Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Trump Denies Reports He May Oust Kash Patel as FBI Head

Luis Cornelio
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Trump Denies Reports He May Oust Kash Patel as FBI Head

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Donald Trump reportedly pushed back against reporting that Kash Patel’s days as FBI director are numbered. 

“What? That’s totally false,” Trump reportedly said after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read him a headline about Patel’s supposed ouster. 

Leavitt, who tweeted about the story, said Trump was meeting with his law enforcement team when the reports broke. 

Trump then invited Patel to “take a picture to show” the media that Patel was doing a “great job,” according to Leavitt. 

“Do not believe the Fake News!” she added. 

The pushback came against an MS Now (formerly MSNBC) article which reported that Trump was “considering removing Kash Patel as FBI director in the coming months,” following a string of unflattering headlines. 

The left-wing outlet reported Patel had come under scrutiny for “stewardship of bureau resources” and “squabbles with other Trump loyalists.” 

Trump could replace Patel with Andrew Bailey, the former Missouri attorney general who quit office to join the FBI as co-deputy director, MS Now claimed. 

MS Now cited two anonymous sources “with knowledge of the situation” for its story, all while acknowledging Trump “could change his mind in the weeks to come.” 

Patel has faced criticism for using the FBI’s gulfstream jet for personal reasons during the government shutdown, when agents weren’t getting paid. Patel’s trips included seeing Wilkins sing the National Anthem at a wrestling match in Pennsylvania last week, and visiting a hunting resort called Boondoggle Ranch in Texas a week later.

Additionally, Patel has been having FBI agents guard Wilkins, who doesn’t even live with him, at the taxpayers’ expense.

Ukraine Agrees to Preliminary Peace Plan; Russian Strikes Continue

Headline USA Editor
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Ukraine Agrees to Preliminary Peace Plan; Russian Strikes Continue

(Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square)  Ukraine has agreed to a peace deal in hopes of ending the over three-year war with Russia, according to the White House.

Following talks in Switzerland between the U.S. and European officials, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said progress has been made in bringing the two Eastern European countries to the negotiating table.

“There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States,” Leavitt posted to social media Tuesday morning.

Similar to the U.S.-proposed peace plan between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. laid out a 28-point peace plan, but it has been reduced to 19 points, according to multiple reports. It is unclear what points are listed.

The announcement of the proposed peace plan comes on the heels of Russian strikes targeting the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says six people were killed, with at least 13 wounded during the attacks.

In addition to confirming the strikes, Zelenskyy said via social media that he has been on calls with various European leaders, working closely with them to develop a peace plan.

Zelenskyy underscored that only Ukraine can decide what is best for Ukraine, while expressing gratitude to the U.S. for working to broker an end to the bloodshed, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, as well as Ukrainian civilians.

“We can share the same approach: Ukraine’s security can only be decided with Ukraine, just as Europe’s security can only be decided with Europe,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “This is exactly what we are doing right now through our shared efforts. We value the United States’ constructive approach in this joint work to put an end to the bloodshed and war.”

There had been multiple reports that Zelenskyy was poised to return to Washington, but Leavitt on Monday afternoon said there were no plans yet.

Report: Person Named in Blaze Media’s Pipe Bomb Investigation Has an Airtight Alibi

Ken Silva
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Report: Person Named in Blaze Media’s Pipe Bomb Investigation Has an Airtight Alibi

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Earlier this month, Blaze Media reported that the person who allegedly planted pipe bombs near the RNC and DNC headquarters ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill protest is likely a former Capitol Police officer who now works for the CIA.

However, CBS reported Tuesday that Blaze’s suspect has an airtight alibi. Indeed, the person reportedly “had video of her playing with her puppies at the time the [pipe bombs] were placed.”

“The FBI has now ruled her out as a suspect in the 2021 plot … but only after her name circulated on social platforms and [Blaze],” CBS reported, citing three anonymous sources.

CBS further reported that the rumors about Blaze’s so-called suspect resulted in a memo drafted at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“ODNI officials said the agency received a tip from a person affiliated with a media organization about potential criminal wrongdoing by an individual believed to be working at an intelligence agency and set about documenting it in a memo,” CBS reported.

