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Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge on July 14 rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to obtain the private personal data of every registered voter in New Mexico, adding to the overall number of cases the DOJ has lost in which it has sought similar information.

U.S. District Judge Judith C. Herrera dismissed the latest voter roll lawsuit, ruling that the department’s demand letter lacked facts, proof of a pattern of violations, and explanations of necessity.

The court found that “the DOJ’s Demand Letter fails because it altogether lacks an identifiable ‘basis.’ Nowhere does the DOJ articulate any factual suggestion that New Mexico has violated the NVRA [National Voter Registration Act] or HAVA [Help America Vote Act], indicate the State has a pattern or practice of noncompliance with the same, nor does it explain how the unredacted PII is necessary to evaluate compliance with the NVRA and HAVA.”

The DOJ did not immediately return a request for comment.

New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver approved of the court’s decision.

“I am pleased with the court’s decision to dismiss this case. Federal and state legal guardrails on social security numbers and dates of birth exist for the identity protection of every voter in our state,” she said.

She doubled down on the security practices deployed under her leadership.

“I absolutely will not risk any disclosure of voters’ private data, as it could carry very real and severe consequences for the personal lives of New Mexicans participating in our democratic process,” she said.

The Justice Department has now been barred in 14 similar cases nationwide, failing to obtain unredacted voter files via these lawsuits from states that declined its requests, according to Oliver.

A federal judge on June 29 threw out the Justice Department’s lawsuit against New Hampshire. The state refused to disclose its unredacted statewide voter registration lists.

In a 26-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante stated that those state-generated voter records fall outside those documents the federal government can demand under Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960.

In April, judges dismissed similar cases in Arizona and Massachusetts. In February, a judge rejected a DOJ request for similar information in Michigan.

In January, a federal judge in Oregon ruled along similar lines. U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai dismissed the Justice Department’s suit requesting Oregon’s list of registered voters. During a videoconference hearing, he granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case.

The department alleged that Oregon’s refusal violated the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960.

The Justice Department filed lawsuits against six states in December 2025.

Aldgra Fredley contributed to this report.

You’ve likely seen it if you’ve the nearby Hell’s Kitchen entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel…

What began as a growing homeless encampment on Manhattan’s West Side has now escalated to alleged utility theft, according to the NY Post.

According to reports, one resident of the sprawling encampment was seen Tuesday tapping into city electrical lines to power a makeshift shelter near West 34th Street between 11th and 12th Avenue. The camp now stretches roughly a dozen blocks, from 34th Street to 46th Street near the Intrepid Museum, and has become an increasingly visible flashpoint for residents, commuters, and tourists.

The NY Post writes that bus drivers and local workers say the encampment has continued to expand over the past several weeks, with tents multiplying and sidewalks becoming increasingly obstructed.

“It’s been almost a month now and it gets a little bigger every time I come back,” one FlixBus driver told the New York Post. He said garbage piled along the sidewalk forces passengers waiting for buses into the street, while some people living in the encampment have reportedly approached travelers asking for money. He added that complaints to city officials have produced little visible response.

Police officers were seen Tuesday ordering the individual accused of siphoning electricity to disconnect from the utility line. Elsewhere along the encampment, officers reportedly seized extension cords and power strips from another makeshift shelter. Despite those actions, there appears to be little expectation that the enforcement will significantly reduce the camp’s size.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has defended the city’s broader approach, saying the priority is moving homeless individuals into shelters and ultimately permanent housing rather than simply dispersing encampments from one neighborhood to another. Asked specifically about the West Side encampment, he said the city would review the situation.

Despite growing attention, reports indicate that no sanitation crews or homeless outreach teams had been seen at the site in the days following news coverage of the encampment.

The camp itself has reportedly continued to grow, with additional tents appearing over the weekend. Reports also claim that the area has attracted people struggling with addiction, along with sex workers, adding to concerns from nearby businesses and residents who say conditions continue to deteriorate.

