Politics

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…

Stock Market Performance As Summer Arrives

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.cm,

Breakout! Next Stop, Previous Highs

Last week, we discussed the successful test of the 200-DMA.

“Most notably, this past week was the successful test of the 200-DMA. The pullback to that previous broken resistance level and subsequent bounce highly suggests that the April correction is complete and that market control returns to the Bulls. As such, there is very little resistance between current levels and all-time highs. However, as noted last week, with the markets still overbought on a momentum basis, further consolidation will be unsurprising before an advance to new highs occurs. With the MACD sell signal triggered and money flows declining, another test of the 200-DMA next week would be unsurprising.”

Despite a weakening unemployment report, a spat between President Trump and Elon Musk, a resurgence in the Ukraine/Russia conflict, and remaining tariff uncertainty between China, Europe, and the U.S., the markets continued their bullish ways this past week. Notably, the market broke out of the ongoing consolidation process that has been in place since May 12th. The good news is that bullish breakouts confirm bullish momentum and suggest markets will trade higher into the next resistance level. That next resistance level is at 6100, the previous topping process before the March and April decline.

The market remains overbought short-term, but it is not uncommon for markets to stay overbought longer than most expect. While we patiently await a pullback to increase portfolio exposure, that could be a while longer before it occurs.

Critically, we are not looking for LOWER prices to add exposure. I am okay with paying higher prices. However, we are searching for a better risk/reward opportunity to add exposure. As such, a consolidation period that allows relative strength or momentum to cool off somewhat will provide a better buying opportunity than under current conditions. We already have sufficient exposure to the market to gain performance when markets rise, but deploying capital at these levels is more “risky” than I prefer.

While the probabilities are increasing that the market will potentially rally from here to 6100, there is an equal risk of disappointment. In other words, the risk/reward equals one, which is not a compelling “bet” for deploying capital. However, with some patience and the willingness to sacrifice some short-term performance, we will get an opportunity where the risk/reward proposition improves markedly. Those opportunities happen with regularity, just not when most expect them.

Let’s explore the seasonal stock market performance in June and the summer, and where the best opportunities may be found.

June Stock Market Performance

After a powerful May, what does June’s stock market performance tend to look like? Historical data for the S&P 500 (since 1950) shows that June is typically a seasonally weak month—a key piece of the adage “Sell in May and go away.” That adage is a centuries-old market maxim rooted in the observation that stock market returns tend to be weaker during the summer months (May through October) compared to the “seasonally strong months” of November through April.

Since 1950, the S&P 500’s average returns from May through October have been considerably lower (about 1–2% total gain) than those…

Restoring American Maritime Dominance: A National Imperative

Authored by Andy Thaxton via RealClearWire,

As a career Naval intelligence officer, I spent years observing China’s maritime ascent. Briefing after briefing warned of China’s increasingly aggressive intentions of seapower, and yet, all that analytical churn has had negligible impact on U.S. naval posture. Now, watching from the sidelines, I remain alarmed by the widening gap between the naval and shipbuilding capabilities of the United States and the People’s Republic of China. What once was a slow, methodical buildup by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has accelerated into a rapidly growing strategic threat to U.S. maritime supremacy—both commercially and militarily. Without exaggeration, the United States is facing an urgent national security crisis.

While the U.S. rested on the laurels of its past naval dominance, China has systematically executed a comprehensive, state-directed maritime strategy that is now reshaping the global balance of naval power.

If the U.S. fails to respond with urgency and scale, we risk ceding control of the seas—and with it, the geopolitical influence that flows from maritime power.

The data is staggering. According to the April 2025 Report to Congress on Chinese Naval Modernization, China’s navy currently operates over 370 battle force ships, a number projected to grow to 435 by 2030. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy is struggling to maintain around 290 ships, with ambitions—still largely unfunded—of reaching 316 by 2053. Equally alarming, China’s shipyards possess more than 230 times the shipbuilding capacity of the U.S. According to a recent report by The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China “built more commercial vessels by tonnage in 2024 than the entire U.S. shipbuilding industry has built since the end of World War II.” You might want to read that sentence again.

But the disparity is not merely in tonnage or hulls. China’s state-supported shipbuilding industry benefits from over 150 shipyards, including eight major naval production sites capable of building large warships, aircraft carriers, and amphibious assault ships in parallel. In stark contrast, the U.S. Navy is dependent on just seven private shipyards, several of which are overburdened, outdated, and struggling with workforce shortages. Further, the Congressional Report on U.S. Navy Force Structure indicated that nearly every major U.S. shipbuilding program is behind schedule and over budget.

Meanwhile, China’s maritime ambitions have expanded beyond the Indo-Pacific. As documented in the December 2024 U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, China’s global maritime reach now spans 10,000 miles beyond Taiwan, including permanent naval bases in Djibouti and increasing influence in ports across Pakistan, Cambodia, and Equatorial Guinea. The foundation of this expansion is China’s merchant fleet—the world’s largest—which can be rapidly converted to military use in a real-world shooting war. Again, by contrast, the U.S. merchant fleet has dwindled to fewer than 180 international trading ships, severely limiting sealift capacity in a contested environment.

Taken together, this paints a picture of a maritime balance that is tipping rapidly and dangerously toward Beijing. Initiatives such as President Trump’s Executive Order on Restoring Maritime Dominance and the reintroduction of the SHIPS Act signal a growing recognition of the problem,…

Data Center Construction Boom Faces Local Resistance In 28 States

Authored by John Haughley via The Epoch Times,

The need for data centers to drive 21st century cloud computing and win the AI race with China is a matter of such national urgency that Energy Secretary Chris Wright describes it as America’s “next Manhattan Project.”

But assessing how many data centers—a ubiquitous yet vague term for “server farms,” supercomputer networks, bitcoin and crypto “mines”—exist right now in the United States is, in itself, a foray into quixotic cloudy computing.

There were a “reported” 5,426 data centers in the United States in March, according to Statista.

Meanwhile, Denmark-based Data Center Map ApS counts 3,761 listed data centers in the United States. Data Centers.com, a global technology marketplace headquartered in Colorado, maintains there are 2,483 of the centers now operating nationwide.

These and other estimates confirm the consensus that the United States has five to 10 times the number of functioning data centers as any other country in the world, including China.  In fact, approximately half the planet’s data centers are in the United States, according to a ranking by Visual Capitalist.

And yet, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said during the April 30 Hill & Valley Forum, an annual gathering of congressional lawmakers and Silicon Valley venture capitalists, the need to build out the nation’s electric grid to power more data centers is “one of two existential threats we face as a country;” the other beingIran’s development of a nuclear weapon. If that need is not met, the nation will “lose the AI race with China.”

The projected energy demand for data centers will triple by 2028, the Department of Energy estimated last year. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation forecast the same number a year earlier.

These “load growth” assessments, coming after years of relative stagnation in electricity usage, were issued after the late-2022 advent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. That shockwave rattled utilities, regional transmission operators, and state public utility commissions, sending them scrambling to scale-up electrical grids to accommodate this projected growth in data centers.

The result was a data center building spree. CBRE, a Texas-based commercial real estate services company, in late 2024 projected that more than 4,750 data center projects would break ground in the United States in 2025, “nearly as many … as already exist” nationwide.

New buildings to house data centers constitute “the fastest-growing segment of nonresidential construction planning,” according to a September 2024 Dodge Construction Network analysis.

However, there is no single-source registry documenting how many proposed data centers are now being reviewed before local planning boards.

That vagary was the genesis of Data Center Watch, a research firm tracking the trend and opposition to it, said founder Robert McKenzie, a former Columbia University adjunct professor of international and public affairs.

Much of the media coverage of data centers was “very specific, anecdotal” local news and social media reports, McKenzie told The Epoch Times.

“We hadn’t seen anybody pull together all the data. So we thought, ‘What would happen if you looked across the whole country?’ We weren’t sure what we were going…

These Are The U.S. States With The Most Drug Use

Drug abuse has long been a serious issue in the United States, with the so-called “War on Drugs” dating back to 1971 under President Nixon.

Despite decades of efforts to fight addiction, the problem remains widespread and deadly. More than 80,670 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12 months ending November 2024. As new threats like fentanyl spread—enough was seized last year for 380 million lethal doses—it’s more urgent than ever for policymakers to act.

But where is the crisis worst? A new report from WalletHub ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia across key metrics like drug use, overdoses, and access to treatment.

Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub, explains: “Drug problems can start from multiple sources, like taking illegal substances with friends or getting hooked on a prescription that was originally given for a legitimate medical issue. As states fight drug addiction, they need to consider all angles and make sure they are not just addressing things from a law enforcement perspective but also providing the resources necessary to help people with addictions get clean.”

WalletHub’s analysts compared states using 20 metrics organized into three main categories: drug use and addiction, law enforcement, and drug health issues and rehab. These metrics included measures like the percentage of adults and teens who reported using illicit drugs, overdose death rates, opioid prescriptions, and availability of treatment facilities. 

New Mexico tops the list with the biggest drug problem in America. The state has the highest percentage of teens using drugs, the most teens reporting marijuana use before age 13, and the third-highest rate of adult illicit drug use. New Mexico also struggles with high overdose deaths and ranks near the bottom in offering help to those with addiction.

West Virginia ranks second, with the highest overdose death rate in the country and one of the top college campus drug arrest rates. A lack of addiction treatment resources means many residents have nowhere to turn for help.

Nevada comes in third. Nearly 30% of students there report being offered or sold drugs at school. Nevada also ranks high for teens trying marijuana early and has too few treatment facilities to meet the need.

Other high-ranking states include Alaska, the District of Columbia, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Colorado. Each faces unique challenges, from high rates of opioid prescriptions to limited treatment options.

The report also highlights troubling data on teen drug use. New Mexico, Arizona, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Alaska have the highest percentages of teenagers who admit using drugs in the past month. Meanwhile, states like Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas report much lower teen drug use.

Students being offered drugs at school is a big concern, too. California, Nevada, Georgia, New Jersey, and Hawaii top the list for that category, while states like Connecticut and South Dakota report much lower numbers.

The crisis shows no sign of ending on its own. Experts recommend a mix of strategies to combat addiction, including making rehab more accessible and expanding education on the risks of…

Wood Pellets: America’s Underrated Power Play

Authored by Darrell Smith, Executive Director of the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association via RealClearEnergy,

In an energy conversation dominated by buzzwords and breakthroughs, it’s easy to overlook the quiet, proven solutions that are already delivering results. Exhibit A: wood pellets.

These compact cylinders aren’t flashy or trend on social media. For the uninitiated, they are carriers of renewable carbon and energy, sourced from responsibly managed forests; a real, scalable, domestic resource that delivers energy security, climate value, and rural jobs while sustaining and growing forests. Wood pellets are emerging as one of the smartest plays in America’s energy and climate portfolio.

The Math Works

Let’s be clear: climate solutions need to scale. We need terawatts of clean power, gigatons of carbon removal, and a replacement for fossil carbon in sectors where options are limited. Think steel mills, cargo ships, aviation fuel, and cement plants — industries that can’t rely on solar panels and wind turbines.

Enter forest biomass. Every year, America’s 360 million acres of privately-owned forests grow more wood than we harvest. Driven by strong markets for wood products, these forests are powerful carbon sinks that have been growing since the 1950s when regenerative forestry practices became the norm.

Responsible forest management, the kind that thins out fuel for wildfires, not only keeps forests healthy but also supplies feedstock for wood pellets. These pellets burn clean, emit fewer particulates than coal, are carbon-neutral, and have the potential to be carbon-negative when sourced sustainably. In other words, we’re turning forest byproducts into a strategic asset instead of a forest fire risk and ensuring more investment into our nation’s forests.

Valued at $1.75 billion, the U.S. led the world last year in wood pellet exports — heating homes and decarbonizing power grids from Cambridge to Copenhagen. That’s not just a climate win. It’s a geopolitical and economic one. Furthermore, there are ample opportunities to increase use domestically.

 The Digital Surge: Data Centers Meet Biomass

Data centers are growing at breakneck pace. From streaming to AI, every click and query demands energy. These facilities already consume nearly 3% of global electricity, and that figure is climbing fast. In the U.S. alone, data center energy demand is expected to double by 2030.

While tech companies make pledges to run on “100% renewable,” achieving this goal is challenging. Intermittent renewables like wind and solar can’t always deliver the 24/7 baseload power data centers require. Wind and power are not the silver bullet many had hoped, because expensive batteries must be manufactured and installed to account for their lack of reliability. Meanwhile, wood pellets offer a firm, dispatchable, renewable fuel that can complement the grid and provide the consistent power backbone data infrastructure needs, without the carbon price tag of fossil fuels.

Speed is also a challenge. AI infrastructure is being developed on start-up timelines, but the grids meant to supply power are often hampered by multi-year planning cycles and limited capacity. Utilizing the existing biomass fleet or retrofitting coal-fired power stations to run on sustainable biomass bypasses these time-intensive and costly…

‘Very Disrespectful’: Trump ‘Assumes’ Musk Relationship Is Over

Update (1720ET): Here’s the latest in the Trump-Musk feud. 

Trump told NBC News that there would be “serious consequences” if Musk turns around and backs Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who support the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ (no doubt a loaded question from NBC). 
“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told the outlet. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.” 
When asked if he had a desire to repair the relationship, Trump said “No,” and he “would assume” it’s over between the two. 
“I’m too busy doing other things,” Trump said, adding “I have no intention of speaking to him.”
Trump was also frank, accusing Musk of being ‘very disrespectful,’ saying

“I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President.” 

Musk, meanwhile, was a mix of de-escalation and pushing his ‘America Party’ – described as his “vision to dismantle the establishment. 

While continuing to express concern over US debt levels. 

Alarming https://t.co/sU8imDEK2P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 7, 2025

Solving the deficit will require divine intervention
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 7, 2025

Cool
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 7, 2025
*  *  *

We’re running low on hats but more are on the way!
Click hat… add to cart… check out… receive awesome hat…

It was a turbulent week in American politics as the Trump–Musk feud erupted over the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ – shattering their alliance with little indication of reconciliation in the near term, though both men appear to have simmered down. 
(ABC News: Brianna Morris-Grant; Reuters: Nathan Howard; Reuters: Kent Nishimura)

Speaking to reporters Friday evening, Trump weighed in on Musk, saying: “I just wish him well.” 

.@POTUS on @elonmusk: “I just wish him well.” pic.twitter.com/2PuFiq5dPe
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 6, 2025

That said, he also reiterated a threat to ‘look at everything’ in regards to Musk’s government contracts.  

🚨 President Trump on canceling Elon Musk’s contracts:
“We’ll take a look at everything. He’s got a lot of money. He gets a lot of subsidy, so we’ll take a look at that only if it’s fair for him and for the country. I would certainly think about it yeah but it has to be fair.” pic.twitter.com/KPBtVJB8PY
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) June 7, 2025
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on “This Past Weekend w/Theo Von”

“I’m always going to be loyal to the president and I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold,” said Vance, adding “Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear, but I hope it is.”

JD Vance on the Elon – Trump feud:
President Trump took a bullet for this country. He is doing more than anyone to bring the American Dream back & this bill is a big part of the agenda he promised. War between them isn’t good for America pic.twitter.com/QZH550Oc8Z
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) June 7, 2025
Vance also gave credit to DOGE for rooting out waste, fraud and abuse (which the BBB does nothing about):

🚨 JD Vance says DOGE found that for “every dollar we were spending on humanitarian assistance, $0.12 was actually…