Tag: corruption

The Economist Cites A Study By Literal Antifa To Talk About ‘Right-Wing Violence’

Since the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk, legacy media have gone above and beyond to tank what little credibility they had with the broader American public. And that statement could not be more applicable to The Economist.

Late last week, the U.K.-based outlet ran a story attempting to run cover for the spate of leftist-led violence wreaking havoc across the United States. To accomplish this feat, the piece highlighted several “studies and datasets … largely compiled by researchers whom s[k]eptical conservatives would probably dismiss as biased” to “suggest that the killing of Mr Kirk is not representative of broader trends.”

And whom, may you wonder, is among these esteemed “researchers” cited by The Economist? None other than the University of Cincinnati’s Michael Loadenthal, a radical leftist who previously disclosed his affiliation with the left-wing militant group Antifa.

As Eoin Lenihan previously wrote in these pages, “In 2021, Loadenthal spoke at a ‘White Nationalism Workshop‘ and an ‘Extremism, Rhetoric and Democratic Precarity‘ roundtable at [Dayton] University’s ‘Social Practice Of Human Rights Conference.’” It was during the former event, Lenihan noted, that “Loadenthal introduced himself by stating that he is militant Antifa; he then continued his talk by teaching audience members how to securely dox people to their employers.”

“Throughout the talk he framed his work in explicitly ‘antifascist’ terms, explaining how he employs ‘antifascist intelligence‘ to dox individuals online and in real life,” Lenihan wrote.

In its article, The Economist noted Loadenthal’s work on the “Prosecution Project,” which purportedly “analyses felony criminal cases involving political violence to see which ideologies are most common,” according to the outlet. The project’s data ostensibly “show[s] that extremists on both left and right commit violence, although more incidents appear to come from right-leaning attackers.”

As 1776 Project PAC founder Ryan James Girdusky recently observed, however, the Prosecution Project’s “data” appears highly questionable (if not flat out inaccurate), as it “ties in people with no political affiliations to conservatives or political motives to make the case that right-wingers are responsible for an overwhelming number of politically motivated crimes.”

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Defense Department plagued by financial reporting issues that must be fixed to pass full audit: GAO

The Defense Department has been plagued by serious financial reporting issues that must be fixed for the agency to pass a full audit for the first time, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report.

“For the seventh consecutive year since the Department of Defense (DOD) was required to undergo full-scope audits, DOD received a disclaimer of opinion on its financial statement audit in fiscal year 2024, meaning DOD could not provide auditors with sufficient, appropriate evidence needed to support information in its financial statements due to ineffective systems and processes,” the GAO reported this month.

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2024 requires the agency to “receive an unmodified (clean) audit opinion by December 31, 2028.”

Despite the agency’s failure to pass a full audit, Congress again raised defense spending in fiscal 2025 to nearly $900 billion. 

The defense budget could reach $1 trillion after an additional increase for fiscal 2026, based on President Donald Trump’s budget request.

The Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General identified 28 agency-wide “material weaknesses” in fiscal 2024 that have hindered “sustainable business processes and a functioning internal control environment” for its financial management operations.

GAO’s latest review found that “several identified DOD-wide material weaknesses directly affected $2.1 trillion (50.3 percent) of DOD’s reported assets and $146.9 billion (3.4 percent) of its reported liabilities, indicating that there is an increased risk that these amounts are materially misstated.”

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) defines a material weakness as a “deficiency (or combination of deficiencies) in internal control, such that there is reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of an entity’s financial statements could occur that would not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis.”

The federal watchdog noted that the Pentagon reported more than $4.1 trillion in assets on its balance sheet as of September 30, 2024. 

“DOD’s assets represent a significant portion of the federal government’s reported total assets. The ability to properly account for and report these assets would improve DOD’s ability to successfully carry out its mission and is critical to achieve an unmodified (clean) audit opinion,” the GAO report reads.

The Defense Department is the only major federal agency that hasn’t received a clean audit opinion on its financial statements. 

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DHS Arrests Eleven Democrat New York City Politicians For Trying to Break Into ICE Holding Cells

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday arrested eleven Democrat New York City politicians for trying to break into ICE holding cells on the 10th floor at 26 Federal Plaza.

BREAKING: Eleven NY city and state elected officials were just arrested by Department of Homeland Security officers.

