FBI Fires Analysts Who Drafted Controversial Anti-Catholic Memo
[4:19 PM | 0 comments ]

FBI Fires Analysts Who Drafted Controversial Anti-Catholic Memo

Via Headline USA,

Several FBI analysts who drafted a 2023 memo that cited Southern Poverty Law Center information to justify targeting “radical-traditionalist Catholics” as potential violent domestic extremists were fired Friday, according to their lawyer, the latest wave of terminations under the leadership of its director Kash Patel.

The fired employees included four intelligence analysts and a supervisory analyst. The FBI declined to comment.

The January 2023 intelligence product produced by analysts in the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, field office emerged as a political flashpoint after it was issued, with Republicans in Congress repeatedly citing it as part of their broader contention that the FBI during the Biden administration was targeting conservatives.

The FBI quickly backtracked from the memo at the time, saying it had been drafted in error. Then-director Chris Wray repeatedly denied that charge and the FBI has said the document was quickly retracted and an internal review was launched. Merrick Garland, the attorney general under President Joe Biden, has said he was “appalled” by the memo.

As Headline USA exclusively revealed in April 2024, the FBI’s troubling memo was crafted by analysts involved in an investigation into a schizophrenic man who began attending a traditional Catholic church in early 2022. That schizophrenic man, 24-year-old Xavier Lopez, was arrested in November 2022 on a slew of domestic extremism-related charges. His mental health diagnosis was revealed during criminal proceedings.

According to records from his case, Lopez was on law enforcement’s radar since September 2018, when he attempted suicide. Lopez was 18 years old at the time. The FBI opened an assessment into Lopez about a year later after he allegedly made online statements advocating civil war and the murder of politicians.

Law enforcement continued to monitor Lopez—including while he served a stint in jail for felony vandalism—into early 2022, when he began attending Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Chapel in Richmond, Virginia. Our Lady of Fatima is one of the Catholic chapel’s listed in the FBI’s memo.

Shortly after Lopez started attending Our Lady of Fatima, the FBI decided to run an informant at him inside the church.

Infiltrating a Catholic church with an informant was supposedly necessary because “the only times [Lopez] left the house alone were to attend events at [Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Chapel] and it therefore provided the only potential opportunity for [an informant] to establish regular contact with him,” a 2024 DOJ Inspector General’s report said.

The FBI insisted that the informant was only used to monitor Lopez—and wasn’t used against any of the church’s other members, according to the DOJ-IG report.

The existence of the FBI informant is not disclosed in any of Lopez’s criminal records.

Lopez was arrested in November 2022 on a slew of state charges, including prohibited paramilitary activity, soliciting someone for a terrorist act and possessing firearms as a felon.

After his arrest, an FBI analyst with knowledge of the investigation worked with another analyst to craft the FBI’s memo about Catholics.

According to the DOJ-IG report, the FBI analysts wanted help conduct outreach to faith communities, “to make them aware of what we would call warning signs to radicalization, for the protection of everybody.”

“There was ample information in [Lopez’s] chats and in online chatter suggesting a potential link between white supremacist ideology and an attraction to certain religious beliefs and organizations, including [Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Chapel], but that the two analysts were searching for more definite substantiation,” the DOJ-IG report said, citing interviews with the FBI analysts.

One FBI analyst told the DOJ-IG that he found it “completely incongruous” that Lopez was attempting “to find common ground or find a community with this particular faith community.” He also said that there was no evidence that Lopez was being radicalized at Lady of Fatima Catholic Chapel, because he had been on the FBI’s radar “as an unstable, dangerous individual” before “any association with any Catholic related entity whatsoever.”

Rather, the FBI expressed concerns to the DOJ-IG that Lopez may have been recruiting other Lady of Fatima members to carry out an attack.

There is nothing in the charging documents against Lopez to suggest that he was recruiting other Catholics for an attack. Rather, the available evidence suggests that Lopez was interested in Catholic church to find a girlfriend.

“One place you will find [white women] is at a traditional church … I found a girl there that checked off every box on my list, but she’s 17 and I’m 22 so that’s not happening,” he said in an August 2022 post on Gab, according to charging documents.

