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'Something is brewing': Ex-intel staffer fires off ominous 'going to get rough' warning
A former Defense Intelligence Agency staffer is warning Americans that time is running out to prepare for a crisis. His post has been viewed more than 1.7 million times.“Your window to prepare, even with the basics, is closing,” wrote Farijah “Doc” St. Clair on X. “For those tracking the indicators that an event is increasingly likely, you know that it is now undeniable that something is brewing.”St. Clair is head of technology and intelligence at Crisis24, a GardaWorld-owned risk firm. There he leads AiiA, an AI-driven intelligence product built with Palantir that gives corporate executives a daily briefing modeled on the President’s Daily Brief. A combat-wounded Army veteran, he says he spent more than a decade in the Army and the “Defense Intelligence Enterprise,” including a stint at DIA around 2015 and 2016. His company bio says he supported efforts to counter Russian influence and deployed to multiple combat theaters.In his post, St. Clair wrote that during his intelligence career he worked on “counterintelligence threats to Continuity of Government (COG) and Continuity of Operations (COOP).”“Something I can say for absolute certain is that once governments signal that their citizens need to prepare, those preparations have already been conducted for national leadership,” he wrote.He pointed to European governments urging citizens to keep supplies on hand. He also cited reports that the Pentagon wants U.S. military bases to be able to sustain themselves for 90 days, which he called “the loudest signal concerning how significant the situation is.”“The gravity of this can’t be understated,” he wrote. “The calls for preparedness will escalate in their time frames. 3 days will turn into a week. A week will turn in to a few weeks. A few weeks into a couple months.”His message to Americans was blunt.“What Americans should know is that you will be on your own,” St. Clair wrote. “FEMA does not have the resources to help people in a time of need during an event at national scale. Your local authorities don’t either.”He described a grim scenario that he said comes from an Army study of how big cities collapse when “just in time” supply chains fail.“In 3 days, a major city is out of food in the major stores. Looting starts,” he wrote. “Suburbia is then the next harvest location. People organize and target food distribution warehouses. Then people head out into the country where people are prepared and things get ugly.”St. Clair’s advice is to prepare, and to do it quietly.“You, at some point, will hear, ‘well if something happens, I’ll just come to your house,’ stated as a joke. But this is not a joke. You have now become someone’s backup plan. Don’t allow this,” he wrote.He urged readers to “randomize when you go to the store,” cut back on visible Amazon deliveries, and “start to think about how to feign poverty.”He recommended stocking “water, rice, protein, canned foods,” along with basic medicines, and told people to watch the 1980s nuclear war films “The Day After” and “Threads.”“We are now at the part of both movies where governments are telling people to prepare and some degree of panic is setting in,” he wrote. “This will get worse.”He signed off with: “For everyone, hang in there. It’s going to get rough.”St. Clair didn’t say what kind of event he believes is coming. He told readers “to not focus on the ‘what.’”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly ordered U.S. military installations to become more self-sufficient, an effort covered by outlets including Fox News and the Daily Wire.
Trump DOJ's new Greek voter fraud tale implodes as obvious plot hole exposed: reporter
Journalist Scott MacFarlane flagged what he called an obvious mistake in a Justice Department announcement about an alleged noncitizen voter, in his “Day Ahead” newsletter on Wednesday.MacFarlane said DOJ has been putting out releases on individual noncitizens accused of voting in 2022, each showing a blurred image of the suspect with an agent’s windbreaker. One of the entries alleges a Greek national voted for President, Vice President, US Senator and Member of the House of Representatives in 2022.”The problem is that “2022 was not a Presidential or Vice Presidential election year,” MacFarlane noted.MacFarlane says the handful of cases couldn’t sway a federal election, and haven’t been proven in court.Separately, he noted, DOJ is also pressing a suit to block certification of Alaska’s Senate race over the fact that two candidates' names on the ballot are similar, and seeking to set aside tens of thousands of California ballots over alleged noncitizen voting that local officials dismiss as “hogwash,” though an appeals court denied DOJ’s request Monday.He adds that DOJ plans to use 1,000 election monitors, with deployments reportedly concentrated in Democratic areas such as Georgia’s Fulton and DeKalb counties and Indiana’s Marion and Lake counties.Just hours prior to the suit being filed in Alaska, Attorney General Todd Blanche had told reporters the DOJ would not intervene against a state certifying its own election unless there was a "doomsday scenario."
