11 AGs Declare War on BlackRock, Vanguard for Coal Market and ESG Manipulation

Luis Cornelio
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11 AGs Declare War on BlackRock, Vanguard for Coal Market and ESG Manipulation

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, joined by 10 other attorneys general, sued three of the world’s largest investment firms, alleging antitrust violations and attempts to manipulate the coal market. 

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, accuses BlackRock, State Street Corporation and Vanguard Group of pressuring coal producers to implement so-called green energy goals. These demands came after the investing firms acquired substantial stockholdings in the coal market in 2021.

According to Paxton, the three investment giants coordinated through the Climate Action 100 and Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative to signal their “mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans across the United States.”

These firms also allegedly deceived investors who chose not to invest in ESG funds to maximize profits, yet the firms pursued ESG strategies regardless. 

Paxton slammed the investment giants in a press release, asserting that Texas “will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda.” 

Paxton added, “BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices. Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of State and federal law.”

The other states joining the lawsuit are Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming. The Buzbee Law Firm and Cooper & Kirk serve as outside counsel. 

In a separate press statement, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey echoed Paxton’s concerns. 

“Again, this is an example of companies pushing their climate agenda, using investments to force other companies and people to abide by their ideology,” Morrisey stated. “These companies should only be maximizing returns for investors, not working to advance their radical climate change agenda by leveraging their holdings and pressuring American energy companies.”

Judge Tosses J6 Provocateur Ray Epps’s Defamation Lawsuit against Fox News

Ken Silva
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Judge Tosses J6 Provocateur Ray Epps’s Defamation Lawsuit against Fox News

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) After a two-day hearing, a federal judge tossed Ray Epps’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Wednesday, saying he didn’t provide enough facts to show that former host Tucker Carlson acted with “actual malice” when he insinuated that Epps may have been working with the government to provoke the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising.

The judge’s dismissal wasn’t listed on the federal court docket as of the publication of this article, but was reported by Politico journalist Kyle Cheney.

Epps is the controversial figure seen on camera on Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, urging protestors to enter the Capitol. He initially appeared on the FBI’s wanted list in relation to the Capitol rioting, only to be removed in the summer of 2021 with no explanation.

Epps initially sued Fox News in July 2023. At the time, he had yet to be charged by the Justice Department for his role in the Jan. 6 protests.

Epps was formally charged with one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in September 2023. He wasn’t charged with inciting a riot or other crimes, even though he’s caught on video telling protestors to go “into the Capitol”—and even though the DOJ described his behavior as “felonious.” Epps also reportedly admitted to the FBI that he trespassed on Capitol grounds, and made a bizarre comment about expecting a bombing to happen that day.

In January, Epps received probation for the one misdemeanor charge. He was also ordered to serve 100 hours of community service.

According to journalist Christina Urso, who attended the sentencing, the government bizarrely went to bat for Epps during the hearing.

“The prosecutor praised Epps ‘de-escalation tactics’ and had a whole slide show for it entitled ‘Attempts to De-escalate.’ Both Judge Boasberg and the prosecutor both claimed ‘he never tried to go into the Capitol,’” Urso reported at the time.

Epps has claimed that the DOJ’s trespassing charge against him disproves the theory that he was a federal asset who encouraged Trump supporters to commit violence on Jan. 6.

“In May 2023, the Department of Justice notified Epps that it would seek to charge him criminally for events on January 6, 2021—two-and-a-half years later. The relentless attacks by Fox and [Tucker] Carlson and the resulting political pressure likely resulted in the criminal charges,” Epps said last year in his failed lawsuit against Fox News.

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

‘Girl, You Lookin’ Rough!’: Kamala Harris Breaks Silence with Booze-Fueled Rant

Julianna Frieman
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‘Girl, You Lookin’ Rough!’: Kamala Harris Breaks Silence with Booze-Fueled Rant

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris broke her post-election silence Tuesday evening in what social media users speculated was a drunken rant.

Harris kept a low profile after she was defeated by President-elect Donald Trump, vacationing in Kalaoa, Hawaii with her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

In video released by the Democratic National Committee, available in full on the vice president’s YouTube channel, a visibly wiped-out Harris struggled to deliver remarks urging Democrats not to let anyone take their power.

