Crooked Hillary Claims Tucker Carlson is a ‘Useful Idiot’ For Interviewing Putin

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Crooked Hillary Claims Tucker Carlson is a ‘Useful Idiot’ For Interviewing Putin

(Headline USA) Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton claimed this week that Tucker Carlson is a “useful idiot” for traveling to Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The former Fox News host revealed this week that he was granted a sit-down with Putin – his first interview with an American journalist since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It will be broadcast on Carlson’s website on Thursday.

When asked by MSNBC’s Alex Wagner what she thought of the interview, Clinton said she wouldn’t expect too much from it.

“He’s what’s called a useful idiot,” she claimed. “I mean, if you actually read translations of what’s being said on Russian media, they make fun of him. I mean, he’s like a puppy dog.”

But it’s not surprising that Putin would want to sit down with Carlson, she added.

“He says things that are not true. He parrots Vladimir Putin’s pack of lies about Ukraine. So, I don’t see why Putin wouldn’t give him an interview,” she claimed.

Clinton went on to jab at Carlson’s ouster from Fox News, suggesting he might be able to land another contract with a Russian network after the interview airs.

“You know, he somehow – after having been fired from so many outlets in the United States –  I would not be surprised if he emerges with a contract with a Russian outlet because he is a useful idiot,” Clinton said.  

Carlson has been critical of the U.S.’s endless financial support for Ukraine and of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Kremlin confirmed it had accepted Carlson’s interview request because he has tried to remain balanced about the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.

“His position is different from the others. It is in no way pro-Russian, it is not pro-Ukrainian – it is pro-American, but at least it contrasts with the position of the traditional Anglo-Saxon media,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

The rest of American media, on the other hand, “can in no way boast of even trying to at least look impartial in terms of coverage,” he continued. “These are all media outlets that take an exceptionally one-sided position. Of course there is no desire to communicate with such media, and it hardly makes sense, and it is unlikely that it will be useful.”

Ex-FBI Agent Reveals Corruption in Dubious Patriot Front Case

Ken Silva
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Ex-FBI Agent Reveals Corruption in Dubious Patriot Front Case

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Last August, an Idaho judge dismissed the state’s case against a Patriot Front member accused of conspiring to riot at an LGBT demonstration in 2022—finding that a prosecutor acted in “bad faith” by failing to provide the defendant with possibly exculpatory evidence.

At the time, the details of why the Patriot Front case collapsed made little sense. According to the Idaho judge, much of the evidence was held by the FBI, even though the bureau wasn’t part of the investigation.

“The phones were turned over to the FBI, not seized by the FBI, these devices were seized by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department,” the judge said at the time.

“[The state prosecutor] told the Court that the FBI was not involved in the initial investigation. The Court has no information about how the FBI became involved, and the only information the Court has is that Detective Welch turned the phones over to the FBI while a warrant was being drafted,” the judge said, suggesting that the state was “partnering with a federal agency and playing a shell game with that evidence.”

But according to former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin—who was suspended from the bureau in 2022 for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and was fired last April for allegedly unprofessional conduct—the FBI obtained the Patriot Front cell phones after state law enforcement arrested the group.

Seraphin said that FBI officials wanted to search the phones. However, the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent in Idaho refused to write a search warrant for the phones because a federal crime hadn’t been committed.

Seraphin said in November 2022 that FBI Headquarters removed the SSRA—the Idaho Tribune identified him as Special Agent Zach Schoffstall—from his position. And earlier this week, Seraphin said Schoffstall has been fired from the bureau.

“The SSRA of that Resident Agency refused to approve a Search Warrant that lacked the LEGAL standard of PROBABLE CAUSE. He supported his front line Agents, and was disciplined for his troubles,” Seraphin said, citing sources he still has at the bureau.

“The @FBISaltLakeCity removed him from his position, gave him a penalty TDY, and brought in a ‘company woman’ who signed off on the Search Warrant and likely violated the Constitutional protections of no unreasonable search/seizure.”

Meanwhile, the Patriot Front’s legal troubles continue, as the group faces multiple civil lawsuits. In at least two of those cases, Patriot Front leaders have been accused of going “underground” to avoid being served.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Central Bank Gold-Buying in 2023 Tops 1K Tons, Just Shy of 2022 Record

Money Metals News Service
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Central Bank Gold-Buying in 2023 Tops 1K Tons, Just Shy of 2022 Record

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Central banks gobbled up gold again in 2023. Central bank gold buying fell just 45 tons short of 2022’s multi-decade record.

