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China SIM Farm Text Scam Rips Off U.S. for $1B

China infrastructure threat
China flag (kool99/Getty Images Signature/Canva Pro)

Criminal organizations based in China have stolen more than $1 billion from Americans over the last three years by flooding the country with scam text messages. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the scams are growing more sophisticated and widespread, targeting victims with messages about fake toll violations, traffic tickets, and postal fees.

Once a victim clicks on the link in the message, they are directed to a fake website designed to collect personal and financial information. The information is then used to make purchases or loaded into digital wallets, where it can be accessed from abroad.

The scam is powered by SIM farms—networks of thousands of SIM cards operating simultaneously from one location. These SIM farms, often housed in boxes connected to networking equipment, allow scammers to send thousands of texts at once. Though operated by criminal groups overseas, the SIM farms are physically set up in the U.S. by gig workers recruited through the Chinese messaging app WeChat.

Authorities estimate that at least 200 SIM boxes are active in 38 different locations across cities like Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. These setups can simulate the texting power of thousands of mobile phones, making them difficult to track.

The stolen financial data is used by domestic accomplices known as “mules,” who make purchases on behalf of the scammers. The mules, often paid just 12 cents per $100 in gift cards or goods, buy items like electronics and cosmetics, which are shipped to China and resold.

The volume of these scam texts has surged. Last month alone, Americans reported over 330,000 toll-related scam messages in a single day. The monthly average is now more than three times higher than it was at the beginning of 2024.

In a separate investigation, the Secret Service dismantled a SIM farm near New York City that had more than 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers. The network was connected not only to text scams but also to swatting attacks targeting conservative officials, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Sen. Rick Scott.

Vance Defends Young Republicans After Explosive Chat Leak

Vance
(Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

A leaked 2,900-page group chat from a private Young Republican Telegram channel has caused widespread fallout, prompting job losses, public condemnation, and internal conflict within the GOP. The chat, called “RESTOREYR WAR ROOM,” included racist, antisemitic, and sexually explicit jokes shared by members of state-level Young Republican organizations.

Messages included the use of slurs like “ngga,” “fggot,” and “retarded” over 250 times. One New York Young Republican leader joked about rape being “epic,” while another said opponents of a vote should be sent to the “gas chamber.” Vermont State Sen. Samuel Douglass joked about Indian stereotypes and his wife, a national committee member, made antisemitic remarks.

The fallout has been swift. At least five individuals have lost their jobs, including aides to state lawmakers, judicial staff, and campaign operatives. The Kansas GOP shut down its Young Republican organization. Several members, including Douglass, face calls to resign.

Vice President JD Vance addressed the controversy, saying that while the language was offensive, it was not comparable to the violent political threats made by Democrat Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones. “That’s just the reality,” Vance said, calling Jones’ conduct “1,000 times worse.”

Attention has also turned to who leaked the logs. Reports allege Gavin Wax, a Trump administration official and former New York Young Republican Club president, provided the messages to Politico. According to an affidavit, Wax allegedly used blackmail and legal threats to obtain the chats from a fellow GOP staffer. The White House reportedly confronted Wax after receiving internal documentation and screenshots of communication between him and a journalist.

Wax has denied leaking the chats. Still, the internal war among GOP operatives, driven by personal feuds and power struggles, now threatens to overshadow broader party efforts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Trump Confirms Maduro Oil Deal, Begging to Stay in Power

Maduro
(Photo by Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro offered full access to the country’s natural resources in exchange for being allowed to remain in power. Trump made the statement during a press engagement at the White House following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“He has offered everything,” Trump said when asked about reports of Maduro’s outreach. “He’s offered everything; you’re right. You know why? Because he doesn’t want to [censored] around with the United States.”

The reported offer from Maduro’s regime came through top officials, including Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez. The siblings are among Maduro’s most trusted inner circle and reportedly pitched themselves as acceptable successors who would ensure U.S. access to oil and mineral wealth if allowed to retain control of the government.

The proposal allegedly reached Washington via Qatar’s government earlier this year. Administration officials rejected the deal, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly leading the opposition. The administration maintains that any agreement falling short of full regime change would be a betrayal of American values and Venezuela’s democratic future.

The Trump administration has taken a hardline stance against Maduro, offering a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture. The regime has long been linked to narco-terrorism, human rights abuses, and military cooperation with hostile foreign powers. Maduro has led the Cartel of the Suns drug-trafficking organization and maintained close ties with FARC and other designated terrorist entities.

The Rodríguez siblings solidified their power in 2024 after orchestrating the downfall of former oil minister Tareck El Aissami, a key regime player with ties to Hezbollah and Iran. El Aissami was imprisoned by Maduro on charges of treason and corruption, further concentrating power within the Rodríguez faction.

