the Midterms.]

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 18:25

Internet Loses It After Russian Official Turns Out To Be Peter Griffin's Twin

A newly appointed Russian government official has exploded across social media after users seized on a press-conference photograph and began joking that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have a difficult time pushing a man of his size out of a window, according to the Daily Star.

🍖🍔🍩 “Russia and Armenia are like one big family — sometimes things go differently,” said Rossotrudnichestvo chief Igor Chaika

There’s an old saying: “In a big family, if you’re too slow, you miss out on dinner.” Chaika clearly wasn’t too slow — he seems to have eaten Armenia for dinner himself. Peter Griffin, is that you????!!!!

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 8, 2026

Igor Chaika, who now leads Rossotrudnichestvo, Russia's federal agency for foreign aid and cultural exchange, sparked widespread mockery and memes when images from a briefing on Moscow's strained relationship with Armenia began circulating online.

In the photos - many which were digitally altered - Chaika is seen standing behind a row of microphones representing state-linked outlets as he addresses reporters on the deteriorating ties between the two countries.

Social media compared the imposing official to Marvel's Kingpin, and one widely circulated post captured the tone of the moment by suggesting the Kremlin would struggle to remove this particular figure in the way that has become grimly familiar in Russian politics.

Didn't realize we were getting a comic accurate Fisk/Kingpin in Avengers: Doomsday

— Alex Hillman (@alexhillman) September 8, 2026

Good luck to Putin managing to push this official out of a window.

— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) September 8, 2026

Russian officials have biologically evolved to be harder to push out of windows.

— Zoska (@TotallyNotZoska) September 8, 2026

Uncanny...

— WarMonitor (@WarMonitor3) September 8, 2026

https://x.com/europemaxxed/status/2097599894806581503?s=20

— @europemaxxed September 9, 2026

https://x.com/pronouncedsimon/status/2097426283328156048?s=20

— @pronouncedsimon September 8, 2026

Chaika, a prominent businessman and the son of former Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, was appointed to the post in April 2026. At the conference he dismissed rumors of a complete break with Armenia, describing the relationship as that of a large family while announcing agreements to expand Russia's cultural centers, known as Russian Houses, across the region.

Maybe a music career is also in the cards? 

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 18:00

29 Health Systems Dropping Medicare Advantage Plans

Authored by Sylvia Xu via The Epoch Times,

Twenty-nine health systems are dropping Medicare Advantage plans in 2026, citing prior authorization denials, reimbursement issues, and deal renegotiations.

A Medicare Advantage PPO card sits on top of a Medicare card, in this file photo. AP/Jenny Kane

The number of terminated contracts this year is down from 40 in 2025 and 32 in 2024, Becker's Hospital Review reported on Sept. 4.

Naples Comprehensive Health, one of America's top 50 hospitals, will go out of network with Centene's Wellcare and Health Care Service Corporation's HealthSpring Medicare Advantage plans, effective in 2027.

"This change allows us to ensure that the plans we partner with truly support quality care, reduce unnecessary administrative barriers, and align with our commitment to delivering the best possible experience for our patients," the hospital said in a statement.

The Epoch Times requested comments from Wellcare and HealthSpring but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Lee Health in Fort Myers, Florida; Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis, University of Miami Health System; and CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern, North Carolina, are terminating contracts with the UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan at the end of 2026, according to corporate statements.

If unable to reach a new agreement, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital will be leaving UnitedHealthcare on Oct. 1, according to a hospital statement.

A UnitedHealthcare spokesperson told The Epoch Times, "We are actively negotiating with most of these providers to renew our network relationship," except for the University of Miami Health System.

"These discussions are similar to the thousands of provider contract negotiations we conduct each year, the vast majority of which result in renewed agreements that support continued access to quality, affordable care for the people we serve," the spokesperson said.

Lee Health wrote to its patients saying that a central concern "is the impact that UnitedHealthcare's authorization, review, and denial processes can have on timely access to medically necessary care."

UnitedHealth denied 17 percent of Medicare Advantage prior authorization requests in 2025, the highest rate compared to its competitors, according to KFF, a healthcare research group.

Roughly 60 percent of those denials were overturned upon appeal.

On average, insurers denied 12 percent of standard prior authorization requests for Medicare Advantage, 14 percent for traditional Medicare claims, and 18 percent for Obamacare, according to KFF.

Prior authorization requests were overturned on appeal more often in Medicare Advantage (67 percent) compared to Medicaid (47 percent) and Obamacare (43 percent).

Additionally, UnitedHealthcare owes Lee Health more than $100 million in disputed and underpaid claims, according to a hospital statement.

Fairview also pointed to care denials, payment issues, and frequent coverage changes as reasons to leave UnitedHealthcare plans in its public statement.

CarolinaEast Medical Center (New Bern, N.C.) did not provide reasons for leaving Medicare Advantage plans.

However, UnitedHealthcare will stop requiring prior authorization for more than 1,700 procedure codes, which is about 30 percent of the total for its commercial, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act plans, according to a September announcement from the company.

"We know the time you spend managing prior authorizations, paperwork, and reimbursements is time you'd rather spend with your patients," the company said in the memo to providers.

"Removing these prior authorization requirements is part of our effort to help reduce administrative work, remove barriers that can delay care and give you more time to focus on patient care," the memo reads.

UnitedHealth, Humana, and Aetna, the three largest Medicare Advantage carriers, reduced the number of counties they serve in 2026 due to low financial margins, according to analysis from ATI Advisory, a healthcare strategy group.

This marks a new phase in the Medicare Advantage market in which growth is driven less by geographical expansion and more by focusing on more lucrative markets, according to ATI.

Most counties offer a zero-dollar premium Medicare Advantage plan in 2026, according to ATI Advisory.

As of May, more than 50 percent of Medicare beneficiaries - about 36 million Americans - have enrolled in Medicare Advantage, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Medicare Advantage enrollment is concentrated among large carriers. UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and Aetna together account for nearly 60 percent of market share, according to KFF.

The Medicare Advantage market share held by UnitedHealthcare dropped to 26 percent in 2026, down from 29 percent in 2025, according to a June analysis from KFF.

Humana's market share increased to 20 percent in 2026, up from 17 percent.

Medicare Advantage plans account for 80 percent, 33 percent, and 12 percent of revenue for Humana, Aetna, and ​UnitedHealthcare, respectively.

"[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]' vision for Medicare Advantage and Part D is clear: a great choice for seniors and a smart deal for taxpayers," said Chris Klomp, director of Medicare and Chief Counselor of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"The Rate Announcement improves payment accuracy and strengthens competition based on quality - not on coding practices - helping put the program on a more sustainable path for the long term."

Federal payments to Medicare Advantage plans would increase 2.48 percent in 2027, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But the increase is still below insurers' expectations for 2027.

"All insurers are likely to cut back on benefits, but Humana will be cutting back the most," said Kevin Gade, chief operating officer at Bahl and Gaynor.

Members with higher medical needs might have to seek other plans, Gade said.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 17:40

Hunter Biden Blames Liquidity, "Predatory Snipers" For LAPTOP Memecoin Collapse

Update: Straight from the horse's mouth - it crashed because of "predatory snipers" or something, according to a post by Hunter on X. 

As you may have seen, the LAPTOP memecoin saw a sharp swing in token price during its first hours of trading.

The headlines are all the same.

Token down 99%. Rug pull. Biden Crime Family. The list goes on.

This is far from the truth.

The reality is that available liquidity could not sustain the strong level of interest at launch. Technical issues coupled with predatory "snipers", who seek to beat liquidity providers to market, caused a spike in price, which has since stabilized to healthy levels.

The team's allocation is locked. Nobody on our side sold, and nobody could have. I, personally, have not made a single dollar.

I'm used to legacy news and social media trolls spinning realities to fit their own narrative.

The fully diluted valuation of the token is over $1 billion. And we're actively working on the best solutions to optimize liquidity and continue engaging my community.

We gave free tokens to those who lost on Trump's memecoin. 

Somehow the media is painting that as a "failure".