Tyler Durden Sat, 06/06/2026 - 17:30
https://ift.tt/4S3LPXy
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/4S3LPXy
via IFTTT

FBI Fires Analysts Who Drafted Controversial Anti-Catholic Memo SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
Tesla Design Chief Says EV Supercar Roadster Is Coming "In A Few Weeks"
[2:19 PM | 0 comments ]

Tesla Design Chief Says EV Supercar Roadster Is Coming "In A Few Weeks"

Ferrari shot its load with the highly disappointing Luce EV...

Next up is American innovation, not Italian innovation: the Tesla Roadster.

On Saturday, Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen told the crowd at the Tesla Takeover Europe event that the Roadster is coming "in a few weeks."

Absolutely perfect timing for the long-awaited EV supercar, considering the SpaceX IPO is next Friday and there are rumors that a SpaceX-Tesla merger could become a 2027 story.

On Friday, Ferrari's CEO was quoted in an interview saying, "We will not make fully autonomous cars, loud and clear. We want people to have fun, not the [computer] chips. We want to have a steering wheel and a man or a woman behind the steering wheel. Otherwise, why do you buy a Ferrari?"

Perhaps the Ferrari CEO's negative sentiment toward fully autonomous cars stems from the belief that it simply can't build one that will compete with Tesla, which already has 10 billion miles of real-world driving data. 

Ferrari has already launched hybrid models that have been shunned by its customer base (read report): 

Yet did anyone tell the Ferrari CEO that AI driving mode can be switched off?

A Tesla Roadster that could outperform Ferrari's Luce EV at a fraction of the cost is pure American innovation.

Tyler Durden Sat, 06/06/2026 - 15:45
https://ift.tt/I0vZ6Bh
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/I0vZ6Bh
via IFTTT

Tesla Design Chief Says EV Supercar Roadster Is Coming "In A Few Weeks" SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
Coinbase To Launch Token-Backed Mortgage Down-Payments This Summer
[3:19 PM | 0 comments ]

Coinbase To Launch Token-Backed Mortgage Down-Payments This Summer

Authored by Turner Wright via CoinTelegraph.com,

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will allow qualified borrowers to pledge digital assets to fund Fannie Mae-backed mortgage apartments beginning this summer.

In a Thursday notice, Coinbase and its partner, Better Home & Finance, said the mortgage structure plan launching “by summer 2026” will allow borrowers to initially use Bitcoin (BTC) or USDC (USDC) as collateral for loans to fund down payments for homes. The initiative, first announced in March, represented a significant shift in companies allowing digital assets to be used for financing houses. 

“We’re excited to expand access to all qualified borrowers to fix an ongoing issue: buyers who qualify on every measure that matters but cannot clear the down payment hurdle because their wealth isn’t where the system expects to find it,” said Better founder and CEO Vishal Garg.

Garg said in a March post on X:

“This isn’t a niche thing. It’s what everyone is going to do once most financial assets are tokenized. It’s just a better way to buy a house.”

The move by Coinbase and Better followed US regulatory agencies under the Trump administration being friendlier to crypto companies and more accepting of digital assets integrated with traditional finance. In June 2025, the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider crypto as an asset in mortgage risk assessments without requiring a conversion into fiat.

Other mortgage lenders have made similar moves since the FHFA order. In February, Newrez began allowing borrowers to use their cryptocurrency holdings to qualify for a mortgage application.

Source: Bill Pulte

Volatile crypto-backed mortgages scrutinized for political motivations

Although the price volatility of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin may present challenges to the mortgage plan, some US lawmakers have accused FHFA head Bill Pulte of being “unduly influenced” by President Donald Trump in supporting such policies.

“Expanding underwriting criteria to include the consideration of unconverted cryptocurrency assets could pose risks to the stability of the housing market and the financial system,” said five US senators in a July 2025 letter to Pulte following the FHFA order.