According to the World Gold Council, central banks net gold purchases totaled 1,037 tons. It was the second straight year central banks added more than 1,000 tons to their total reserves.

Central banks now hold an estimated 36,700 tons of gold as the global scramble for Federal Reserve note alternatives continues.

The World Gold Council called the data a “testament to the recent strength in central bank demand for gold.”

Central banks have been consistent net buyers on an annual basis since 2010, accumulating over 7,800 tons in that time, of which more than a quarter was bought in the last two years.

Findings from our 2022 and 2023 Central Bank Gold Survey show that gold’s performance during times of crisis and its role as a long-term store of value are key reasons for central banks to hold gold.

Central bank gold buying in 2023 built on the prior record year. Total central bank gold buying in 2022 came in at 1,136 tons. It was the highest level of net purchases on record dating back to 1950, including since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971.

China was the biggest buyer in 2023. The People’s Bank of China officially reported a 225-ton increase in its gold reserves.

It was the biggest increase in the communist nation’s reserves since 1977. The Chinese central bank now officially holds 2,235 tons of gold. The country ranks sixth in the world in official gold reserves.

There has long been speculation that China owns far more gold than it officially reveals. As Jim Rickards pointed out on Mises Daily back in 2015, many analysts believe that China keeps several thousand tons of gold “off the books” in a separate entity called the State Administration for Foreign Exchange (SAFE). 

Poland was the second-biggest gold buyer in 2023. Between April and November, the Polish central bank bought 130 tons of gold, increasing its gold holdings by 57 percent, to 359 tons. 

In 2021, Bank of Poland President Adam Glapiński announced a plan to expand the country’s gold reserves by 100 tons. The central bank reached that goal in September and kept buying.

Glapiński recently indicated the Bank of Poland will continue to add gold to its holdings and that appears to be the case. The Polish central bank made its biggest purchase of 2023 in November, adding 19 tons of gold to its reserves.

“This makes Poland a more credible country, we have a better standing in all ratings, we are a very serious partner and we will continue to buy gold. The dream is to reach 20 percent,” Glapiński said.

When he announced the plan to expand its gold reserves, Glapiński said holding gold was a matter of financial security and stability.

Gold will retain its value even when someone cuts off the power to the global financial system, destroying traditional assets based on electronic accounting records. Of course, we do not assume that this will happen. But as the saying goes – forewarned is always insured.

And the central bank is required to be prepared for even the most unfavorable circumstances. That is why we see a special place for gold in our foreign exchange management process.

Other buyers in 2023 included Singapore, the Czech Republic, Iraq, India, and the Philippines.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan were the two largest sellers of gold.

It is not uncommon for banks that buy from domestic production – such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan – to switch between buying and selling.

Notably, Turkey was a net seller last year, but barely. The Turkish central bank sold 160 tons of gold in the spring of 2023 but returned to buying in the third quarter.

According to the World Gold Council, the big gold sale was a specific response to local market dynamics and didn’t appear to reflect a change in the Turkish central bank’s long-term gold strategy. The Turkish central bank sold gold into the local market to satisfy demand after the government imposed import quotas in an attempt to improve its current account balance. The country is running a significant trade deficit.

In December, Turkey added 18 more tons of gold as it continues to replenish its reserves.

Looking ahead, the World Gold Council said the central bank gold buying trend “shows little sign of abating.”

This reinforces our belief that global central banks will remain net buyers again this year.

Household Debt Tops $17.5 Trillion, and Americans Are Feeling the Strain

Money Metals News Service
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Household Debt Tops $17.5 Trillion, and Americans Are Feeling the Strain

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) You’ve got to give credit to Visa, Mastercard, Discover and Amex. They’ve managed to build one heck of a booming economy.

Despite surging price inflation, “resilient” American consumers have managed to keep spending money, driving “strong” economic growth – thanks to their credit cards.

But there’s a problem. Americans are having an increasingly hard time keeping up with the bills.

Household debt rose by another $212 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, surging to a record $17.5 trillion, according to the latest data from the New York Fed.

Total household debt has increased by $3.4 trillion since the end of 2019.

Ballooning credit card balances led the way, increasing by 4.6 percent to $1.13 trillion.

On an annual basis, credit card balances rose by $143 billion.