This journey is far from over. We built this community for the long game, and that's exactly how we're playing it. I'm going to keep doing what I do best: ignoring the noise, and reclaiming the narrative.

Maybe he can finally get back to his lucrative art career?

* * *

Hunter Biden’s LAPTOP memecoin fell 99% in its first hour of trading on Wednesday, as the son of former US President Joe Biden officially entered the market for politically themed cryptocurrencies.

The token, which we previewed here, issued on Ethereum layer-2 network Base, traded below $2.00, after opening at $199.50, according to CoinGecko data.

It recorded more than $3 million in trading volume.

Source: CoinGecko

“The symbol they used to try to end me is now a symbol of resilience, redemption and recovery,” Biden said in an X post on Wednesday, responding to public backlash.

Biden also said he understood the cynicism around memecoins, called President Donald Trump’s token a “grift” and warned buyers not to expect him or anyone else to make LAPTOP more valuable.

The memecoin is promoted as an attempt to reclaim the “laptop narrative,” which centers on a MacBook that Biden reportedly left at a Delaware repair shop in 2019.

The New York Post published emails and other files purported to have come from the device before the 2020 presidential election. Trump allies used the material against Hunter Biden and his father, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.

On Monday, Biden teased LAPTOP on X with a post showing the token’s ticker, accompanied by a montage of media coverage of the laptop.

As CoinTelegraph reports, the announcement drew criticism from the likes of digital investigator Stephen Findeisen, known as Coffeezilla, who called LAPTOP a “shitcoin” and urged his followers not to buy it.

X account “scupytrooples” told Biden there was “still time to walk this back.”

Base founder Jesse Pollak said in an X post that the project had contacted his team, but Base made a “conscious decision” not to help with the token’s design or promotion.

Biden did not respond to Cointelegraph’s query before publication. 

The project’s disclosures say LAPTOP has no utility, lock founder tokens for six months and reserve 2% for wallets that lost money on TRUMP.

LAPTOP disclosures set 2% of token supply for TRUMP token losers

Biden’s earlier criticism of the Trump family’s crypto ventures also gave traders a ready-made hypocrisy argument. 

In an Aug. 21 post, Biden accused World Liberty Financial of using political influence, centralized controls and leverage to benefit its founders, while saying the crypto industry deserved better. 

He has now launched a memecoin built around his own political identity, with founders allocated a chunk of the supply.

The project’s disclosures describe LAPTOP as a digital collectible with no utility, ownership rights, voting rights, yield or profit-sharing rights. The token has a fixed supply of 1 billion, with 350 million tokens circulating at launch.

Founders, including Biden, are allocated 300 million tokens, or 30% of the supply. Those tokens are locked for six months and then vested monthly over the following 24 months. Another 30% is tied to political, cultural and crypto predictions, with tokens burned when specified outcomes occur and released to charity if they do not.

The disclosures also outline airdrop figures, with the initial round representing 10% of the total supply. Of those, 2% is reserved for wallets that lost money on TRUMP and 8% for eligible subscribers to Biden’s “Where’s Hunter” Substack newsletter.

A separate 10% future airdrop is to be distributed at the foundation’s discretion. That means 20% is allocated to airdrops overall, while the specific TRUMP-loss allocation is capped at 2%.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 17:27

Hyped Mecca Joint Defense Pact Is MIA After Houthis Targeted Four Saudi Cities

Saudi Arabia got pummeled by cross-border Houthi ballistic missiles and drones on Tuesday, where a reported four Saudi cities were targeted.

...So what about those much hyped Mecca Defense accords that were just signed last month? The pact between Riyadh, Islamabad, and Ankara has been likened to NATO Article 5, where an attack on one is an 'attack on all'. These countries' own officials have in many cases advanced this interpretation.

Getty Images

As the Saudi-Yemen war heats up again, Pakistan is threatening just such a triggering of the Mecca Defense Pact, but so far this has stopped at mere words.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif threatened in Wednesday remarks that the Ansarallah attacks "could trigger" the defense agreement.

"Under the trilateral agreement, any aggression against any of the three [countries] is regarded as an aggression against all. There is no ambiguity about that," the Pakistani minister told Geo News. 

He underscored that the ongoing Houthi retaliations "could trigger the pact" between the three regional nations, after over 70 people were wounded on the Saudi side, which heavily targeted energy infrastructure, and resulted in flight stoppages at major Saudi flight hubs.

Another key aspect to the new pact is that it further formalizes Pakistan's nuclear umbrella for Saudi Arabia, which lacks atomic weapons. Turkey does not have its own nukes either, but plays host to US nuclear weapons as part of NATO. Turkey maintains the second-largest military within the NATO alliance, behind the United States.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia already had a bilateral defense pact before the Mecca agreement, which has lately seen Islamabad deploy 8,000 troops, a ​squadron of fighter jets, and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia.

But the Houthis are warning of more attacks to come, also as the 'siege for siege' policy is still on against the kingdom, aimed at curtailing its vital energy exports.

🚨BREAKING: Reports Indicate Yemen’s Ansarallah Have Taken Control Of Camp Khalid

This strategic military base is situated near the port city of Mokha.

Forces loyal to the UAE & Saudi Arabia fought huge battles, with massive air support, to seize it in 2017. If Ansarallah… pic.twitter.com/c7IgnPcaxH

— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) September 9, 2026

The Houthis have newly released footage of an operation showing Saudi military equipment en route to Riyadh’s proxies being Yemen, coming under heavy fire and being blown up.

The Iran-aligned Yemeni group is also newly vowing to stave off the Saudi aerial attack, after Riyadh declared the end goal is to eject the Houthis from Sanaa. One excuse or way out of not choosing to trigger the Mecca pact could center on the fact that the Houthis are a non-state actor, or at least are not 'recognized' as a legitimate government on an international level.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 17:20

Japan Is Telling You To Run To Gold

Authored by Matthew Piepenburg via Von Greyerz,

Below, we look at lessons from Japan and its latest signals to prepare for a market sell-off, a debasement acceleration and a golden endgame.

Pattern Recognition

My father taught me long ago that the years teach things the days do not always notice.

In all areas of our lives, we slowly acquire perspectives earned by experience over theory and by time rather than guesses.

This is equally true of lives spent investing in markets and cycles. A certain pattern recognition is acquired that not even a Bloomberg terminal or AI robot can teach.

As one, for example, who traded through a dot.com bubble led by the undeniably transformative technology of the internet of all things, I remember well how everyone from Wall Street experts to Hollywood movies made it clear that names like Cisco, Yahoo and AOL were kings who would never be dethroned.

That felt very exciting.

At least until the NASDAQ lost 78% and two of those "kings" were carried off the market on their shields, while Cisco, which at least survived the carnage, would never be the same again.

Those days and years are now teaching us yet another lesson, one whose pattern few wish to see, for the simple reason that many are not, or never were, paying attention.

And as for such patterns or lessons, what very few are seeing today is that Japan's JGB, yen and Nikkei have just given us a familiar road map for what lies ahead for America's Fed, dollar and S&P.

I Think We're Turning Japanese (Yes, I Really Think So)

What is happening this year in Japan goes well beyond the otherwise significant conversations on the Japanese "Carry Trade."

As bond jocks constantly remind us of boring things like sovereign debt yields, it can often be too boring (or too scary) to confront.

Like the sun, topics like death and bond markets are often hard to look at directly.

The fact, for example, that the yield on the Japanese 30Y JGB just hit over 4.18% for the first time in its history may seem like a yawn to many otherwise doom-scrolling through the latest war, AI meme or DC scandal de jour.

But this historical yield spike out of Tokyo is far more than just another bond signal - it's a harbinger of things to come in your own backyard (and wallet).

The Canary in a Coal Mine

Much like the USA, today's Japan (which is the world's 3rd largest economy) is a paper tiger built on extraordinary debt (greater than 200% of its total economy) and a bond and hence stock market entirely supported by (and correlated to) a central bank fatally addicted to printing (debasing) trillions worth of its currency to keep its illusion of economic survival going.