“A short time after the unfinished memo began to circulate, the conservative news outlet, Blaze News, published details similar to those in the draft, including the woman’s full name.”

In its story, Blaze said it based its findings largely on “gait recognition” software, which analyzes how someone walks. The software reportedly found that the suspect’s gait is a “94%-98% match” to that of a former Capitol Police officer. Blaze also reported that the FBI traced a DC Metrorail SmarTrip card to its so-called suspect’s neighbors, putting agents right outside of her doorstep.

Blaze identified that person, but Headline USA is not publishing the name because the evidence is circumstantial at best.

The Blaze’s story went viral, garnering millions of views on Twitter/X and other social media sites. But on Nov. 14, the Washington Post published a statement from her attorney that rebuked the unconfirmed report.

“These shameful allegations are recklessly false, absurd, and defamatory. [The person named by Blaze] categorically denies them,” the attorney, former Justice Department prosecutor Steve Bunnell, told the Post.

The attorneys’ statement followed DOJ special attorney Ed Martin also saying that the former Capitol Police officer wasn’t suspect. Additionally, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Thursday that “some of the media reporting regarding prior persons of interest is grossly inaccurate and serves only to mislead the public.”

Even before CBS News reported about the so-called suspect’s alibi, Blaze already had to issue several corrections to its reporting.

For instance, the Blaze initially implied that it was the actual pipe bomber who used the so-called suspect’s neighbor’s SmarTrip card on the night of Jan. 5, when the pipe bombs may have been placed near the RNC and DNC headquarters. In fact, it was the neighbor’s friend who used the SmarTrip card, and he was back in Falls Church, Virginia before the actual suspect is seen on surveillance footage released by the FBI. The FBI has cleared both the neighbor and his friend as suspects.

Blaze also initially reported that its culprit works on CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s security detail, but had to run a correction after the agency clarified that she only works campus security.

It’s unclear if the publication reached out to the person it named—and likely defamed—for comment before running its story. The Blaze has since published her denial. Blaze editor in chief Christopher Bedford said he was pulled over by local police after stopping to observe her home the night before publication. He was allowed to leave.

Pipe Bomb Case History

As Headline USA revealed in March 2024, the FBI had a suspect identified by Jan. 10, 2021 in the pipe bomb case, but never made any arrests.

FBI records released in September revealed that agents didn’t interview the woman who discovered a pipe bomb near the RNC around 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 6 until days later. That woman, former counterterrorism analyst and then-Commerce Department worker Karlin Younger, said she found the bomb while doing laundry.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Kamala Harris continues to be tight-lipped on the subject, despite the fact that her motorcade drove past the DNC pipe bomb on Jan. 6. Harris left the Capitol at 11:21 a.m. arrived to the DNC at 11:25 a.m., but the nearby pipe bomb wasn’t discovered until 1:07 p.m. by a plainclothes Capitol Police officer.

The lack of answers have driven many to suspect that it may have been a false-flag attempt overseen by the feds themselves to divert law enforcement from the Capitol right as the Jan. 6 protest was turning violent.

Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., has said that it may be impossible to successfully prosecute the pipe bomber, even if he or she is ever arrested.

“Here’s what a good criminal defense attorney’s going to say: If you identified the individual who’s believed to place the bomb, then hours go by, and you had a search by the Secret Service at the DNC and the dog didn’t find the explosive—so clearly, the device [the defense attorney’s] client might have left there wasn’t the device that was determined to be the pipe bomb, because it wasn’t picked up by the bomb-sniffing dog,” Griffith argued in March 2024.

Blaze Reporter Steve Baker’s Dubious Journalism

Baker was the lead reporter on the Blaze’s unconfirmed pipe bomb story. Baker has a long history of reporting dubious and downright false information.

In August 2024, for instance, he reported that the alleged pipe bomber seemingly interacting with Capitol Police while walking around DC the night of Jan. 5, 2021. However, that turned out to be false. The pipe bomb suspect seen walking by the Capitol Hill Club was not the same person as someone who walked towards Capitol Police vehicles minutes later.