Africa’s ‘unprecedented’ Ebola outbreak could reach UK, says top health official
Jean Kaseya, of the Africa CDC, warns of the illness spreading like Covid unless more funding is secured to increase preparedness and possible treatmentThe “unprecedented” spread of the Ebola outbreak means it could reach the UK and other countries, according to one of Africa’s top health officials.As the current outbreak reached 10,000 cases, with almost 5,000 deaths, Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), compared the outbreak to the Covid pandemic, which first took hold in China before spreading to countries across the world, claiming millions of lives, and ravaging health systems and economies. Continue reading...
Candace Owens gloats she’s in ‘absolute best mood’ despite Macron lawsuit staying alive
Right-wing podcaster Candace Owens is gloating over a partial legal win against France's first couple, even though the fight is far from over.Owens wrote in a post on X Tuesday that she was "in the absolute best mood over this Macron dismissal" after a Delaware judge removed her personally from the defamation lawsuit filed against her by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron. The New York Times reported the ruling the same day."Feels like a year and a half of my family having to deal with psychotic lies regarding pending bankruptcies, secret accounts and plans to flee the country," Owens wrote, adding that the ordeal was finally over.Judge Sheldon K. Rennie of Delaware Superior Court found that his court lacked jurisdiction over Owens, who lives in Tennessee, and threw out every claim against her personally. Her two companies, Candace Owens LLC and GeorgeTom Inc., remain defendants. According to The Times, the decision makes it "likely that her personal assets would be shielded" if the Macrons ultimately win.The Macrons sued in July 2025 after Owens falsely claimed that the French first lady is a man. Owens has devoted dozens of episodes of her show to the conspiracy theory, which she began pushing in March 2024.Rennie also sided with Owens' argument that French law, not American law, should set the deadline for the Macrons' claims. France generally gives plaintiffs three months to sue over allegedly defamatory statements, though that window can stretch to a year when the remarks target someone over traits such as sex or sexual orientation."We argued the Macron couple was intentionally forum shopping because being held to France's 3 months would have naturally expired their claims," Owens wrote.The judge is allowing both sides to submit additional arguments on which deadline applies before deciding the fate of the claims against Owens' companies. If the three-month rule wins out, the entire case faces dismissal because the Macrons didn't file within that window.Owens also insisted the couple "is NOT and has never sued anyone for matters pertaining to sex, sexual orientation, or gender," claiming the suit instead targets her statements about "MK Ultra and theft." The Times, however, reported that the lawsuit followed her false claims about Brigitte Macron's gender.Clare Locke, the law firm representing the Macrons, praised the court for keeping the claims against Owens' companies alive and said it would explore other ways to hold her personally accountable.Owens is separately facing two defamation suits over her commentary on the killing of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. Both cases, filed in federal courts in Tennessee and Utah, are still pending.
Trump boast aimed at red states crumbles as insider admits ‘no one expects a deal’: report
A White House promise aimed squarely at voters in several red states is running into an awkward reality, according to an administration insider.A person close to the Trump administration told Politico in a report published Tuesday that the recent burst of optimism about a looming trade agreement with Canada is meant to send a signal to places like Iowa and Kansas. But "no one expects a deal," the person said.The remarks cut against the message coming from the top. President Donald Trump predicted at a Sunday rally in Michigan that the trade fight would be "settled pretty soon," while National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox News the same day that the two countries were "very close."Talks between Washington and Ottawa have picked up since Trump spoke by phone with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Oct. 21. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc have been in frequent contact since then, Politico reported, though a senior Canadian official described the discussions as still informal.Neither country has budged on its core demands. Canada is still pushing for relief on autos, steel and aluminum, while the United States wants a bigger foothold in Canada's dairy and alcohol markets. People familiar with the negotiations told Politico that any final agreement is likely weeks or months away.Carney also has little reason to hand Trump a win ahead of the midterms. The prime minister's poll numbers have climbed since he walked away from negotiations in August, and he is set to host European Union leaders in Montreal for a summit meant to strengthen ties with the bloc."Carney would have to have some reason to want to get a deal before the midterms," the Trump administration insider said. "But I can't imagine why he would at this point."An industry official told Politico that Lutnick's resistance to cutting sector-specific duties remains the biggest obstacle. "Any potential Canada deal is going to have the same issue," the official said.Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), who told Politico he believes the two countries will eventually reach an agreement, couldn't say whether it would happen before Election Day. "I don't know," he said.