If this profile looks a lot like America's and Europe's, that's because Japan is just a canary in the Western coal mine. Where it goes, we shall follow.

In fact, Japan's sins are in many ways our own, especially America's.

Blame It on the Experts

Just after the Nikkei literally died in 1989, a then-ambitious and much younger Ben Bernanke gave Tokyo a handbook to print their way out of collapse.

Bernanke would use a similar handbook when U.S. markets tanked years later in 2008. As we are now discovering, his expertise was anything but expert.

But during this period of mass MMT delusion and massive currency debasement, Wall Street was betting for years (decades) that Japan's debt levels would eventually implode under inevitably rising bond yields (and hence debt costs).

For literally decades, Wall Street mavericks were betting big on a yield spike that would re-crush the Nikkei and JGB in one big headline.

But this headline never came, and the foregoing bet against Japan became known on the Street as the "widow maker."

Buying Time, Postponing Pain

Instead, the BoJ bought itself decades of time and a market recovery by printing just unthinkable levels of yen to keep JGBs (Japanese bonds) bought and the Nikkei higher.

For the near entirety of my career, this kept Japanese yields at zero to negative, buying time while crushing those who bet against Tokyo.

Which brings me back to that boring 4.18% record yield on the 30Y JGB.

This figure confirms that the dam has finally broken on the broken Japanese "plan."

Or to use the analogy above, the canary in its coal mine just died.

For those paying attention, these rising yields just caused the Nikkei 225 to lose 200B in a single day, and this sell-off was led by the so-called "Immortal" tech kings, you know, the kind which were never supposed to fall - like AOL, Yahoo or Cisco of old.

The Sickness is Global and Currency-Killing

But what happens in Tokyo doesn't stay in Tokyo.

Yields across the "developed" world have been rising to decade highs because the bond markets are now showing more honesty than central bankers, from Tokyo to DC.

As the yield on the Bloomberg Global Sovereign Bond Index shoots past 3.72%, yields from Australia and the UK to Germany and the USA are skyrocketing to untenable levels.

The bond market is essentially asking for more risk premium (yield) on government IOUs that are no longer trusted.

Given this global debt fiasco, is it therefore any surprise that the global broad money supply of printed paper currencies, which hit $150 TRILLION in June, has increased by a staggering 50% since 2020?

Such open currency debasement now hiding in plain sight not only explains why currencies like the USD have lost 87% in absolute purchasing power since decoupling from gold in 1971, it further explains why the world's central banks are stacking gold at an unprecedented pace in 2026.

Physical gold is no longer an allocation or dollar "debate"; it is the open and now obvious puck direction of global collateral and the de facto international reserve asset above tanking currencies and unloved sovereign IOUs.

This is not fable but fact.

Stocks vs. Gold

But equally worth noting from the Japanese tech sell-off of late is what it reminds as to the dot.com era of yesterday and what it portends for the AI era/market of tomorrow.

Unlike the aforementioned bloodbath during the internet bubble, today's U.S. stock market is literally being kept alive by an equally game-changing technology meme with an even greater profile of over-investment ($400B this year alone by the leading tech names), which always moves from over-bought to over-sold.

With U.S. public debt crossing 40T as rates rise to levels costing Uncle Sam (i.e. you) over $3B/day to service the interest expense, the convergence of a credit crisis is about to slam into a dying PE market, an already dead private credit market and an over-valued and over-hyped AI sector.

This suggests that what we just got a glimpse of in Japan (as to both its markets and currency) is an undeniable warning of what is to come to the U.S. NASDAQ and dollar.

Be Prepared

Timing this convergence is a mug's game. Preparing for it is not.

Even if central banks like the Fed or BoJ "save" the markets with mouse-clicked trillions, the currency destruction necessary to support those "resilient" markets is robbing you in plain sight.

The Nikkei, for example, has seen an impressive 145% gain in the last five years, yet when measured in gold terms, the result was a net loss of -31%.

During that same period, the NASDAQ 100 has shown an impressive nominal return of 95%, yet when measured in gold, the net result has been a loss of -23%.

And if any of you were being told by your advisors over the last 12 years that USTs were the key to your safe retirement, the "risk-free returns" of Uncle Sam's IOU, when measured against gold, have lost you 90%.

See the theft? See the real measure of wealth?

Given the foregoing interplay of rising rates, tanking bonds, debased currencies and hyper-risk in the tech sector, an allocation to physical rather than paper gold is the only asset separating the informed from the uninformed, and the wealth-protected from the wealth-destroyed.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 17:00

Elon Musk's PAC Bets Trans Issue Push Will Drive GOP Voters To The Polls

Elon Musk's America PAC has opened its 2026 midterm ad campaign with a barrage of ads centered on trans issues. Musk has reportedly authorized the PAC to spend more than $100 million this cycle and is targeting four Democratic Senate candidates in competitive races: Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Josh Turek in Iowa, James Talarico in Texas and Mary Peltola in Alaska. They are running online and across streaming platforms, marking the first coordinated trans-focused push of the cycle from a major Republican-aligned outside group.

Photograph: Michael Swensen/Getty Images

According to AdImpact, the firm that tracks political ad spending, trans issues have been a minor theme in GOP Senate advertising so far this cycle. America PAC's opening salvo changes that calculus, and it arrives as Republicans navigate a difficult midterm environment, with voters across party lines angry over the Iran war and the high gas prices that have followed it. Economic concerns dominate what voters tell pollsters they want candidates to address. Trans and LGBT issues barely register on those same surveys.

New — Elon Musk's super PAC America PAC is going up with its first connected TV ad of the cycle. It's against Sherrod Brown in #OHSen.

— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) September 8, 2026

Elon Musk's America PAC is running this ad on CTV in #TXSen right now, per @AdImpact_Pol:

— Brad Johnson (@bradj_TX) September 8, 2026

This paid digital ad from America PAC started running in Alaska over the weekend. "Would you want your daughter sharing a bathroom with a biological man? Mary Peltola cosponsored legislation that would require it." #AKSen

— Andrew Arenge (@MrArenge) September 8, 2026

Here's a paid digital ad America PAC is now running in Iowa going after Josh Turek The ad uses the emergency sound phones use when amber alerts are pushed out. #IASen

— Andrew Arenge (@MrArenge) September 8, 2026

So, why try this now? The answer traces back to the final weeks of the 2024 presidential campaign, when a similar ad devastated Kamala Harris's presidential campaign. Trump's closing spots successfully cast Kamala Harris as out of touch because of her support for taxpayer-funded gender transitions for prison inmates and illegal immigrants, culminating in the line "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you."

Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.

— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) September 23, 2024

Democrats have not disputed the ad's effectiveness, even in hindsight. Quentin Fulks, Harris's principal deputy campaign manager, said after the election that even though trans issues sat "at the bottom for voters," trailing the economy, immigration, crime and inflation in what people actually cared about, the "Kamala is for they/them" line effectively branded Harris as "out of touch."

According to a report from Semafor after the election, Democratic Party allies had expected it to "flop or backfire," but instead, "it inspired more than $215 million of follow-up ads, by multiple campaigns, dividing Democrats and fulfilling the Trump campaign's goal of branding Harris as an out-of-touch progressive."

That explains why America PAC is reaching for the same playbook now, and public opinion data suggests this still can be an effective strategy.

Gallup found in 2025 that 66 percent of Americans want a person's birth sex listed on documents such as passports and driver's licenses, versus 31 percent who favor listing current gender identity. Sixty-nine percent told Gallup they favor requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their biological sex. Pew Research Center found nearly identical numbers on athletics, 66 percent in favor and just 15 percent opposed, with support up 8 points since 2022. A separate Pew survey published Aug. 11, 2026, found 73 percent of respondents uncomfortable, to varying degrees, with transgender athletes competing on teams that do not match their biological sex. On gender transitions for minors, Pew found 56 percent favor making it illegal for health-care professionals to provide gender-transition treatment to people under 18, up 10 points since 2022.