In that blunder, one of Baker’s sources was former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin, who is also a source in his story naming the supposed pipe bomb suspect. Seraphin is currently being sued for his own blunder—baselessly accusing FBI Director Kashyap Patel’s girlfriend of being an Israeli intelligence asset. Seraphin’s defense is that he was joking when he said that.

A month before reporting a fake pipe bomb story, Baker reported in July 2024 that a Secret Service counter-sniper shot the would-be assassin at Butler, Pennsylvania, from 448 yards away. In fact, the counter-sniper who shot the would-be assassin was about 150 yards away. Baker never ran a correction on his false report.

Additionally, Baker has claimed to have evidence that the Pentagon authorized “directed energy weapons” to be used during the 2020 leftist riots, and that such weapons may also have been used on Jan. 6, 2021. Baker has yet to provide any evidence of this.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

FBI Seeks Interviews with Democrats who Urged US Troops to Defy Illegal Orders

Headline USA Editor
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FBI Seeks Interviews with Democrats who Urged US Troops to Defy Illegal Orders

(Headline USA) Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a social media video urging U.S. troops to defy “illegal orders” say the FBI has contacted them to begin scheduling interviews, signaling a possible inquiry into the matter.

It would mark the second investigation tied to the video, coming a day after the Pentagon said it was reviewing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over potential violations of military law. The FBI and Pentagon actions come after President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition and said it is “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post.

Together, the inquiries mark an extraordinary escalation for federal law enforcement and military institutions that traditionally steer clear of partisan clashes. They also underscore the administration’s willingness to push legal limits against its critics, even when they are sitting members of Congress. Lawmakers in the video urge troops to reject any illegal orders from their superiors, something they are already duty-bound to do.

“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress,” a group of four Democratic House members said in a statement Tuesday. 

“Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews.”

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, one of the six Democratic lawmakers in the video, told reporters Tuesday that “last night the counterterrorism division at the FBI sent a note to the members of Congress, saying they are opening what appears to be an inquiry against the six of us.” Slotkin called it a “scare tactic by” Trump.

“Whether you agree with the video or don’t agree with the video, the question to me is: is this the appropriate response for a president of the United States to go after and seek to weaponize the federal government against those he disagrees with?” said Slotkin.

The group of four Democratic House members said in their statement that “no amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.”

All six of the Democratic lawmakers in the video have served in the military or intelligence community.

The FBI went through the top security officials for the House and Senate to request interviews with each of the six lawmakers. The lawmakers said they had no further information and the FBI has not made clear on what basis they were seeking the interviews.

The FBI declined to comment Tuesday, but Director Kash Patel, in an interview with journalist Catherine Herridge, described it as an “ongoing matter” in explaining why he could not discuss details.

Asked for his reaction to the video, Patel said, “What goes through my head is the same thing that goes through my head in any case: is there a lawful predicate to open up an inquiry and investigation, or is there not? And that decision will be made by the career agents and analysts here at the FBI.”

In the video, lawmakers said they needed troops to “stand up for our laws … our Constitution.” Kelly, who was a fighter pilot before becoming an astronaut and then retiring at the rank of captain, told troops that “you can refuse illegal orders.”

The lawmakers didn’t mention specific circumstances in the video. But at an event Tuesday in Michigan, Slotkin pointed to the Trump administration ordering the military to blow up small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean accused of ferrying drugs and continued attempts at deploying National Guard troops into U.S. cities despite some legal setbacks.

“It wasn’t that there was any one incident, it was the sheer number of people coming to us and saying, ‘I’m worried. I am being sent to Washington or I’m being sent to LA or Chicago, North Carolina now, and I’m concerned I’m going to be asked to do something that I don’t know if I should do,’” said Slotkin. “So that’s where it came from.”

Troops, especially uniformed commanders, do have specific obligations to reject orders that are unlawful, if they make that determination.

Broad legal precedence also holds that just following orders — colloquially known as the “Nuremberg defense,” as it was used unsuccessfully by senior Nazi officials to justify their actions under Adolf Hitler — doesn’t absolve troops.

