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Full-Face Veils Banned In Portugal After President Signs 'Burqa Law'

Via Remix News,

Portuguese President António José Seguro has officially signed into law a bill banning face-concealing attire in public spaces, with the move seen targeting the full-face Islamic veils like the burqa and niqab.

Addressing the national debate, President Seguro framed the decision around human interaction, stating:

"The face should be considered a central element of human identity and communication."

However, the former Socialist Party leader acknowledged the controversial nature of the ban, recognizing it as a matter of significant cultural and social sensitivity.

The law was largely backed by the country's right-wing politicians and labeled the "burqa law" by Portuguese media.

It passed parliament in July with the votes of right-wing parties, with the left firmly in opposition.

The new legal framework strictly limits garments designed to hide one's identity in public spaces.

It also penalizes forcing individuals to cover their faces based on gender, religion, or age.

Violators face financial penalties ranging from €150 to €3,000.

There are, however, some exceptions.

Wearing items that cover the face, such as medical masks, professional/artistic gear, and extreme weather wear, are all examples of exceptions under the law.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/27/2026 - 03:30

White Prisoners In UK Being Forced To Convert By Muslim Gangs: Report

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

Britain's prisons are becoming recruitment grounds for Islamic gangs, with white inmates converting under threat of violence while the system frees terrorists early, jails protesters longer than child sex attackers, and racks up hundreds of millions housing foreign offenders.

New Ministry of Justice figures have exposed a stark reality inside England and Wales' jails. One in five Muslims behind bars is white - nearly four times the 5.8 per cent rate in the general population.

The number of white Muslim prisoners has climbed from 2,767 in 2022 to 3,218 by the end of June 2025, a 16 per cent rise. Overall Muslim inmates rose 14 per cent in the same period, from 14,037 to 16,051, now making up roughly 18 per cent of the prison population despite Muslims comprising just 6.5 per cent of the country.

? Read more https://t.co/b8r0O97xDs ??

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) August 25, 2026

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy laid out the numbers and the implications. "The percentage of Muslims who are white in our prisons is so vastly higher than in the general population it raises serious questions," he said.

Islamist gangs control many of our prisons.

Conversion to Islam is the only way to stay safe from them.

I obtained data showing 1 in 5 Muslim prisoners are white.

That's four times higher than in the general population.

This cannot continue. pic.twitter.com/G87pfD7EoI

— Nick Timothy MP (@NJ_Timothy) August 25, 2026

"We know that experts have warned repeatedly about forced conversions taking place behind bars, driven by Islamic gangs. We need to be honest that something is not right here - Labour must urgently investigate and stamp out forced conversions in prison," he further urged.

Government advisers have documented the pattern for years. Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, described Islamist terrorists operating as "self-styled emirs" who controlled prisoners through "leadership and recruitment."

This included targeting "vulnerable or lonely prisoners, using guidance, sharing of food or material gifts" and "conversion backed by implicit or actual violence."

The London Bridge attacker Usman Khan, while inside, encouraged prisoners to take Muslim names and wear Muslim dress while trying to convert others.

Ian Acheson, who reviewed Islamist extremism in prisons, said conversions often occur "as a pragmatic response to who controls power and space in our prisons." In high-security jails especially, safety is at a premium and large numbers of violent young men seek belonging. "So Islam in this case has gang characteristics."

'We need to have much tighter regulation and control of the prison system'

Fiyaz Mughal, founder of Muslims Against Antisemitism, warns the UK prison system is failing to control violent Muslim gangs, leaving staff and inmates powerless. pic.twitter.com/TVdJzSr6Pa

— GB News (@GBNEWS) December 22, 2025

A 2023 government-commissioned review by Colin Bloom found gangs ordering new arrivals to become Muslim or face consequences. "Failure to identify as a Muslim meant that at best the new prisoner would be denied 'protection' from the dominant Muslim gang on that wing, or at worst the new prisoner would be subjected to violence and intimidation from that same gang."

A lawyer who regularly visits top-security prisons reported the process starts almost immediately. "This is something which will happen hours after arriving on a wing. Immediately they arrive in prison they slot into the gang hierarchy. In some cases there are entire floors dominated by Muslim gangs."

Some conversions are opportunistic - "convenience Muslims" seeking extra time for prayers or better halal food. Others are coerced. Qurans left on beds carry a clear message.

The Ministry of Justice insists it does not tolerate intimidation or faith-based coercion and claims prisons act swiftly. Yet the numbers keep rising, and there are now 140 Muslim chaplains compared with 87 for the Church of England.

This is the same prison system that continues to house thousands of foreign national offenders at enormous cost to the British taxpayer.

Figures show 10,487 foreign national offenders costing £629 million a year - money that could fund 16,500 police officers or 15,000 NHS nurses.

Albania tops the list, followed by Ireland and Poland. Deportations remain slow, tangled in missing documents, uncooperative origin countries, and European Convention on Human Rights claims.

Reform UK's prisons adviser Vanessa Frake called the bill "staggering." She noted the drawn-out process: discarded passports, slow diplomatic correspondence, refusals by origin countries, and Article 8 family-life claims. Even a deal to return 200 Albanian prisoners came with conditions and lower daily payments to Albania than the UK pays to keep them.

While foreign offenders and Islamist networks embed inside the system, the authorities have shown a different urgency when it comes to early release.

Zahid Iqbal, convicted in 2013 for plotting to bomb an Army base using an Al-Qaeda manual, was approved for release three years early despite previous non-compliance and warnings from prison and community managers.

Colin Sutton, Reform UK's crime adviser, called the decision "baffling." "This wasn't a guy in his bedroom cooking something up. This was somebody who arranged training. He had links with al-Qaeda. He was a proper terrorist."

Labour's broader early-release schemes have accelerated the emptying of cells to manage overcrowding. Thousands of offenders, including those convicted of violence, have been freed earlier than previous tariffs allowed. Even after partial pauses and exclusions for certain sex offences, the direction of travel remains clear: capacity management takes priority over consistent public protection.

Contrast that with the treatment of British citizens who protest the consequences of mass migration or speak out online. Lucy Connolly, already imprisoned for a single X post after the Southport attacks, faced the threat of recall to prison for reposting a satirical comment about Donald Trump and Keir Starmer. Probation officials treated the joke as "inciting violence" after an anonymous complaint.

In Essex, protests outside an asylum hotel housing Ethiopian migrant Hadush Kebatu erupted after he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman. Kebatu received 12 months. British protesters involved in the subsequent disorder received far longer terms.

Charlie Land got 32 months. Jonathan Glover got 30 months. Lee Gower, a local father and youth football coach, received two years and nine months. Other locals drew sentences of 22 to 33 months. Combined custodial terms for several of them exceeded 17 years - longer than the perpetrator who triggered the unrest.

 

Judges stressed that violence against police is unacceptable. Yet the sentencing disparity is unmistakable. Locals reacting to a sexual assault on a child by a small-boat arrival spend more time inside than the man who committed the assault.

Meanwhile white prisoners report pressure to convert for survival, foreign national offenders cost hundreds of millions, and convicted terrorists walk early under capacity rules.

Prisons reflect the wider failures of open borders and selective enforcement. Gangs exploit the vacuum. Vulnerable inmates adapt or suffer. Taxpayers foot the bill.

Ordinary Britons who notice and object face the sharp end of the law. The figures on white Muslim prisoners are not a statistical curiosity. They are the measurable result of a system that has lost control of its own institutions.

Tyler Durden Thu, 08/27/2026 - 02:00

The Penal Leviathan: What Wacquant And Rothbard Reveal About Modern Punishment

Authored by Luc Lelièvre via Mises Institute,

Loïc Wacquant and Murray Rothbard come from completely different worlds. Wacquant, in Punishing the Poor (2009), analyzes how modern states manage marginalized populations through policing and incarceration. Rothbard, in The Ethics of Liberty (1982), argues that the state is a monopoly of coercion and that real justice means restitution to victims rather than punishment imposed by the government. At first glance, they seem to have nothing in common. Yet, when you look closely at what each says about crime and punishment, they describe remarkably similar institutional dynamics: a penal system that does not exist to deliver justice but to maintain political power, control vulnerable communities, and satisfy the public's desire for punishment.