Trump weighs unshackling Putin's ‘slush fund’ behind closed doors: NYT
President Donald Trump's administration is quietly weighing a fresh concession to Moscow, one the Kremlin has pushed hard behind closed doors.The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is reviewing a request to lift sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a multibillion-dollar state fund the Biden administration branded a "slush fund" for Russian President Vladimir Putin when it hit the fund with penalties days after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.A U.S. official confirmed to The Times that the Trump administration is assessing the fund's application through established channels as part of an effort to "improve U.S.-Russia relations and help end the war." The official praised the fund's chief, Kirill Dmitriev, as "a helpful envoy."Russian officials pressed for the relief during talks over the fund's role in shipping Russian diesel to the U.S., people familiar with the negotiations told The Times. Trump suspended sanctions on Russian diesel on Oct. 9, and the fund has since helped line up the first shipments, according to a senior Russian official. Three tankers have set out for the U.S. this month, and the diesel shipped before any American buyer paid for it, The Times reported.Dmitriev, Putin's economic envoy to Washington, said nothing about his push for relief when he spoke at a Moscow conference on Oct. 16. Instead, he bragged that the diesel deal was helping convince Americans that sanctions are "philosophically wrong."He has found a warm reception in Trump's orbit. Special envoy Steve Witkoff told Putin at a negotiating table in St. Petersburg last week, "It's been really, really good dealing with Kirill."Eric Green, who oversaw Russia policy on the Biden White House's National Security Council, told The Times the fund was an early target because its access to Western finance could help Moscow pay for the war. Lifting the penalties now, he said, would send a "real strong message" that Washington is backing away from its position to keep the economic pain on until a settlement in Ukraine.Critics, including some Republican lawmakers, argue Trump is giving away economic perks to Putin while asking nothing in return on the war. Trump has so far kept nearly all Biden-era sanctions on Russia in place.Dmitriev's Kremlin ties run deep. People who know him told The Times his wife is close with one of Putin's daughters, and he has done deals with Gulf power players like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also has Trump's ear."The ice has finally broken," Dmitriev declared at an October conference.
Top Trump ally’s eleventh-hour order sparks ‘unprecedented confrontation’: report
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a top ally of President Donald Trump, is embroiled in an “unprecedented confrontation” with Israel’s top military commander over an undisclosed military operation that officials feared could ignite a clash with Iran just days before elections in which he trails his chief rival, Channel 12’s Yaron Avraham reported.Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir feared the political leadership could steer Israel into a “miscalculation” with Iran on the eve of Tuesday’s elections, according to the report. Zamir refused to act until there was a thorough discussion of the order and the political leadership put its legal authorization in writing. Avraham noted that his report had been cleared by Israel’s military censor.Citing sources familiar with the details, Avraham reported that Zamir stood largely alone. The heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet reportedly backed carrying out the operation before the vote.Recent polls show the party of Netanyahu’s main rival, former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, leading Netanyahu’s party.“This guy was seen as a ‘yes man’ for Netanyahu, so for him to pull the fire alarm is really something,” Breaking Points co-host Krystal Ball, a former Democratic congressional candidate, said. “Really quite extraordinary when Netanyahu is getting too wild for his own hand-picked IDF chief of staff.”Netanyahu’s office dismissed the report as “fake news,” and political figures told Channel 12 the military’s concerns were an outright lie. Defense Minister Israel Katz called reports of a rift between political and military leaders “completely baseless and false,” insisting Israel had no intention of attacking Iran before the election but would respond forcefully if Iran struck first.Still, the report has fueled scrutiny. Avigdor Liberman, a former finance and defense minister who now leads the opposition Yisrael Beytenu party, asked Israel’s attorney general to open a criminal investigation of Netanyahu for treason, accusing him of “pressuring the heads of the security establishment to take steps that could create a miscalculation vis-à-vis Iran.”