The bigger problem is the double whammy of rising debt and rising interest rates. Average credit card interest rates eclipsed the previous record high of 17.87 percent months ago. The average annual percentage rate (APR) currently stands at 20.75 percent.

It’s clear that Americans have used credit cards to keep up with the bills as price inflation ate up their real earnings.

During the pandemic, consumers used stimulus money and generous unemployment benefits to pay down debt and bulk up savings.

Credit card balances stood at over $1 trillion when the pandemic began. They fell below that level in 2020, charting an 11.2 percent drop. There were small upticks in credit card balances in February and March of 2021 as the recovery began, but another round of stimulus checks rolled out in April driving another sharp drop in credit card debt. However, Americans started borrowing in earnest again in May 2021 and have added billions to their credit card balances month after month ever since.

Meanwhile, unable to leave their houses due to government lockdowns, but with money still flowing thanks to government stimulus Americans filled up their piggy banks. Aggregate savings peaked at $2.1 trillion in August 2021.

It didn’t take long for consumers stressed by inflation-driven price hikes to blow through that savings.

As of June, the San Francisco Fed estimated that aggregate savings had dropped to $190 billion. In other words, Americans ran through $1.9 trillion in savings in just two years.

“People have to deal with this somehow. After blowing through savings to buy essentials, they do what’s next: Find sources to borrow,” Villanova University finance professor John Sedunov told ABC News earlier this year.

On top of borrowing on credit cards, Americans are pulling equity from their homes to make ends meet. Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) increased by $11 billion in Q4. It was the seventh consecutive quarterly increase since Q1 2022. According to the New York Fed, there is now $360 billion in outstanding HELOC loans. 

  • Americans haven’t just been borrowing using credit cards. Every debt category increased in the fourth quarter.
  • Mortgage balances increased by $112 billion and stood at $12.25 trillion at the end of the year.
  • Auto loan debt rose by $12 billion to $1.61 trillion in Q4 and stands at $1.61 trillion.
  • Other consumer debt balances, including department store credit cards and other consumer loans, grew by $25 billion. 
  • Student loan balances were comparatively flat in Q4, rising by $2 billion.

MishTalk summed it up.

In a single sentence, the economy is nowhere near as strong as the soft landing crowd thinks. Other than mortgages, this data is very recessionary. Consumers are struggling to maintain lifestyles and using credit cards to do so.

Rising Debt Is Putting Strain on American Consumers

The problem with financing economic growth with borrowing is that it’s expensive and credit cards have an inconvenient thing called a limit.

And Americans are clearly starting to feel the strain.

According to the New York Fed, delinquencies increased in every debt category during the fourth quarter.

Credit card and auto loan transitions into delinquency are still rising above pre-pandemic levels,” said Wilbert van der Klaauw, economic research advisor at the New York Fed. “This signals increased financial stress, especially among younger and lower-income households.

Aggregate delinquency rates rose by 3.5 percent, with approximately 8.5 percent of credit card balances and 7.7 percent of auto loans transitioning into delinquency.

Serious delinquencies (more than 90 days past due) are the highest since 2011.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, nearly one-tenth of credit card users find themselves in “persistent debt.” This means they rack up more interest and fees each year than they pay toward the principal.

“In the case of credit cards, it looks like things have reverted to a level that is worse than pre-pandemic,” New York Fed analysts told reporters on a conference call.

Trouble in Paradise?

There are signs that Americans are reaching their limit.

Credit card borrowing suddenly fell off a cliff in December, according to the latest consumer debt data released by the Federal Reserve.

Revolving credit, primarily credit card debt, only rose by 1 percent in December, following on the heels of a massive 16.6 percent increase in November.

Non-revolving credit, including auto loans, student loans, and borrowing for other big-ticket items has been slowing for months, indicating Americans buried in debt are feeling the strain. In December, non-revolving credit rose by just 0.2 percent. On average, non-revolving debt has increased by 5 percent on an annual basis.

The plunge in non-revolving credit indicates consumers have cut back spending on big-ticket items. And now it appears they might be close to maxing out the credit cards.

If Americans can’t borrow anymore, how will the economy continue to “grow?”

The ugly truth is debt is creating an illusion of prosperity and economic growth.

There is a word for this.

Unsustainable.