By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

Last weekend we published that the market was sitting on Multiple Inflection Points. We were concerned that many of the inflection points would resolve themselves negatively for the market:

• Iran, which we didn’t even give the full “inflection” point treatment to, has deteriorated. While Brent finished the week at almost $90, up from just above $70, it seemed to be a “side story” at this stage. However, with the news of the U.S. service members killed on Friday in Jordan, the question becomes how this alters the U.S. strategy to pressure Iran to stop its attacks on shipping in the Strait and return to the table to continue negotiations.

• AI Spend was the most important inflection point and that seems to be resolving itself rather negatively with the Philly Semi Index down 10% on the week! More on this later.

• Russia/Ukraine. General (ret.) Spider Marks, Rachel Washburn, and I spent a lot of time talking about this conflict. I continue to be optimistic, maybe even a bit more optimistic than the consensus Geopolitical Intelligence Group view, but that’s my take.

• Japanese Yen. The infamous carry trade did little last week, but strength in the Yen remains a risk for the broader market.

• Crypto and DATCos. With the volatility in other markets last week, the stability in this space was noticeable. The jury is still out on which way this inflection point will resolve itself, but the case that it is forming a solid base is growing.

• Inflation. As one of the last people looking for not just cuts before hikes, but also cuts as early as September, Tuesday’s CPI numbers helped a lot! Some would argue that “Core” remains high, but it is artificially inflated by the “mysterious” way we choose to represent shelter inflation. (Yes, I’m hoping to get some call, out of the blue, to help re-evaluate what data decisions should be based on). Unfortunately, the resumption of increased hostilities in the Middle East and the limited amount of oil left in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve don’t help my take on inflation continuing to decline. Though any material slowing in the AI Spend would push the Fed (on both inflation and jobs) to consider cutting. Last weekend (according to WIRP) the market was pricing in 1.5 hikes by the end of the December meeting. It is now at 1.26 hikes. I think that expectation will continue to come down. Will consider this week a “decent” win as expectations for hikes declined even as oil prices ripped higher.

The risk that these “inflection points” are at risk of overloading markets remains high!

SPCH SPCF LOFF SPCU SPAL SPCL SPCM

This may set a “new low” in terms of gobbledygook for a heading in the T-Report. I’m hoping you are wondering what the heck triggered such an insane looking heading!

Those are the ticker symbols for 7 ETFs that provide 2X the daily return of SPCX! I’ve listed them in order from largest to smallest. In total they have “only” about $420 million in AUM (it was probably higher before most of these ETFs saw a decline of over 50% since their highs). SPCL tracked a larger “index” pre-IPO but converted to SPCX only with the IPO, presumably to be “first to market” on the SPCX-leveraged IPO. In all fairness, there are at least 4 ETFs allowing investors to short (on a leveraged basis) SPCX.

I’m kind of reminded of some vague saying about rabbits. You start with 2 (presumably male and female) and wind up with a LOT of rabbits very quickly!

Does one IPO really need to inspire at least 10 single stock ETFs?

Apparently (I was too lazy to pull up the tickers) there are already a half dozen or so single stock ETFs that track the newly launched SKHY ADR.

It is already a complex process to price an IPO. That process can be made more difficult when only a portion of the float is sold initially. I have zero clue how any of these single stock ETFs help in terms of allocation of capital, or price discovery! If anything, they tend to amplify moves, as the leverage creates forced end of day buying or selling! That is the opposite of helping price discovery or establishing orderly markets.

I’m assuming any 4 letter combination of CHAT, OPEN, LLM, etc. has been purchased/registered in the “ticker” world. CHTU (Chat Up) or CHTD (Chat Down) seem obvious ones to own, to sell to an ETF manager (though, again, it is likely that they are already taken). Kind of reminiscent of when people were buying up domain names hoping to sell them.

I probably ranted too long to make the point that leveraged ETFs (single stock and index) tend to amplify moves in both directions!