Trump loses 'biggest prize' as far-right leaders topple around the world: expert
A stunning electoral upset just lost President Donald Trump the "biggest prize" — as his allies abroad topple, a political expert told Raw Story on Monday. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's runoff victory Sunday against Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right son of a former president imprisoned for staging a coup, delivered a stinging blow to Trump's plans, Berea College Professor Carlos G. Poggio told Raw Story. "Lula’s victory represents a significant defeat for Donald Trump and [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio," Poggio, a Brazilian political scientist, said in an email. "Brazil was the biggest prize in the conservative tide sweeping Latin America." The defeats for Trump are numerous and multifaceted — they span from the U.S. to Latin America and China and hit his power, and his wallet, Poggio argued. Bolsonaro, 45, had aligned himself with Trump by pledging to mine the Amazon rainforest for critical mineral deposits, which would ease U.S. dependence on Chinese rare earth exports, limited in 2025 in response to Trump's tariffs. Trump would also have had the support of Latin America's largest economy with a GDP of $2.65 trillion, according to data collected by independent statisticians at Worldometer, and the power such money can access. "A Flávio Bolsonaro government would likely have become Trump’s most important regional ally, supporting the Trump administration’s security agenda and closer U.S. access to Brazil’s critical minerals," Poggio said. That may be why the Bolsonaro family have had help from two officials from within Trump's State department since 2025, as a Reuters report revealed earlier this month. The officials, Darren Beattie and Ricardo Pita, first tried to reinstate former President Jair Bolsonaro, ousted in 2022 and charged after attempting a coup that reportedly involved plans to assassinate Lula. Then in September 2025, when Jair Bolsonaro received a 27-year sentence for leading the coup attempt, the pair pivoted to his son, according to the report. Both men advocated for punitive measures to weaken Lula, including the designation of Brazilian gangs as terrorist groups and the imposition of sanctions against the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice who led investigations into Jair Bolsonaro, Reuters reported.Meanwhile, Flávio Bolsonaro promised to seek amnesty for his father and the rioters who supported him, as well as impeachments for the Supreme Court justices who jailed them, according to the New York Times.But Lula stood up to Trump, refusing to drop coup charges against the elder Bolsonaro. While this act of resistance garnered Lula some support, it was not strong enough to win his initial contest against Bolsonaro earlier this month. The Brazilian incumbent won only 45 percent of the vote to Bolsonaro's 47 percent, triggering a runoff as neither met the nation's 50 percent requirement for victory. Poggio believes this initial defeat worked in the favor of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT)or Workers Party, and Lula, who won on Sunday by 4 million votes."Flávio Bolsonaro’s lead encouraged some complacency among supporters who believed the election was largely won," Poggio said. "Lula’s defeat instead generated urgency: the PT reactivated its grassroots organization, while unions, social movements, artists, intellectuals and civil-society figures turned the runoff into a broader mobilization against the return of bolsonarismo."That grassroots organization moved fast to deliver what Poggio described as "a concrete economic message" from Lula.Brazilians were promised a "pacote de bondades” or “goodies package” that included a 15 percent increase in Bolsa Família, a financial aid program for Brazil's lower income citizens, as well as fuel-tax reductions, debt relief and education and transportation initiatives, Poggio said.All the while, Bolsonaro struggled to present an equally strong counterpoint, said Poggio."He promised to maintain or expand Bolsa Família and other popular programs associated with Lula, while retreating from some unpopular positions," said Poggio. "This allowed Lula to argue that voters could preserve social protections without accepting the political and institutional risks associated with the Bolsonaro family’s return."Brazilian voters were not alone last week in rejecting the risks involved with a Trump ally's leadership. In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić lost control of his government to a group of academics, professionals and public figures who call themselves the Student List and protested their government's increasingly authoritarian measures. And in April, Hungary's leader Viktor Orbán — an autocrat and staunch Trump supporter — was thrown from power in a popular vote.On Tuesday, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu faces the possibility of joining Bolsonaro, Vučić and Orban's ranks as he bids for reelection amid wars in Gaza and Iran that Trump is also involved in.Left-leaning leaders across the world were celebrating Lula's victory Monday.Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum called it a win for democracy and the people of Brazil. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez replied to the news, "The global progressive resurgence has just begun."Poggio concurs the Brazilian vote will serve as a vital check. "Lula’s victory interrupts that rightward momentum and preserves Brazil as a counterweight to Washington," he said, "committed to multilateralism, regional autonomy and relations with the Global South."