Russian Hackers Target US Engineering Firm Because of Work done for Ukrainian Sister City

Headline USA Editor
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Russian Hackers Target US Engineering Firm Because of Work done for Ukrainian Sister City

(Headline USA) Hackers working for Russian intelligence attacked an American engineering company this fall, investigators at a U.S. cybersecurity company said Tuesday — seemingly because that firm had worked for a U.S. municipality with a sister city in Ukraine.

The findings reflect the evolving tools and tactics of Russia’s cyber war and demonstrate Moscow’s willingness to attack a growing list of targets, including governments, organizations and private companies that have supported Ukraine, even in a tenuous way.

Arctic Wolf, the U.S. cybersecurity firm that identified the Russian campaign, wouldn’t identify its customer or the city it worked with to protect their security, but said the company had no direct connection to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the group behind the attack, known to cybersecurity experts as RomCom, has consistently targeted groups with links to Ukraine and its defense against Russia.

“They routinely go after organizations that support Ukrainian institutions directly, provide services to Ukrainian municipalities, and assist organizations tied to Ukrainian civil society, defense, or government functions,” said Ismael Valenzuela, Arctic Wolf’s vice president of labs, threat research and intelligence.

The attack on the engineering firm was identified by Arctic Wolf in September before it could disrupt the engineering company’s operations or spread further.

A message left with officials at the Russian Embassy in Washington seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Many towns and cities around the world enjoy sister-city relationships with other communities, using the program to offer social and economic exchanges. Several U.S. cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, Albany, N.Y. and Cincinnati, have sister-city relationships with communities in Ukraine.

The campaign in September came just a few weeks after the FBI warned that hackers linked to Russia were seeking to break into U.S. networks as a way to burrow into important systems or disrupt critical infrastructure. According to the latest bulletin from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Russia-aligned hackers have multiple motives: disrupting aid and military supplies to Ukraine, punishing businesses with ties to Ukraine, or stealing military or technical secrets.

Last month, the Digital Security Lab of Ukraine and investigators at SentinelOne, a U.S. cybersecurity firm, exposed a speedy and sprawling cyberattack on relief groups supporting Ukraine, including the International Red Cross and UNICEF. That hacking campaign used fake emails impersonating Ukrainian officials that sought to fool users into infecting their own computers by clicking on malicious links.

The investigators at SentinelOne stopped short of attributing the attack to the Russian government but noted that the operation targeted groups working on Ukrainian assistance and required six months to plan. The “highly capable adversary” behind the campaign, the investigators determined, is “an operator well-versed in both offensive tradecraft and defensive detection evasion.”

Wyoming, Idaho, and Missouri Top the 2026 Sound Money Index

Money Metals News Service
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Wyoming, Idaho, and Missouri Top the 2026 Sound Money Index

(Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals News Service) The 2026 Sound Money Index, released today, reveals that Wyoming, Idaho, and Missouri are now the most pro-sound money states in the United States.

Money Metals Exchange, a top national precious metals dealer, has partnered once again with the nation’s leading Sound Money Defense League to create this authoritative ranking of all 50 states. In the face of rising inflation and monetary insecurity, the Sound Money Index ranks states based on their policies in this increasingly important arena.

Wyoming remained in first place with its passage of S.F. 96 by Sen. Bob Ide, which put the Cowboy State on a path to building a gold reserve with a modest $10 million initial gold acquisition.

Notable movement on the Index this year includes Missouri’s ascent from 23rd to 3rd place, as well as Idaho’s improvement from 14th in 2025 to 2nd place in 2026.

The Index’s scoring system evaluates state policy positions such as sales and income tax policies concerning precious metals, a state’s recognition of gold and silver’s role under the U.S. Constitution, state pension funds or reserves held in gold or silver, regulations impacting precious metal dealers and investors, and other relevant issues.

“The Sound Money Index holds states accountable for their policies impacting savers, investors, and institutions across the U.S. So many states continue to press ahead on sound money policy, regularly citing our Index on chamber floors and in hearings nationwide,” explained Jp Cortez, Executive Director of the Sound Money Defense League.

Building on the momentum from previous sound money efforts to remove sales and capital gains taxes from gold and silver, Alabama Gov. Ivey signed SB 130 this year, a bill that symbolically reaffirms gold and silver as legal tender in the Yellowhammer State.