That’s after they demanded to inspect ICE holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza and refused to leave until they were granted entry.

— Arya Sundaram (@arya_sundaram) September 18, 2025

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was among the Democrat politicians arrested. Recall that Lander was arrested earlier this summer for blocking ICE agents in the same building.

The other Democrat officials arrested included state legislators in the Senate and Assembly.

Via Fox News Bill Melugin: Per multiple ICE sources, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander and other politicians & protesters are currently trying to get into the 10th floor ICE office & holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza in NYC, while other protesters are blocking ICE vans from leaving the facility downstairs. ICE has had to lock the doors on the 10th floor and now has security posted at the door.

NEW: Per multiple ICE sources, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander & other politicians & protesters are currently trying to get into the 10th floor ICE office & holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza in NYC, while other protesters are blocking ICE vans from leaving the facility downstairs.… pic.twitter.com/v9YIufWDZ3

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 18, 2025

Protestors were arrested by the NYPD and loaded up on buses.

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 Ex-Biden Aide Jeff Zeints Drops Bombshells in Explosive Testimony on Biden’s Cognitive Decline and Confesses Hunter Was “Directly Involved” in Pardons

The Oversight Committee, chaired by James Comer, opened an investigation into the autopen scandal and subpoenaed several Biden aides for documents and testimony.

Ex-Biden aide Jeff Zeints dropped bombshells during his testimony to the Oversight Committee on Thursday.

Over the summer, the New York Times reported that former White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zeints actually approved pardons for Dr. Fauci and others on January 19:

At the Jan. 19 meeting, which took place in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House residence, Mr. Biden kept his aides until nearly 10 p.m. to talk through such decisions, according to people familiar with the matter.

The emails show that an aide to Mr. Siskel sent a draft summary of Mr. Biden’s decisions at that meeting to an assistant to Mr. Zients, copying Mr. Siskel, at 10:03 p.m. The assistant forwarded it to Mr. Reed and Mr. Zients, asking for their approval, and then sent a final version to Ms. Feldman — copying many meeting participants and aides — at 10:28 p.m.

Three minutes later, Mr. Zients hit “reply all” and wrote, “I approve the use of the autopen for the execution of all of the following pardons.”

According to The New York Post, Zeints testified on Thursday that he called for a post-debate cognitive test and said Joe Biden’s memory got worse in office.

Zeints also told congressional investigators that Hunter Biden was “directly involved” in pardons!

““Toward the end of the Biden administration, Hunter Biden was involved with the pardon discussions and attended a few meetings,” the source revealed of Zients’ comments, confirming prior reports about how much influence the first son exerted amid a firearms felony conviction and pleading guilty to tax evasion,” the New York Post reported.

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Jim Jordan SHREDS DC Council Chair for COOKING the Crime Books — EXPOSES Him for Fudging Stats with Fake Category “Taking Property Without Right” Instead of Calling It “Stealing”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) blasted Washington, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson for manipulating crime statistics by creating a fake category instead of simply calling it what every American knows it is: stealing.

Jordan hammered Mendelson over a shady new crime category, “Taking Property Without Right,” that’s skyrocketed 500% in recent years, all while violent crime ravages the streets of Democrat-run Washington, D.C.

What’s this Orwellian euphemism? Simple: it’s stealing, plain and simple. But in true deep-state fashion, DC’s liberal overlords invented it to whitewash their epic failure on public safety.

Jim Jordan:
What’s taking property without right?

Phil Mendelson:
That would be theft.

Jim Jordan:
Why not call it theft? Why come up with this designation? In fact, that’s what he says. He’s asked the question. He said the solution for Mr. Zabavsky was to come up with this TPWR—Taking Property Without Right. What is that? Taking Property Without Right is what again?

Phil Mendelson:
If you’re speaking to the particular charges, I can’t speak to that. As I’ve said several times, I can’t speak to that particular case. I think the issue is whether there is—

Jim Jordan:
I’m asking a simple question. You have a classification for crime called Taking Property Without Right. What does that mean?

Phil Mendelson:
It means just what it said, if that’s what the crime is.

Jim Jordan:
Why not call it—what would a normal person call Taking Property Without Right?

Phil Mendelson:
Are we talking about what the criminal code and the specific crimes are?