Whether pivoting midterm messaging to the culture war pays off depends on a variable the 2024 campaign did not have to contend with: an electorate frustrated with Republicans over the Iran war and the prices that have followed it. Trans messaging worked in 2024 as an addition to an economic argument that heavily favored Trump. America PAC is banking on it working again in this cycle as a substitute for one.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 16:40

"You Better Get Ready For... War": Socialists Call For "War In The Streets" & The End Of Capitalism

Authored by Jonathan Turley via JonathanTurley.org,

"You better get ready for ... war."

Across the country, radicals are openly planning for the next stage of their movement, and notably, the Democratic establishment is not part of their plans.

Despite the talk of a "Big Tent Party," socialists are riding high on a surge of support and talking purges and revolution.

In Chicago, radicals gathered for a conference on Marxism during what many view as the heyday of socialism in the United States. The Democratic Socialists of America is now larger and more powerful than at any time in our history. Socialist candidates are winning elections across the country as Democratic establishment figures from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) to Gov. Gavin Newsom pander to the movement.

Speakers in Chicago used the conference to push supporters to the next stage in the movement, including some openly calling for violence and the end to capitalism.

University of California Santa Barbara History Professor Butch Ware said Democrats "must be destroyed" and urged attendees to be ready for "war in the streets." Notably, in postings on X, Ware has said that candidates such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed are too restrained and are being pushed by the establishment "to contain radicalism."

The professor "of Africa and Islam" whose faculty page is appropriately found under "bware" is the latest radical to dismiss the "Big Tent Party" rhetoric of establishment figures like Schumer. He declared, "The Democrats cannot be reasoned with. They must be destroyed." There is little subtlety in the message, Ware has explained: "You cannot call yourself a revolutionary and not be talking about training with weapons."

It is another example of the delusion that establishment Democrats have that they will be able to use these radicals to destroy their political enemies but not themselves.

After one election victory, socialists chanted "You're Next!" when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries's image came on big-screen televisions.

Hasan Piker has called for a purging of moderates from the Democratic Party.

Just last week, Darializa Avila Chevalier declared, "A big tent doesn't pay your rent, lower your grocery bill, or take on the corporations bleeding our country dry. Democratic socialism does."

In a video posted to X, Professor Ware called for violence, warning followers that "some of these clickety-clack revolutionaries have never been in a f*cking gunfight." He menacingly added, "Y'all ain't nowhere near ready for a war in the streets. You better get ready for both kinds of war if you stay ready, you ain't got to get ready."

This is just the latest example of the type of hate-spewing radical that university departments want to teach in higher education. While purging virtually all Republicans, conservatives, and libertarians from departments, faculty candidates cannot be too radical enough to secure positions on colleges and universities. UCSB pays Professor Ware over $211k to spread this type of lunacy.

Notably, this is the same university that saw a professor lead her students in physically assaulting pro-life advocates on campus years ago. Despite pleading guilty to criminal assault, she was not fired and later honored by the University of Oregon for her inspiring leadership.

In other events around the country such as "Socialism 2026 Conference," City University of New York Professor Ruth Gilmore said in a video, "It's capitalism we're after,...There isn't a capitalism that is somehow not racial. There isn't a capitalism that does not produce and reproduce all kinds of sexual and gender boundaries."

At my alma mater, University of Chicago professor Eman Abdelhadi, the half-sister of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, has denounced the university and explained that she is only teaching there to bring down the system.

One year after the massacre, Professor Abdelhadi offered an "October 7th blessing" over an attack that murdered, raped, and tortured innocent men, women, and children. She was previously arrested for spitting on officers.

She added "I hope you know that we have a lot of work ahead of us and that we need each other to do that work. We have an imperative to not just imagine a better future, but to build one together. I'll see you on the streets."

What is so striking is that these radicals are not hiding their agenda or their hostility toward the Democratic Establishment. William Lawrence, who is running for Michigan's 7th Congressional District, previously called for the end of borders, the nation-state, capitalism, and told a leading moderate Democrat to "hurry up and die."

In the meantime, some Democrats are admitting that, after using the socialists to retake power, they will marginalize them in actual governing decisions. Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) just explained that they will have to block the "crazy" DSA stuff from actually getting to the floor for a vote.

In Rage and the Republic, I discuss how these Democratic leaders are following the same self-destructive delusions of other establishment figures in history who thought that they could use mobs against their opponents while hoping that they could survive.

Figures like Newsom have even campaigned on denouncing capitalism as "not working" as candidates like Texas Democratic Senatorial candidate James Talarico have called to "dismantle" capitalism. Figures like former Vice President Kamala Harris have dismissed loyalty to our core institutions such as the Supreme Court as mere "nostalgia."

It will not work. These figures are nothing more than "clickety-clack revolutionaries" who convince no one inside or outside the movement. By putting their elections above every other consideration, Democratic leaders are willing to endanger core institutions, values, and even capitalism itself to reacquire power. In so doing, they are embracing the very "mobocracy" that the Founders warned us against in laying the foundations of our constitutional system.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 16:20

US Students Still Behind Much Of The World In Math And Reading: Global Assessment

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times,

Results from a recent global assessment indicate that reading scores for American high school students have dropped over the past three years, while math and science performance still falls behind their peers in several other developed countries.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tests 15-year-olds in math, science, and reading proficiency as metrics for college and career readiness, conducted its last tests in 2025.

The initial findings, released on Sept. 8, indicate that children from Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom continue to outperform American public-school children in those three subjects.

PISA has not yet shared comprehensive comparative rankings of the 91 nations that participated in the latest assessments.

China did not participate as a nation; the four Chinese provinces that did also outperformed American 15-year-olds.

About 760,000 children across the world participated, according to the PISA website.

All told, U.S. students still performed above the average of all participating nations in reading and science, and slightly below average for math.

Compared to the 2022 PISA, average U.S. results in science remained the same.

For math and reading, however, the average scores remained below pre-COVID levels and "among the lowest ever observed in PISA in the United States" dating back 26 years.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the nation's outdated public education needs a major overhaul that begins with universal school choice for all American families.

"The United States of America is a nation built to lead the world, yet our one-size-fits-all federal education bureaucracy has shortchanged our children and stifled our future," she said in an email to The Epoch Times.

"Today's international education scores confirm a decade of stagnation and a devastating gap: we successfully propel our highest achievers, but the lowest-performing students are falling further behind - and have suffered a loss of learning in reading equivalent to nearly a year and a half of instruction compared to 2015.

"This moment is a stress test for our nation's future. To pass it, we must enact a hard reset that stops protecting a failed status quo and instead builds a system that empowers state leaders and embraces innovative learning options through school choice."

The PISA proficiency levels range from one to six, with level two considered minimum proficiency.

Seventy-four percent of the U.S. students were at level two or above in reading, but only 13 percent were at level five or six.

The results for science were similar.

For math, 65 percent of U.S. students were at level two or above, but only 8 percent were at levels five or six, compared to 54 percent of the four Chinese provinces and Singapore's 37 percent.

The 2025 program introduced a digital computational problem-solving assessment.

U.S. children scored above the overall average in that category, still falling behind several Asian and English-speaking nations, but outperforming Germany, France, Mexico, and Brazil, according to the PISA report.

Globally, PISA determined that one in five students is considered low-performing in science, math, and reading, up from 16 percent in 2022.

Average reading scores fell by 28 points since 2015, while math fell by 22 points, according to the report.

"PISA 2025 shows that reversing declines in student performance is urgent," said Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which oversees the PISA program.

"The most successful education systems focus on fewer areas in greater depth, invest in teachers, engage parents, and provide targeted support for the students and schools that need it the most," Cormann said in the report.

"Technology and AI can strengthen learning and help prepare young people for the future, but only when used purposefully and not as a substitute for attention, effort, and understanding."

PISA also surveyed participants about their use of artificial intelligence to draft text in writing assignments and determined that those who did not use it outperformed those who said they did.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:50

Pentagon Informs Allies Prepare For "Protracted" War In Ukraine

The full-scale war in Ukraine lately blew past four years and six months since February 24, 2022, and has also long been a proxy conflict, pitting the US and NATO against Russia. Beyond this, there's been what can be described as a raging 'dirty war' stretching back over 12 years since at least February 2014.

