Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

Trump Targets Birth Tourism After Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship

The Trump administration has revoked at least 4,000 visas tied to birth tourism, the practice of traveling to the United States to give birth so the child receives U.S. citizenship, the White House announced on October 20. The State Department’s Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has revoked more than 700 visas held by Chinese nationals since its August launch.

The crackdown follows the Supreme Court’s June 30 ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which rejected Trump’s January 2025 executive order limiting birthright citizenship by a 6–3 vote.

On August 6, Trump signed two orders targeting birth tourism. At the Oval Office signing, he called the ruling a “very unfortunate decision” and said the birth tourism order “keeps American citizenship sacred,” according to CNN.

Ending Birth Tourism directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to deny or revoke visas, deny entry, and remove foreign nationals who engage in or plan to engage in birth tourism. It also targets facilitators, accusing operators of deceptive advertising and visa abuse that divert consular resources and undermine national security.

As detailed in my previous reporting, birth tourism agencies have marketed comprehensive packages to Chinese clients, combining visa assistance, airport transfers, housing, meals, medical referrals, and newborn documentation. Some also supplied maternity caregivers to supervise the traditional month-long postpartum recovery, handling arrangements from the visa interview through the family’s return to China.

The businesses could operate at substantial scale. One agency maintained more than 15 properties in Los Angeles and San Francisco and handled between 600 and 1,000 pregnant clients annually. Operators coached women on visa interviews and sometimes recommended entering through Las Vegas or Hawaii, where they believed screening would be easier. Federal prosecutions have also cited money laundering and fraudulent applications for discounted hospital care.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force on August 12. “American citizenship is not for sale,” he wrote on X, accusing birth tourism rings of coaching applicants to defraud the visa system. The task force reviews travel histories using State Department and Homeland Security data. The Justice Department has also directed prosecutors to prioritize prosecutions involving birth tourism.

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Scientists Trapped an Antimatter Particle for Months to Study Its Secrets

Antimatter is not known for being easy to get ahold of. That’s part of why these particles remain so cryptic. But recently, a team of physicists at Northwestern University managed to trap a single antimatter particle for months. Cooling it to temperatures near absolute zero, they could control its quantum states with great precision without even touching it. The experiment, published in Physical Review Letters, represents a breakthrough in our understanding of one of the great mysteries of physics.

In theory, antimatter should be everywhere. Mathematics predicts that every particle of matter has an equivalent antiparticle, a fact that scientists have verified experimentally. The universe should therefore contain similar amounts of both, but almost everything we observe is made up of ordinary matter, and we still don’t know why.

It is possible to produce antimatter particles in laboratories, but studying them is still incredibly difficult. When an antiparticle comes into contact with ordinary matter, the two annihilate each other and release energy. To prevent research facilities from exploding, scientists use vacuum chambers and electromagnetic fields that suspend the antiparticles in isolation. But this only partially solves the problem. Studying these particles, especially experimenting with their behavior on a quantum scale, remains challenging.

For this experiment, researchers at Northwestern trapped a positron, the antimatter counterpart of electrons. The team, led by Gerald Gabrielse, developed a device known as a single-positron quantum cyclotron, which used electric and magnetic fields to hold the positron in a vacuum at a temperature close to absolute zero. This means the antimatter particle was at its lowest energy state, allowing the researchers to induce controlled changes in its quantum behavior. Unlike other methods in particle physics, this approach didn’t destroy the particle. The researchers were therefore able to keep the single antiparticle trapped for months, allowing them to repeat measurements.

So what can taming antimatter particles actually teach us? Scientists know that matter and antimatter have very similar properties. For example, an electron and a positron have exactly the same mass, although their electric charges are opposite. However, questions still remain about exactly how similar these two forms of matter are and whether there are small differences that have gone unnoticed in experiments conducted to date.

To this end, researchers want to compare the magnetic properties of both particles. Physicists have already made very precise measurements with electrons, but achieving the same level of precision with positrons has proven more difficult. According to the American Physical Society, the new device could enable measurements of antimatter particles about 30 times more precise than scientists were capable of before.

