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Deadbeats! Saudis won’t pay $13.7M bill for US military fuel

Between 2015 and 2018, the United States supplied Saudi Arabia with tens of millions of dollars worth of jet fuel in support for the kingdom’s bombing campaign in Yemen. Seven years later, the Saudis refuse to repay most of their debt. And they are being rewarded for it.

A Department of Defense report that was sent to Congress last October, reviewed by Responsible Statecraft, and previously unreported suggests that Pentagon officials are becoming increasingly desperate to recoup an outstanding $13.7 million in fuel costs that Saudi Arabia owes the U.S.

“DLA energy and US central command will continue to engage the Saudi Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Finance through United State Military Training Mission – Saudi Arabia scheduled meetings, various MOD/MOF and DoD Key Leader Engagements, face to face meetings within the CONUS and Saudi Arabia, and through email correspondence until the SLC fuel debt is paid in full,” the report stated.

In 2018, the Pentagon realized it had made an accounting error. The Pentagon had undercharged Saudi Arabia and the UAE by $36 million for jet fuel and another $294 million in flight hours for U.S. tanker aircraft that refueled Saudi and Emirati warplanes in midair.

With Washington’s help, the arrangement allowed Saudi and Emirati jets — which, besides actual military targets, bombed hospitals, schools, marketplaces, and weddings — to stay in the air for up to three hours instead of a mere 15 minutes. But instead of the two oil-rich Gulf nations footing the bill for the aerial-refueling process, as is required by law, it was the American taxpayer.

Seven years later — while the larger flight hours bill has been paid — Saudi Arabia has yet to pay $13.7 million worth of its jet fuel debt. The UAE, which owed the U.S. around $15 million for jet fuel, has reimbursed Washington in full.

The kingdom certainly does not lack the funds. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund oversees $925 billion in assets.

Rather, Saudi Arabia appears to be pleading ignorance; the Intercept reported that Saudi officials told representatives of the Defense Logistics Agency and U.S. Central Command last year that they were “not aware of the outstanding debt and requested some additional time to investigate the issue.”

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Futures Soar On Optimism For Tariff Deals

After three days of big losses and record-breaking volatility, equity futures are rebounding sharply following somewhat soothing comments from Treasury Secretary Bessent (although how long the relative calm lasts is anyone’s guess, given there’s little clarity about what Trump wants in exchange for cutting tariffs). As of 8:10am, S&P futures are 2.9% higher, a bounce which started around the time we informed readers that Goldman’s head of risk of risk had turned bullish yesterday afternoon; Nasdaq futures are up 2.7%, with all Mag7 names higher with Semis and Cyclicals also outperforming. European and Asian markets are also broadly higher. The VIX is down 10 vols below 40, while Chinese ADRs are mixed. Bond yields have reversed earlier losses and are up 1bp to 4.22% with the USD dropping. Todays’ macro data focus is the Small Business Optimism report which saw sentiment tumble to 97.4 from 100.7 the lowest since the Trump election (Hiring Plans also slumped; these tend to have a lagged but positive correlation to NFP).

In premarket trading, Nvidia is leading the Magnificent Seven higher (Nvidia +4%, Amazon +3.3%, Meta +3%, Tesla +3.0%, Alphabet +2.5%, Apple +1.6%, Microsoft little changed). Health insurance stocks are rallying after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized a 5.06% average increase in payments to Medicare Advantage plans from 2025 to 2026, an increase from its earlier projection (Humana +14%, Alignment Healthcare +10%, CVS +8.8%, UnitedHealth +7.2%, Centene +4.9%). Here are some other notable premarket movers:

  • Agco Corp. (AGCO) rises 2% after Citi upgraded the agricultural equipment company to buy, saying that the company is “favorably positioned given its ~65% exposure to Europe and South America, which we anticipate recovering ahead” of North America.
  • Blackstone (BX) rises 3% after the private equity firm is upgraded to market outperform from market perform at Citizens.
  • Chegg (CHGG) falls 2% as JPMorgan downgrades its rating to underweight, saying the education technology company is facing secular headwinds.
  • CME (CME) rises 2.5% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) gains 3.4% after Morgan Stanley upgrades its ratings across exchange operators and brokers in a hunt for more defensive exposure.
  • El Pollo Loco (LOCO) rises 10% after receiving an unsolicited, non-binding indication of interest from Biglari Capital Corp.
  • Eli Lilly & Co (LLY) climbs 2% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the obesity drugmaker to buy, citing a “compelling entry point into the sector’s premier topline grower” at current levels.
  • Levi Strauss (LEVI) jumps 11% after the apparel retailer maintained its full-year outlook in the face of sweeping new US tariffs that are poised to significantly raise costs for multinational apparel companies.
  • Marvell Technology (MRVL) climbs 4% after Infineon agreed to buy the chip designer’s automotive networking business for $2.5 billion. The deal makes sense given the firm’s strategic focus on artificial intelligence, analysts say.
  • Nu Holdings (NU) rises 4% after JPMorgan upgraded the bank to overweight, saying “even in our more conservative estimates we see Nu growing earnings more than 30% in next 3 years, something hard to find.”
  • Teradata Corp. (TDC) rises 4% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the database management company to overweight, saying “we acknowledge the company remains a model in transition with risk of extending sales cycles,” but at the current valuation, “we believe this is more than priced in.”