“I just have to remind you. Don’t you every let anybody take your power from you,” she said in the 30-second clip posted on X. “You have the same power that you did before November 5th, and you have the same purpose that you did. And you have the same ability to engage and inspire.”

Social media users immediately responded by suggesting Harris got hammered in Hawaii.

Actor Kevin Sorbo asked, “Have you been drinking?”

Blake Marnell, known as “Brick Suit” posted a meme of Harris, first showing her official airbrushed vice-presidential portrait with the text, “THIS IS YOUR LIVER,” beside a screenshot of Harris from the video saying, “THIS IS YOUR LIVER ON ALCOHOL.”

X influencer Jack Posibiec wrote, “Holy s**t she’s hosed,” while comedian Tim Young suggested Democrats wanted to end Harris’s career by releasing a video where she was seemingly inebriated.

“Oh wow.. she’s taking the loss harder than I thought. How much has she had to drink?” X user @OreoExpress commented.

Comedian Terrence K. Williams posted a video of himself reacting to Harris’s reemergence, donning a red Make America Great Again hat.

He initially looked on with wide eyes as Harris spoke, blinking rapidly before laughing and saying, “Kamala! Girl, where you being, at the bar? Oh my goodness, are you okay? Girl, you lookin’ rough!”

X user @LangmanVince jumped in by saying, “My God, someone, please take that drunk to an AA meeting fast!!”

Former GOP candidate Tony Lane of Nevada called Harris’s return “unreal” and questioned whether she was under the influence of some substance.

Former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones said, “Somebody needs to take that Mad Dog 2020 bottle out of her hand. Who allowed her to expose herself with an embarrassing message like this?”

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

Trump Shooting Task Force May Recommend Independence for Secret Service

Ken Silva
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Trump Shooting Task Force May Recommend Independence for Secret Service

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Observers hoping that the Trump Shooting Task Force’s investigation would lead to federal agents being disciplined, fired or even criminally charged are likely to be disappointed.

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who chairs the House Task Force investigating the Trump assassination attempts, recently signaled that one of the outcomes of his investigation will be recommending that the Secret Service become an independent, standalone agency—removing it from being housed within the Department of Homeland Security.

“Separating them, truly making them this elite group to increase the numbers of the people they need, all the assets they need that’s the best approach,” Kelly told WENY News in an article published Monday. Kelly was likely referencing the fact that the Secret Service had to rely on agents from the DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations to assist with security at Butler and other campaign events.

Kelly’s statement came with just over two weeks left for the Task Force to complete its investigation by its Dec. 13 statutory deadline. Task Force members toured FBI facilities in Quantico last week as part of their investigation.

Ranking member Rep. Jason Crow, D-Co., said the Task Force has interviewed 45 law enforcement officials, examined thousands of documents, and held several closed-door briefings as part of its investigation into the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump.

Crow said in a statement that the final investigatory report will include recommendations to ensure “something like this never happens again.”

Last month, an “independent panel” commissioned by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recommended that the Secret Service limit its mission to protecting dignitaries—as opposed to investigating counterfeiting and other crimes.

“The Service shall specifically consider what current responsibilities the Service needs to shed or discharge so that it can provide its protective mission with all resources required to fulfill that responsibility,” the panel recommended.

“The Panel does not make these recommendations or related observations lightly, but rather offers them in view of the crucial nature of the Secret Service’s protective mission for the ongoing continuity of American government and democratic functioning and the extent to which the events of July 13 at Butler have revealed critical deficits in the Service’s ability to operate that mission,” the panel added.

“In that context, in the Panel’s opinion, it is simply unacceptable for the Service to have anything less than a paramount focus on its protective mission, particularly while that protective mission function is presently suboptimal.”

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

FBI Agent, Previously Acquitted for Attempted Murder, Now Faces Rape Charges

Ken Silva
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FBI Agent, Previously Acquitted for Attempted Murder, Now Faces Rape Charges

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) An FBI agent who was acquitted of attempted murder two years ago has now been charged with raping at least two women—with detectives believing there may be more victims.