SOXL

We might as well transition from market structure to the AI spend, with SOXL.

3X leverage on the NYSE Semi Index, with $19 billion of AUM, tends to amplify moves.

One “characteristic” of these market-structure impacting ETFs (in my opinion, and one I’m certainly guilty of) is that:

• When a stock or sector that XYZ recommends goes higher, all the credit is attributed to the idea. It is all ixnay on the market structure when the market structure is helping support a move.
• When a stock or sector that XYZ recommends goes lower, XYZ (whoever that may be) is quick to pull out the “technicals” or “market structure” card, as the culprit.

Leveraged ETFs (single stock and index) and Zero-Day to Expiration Options (0DTE and other short-term options) all tend to amplify moves. It is the nature of the beast. If there is potential for stop losses to be triggered, the amplification effect is even more powerful.

Is it time to buy the dip? If the parabolic move higher in the various semi-conductor indices owes some thanks to market structure (and I think it does), that market structure may have shifted from a tailwind to a headwind (or worse, a tailwind in the other direction).

From Cheap Trinkets to Cheap Compute?

I find myself admonishing myself and cautioning clients to put China circa 2005 out of their mind. The argument is basically that yes, China used to make “cheap” trinkets. That much of what they made was of lower quality and fell apart. No one really picked up an item that had a “Made in China” label and thought it was fine engineering!

In general, that just isn’t true in 2026. China makes high-quality components. China makes high-quality products. Intellectual Property ownership has shifted. Through a variety of methods (ranging from companies willingly exposing themselves to Chinese companies to access via less savory means), China has closed the gap on IP. In some areas, China is ahead on IP.

I admit, I checked out a BYD showroom when I was in Munich last week (please try not to judge how I occupy my free time ). The vehicles looked kind of cool and I already had decent expectations, unlike I would have had a few years ago.

Is Cheap Compute the “New” China 2005 Story?

I’m not sure why I say “2005,” but I do (I hope it gets the point across that we are talking about what China was like a couple of decades ago, when they really started to dominate global trade).

My take is:

• China wedged their foot in the door by making some things at cheaper prices than anyone else could.
• China was willing to accept things, like pollution and horrible labor conditions, to do that.

We ceded more and more manufacturing to China, and they got better and better at it.

• China Inc. ensured that the Chinese government and Chinese corporations were in “sync,” making it easier to coordinate their push into global markets.
  • Unfair advantages at home, flooding markets to lower prices abroad, etc., were tools in their arsenal to dominate global manufacturing.

Over time, they made the shift from Made in China to Made by China:

• Selling your brands makes more money for your country and companies than just making someone else’s brands.

Globally, companies now compete with China on a much more equal footing, in terms of product quality, while China has the ability to work as China Inc. (typically an advantage).

That has played a role in our construction of the ProSec theme, which we provided a mid-year update on.

Increasingly, I’m concerned that we may be at a “2005” moment in compute?

General (ret.) Groen discussed this and much more with me on a call this week. I will paraphrase much of what was discussed:

• Are Chinese LLMs (and AI in general) as good as U.S. versions?
  • In general, no. Yes, it made big news on Friday, when a Chinese model did very well on some specific benchmark tests. For all we know, it was created/trained specifically for some benchmarks, which means it will do very well on those tests, but not necessarily perform well in the “wild.”
    • There are allegations and questions about how Chinese models attempt to train themselves on U.S. models, greatly reducing the cost and timing of training. Bad if true, but can it be stopped?
    • I’m told the politically correct term for this sort of “training” is to “distill” their models.
• Is China selling compute cheaper than U.S. compute is being sold for?
  • Yes, potentially 5 to 10 times cheaper. This is where I keep circling back to my “2005” date. Were dinky cars made in China as good as elsewhere? Ummm, I guess if you take out lead paint concerns and other things, sure, but the reality was we all kind of “knew” that there were issues with them. But you could buy a pack of 5 for the price of 1 made elsewhere, and the decision got more complex (apologies to Spider, who wanted me to use snow globes, but I decided to stick with dinky cars).
  • I do NOT have TikTok installed. I’ve only been on TEMU twice in my life. I haven’t even been tempted to try one of the Chinese models (and those of you who know me know I’m easily tempted). Yet, kind of like the dinky cars, you can see the appeal.
• The Half-Life of AI model domination seems to be shrinking. Probably an overly complicated (on my part) way of saying that AI is advancing rapidly. Every time you look at the benchmarks, there are models that have risen to the top of the charts that I barely knew existed (and I’m paying some attention).
  • Is AI able to generate new iterations of AI even faster? If you were, say, 3 generations behind, can you get to 1 generation behind extremely quickly? Seems plausible, especially if you are willing (or able) to “cut corners” on training?
• Electricity. Does the U.S. have the electricity generation capacity to feed the demand for AI (and the general public)? Do we have the ability to get that power from where it is generated to where it needs to be (the grid)? How do we compare to China on that front?
  • While I don’t have the details, it seems on the surface that China has more capability for “plug and play” on the AI front than the U.S. does. Electricity, energy production, and transfer are near the TOP OF THE ProSec list for a reason.
• NIMBY. We have discussed the AI Revolution as much as anyone (I think). We have been arguing that Data Center and AI construction (and electricity and to a lesser extent water) would be a major political issue in 2028 or sooner! No idea that it would be an issue that is defining some primaries already! New York State seems to be imposing a 1-year moratorium. I haven’t checked how that will work, but the fact that it is a talking point tells us something.
  • The AI industry needs to do better on community outreach. On top of everything else, there are National Security concerns at play. I’m not sure how the industry, or the national security apparatus, changes the direction in the U.S., but they need to increase their efforts.
    • There are plenty of areas building and pitching for more data centers and AI, so we are a long way from being out of the game, but we need to do a lot to not only protect the lead but also add to the lead (maybe the English coach could have applied that logic to the last 30 minutes as well).
  • I’m pretty sure that there is no equivalent of NIMBY in China. There are some things that one culture has that another culture doesn’t have, but at least there is some understanding of why you have that thing, or think that way. I’d be willing to bet the vast majority of people in China would just stare at you blankly, bemused by the concept of NIMBY getting in the way.

Bottom Line

Many of the “inflection” points have demonstrated a clear direction to which way they are headed, but with everything going on, expect more downside for the markets. DeepSeek was a moment. Treating cheap compute like manufacturing was treated circa 2005 is NOT a “moment.” I’m trying to avoid getting “sucked into the hype of the moment,” and wish I’d written the section on cheap compute Wednesday morning, before the recent news hit (we’d look a bit more proactive, rather than reactive), but I didn’t. The AI spend is at risk on multiple fronts, and while I expect earnings to be important, it now seems clear that even strong earnings, with very visible, very strong guidance for years to come, might not be enough! Last weekend, my perception was that earnings could propel sectors, especially the “compute” sector, higher, but I’m less convinced of that now. The story on “compute credit” seems to have deteriorated, even though we think it is overdone. It does seem like we might need a “debt diet” moment, where some company takes steps to make creditors happy, and finds that their stock responds positively to that action. While the Middle East is not helpful for lower inflation, any slowdown in the AI spend would be (though it would be awful for the economy). While I’m loath to end with a chart, today we are going to end with a chart.

While the Nasdaq 100 has been in a range for the past few weeks and has started moving lower, the S&P 500 equal weight index has been grinding higher and is extremely close to its all-time highs. In some ways it seems “crazy” to think that the S&P 500 equal weight and the Nasdaq 100 should have similar returns (we saw the post-Liberation Day rally in the Nasdaq 100), but finally the two indices closed the gap (noticeably the separation closed when both indices were moving lower).

Who knows, by Monday, the President may have sent something on Truth Social to change all of this (he controls the Iran narrative, and he did push back on the New York data center moratorium). If he does, we should find out at the same time as everyone else, because I don’t think “fast access” on Truth Social has been implemented yet (Trump Media Subscription Plan).

This should be an interesting week. Buy the dip, or get bearish? Of all the things listed, the concept of “cheap” compute from China concerns me the most!

The National Hurricane Center has raised the probability of tropical development for Invest 91L to 80% over the next two to seven days.

The broad area of low pressure off Florida’s west coast in the Gulf of America should be tracked into the new week, as early Sunday model guidance suggests it could eventually threaten offshore oil and gas rigs and coastal refineries.

NHC’s latest Invest 91L update:  

A area of low pressure located over the northeastern Gulf of America continues to become better defined and the associated shower and thunderstorm activity is gradually increasing.

Continued gradual development is expected, and a tropical depression is likely to form later today or on Monday as the system moves slowly northward or northwestward.

Interests along the northern Gulf coast from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana should monitor the progress of this system, as tropical storm watches or warnings could be required for portions of the area later today.

In addition, this system is expected to bring heavy rains to portions of the northern Gulf coast during the next several days. An Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft is scheduled to investigate the low pressure area later today.

Formation odds:

• Formation chance through 48 hours…high…80 percent.
• Formation chance through 7 days…high…80 percent.

Model Track:

Refinery Map:

Regardless of Invest 91L’s development, the broad area of low pressure will traverse northwest, away from Southwest Florida and towards the New Orleans area.

The Atlantic Hurricane season is beginning to move into an active phase.

Notably, El Niño generally suppresses Atlantic hurricane activity by increasing upper-level westerly winds and vertical wind shear across the Caribbean and tropics, which disrupt tropical systems before they organize or intensify.

More on developing El Niño here.

Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times,

U.S. lettuce supplier Taylor Farms expanded on July 17 its voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico due to concerns over its link to a cyclospora outbreak affecting Americans across the country.

Lettuce products that were possibly contaminated with the diarrhea-causing parasite were sent to 27 states, according to the company. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said July 18 the outbreak was linked to iceberg lettuce across five states and more than 1,000 people in the United States have been sickened by it.

“Consumers who have purchased the recalled iceberg lettuce should discard it immediately and not consume it,” California-based Taylor Farms said in a statement.

“Full refunds are also available at the location of purchase.”

States that were sent potentially contaminated lettuce products include Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The company added that it is actively removing affected products and ceased sourcing lettuce from the implicated lot in central Mexico. Taylor Farms reiterated that it is continuing to cooperate with the Food and Drug Administration, the CDC, and other authorities.

Taylor Farms released a full list of its potentially affected products, including various shredded lettuce and salad mixes, accompanied with their lot codes and use-by dates.

According to an earlier statement July 17, the company said it was voluntarily removing from U.S. markets all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. That decision was based on information the FDA provided to Taylor Farms regarding its products, the statement said.

“As a family owned and operated company, we are deeply concerned for those who became ill, their families, and the many Americans whose trust in the safety of their fresh produce has been shaken,” Taylor Farms said.

“That trust is something we’ve worked for decades to earn, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to restore that confidence.”

U.S. health officials earlier this week announced it had traced “a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by Taco Bell locations where sick people ate before becoming ill.”

The popular fast-food chain addressed the issue in a statement on X, writing that it had removed all Taylor Farm products from its locations.

“We want you to hear it from us,” the company said. “So go ahead and enjoy your Taco Bell today.”

U.S. food distributor Sysco had also pulled all its Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.

Cyclosporiasis is caused by the microscopic parasite cyclospora that stems from produce and water contaminated with human feces.

As of the latest update available from the CDC, the outbreak has resulted in 1,644 cases and 94 hospitalizations.

The agency noted that the true number of cases could be much higher, as many people are able to recover without medical care and are not tested for cyclospora.

Russia overnight and into early Sunday morning unleashed what Ukrainian officials have described as its largest barrage of ballistic missiles focused on Kiev of the war.

Among the key targets was a large complex owned and operated by UKRTAC, a Ukrainian producer of military gear and personal protective equipment. Its manufacturing facilities and warehouses in the capital were destroyed in the assault.

UKRTAC, confirmed on social media that facilities and production equipment were entirely wiped out due to a direct hit, but said there were no casualties at the plant.

But elsewhere in the capital there were significant casualties, with at least one person killed and 16 others wounded. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday it was one of the single biggest missile barrages of the war:

A series of powerful explosions thundered across the darkened city in an attack that involved 41 missiles of various types and ravaged buildings across several districts.

Also, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has described the raid involved “around four dozen” ballistic missiles.

However, Zelensky has said Ukrainian forces continue to strike back, including a new attack on three oil depots and a fuel facility in Russia’s southern Stavropol Sunday morning. Zelensky added three Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tankers were also struck in the Black Sea.

“Today, Ukraine’s long-range sanctions reached designated targets that support and finance Russia’s aggression. SSU units struck three oil depots in the Stavropol region at once, while units of our Armed Forces hit another fuel facility in the same region,” he said.

“Direct hits were recorded on three Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Black Sea.”

We continue to respond to Russian strikes in a fully justified and accurate manner. Today, Ukraine’s long-range sanctions reached designated targets that support and finance Russia’s aggression. SSU units struck three oil depots in the Stavropol region at once, while units of our… pic.twitter.com/3YWEDFBknE

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 19, 2026

The Kremlin over the weekend has boasted of new ground advances along the front lines, but the war has long been focused in the air of late.

As for the Ukrainian capital, emergency crews have been scrambling on an almost nightly basis of late. Concerning the new attack, “The Kyiv government said firefighters were responding to blazes in five different districts after the attack, one of the biggest in recent weeks, hit residential buildings, office and industrial sites, a dormitory and vehicles,” The Independent describes.

Via Headline USA,

Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, whose social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities, were arrested Saturday in Miami as British authorities sought their extradition on rape and sex trafficking charges.

The brothers were taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service on a sealed warrant, placing the United States at the center of an international legal saga that has stretched from Romania to Britain.

STATEMENT OF JOSEPH D. MCBRIDE, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREW AND TRISTAN TATE

The world knows Andrew and Tristan Tate are innocent. Their enemies know it best of all. That is exactly why they have been attacked.

Last night, the United Kingdom, a corrupt and fallen nation that jails its… pic.twitter.com/XoMVmPxtgA

— Joe McBride (@McBrideLawNYC) July 19, 2026

Britain is seeking their extradition on rape and trafficking charges

British prosecutors announced Saturday that they were seeking the brothers’ extradition on charges alleging they raped and trafficked women between 2010 and 2017.

The dual U.S. and British citizens moved to Romania in 2016.

They were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation.

They denied those allegations and the Romanian case hasn’t gone forward because of legal and procedural problems.

Last year, they were allowed to leave Romania and flew to Florida on a private jet.

The brothers are expected to appear in Miami’s federal court early next week, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement operations.

The pending charges in the United Kingdom accused the brothers of abusing women in an area north of London, where they grew up. Their lawyers had said they denied the allegations.

Joseph McBride, an attorney representing the Tate brothers, said in a phone interview Saturday evening that he has not been able to speak with his clients but called the new charges out of the U.K. “filth and slander” intended to derail defamation lawsuits filed by the brothers in the U.S.

“They’re pulling out all the stops to make sure these guys never get their day in court,” McBride said.