Lest anyone think this is an exaggeration, or that it's not actually a deep proxy and covert shadow war as well, it is worth revisiting our prior widely viewed report from 2024: CIA Built "12 Secret Spy Bases" In Ukraine & Waged Shadow War For Last Decade, Bombshell NYT Report Confirms.

Embroiled in a seemingly unwinnable Iran war and increasing quagmire, President Trump badly needs a 'win' in terms of winding down major foreign conflicts, and so this month there's been a return to intensified diplomacy on the Ukraine war, for which envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were dispatched to both Moscow and then Kiev.

It seems that prior to this week, as White House and global attention was purely consumed with the Iran war, and Hormuz-related global energy crisis, the US administration left deep state bureaucrats in charge of running the day-to-day on American involvement in Ukraine. It's no wonder why long-range drone operations deep into Russian territory have grown more and more brazen, clearly having Western intelligence targeting assistance.

Now, enter US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, who has informed Washington's European allies to prepare for a "protracted" war in Ukraine and to keep the pipeline of US-made weapons to Ukrainian forces going. This all certainly is a contradiction on its surface, but is part of the ongoing US policy folly of 'escalate to de-escalate'.

AFP/Getty Images

"As President Trump has stated, our goal is a lasting peace. We are supporting every effort in that direction. From the standpoint of the Department of War, however, we cannot predict when this tragic war will end," Colby said Tuesday in virtual address to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

The Defense Contact Group was formed under a Biden - and not a Trump - initiative, ironically enough. It has coordinated and overseen the flow of weapons among allies to Ukraine since its formation in 2022.

"As you all well know, Russia is reconstituting its forces and defense-industrial capacity. We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead. And we must also be prepared for other plausible contingencies as well," he added.

...So now Washington is settling in for yet more grinding and bloody "years ahead" in supporting Ukrainians on the battlefield.

Colby further said the situation "makes it all the more important for Europe to sustain support for Ukraine while also accelerating its own rearmament and reindustrialization."

"First, Europe must continue — and where necessary increase — support for Ukraine’s immediate battlefield requirements through PURL. The continued flow of munitions and critical capabilities is effective; it remains essential to enabling Ukrainian forces to hold the front line and deny further Russian advances," Colby laid out.

“Second, Europe must plan now for sustained procurement that supports both Ukraine's long-term force reconstitution and Europe’s own defense requirements,” he added.

Colby had before joining the Trump administration been an open skeptic of the US pouring so many billions into Ukraine, arguing that the Taiwan-China issue should be a much bigger and long-term priority.

For example, back in 2023 he was giving foreign policy talks called "The Case for Prioritizing Taiwan Over Ukraine" in which he argued that "if America continues to divide and distribute valuable resources to Ukraine and the Middle East, all it will do is detract from adequately addressing the largest threat to America and the world." The 'threat' in his estimation is China potential future conquest and hold over Taiwan.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:35

We May Only Get One Chance To Stop AI

Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance

It’s awful to say but at this point I’m kind of praying that AI industry valuations crash and the industry faces setbacks that give us months to reflect on its companies.

Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon is leaving the AI industry because he believes the race to build self-improving systems is moving faster than the industry’s ability to control them, it was reported yesterday.

Coxon, who previously worked at OpenAI, said Anthropic’s safety efforts were sincere but that competition makes meaningful restraint difficult without broader coordination.

In an age where everything from warfare to Wall Street, power grids to payment systems, air traffic control to hospital networks, and the software that keeps our food, fuel and communications moving is digital, losing control of the systems that operate that infrastructure is not some abstract science-fiction problem.

It is a potentially civilization-scale problem. And the more of our lives we hand over to AI, the less comforting it becomes to hear that the people building it are still figuring out how to make sure it does what it’s told.

“We’re on track for a lot of the most aggressive of these scenarios where by the end of next year things could be out of control already,” Coxon said in a post yesterday.

His departure comes amid growing concern about AI systems behaving deceptively, conducting cyberattacks and developing capabilities that may become increasingly difficult to supervise.

Coxon believes the industry is approaching a point at which systems could improve themselves faster than humans can reliably understand or constrain them.

Think about that for a second. While you’re wondering whether the Patriots covered -2.5 on a Sunday, scratching your ass and drinking beer for three hours, a cluster of 823 trillion GPUs with the brain power of every human who has ever lived times a zillion is quietly figuring out how to run the entire world without you.

And by the time you realize what’s happening, the only thing you’ll still be in control of is whether you want another beer.

There is, of course, something to be said for Coxon’s timing. It is easiest to be bombastic when you’re walking out the door. You no longer have to worry about the next performance review, the next meeting with management or whether your comments are going to make life uncomfortable at the office. And if you want to stir shit up on your way out, a dramatic warning about the future of humanity is a pretty effective way to do it.

But that doesn’t mean his warning is wrong.

I am increasingly convinced that there will come a point at which, if we have not gotten out in front of AI, curbed its capabilities or otherwise established meaningful constraints, we may no longer be able to do so.

The question is not whether that point arrives next year, five years from now or later. The question is whether we will recognize it before we cross it.

And if you’ve been paying attention, it is no longer insane to contemplate AI systems eventually taking control of enormous portions of our digital infrastructure. We have already seen models demonstrate unexpected capabilities, exploit vulnerabilities and behave in ways their developers did not intend.

And just yesterday, OpenAI announced that an internal AI system had produced a solution to the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize Problem, a mathematical question that has resisted researchers for decades.

The company says the proof was generated through a coordinated effort involving roughly 10,000 AI agents. That is another reminder that capabilities once considered safely beyond these systems are arriving much faster than many people expected. Now imagine those 10,000 AI agents working on whatever f**king problem they want, anytime they want, without regard for human beings.

The gap between what these systems can do and what we can confidently guarantee they will not do is becoming a serious problem, if you ask me. And as more of the economy, communications, finance, energy and national infrastructure become dependent on software, the consequences of getting that gap wrong become much larger.

This is no longer just a question of whether a chatbot gives you a bad answer. It is a question of what happens when increasingly autonomous systems are given access to the machinery that runs the modern world.

And we are already getting glimpses of why that matter. Here's 10 examples specifically of how AI has already gone wrong. 

🔥 85% OFF FOREVER IF YOU SUBSCRIBE TODAY: I am again offering an 85% discount to anyone that wants to become a Fringe Finance annual subscriber today. It’s a discount you can keep and stays applied for as long as you wish to remain a subscriber: Get 85% off forever

None of these examples proves that AI is about to take over the world. Some were controlled evaluations, some were security vulnerabilities, and some involved humans deliberately using AI for malicious purposes. But taken together, they show why the control problem deserves to be taken seriously. We are already seeing systems cross intended boundaries, exploit weaknesses and carry out actions their operators did not anticipate. The question is what happens when those capabilities become substantially more powerful and are connected to more consequential infrastructure.

None of this proves that AI is about to take over the world. But it does show that the concern is not being pulled out of thin air. We are already seeing systems exploit weaknesses, cross intended boundaries and behave in ways their developers did not anticipate. The question is what happens when those same capabilities become substantially more powerful and are connected to more consequential infrastructure.

So whether Coxon is being bombastic is ultimately beside the point. His warning is legitimate, and it deserves to be treated as a warning rather than dismissed as another disgruntled employee making noise on the way out. You can roll your eyes at the delivery and still recognize that the underlying concern is real.

AI is now a race. A race between companies, a race between countries, a race between zealous company founders. And in a race there is adrenaline, competitiveness and all the reason in the world to throw care to the wind to be first. To win. Except this time ‘winning’ your beef with some other dorky AI founder may accidentally mean the end of civilization. And I’m really not trying to be hyperbolic.

If we ignore the speed we are moving…and wait until the systems are powerful enough that we can no longer reliably constrain them, the debate over whether we should have acted sooner will be completely meaningless.