Jim Jordan:
I’m just talking about that statement that you have that’s grown 500% in the last several years—that specific category of crime. I’m just wondering, what does that exactly mean?

Phil Mendelson:
If we look at collateral data such as ShotSpotter, we know that gunshots are down 29% from ’23 to ’24.

Jim Jordan:
Taking Property Without Right was the question. What does that mean?

Phil Mendelson:
I’ve already answered you, sir.

Jim Jordan:
And what did you say again?

Phil Mendelson:
I said that if you’re speaking to a particular offense in our criminal code, I cannot speak to that particular offense.

Jim Jordan:
Why not just call it stealing? That’s what we would all—someone comes in, someone comes and takes something that belongs to me, or someone comes and takes something that belongs to you—we call it stealing. Why create this new category that grows 500%, that I think allows you to cook the books, as the head of the FOP in your city said so?

Phil Mendelson:
As you know, as the Chair of Judiciary Committee, there are for many offenses a range of possible charges from misdemeanor to felony and different shades of felony. I am not familiar with that particular offense.

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Woke Illinois gov. posed with ‘violence disruptor’ who days later ‘killed young dad-to-be while fleeing Louis Vuitton robbery’

Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was seen posing with a man who worked as a ‘Peacekeeper’ in the state, less than a week before he was arrested for allegedly killing a father while fleeing a robbery at a Louis Vuitton store. 

Keller McMillan, 35, was one of seven men charged with murder, burglary, and retail theft after they robbed a luxury retail store and allegedly killed a father who was driving to work. 

It has now been revealed that McMillan was working as a ‘Peacekeeper,’ a trained community member who is sent to violent hotspots to de-escalate conflicts. 

Pritzker met with the Peacekeepers at the start of the month, sharing photos in a press release from the event, including one with McMillan. 

The photo was removed after McMillian’s arrest, but had already been circulated on multiple media websites. 

Pritzker shared a video on his social media from the event, where he sat at a roundtable and listened to the Peacekeepers describe their experience in the program. 

The governor noted that the Peacekeepers create a safer community and wrote in the caption, ‘It’s folks like these that we need more of doing the hard work of community violence prevention, not troops on the ground to undermine efforts fighting crime’.

‘The Governor meets hundreds of people in communities every week and is often asked to take photos,’ Pritzker’s office said in a statement.

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New owner of CBS coordinated with former Israeli military chief to counter the country’s critics, according to leaked emails

A widely noted dataset of purportedly leaked emails from former Israeli minister of defense Benjamin Gantz appears to show that David Ellison, the new head of media conglomerate Paramount, was coordinating with the recently retired commander-in-chief of the Israeli military on a nascent campaign to sabotage critics of the Israeli military’s activities in Palestine.

The previously unreported emails appear to show David Ellison being recruited in December 2015 as a core American supporter of a nascent Israeli government effort which Gantz labeled the “Counter-BDS Initiative.” The original concept of the program, according to leaked emails and PowerPoint presentations, was to raise $1 million each from twelve prominent Jewish philanthropists in order to fund “state-of-the-art cyber technology as a soft weapon” and to contract the controversial private intelligence firm Black Cube to spy on and disrupt activists.

David and his father, Larry Ellison – the centi-billionaire founder of the enterprise database company Oracle – have come under increased scrutiny as a result of their joint financing of an $8 billion merger between Paramount and David’s own media company, Skydance. The purchase took place alongside Paramount agreeing to pay $16 million to President Trump over editorial choices regarding an interview with former Vice President Harris. Focus further increased on Wednesday, when Larry Ellison was reported to have overtaken his business partner Elon Musk as the world’s richest man.

Larry Ellison’s ties to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a prominent opponent of Gantz, are well known. According to reporting in Haaretz in 2021, the Oracle founder went as far as offering Mr. Netanyahu a seat on his company’s board.

The New York Times further reported on Wednesday that David Ellison is considering appointing the former New York Times opinion columnist Bari Weiss as co-president or editor-in-chief of the CBS News division of Paramount. The possible role comes alongside Ellison’s widely reported consideration of a roughly $100 million acquisition of Weiss’s ‘anti-woke’ media outlet, The Free Press, which prominently criticized CBS for its handling of a contentious interview conducted by its anchor Tony Dokoupil with author Ta-Nehisi Coates on September 30. “The sad truth is that Coates is not speaking truth to power,” editorialized The Free Press, in response to Coates having criticized the Israeli military’s ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip.