Wacquant argues that modern punishment targets not crime itself but people with low incomes. In Punishing the Poor, he writes that "it is not so much crime that is being fought, but the poor themselves." He attributes this dynamic to welfare retrenchment and what he interprets as neoliberal restructuring. This is Wacquant's interpretation. My purpose here is not to defend or refute it, but to summarize his institutional analysis and compare it with Rothbard's critique of state power. Wacquant's central point is that the penal system expands as social protections shrink, turning prisons into warehouses for people pushed out of the labor market. He portrays the United States as an expansive apparatus of social control in which punishment falls primarily on street crime while much white-collar wrongdoing is managed through administrative and legal processes.

Rothbard approaches the issue from a different angle. For him, crime is fundamentally an aggression against a person or their property. Justice should repair the victim. That means restitution - returning what was taken, plus a penalty for the harm done. In Rothbard's view, prison is a double injustice. It fails to compensate the victim and forces taxpayers to pay for the criminal's room and board. As one Mises Institute essay summarizes, "the victim receives nothing and is then 'robbed' once more through taxes to feed and house the criminal." Rothbard sees the prison system as wasteful, immoral, and fundamentally misaligned with justice. His alternative is clear: restitution, even if it must be paid through supervised work when the offender has no money.

Rothbard's critique is not only moral but also economic. In his landmark article "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach" (1968), Gary Becker reached a similar conclusion from a different perspective. Every sanction carries costs as well as benefits, and incarceration is among the most expensive. If restitution, fines, or compensated labor can deter crime while restoring victims, prison becomes difficult to justify except for dangerous offenders. Becker's analysis complements Rothbard's argument by showing that restitution is not merely ethically preferable - it is also economically superior.

Wacquant and Rothbard share an understanding of the state's role. Wacquant views the penal state as a bureaucratic arm of what he calls neoliberal governance, used to control marginalized populations. Rothbard views the penal state as a predatory institution that thrives on coercion. Both agree that the penal system tends to neglect victims, expand state power, and generate political legitimacy rather than genuine justice.

Their agreement becomes even more striking when viewed through the lens of institutional incentives. A penal bureaucracy does not merely administer justice; it sustains a network of police agencies, prosecutors, correctional officers, prison contractors, and public budgets, all of whose continued existence depends on the expansion of penal institutions. Restitution threatens this logic by shifting attention from the state to the victim. A system centered on repairing private harm requires fewer bureaucracies and leaves less room for political theater. From this perspective, incarceration persists not merely because citizens demand punishment, but because governments have institutional incentives to provide it.

René Girard, in Violence and the Sacred (1972), helps explain how punishment operates. Girard argues that societies have always used scapegoats to relieve social tension. In modern times, the criminal becomes that scapegoat, and the prison becomes the altar. As one Mises Institute essay notes, "the real product of the penal system is collective catharsis." Punishment is not a rational policy, it is a ritual. This is why voters demand harsher penalties even when prisons fail. This is why mass incarceration persists despite its cost and lack of results. Punishment satisfies a symbolic need, not a practical one.

Girard also helps explain why governments find this ritual politically useful. If societies repeatedly seek symbolic victims to restore social cohesion, the state becomes the institution that organizes and legitimizes those sacrifices. Public fear creates demand for punishment; political institutions supply it. Rothbard exposes the institutional side of this relationship, while Girard reveals its anthropological foundation. Together, they show how emotional expectations and bureaucratic incentives reinforce each other, enabling the penal system to expand even when it fails to reduce crime or compensate victims.

This is where Rothbard offers something Wacquant does not: a way out. Restitution replaces the sacrificial logic of punishment with a logic of repair. It shifts the focus from the offender to the victim, closes the moral account rather than leaving it open, and satisfies the need for justice without feeding the bureaucratic machine. In To Serve and Protect (1990), Bruce Benson shows that pre-state legal systems, such as Anglo-Saxon weregild, relied on restitution to prevent feuds and maintain peace. These systems worked because they focused on compensation rather than punishment.

Wacquant advocates "radical penal minimalism," a model that narrows the scope of punishment while preserving its democratic legitimacy. Rothbard calls for a justice system based on restitution rather than incarceration. Girard calls for an end to sacrificial violence. Benson shows how restitution can be implemented. Becker argues that incarceration is often less economically efficient than restitution, fines, and other alternative sanctions.

Despite their profound philosophical disagreements, all five raise serious doubts about the effectiveness and legitimacy of a prison-centered model of justice. Becker questions its efficiency. Benson presents historical alternatives. Girard exposes its sacrificial logic. Wacquant reveals its bureaucratic expansion. Rothbard offers restitution as a principled alternative.

The penal Leviathan will not disappear through abolitionist slogans or bureaucratic reforms. It will disappear only when justice ceases to be a ritual of punishment and becomes a process of repair. That requires reexamining the assumption that crime should be understood primarily as an offense against the state rather than as an injury to identifiable victims. Once the victim again becomes the central figure in justice, restitution naturally replaces punishment as the primary objective.

As long as governments monopolize punishment, they retain incentives to expand the penal apparatus, regardless of its effectiveness. Restitution reverses that logic. It limits bureaucratic power, restores the victim to the center of justice, and transforms punishment from a political ritual into a genuine process of moral and legal repair. Whether approached through sociology, economics, anthropology, or libertarian political philosophy, the victim - not the state - emerges as the indispensable starting point for any coherent theory of justice.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 23:33

Soda Purchases Slumped 13% After SNAP Sugary Drink Restrictions

Soda purchases fell about 13 percent among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries after 10 states restricted purchases of sugary drinks with SNAP funds in 2026, a study found.

SNAP restriction waivers banned non-nutritious items like soda and candy to ensure that taxpayer dollars are directed toward nutritious options that improve health outcomes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated on its website.

The August study from the National Bureau of Economic Research - not yet peer-reviewed - evaluated the immediate effects of SNAP food restriction waivers in 10 states that implemented the bans.

Researchers used a Nielsen consumer dataset of about 5,000 SNAP households from July 2025 to June 2026.

Before the ban, the average SNAP household bought about 185 ounces of soda per month. That’s about 15 cans. The 13 percent drop is about 24 ounces, or two cans less per month.

Purchases of energy drinks also decreased by 4 ounces per household per month.

Interestingly, as Sylvia Xu reports for The Epoch Times, the study found that even households having enough cash to offset the restrictions reduced soda consumption by 18.5 percent, down 40 ounces per month.

When states labeled soda as an unapproved purchase, it acted as a powerful psychological signal, according to the report.

Arkansas shelf tag...

Instead of bypassing the ban with cash, families reconsidered their habits.

The policy changed what they viewed as appropriate foods to buy, leading to a significant drop in overall soda purchases, according to the study.

These findings indicate that simple administrative restrictions can effectively steer dietary choices and potentially improve public health outcomes, the researchers concluded.

Texas shelf tag...

However, it’s not clear how big the impact on sugar consumption will be.

A similar study in 2024 predicted a decline of up to 20 percent in soda purchases when the soda bans went into effect, but also forecast a 7 percent increase in juice consumption.

That would mean an overall decrease of just 7 percent in the intake of sugar from beverages.

Data on the current level of juice consumption by SNAP users is not yet available.

In fiscal year 2025, SNAP distributed $102.6 billion to nearly one in eight Americans, more than 42 million people. That’s about $2,400 per person per year.

Until this year, those funds could be used to purchase nearly all foods except for alcoholic beverages and hot prepared foods.

As of August, 23 states have implemented SNAP restriction waivers and prohibit recipients from purchasing junk food such as beverages and candy.

This is the first time in the program’s history that the Department of Agriculture has granted waivers allowing states to restrict SNAP benefits.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 23:00

Nvidia Rises After Solid Earnings, Reversing Margin Concerns As Company Guides To 70% 2028 Revenue Growth

Update (5:10pm): NVDA stock is very volatile, and after sliding 3% at first on solid earnings but weak margin guidance, the stock has since recovered and is up over 5% as the earnings call begins, on the following comments from Jensen Huang:

• *NVIDIA CFO SAYS SEEING DEMAND ACCELERATION EVEN AT OUR SCALE
• *NVIDIA CFO SAYS REVENUE TO GROW ABOUT 70% IN FISCAL 2028
• *NVIDIA CFO SAYS SEEING DEMAND ACCELERATION EVEN AT OUR SCALE

As Bloomberg notes, Amazon’s commitment to use a lot more Nvidia products and a strong prediction for growth in revenue of about 70%, well above whispers of about 40-50%, next year has shoved aside the naysayers. The 2028 guidance, which came unexpectedly and was intended precisely the spark a buying spree in the stock, did just that, and has pushed the shares about 5% after hours. 