The Montgomery County Department of Police in Maryland announced the rape charges Monday against the FBI agent, 40-year-old Eduardo Valdivia, of Gaithersburg. Valdivia, an FBI agent and tattoo studio owner, faces charges including two counts of second-degree rape, four counts of fourth-degree sexual offense, and four counts of second-degree assault.

The charges against Valdivia stem from reports made by two women who allege they were raped inside his DC Fine Line Tattoos.

“In October of 2024, the first victim reported being raped by a man she knew as ‘Lalo Brown.’ A second victim came forward with a similar report of sexual assault in November,” a Monday press release from Montgomery Police said.

“Both women stated they were lured to the tattoo studio under the pretense of modeling opportunities with Exeter Models and believed they had been communicating with a woman.”

Both victims later identified their assailant as Valdivia, who is now being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where he is awaiting a bond hearing.

The charges against Valdivia come some two years after a jury found him not guilty of attempted murder for shooting a man on a Metro train in Bethesda, Maryland, on Dec. 15, 2020.

In that case Valdivia was reportedly off duty at the time of the shooting, and claimed self-defense.

“Valdivia shot the man from 2 to 3 feet away, prosecutors said, and did not identify himself as an agent until after the shooting. The man had part or all of his spleen, colon and pancreas removed during surgery after the shooting,” NBC reported.

“The interaction between the two men starts with a fist bump. But when the man asked Valdivia for money on the train, the agent said no and the man muttered expletives while walking away, prosecutors said,” NBC reported.

“Valdivia told the man, ‘Watch your mouth,’ and the man turned around and approached Valdivia, who told him to back up multiple times prior to the shooting.”

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

Pete Hegseth’s Nomination Results in Patriotic Soldiers Enlisting Again

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Pete Hegseth’s Nomination Results in Patriotic Soldiers Enlisting Again

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) It was recently revealed that many patriotic soldiers who wanted to leave the woke military stated that they would continue serving this country after finding out that President-elect Donald Trump nominated conservative Army veteran Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.

During his Nov. 24 appearance on ABC News, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., stated that military re-enlistment is surging after Trump’s nomination of Hegseth. Hagerty claimed that many service members thinking about leaving the military or retiring now say they would re-enlist.

“Pete is a very talented individual. I talked with him earlier this week. He told me about how many people had written to him and said, look, I was thinking about getting out,” Hagerty said. “’You know, we have a huge recruitment problem, a huge retention problem in the military. I was thinking about getting out, but now that you’ve come to lead us, Pete, I’m going to stay in.’”

Hagerty added that this is the “type of inspirational leader we need to see,” adding that Americans should not be distracted by sexual assault allegations against Hegseth.

“Don’t let these allegations distract us. What we need is real, significant change. The Pentagon has been more focused on pronouns than they have lethality the past four years. We need to get back to business, and I think Pete is just the person to do it,” he said.

Conservatives responded positively to the recent news.

“Incredible,” Libs of TikTok wrote.

Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire also noted that the recent news was unsurprising because soldiers tend to be conservative.

“I’m shocked that the patriots who would sign up for military service would want to serve under a badass who actually understands them and doesn’t espouse the bulls*** like Millie or Austin. It’s why the machine is trying to take him out. Populist vs very below-average elites,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote.

Alaska GOP Hires Pro-Trump Lawyer to Review State Election Results

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Alaska GOP Hires Pro-Trump Lawyer to Review State Election Results

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Republicans in Alaska recently hired Donald Trump-supporting lawyer Harmeet Dhillon to recount and review state election results.

“The Alaska Republican Party will request a statewide recount and review of the election results for Ballot Measure 2 – the Repeal of Rank Choice Voting from the 2024 General Election,” Alaska’s Republicans wrote. “We will submit this request, along with the names of the requisite Alaskan voters required to initiate this process, once the election is certified, which is scheduled for November 30, 2024.”

Republicans from Alaska also stated that they hired Dhillon and her team to help them.

“Together with our partners at the Republican National Committee, the Alaska Republican Party has assembled a team to oversee this process,” the Republicans from Alaska wrote. “We have engaged the Dhillon Law Group, led by Harmeet K. Dhillon, to be on the ground during the recount and review, along with our Party Counsel and observers.”