President Trump’s confirmation marks a significant moment in the administration’s foreign policy strategy in Latin America. The regime’s desperation underscores the effectiveness of ongoing pressure campaigns, sanctions, and the U.S. commitment to dismantling authoritarian socialist networks in the region.

Trump Freezes Dem Infrastructure in $11B Power Move

(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought announced Friday that over $11 billion in federal infrastructure and engineering projects will be paused—potentially canceled—in Democrat-run cities due to the ongoing government shutdown. Cities affected include New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore.

“The Democrat shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to manage billions of dollars in projects,” Vought wrote on X. “The Corps will be immediately pausing over $11 billion in lower-priority projects & considering them for cancellation, including projects in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore.”

Vought previously announced in early October that approximately $18 billion in infrastructure efforts in New York City—such as the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Avenue Subway—were also on hold. He cited concerns over funding being tied to what he called “unconstitutional DEI principles.”

The Trump administration has held Democrats responsible for the shutdown, which was triggered over a dispute involving the expiration of enhanced Obamacare subsidies. Vought described the White House strategy as ensuring essential services remain funded while eliminating politically driven programs.

“OMB is making every preparation to batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats’ intransigence. Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait,” the OMB said.

The administration has also implemented widespread federal job cuts known as RIFs (Reductions in Force). These differ from furloughs in that positions are permanently eliminated. Reports indicate around 4,600 RIFs have already been executed across federal agencies. The total number could exceed 10,000.

However, a federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked further RIFs, ruling that using the shutdown to justify mass firings is likely “illegal” and “arbitrary and capricious.”

The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to provide more details on which projects may be scrapped in the coming days.

Netflix Boots Pentagon Criticism Sparks Explosive Backlash

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - OCTOBER 30: US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun at The Pentagon on October 30, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. (Kent Nishimura / Getty Images)

Netflix is facing sharp criticism from the Pentagon over its new military drama Boots, which tells the story of a gay man joining the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1990s. The Defense Department accused the show of pushing a progressive agenda and dismissed it as “woke garbage.”

The series premiered October 9 and has remained in Netflix’s top ten rankings since its release. It follows Cameron Cope, a closeted teenager who enlists in the Marine Corps during the Clinton-era “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson issued a blunt statement condemning the show and defending the military’s current priorities under President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the US military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos,” Wilson told the New York Post. “Our standards across the board are elite, uniform, and sex-neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, gay, or straight.”

Wilson added: “We will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children.”

The Pentagon’s reaction comes just weeks after Secretary Hegseth unveiled strict new personnel policies. While speaking at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Hegseth called for a “ruthless, dispassionate and common sense application of standards.”

Effective immediately, every member of the joint force is required to take a physical training test twice a year and meet height and weight requirements. Daily physical training is also mandatory, either in units or individually. Hegseth emphasized these measures apply equally from junior enlisted to the Joint Chiefs.

“Standards must be uniform, gender-neutral, and high. If not, they’re not standards. They’re just suggestions. Suggestions that get our sons and daughters killed,” Hegseth said.

The timing of the Boots release has raised concerns inside the Department of Defense. Critics argue the show undermines the military’s renewed focus on readiness and discipline by revisiting outdated identity politics. Netflix has not responded publicly to the Pentagon’s remarks.

Trump’s Bold Move to Protect U.S. Workers Sparks Lawsuit

(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s fee on H-1B visas for foreign workers.

“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S.,” Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at the U.S. Chamber Neil Bradley said.

He added that while President Trump “deserves credit for securing our nation’s border,” the country has a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to accomplish targeted legal immigration reforms, and we stand ready to work with Congress and the administration to make that happen. That includes working together on common-sense reforms to improve the visa process for skilled workers. The president has said he wants to educate, attract, and retain the world’s best and brightest in the U.S., and the Chamber shares that goal.” 

According to the lawsuit, Trump’s fee would “inflict significant harm on American businesses, which would be forced to either dramatically increase their labor costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available.”

“Indeed, a fee of $100,000 would significantly reduce participation in the program, resulting in fewer employers being able to access the highly skilled workers they need to continue to innovate and create American jobs,” the filing adds.

President Trump’s proclamation on H-1B non-immigrant visa program policies says the “large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security.” It notes that some employers, “using practices now widely adopted by entire sectors, have abused the H-1B statute and its regulations to artificially suppress wages, resulting in a disadvantageous labor market for American citizens, while at the same time making it more difficult to attract and retain the highest skilled subset of temporary workers, with the largest impact seen in critical science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.”