Lawmakers in Maryland and Washington state chose to go against the overwhelming trend and actually imposed state sales taxes on purchases of precious metals. Maryland began imposing this tax over the summer, while Washington begins imposing this tax in January 2026. As a result, these two states collapsed in the rankings to 47th and 50th place, respectively.

After a multi-year legislative effort and a constitutional showdown between Gov. Andy Beshear and state Attorney General Russ Coleman, Kentucky lawmakers, led by Reps. TJ Roberts and Steven Doan finally ended the sales tax on precious metals. The Bluegrass State is presently the 44th state in the country to refrain from taxing purchases of gold and silver.

Connecticut ended its outdated policy of taxing orders of precious metals below $500 but not taxing orders above that amount. However, this policy goes into effect in 2027, so this change is not reflected in the 2026 Index.

This year’s methodology included tweaks to scoring as to bullion depositories, dealer harassment laws, and specie tender categories in response to the recent emergence of legislative proposals handing government bureaucrats sweeping new powers to bully, regulate, and snoop into precious metals businesses and transactions.

States lose points if they enter into private-public partnerships with self-interested vendors that weaponize the power of government to compete with private depositories, dealers, and transaction processors, especially if onerous regulations are also imposed on individuals or businesses in the process.

Similarly, states are penalized if they attempt to create a privacy-killing Central State Digital Currency (CSDC) scheme.

Another change concerns gold and silver clause contracts. To earn full points in this category, states must explicitly declare that contracts denominated in precious metals must be fulfilled with specific performance, meaning that U.S. Dollars are not an acceptable substitute. Acknowledging that gold and silver contracts can exist earns a state partial credit.

The complete 2026 Sound Money Index is available here: https://www.moneymetals.com/guides/sound-money-index

BLS Erases More Jobs From the Economy With Revisions

Money Metals News Service
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BLS Erases More Jobs From the Economy With Revisions

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) You might want to sit down for this one.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics erased 33,000 jobs from its July and August reports with downward revisions.

Shocking, I know.

In July, the BLS reported 79,000 jobs created. In the September report (released on Nov. 20 due to the government shutdown), the agency revised the total down to 72,000.

The August report was considered abysmal when it was released, with only 22,000 new jobs created. Turns out, it was worse than abysmal. The economy shed 4,000 jobs that month, based on the revised numbers.

Downward revisions appear to be standard operating procedure for the BLS. The agency erased nearly 1 million (911,000) jobs that it initially claimed were created between March 2024 and June 2025.

So, what are we to make of the September report claiming the economy added a surprising 119,000 jobs? (The forecast was for just 50,000 new jobs.)

Nothing.

Because some of these jobs will almost certainly be erased next month.

The BLS has a long history of reporting rosy job numbers only to quietly come back and revise them downward down the road. In 2023, job numbers were revised down in 10 of the 12 months.

To be fair, compiling employment data is no simple task. Revisions should be expected. But why do the updates almost always remove jobs from the economy? One would think you’d see upward revisions nearly as often as downward, right?

Nope.

Since 2003, the final annual BLS numbers were lower than the initial report 14 times compared to seven upward revisions.

It’s almost as if the agency is trying to make the government look good.

If that’s the strategy – it works.

By the way, the job numbers aren’t only sketchy data pumped out of government agencies. I’ve argued for years that the CPI data grossly understates price inflation. And we know this is on purpose because the government literally changed to formula in the 1990s to understate the actual rise in prices. Based on the formula used in the 1970s, CPI is closer to double the official numbers. So, if the BLS used the old formula, we’d be looking at CPI closer to 6 percent. And using a truly honest formula, it would probably be worse than that.

It’s notable that markets only react to the initial numbers. You never see markets tank because the BLS erased a bunch of jobs from the economy with a few clicks of its calculator. The revisions happen quietly in the back alleys. Nobody pays any attention to them. That creates the illusion that the labor market is much stronger than it is.

This month, the government reports good news. Everybody celebrates. Markets move. The following month, the government quietly revises everything downward and reports that the good news was really bad news.

And nobody pays attention.

Let’s be honest; when you look at the history, one’s got to wonder why anybody takes these numbers at face value.

The lesson here is that we need to be somewhat skeptical of government data. And we need to pay attention – not just to the headline release, but the revisions as well.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Indian Gold Imports Surged in October Despite High Prices

Money Metals News Service
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Indian Gold Imports Surged in October Despite High Prices

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Indian gold imports surged to record levels in October, despite high prices.

India ranks as the world’s second-largest gold market behind China.

It was the fourth consecutive month of increasing gold imports, both in terms of value and tonnage.

Domestic gold prices in India hit a record in October and outperformed the dollar price. At the end of the month, gold was up 63 percent on the year and 11 percent month-on-month in rupee terms. According to the World Gold Council, “The higher domestic gains are attributed to the 3.3 percent depreciation of the Indian rupee.”

The World Gold Council said strong import numbers in the midst of record prices indicate “resilient domestic demand.”

In value terms, gold imports set a record last month of $14.7 billion. That represents a ~200 percent year-on-year increase. Imports rose 53 percent from the previous month.

In tonnage terms, the World Gold Council estimates India imported between 137 and 142 tonnes of gold in October. That was up from 102 tonnes in September and 61 tonnes in September 2024.

According to the World Gold Council, “The October surge was largely driven by seasonal factors, i.e., the Diwali festivities and the onset of the wedding season.”

On a yearly basis, imports are up 16 percent in value terms. However, the WGC estimates India has imported 559 tonnes of gold this year, down about 12 percent from the same period last year. This reflects the impact of higher gold prices.

Festival and Investment Demand Shine

Gold demand was brisk during the recent festivals of Diwali and Dhanteras, the peak gold-buying season in India.

Investment buying primarily drove overall gold demand. Anecdotal reports indicate gold coin and bar purchases doubled year-on-year.

Jewelry sales also held up surprisingly well, given the high prices. According to the World Gold Council, retailers reported “healthy sales across both single-store and large multi-store formats, the latter benefitting from brand trust and promotional initiatives.”

Jewelry sales did face some headwinds from the higher prices, with overall volume down modestly. However, analysts estimate that the value of sales was up around 25 percent year-on-year.

Demand fell off later in the month as the festival season ended. This reflects the typical seasonal cycle.

Gold also continued to flow into Indian ETFs in October. Net inflows for the month came in at ₹77 billion ($876 million), a modest 8 percent decline from the previous month. However, this was still significantly higher than the year-to-date average of ₹28 billion.

The dip was due to a sharp increase in redemptions as investors booked profits as prices surged.

So far in 2025, cumulative inflows total ₹276 billion ($3.1 billion), the highest annual inflows on record.

In October, Indian backed gold ETFs reported a record 911,000 new accounts, bringing the total number of folios to 9.57 million. That represents a 49 percent increase y-t-d.

A gold ETF is backed by a trust company that holds metal owned and stored by the trust. In most cases, investing in an ETF does not entitle you to any amount of physical gold. You own a share of the ETF, not gold itself. ETFs are a convenient way for investors to play the gold market, but owning ETF shares is not the same as holding physical gold.

Traditionally, Indian investors have preferred physical metal, but there is growing interest in ETFs due to the convenience.

Indians have a longstanding love affair with gold.

The yellow metal is deeply interwoven into the country’s marriage ceremonies, along with its religious and cultural rituals. Festival seasons typically boost gold demand.

Indians have long valued the yellow metal as a store of wealth, especially in poorer rural regions. Around two-thirds of India’s gold demand comes from beyond the urban centers, where large numbers of people operate outside the tax system. Many Indians use gold jewelry not only as an adornment but as a way to preserve wealth.

In the West, gold is generally viewed as a luxury item.

Not in India. Even poor Indians buy gold.

According to a 2018 ICE360 survey, one in every two households in India had purchased gold within the last five years. Overall, 87 percent of Indian households own some gold. Even households at the lowest income levels in India hold some of the yellow metal. According to the survey, more than 75 percent of families in the bottom 10 percent of income managed to buy some gold.