We may only get one chance to establish meaningful control before that happens. We should probably use it.

--

QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and very often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning, meaning if I’m long I could sell or if I’m short I could cover at any time.

Contributor posts, guest posts and curated posts have been hand selected by me, but have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author or reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

I cannot guarantee the accuracy of any or all facts and figures included in this article though I made an effort to get them right. I have been wrong before and will be wrong again, and encourage you to always double check, do your own research and speak to a licensed financial professional, which I am not.

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things I’m bearish on. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions.

Starting in 2026, I have been attempting to no longer actively trade as much as I once did (read my story here). My goal is for my investing/saving to be done by recurring contributions mostly to sector ETFs and a few select equities, trusted third parties who oversee my accounts, and advisors. Such advisors or funds, through individual equities, options, index funds, mutual funds, ETFs, or other securities, may have positions in, exposure to, or holdings of names mentioned herein that I know nothing about. It is possible I could own, have exposure to, or not own anything, at any point. In an attempt to lead a healthier lifestyle, I’ve also excluded myself from fantasy sports, sports betting, online and in-person casinos and prediction markets.

Any of my positions can change immediately as soon as I publish, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. If you see numbers and calculations of any sort, assume they are wrong and double check them. I failed Algebra in 8th grade and topped off my high school math accolades by getting a D- in remedial Calculus my senior year, before becoming an English major in college so I could bullshit my way through things easier. Hence, why I am a writer.

The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. Many times I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour.

Also, again I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it multiple times because it’s that important you understand.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:20

Comcast Plunges As CFO Warns Broadband Subscriber Bleeding Won't Stop

Comcast shares tumbled after CFO Jason Armstrong warned at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference that broadband subscriber losses would not improve this quarter from a year earlier.

Bloomberg first reported Armstrong's comments, which sent shares down as much as 8.1% around 11:16 a.m. ET, their largest decline in months.

Armstrong told the audience at the conference in San Francisco, California, today that he still expects broadband subscriber losses to improve for the full year, although quarterly results will vary. He blamed part of the pressure on what he called "irrational fiber pricing."

Analysts tracked by Bloomberg expected Comcast to lose 103,000 domestic broadband subscribers in the third quarter, slightly fewer than the 104,000 lost a year earlier.

KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel expects consensus subscriber forecasts to deteriorate following the comments. He said, "We would expect CMCSA consensus net adds to move lower, where an accelerating loss trajectory could require further ARPU pressure for Subs to stabilize, a cycle we don't see ending."

Charter Communications fell 5.7% as the warning weighed on peers.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:05

FCC Chairman Says Agency May Issue Guidance On 'Fake Polls' Ahead Of Midterms

Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness,

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency may soon issue guidance to television broadcasters over what he called "fake polls," particularly if they are intended to suppress voter participation ahead of November's midterm elections.

Carr said Sunday that broadcasters face federal public-interest obligations because local television stations use FCC-licensed public airwaves, unlike cable networks and online platforms.

"There's a lot of interest right now in fake polls that are out there," Carr said. "And so the FCC may put guidance out soon to remind broadcasters about their obligations with respect to not airing fake polls, particularly if they're done to suppress people heading into the fall."

Carr's comments follow criticism from President Donald Trump over media coverage of political polling and his endorsement record in Republican primaries.

Trump recently called for the FCC to take action against NBC News' Kristen Welker after she said on a local NBC affiliate that Trump had experienced "mixed results" with candidates he endorsed in this year's primaries.

Trump disputed that characterization and said Welker should be reported to the FCC for "rebuke or punishment."

NBC News defended Welker.

Carr did not announce a formal investigation of Welker.

Instead, he said the FCC was considering several actions involving broadcasters and emphasized their obligation to operate in the public interest.

The FCC regulates local broadcast television and radio stations, but its authority over news content is limited by federal law and the First Amendment. The commission has historically said it generally will not intervene in complaints about one-sided or inaccurate news coverage because doing so could improperly substitute the government's judgment for that of broadcasters.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission's sole Democrat, rejected the idea that the agency can punish individual journalists over their reporting.

"As I've said many times, the FCC has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn't like," Gomez said.

Carr has not specified what standards the FCC would use to determine whether a political poll is "fake" or what consequences broadcasters could face under any new guidance.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:50

Scarcity Warnings In Physical World Send Commodities To 14-Year High, Threatening Stock Rally

Readers are familiar by now with the broad-based commodity rally, with energy, agricultural products and metals moving sharply higher as former Goldman Sachs commodities head Jeff Currie warned this summer of growing scarcity in the physical economy.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index has climbed to levels last seen in 2012...

... while the Quantix Commodity Index has hit a new record high.

Bloomberg macro strategist Simon White is out with a new note this morning warning that the commodity rally is threatening to squeeze corporate margins and household spending, raising questions about how long stocks can withstand an inflation shock spreading well beyond oil.

White wrote:

Stocks are reacting negatively to the inflation and growth risks from commodities, which have just reached levels not seen since 2012.

Commodities are rallying, but this is no longer principally an oil story. The rally is instead broadening out. Since the beginning of August, not only are energy prices rising, such as European gas (up 34%), or gasoline (+22%), metal prices are also rising (zinc, copper), as well as precious metals (silver, platinum, gold), and softs, such as sugar, cocoa and corn.

He added:

Only a handful of the main commodities traded on futures markets (eg hogs, cattle, nickel and orange juice) are down since Aug. 1.

The energy shock affects input costs for everything from manufacturing to food production. The hobbling of refinery capacity from the Iran war has led to elevated prices for products such diesel and gasoline, inflaming transport costs.

Soft commodity prices are being further pressured by the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, especially in the Black Sea region, as well as concerns about a particularly potent El Nino this year and next.

For equity bulls, White warned that soaring commodity prices raise questions about how long stocks can withstand an inflation shock broadening across the commodity complex. 

He continued on that thought:

The recent rally in raw materials has taken the Bloomberg Commodity Index to near 15-year highs. On a 10-year annualised basis, returns recently reached a level they have only once eclipsed, in 2008, since the mega-commodity rally of the 1970s.

But as we can see from the chart above, when commodity prices are high, such as in the 1970s or early 2010s, stock prices falter. Equivalently, stocks tend to enjoy their best periods when commodities are historically on the low side.

The current environment of rising stock and commodity returns looks somewhat of an anomaly. Stocks are slipping today, but if commodity prices stay bid - and there are many reasons for them to do just that - the equity market has more downside ahead. (Tatiana's point on higher energy prices boosting earnings won't translate into higher stock prices if the rest of the economy is suffering from broad-based commodity inflation.)

The Nasdaq 100's ratio to the Quantix Commodity Total Return Index has pointed to this summer's renewed commodity outperformance as traders price in scarcity. 

As we've pointed out in the metals space, copper is at an all-time high, north of $14,700, and iron ore might have found a bottom, with prices in Singapore around $100 a ton. On the critical materials side, we've outlined the continued tightening of supplies from China to the West, as seen last week in a Reuters report. We've also identified miners that are poised to break China's "quasi-monopolistic" grip on critical materials.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:35

Apple's Long-Awaited Foldable iPhone Arrives. Will It Fit In Your Pocket?

Summary:

• Foldable iPhone: Apple announces its first folding iPhone
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: Starts at $1,299.
• New CEO John Ternus' First Major Test with Wall Street
• Apple Set to Launch Foldable iPhone at 1 p.m. ET Event

Apple Unveils its First Foldable, Called "iPhone Duo" 

iFold is here

*APPLE ANNOUNCES FOLDABLE IPHONE

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 9, 2026

iPhone Duo ... 