Alaska’s Republicans praised Dhillon and her team and said they look forward to a “thorough and comprehensive review and recount.”

“This fraudulent voting system was funded by Bill Gates a few years ago, and it allowed Lisa Murkowski to be re-elected Senator even though she lost the GOP primary. Every state needs to abolish RCV to restore integrity in our elections. I hope [Dhillon and her team] will uncover the truth during this AK recount,” conservative commentator Rogan O’Handley wrote.

He also pointed out that it wasn’t “just a talking point” because he traveled to Alaska last year to advocate for abolishing the ranked-choice voting system.

Other conservatives on Twitter also celebrated the recent news, praising Dhillon and expressing their dissatisfaction with Alaska’s voting system.

“Ranked choice voting is the worst thing to ever be implemented. Thousands of ballots get tossed due to the confusion it creates. You’re not listing your besties in [junior high school]. You’re voting. For a candidate,” @ElonJoin839 wrote.

Anchorage attorney Scott Kendall, the creator of the state’s voting system, told the Alaska Public Media that he is confident the results will hold up.

“It’s clear to me that Alaskans voted to keep open primaries and ranked-choice, including the tens of thousands of voters who both voted for President Trump, voted for Rep-elect Begich, but also voted no on 2,” Kendall said.

Trump-supporting conservatives have always been critical of the ranked-choice voting system because it helps Democrats and RINOs, like Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to win elections and disenfranchise conservative voters.

NIH Official Admits COVID Rules Were Arbitrary, Vax Side Effects Unknown

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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NIH Official Admits COVID Rules Were Arbitrary, Vax Side Effects Unknown

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The National Institutes of Health’s Chief of Data Standards, Raja Cholan, recently revealed to an undercover journalist working for James O’Keefe’s O’Keefe Media Group that COVID-19 rules were arbitrary and that nobody knows the side effects of the vaccine against the virus.

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this out loud,” Cholan said, adding that the COVID-19 health initiatives were “completely made up.”

“I don’t even know if these vaccines stop you from getting [COVID-19]. They don’t,” he said, adding that people are “going to learn [about vaccine safety] when it’s too late.”

He also said that Pfizer & Moderna “are just getting a bunch of money” and that “vaccines were accelerated through the approval.”

“We fly under the radar of being scrutinized… I don’t think I have too much to worry about,” he said.

Cholan also said that Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election was a bad sign for the NIH because “it would [have] been better [for the organization]” to have a Democrat in the White House.

“I haven’t gotten the latest COVID shots, and I’m not going to… there’s mixed evidence about if it really does anything,” Cholan said.

He also pointed out that vaccines could be harmful to people’s health, especially if they are young.

“For people that are 30 or under, it really increases your risk for heart conditions. The data does show that… I’m close enough to 30 to where I don’t want to have a heart attack,” he said.

Cholan also stated that “there is some evidence” that the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases “might have funded… a lab in Wuhan, China, to make COVID-19.”

He also criticized the vaccine approval process, stating that the COVID-19 vaccine was not tested.

“The measles vaccine requires several rounds of approval, but the COVID-19 vaccines were accelerated through the approvals for all of us to get our boosters,” Cholan said.

People on Twitter quickly responded to the recently released information by O’Keefe’s team.

“I’m so shocked,” Elon Musk wrote sarcastically.

Conservative political commentator Rogan O’Handley also reacted to the recent news.

“The great thing about these videos is now we will soon have a DOJ and FBI that will investigate this corruption,” he wrote.

The founder of Infowars, Alex Jones, also claimed that people responsible for pushing the vaccines and masks should be put behind bars.

“More confrontation of what we already knew. We are well past the time to arrest these people. If the Bill Gates/UN/WEF crime syndicate is not stopped, they will launch a new scamdemic soon. It’s us or them,” he wrote.

Fauci Still Gets Chauffeur, Security Detail

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Fauci Still Gets Chauffeur, Security Detail

(Jeremy Portnoy, RealClearInvestigations) Taxpayers have spent $15 million on security services for ex-COVID czar Anthony Fauci in the last two years, after he had already returned to life as a private citizen, according to a new report from OpenTheBooks.com.

The security agreement took effect in January 2023 and extended to September 2024. However, the agreement states that the contract could be further extended. OpenTheBooks.com asked the U.S. Marshals Service for clarification, and they didn’t respond.