* * * 

Earlier:

In our preview of NVDA earnings we said that "Nvidia will beat FQ2 (July) revenue estimates by approximately $3-4 billion, with revenue potentially reaching $94-95 bn. The stock, however, will not respond to the beat.... recall revenue guidance has beaten Street consensus by an average of 4% over the past four quarters, while the stock has traded down 3%/5% on average over the subsequent 7/30 days." It seems we were we right: despite blowout beats on the top and bottom line, the stock is sliding after hours, in what will be the 6th of the past 7 earnings reports the stock has tumbled despite beating bigly. 

Here is what NVDA just reported for Q2: 

• Adjusted EPS $2.22, beating est $2.09
   
• Revenue $96.22 billion, beating estimates of $92.38 billion
  • Data center revenue $89.02 billion, beating estimate $85.86 billion
  • Hyperscale Revenue $48.71 billion, beating estimate $43.55 billion
  • AI Clouds, Industrial, & Enterprise revenue $40.31 billion, missing estimate $41.96 billion
  • Edge Computing revenue $7.20 billion, beating estimate $6.61 billion
  • Compute & Networking revenue $88.30 billion, beating estimate $84.69 billion
     
• Adjusted gross margin 75%, in line with exp. 75%
• Adjusted operating expenses $8.23 billion, below estimate $8.32 billion
• R&D expenses $7.05 billion, above estimate $7 billion
• Adjusted operating income $63.96 billion, beating estimate $61.19 billion

While revenue numbers were impressive, don't forget the circular financing.  Almost half of the company's record $96BN in revenue, or $40.3 BN, came from hyperscaler customers who can't fund their own buildout without outside capital, and without Nvidia handing them cash to buy its own products. As we have extensively reported, Nvidia sells the chips and simultaneously guarantees the leases and invests in the builders so the orders keep coming, helping create a massive $3 trillion off-balance sheet funding hold. Two of the companies which are supposed to generate revenue in the AI ecosystem, OpenAI and Anthropic, both lost gobs of money last year. Both are heading to IPO to raise more cash to keep buying.

Looking ahead, the company shared the following Q3 Guidance

• Revenue $108 billion (+/- 2%), beating estimate of $104 billion; the company also said it does not assume any Data Center compute revenue from China in its outlook.
• Gross Margin 73.5-74.5%, missing estimates of 75%
• GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $9.2 billion and $9.0 billion, respectively.

While the guidance was solid, and well above the sellside, it may not have been solid enough with some buysiders throwing around numbers as high as $109 billion. 

Commenting on the quarter, CEO Jensen Huang said that “AI has reached its inflection point. It’s doing useful work. Its tokens are productive and profitable. Now, compute is revenue. And demand is accelerating. This time last year, one lab alone was driving the buildout; today, we have a golden age of new AI labs and startups, multiple frontier labs scaling in parallel, a thriving open-model ecosystem and physical AI coming online — with strong momentum across the U.S. and around the world. The AI infrastructure buildout is at full steam. Vera Rubin, now in full production, was built to power exactly this moment.”

Nvidia’s latest quarter was still about the Blackwell Ultra. The company said its 117% jump in Data Center revenue was driven by the ramp of Blackwell Ultra infrastructure. The extremely expensive Vera Rubin is next (recall "Nvidia's Vera Rubin Rack Will Cost $7.8MM: Here's What's In It"). Nvidia built inventory to prepare for Rubin’s introduction in the fiscal third quarter, while saying the new platform is now ramping into full production. That means the $108 billion revenue outlook Nvidia just gave investors is the first quarter where Rubin should begin contributing meaningfully to sales.

The other problem is that Vera Rubin needs massive amounts of memory at a time when memory prices, unlike a year ago, are absolutely stratospheric.

Which bring us to the next point: Nvidia forecast a margin between 73.5% and 74.5%, versus analyst estimates of about 75% and estimates as high as 76.5%. Needless to say, that won’t help worries about increasing component costs, especially after the company is raising prices on many of its customers.

To be sure, there is a growing focus on Nvidia’s gross margin, which is where competition is starting to manifest in the form of more aggressive pricing cuts.  Recall that Nvidia’s recently told customers its prices are going up because of costs; so the questions about whether it can maintain the 75% margin level it’s guided to will continue.

Another concern, and a reason why the stock is dumping: Nvidia’s future supply commitments have more than doubled in a single quarter,  jumping to $279 billion from $119 billion. The reason, as Bloomberg notes, is striking: Nvidia says the increase is primarily related to securing memory. These aren’t costs already incurred, but commitments to suppliers to lock in the components and capacity needed to meet AI demand over the next several years. Nvidia has $92 billion committed for the rest of this fiscal year, $87 billion for FY28 and $88 billion for FY29

And while most concerns focus on the income and cash flow statement, according to Vital Knowledge, this is going to be the most talked about part of the Nvidia report: "Accounts receivable was $63.1B with 60 days sales outstanding (DSO), up from 45 days sequentially, due to extended payment terms on large, multi-quarter agreements with certain investment-grade customers."

It appears that we may not even get to the off balance sheet bubble (discussed overnight): net working capital alone is starting to be a huge issue for the company and its clients.

China also remains a giant question mark for Nvidia. There have been signs that Beijing is allowing limited purchases of its chips by Chinese companies. That’s after the Asian nation had earlier retaliated against Washington’s restrictions with its own soft of imports of US technology. Nvidia’s Huang was able to get Washington to ease some restrictions on exports, in the form of limited licenses to some companies in China willing to take older Nvidia products. 

The net effect persists: Nvidia is largely locked out of the biggest market for semiconductors, a country that’s actively trying to foster competition for its products, and judging by recent performance from open-weight models, is succeeding. 

And lets not forget growing competition: OpenAI is just one of a growing group of customers and rivals who are touting their own chip efforts and claiming parity or performance leads over Nvidia’s offerings. Until there’s enough supply to fill every order, that remains a moot point. But there are growing concerns that Nvidia’s utter dominance is facing more serious challenges.  As reported earlier, OpenAI said its new Jalapeño processor outperformed Blackwell systems in two areas in its tests. So does specialized AI compute eventually chip away at Nvidia’s dominance, or does explosive growth in overall compute demand leave room for everyone? 

Putting it all together, despite another blowout quarter, the stock is once again down on results in what is becoming a habit...

... and it is only a matter of time before increasingly impatient investors start asking just what will it take for the stock to actually go up on earnings, for once.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 22:35

US Special Forces Conducting Operations Inside Ecuador

Authored by Kyle Anzalone via Antiwar.com,

An Ecuadorian official confirmed that US Green Berets were engaged in anti-cartel operations. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump formed a coalition, dubbed Shield of the Americas, that was aimed at combating cartels in Latin and South America.

A local official told AFP and UPI that US special forces have been conducting direct operations against suspected cartels in the Esmeraldas province. "We are with the 7th (Special Forces) Group of the US Army. We are working together in the fight against narcoterrorism," Esmeraldas Provincial governor Juan Jaramillo said last week.

Ecuadorian Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo added that two US warships were operating in the region.

In March, President Donald Trump said that a dozen Latin American nations had enlisted in the Shield of the Americas coalition to fight cartels in the region. Ecuador is a member of the bloc.

That month, the US and Ecuador conducted joint military operations against alleged drug targets. "The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism," U.S. Southern Command said following the raid.

However, The New York Times reported that the target of the operation was a dairy farm, not a drug lab. "The military strike appears to have destroyed a cattle and dairy farm, not a drug trafficking compound, according to interviews with the farm's owner, four of its workers, human rights lawyers, and residents and leaders in San Martín," the outlet explains.

The military activity in Ecuador is part of Operation Southern Spear. Trump ordered the Department of War last year to expand military operations in Latin America to curb narcotics trafficking to the US.