Traders are dipping back into risk assets after one of the most brutal selloffs in years, with some taking hints that President Donald Trump might be willing to ease his position on trade terms after Japan pushed ahead with talks. That sent the Nikkei 225 index to a 6% surge. Goldman traders are turning outright bullish anticipating a big bounce in stocks here, with many citing expectations that Trump will cut trade deals.

“The Trump administration is signaling his openness to trade deals,” said Elias Haddad, a strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. “Regardless, the pervasive uncertainty created by continuously changing US tariff threats and the scope of potential retaliatory measures remain a major blow to the global economy. Bottom line: relief rallies in risk assets will likely be short-lived.”

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How Taxpayer-Funded Censorship Tools Could Manipulate What Americans See About Vaccines, Raw Milk, And More

The U.S. government funded various online censorship tools, some of which went missing after President Donald Trump took office. Others, however, are still operating today — potentially limiting what Americans see online, especially regarding health issues.

The National Science Foundation incubated a host of programs through its Convergence Accelerator to fight online speech deemed “misinformation,” many of which recently dropped off the map, as The Federalist previously reported. But some of these projects continue today — adopted by left-leaning institutions and dedicated to controlling online speech.

The censorship projects still operating include Chime In, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust, housed in leftist nonprofit Discourse Labs; and Expert Voices Together, adopted by the left-wing group Right To Be. 

Chime In

The tool Chime In was previously called “Course Correct.” UW-Madison developed Course Correct as an anti-“misinformation” dashboard for journalists, as The Federalist previously reported. The NSF awarded the project $5 million starting in 2022. According to the grant description, it hoped to “scale Course Correct into local, national, and international newsrooms…” 

The program was renamed to Chime In “more than a year ago,” university spokesman John Lucas previously told The Federalist. Chime In is housed in UW-Madison’s Center for Communication and Civic Renewal, and aims to “counter vaccine hesitancy.”

As The College Fix reported in 2023, the program conducted “pilot testing… on issues including: raw milk, genetically modified foods, vaccine safety, fluoride in water, Covid-19, and sunscreen safety.” The project could also collude with media to manipulate the public narrative.

“Once journalists evaluate the size and reach of these misinformation networks detected by the dashboard, they work with Course Correct staff to develop and rapidly test messages that will reduce the flow of misinformation,” reads the project’s NSF description. “Course Correct will seed the affected misinformation network with sponsored social media posts…”

The Federalist obtained a screen recording of the Chime In software. The program helps users create messaging “experiments,” creating their own target groups, such as “vaccine skeptics.” Users can push their narratives on different platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, then request funding for these campaigns. Finally, the tool enables users to draft specific posts to be promoted across social media.

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Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who led 2020 election probe agrees to surrender law license

A former Wisconsin state Supreme Court justice who spread election conspiracies and led an investigation into President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss in the swing state agreed Monday to surrender his law license to settle multiple misconduct violations.

The state Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a 10-count complaint in November against Michael Gableman, accusing him of misconduct during the probe. The state Supreme Court ultimately could revoke Gableman’s law license, although the court rarely administers such a harsh punishment against wayward attorneys.

The OLR and Gableman filed a stipulation with the Supreme Court on Monday in which they agreed an appropriate sanction would be suspending Gableman’s license for three years. A referee overseeing the case and the Supreme Court must approve the agreement before it can take effect.

Gableman acknowledged in the filing that the complaint provides “an adequate factual basis” and that he couldn’t successfully defend himself against the allegations.

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Racist Democrat Jasmine Crockett Argues that the US Needs Illegal Aliens Because, “We Done Picking Cotton” 

Radical Democrat Jasmine Crockett, who attended elitist private schools in her youth, made the argument this weekend that the country needs illegal immigrants to “pick our cotton.”

Jasmine Crockett was speaking at Grace Baptist Church in Connecticut when she made the remarks.

Democrat Jasmine Crockett: “I had to go around the country and educate people about what immigrants do for this country or the fact that we are a country of immigrants. The fact is, ain’t none of you all trying to go and farm right now. Okay, so I’m lying. Raise your hands. You’re not. You’re not. We done picking cotton. We are.”

Has Thicko Crocket ever heard of Eli Whitney and the cotton gin?

Does this dimwit really believe illegal immigrants are picking cotton in the South?

And just think, Democrats embrace her as the future of the party!

