Economics

China Is Deliberately Using Fentanyl To ‘Kneecap’ The US, FBI Director Says

Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times,

Communist China has a long-term plan to weaken the United States by fueling the fentanyl crisis, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

Patel sat down for a wide-ranging interview with podcaster Joe Rogan on June 6, saying that President Donald Trump has done an “amazing job” at going after drug trafficking organizations and shoring up the southern border. However, the root of the U.S. fentanyl crisis lies with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he added, due to China’s exports of fentanyl precursors.

One thing is clear is that China is “not making a ton of money” with its precursor exports, Patel added.

“In my opinion, the CCP [has] used it as a directed approach because we are their adversary,” Patel said. “And their long-term game is, ‘how do I,’ in my opinion, ‘kneecap the United States of America, our largest adversary?’” Patel said.

Patel said that the long-term plan is to “take out generations of young men and women” who could have taken on jobs such as a police officer, a soldier, or a teacher.

“That’s what they [China] are doing, when you wipe out tens of thousands of Americans a year. It’s a long-term plan for them,” he said.

In 2024, there were an estimated 48,422 deaths involving synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to data from the CDC.

In March, Trump imposed an additional 20 percent on Chinese imports over China’s role in facilitating the production of fentanyl.

Patel said China has lied to the world about stopping fentanyl precursors.

“What they did was to trick the world. They came out and said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna sell precursor X.’ They’re like, ‘So now we’re out of the fentanyl trade entirely,’” Patel said. “The problem is, there [are] 14 other precursors you can use to make fentanyl, and they’re still shipping all of those.”

India and Canada

Since assuming the post of FBI chief, Patel said his bureau started a “massive enterprise” to go after China-based companies making fentanyl precursors. Now, the Chinese firms are shipping precursors to India and Canada instead, he added.

“They’re taking the precursors up to Canada, manufacturing it up there, and doing their global distribution routes from up there, because we’ve been so effective down south,” Patel said.

Patel said he “just got off the phone with the Indian government.”

“So my FBI is over there working with the heads of their [Indian] government, law enforcement authorities to say, ‘We’re going to find these companies that buy it, and we’re going to shut them down. We’re going to sanction them. We’re going to arrest them where we can. We’re going to indict them in America if we can. We’re going to indict them in India,’” Patel said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued its latest annual threat assessment report in May, expressing concerns about sophisticated fentanyl “super laboratories” in Canada.

The report noted that while fentanyl originating from Canada remains small compared to the volume coming from Mexico, it still poses a concern. “These…

Amazon To Invest $20 Billion In Pennsylvania To Expand Cloud Infrastructure

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is doubling down on its AI ambitions with a $20-billion expansion plan to build two new data center campuses in Pennsylvania, including one directly adjacent to a major nuclear power plant, Reuters reports. 

AWS is targeting the deployment of multiple data centers over the next 10 years, and the buildout will be fueled by carbon-free nuclear power, making it one of the largest private-sector nuclear-backed energy deals in the U.S. to date, according to OilPrice.

The first site, slated for Salem Township near the 2.5 GW Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, leverages a standing engineering framework based on the campus’s 960 MW design capacity. 

Amazon is partnering with Talen Energy, a former power utility-turned-nuclear innovator, which will supply the cloud giant with electricity from its Susquehanna nuclear power station, located in Luzerne County. Talen previously spun off its nuclear arm into Cumulus Data, which is developing a 475 MW data center campus adjacent to the power plant. That infrastructure will now be part of Amazon’s AI backbone.

That project is currently under FERC review after regulators capped its supply to 300 MW, citing grid reliability concerns. Still, AWS is pushing ahead, eyeing renewable-like stability without the typical grid bottlenecks.

Analysts say the move could accelerate the return of baseload nuclear as a strategic energy asset in the U.S. data economy. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro called the deal the largest in the state’s history, with construction expected to generate over 1,250 union jobs in the near term.

“Pennsylvania is competing again—and I’m proud to announce that with Amazon’s commitment of at least $20 billion to build new state-of-the-art data center campuses across our Commonwealth, we have secured the largest private sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania,” said Shapiro. 

In the broader energy context, Amazon’s bet aligns with a rising wave of private-sector clean energy procurement that hopes to successfully sell a different story about AI’s energy use: That hyperscalers can reframe this as ESG-possible. 

Tyler Durden
Mon, 06/09/2025 – 23:10…

Nearly 30-Year-Old Capital Gains Tax Exemption Rules Blamed For US Housing Shortage

Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

With median home prices exceeding $1 million in many U.S. housing markets, some real estate professionals are drawing attention to a 28-year-old capital gains tax law, citing it as one factor contributing to the nationwide housing shortage.
The expansive penthouse terrace of a 4-bedroom, 4.5 bath, 3,619 SF condo in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, listed at $11.9 million. Courtesy of Nest Seekers International, NYC

A recent report from Realtor.com shows that California is home to 8 of the 10 most expensive housing markets in the United States. San Jose tops the list with a median sales price of $2.02 million, followed by Anaheim and San Francisco at $1.45 million and $1.32 million, respectively.

Ken DeLeon, founder of DeLeon Realty in Palo Alto, told The Epoch Times that some communities in the San Francisco Bay Area have experienced skyrocketing home prices, which have jumped 667 percent on average since 1997—the year the Taxpayer Relief Act was signed into law, allowing married homeowners to exclude up to $500,000 in capital gains from the sale of their primary residence, and $250,000 for single homeowners.

“This outdated capital gains law has resulted in an artificially-created housing shortage,” DeLeon said. “A lot of older people who have lived in their homes for 30 years or more want to sell, but the value of those homes has tripled or quadrupled now. Some of these sellers could now be facing capital gains taxes of over $1 million.”

According to a HUD report, the median cost of a single-family home in 1997 was $143,000, compared with $414,000 in April 2025, as reported by the National Association of Realtors.

With the combined federal and state capital gains tax rate now at 37.1 percent in California, potential sellers seeking to avoid elevated tax exposure are choosing instead to remain in their current properties.

As a result, DeLeon said inventory levels have reached historic lows and sellers are stuck in a tax trap.

“We’ve seen more than 57 percent drop in inventory in the Silicon Valley, which means a lot of single people and young families are also stuck in expensive rentals,” he said.

With properties typically listed at $2 million to $5 million in the region, primarily it’s employees from high-paying tech companies such as Apple, Google, Adobe, and Oracle who can afford them, DeLeon said.

“People do want to buy, but listings are scarce. And the housing shortage is driving prices even higher,” he said.

DeLeon contends that the economic ripple effects of the almost three-decade-old tax formula is causing not only fewer home sales, but less revenue from transfer taxes, reset property taxes, and local economic activity.

California is not alone in facing this capital gains crisis. Bianca D’Alessio, a broker with Nest Seekers International in New York City, is seeing a similar situation with her clients, particularly owners of brownstones in the borough of Brooklyn.

“We have older people who may have bought their home 30 years ago for less than…