The US has conducted dozens of airstrikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. The operations have killed over 200 people and over 60 vessels.

The White House has asserted that the targeted boats are operated by narco-terrorists attempting to smuggle fentanyl into the US. However, the administration has not offered the American people any evidence to support the claim.

Additionally, some evidence suggests that at least some of the vessels that have been attacked were not involved in narcotics trafficking. The family members of several victims have said their slain relatives were fishermen.

Last month, The Washington Post reported reviewing a DEA assessment that found the strikes on vessels operated by alleged narco-terrorists have not changed the amount or price of cocaine entering the US. US military officials also admitted to Congress that the operations have had no impact on purity.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 22:35

University Of Maryland Warns Trump's Four-Year Visa Cap Could Crush Graduate Enrollment By 30%

The Trump administration is overhauling rules governing the length of stay for international students and exchange visitors, replacing a decades-old system with a fixed period of up to four years.

Beginning Sept. 15, most people entering on F-1 and J-1 visas will no longer be admitted for "duration of status," which generally allows them to remain in the country as long as they maintain their academic or exchange programs.

Instead, students and scholars will receive predetermined admission periods based on the length of their programs, capped at four years. Any extension needed to complete a degree, including for many doctoral candidates, will require an application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The new four-year visa cap could be damning for some colleges and universities that rely heavily on international students.

A new report from local outlet The Baltimore Banner warns that the University of Maryland "could face a decline of as much as 30% of its newly admitted graduate students this fall, thanks to a new visa restriction proposed by the Trump administration this summer."

University officials disclosed a new estimate in court filings supporting a federal lawsuit seeking to block the four-year visa cap. The University of Maryland and University of Baltimore face similar contractions in international enrollment. 

According to the report, international students contributed an estimated $240.4 million to the University of Maryland and the surrounding economy during the 2024-25 academic year. At the University of Maryland, Baltimore, that figure was around $14 million.

Whether the four-year visa cap proves to be the final pin that finally punctures America's higher-education bubble remains to be seen. But certaintly may cause hardships for universities that heavily rely on foreign enrollment. 

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 22:10

Hormuz And The Law Of Diminishing Returns: When Leverage Burns

Authored by Tamuz Itai via The Epoch Times,

For months, the assumption that the Strait of Hormuz was Tehran's ultimate card dominated commentary on the war.

Vessels are seen in the Strait of Hormuz, off the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Aug. 10, 2026. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

As a narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and a substantial share of liquefied natural gas had historically passed, it appeared to be a chokepoint Iran could close or severely disrupt at will. It did not need to destroy every tanker. Hitting a small percentage with drones, cruise missiles, speedboats, or mines would spike insurance rates, deter crews and companies, and effectively shut the strait without continuous physical control.

This idea was not new for 2026. It had long been a feature of the Iranian strategic posture, treated as both a military instrument and a political myth-proof that even under pressure Tehran retained a decisive lever over the global energy system. Parts of the Western media and independent analysts amplified the same narrative.

Relying on incomplete open-source shipping data, especially once vessels began sailing dark, many concluded that the United States had been caught unprepared and lacked a realistic path to reopen the waterway. Hormuz, they argued, was effectively closed or closable at Iran's discretion. That framing was powerful, but also incomplete.

How the Threat Has Been Eroded

The assumption that Iran's detection and targeting system could not be dismantled without dramatic escalation proved wrong. Under the U.S. Central Command, also known as CENTCOM, and with significant involvement from the Fifth Fleet and Air Force components, the United States ran a sustained effort to degrade the sensors Iran needed to find and hit ships.

Iran relied on mobile truck-mounted radars, drones, cruise missiles, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) speedboats, and naval mines. Inside the narrow strait, ships move in relatively predictable lanes. Iran combined active radars with passive electro-optical and infrared cameras on elevated terrain and islands such as Qeshm, Larak, and Abu Musa.

Mobile radars would radiate briefly to locate shipping, then shut down and move before anti-radiation missiles could arrive. Once a ship's approximate position was known, strike systems could be sent to search.

The vulnerability was that every radar emission could be detected. American aircraft responded systematically with anti-radiation missiles while visual and intelligence efforts located the passive sensors. This was the core of what some involved called "draining the swamp."

Iran had redundancy, but the number of sensors was finite. Hundreds of precision strikes gradually reduced Iran's ability to see traffic in the strait. As the detection layer thinned, the effectiveness of the strike systems declined with it.

Parallel efforts neutralized mines with unmanned vessels and declared the southern lane near Oman largely clear. Convoys moved under escort, often at night with the automated information system (AIS) off. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers with Aegis radars and standard missile (SM)-family interceptors formed the backbone; drones and Apache helicopters armed with laser-guided rockets provided additional cover. American ships also engaged IRGC speedboats that closed on the convoys.

On the commercial side, the United States addressed insurance barriers. In early March, President Donald Trump directed the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide political risk insurance and guarantees for maritime trade.

The DFC, working with the Treasury and CENTCOM, established a revolving reinsurance facility of roughly $20 billion-later expanded with private partners including Chubb-focused on hull, machinery, and cargo cover. Early uptake was limited. As Iranian success rates fell, more vessels joined.

Results have been significant. CENTCOM has reported assisting well over a thousand commercial vessels and moving hundreds of millions of barrels since the spring. Independent trackers often showed lower numbers because much of the traffic sailed dark. Pre-war throughput was 20 million to 21 million barrels per day.

Flows through Hormuz remain below that, but combined with the Abu Dhabi-Fujairah pipeline and Saudi Arabia's pipeline to Yanbu in the Red Sea, volumes recovered enough to keep oil prices in the $85 to $95 range-elevated, but far from the predicted catastrophe.

Not Seeing the True Picture

Public data lagged for both technical and psychological reasons. Ships that went dark during transit normally turned their AIS trackers back on afterward, so theoretically they could have been tracked and counted, yet matching was imperfect amid overlapping night movements, incomplete satellite reception, intermittent signals, and ship-to-ship transfers.

Commercial trackers attempt corrections using imagery and other data, but confidence thresholds still produce undercounts relative to what escorting forces could see.

There was also a narrative reason. The story of Iranian success and American failure fit expectations many already held. Contradictory evidence produced cognitive dissonance. The common response was to protect the original frame-by applying greater skepticism to inconvenient details and treating quieter progress as temporary.

In a contested information environment, narratives that confirm prior expectations often outlast those that require revision.

The General Principle

Hormuz illustrates a broader pattern. Leverage is often strongest while latent. The threat shapes behavior; the target hedges or hopes the card is never played. Once used at scale, incentives change. Real costs appear, and the value of neutralizing the threat rises sharply.

Adaptation follows: sensors are hunted, escorts are organized, alternative routes are accelerated, commercial workarounds are found. Over time, the original leverage delivers diminishing returns. The coercer frequently ends up weaker than before.

The pattern is not unique. In 1973, Arab oil producers cut exports and raised prices. The short-term shock was severe; the longer-term response included efficiency gains, strategic reserves, non-OPEC production, and the shale revolution.

Russia's gas cut-offs against Europe from 2021 to 2022 produced a similar arc: LNG expansion, storage, demand reduction, and alternative suppliers collapsed Moscow's share of the European market, forcing it to sell more of its supply with heavy discounts to China and others.

China's 2010 rare-earth restrictions against Japan spurred alternative mining, recycling, and substitution. In recent years, the United States has also accelerated the shift with CHIPS Act funding, Department of Defense equity stakes and loans, price-floor and offtake arrangements, and Project Vault, which includes equity stakes in key producers and a strategic minerals reserve, while expanding cooperation with partners such as Australia.

Remaining Levers and Their Limits

If the Hormuz card is already delivering diminishing returns, what options remain for Iran?

The most consequential underused lever is a more systematic campaign against Gulf energy production itself-fields, processing plants, refineries, and downstream industries. Iran has already struck these targets at a meaningful scale. What has not been fully attempted is a sustained multi-country effort at lasting destruction of capacity.

Other potential levers include intensified proxies, cyber operations, pressure on Bab el-Mandeb, residual nuclear signaling, and heavier strikes on U.S. bases or critical infrastructure. Each retains some potential.

