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Thursday, October 23, 2025

Trumpy donors say the pro-Kirk "exposure" project took tens of thousands before going dark. read more


While a federal judge scrutinizes the constitutionality of tactics used by federal immigration authorities during ongoing protests in Chicago, these same agencies are quietly amassing behind-the-scenes surveillance technology. read more


Well, for some of the president's, you know, strongest fans, these might be familiar names and people to whom they tune for information. For others, they may know them only through headlines and lawsuits. If you take a couple of them, think of Gateway Pundit or Lindell TV, founded by the MyPillow guy, Mike Lindell. Both Lindell and Gateway Pundit were successfully sued for defamation over claims they made supporting President Trump's lies about the 2020 race. Tim Pool is a podcaster. His outlet is among those credentialed. He was found to have - he said unknowingly, but nonetheless - accepted money on behalf of Russian state media. These aren't paragons of independent, hard-hitting journalism from at least a conventional standpoint. Others include The Federalist, Just The News, One America News Network - resolute supporters of the president in what they put out.


Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy was pardoned at the end of President Donald Trump's first term after a conviction for violating a US lobbying law. Yet when he applied for an American Express Co. credit card this year, the lender denied him, citing his criminal history. Mahmoud Reza Banki, the former chief financial officer of social media company X, says he ran into a similar problem. He claims JPMorgan Chase & Co. sought to close his accounts, citing a 15-year-old conviction for making false statements. He, too, had been pardoned at the end of Trump's first term. Both men are suing the financial institutions, claiming they were "debanked" even after their White House reprieves.


Wednesday, October 22, 2025

In a country where public transport is scant outside major cities, car loans are one of the last things that Americans will let themselves default on. So it is particularly shocking that the share of car loan borrowers missing payments on their debt has soared ... read more


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More: Backed by funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in July, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has entered into contracts with companies to provide surveillance capabilities like facial recognition algorithms, an iris-scanning identification app, controversial spyware on smartphones, and a real-time smartphone location and social media tracking system. In September alone, ICE racked up $1.4 billion in new surveillance technology contracts, the highest in at least 18 years, according to The Washington Post.

These contracts are in addition to any privately owned surveillance networks to which ICE has access. Flock Safety, for example, has allowed ICE to access over 80,000 of its AI-powered license plate reader cameras installed nationwide, according to 404 Media. The expansive"and growing"mass surveillance camera network captures the license plate number, make, model, and any distinctive features of all passing vehicles, making it possible to track cars and, by extension, drivers, often without a warrant.

Although ICE has sold its surveillance campaign as necessary to locating and deporting undocumented immigrations, the Trump administration has signaled that the technologies will also be used on American citizens. In September, Trump signed an executive order designating antifa a domestic terrorist organization and signaled that federal agencies, including ICE, should devote resources to investigating the network. Todd M. Lyons, acting director of ICE, told Glenn Beck during an interview shortly after the executive order was signed that the agency would "track the money," "ringleaders," and "professional agitators" who are "being brought in" from outside the Chicago area to protest against immigration enforcement. But whether from Chicago or elsewhere, protester or "domestic terrorist," constitutional rights and limitations still apply, although adherence by federal agencies is being questioned.

Critics of mass surveillance have long warned that intrusive technologies could be used to violate Americans' privacy rights. "We don't know if law enforcement or ICE are getting search warrants to deploy this spyware," Maria Villegas Bravo, counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told the Post. "It's also a First Amendment issue because your phone contains all your communications, all your expressions ... it has your contact lists, it has your social media. Any political organizing people do," she continued, is "typically on social media now, or over the phone."

Argentine peso weakens to fresh low despite US interventions

The Argentine peso has fallen below the level it reached before the US Treasury began purchases earlier this month, in a sign that the Trump administration's financial support is failing to halt the currency's slide ahead of a crucial election for libertarian president Javier Milei.

The peso dropped almost 1 per cent in early trading on Monday to 1,476 against the dollar, touching a fresh record intraday low, before paring its losses. The level is close to the bottom of an exchange rate band adopted in April.

The slide has resumed despite three purchases of pesos by the US Treasury since October 9 " which Argentine economists estimate total roughly $400mn, although neither government has confirmed the figure " as well as the announcement of a $20bn currency swap line between the two countries.

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