The price tag includes salaries and benefits for the U.S. Marshals guarding Fauci, a private chauffeur, law enforcement equipment and more.

Fauci—formerly the highest paid of all federal government officials,with a salary of $480,654 in 2022—retired from his position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in December 2022.

He claimed he still receives death threats from those unhappy with his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

OpenTheBooks.com uncovered the arrangement between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice through a Freedom of Information request.

The expense comes as the Marshals Service is struggling to protect current government employees. The agency asked Congress for an extra $28.1 million next year to better protect federal judges with its limited staffing resources.

OpenTheBooks.com estimated that Fauci’s pension will exceed $350,000, also the largest ever.

He and his wife, Christine Grady, had a net worth as high as $12.6 million in 2022. That was over $5 million higher than in 2019, before the pandemic began.

Intel Reaches $8B Deal for CHIPS Money, If Bill Can Avoid Repeal

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Intel Reaches $8B Deal for CHIPS Money, If Bill Can Avoid Repeal

(, The Center Square) After delays and lobbying from business groups around the country, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Intel announced a deal Tuesday morning to release nearly $8 billion in direct CHIPS Act funding.

The $7.86 billion directly impacts Intel’s commercial semiconductor manufacturing and advanced manufacturing projects in Ohio, Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon.

Overall, the California-based company says its planned U.S. investments, including those not supported by CHIPS, will lead to more than 10,000 company jobs, 20,000 construction jobs and more than 50,000 indirect jobs with suppliers and supporting industries.

“With Intel 3 already in high-volume production and Intel 18A set to follow next year, leading-edge semiconductors are once again being made on American soil,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a release.

“Strong bipartisan support for restoring American technology and manufacturing leadership is driving historic investments that are critical to the country’s long-term economic growth and national security,” he added. “Intel is deeply committed to advancing these shared priorities as we further expand our U.S. operations over the next several years.”

Aside from manufacturing and technology plans, Intel will use $65 million to create more skilled semiconductor workers by training students and faculty at a variety of education levels. Also, $5 million will be used to increase child care availability near the company’s facilities, and $4 million will help with the CHIPS Women in Construction Framework.

“The CHIPS for America program will supercharge American technology and innovation and make our country more secure—and Intel is expected to play an important role in revitalization of the U.S. semiconductor industry,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine welcomed the announcement that continues to move forward Intel’s massive $20 billion chip manufacturing site in central Ohio.

The site broke ground in September 2022 and is expected to lead to 3,000 direct jobs, 7,000 construction jobs, and what DeWine called tens of thousands of additional indirect and support jobs.

Communities throughout central Ohio also welcomed Intel’s initial announcement and scrambled to develop plans for expected expanding schools, as well as housing and infrastructure needs.

“Today’s announcement that Intel-Ohio is receiving CHIPS Act funding is a much-needed step forward in the important objective of making the most advanced computer chips in America,” DeWine said in a statement Tuesday morning.

“The DeWine–Husted Administration has never wavered in its pledge to bring these chip manufacturing plants to Ohio,” he added. “The work to build the Silicon Heartland now moves forward with even more certainty, advancing our economic and national security to the benefit of the working people of Ohio and America.”

In its first progress report required to Ohio leaders, Intel said in March it had spent $1.5 billion and committed another $3 billion to the project in the Columbus suburb of New Albany.

The project includes $2 billion in incentives for the two planned microchip manufacturing facilities in Licking County, including taxpayer-funded grants and tax incentives.

Intel’s contract with Ohio says it must meet its job-creation goals by 2028.

The announcement comes after U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said recently that Republicans would probably try to repeal the act that Ohio Republican leaders have praised for years and led Intel to announce a $4.5 billion commitment to the state in the largest single private-sector investment in state history.

In mid-November, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and nearly 20 business groups from four states wanted the Biden administration to start handing out money from the CHIPS Act immediately. In a letter, the groups from Ohio, New York, Oregon and New Mexico wanted the money distributed now.

The CHIPS Act, more formally the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act, was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022. The final roll-call votes were 64-33 in the Senate and 243-187 in the House of Representatives.

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