“We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America does not do Britain’s political dirty work.”

pic.twitter.com/qSAn0cywI2

— Joe McBride (@McBrideLawNYC) July 19, 2026

Tate has been banned from social media platforms for ‘hate speech’

Andrew Tate, 39, first reached a mainstream audience as a contestant on the U.K. reality television show “Big Brother” in 2016. He was removed from the show when a video surfaced that appeared to show Tate assaulting a woman. He and his brother Tristan Tate, 38, are vocal supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Andrew Tate has amassed over 10 million followers on X but has been banned from platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for violating “hate speech” guidelines.

The Tate brothers have consistently denied allegations of abuse and human trafficking, claiming that violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.

In a statement Saturday, the U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Services said that in addition to the charges publicly announced against the brothers in 2025, involving alleged crimes against three women, it was bringing a total of 38 new charges related to “four further victims.”

Both brothers are accused of rape and human trafficking. Andrew Tate faces an additional charge of profiting from prostitution, and 19 charges “for offences relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography,” according to U.K. authorities.

Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com,

France’s Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), or the National Gambling Authority, has ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket.

Prediction websites are considered illegal gambling, the ANJ said in a Friday press release.

The regulator said that Polymarket’s operations are not authorized in France and that advertising unauthorized gambling sites constitutes a criminal offense with fines of up to 100,000 euros ($114,000).

Prediction markets allow users to buy and sell contracts tied to the outcomes of future events, from elections and sporting events to economic data and geopolitical developments. Polymarket has surged in popularity over the past two years, with billions of dollars in trading volume, while drawing scrutiny from regulators over whether its event contracts constitute illegal gambling or unlicensed financial products.

Countries that blocked access to Polymarket include Singapore, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia. At press time, Polymarket said it was geoblocked in 36 regions.

France’s gambling regulator first shared plans to block the platform in November 2024 for failing to comply with national gambling laws.

French gambling authority cites outcome manipulation concerns

France’s gambling authority said Polymarket boasts “addictive features” that are similar to regulated gambling offerings, but “amplified by the absence of the protective mechanisms found in the legal gambling market.”

It also cited potential outcome manipulation tied to some event contracts on Polymarket, adding:

“Some of the bets offered on this platform appeared to be rigged: for example, bets on the weather revealed that weather sensors may have been hacked.”

The cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into this matter in May 2026 and found a lack of identity verification, such as Know Your Customer checks.

Prediction markets have also drawn scrutiny from US regulators. On June 17, Kentucky sued five prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, accusing them of operating unlicensed sports betting platforms. At least 17 other states have followed suit.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued eight states, arguing they had interfered with the federal regulator’s exclusive authority over federally regulated event contracts. 

In the latest development related to what some analysts have called the ‘new Cold War’ and nuclear saber-rattling between Russia and the West, Germany and France are planning a major nuclear exercise later this year.

The atomic drills were announced Friday, after a joint top-level meeting of the French and German governments near Cologne. “Alongside this work on a shared doctrine, German conventional forces will this year take part in a nuclear exercise of the French military,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz unveiled. 

He detailed while at a press event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron that a “strategic steering group” established by the leading European allies would continue looking at deterrence in the future, with an eye on Russia.

“This is complementary to our nuclear participation and deterrence within NATO, which we still hold to,” he added. He also previewed “a maneuver in the autumn held on the initiative of France” – while speaking of the Ukraine war.

“We will clarify together what form exactly this participation will take,” he said.

France is newly positioning itself at the forefront of nuclear deterrence for Europe, a role that the United States has long assumed, and currently still does.

According to some of Macron’s statements at the same event: “Patriotism, yes; nationalism, never. At a time when Europe is rearming, to think that each of us separately accumulating capabilities is the way history is going is absurd.” More details have been offered in the following:

Mr Macron and Mr Merz began the defence council at Nörvenich air base beside a French Rafale and a German Eurofighter – a symbolic backdrop after the aircraft designed to replace them was scrapped.

Nuclear deterrence offers one field where the strained partnership can still move forward.

German troops would play a conventional supporting role and would not control French weapons. Berlin will also help develop radar and space-based systems for detecting ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

Currently the United States and the UK, which both maintain nuclear arsenals, form the core of NATO’s nuclear deterrence strategy. While France also possesses nuclear weapons, it does not yet participate on a leadership level in NATO’s nuclear planning group. The US military also contributes F-35, refueling aircraft, and other support planes. 

Germany’s Chancellor Merz:

For the first time, I have accepted the offer made by the French President to jointly think about nuclear deterrence.

Historically speaking, General Charles de Gaulle had already offered the Federal Republic of Germany a French nuclear umbrella many… pic.twitter.com/lIug2JjqVB

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 17, 2026

Russia has not infrequently held its own strategic drills over the course of the last several years of war in Ukraine. It has also become the ‘new normal’ for Russia and Europe to hold rival conventional war games, amid threats, warnings and ongoing miliary flexing.

Authored by Andrew Korybko,

The reason is Poles’ radically shifting views towards Ukraine since the start of their spiraling dispute sparked by Zelensky’s state-level glorification of the Volhynia Genocide’s OUN-UPA culprits.

Leading Polish conservative newspaper Rzeczpospolita published the results of a survey that it commissioned showing that 45.2% of Poles now want to stop arming Ukraine. The majority are from the opposition, which includes conservative and libertarian-nationalist (populist in American political parlance) groups who a separate survey recently showed could form a coalition government after fall 2027’s next Sejm elections, and is almost three times larger than the 18.3% from December 2022.

Krzysztof Bosak, one of the populist Confederation’s co-leaders, is quoted as reaffirming his party’s consistent policy of supporting conditional aid to Ukraine that tangibly advances Polish interests. Its rapid growth in popularity per the second-mentioned survey above is likely due to the public realizing that Confederation was right all along about Ukraine amidst their country’s spiraling dispute with it that was sparked by Zelensky’s state-level glorification of the Volhynia Genocide’s OUN-UPA culprits.

This palpable sentiment is arguably responsible for why the conservative “Law & Justice” (PiS) opposition’s prime ministerial candidate boldly broke with this party’s leadership earlier in the week by calling on the EU to stop funding Ukrainian arms till it “enters the path of pro-human values.” PiS is also separately embroiled in a power struggle between co-founder Jarosław Kaczyński and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki over the latter’s refusal to shutter his sub-group within the party.

The combination of these factors could lead to more disgruntled PiS supporters flocking towards Confederation, thus potentially turning the party in the senior partner in any coalition that could be formed after fall 2027’s next Sejm elections, which could lead to serious changes in Polish foreign policy. The second survey that was hyperlinked to in the introduction shows that Confederation and the Confederation of the Polish Crown that earlier split from it have more support combined than PiS.

It’s therefore within the realm of political reality that the populists maintain their role as the country’s most powerful opposition force, especially if support for PiS continues declining while support for Confederation continues growing, with Poles’ radically shifting views towards Ukraine being the reason. Rzeczpospolita’s report cites the Defense Ministry’s recently declassified statistics showing that the former PiS government gave Ukraine around €3.4 billion worth of military equipment from 2022-2023.

The National Security Bureau disclosed in early 2025 that Poland’s aid to Ukraine totaled 4.91% of its GDP by then (most going to refugees and the above statistics showing that the liberal coalition only sent around €350 million by mid-2026) and constituted hundreds of pieces of equipment. Although PiS has since hardened its approach towards Ukraine, just like its opponents did under public pressure, it could have preemptively averted Ukraine’s descent into an anti–Polish state had it attached strings to its aid.

For example, aid could have been sent only if Ukraine first allowed the full exhumation and proper reburial of the Volhynia Genocide’s victims, officially recognized and apologized for this war crime, and banned Banderism. That didn’t happen and now “Poland Finally Realizes The Geostrategic Challenge Posed By Ukraine”, thus further contextualizing why nearly half of Poles no longer want to arm what’s at this point their top regional rival, which also poses a latent security threat if it’s not soon denazified.