So far, the experiment has not revealed any unexpected differences between the two particles. What the researchers have achieved is an improvement in their ability to detect these differences in antimatter particles. If future measurements find that a positron responds to magnetic fields differently than an electron, scientists would have to revise some of the laws they use to explain the behavior of matter and antimatter.

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100 years later, the mystery of Houdini’s death endures

Harry Houdini, the greatest escape artist who ever lived, has been the subject of hundreds of books and movies. A pop icon, even today. He died 100 years ago this week, on Halloween – a coincidence that did nothing to diminish his mystique. But we’ll get to that.

Erik Weisz was born in Hungary, in 1874. When he was four, the family moved to Wisconsin. As a teenager, he performed magic tricks in sideshows and beer halls. “He was a skinny kid, and he built himself up,” said New Yorker staff writer David Denby. “He became this beautiful, incredible body, and he was a handsome man.”

But according to Denby, he wanted a catchier name. He turned to his idol, Houdin, the great French magician of the 19th century: “So, he took the name Houdin and added an i and pronounced it as Houdini. But the name always sounded funny. It’s vaguely Italian, but it’s not. What is it?”

Houdini historian Roger Dreyer owns one of the world’s largest collections of Houdini artifacts, such as the Metamorphosis Trunk. He says Houdini’s magic tricks didn’t exactly bring the house down. “If he was to perform it today, he wouldn’t even make it past the second round on ‘America’s Got Talent,'” Dreyer said. “It wasn’t until his Metamorphosis Trunk that Houdini really became bookable; theaters wanted to see his act. People today, over 100 years after Houdini’s death, still perform this exact same trick.”

After being locked in a trunk, Houdini switched places with his new wife, Bess, instantly. But once he added handcuff escapes to his show, Houdini became a sensation. Denby said, “He would be put in a cell, virtually naked, shackled. He’d come out 20 minutes later holding the handcuffs. The specialists were called out of their corners to produce the most complicated locks for him. He’d lick it every time. There’s no record of his failure.”

Denby says there was symbolism in his escapes: “He would defeat those police forces all over the world. And so, there was definitely a kind of anti-authoritarian message that people liked.”

In time, the act was more than escaping shackles. It became about escaping death. “He always reinvented himself,” Dreyer said. “Initially, he got out of a trunk. Then Houdini got out of a straitjacket. Then Houdini would get out of a straitjacket hanging from a crane. Then Houdini would go inside a live jumbo water tank upside down.”

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‘No Enemy Dares to Threaten Me’: Ilhan Omar Shares Video with Somali Diss Track

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) posted a video Friday of herself walking beside a Minnesota lake with her husband, set to a Somali song the lyrics of which describe humiliating enemies and making them “suffer and cry,” according to a translation obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The 27-second clip shows Omar with her husband, Tim Mynett, accompanied by “Nimaan Ciilayba Icaaya,” a song by Somali rapper Ilkacase Qays featuring singer Hodan Abdirahman.

“Less scrolling, more strolling. Enjoying our beautiful Minnesota lakes,” Omar wrote. Her caption did not mention President Donald Trump or identify anyone as the target of the song.

The Free Beacon interpreted the music choice as a swipe at Trump amid federal investigations involving Omar’s immigration records and financial disclosures. The outlet said it commissioned a certified English translation of the Somali lyrics.

“The almighty has given me strength,” the translated lyrics read. “If I confront you in the afternoon, by evening, I will teach you a lesson and keep you awake throughout the night. Yes, you will suffer and cry in seething. You will scream like a demon.”

Another passage challenges the singer’s opponents:

“Let me show you who I am. No enemy dares to threaten me,” the song continues, according to the translation. “Let the enemies die of seething. We are the ones who rule this land.”

The Free Beacon also reported that the lyrics refer to subjugating and humiliating enemies. Those words come from the song’s translated lyrics, rather than remarks Omar made in the video.

Omar has appeared with both performers before. According to the Free Beacon, footage uploaded to YouTube shows her singing and dancing with Qays and Abdirahman at a gathering in May. She was also filmed dancing beside Qays at the Somali Global Awards in Minneapolis in June.

Omar’s post came less than two weeks after Homeland Security Investigations agents searched her Washington, DC, home on October 12. The Justice Department confirmed that investigators carried out a court-authorized search as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.

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Lewiston, Maine Juvenile Gun Violence Likely Linked to Mass Migration of Somali and African Migrants

Lewiston, Maine, the state’s second most populous city, has been dealing with a frightening amount of youth gun violence. The police reported that there have been 35 gun-related incidents so far in 2026, 22 of those involving juveniles.

The city is home to a sizable population of Somali refugees. There are also refugees from other African nations, too.

Fox News Reported:

LEWISTON, Maine — A New England city transformed by an influx of refugees and immigrants is now grappling with a youth gun violence crisis after police reported 35 gun-related incidents this year, 22 involving juveniles.

“I don’t feel safe. I fear for my life,” Mohamed Muhumed, a Lewiston teenager, told Fox News Digital. “I saw someone get punched in the middle of the sidewalk over there. It’s crazy.”

The city, Maine’s second most populous and home to a large population of refugees from Somali and other African nations, is experiencing a serious youth gun violence problem.

“Lewiston Police Chief Carly Conley called gun violence ‘one of the most serious public safety challenges’ facing the city,” Fox News reported.

The police are consistent in arresting the offending youth who commit gun violence, but they are continually being released by the courts.

Rick LaChapelle, a Republican running for Mayor of Lewiston, explained that the police have been doing a good job of making arrests. He explained “It’s been a one-party rule forever that has instilled the rules that there’s no accountability.”

The current Mayor is Democrat Carl Sheline,. He has been outspoken against ICE operations in Maine.

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‘This Is Assault’: Utah Woman Speaks Out After Cop Body Slammed Her at Data Center Protest

A Utah woman is speaking out after video showed a police officer slamming her to the ground as she was protesting against the approval of an artificial intelligence data center.

In a Thursday interview with Fox 13 Salt Lake City, 27-year-old Aspen Azalea demanded the firing of Utah County Sheriff’s Deputy Phillip Crawford after he was caught on video throwing her to the ground during a Wednesday night meeting of the Utah County Planning Commission in the city of Provo.

“Bare minimum, Phil Crawford needs to be fired, bare minimum,” Azalea said. “This is assault. He did throw me to the ground.”

Video of the incident shows Crawford pulling Azalea out of her seat at the meeting and escorting her out of the main chamber. Shortly after bringing her into the lobby area, he slams her face-first onto the floor.

The Utah County Sheriff’s Office claimed that Azalea kicked Crawford in the groin just before he slammed her to the ground, which Azalea denied.

“No, I never kicked him,” she told Fox 13 Salt Lake City. “I absolutely didn’t kick him.”

The woman also noted that, had the deputy thrown her to the ground just a few feet further, she could have hit her head on a nearby bench.

“What really scares me about that situation is that he could have killed me because there was a bench,” she said. “If he threw me into that bench, I don’t think I’d be here today.”

In a separate interview published Thursday by The Salt Lake Tribune, Azalea said that she suffered a concussion, as well as bruises on her jaw, knee, and shoulder.

Azalea acknowledged to The Salt Lake Tribune that she shouted during the Wednesday meeting, as she has shouted at other meetings to protest the development of data centers.

“I have a habit of talking at data center meetings,” she told the newspaper. “But never have I been met with such excessive force.”

Azalea faces misdemeanor charges of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, and disrupting a meeting.

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French PM Puts Telecoms On Alert For Nationwide Social Media Blackout As Far-Left Riots Spiral

Student grievances may have sparked the unrest, but one communist protester explained the turmoil in the streets is part of a broader revolution against “Macron and capitalism.”

Prepare For Nationwide Social Media Blackout

By late Saturday evening, French authorities had detained almost 1,000 people during demonstrations and riots that drew at least 400,000 participants, while far-left uprisings spread across other parts of Europe.