Republican lawmakers, including crypto proponent Cynthia Lummis, have proposed codifying the FHFA order into law. She introduced the 21st Century Mortgage Act in July 2025, saying government agencies “must evolve to meet the needs of a modern, forward-thinking generation.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 06/05/2026 - 15:40
https://ift.tt/0GvQNuP
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/0GvQNuP
via IFTTT

Coinbase To Launch Token-Backed Mortgage Down-Payments This Summer SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
Obamacare Fraud Estimated To Cost $25 Billion This Year: Report
[4:19 PM | 0 comments ]

Obamacare Fraud Estimated To Cost $25 Billion This Year: Report

Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times,

Taxpayers will foot the bill for up to $25 billion in improper Obamacare payments due to organized fraud and improper enrollments in 2026, according to a June 3 report from Paragon Health Institute.

A pedestrian passes an insurance agency that offers Affordable Care Act plans in Miami, on Jan. 28, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Some 6.2 million enrollments in the healthcare exchanges during the most recent open-enrollment period were improper, the report said, accounting for 27 percent of all enrollments.

The conservative think tank has studied fraud in the Obamacare program since 2024.

The problem of improper enrollments persists despite recent attempts to curtail it, and appears to involve organized efforts by unscrupulous insurance brokers, the report concluded.

Meanwhile, some industry groups have criticized the findings.

Incentives For Fraud

Obamacare's premium subsidies, which cover 100 percent of the health coverage policy for many beneficiaries, and referral bonuses offer an incentive for both enrollees and brokers to abuse the system, the report concluded.

Researchers identified improper enrollments by comparing Obamacare data to Census Bureau population estimates. The improper enrollments were calculated by a state-by-state comparison of enrollments in the lowest income category to the number of people having that income level in the state.

The lowest income category is 100 percent to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $16,000 to $24,000 per year for an individual or about $27,000 to $41,000 for a family of three.

Enrollees with incomes at that level receive the highest subsidies. During the 2026 open enrollment period, 29 percent of enrollees chose a plan with a $0 premium.

That gives enrollees and the agents who sign people up for Obamacare an incentive to misstate their income, the report concluded.

The American Hospital Association has said Paragon's research results are not valid due to flawed methodology. "The Census uses different income and household size definitions than the Marketplace so there is no possibility of the data matching," the group said in an August 2025 statement. The association also said the Census relies on reported income but Obamacare asks for projected income.

The total value of Obamacare subsidies to be paid in 2026 is $88 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Agents who enroll individuals or families in Obamacare earn a commission averaging around $20 per enrollee per month for as long as the policy is active.

Obamacare received more than 23 million enrollments during the 2026 open enrollment period.

Subsidies and commissions are paid on "effectuated" enrollments, meaning enrollees who selected a plan and paid the initial premium.

The number of effectuated enrollments for 2026 has not yet been released, though about 96 percent of signups became effectuated enrollments in 2025.

Weak Controls

Congress allowed Obamacare's enhanced subsidies to expire in 2025, which reduced the number of people eligible for a 100 percent subsidy.

Yet improper enrollments persist in part because of automatic re-enrollment, said Brian Blase, Paragon's founder and president.

"Automatic re-enrollment remains pervasive. Nearly 40 percent of 2026 exchange enrollees were automatically re-enrolled," Blase told The Epoch Times by email.

That allows previous improper enrollments to carry over from year to year.

Congress and the Trump administration have taken actions to strengthen checks on improper enrollment, but most are not yet in effect.

Enacted law will require annual income eligibility verification. That takes effect in 2028.

The administration implemented stricter verification rules in May 2026, but they did not impact the 2026 open enrollment, which ended Jan. 15.

Legal Action Center, a human rights advocacy group, has opposed mandatory re-enrollment and income verification because it places an administrative burden on those dealing with substance abuse, mental health conditions, or criminal convictions.

"There is an ongoing need for an automatic re-enrollment mechanism, given that some people do not actively return to the Marketplace to make plan choices during open enrollment," the group wrote to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April 2025. Rather than requiring action on the part of enrollees, Legal Action Center urged the federal government to verify continued eligibility using existing data such as the Social Security Administration and state unemployment databases.

Bad Actors

Unscrupulous brokers appear to have contributed to improper enrollments by steering consumers toward plans that pay larger commissions, Blase said. And the report suggests that some agents have created fictitious enrollments.

"Some brokers and agents continue steering low-income enrollees into $0-premium plans," Blase said, even though it may not provide them the best value.