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Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs Prompt Japan Trade Negotiations with U.S.

President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs have helped open trade negotiations between the United States and one of its key economic partners — Japan.

Last week, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs, a policy that has the United States set tariffs based on the rate that each country in the world imposes on the U.S. For Japan, the tariff rate with the U.S. is now 24 percent.

As a result, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is looking to negotiate trade with the Trump administration.

“Countries from all over the world are talking to us. Tough but fair parameters are being set. Spoke to the Japanese Prime Minister this morning. He is sending a top team to negotiate!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They have treated the U.S. very poorly on trade. They don’t take our cars, but we take MILLIONS of theirs. Likewise, agriculture, and many other ‘things.’ It all has to change, but especially with CHINA!!!”

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REPORT: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Flew FIRST CLASS to the Bernie Sanders ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Event in Las Vegas

Far left New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been speaking publicly with Bernie Sanders on a ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour but she is doing it in luxury, of course.

When AOC traveled to Las Vegas for one of these events in March, she was spotted flying first class. Nothing but the best, right?

Doesn’t this conflict with AOC’s professed beliefs about climate change? Isn’t a first class seat much worse than a coach seat, according to the true believers? AOC used to have a Tesla. Why didn’t she drive her electric car to the event?

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Taiwan Offers Zero Tariffs and More Investment in U.S.

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te on Sunday proposed zero tariffs, lower trade barriers, and more investment in the United States instead of retaliating against President Donald Trump’s tariff increases.

President Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday included 32 percent on all Taiwanese exports except semiconductors, which are Taiwan’s most celebrated and economically significant product.

Trump had threatened in March to include Taiwanese semiconductors on his tariff list, because he said Taiwan “stole” the industry from America with unfair trade practices.

“They stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit. I blame the people that were sitting in this seat because they allowed it to happen,” Trump said in March.

The president’s position on Taiwanese semiconductors softened a little after the island’s biggest chipmaker, TSMC, pledged to spend $100 billion on five new semiconductor factories in Arizona over the next four years.

Officials in Taipei were stunned when Trump slapped 32-percent tariffs on everything except semiconductors last week. Taiwanese cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee called the tariffs “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.”

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Beware: The ECB Digital Currency Is Coming

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, has announced that the digital euro will be ready for October 2025.

However, she stressed the importance of moving forward with the legislative process that would impose the digital euro, urging the European Commission, the European Council, and member states parliaments to accelerate the laws and directives that are required to make the digital euro viable.

Why the rush? The European Central Bank’s losses have risen to 7.8 billion euros, and the European monetary authority has posted the second consecutive loss, while sovereign bonds in Europe have slumped again in the first two months of 2025. The ECB needs a digital euro to wash away its disastrous policy of the past decade.

The second reason is because confidence in the ECB’s policy is declining, sovereign bonds are not a reserve asset anymore, and inflation expectations rise. The hurry to impose the digital euro also comes at a time when European member states have announced large plans to spend, borrow, and invest in defense. Thus, the digital euro is critical to imposing the use of the euro as a currency, expanding the control of citizens, and disguising fiscal imbalances with a dangerous tool issued by a monetary institution that has lost most of its credibility in the past five years.

Remember that the ECB’s mandate is price stability, but inflation in the euro area has exceeded 22% in the past four years. At the same time, the European sovereign bond index has fallen by 14% since 2022.

There is another important reason to rush the digital euro. Global central banks and investment firms are concerned that European states will confiscate the assets of the Russian central bank, setting a dangerous precedent that could affect the assets of other non-European nations. As foreign funds fearing confiscation may leave the European financial system, the digital euro may be a useful tool to impose the use of the currency even if demand declines.

The digital euro, which Lagarde described in 2022 as “a digital banknote with a little less anonymity than the paper banknote because it is issued and guaranteed by the central bank,” is an unnecessary and dangerous tool.

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have been gaining attention as the technology of the future for monetary systems, but beneath their promise of efficiency and innovation lies a more pessimistic reality: they can serve as tools for surveillance, eroding personal privacy and financial freedom.

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Affluent New Jersey city considers controversial ordinance that would fine or jail homeless people for sleeping outside

A tony New Jersey city is considering approving a controversial new ordinance that would fine or jail homeless people found sleeping in public spaces.

Summit Councilman Jamel Boyer, a Republican, introduced the ordinance last Tuesday, claiming it serves to “preserve the safe and accessible use of public property for all residents, pedestrians and businesses.”

The ordinance in Summit would prohibit the homeless from camping in public areas, including parks, sidewalks, alleyways, and benches.

If approved, anyone found violating the ordinance would face a fine of up to $2,000 “and/or imprisonment or community service for a term not to exceed ninety days,” the order says.

A similar ordinance was presented in Morristown, NJ, in February but was struck down following massive backlash from the community and advocacy groups, NJ.com reported.

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