About 110,000 people demonstrated in Paris, according to the Interior Ministry. The government deployed about 70,000 officers across major metro areas.

Michael Shellenberger reports:

France’s Prime Minister asked telecom companies to prepare to block social media platforms. “I wish to have the ability to temporarily suspend access to these services in case of a repeat of urban violence.”

Separately, far-left unrest emerged in Albania, Spain, and Brussels, as well as in Italy’s cities of Naples, Rome, and Milan.

Footage from across Europe today, as communists stage a broader revolutionary movement:

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The Energy Crisis Escalates: The Dual Threat Of More War In The Middle East And Hurricane Isaias Damaging U.S. Refineries In The Gulf Is Pushing Oil Prices Even Higher

Just when it seemed like we had hit a period of relative calm, global events are starting to accelerate again. Within the past 24 hours, there have been a couple of absolutely enormous developments. First of all, Tropical Storm Isaias has become Hurricane Isaias and we are being told that it will make landfall along the Gulf Coast. That is potentially a major problem because the Gulf Coast accounts for over 50 percent of the crude oil refining capacity in the United States. If any of that capacity is taken offline for an extended period of time, that will drive fuel prices substantially higher. Meanwhile, Iran has been attacking tankers at a very alarming pace this week, and President Trump is reportedly considering a new wave of airstrikes on Iran…

This is a major bombshell.

If the U.S. starts extensively bombing Iran again, the war in the Middle East could spiral completely out of control.

The good news is that President Trump is now pledging that the U.S. will not be bombing Iran until after the midterms…

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AOC Goes Full Woke On ‘Trans Rights’ Because She’s A ‘Girl’s Girl’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said at a Maine town hall Thursday that she defends transgender rights because she is a “girl’s girl,” telling the crowd she does not support trans rights just to protect her own, but supports “the rights of trans women because I’m a girl’s girl.” She added that compromising one trans person’s rights compromises every citizen’s.

The event was a “Students vs. Billionaires” town hall at the State Theatre in Portland on Oct. 22, hosted by the group More Perfect University, where she appeared with Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson, the Bangor Daily News reported. Newsweek said students asked about healthcare, transgender rights and foreign policy; its account does not say what she answered on the last one.

Asked by a transgender-identifying college student why many Democrats are backing away from the issue, Ocasio-Cortez said “They’re wrong.” She said she was ashamed of people who “scare so easily after an election,” the Daily Wire reports. She then accused the Trump administration of using the issue to go after Title IX, the federal ban on sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.

She tied the sports fight to sexual assault, saying it attacks “all women’s ability to stand up against their abusers.” The remark was about campuses. The Daily Wire is the only outlet found so far that reports her answers on the issue, so the wording above is its transcription.

The Democrats she was rebuking are mostly in competitive races. Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, in an ad covered by the Nationl News Desk on Oct. 8, says she “voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools”. North Carolina Rep. Don Davis’s ad says “states should decide what’s right for protecting women and girls.” New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, who co-chairs Equality PAC, called such ads “deeply offensive,” according to that report, which cites Axios.

In Iowa, state senator Sarah Trone Garriott released a spot saying she opposes “letting men in women’s locker rooms.” The Washington Examiner reported in August that she had voted as a state senator against bills restricting trans students in girls’ sports and locker rooms, and that Republican Rep. Zach Nunn’s campaign was running ads on the vote.

Maine is where Ocasio-Cortez’s pitch is being tested. The Senate race is a toss-up, and three October polls reported by Newsweek have Jackson ahead of Republican Sen. Susan Collins: Suffolk University 49% to 47%, InsiderAdvantage 49% to 47%, and a Washington Post/George Mason University poll 50% to 46%. Newsweek noted that polls underestimated Collins in 2020, when she won with more than 50% after trailing in surveys.

At the event, Ocasio-Cortez urged Maine women to back Jackson and faulted Collins for her vote to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. Collins spokesman Blake Kernen answered that Jackson spends time with “far-left progressive office holders,” the Bangor Daily News reported. The Daily Wire noted that Ocasio-Cortez is reportedly considering a 2028 presidential run.

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