Bronze plans have no premium for an enrollee at 100 percent of the federal poverty level. But the out-of-pocket costs could total nearly $7,500 per year, according to Paragon.

The same individual could qualify for a silver plan for which the enrollee premium plus out-of-pocket costs totaled $415.

"One plausible explanation is that brokers moved enrollees into $0-premium bronze or gold plans because some consumers will only enroll if coverage is free," Blase said. "And phantom enrollees cannot pay premiums."

Paragon defines phantom enrollments as those that are fictitious, or unaware they are enrolled, or are enrolled in other coverage.

In 2024, 35 percent of Obamacare enrollments reported no medical claims. "The percentage of zero-claim enrollees in the exchanges is dramatically higher than observed in the broader private market and strongly suggests a substantial number of phantom enrollees."

Also, about half of all enrollees reported unknown race or ethnicity in 2026, a trend that began in 2024, according to the report. Researchers say this could indicate that the agents had little contact with the enrollees.

"These findings suggest that a substantial portion of recent ACA exchange enrollment growth may not reflect legitimate increases in insured individuals," the report stated.

America's Health Insurance Plans, an association of health insurers, has been critical of Paragon's previous research on phantom enrollees.

"A 'no-claims' year is evidence that a consumer stayed healthy or only had a few months of coverage - not that taxpayer money was misdirected or that their policy was illegitimate," the group said in an August 2025 statement.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/04/2026 - 16:20
https://ift.tt/nTyKjVU
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/nTyKjVU
via IFTTT

Obamacare Fraud Estimated To Cost $25 Billion This Year: Report SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
Oil Prices Hold Gains As Gasoline Stocks Hit 12 Year Lows, Cushing 'Tank Bottoms' Loom
[4:19 PM | 0 comments ]

Oil Prices Hold Gains As Gasoline Stocks Hit 12 Year Lows, Cushing 'Tank Bottoms' Loom

Brent crude prices are rising back toward $100 per barrel this morning following the latest flare-up in fighting to threaten the U.S.-Iran ceasefire

Prices rose after the U.S. military said Iran fired missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, which failed to hit their targets.

The United States said it then struck an Iranian military ground control station on an island in the Strait of Hormuz.

 

API:

  • Crude: -6.8MM

  • Cushing: -279k

  • Gasoline: +3.5M

  • Distillate: -214k

DOE:

  • Crude: -7.97mm - biggest draw since Feb

  • Cushing: -583k

  • Gasoline: +3.36mm - biggest build since Jan

  • Distillate: +1.50mm

US crude stocks fell for the sixth straight week with Cushing inventories testing tank bottoms once again. The week saw an unexpected jump in product inventories with Gasoline's biggest build since January...

Source: Bloomberg

Today's rise in gasoline stocks lifts them off their lowest level for this time of year since 2014...

Source: Bloomberg

Cushing 'tank bottoms' are in sight once again...

Source: Bloomberg

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve saw another huge drawdown this week (down 58mm barrels since the start of the war)...

Source: Bloomberg

Rig counts are on the rise as US crude production drifts back towards record highs...

Source: Bloomberg

US crude and product exports jumped back towards record highs...

Source: Bloomberg

WTI was trading around $95 ahead of the official data...

Finally, economists at Macquarie wrote in a note this morning that crude oil’s muted reaction to the closure of Hormuz has mainly been a function of the oversupply seen before the war, .

The analysts suggested that “the market will be ok for another month or two, especially given commercial crude stocks have been cushioned by SPR/product draws."

However, if the Strait remains closed at the end of the northern summer (Labor Day is Sept. 7), physical availability will tighten materially.

“If the Strait reopens soon, we expect prices to fall sharply. However, with stocks drawing rapidly, if the Strait remains closed, at some point prices will need to move much higher.”

'Tank Bottoms' are in sight around the world.

Tyler Durden Wed, 06/03/2026 - 10:39
https://ift.tt/9TA5png
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/9TA5png
via IFTTT

Oil Prices Hold Gains As Gasoline Stocks Hit 12 Year Lows, Cushing 'Tank Bottoms' Loom SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend