Tether Freezes $344 Million USDT Stablecoins Flagged For Illicit Activity

Tether froze more than $344 million in USDT across two Tron addresses on Thursday, in coordination with the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), marking one of the stablecoin issuer’s largest compliance actions on record.

While Tether did not name the network of the frozen funds, blockchain security firm PeckShield identified the blacklisted addresses as TNiq9…QZH81 and TTiDL…pjSr9, holding approximately $213 million and $131 million respectively.

The action comes weeks after the $285 million Drift Protocol exploit; an incident that put the entire stablecoin industry under public scrutiny and drove hard questions about issuer’s crisis responses. Tether addressed the incident by proposing a $127.5 million recovery contribution. 

“USDT is not a safe haven for illicit activity,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, in a statement. “When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively. Recent events have shown what happens when platforms fail to move quickly, enforcement breaks down, users are exposed, and trust erodes.”

“Our approach is different,” he continued. “We combine blockchain transparency with real-time monitoring and direct coordination with law enforcement to stop funds before they can move. That’s a responsibility we take seriously as one of the largest issuers in the market.”

As Decrypt notes, the freeze underscores Tether’s expanding compliance infrastructure, which now encompasses partnerships with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries. The stablecoin issuer said it has supported over 2,300 cases globally and frozen more than $4.4 billion in assets overall—including $2.1 billion tied specifically to U.S. authorities.

Thursday’s action follows a pattern of large-scale Tether freezes coordinated with US authorities. In November 2023, the company froze about $225 million in USDT linked to a Southeast Asia human-trafficking and pig butchering scam investigation. In January 2026, Tether froze roughly $182 million across five Tron wallets in another action.

To date Tether has supported more than 2,000 cases globally, including over 1,050 tied to U.S. law enforcement, and has led to the freezing of more than $4 billion in assets, including over $1.9 billion connected to U.S. authorities. This latest action adds to a series of high-profile enforcement efforts in which Tether has supported U.S. and international authorities in tracing, freezing, and seizing funds tied to fraud, terrorism financing, and sanctions evasion.

These freezes typically involve the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Treasury Department agency that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions. The increasing frequency and scale of such actions reflect both the growing use of stablecoins in illicit finance and Tether’s efforts to maintain regulatory compliance.

Tether’s latest action follows a pair of high-profile crypto project hacks that have been linked by investigators to North Korean hackers: the $285 million Drift Protocol attack, and $292 million Kelp DAO exploit. Tether’s biggest competitor, USDC stablecoin issuer Circle, faced criticism following the Drift Protocol hack for not taking action to freeze funds linked to the attack. The firm defended its inaction, saying that it can only freeze funds when identified by law enforcement or required through court orders.

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ICE Arrests MS-13 Gang Member Wanted for Murder — One of the Media’s “Non-Criminal” Illegals

On April 22, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia — a criminal illegal alien wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and a documented associate of the violent MS-13 gang.

In October 2013, authorities in El Salvador charged Morales-Mejia with aggravated homicide and illicit associations.

On an unknown date, she illegally entered the United States without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official.

According to ICE, in February, the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement Task Force in El Salvador provided updated information regarding Morales-Mejia’s possible presence in Northern Virginia.

After receiving the information, Officers with ICE Washington, D.C., worked to locate her and, on March 12, she was arrested in Woodbridge, Virginia.

ICE Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Robert Guadian shared, “Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia is not only a known associate of the notorious MS-13 transnational criminal organization, but she apparently attempted to flee justice in her native country by illegally residing in Virginia.“

“The media would consider her to be a ‘non-criminal’ because she has no known criminal history in the United States — despite the fact that she is facing charges for aggravated homicide in El Salvador.”

“ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities.”

In January, four suspected MS-13 gang members were arrested and are facing murder charges in Maryland after killing a 14-year-old boy from Washington, DC.

The corpse of Jefferson Amaya-Ayala was discovered with multiple injuries in what the medical examiner ruled as a homicide on November 3, 2025, at Indian Creek Stream Valley Park in College Park, Maryland, months after he was last seen in Washington, DC, on August 2, 2025.

In February 2025, the Department of State (DoS) announced the designation of Tren de Aragua (TdA), Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (CDN), La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM), Cártel de Golfo (CDG), and Cárteles Unidos (CU) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).

According to DoS, ” MS-13 is a transnational organization that originated in Los Angeles but shifted to Central America as individuals were deported there from the United States. MS-13 actively recruits, organizes, and spreads violence in several countries, primarily in Central America and North America, including El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States.”

“MS-13 has conducted numerous violent attacks, including assassinations and the use of IEDs and drones, against El Salvador government officials and facilities. Additionally, MS-13 uses public displays of violence to intimidate civilian populations to obtain and control territory and manipulate the electoral process in El Salvador.”

“Terrorist designations expose and isolate entities and individuals, denying them access to the U.S. financial system and the resources they need to carry out attacks.”

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SAY WHAT? Los Angeles Proposes New TAX to Pay to Fix Street Lights Broken by Copper Wire Thieves

The city of Los Angeles has a major street light problem. Thousands of the lights are out because thieves strip them of copper wire which they then turn around and sell for cash.

To deal with this problem and fix the lights, the city government is proposing a new TAX on the law abiding citizens who did not steal the copper wire. Can you even believe this?

The city wants to punish the people who didn’t ruin the street lights and make them pay to fix it. Unreal.

FOX 11 in Los Angeles reports:

Los Angeles voters to weigh fee increase for streetlight repairs amid copper theft concerns

A citywide plan to replace thousands of broken streetlights across Los Angeles could come with a cost increase for property owners under a proposed Proposition 218 assessment.

Mayor Karen Bass is urging voters to approve the measure, which would raise property-owner fees by an estimated 120% to help fund a $125 million program aimed at replacing more than 200,000 streetlights citywide. City officials say the current system generates roughly $45 million and has not been significantly updated since the 1990s, when Proposition 218 was adopted by California voters to require property-owner approval for new or increased local assessments.

Under the law, the city cannot raise streetlighting fees without a majority vote from affected property owners, a process that has kept much of the funding system largely unchanged for decades.

Ballots are expected to be mailed this week.

Across Los Angeles, officials say copper theft continues to worsen infrastructure problems, with thieves stripping wire from underground fiber lines and disabling streetlights in neighborhoods across the city. More than 32,000 streetlight repair requests remain pending.

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Trump’s Embrace of Psychedelic Therapy Leaves Most Users on the Wrong Side of the Law

On Saturday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at “accelerating medical treatments for serious mental illness” by facilitating regulatory approval of ibogaine and other psychedelics that have shown promise as psychotherapeutic catalysts. Although the case for doing that is compelling, the medical model embraced by the president excludes most psychedelic use, which will remain illegal even if the “historic reforms” that Trump announced work as planned.

Trump takes it for granted that Americans should be allowed to use psychedelics only for reasons that the government recognizes as legitimate. Otherwise, they are criminals rather than patients, subject to arrest, prosecution, and potentially severe penalties for daring to assert sovereignty over their own bodies and minds.

The injustice of that policy is readily apparent when people use psychedelics in ways that manifestly improve their lives. Many combat veterans, for example, have found that ibogaine, which is derived from the root of an African shrub, provides dramatic relief from the constellation of problems known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“It absolutely changed my life for the better,” former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, whose Afghanistan memoir inspired the 2013 movie Lone Survivorremarked as Trump signed his executive order. “I was reborn,” says Luttrell’s twin brother, Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R–Texas), also a former Navy SEAL. “It is one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.”

Because ibogaine is banned in the United States, the Luttrell brothers had those transformational experiences at a clinic in Mexico. So did the 30 subjects of a recent Nature Mental Health study, which found that ibogaine, combined with magnesium as a safeguard against the drug’s cardiac side effects, “safely and effectively reduces PTSD, anxiety and depression and improves functioning in veterans” with traumatic brain injuries.

Research on ibogaine, which also is reputed to be remarkably useful for people struggling with drug addiction, is relatively limited so far. But the evidence supporting the use of MDMA (for PTSD) and psilocybin (for depression), both of which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated as “breakthrough” therapies, is strong enough that they may soon be approved as prescription medications.

If that happens, some people who could benefit from these drugs will be able to use them legally, provided they can obtain a diagnosis and a prescription. But where does that leave all the psychedelic users who can’t meet those requirements?

In a 2023 survey of psilocybin users, the RAND Corporation found that the most common motivations included “fun” (59 percent), “improved mental health” (49 percent), “personal development” (45 percent), “curiosity” (43 percent), and “spiritual growth” (41 percent). Although very few of those people would qualify for the medical exception that Trump advocates, that does not mean their reasons for using psilocybin should be dismissed as frivolous, let alone that they should be treated as criminals.

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Trump says Iran won’t execute 8 women after he demanded their release

President Trump announced Wednesday that Iran will no longer execute eight women after he pleaded Tuesday for their freedom — calling it “very good news” in a social media post.

“I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed. Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution.”

The announcement came hours after Trump extended a two-week cease-fire with Iran as US negotiators await Tehran’s reply to the latest American offer to end the nearly two-month conflict.

Iran’s judiciary denied that the eight women were ever set for execution, claiming that “Trump was misled once again by fake news” and that “some of them have been released, while others face charges that, if convictions are upheld, would at most result in imprisonment.”

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HORROR: Activist Who Worked With Democrat Heavyweights Including Joe Biden and Oprah Winfrey Stabbed, Mother Butchered to Death Inside Their California Home

A nationally known activist who has worked with some of the biggest names in Democrat politics has experienced a horror no human being should have to endure and is now merely fighting to survive.

As KABC reported, a mother was killed and her daughter was injured following a stabbing attack inside a Burbank, California home. Police say that the incident happened at roughly 6 a.m. in the 2800 block of North Brighton Street.

A neighbor, Victor Goli, confirmed that the victims were Arti Varma and her daughter, Meera Varma. As KABC notes, Goli explained Arti died from her wounds and Meera was severely injured.

Meera is in the hospital right now, fighting for her life.

“It was kind of a shock to hear just a few minutes ago that their house was broken into,” Goli told KABC.

Goli said Arti’s husband and Meera’s father were not home at the time because he is currently visiting India.

Per her website, Meera Varma described herself as a “nationally recognized Mental Health Activist and TEDx speaker with 10+ years of experience working with federal, private, and nonprofit entities.”

Meera adds that she “strives to be a voice of hope for those navigating their struggles in silence.”

KABC reveals that Meera Varma has worked with several key national Democratic figures including: Oprah Winfrey, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, and former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.

The New York Post also notes Meera Varma is an advocate for suicide prevention.

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Video with Overweight Female NYPD Officer Trying to Help Restrain Punk Shows Exactly Why Mamdani’s NYC Is Doomed

New York City continues its tragic decline under the failed stewardship of buffoonish Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as spotlighted by a disturbing video showing three out-of-shape NYPD officers failing to restrain a subway thug.

The incident, which occurred on a subway platform in the Bronx, underscores how Mamdani‘s embrace of anti-meritocratic DEI hiring practices has eroded public safety and emboldened criminals.

The video, which was originally posted on Instagram, was reposted on X on Monday.

“Three NYPD officers are unable to take down one thug at the Tremont Avenue subway stop in NYC,” an X user observed.

“The thug falls or jumps down to the tracks, gets up on the other side, and walks away.”

Before walking off, the suspect berates and curses at the officers, repeatedly screaming, “Get the f*** off me!”

While casually walking away, the suspect derisively taunted an obese female officer as a “fat b****.”

The viral clip spotlights several disturbing themes underscoring the disastrous impact of left-wing social re-engineering agendas.

First, criminals no longer fear or respect law enforcement, which means there’s no deterrent to crime.

Second, many New York City officers are physically unfit to do their jobs.

Those of us who live in New York are used to seeing obese, lethargic officers who look as if they’re one doughnut away from a heart attack.

It’s inconceivable to imagine them chasing a suspect on foot or being able to physically restrain a criminal.

This is especially true of female cops, who’ve been hired en masse due to the Democrats’ DEI fetish, which has slashed standards amid leftist complaints that the fitness tests prevented women from being hired.

This dangerous trend has metastasized nationwide and around the world, making a laughingstock of the police.

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Forensic Analysis Debunks Media Frenzy Claiming Charlie Kirk Bullet Didn’t Match Gun

Charlie Kirk was murdered on Sept. 10, 2025. Millions of Americans lost their breath in despair at this violent tragedy. The FBI and Utah authorities had Tyler Robinson in custody within days, charged him with Kirk’s murder, and Utah prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

On March 31, the defense team in the Charlie Kirk murder case filed a simple, customary, and ordinary motion. It stated: “regarding the firearm evidence, the defense has been provided with an ATF summary report which indicates that the ATF was unable to identify the bullet recovered at autopsy to the rifle allegedly tied to Mr. Robinson.”

This sent media outlets, influencers, and clickbait grifters into frenzied animation. A Daily Mail headline read, “Bullet used to kill Charlie Kirk did NOT match rifle allegedly used by suspect Tyler Robinson, new court filing claims.” A PBS headline asked, “Did a bullet analysis clear Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer?”

MSN claimed, “Bullet mismatch rocks Charlie Kirk murder case.” A People headline read, “Bullet that killed Charlie Kirk doesn’t match Tyler Robinson’s rifle, his lawyer’s claim.” TMZ boldly asserted in its headline that “Docs claim bullet used doesn’t match alleged rifle.” Countless others ran with this fake news.

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Schizophrenic man behind Toronto army recruiting centre knife attack approved for Mecca pilgrimage

A man found not criminally responsible on three counts of attempted murder for a March 2016 knife attack at a Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre in Toronto has been granted a three-week travel pass for Saudi Arabia and Somalia, despite the fact that he “continues to pose a significant threat to public safety.”

Ayanle Hassan Ali, who is Muslim, plans to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca with his father and meet a potential bride his dad found for him in Somalia.

He wants to travel abroad “to facilitate a meeting with a woman as his father has been working on arranging a possible marriage with a woman who resides in Somalia,” said a recent decision from the Ontario Review Board (ORB).

“Mr. Ali has advised that this is not uncommon in his culture, and the marriage would only proceed if both parties were agreeable. He is hopeful he will be able to travel to Somalia over the upcoming reporting year for an introductory meeting with the woman.”

Ali’s doctor testified that his patient’s “faith and religious beliefs continue to be very important to him, and he attends his mosque weekly, and he prays five times daily,” according to a recent decision from the independent tribunal that regularly reviews the status of individuals found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.

“He and his father have planned for a religious ritual of Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Ali is studying to memorize the Koran and attends the mosque by his father’s house daily to meet with his teacher. He is hopeful that his tutor may assist him in securing a volunteer position at a local school to tutor in math or French.”

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Indicted Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to resign from Congress amid expulsion threat

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., announced Tuesday she is resigning from the House of Representatives after Republicans vowed to force a vote to expel her from the chamber.

“Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th District,” she wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon. “I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately.”

“This fight is far from over,” Cherfilus-McCormick, who was indicted by a grand jury last year for allegedly stealing COVID-19 emergency funds, added in her statement. 

She is facing 53 years in prison as part of a separate criminal indictment.

Cherfilus-McCormick’s abrupt announcement came after Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., pledged to file a motion to expel her, teeing up a vote later this week. It takes two-thirds of the House to remove a lawmaker, but a growing number of Democrats have voiced support for the expulsion effort.

It also came just minutes prior to a House Ethics Committee hearing that was slated to recommend sanctions against her for committing a bevy of violations involving financial misconduct. 

House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., announced the panel lost jurisdiction with Cherfilus-Mccormick’s eleventh-hour decision to quit Congress. 

The committee panel found “clear and convincing evidence” in March that the Florida Democrat misused federal disaster relief money that was improperly paid to her family’s healthcare company, among other misconduct. 

Cherfilus-McCormick has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly rebuffed speculation she would resign if confronted with an expulsion vote. 

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