Yet the same logic applies. Further large-scale use would accelerate the responses that reduce effectiveness. At the same time, the regime faces continuous economic pressure from the U.S. naval blockade, oil-export enforcement, and broader "Operation Economic Outcast" sanctions. Escalation under that siege significantly raises costs and shortens the runway.

Another option might be a distraction elsewhere, perhaps initiated by another country in the emerging axis of Chinese Communist Party-dependent countries, such as Russia, North Korea, or China itself.

The battle for the strait is not the entire war. It has, however, illustrated a recurring feature of strategy: geographic and resource levers look most formidable while they remain latent. Once put into continuous action, they often set in motion the forces that ultimately reduce their power.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 21:45

Pennsylvania Reports Two Deaths From Measles As US Cases Hit Highest Level Since 1991

Two people have died in connection with measles in Pennsylvania, state health officials announced on August 25.

A health worker prepares a measles vaccine at a government health center amid a vaccination campaign, in Nejapa, El Salvador, on April 10, 2026. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said the deaths were "related to measles." Both individuals lived in Lancaster County and had not received a measles vaccine. Officials declined to release further details, citing the need to protect the privacy of the deceased and their families.

Nationally, measles cases in 2026 have already surpassed the total recorded in 2025 and stand at the highest level since 1991. Pennsylvania has confirmed 393 cases so far this year. These are the first measles-related deaths reported in the United States in 2026, and Pennsylvania's first in 35 years, The Epoch Times reports.

In 2025, three people died from measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others have said medical records showed those patients died from unrelated conditions or from health problems that were worsened by measles. Texas health officials attributed both children's deaths to measles and said neither had underlying conditions.

Kennedy and health officials have encouraged people to receive the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. At the same time, Kennedy has stressed that vaccination should not be mandatory and that doctors should be prepared to treat measles cases.

Asked about the current measles situation earlier this month, Kennedy told reporters: "We've done better than any country in the world in controlling it." He also said that the outbreak has been almost entirely confined to religious communities that decline vaccination.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 21:20

Waste Of The Day: Deficit Could Surpass $2 Trillion

Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

The federal deficit will be $2.1 trillion when fiscal year 2026 ends on Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office projected in its monthly budget review.

The deficit - the gap between what the government spends and what it collects from taxes and other revenue - has never surpassed $1.8 trillion, except during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Key facts: Federal revenues are up 3% in 2026 compared to last year. Even though corporate income tax revenue has declined, income and payroll tax collections increased.

But federal spending is up 5%, according to the CBO. Interest on the national debt increased 14% compared to last year. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and defense are also facing increased costs.

The CBO originally projected this year's deficit would be $1.9 trillion. The estimate was changed "mostly because of smaller-than-expected collections of tariff duties" after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in February.

Though Trump later imposed new tariffs, the CBO still expects federal revenue to be $250 billion less than originally anticipated. About $100 billion has been refunded to companies so far, under an order from the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Critical quote: "We've borrowed an astounding $1.8 trillion this fiscal year, with $431 billion in the month of July alone, and equating to nearly $6 billion per day," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. "We're on track to surpass $2 trillion in borrowing this fiscal year despite not being in a recession. That is not normal."

Background: The University of Pennsylvania recently estimated that under current policy, it will likely be mathematically impossible for the U.S. to pay off its debt by the year 2048.

That was before Trump asked Congress to increase discretionary spending by 19% next year, which would be the second-largest spending increase in at least 60 years.

Summary: America's affordability crisis is the most prominent political issue in the country, yet neither party has committed to reducing government deficits. Until then, the crisis is likely to only worsen.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at Open the Books. Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world's largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 20:55

US Officials Reveal Reason For CIA Chief's Surprise Moscow Visit

Update(2030ET): The Wall Street Journal has late in the day Wednesday revealed the reason for CIA John Ratcliffe's surprise visit to Moscow yesterday where he met with top Kremlin intelligence leaders, citing officials. It was to warn against attacking NATO countries, says the Journal:

The surprise visit by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency to Moscow this week was to deliver a warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries, according to people briefed on the visit.

The trip was spy-agency chief John Ratcliffe’s first publicly known visit to the Russian capital. It followed new U.S. intelligence assessments, reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, that Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to test the resolve of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a limited assault on an allied country in the next few years.

U.S. officials are concerned that Putin, squeezed in Ukraine and under pressure at home, could launch an assault ranging from a cyberattack to a small-scale land incursion, likely on a Baltic nation, the Journal reported. 

Some pundits have suggested a weaker Baltic nation like Estonia, which has long issued provocative anti-Moscow statements of its own, could come under some kind of limited attack.

The report further suggests Putin could be ready to seize on NATO's munitions supply weakness - given the drain amid the Iran war and after over four years of constantly supplying Ukraine.

"A shortfall in critical Western munitions, driven by expenditures in the Iran war, also could factor into Putin’s thinking," the report continues. "The U.S. has degraded its stockpile of certain weapons because of transfers to Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion, as well as the Iran conflict."

CIA chief urgently flew to Moscow in the middle of America’s losing war against Russia’s ally Iran, and the reason had nothing to do with a desperate attempt to turn Russia against Iran, but rather “Putin could try…limited assault on an allied country in the next few years”? 🤔 https://t.co/WmNYnGstfo

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 26, 2026

But it also remains that for years Western officials have issued hyped statements claiming Russia wants to somehow invade or take over parts of Europe beyond Ukrainian territory, but there's as yet been no such action, nor any evidence of such intent.

I am sorry, but the Director of the CIA doesn't fly to Moscow unexpectedly to deliver a message telling Russia "Don't do what we think you were going to do".

Putin and Trump have a direct line. If Trump wanted to warn Putin not to do something, he would of just called him.… https://t.co/0Ian6CDLdJ

— Joshua Reid | Redpills.tv (@realjoshuareid) August 26, 2026

*  *  *

Update(1505ET): In the wake of yesterday's unusual visit by the Director of the CIA to Moscow for mystery 2-hour talks, Bloomberg says that President Putin is preparing for a major escalate against Ukraine:

Russia is preparing to escalate attacks on Ukraine after concluding that negotiations for a peace deal have reached a dead end, according to three people close to the Kremlin.

For now, Russia is weighing an intensification of powerful conventional ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, including the center of the capital, and infrastructure targets in other Ukrainian cities, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is sensitive.

While the original Bloomberg TV reporting appears just speculation based on what already seemed the current trend on the ground, oil had climbed back on the news:

*  *  *

An IRGC spokesman has announced Wednesday that Iran and Oman have reached agreements on their share of the Strait of Hormuz and its revenues, according toTasnim news agency. So essentially the "fee" scheme has been set. There's talk of reopening the strait on an "interim" basis, Bloomberg says.

"We entered into negotiations with Oman about a month ago and have reached results that have been accepted by both sides," the official said. "Agreements have been reached on the share of each country in the waters of the strait and the share of Iran and Oman in its revenues," the statement continued, while also alleging that negotiations were previously delayed only due to the US obstructing negotiations.

via Reuters

Tehran is still insisting on the United States lifting its naval blockade of the country's ports. However, it seems that for now at least Tehran is open to some level of negotiations, or at least seems content to see where this current period of rare calm leads.

This is evident in the latest words of Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who argued Wednesday that any negotiations with the US don't equate to retreat from Iran's demands.

"Negotiation, in my view, has neither intrinsic value nor is it a taboo; it is neither absolutely good nor absolutely evil," he wrote in a letter responding to more hardline critics, IRNA reports.

He insisted this does not mean abandoning resistance to US-Israeli aggression. "If necessary, dialogue, too, according to this logic, is the same arena of struggle and resistance; neither a replacement for it nor a sign of retreat from it," he said.

Ghaliban further suggested this is being done by the Islamic Republic from position of strength while holding on to the nation's "dignity, wisdom and interests."

Meanwhile, it seems Washington is also in no mood to rush back into military action, following the Monday announcement by Scott Bessent of the Economic D-Day action against Iran, which is to including secondary sanctions on any country found not complying.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told several foreign officials in recent days that "for the time being" the US is not planning to initiate any new strikes against Iran, but instead the focus is on other means of pressure, especially the sanctions initiative, Axios reports. According to more:

• The U.S. official said that while Rubio made clear that the U.S. isn't planning a return to major combat operations, he didn't rule out strikes if Iran attacks first.
• Another U.S. official said the clearing of mines from the Strait of Hormuz by the U.S. Navy is a watershed moment in the war, largely neutralizing one of Iran's main sources of leverage.

Also on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi confirmed their further work on the “interim framework” aimed at resuming shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a joint statement.

State television has indicated Iran and Oman agreed that the new transit corridor would enter through Iranian territorial waters, with part of the exit route also passing through them. The corridor will span roughly seven miles.

On this and other headlines, oil prices continue to fall...

• Oil extends declines as Iran, Oman continue finalizing talks to reopen Hormuz
• Satellite image shows surge in Iraq’s Persian Gulf oil loadings

A busy day in the Gulf of Oman, where there are at least fifteen sets of STS transfer sessions taking place. We count 25 million barrels of crude oil; plus some refined products. The oil originates from almost every country in the region, minus Iran.#OOTT #IranWar #Tankers pic.twitter.com/TAba26mJiW

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) August 25, 2026

The day prior, on Tuesday, President Trump hinted that military options are still on the table. While announcing the new claim that all mines had been detonated or removed from international waters of the Strait of Hormuz, he said the US Space Force was watching "every square inch" of the Strait, and that "There is ⁠a Zero Tolerance policy ‌on mine ‌placement in full force and ​effect." But Iran is still asserting that the strait remains "closed".

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 20:32

How Many $2,500 Foldable iPhones Will Apple Ship In Year One? IDC Has The Answer

Apple is set to unveil its first foldable iPhone at the company's September 9 product event at 1300 ET.

Ahead of what could be Apple's biggest handset launch in many years, technology market research firm International Data Corporation, better known as IDC, issued a new forecast estimating just how many foldable iPhones Apple could ship during the device's first year.

Bloomberg first reported IDC's estimate that the $2,500 foldable iPhone could generate more than 10 million shipments during its first year.

JUST IN: Apple sets September 9 for its next major launch event, where it is expected to unveil the first foldable iPhone.

— Polymarket (@Polymarket) August 26, 2026

Apple's entry into foldable smartphones, a segment of the handset industry first pioneered commercially by Chinese manufacturer Royole with the FlexPai nearly a decade ago, is forecast to help the foldable-phone market grow 12.6% this year, followed by an 18% increase next year. The iPhone maker could capture about 40% of global foldable shipments by 2027, IDC said.

Samsung Electronics launched the first mainstream foldable smartphone seven years ago. The complexity of these handsets commands premium pricing, making the category an attractive revenue stream.

Apple's foldable iPhone launch comes as IDC expects global smartphone shipments to decline by a record 16.7% this year. The industry is battling surging costs tied to a shortage of memory chips.

"The components that make AI possible are the same ones in short supply, and their cost is being passed straight through to the shelf," IDC's Francisco Jeronimo said.

Alleged Foldable iPhone Motherboard Photos Surface Online https://t.co/C9n3M48X4C pic.twitter.com/yd6E2jKKTc

— MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) August 26, 2026

Jeronimo added, "The era of the cheap smartphone has ended."

Polymarket: 

//--> //--> Will Apple release a foldable iPhone before 2027?
Yes 93% · No 8%
View full market & trade on Polymarket.

However, consumers have not necessarily shunned expensive handsets, in part because carrier financing now commonly spreads payments over 24 to 36 months.

A $2,500 foldable iPhone would cost about $104 per month over 24 months or $69 per month over 36 months, before trade-in credits.

Whether the expensive foldable iPhone becomes a smashing success will largely depend onconsumers'’ willingness to upgrade. Recent GSMA research found that consumers are keeping their smartphones for an average of three years.

For iPhones, research firm Counterpoint found that Pro model owners replace their devices after an average of 2.75 years, while buyers of standard models wait about a little more than 3 years. 

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 20:30

Japan Holds Off On New Oil Reserve Release Despite September Import Drop

Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com,

Japan expects its oil imports next month to be lower than this month's but has no plans to release additional crude from storage, the country's economy minister said.

Oil imports next month are seen at 80% of the average monthly for 2025, Ryosei Akazawa said, as quoted by Reuters. The report noted that the August import rate had been 100% of the 2025 monthly total.

The change is prompted by the redirection of tanker traffic from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the Suez Canal, as Yemeni Houthis threaten attacks on vessels in the Red Sea chokepoint. A tanker takes 23 days to reach Japan via the Bab el-Mandeb strait but more than twice that, at 55 days, via the Suez Canal, Akazawa told media.

"Of the national reserves for which a release has already been decided, there remains a portion that has not been utilised due to progress in securing alternative supplies. Using that portion would ensure (September) crude oil supply equivalent to an average month last year," the top official also said.

Japan in March announced a release of 80 million barrels of crude and fuels in response to the supply squeeze in the Middle East resulting from the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February that launched the latest war in the region. The amount was equal to 50 days of demand in one of the world's biggest energy importers.

Japan relied on Middle Eastern producers for as much as 95% of its oil imports, which made it especially vulnerable to conflict in the Persian Gulf. Since then, Japan has made an effort to diversify its sources of crude, buying from Canada, Azerbaijan, and African producer countries. This has come at a price, however, with the country's import bill running at record highs because of energy commodities. The import bill for July hit an all-time high of $89.46 billion.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 20:05

Iran Says Persian-Language Media Outlets 'Funded By CIA' Are Military Targets

One key tool Washington has long utilized for influence operations and covert regime change plotting abroad has long been the establishment of foreign media for political messaging.

The idea is that a foreign language satellite news channel gets presented as 'independent' while in reality it beams propaganda onto a unsuspecting population within a so-called 'rogue' state being targeted by the US.

For example, WikiLeaks previously revealed that US intelligence invested heavily in such projects to bolster anti-Assad forces and sentiment in the context of last decade's proxy war in Syria.

Currently, Iran says it is fully aware of several Persian-language media outlets which are subversive, given they have the backing of the US, UK, or Israeli governments, or others like Saudi Arabia.

Iran International TV claims to be a privately funded channel based in west London and was established in May 2017.

The AFP in a Wednesday report has said Iranian state media has newly called out the following as hostile propaganda media fronts:

• BBC Persian
• Iran International
• Radio Farda

An Iranian military spokesman has said these have been added to the armed forces' "military target bank" - putting the outlets on notice that their offices and infrastructure could come under attack.

"These hostile media outlets are the soldiers of Zionism and America and are included in our military target bank," military spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi announced.

He charged that they are "directly connected to Mossad, CIA and enemy intelligence organizations." He emphasized: "The Iranian Armed Forces do not view these news outlets as media."

And interestingly, per AFP: "Iran has designated Iran International as a terrorist organization since 2022 and has warned that cooperation with the channel is punishable under Iranian law."

Earlier in the Iran war, we featured analysis which pointed out that Iran International calls itself the "most popular Persian speaking foreign based news channel in Iran".It employs 700 people and broadcasts into Iran from London via satellite, radio and social media outlets.

Iran International has been accused by critics of promoting “regime change” in Iran and advancing the position of the former shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, for a return to power. The outlet has long denied links to Israel or Saudi Arabia. The outlet reported heavily on protests that struck Iran at the beginning of this year, sparked by a cost-of-living crisis brought on, in part, by US sanctions.

In January 2025, the news site reported that more than 36,500 people were killed in a crackdown on protests. Those numbers were significantly higher than those estimated by the US and other western-based human rights groups.

US President Donald Trump cited casualty numbers similar to those reported by Iran International days before launching a war on Iran on February 28, but did not disclose where he had gotten the death toll number.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 19:40

India's Crude Import Bill Surges As Hormuz Shipping Rates Soar

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

India's crude oil import bill has soared since the Iran war choked Middle Eastern oil supply, raised benchmark crude prices, quadrupled freight rates, and boosted insurance on a single Strait of Hormuz voyage to never-before-seen highs.

India has been paying elevated prices to import Middle Eastern crude not only because of the spike in oil prices, but also due to the surging costs to bring supply from the nearest region from which it can import crude.

The freight rates on the key route from Ras Tanura on Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf to India have soared by more than 400% since February 28, when the war began, and Iran closed off the Strait of Hormuz. The rate for shipping crude on a very large crude carrier (VLCC) from Ras Tanura to India surged by 411% to $4.34 a barrel in August, from just $0.85 per barrel before the war, according to data compiled by Indian outlet Financial Express.

The cost of shipping non-Middle Eastern cargoes has also soared amid a spike in demand for barrels not needing the Strait of Hormuz to reach India. The Corpus Christi-India freight rates have jumped by 150% to $15.86 a barrel from $6.35 a barrel pre-war, while the cost to transport crude oil from Russia's Ust-Luga port on the Baltic Sea on Suezmax tankers has more than doubled to $19.90 a barrel from $8.40 per barrel in February.

War-risk insurance has also jumped from a quarter of a million U.S. dollars for a Hormuz voyage before the war, to up to $10 million for a single passage through the chokepoint now.

The soaring shipping and war-risk insurance costs add to already high prices of India's imports as Brent Crude prices have risen by about 25% since the Iran war began, with spikes into the $100s on several occasions.

India paid 60% more for crude oil imports in the April-June quarter compared to the same period last year, as the surge in oil prices couldn't offset slightly lower import volumes.

The rise continued into the beginning of the third quarter, with the July import bill 41% higher from a year earlier.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 19:15

Activist Obama Judge Bends The Knee, Lifts Block On Trump's Mail-In Ballot Restrictions After USSC Ruling

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Wednesday lifted her own order blocking the postal service from implementing election integrity measures for mail-in ballots. 

US District Judge Indira Talwani issued the block after the League of Women Voters challenged proposed USPS rules that said states had to provide a list of voters who are eligible to receive mail-in ballots, and had to get their ballot designs pre-approved. Talwani's decision comes after the Supreme Court overturned a similar block by the same judge in a separate case brought by multiple states.  

According to the judge, although the plaintiffs have "substantial arguments that might persuade the Supreme Court to reach a different result," the USSC's decision on Monday "compelled" her to agree to the government's motion to reconsider the block. 

Ruling on Talwani's other case, the Supreme Court said she erred by blocking the USPS rules before they had been finalized, and before the states had sufficiently shown that they would be harmed by it. Days before the USSC issued that decision, however, the USPS issued finalized rules on Aug. 21, which led Talwani to declare that USPS had violated her order in the League of Women Voters case. 

An election worker moves mail-in ballots to be organized for tabulation at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center during California's state primary election in the City of Industry, Calif., on June 2, 2026. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

As the Epoch Times notes further, USPS officials said finalizing the rules didn’t violate Talwani’s order, because the agency promised not to implement it for the 2026 election unless the court orders were lifted.

“These arguments ignore the court’s explicit directive not to ‘initiat[e] or complet[e]’ rulemaking,” Talwani countered. “And Defendants cannot contend that they misunderstood the scope of the court’s order.”

The League of Women Voters asked Talwani to enforce her own order by declaring the new USPS policy “has no force or effect with respect to any federal election on or before November 3, 2026.”

Talwani declined to make such a declaration or to penalize the government. She noted in her ruling that USPS’s decision to finalize the new policy, despite her order, may end up helping the plaintiffs in the case.

Since the rules are finalized, she said, the plaintiffs can amend their lawsuit and file again. And this time, the government cannot argue that the new rule is only “hypothetical.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 18:50

Another Major Russian Refinery Up In Flames As Diesel Nears Historic Highs

On Wednesday Ukrainian forces struck a Wildberries facility deep inside of Russian territory for the second time this summer.

The warehouse in the central Tambov region city of Kotovsk was first targeted in July, but this time the large complex has been "completely" destroyed in the resulting fire, Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov confirmed.

Wildberries plant burns. @exilenova_plus/Telegram

The city's mayor, Alexey Plakhotnikov, wrote on social media that "A massive fire at the Wildberries warehouse complex, smoke and smog are quickly spreading throughout the city."

He urged residents to shelter in place as a massive black cloud of smoke has reached high into sky, and enveloped the city and its environs.

"To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning and combustion products, I strongly urge you to refrain from active movement around the city for the next two days. Keep your windows and balconies closed," he instructed.

Regional media recounts of the same site, "The Ukrainian Armed Forces previously attacked the Wildberries logistics center in Kotovsk. On July 18, seven employees were killed and 23 more were hospitalized."

At this point over a dozen key Wildberries logistics hubs have been hit. The online retailer is considered to be the Amazon of Russia, but Ukraine has argued it is assisting the Russian military with supplies and so is fair game for targeting. The latest overnight drone onslaught across Russia killed three people overnight.

Ukraine also struck Russia's NORSI oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region in the overnight attack. It is a Lukoil refinery that is one of the most important in Russia, and Ukraine's military says it is now up in flames.

President Zelensky is vowing to keep up these punishing long-range drones strikes, but also as residents of the Ukrainian capital brace for potential Russian ballistic missiles.

Regional unconfirmed reports say the Norsi complex has suffered a forced shut down as diesel prices soar near all time highs. DropSite News reviews of the significance:

• Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces struck Lukoil’s Kstovo (NORSI) refinery in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region about 250 miles east of Moscow.
• It is Russia’s 4th-largest oil refinery and 2nd-largest gasoline producer, and can process roughly 125 million barrels annually, or about 320,000–340,000 barrels per day. The strike sparked a fire and forced the refinery to suspend crude oil processing, according to Reuters.
• U.S. retail diesel prices meanwhile have surged near historic highs, reaching a national average of $5.62 to $5.65 per gallon. 
• Prices jumped by 20 cents per gallon this week alone, driven by a global supply crunch linked to the Middle East conflict and refinery disruptions there and in Russia. 
• Current diesel prices are nearly $2.00 per gallon higher than they were at this time last year. 

While there's still yet to be official Kremlin confirmation of the Norsi refinery attack and destruction, videos like the below have been spreading quickly online:

🔥 15 to 17 million metric tons.

That's the annual crude throughput at Lukoil's NORSI refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, which is now burning after local Telegram channels and residents reported an air raid alert, drones overhead, and then a drone strike overnight.… pic.twitter.com/t5kwRxEbGA

— Jack Prandelli (@jackprandelli) August 26, 2026

"The war must return to where it came from. Ukraine responds to Russian strikes, and we do so in a way that ensures the cost of the war for the aggressor inevitably rises." Zelensky wrote in a post on X.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 18:00

Israel Developing Offensive Space Capabilities

Authored by Ioannis Vlahos via Antiwar.com,

Israel is currently prepared to begin development of offensive space capabilities, including systems designed to defend Israeli satellites from hostile spacecraft, and weapons (including lasers) capable of striking targets from space.

It is part of the Defense Ministry's multiyear budget plan for the space sector, which will include upgrading and expanding IDF (Israel Defense Forces) intelligence and communications capabilities. The plan will also dedicate a budget to support offensive space operations, which will focus on weapons designed to protect Israeli satellites as well as weapons designed to strike targets on Earth.

Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke earlier this summer about Israel's commitment to becoming the world leader in space-attack capabilities, a realm of warfare that has experienced a surge in Israeli military interest given its extensive use for intelligence gathering in Iran.

"One of the central goals that the prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and I set is that we are recruiting the best minds," he said. "As of today, no country has the ability to mount attacks in space. We must be the leading country in the world with this capability."

"If we achieve this, it will ensure the advantage of deterrence, of the ability to attack, destroy, and all of the other matters versus our enemies with large resources."

Global space warfare development has been on the rise in recent years, and some speculate that Israel's recent activity is an effort to catch up with China and Russia, who have been testing their own offensive space capabilities. US President Donald Trump has also expressed his desire for America to do the same, by signing Executive Order 14369, "Ensuring American Space Superiority."

However, experts warn that Israel and others' offensive space weapon programs have increased proliferation concerns. Satellite miniaturization, falling launch costs, and the commercialization of the space industry have also allowed more countries to create their own space programs, and not all of them are peaceful. Furthermore, space weaponry not only threatens satellites and other non-military technologies operating in space, but the growing prevalence of and reliance on the latter will make cyberattacks all the more dangerous.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 17:40

Chinese Hackers Broke Into NASA, Federal Reserve, DOJ & Senate: FBI Announces

The United States Department of Justice has on Wednesday announced US authorities thwarted a major state-sponsored hack which saw a temporary intrusion into NASA, the Federal Reserve, Senate, the DOJ, Department of Energy, and the Department of Health and Human services, along with four unnamed companies in the US and South Korea.

"Today we announced the disruption of a global botnet and hacking platform used by Chinese state-sponsored hackers to target U.S. critical infrastructure," said FBI Director Kash Patel.

"These tools were used by PRC cyber actors to hide the origin of their attacks. Thanks to the work of FBI San Diego, FBI Cyber Division, and DOJ partners, we seized adversary infrastructure and shut these platforms down," he added.

via Reuters

Domains utilized by two hacking platforms identified as "QScan" and "QTRouter" were seized by the DOJ in the large scale counter-cyberespionage operation.

Describing a pervasive botnet which was ultimately believed to be backed by Chinese state actors, The Wall Street Journal details that the "goal was to blend in with legitimate networking traffic, making the hacking activity hard to trace, federal officials say."

"The group exploited software vulnerabilities to launch cyberattacks against U.S. government agencies, power companies and hospital systems, and operated a worldwide network of hacked devices—known as a botnet—to conduct its hacking campaigns, according to Brett Leatherman, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s top cyber official," WSJ continues.

As for the specific allegation that this had state backing, the DOJ press release states:

People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-sponsored group known as “QTFY,” employed by China-based Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, created and operated QScan and QTRouter.

The DOJ announcement additionally outlines efforts at concealment and 'plausible deniability' in the following:

QTRouter consists of these compromised IoT devices, as well as commercial proxy service devices and leased virtual private servers. QTRouter then serves as an “obfuscation network” – meaning it allows QTFY and other malicious cyber actors to conceal the PRC-origin of their computer intrusion activities because the malicious communications appear to originate from computers (such as those compromised by QScan) that are outside of the PRC and may even be local to the targeted networks. Because the seized domains were hard-coded into both the QScan and QTRouter malware and used for essential tasks such as communication and authentication, the court-authorized seizures made QScan and QTRouter inoperable. 

Neither Beijing's foreign ministry nor the Chinese embassy in Washington have officially responded to the allegations, and as has been the pattern in the past is likely to reject the US charge altogether.

Earlier this year Google was among those warning of imminent stepped-up Chinese and Russian targeting of US defense companies. 

Google's prior report seemed to preview some of the techniques on display in this latest hack. The report cited observations of "more China-nexus cyber espionage missions directly targeting defense and aerospace industry than from any other state-sponsored actors over the last two years."

//--> //--> //--> US imposes new sanctions on China by September 30?
Yes 21% · No 80%
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"But the hallmark of many operations has been their exploitation of edge devices to gain initial access," it said, referring to hardware components positioned at the edge of a network. "We have also observed China-nexus threat groups leverage ORB networks for reconnaissance against defense industrial targets, which complicates detection and attribution."

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 17:20

You Know Things Are Bad When This Has To Be Referred To The DOJ...

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is escalating the fight against what he calls discriminatory religious facilities at two of the state's busiest airports.

After DFW Airport scrapped plans for more Islamic ablution stations under pressure, Abbott has referred both Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport to the U.S. Department of Justice, demanding investigation and corrective action over existing foot-washing stations and an adjoining prayer room.

"These ablution stations single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion," Abbott said. "They are not interfaith chapels open to all. They exist to benefit the Muslim population alone. Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others."

? JUST IN: TX Gov. Greg Abbott has referred Islamic foot washing stations at Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston Airports to the DOJ for INVESTIGATION and ENFORCEMENT

Abbott calls the wudu stations "DISCRIMINATORY"

"These ablution stations single out one subset of the population for... pic.twitter.com/YQAAtmEuWY

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 21, 2026

In his letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, Abbott noted that DFW has two such stations already operating and that IAH installed one facility plus an interconnecting prayer room stocked with copies of the Quran, prayer rugs, prayer beads, and a turbah.

He previously referred the airports to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, directed a review of state grants for possible revocation, and warned that if the facilities sit on city-owned property, Texas will pursue litigation for religious discrimination at taxpayer-funded sites.

"Airports can no more offer Muslim-only bathroom spaces than they can maintain white-only bathrooms," Abbott wrote. DFW abandoned plans for additional stations in Terminal D after the initial threat. Airport officials said they accelerated review due to public attention and determined the anticipated benefits might not materialize.

?Here Are The Ritual Muslim Foot Washing Stations Inside the Dallas Ft. Worth Airport...

Yes, they are real, this is not fake news.

I'm at DFW right now and went to the interfaith chapel near Gate D40. Two massive showers greet you when you enter the small chapel. But they're... pic.twitter.com/xkpXNaauOl

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 20, 2026

Houston Mayor John Whitmire defended the IAH facilities, saying they are open to all travelers regardless of faith and were funded by fees from international airlines rather than direct taxpayer grants.

Critics of Abbott's move, including the Texas chapter of CAIR, called it an anti-Muslim political stunt. Abbott and Texas leaders frame the issue differently: government-owned airports receiving public and federal funds cannot create spaces designed around one faith's ritual requirements while ignoring others.

This latest action fits a clear pattern of pushback against what many Texans see as the steady advance of parallel Islamic institutions and preferential accommodations across the state.

Residents in McKinney recently packed City Hall and voiced fierce opposition as the council approved a major expansion for the McKinney Islamic Association. The 5.5-acre site plan includes a large sanctuary, classroom building, and gym.

More than 150 speakers signed up for the marathon session that stretched past midnight. An Iranian Christian refugee told the council, "I'm a Sharia law survivor from Iran, and I'm here to tell you, this is a dangerous ideology you're allowing in the country."

U.S. Rep. Keith Self warned of risks including child marriage and honor killings under political Islam, stating the freedom to choose one's faith "does not exist in political Islam." The council still voted 7-0 to approve after staff confirmed the plan met zoning rules.

Public schools have also drawn outrage. Students from Humble ISD's Kingwood High School and Atascocita High School were bused to Centro Islamico, operated by IslamInSpanish in the Houston area, so they could "experience Islam."

The visit included a tour, halal lunch, observation of prayer, and presentations. Parents and online commentators noted the absence of similar taxpayer-funded trips to churches or other houses of worship, calling the episode one-sided indoctrination.

Congressman Keith Self has repeatedly highlighted existing Muslim-only enclaves operating as parallel societies. He pointed to the East Plano Islamic Center, which has functioned for years adjacent to police facilities, and a similar pattern in Irving.

"Sharia is alive, well, and operating in Plano, Texas," Self said. "This is not a hypothetical or future threat. It is here, now and operational."

NEW: 'Muslim City' in Texas gets legal win after a judge ordered that the state must comply with developers.

The East Plano Islamic Community (EPIC), which has now been rebranded to The Meadow, will feature 1,000 homes, a mosque, schools, and more.

Texas leaders are worried... pic.twitter.com/HoSvNeV307

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 30, 2026

He described these as de facto Sharia enclaves situated next to the law enforcement facilities meant to protect communities, calling the proximity a form of intimidation.

Texas authorities have also moved against unauthorized institutions. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, at Abbott's direction, issued a cease-and-desist order to Texas American Muslim University (TexAM) in the Dallas area.

The school was operating without required state approval, marketing degree programs that included mandatory Islamic studies courses, and using the term "university" illegally.

Abbott stated Texas will not allow illegal educational institutions to operate and that legal action would follow noncompliance.

Taxpayer-funded venues have faced similar scrutiny. Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark in Grand Prairie, built with public sales tax money, advertised a private Eid event initially promoted as "Muslim only," complete with modest dress codes, halal options, and a prayer room.

After backlash the language was softened, but the episode reinforced concerns that public facilities were being reserved for exclusive religious use.

Taken together, the airport ablution stations, school field trips, city council approvals, unauthorized schools, exclusive events, and residential developments form a consistent picture.

Abbott's referral of the airports to the DOJ is the latest concrete step to enforce the principle that government facilities and public money cannot favor one religion. Texas under Abbott continues to treat equal application of the law as non-negotiable, rejecting special privileges that create two-tier systems on public property.

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Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 17:00