Paramount has also received criticism for its recent appointment of Kenneth R. Weinstein, a former head of both the conservative think tank Hudson Institute and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, as the conglomerate’s new ombudsman for CBS News.

The previously unreported emails between David Ellison and former Israeli military chief Benjamin Gantz are part of an archive originally released by the hacktivist group ‘Handala’, which is widely believed to be associated with Iranian intelligence, with the U.S.-based nonprofit Distributed Denial of Secrets serving as the primary intermediary for journalists. A related repository of leaked emails from former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, also published by Handala, led to recent reporting on Barak and the convicted child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein discussing potential investments in the now-defunct data analytics firm Fifth Dimension, which Gantz chaired from 2015 to 2018.

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Sen. Chuck Schumer Says Jimmy Kimmel Must Stay on Air to Save Democracy — Then Urges Him to Sue Disney

Senator Chuck Schumer has warned that Jimmy Kimmel must remain on air to protect American democracy.

Disney confirmed on Wednesday night that Kimmel’s show will be suspended indefinitely after comments he made about last week’s assassination of Charlie Kirk at the hands of a disturbed left-wing student.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them — and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel remarked during Monday night’s show.

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, in a statement on Wednesday.

Schumer, who is currently America’s most powerful elected Democrat, is urging Kimmel to take the matter to court.

“America is meant to be a bastion of free speech,” Schumer wrote on the X platform. “Everybody across the political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel.”

“This is about protecting democracy,” he continued. “This must go to court.”

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Cicero megachurch pastor charged in connection with alleged child sex trafficking operation

A west suburban megachurch pastor is facing federal charges connected to an alleged child sex trafficking operation.

Neighbors told ABC7 that Cicero’s Light of the World Church at 1400 South 58th Court is popular. It is part an international church known by its Spanish name, La Luz Del Mundo.

But the church was closed on Tuesday after federal agents arrested Pastor Joram Núñez Joaquin last Wednesday during a 5 a.m. service, his attorney told ABC7.

Núñez Joaquin’s attorney provided photos in a court motion to try and get the pastor released from federal detention. He is named in a federal case involving California church leaders.

Federal prosecutors claim Núñez Joaquin, from the church’s Cicero branch, posed as an attorney and tried to coerced victims in California to not report alleged incidents. Nuñez Joaquin has pleaded not guilty.

Also last week, Naasón Joaquín García, an alleged relative of Núñez Joaquin, was taken into federal custody.

A newly unsealed indictment out of New York alleges García and co-defendants exploited the church for decades to enable the systemic sexual abuse of children and women for the sexual gratification of García and his father, who died in 2014.

García had been serving a more than 16-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2022 to two state counts.

In Chicago, Núñez Joaquin was in a courtroom in the Dirksen Federal Building on Monday, charged with racketeering conspiracy.

His attorney told the judge that Núñez Joaquin is a 37-year-old married father of three children who is not charged with any violence or sex abuse and should be released.

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FDA Warns Companies Against False and Misleading Drug Ads

Federal regulators sent dozens of letters to companies in September warning them that their advertisements for drugs are misleading and could lead to repercussions unless fixed.

The Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 16 released 65 letters it sent on Sept. 9 to companies, including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that day directing officials to enforce existing rules surrounding direct-to-consumer advertising for drugs.

In letters to Eli Lilly, FDA officials said that advertisements for weight loss products, including one that originally appeared in a special held by Oprah Winfrey, did not present people with accurate information about possible side effects.

The ad that aired during the Oprah special “creates a misleading impression regarding the safety of Zepbound and Mounjaro, which are drugs with multiple serious, potentially life threatening risks,” officials with the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said in one of the letters. They said that people who seek medical treatment for obesity or Type 2 diabetes “should receive truthful and non-misleading information.”

An Eli Lilly spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email: “FDA’s correspondence to Lilly addresses three interviews conducted by independent media outlets. These interviews were not advertisements, and Lilly had no editorial control over them.

“We remain committed to providing patients with accurate, reliable information that empowers them to make informed healthcare decisions in partnership with their physicians.”

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