Man Connected to October 7 Arrested in U.S.

israel gaza
(Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

A Gazan man residing in Lafayette, Louisiana, Mahmoud Amin Ya’Qub Al-Muhtadi, has been arrested following his alleged involvement in the October 7, 2023 attack against Israel.

Al-Muhtadi is an operative for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (DFLP) military arm, the National Resistance Brigades (NRB), which is also known as the Martyr Umar al-Qasim Forces, a group that was involved in the terrorist attack alongside Hamas.

Following the attack, Al-Muhtadi allegedly provided false information in his U.S. visa application pertaining to his involvement with a paramilitary entity and a terrorist attack. He entered the United States in September 2024.

“As a result of that false application, Al-Muhtadi was able to obtain permission to travel to the United States and obtain Legal Permanent Resident status,” the complaint states.

Al-Muhtadi’s presence in the United States was discovered in February 2025 through the work of a task force dedicated to identifying and prosecuting individuals connected to October 7.

“After hiding out in the United States, this monster has been found and charged with participating in the atrocities of October 7 — the single deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “While nothing can fully heal the scars left by Hamas’s brutal attack, this Department’s Joint Task Force October 7 is dedicated to finding and prosecuting those responsible for that horrific day, including the murder of dozens of American citizens. We will continue to stand by Jewish Americans and Jewish people around the world against anti-Semitism and terrorism in all its forms.”

Prince Andrew Gives Up Title

(Photo by Jordan Pettitt - Pool/Getty Images)

Prince Andrew will no longer use his Duke of York title following new details surrounding his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” a statement released by Prince Andrew read. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”

“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further,” the statement continued. “I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

The statement follows the publication of excerpts of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, where she alleged she had sex with the royal.

In 2019, Prince Andrew stepped back from royal obligations. Discussing his relationship with Epstein, he told BBC, “I kick myself for on a daily basis because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that.”

When asked about staying at Epstein’s home, Prince Andrew said, “It was a convenient place to stay.”

“I mean I’ve gone through this in my mind so many times,” he said. “At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do.”

Nearly Half of US States Sue EPA Over Axed Biden Program

Solar Fraud Case
Solar Panel (Andreas Gücklhorn/Unsplash)

A coalition of state attorneys general filed two lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its termination of solar energy projects.

The lawsuits stem from the EPA’s end to the Biden-era “Solar for All” agenda.

One complaint states that the EPA “breached the express terms of the Grant Agreements and violated the covenant of good faith and fair dealing,” while the second complaint states the EPA “erroneously interpreted” the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to justify the grant terminations.

“The administration is again targeting people struggling to get by in America, this time by gutting programs that help low-income households afford electricity,” Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. “Congress passed a solar energy program to help make electricity costs more affordable, but the administration is ignoring the law and focused on the conspiracy theory that climate change is a hoax.”

Involved in the lawsuits are the attorneys general of Maryland and Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. The governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, are also involved.

Business owners and nonprofits have also filed a lawsuit against EPA for the same grant terminations. According to the complaint, the termination is “unlawful,” as Congress previously created and funded the program to “provide low-income households and disadvantaged communities with savings on their electricity bills and affordable energy through rooftop and community solar programs.”

Russia Weighs ‘Putin-Trump Tunnel’

ceasefire
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Alexander Ryumin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Special Envoy of the President of Russia for Investment and Economic Cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, proposed a “Putin-Trump” tunnel connecting the two countries.

Directing his comments to Elon Musk, Dmitriev wrote, “Imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and the Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump Tunnel – a 70-mile link symbolizing unity. Traditional costs are $65B+, but [Boring Company’s] tech could reduce it to <$8B. Let’s build a future together!”

The Boring Company is a tunnel construction company owned by Musk.

Dmitriev stated the tunnel “unlocks joint resource exploration” that would “create jobs and boost economies.”

“The dream of a US–Russia link via the Bering Strait reflects an enduring vision—from the 1904 Siberia–Alaska railway to Russia’s 2007 plan. RDIF has studied existing proposals, including the US–Canada–Russia–China railroad, and will support the most viable,” Dmitriev continued, noting the tunnel could be completed in less than eight years.

“RDIF has already invested in and built the first ever Russia-China railroad bridge,” the Kremlin envoy said. “The time has come to do more and connect the Continents for the first time in human history. The time has come to connect Russia and the US.”

The tunnel proposal stems from a document recently released by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who received Russian documents on the John F. Kennedy assassination. The file detailed a Kennedy–Khrushchev World Peace Bridge that “could and should be built between Alaska and Russia at once.”

President Trump said on October 16 that he had a “very productive” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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