Ghislaine Maxwell Whines about Conditions of Her Low-Security Prison

Ken Silva
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Ghislaine Maxwell Whines about Conditions of Her Low-Security Prison

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Considering that she allegedly helped run one of the most infamous child sex trafficking operations in human history, many observers think Ghislaine Maxwell’s punishment was relatively timid—she received a 20-year sentence, which she’s serving in a low-security prison in Tallahassee.

But that hasn’t stopped Maxwell from fussing about the conditions of at the Tallahassee FCI. An article Monday in the Independent revealed the “seriously unsanitary conditions” at her new home.

Citing a report from Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General, the Independent reported that “black filth smeared on walls, rodent infestations, and sanitary products being used to plug leaks in dilapidated living quarters are a few of the issues recorded” at Tallahassee FCI.

“The report highlighted the prison’s food service and storage facilities, with vegetables found rotting in fridges and mouldy bread served to inmates. The cafeteria was found to contain broken stools with sharp edges which could be used as weapons, leaking windows, and scores of dead insects,” the Independent reported.

“Food warehouses were found to contain ‘seriously unsanitary conditions,’ including evidence of droppings by rodents who had chewed through boxes of food, bags of cereal infested with insects, and rusted and warped food containers.”

The DOJ-IG report, which labeled Tallahassee FCI as “high risk,” also flagged the prison for its policies on transgender inmates.

“In particular, the report found that staff repeatedly misgendered transgender inmates despite Tallahassee housing the largest number of any Bureau of Prisons institution, with 119 at the time of inspection,” the Independent reported.

While Headline USA is sure that Maxwell’s prison conditions aren’t great, there are far worse places where she could have been sent.

For example, in January a federal judge declined to send non-violent inmates to the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center due to its hellish conditions. U.S. Judge Jesse Furman cited three main reasons for condemning the MDC: its endless lockdowns, lack of healthcare and broken-down physical conditions.

In December, Headline USA also reported on an unnamed federal prison where inmates were being thrown in 3-feet-wide by 3-feet-long cages for hours on end.

Perhaps most notoriously, the first article in this publication’s “Fed Files” series described how neo-Nazi inmate Bill White experienced unimaginable torture in U.S. prison.

According to a 2019 medical examination by psychologist Richard Samuels, White was once held in isolation in a brightly lit cell for about three months, and slept for only about an hour a day during that time—an incident that contributed to him developing PTSD.

“In 2014, while Mr. White was incarcerated at the John C. Polk Correctional Facility/Seminole County, FL, he was subjected to a regimen of sleep deprivation,” Dr. Samuels wrote in his report.

“As described earlier, he was placed in segregation; alone in a small seven-foot by seven-foot room with constant bright illumination (24/7) over a period that of 105 days, or about three months, during which time he averaged approximately 1.2 hours of sleep per night,” Dr. Samuels wrote.

“During this period, he underwent a period of not eating or drinking and ultimately collapsed in his cell.”

As for Maxwell, she has an appeal in her case set for March 12, as her lawyers contest her conviction on five charges of recruiting and grooming four underage girls for the late pedophile financier to abuse between 1994 and 2004, the Independent reported.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Snowflake Students Sue Website for Outing Their Pro-Hamas Posts

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Snowflake Students Sue Website for Outing Their Pro-Hamas Posts

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Several students who attend Georgetown University Medical School hired a personal injury attorney to threaten a lawsuit against a conservative news source if it doesn’t remove a report that was published in December 2023 that detailed the students’ defense of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in Israel.

In a Jan. 4, 2024, letter, the attorney of the students told the Washington Free Beacon that the publication had violated “state and federal privacy and data laws” by quoting the students’ social media posts.

He then claimed that the Beacon “leaked personal information of some of my clients, including their social media accounts, LinkedIn profiles and photographs from private accounts.”

In addition to that, the students also accused the news source of “defamation, slander, negligence, and libel.”

“The Free Beacon has placed my clients in a false light with malicious intent,” the lawyer wrote in the letter.

The lawyer also argued that one’s clients “never endorsed Hamas’s terror attacks,” even though Instagram posts of the medical students indicate the complete opposite, according to the news source.

“Supporting Palestinians but not supporting Hamas is supporting Palestinians as helpless victims who must remain caged in silence and greatful [sic] their coloniser [sic] hadn’t cut their water supply or even worse bombed them to death,” the image that was included in the post of one of the students stated.

In one’s message, the student argued that Hamas and the “Palestinian people” represent the same “interests.”