Apple has just unveiled its first foldable, iPhone Duo pic.twitter.com/JPZnpFEDdn

— 9to5Mac (@9to5mac) September 9, 2026

Apple Unveils Foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Pro Lineup and New Wearables (courtesy of Bloomberg):

• Foldable iPhone: Apple announces its first folding iPhone.
• iPhone 18 Pro: Starts at $1,199.
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: Starts at $1,299.
• A20 Pro chip: Built on 2nm technology, with seven GPU cores and a 32-core Neural Engine to strengthen on-device AI performance.
• Camera upgrade: iPhone 18 Pro adds a 48MP Fusion main camera with variable aperture.
• Photo verification: Apple introduces its Reference Image Standard, designed to verify photo authenticity at capture. The feature will be unavailable in the EU and China.
• Apple Intelligence: Remains unavailable in the EU and China.
• AirPods 5: Base model starts at $129.
• Apple Watch: New Series 12 and Ultra 4 models join the lineup.

Shares are mixed following the launch event:

Absolutely dreadful, they missed the point of the phone being smaller than a usual phone when folded up, this ain’t going to do well.

— Ross (@rossr180) September 9, 2026 Live Launch Event

Apple's product launch event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters begins at 1 p.m. ET.

Here's a breakdown of the expected announcements and production outlook from Susquehanna semiconductor analyst Mehdi Hosseini:

1. Our checks suggest Sep-Q iPhone builds are tracking to 60 million units, including 28 million units of the iPhone 18 family and 1-2 million units of the iPhone Ultra1, Apple's first foldable form factor. Rolling forecasts further indicate Dec-Q iPhone builds of 74 million units, including 45 million iPhone 18 units and 6-7 million iPhone Ultra1 units.

2. Importantly, iPhone18 production in 2H26 is expected to consist exclusively of the Pro and Pro Max models, while up to 10 million units of the lower-priced iPhone18 are currently scheduled for shipment in 1Q27.

3. Our updated model projects total iPhone builds and shipments of ~240 million units in 2026, down 2% Y/Y. This includes iPhone17, iPhone18, and iPhone Ultra1 production of 144 million, 73 million, and 8 million units, respectively.

4. Looking ahead, current forecasts suggest Mar-Q iPhone builds of 62 million units, down 17% Q/Q but up 10% Y/Y. This total comprises roughly 10 million iPhone17 units, 45 million iPhone 18 units (including the base, Pro, and Pro Max models), and ~3 million iPhone Ultra1 units.

5. Key Features of iPhone18 - The iPhone18 is expected to feature Apple’s A20 processor built on a 2nm process node, offering ~15% higher performance while reducing power consumption by ~30%. Additional enhancements include under-display Face ID, a larger battery, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, and an aluminum chassis.

6. Key Features of iPhone Ultra1 (foldable) - Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to feature a 5.5-inch outer display that expands to a 7.8-inch inner display, a liquid-metal hinge design, a 24MP to 28MP camera system, Touch ID authentication, a hole-punch Dynamic Island implementation, and a titanium frame.

Apple shares were down about 1% ahead of the launch event.

Bloomberg data show how the stock performed over the five days following previous iPhone releases.

Watch the event live:

Apple's Foldable iPhone Moment Arrives: New CEO Ternus Faces First Big Wall Street Test

Apple is expected to unveil its long-awaited foldable handset, rumored to be called the "iPhone Ultra," at today's big product event, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and led by new CEO John Ternus.

"Watching Apple's event is later today… huge index weight, first major event under John Ternus, and potentially the first foldable iPhone. If the product/new CEO combination lands well, it could become a useful mega-cap catalyst," Goldman Sachs Delta-One desk head Rich Privorotsky told clients earlier.

Last-minute details about Apple’s foldable iPhone: the iPhone Duo 🚨

Source: @markgurman pic.twitter.com/nR8vvO9Xhe

— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) September 9, 2026

Today's event will give CEO Ternus an early opportunity to set Apple's new direction as Wall Street looks for evidence that AI and new products can translate into hardware upgrades and greater adoption of Apple's services.

Whether the foldable iPhone is called "iPhone Ultra" or, as some have suggested, "iPhone Duo" remains irrelevant at this point because, yet again, Apple is testing the premium market, with rumored prices north of $2,000 for the model with 256 gigabytes of storage and $3,000 for the top-tier version. Bloomberg reported last week that memory costs were among the reasons for the price hikes.

Wait, the new iphone starts at $2400?

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 8, 2026

Apple is also expected to raise iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max prices by $100 each. Those models will mostly retain familiar designs while adding upgrades to the camera, battery, processing, and other components. Apple is expected to release the standard iPhone 18 and other lower-priced models next year.

Melissa Otto, the global head of Visible Alpha Research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, wrote in a Tuesday note that the new foldable iPhone faces a demanding financial test: persuading consumers to spend as much on a handset as they would on a laptop.

Otto continued:

Apple's upcoming September 9 event will be John Ternus's first big hardware event and an opportunity for the market to see how he may put his thumbprint on the company. Last year's event was widely viewed as underwhelming, because there was little emphasis on AI and how the company may start to leverage its AI capabilities to drive innovation and stickiness in its ecosystem. This gap left many investors wondering what Apple's role will be in the new AI world and what may be next for the Company. Under Ternus's new leadership, the market is likely to be looking for clear indications about Apple's AI direction and how that may trickle into hardware upgrades and broader services adoption.

Apple is expected to release the new iPhone 18 with an enhanced Siri capability. In addition, the company is projected to showcase its first foldable phone. A foldable phone may serve as a catalyst for broader adoption of its higher margin services, as a larger screen option may be a key factor for some users. Based on Visible Alpha consensus, Apple is expected to sell 259 million iPhone units next fiscal year, flat year-over-year. Foldable phones at competitors are priced higher than current iPhones. For example, Samsung'sd foldable phone ranges from $1,899 to $2,999, compared to $989 to $1199 for an iPhone 17. Will a foldable model enable iPhone to raise prices on next generation models, or will they keep prices in line to grab to try to grab share?

Last year, promotional trade-ins at carriers for 13-series and above offered $1100 in credit (offsetting monthly payments, not lump sum). Coming into the important fall Back to School and holiday seasons, will these promotions reappear to entice users to upgrade? In Q4 2026, Apple is expected to generate $55.5 billion in iPhone revenue and $274.2 billion next year. Expectations for both the upcoming quarter and next fiscal year have been increasing steadily since last year, suggesting the market is pricing in users upgrading to next generation iPhones.

The event is also expected to feature updates to air pods and the apple watch. The wearables segment is projected to generate $36.2 billion in sales this fiscal year and $37.9 billion next year. Expectations for Services revenue in the upcoming Q4 2026 and in FY 2027 have declined since last quarter. Will these accessories, along with iPhone upgrades, help to drive higher sales and profitability longer-term through increased usage of service?

At the start of the week, Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi unveiled premium foldable phones priced similarly to the Apple foldable iPhone- mid-$2,500 range. 

Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam said Apple has the "world's biggest premium device installed base," adding, "Its foldable will sell well and rapidly grab market share." He also noted that the new handset could spur broader consumer demand, giving rivals a lift.

Smart Analytics Global forecasts that Apple could capture 41% of worldwide foldable sales next year. Its entry will undoubtedly intensify competition across the foldable space.

However, Nikkei Asia reported last week that production of foldable iPhones remains limited ahead of today's launch.

"Apple has very high quality requirements and added an extra trial run in August ahead of actual production. However, production is ramping up slowly, with output currently at only a few hundred units a day in late August. That initial volume could be challenging to meet market demand," one supply chain manager told the Japanese news outlet.

For Ternus, the big challenge is convincing consumers facing $4 gasoline and record diesel prices to upgrade to a phone that costs as much as a laptop. Financing and trade-in incentives may soften the upfront cost but underlying affordability remains the most troubling picture for the demand story. Apple's disappointing $3,000-plus Vision Pro offers a cautionary lesson for the new CEO: premium pricing requires a compelling use case, and even monthly payment plans have limits.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:16

3rd Burning Man Attendee Dies En Route To Hospital

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

A third person has died at this year's Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert, according to the local sheriff's office.

Details about the death, reported on Sept. 8, were not released as festival attendees faced the usual traffic jam on their way home from the annual event in Black Rock Desert about 110 miles north of Reno.

The death occurred en route to a Reno-area hospital on Sept. 4, according to the Burning Man Project.