The yellow metal was a lifeline for Indians buffeted by the economic storm caused by the government’s response to COVID-19. After the Indian government locked down the country, banks tightened credit to mitigate the default risk. Unable to secure traditional loans, Indians used gold to secure financing. As Indians endured a second wave of lockdowns, many Indians resorted to selling gold outright to make ends meet.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Ukraine Makes Significant Changes to US Peace Plan

Headline USA Editor
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Ukraine Makes Significant Changes to US Peace Plan

Ukrainian officials made significant changes to a US-drafted peace deal during negotiations with their US counterparts in Geneva on Sunday, The Guardian has reported.

The original 28-point plan leaked to the media was substantially altered during the talks, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the US side and Andriy Yermak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the Ukrainian side, and was reduced to 19 points.

“As of now, after Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said on Monday.

Zelensky during his nightly address on November 24, 2025 (photo via Ukrainian Presidential Office)

It’s unclear exactly what changes were made to the plan, but the main objections from Ukrainian officials and their European backers were the provisions requiring Ukraine to cede territory it controls in the Donbas to Russia and the guarantees that Ukraine won’t ever join NATO.

According to a report from the Financial Times, the US and Ukrainian officials left the most sensitive details, including territorial lines and Ukraine’s relationship with NATO, to be decided by Zelensky and President Trump, who are expected to meet soon.

“Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps, and this is indeed the right approach – I will discuss the sensitive issues with President Trump,” Zelensky said.

Also on Monday, Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he expects Moscow to hear from Washington about holding talks on the potential peace plan. “You know, I would proceed from the fact that it would probably be natural to assume that the Americans would come in to meet us face-to-face and start a discussion,” he said.

Ushakov also said that he was aware of a European counter-proposal that stripped the Ukrainian territorial concessions from the US plan and left the door open for Ukrainian NATO membership, calling it “entirely unconstructive and unsuitable for us.”

While the original US proposal includes some provisions Russia would likely not accept, such as using frozen Russian funds for reconstruction and investment in Ukraine, Putin has said that it could “form the basis for a final peace settlement.”

Netanyahu’s 2024 Diary Reveals Frequent Meetings and Calls With Sen. Lindsey Graham

Headline USA Editor
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Netanyahu’s 2024 Diary Reveals Frequent Meetings and Calls With Sen. Lindsey Graham

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2024 diary reveals that he spoke frequently with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who was working at the time to ensure the US continued providing unconditional military aid to Israel to support its genocidal campaign in Gaza.

According to Haaretz, the diary, published by the Israeli non-profit Hatzlacha, shows that Netanyahu held seven meetings and nine phone calls with the South Carolina senator in 2024. What was discussed during the meetings and calls was not included in the diary, but one call, made on May 7, came one day before Graham grilled Biden administration officials at a Senate hearing about military aid to Israel.

At the time, the Biden administration had paused a bomb shipment to Israel over its attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, though the US ultimately supported the offensive. “If we stop weapons necessary to destroy the enemies of the State of Israel at a time of great peril, we will pay a price,” Graham said at the hearing. “This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need to fight the war they can’t afford to lose.”

In one meeting that was made public, Netanyahu praised Graham for his support of Israel. “We have no better friend, and I mean it, than Senator Lindsey Graham,” Netanyahu said when hosting Graham at his office in Jerusalem on May 29, 2024. At the time, Graham was also working against efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over his role in war crimes in Gaza.

“This is one of the most challenging times for the State of Israel since its founding,” Graham told Netanyahu at the May 29 meeting. “There are so many problems and challenges to overcome, but one of the problems you never have to worry about is America. I promise you that we will do all we can, Mr. Prime Minister, to hold the ICC to account for this outrage against the people of Israel. To the International Court of Justice, you’re a joke. The head judge of the ICJ is a raving antisemite.”

Netanyahu’s diary also revealed regular contact with US House Speaker Mike Johnson, who worked to get a major military aid package for Israel passed by Congress in 2024. Johnson frequently hosts Netanyahu when the Israeli leader visits Washington, and invited him to address a joint session of Congress last year.

Netanyahu also frequently met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is known for supporting the US invasion of Iraq and has been involved in discussions on future plans for Gaza. Blair is expected to be part of the so-called “Board of Peace,” a body chaired by President Trump that will govern Gaza for at least two years under the Gaza ceasefire deal, which Israel continues to violate.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com. 

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