“Violent retribution is inevitable in the struggle for resistance,” the student wrote.

Another student also took to Instagram to expose one’s pro-Palestine position by saying that people should stop condemning “Palestinian resistance,” that “radical change requires radical moves” and that all Israelis are “complicit in genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

“If the home you live in was acquired through bloodshed and forceful expulsion, and if you continually witness the erasure of a people ancestral to the land you live on, you’re a colonizer complicit in genocide and ethnic cleansing—not an innocent bystander,” the student wrote.

Report: Iran Can Build Nuke in 1 Week, Poses ‘Extreme Danger’ to West

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Report: Iran Can Build Nuke in 1 Week, Poses ‘Extreme Danger’ to West

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) A report from a watchdog group revealed that Iran now has enough weapons-grade uranium to produce its first nuclear weapon within just a week and a total of six bombs within a month.

The probability of that happening started rapidly increasing as the constant wars in the Middle East reached critical levels, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

“The volatile situation in the region is providing Iran with a unique opportunity and increased internal justification for building nuclear weapons while the United States and Israel’s resources to detect and deter Iran from succeeding are stretched thin,” the Institute for Science and International Security, a watchdog group that monitors Tehran’s atomic program, warned on Feb. 5, 2024.

The watchdog group then added that Iran had become even more dangerous than it was before.

“Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities are more dangerous than they have ever been, while its relations with the West are at a low point,” the watchdog group said.

The findings signal “extreme danger” for people all around the world and mark the “first time” the watchdog group has come to such a conclusion since it began reporting on the Iranian nuclear program’s threat level back in October 2022. Iran’s total threat score was calculated at 140 out of 180, according to the last time when a report was published by the institute, May 2023. Iran reached a 151 score in 2024, the watchdog group reported.

The report also noted that the country continues to make “progress on developing sensitive nuclear capabilities… increasing its nuclear weaponization efforts beyond breakout,” adding that Iran can “break out and produce enough weapon-grade enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in a week, using only a fraction of its 60 percent enriched uranium.”

“This breakout could be difficult for inspectors to detect promptly if Iran took steps to delay inspectors’ access,” the report said.

If the country would use its stock of 60% enriched uranium, which has grown under the Biden administration, and a remaining allotment of around 20% enriched uranium, Iran “could have in total enough weapon-grade uranium for six weapons in one month, and after five months of producing weapon-grade uranium, it could have enough for twelve.”

Corporate Watchdog Calls Out Oreo for Supporting Child-Groomers

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Corporate Watchdog Calls Out Oreo for Supporting Child-Groomers

(National Legal and Policy Center) As Oreo prepares to make a splash with its first Super Bowl commercial in 10 years, the National Legal and Policy Center released a 30-second video that delivered stinging criticism of the cookie brand over its longtime partnership with PFLAG.


The LGBT advocacy group condones gender transition treatments for children as young as 3 years old, and battles to make sure books with explicit content are allowed in public schools and libraries.

NLPC owns stock in Oreo’s parent company, Mondelez International, and will sponsor a shareholder proposal at the annual meeting in May.

The nonprofit corporate watchdog and shareholder activist initiated its campaign to highlight the cookie-maker’s inappropriate relationship with PFLAG after it noticed the brand’s social media accounts—primarily on Twitter—were heavily populated with posts in support of PFLAG’s various narratives, causes and social advocacy.

Oreo has promoted various short films, special packaging and fundraisers, utilizing the company’s popularity and resources to advance PFLAG’s agenda.

The pro-transgender ideology group lobbies against laws that seek to protect children from indoctrination efforts and so-called “gender affirming” medical treatments before they are mature enough to make such decisions, and also laws that protect kids from so-called “transition care” without their parents’ consent.

In October Oreo also co-sponsored PFLAG’s National Convention, where the theme was “Learning with Love.” The meeting’s first session was titled, “Let Freedom Read! Read with Love to Support Inclusive Books and Education.”

PFLAG characterizes its gender ideology indoctrination efforts in schools as a so-called prevention against alleged “censorship.” PFLAG co-sponsors a “banned books” website as part of a coalition that includes the Marxist-led American Library Association.

Titles such as “This Book is Gay,” “Gender Queer,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” “Flamer” and “Lawn Boy” are among the stories with explicit content that PFLAG and its allies believe should be easily accessed by kids.

“Oreo is a beloved brand with a strong identity and a reputation for connecting with all ages, especially kids, because it’s not only delicious, but fun,” said Paul Chesser, director of NLPC’s Corporate Integrity Project.

“Now the cookie’s image-managers are taking it down the same dangerous path that Bud Light, Disney and Target have trodden, which led to extensive brand destruction,” Chesser added. “We urge Mondelez to terminate Oreo’s controversial relationships before it’s too late.”

NLPC is asking the board of directors “to examine the risks and consequences of the Company’s associations with external organizations, to determine whether they threaten the growth and sustainability of the Company,” according to its shareholder proposal.

“We call upon our fellow shareholders to join us to express concern to the Mondelez board and to Chairman/CEO Dirk van de Put over this treacherous direction in which Oreo has turned,” said NLPC Chairman Peter Flaherty. “If they don’t, perhaps parents and consumers will have something to say about it.”

Elon Musk Backs Gina Carano’s Lawsuit Against ‘Woke’ Disney

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Elon Musk Backs Gina Carano’s Lawsuit Against ‘Woke’ Disney

(Headline USA) Billionaire Elon Musk revealed this week he was backing a lawsuit by canceled Mandalorian actress Gina Carano against Disney.

Carano, who played Cara Dune in the hit Star Wars spin-off, was dropped from the show in 2021 after she questioned mask mandates during the pandemic and railed against cancel culture. She was also dropped by her talent agency, United Talent Agency.

In the lawsuit filed in a California federal court on Tuesday, Carano accused “woke” Disney of punishing her for her political beliefs.

“A short time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy in thought, speech, or action was acceptable in their empire,” the complaint said.

Carano, a former mixed-martial-arts fighter, asked the court to order Disney to reinstate her to the Mandalorian and grant her compensatory damages of up to $75,000, plus additional emotional distress and punitive damages.

Musk invited anyone else who had been harmed by Disney’s woke agenda to “join” the legal efforts against the company.

“Please let us know if you would like to join the lawsuit against Disney,” he tweeted.

Musk, who purchased Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X, is supporting Carano’s efforts through the social-media company’ legal team.

He vowed to back any legal action for users who had been discriminated against at work because of their posts on the platform.

“As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit, empowering her to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination,” said Joe Benarroch, the company’s head of business operations.

Musk has been feuding with Disney CEO Bob Iger ever since the company pulled its advertising last year, claiming the platform was too hateful under Musk’s leadership.

In response, during a November business conference sponsored by the New York Times, Musk told Iger and other boycotters to “Go f**k yourself.”

Chinese Solar Companies Eager to Cash In on Biden’s Climate Subsidies

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Chinese Solar Companies Eager to Cash In on Biden’s Climate Subsidies

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) It was recently reported that Chinese solar manufacturers started building factories in the United States to reap American subsidies created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Joe Biden’s signature climate bill.

According to the Wall Street Journal, after the IRA became law in August 2022, Chinese-based companies became responsible for about 25% of the 80 gigawatts of new solar manufacturing capacity in the U.S. In addition to that, robust tax credit programs to incentivize domestic green energy production were established.

These China-based solar companies could potentially reap a combined $1.4 billion worth of value from IRA subsidies each year if the factory construction and expected outputs that were announced by the companies would stay on schedule.

This information just exposed the IRA as a failure, considering that these China-based companies could just capture subsidies for the IRA. LONGi and Trina Solar were among the subsidiaries or partnerships that were used by the Chinese companies to get in on the IRA subsidies.

“We definitely don’t want to miss the wave,” Steven Zhu, the president of Trina’s U.S. operations, said, referring to the subsidies that were made available by the IRA.

A 2023 analysis published by Sheffield Hallam University revealed that the supply chains of both Trina Solar and LONGi are reportedly linked to the forced labor of Uyghur Muslims in China.

The Journal also reported that China dominates the global supply and refining capacity for the raw materials that are needed to mass-manufacture green energy-related products, with approximately 80% of the world’s solar panel production happening in China.

Even though production costs are still higher in the U.S., some of these companies decided that it is still worthwhile to operate in the American market with the help of subsidies.

The news source wrote that several of the companies that are anticipating access to IRA tax credits previously shifted their production to other countries in Asia as American policy and tariffs changed.

The China-based solar companies bringing operations to the U.S. with the IRA marked a reversal in the decades-long trend of American jobs being offshored to China, according to a White House spokesman.

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