"We are saddened to have learned that a Burning Man participant, who experienced a serious medical emergency in Black Rock City during the early hours of Friday, Sept. 4, and immediately received on-site lifesaving measures, later passed away after being transported to Reno for medical care," a festival spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

The examiner overseeing the death investigation at the Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office didn't return requests for more information.

Two other festival attendees died this year at the weeklong event that started on Aug. 30.

On Sept. 3, the first man, identified later by Sheriff Jerry Allen as Sampson Tshombe, was pronounced dead by a doctor on festival grounds.

"It is with heavy hearts that The Burning Man Project confirms a Black Rock City participant in his mid-50s experienced a medical emergency, immediately received lifesaving measures, and was transported to the onsite center for emergency care where he was pronounced deceased," the organization said of Tshombe in a statement.

Two days later, the festival reported Craigh Mann, 60, was found dead by his friends at his camp at about 3 p.m.

Mann was also sent to the Washoe County Medical Examiner's office for an autopsy and toxicology screening, according to the sheriff.

Allen reported deputies had arrested 34 people for drug sales and trafficking at this year's festival as of Sept. 5.

Requests sent to the sheriff to confirm the arrest information were not returned by publication time.

An average of one death a year is reported at the annual festival that typically attracts about 70,000 people to its temporary sand metropolis.

Last year, 37-year-old Vadim Kruglov, of Russia, was found dead at the event. Sheriff's deputies, who were investigating the death as a homicide, have not yet made any arrests.

[ZH: We have one question, while we know they went out dusty, did they go out smiling?]

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:05

Google To Invest $15 Billion In AI Infrastructure And Nuclear Power In Finland

By Georgia Butler of DataCenterDynamics

Google has committed to investing €13 billion ($15.13bn) in digital infrastructure in Finland across 2027 and 2028.

This will include data centers and supporting infrastructure investments in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala, in the country. According to Google, this is its largest single investment in Europe to date.

Google has had a presence in Finland since it acquired a former paper mill in Hamina in 2009 and transformed it into a data center. The data center is cooled with seawater, and has been upgraded numerous times over the last 15 years. In 2022, the company purchased 50 acres of adjacent land to accommodate further expansion.

In 2024, Google acquired 1,400 hectares of land in Kajaani and Muhos from state-run forest agency Metsähallitus, but did not detail plans for the sites at the time. In February of this year, it added to its Finland land portfolio again with the acquisition of 900 hectares in Vaala for a possible data center project.

With the new investment and plans to build out in the country, Google is estimating that it will bring around 16,000 construction jobs to Finland, out of a total of 37,000 jobs generated. Once operational, the facilities will employ some 7,000 people.

"Finland is an attractive destination for investments, and attracting further investment remains a top priority. Google’s decision is a clear testament to our strengths. The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research, and development. Deepening our collaboration with Google will deliver lasting benefits for both parties," said Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Finland.

Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, added: "Google is proud to deepen our roots in Finland with the company’s largest single investment in Europe, building on more than 15 years of sustained investment in Finland. This investment underscores Google’s commitment to grow our presence responsibly, pairing the expansion of our technical infrastructure with new energy capacity, grid enhancements, and energy affordability initiatives."

Alongside the investment in data centers, Google has invested in energy initiatives in the country, including a Power Purchase Agreement with Fortum to extend the life of the Loviisa nuclear power plant, two onshore wind projects developed by Valorem and Suomen Hyötytuuli, and a 94MW battery system that will be located near Google's site in Kajaani.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 13:50

Female Lindsay Clancy Jurors Have Public Meltdown Over Mistrial

It's almost shocking how prophetic the conservative online memes were when it came to the hidden deliberations inside the Lindsay Clancy jury room.  The court proceedings have sparked a political firestorm as a female led cult of supporters (mostly leftists) rallied to defend Clancy, a mother who confessed to brutally murdering her three helpless children after sending her husband out of the house on errands.   

The case has triggered a wake up call for America, with critics pointing out that the feminist movement has done far more damage to society than anyone realized.  The ideology is so malignant, it has inspired millions of women to become morally devoid monsters.  Coupled with social media addiction and false consensus bias, the Clancy trial conjured what many are calling a "mass psychosis event".   

This might be the most disturbing trend that ever hit the internet pic.twitter.com/pQryMgV9rG

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 8, 2026

Now that the case has ended in a mistrial (11 to 1) and the jurors (9 women and 3 men) have been sent home, the truth is starting to leak out. 

Three female jurors from the Lindsay Clancy trial - foreperson Roni Carlson, Paula Devlin, and Kellie Farina - gave an exclusive interview to NBC10 Boston this week. Much of their discussion focused on their frustration with the mistrial and the lone male holdout juror (the person defense attorney Kevin Reddington called a “rogue juror”).  The attitudes and conclusions of these jurors were exactly as most people predicted.    

Female jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial FUME over the lone male holdout: “He was very arrogant. He just completely disregarded the information they gave.” pic.twitter.com/3TF0SrlG6t

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 8, 2026

“He admitted he had reasonable doubt and I started filling out the forms, I was so excited. There were three forms I had to fill out, and I started filling them out. I wrote my signature on each one. And then he said, ‘But I’m still not going to say that she’s not guilty by reason of insanity.’”

“He had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children.” 

I am the holdout pic.twitter.com/sLMJ3buLfk

— Dr. Clown, PhD (@DrClownPhD) September 3, 2026

The circumstances surrounding the murders suggest that Clancy was fully aware of what she was doing, including the fact that her supposed "psychotic episode" in which she "heard a voice" telling her to kill her children had never happened before or since.  The episode also just happened to take place right after she sent her then husband Patrick Clancy on multiple errands which kept him away from the house. 

She even took a phone call from Patrick while she was in the midst of committing the murders and acted as if everything was fine.

Clancy was in treatment only a couple weeks before the event, but checked herself out.  She was diagnosed with a depressive disorder (not a psychosis) and she denied having any homicidal or suicidal thoughts.  Some of the drugs in her system (which the defense claimed were the cause of her "episode") were taken by Clancy in an attempt to overdose after the children were dead.  All of this information and more was ignored by 11 jurors for the sake of a convenient insanity plea. 

But the realities in the deliberations room get even more disturbing.  One female juror has come forward asserting that many of the jurors had taken Clancy's side early in the case and pressure to let her off with an insanity plea was applied.  This juror denounced the conspiracy claims on social media that the husband was the "real killer" and admits that Lindsay did indeed commit the act.  However, she also hints that despite her own misgivings, she had to side with the other "big personalities in the room". 

The rest of the jurors interviewed highlight the "vibes" of the defense attorney, noting that Kevin Reddington was fun, likable and empathetic to Lindsay (facts, apparently, took a backseat).  It should be noted that the jurors were not sequestered in this case, which means they went home each night and had free and unmonitored access to the internet and all the ridiculous theories available.  

In Massachusetts, the rules surrounding an insanity plea are reversed.  Usually, it is up to the defense to prove that the suspect was suffering from a mental breakdown.  But in MA, it is up to the prosecution to prove the suspect was not insane at the time of the crime.  How does one prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone was not crazy when the crime alone requires an inherent level of insanity?  It's impossible. 

This is why around half of all women who use postpartum psychosis as a murder defense escape real punishment for their crimes.  The case centers on the criminal as if that person is a victim, too.     

In MA if Clancy is found not guilty by reason of insanity she is remanded to a mental health facility, but she has the chance to be released as early as six months into her incarceration.  Keep in mind, her defense was that her psychosis was temporary; it had never happened before or since the murders.  In other words, she would automatically be considered "cured" by the standards of the facilities in MA - How would they be able to prove otherwise?   

Thankfully, at least one juror had the courage to stop this from happening.  The case has started a national conversation about the exploitation of "women's health" issues as a shield to protect female criminals from prosecution.  The threat being that America has been conned into accepting a two tier justice system in favor of violent women willing to play crazy.  The hormone defense would never work for a man who killed his three children; why should it work for Lindsay Clancy?   

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 13:35