What Marco Rubio’s sidestepping of New Delhi says about the US’s stance on India
Rubio’s decision not to meet Narendra Modi last week was seen by some as a snub – but by focusing on business leaders and oil, the secretary of state made American priorities clear. Plus: the artist bringing a female perspective to men’s clothing• Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWhen the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, visited India for the second time this year, headlines concentrated on who he met and where he went.The fact that Rubio bypassed New Delhi and did not meet the prime minister, Narendra Modi, during his trip last week, and instead traveled to the financial capital, Mumbai, where he met India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (pictured top with Rubio), and business leaders, did not go unnoticed. Nor did his decision to travel to Jamnagar, the small Gujarati town that is home to Reliance Industries’ colossal oil refinery complex. Continue reading...
'Unlawful' flaw risks sinking Trump's Russia deal as diesel tanker nears US port
Critics have exposed a little-known flaw in President Donald Trump’s "unlawful" diesel deal with Russia that threatens to scare off the banks and ports needed to bring the fuel ashore.Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), five other Democrats and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned six major banks and four port authorities about that legal risk in an Oct. 24 letter, Axios reported Monday.The recipients include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and port authorities in New York, New Jersey and Texas, Axios reported.“[A]ny importation of Russian diesel into the U.S. raises significant legal questions and may be subject to legal action, as well as congressional investigations,” the lawmakers wrote.Asked about the letter, the administration told The Hill that its move is legal.White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers accused Democrats of continuing their “decade-long obsession with investigating President Trump.”The first tanker carrying Russian diesel under the deal, the Agioi Fanendes, loaded 40,000 metric tons at Russia’s Primorsk port on Oct. 22 and is expected in New York on Nov. 7, Reuters reported. Axios noted that ships’ planned destinations often change.Trump announced the deal on Truth Social on Oct. 9, promising lower diesel prices.The Treasury Department issued a license the same day allowing Russian diesel transactions, including “importation into the United States,” through April 7, 2027. Critics say the license conflicts with the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, a 2022 law that bans imports of Russian energy products, including diesel, Time reported.The lawmakers wrote that “criminal penalties may apply to any company that knowingly buys Russian diesel or facilitates its importation, and not simply the importer of record,” the company named on customs forms.Trump could pardon those crimes but not civil fines, which can equal the fuel’s value and include seizure of the ships that carried it, Scott R. Anderson, a senior editor at Lawfare and a former State Department lawyer, wrote on Oct. 15.The administration can pursue those fines for up to five years after the fuel arrives, giving the next administration a chance to bring them, Anderson wrote.As a result, he wrote, the license “seems unlikely to lead to an actual increase in U.S. imports” of Russian diesel.“Those enabling the administration’s unlawful acts should generally be on notice about the risks they are taking,” former Rep. Tom Malinowski, a New Jersey Democrat, wrote on X Monday.In March 2022, when Treasury issued a license letting Russian oil shipments already under contract enter the country, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would hold the cargo and bar unloading until it verified the paperwork, according to a CBP bulletin.This time, Raw Story found no similar CBP notice.Treasury’s terrorism and financial intelligence office has said on X that the new license “is in compliance with all applicable laws.”The 2022 law lets a president lift the ban only after consulting Congress, certifying that Russia has agreed to leave Ukraine on terms Kyiv accepts and waiting 90 days so lawmakers can block it, Time reported.A bipartisan group of senators, including Tillis, said Oct. 11 that the administration “failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation” for its decision.Rival fuel sellers would likely have grounds to sue, but only once the imports actually happen, Anderson wrote.Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced a bill to nullify the license, and three House committees have referred it, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.Investigating the deal will be a priority if Democrats win control of either chamber in next week’s midterm elections, Axios reported.The lawmakers asked the banks and ports to confirm by Wednesday that they are preserving contracts, shipping documents and payment records tied to Russian diesel.
UK sanctions Sudanese military leaders implicated in El Fasher ‘campaign of rape’
Commanders suspected of sexual violence during the largest and fastest slaughter of civilians in more than 30 years have been subjected to travel ban and asset freezeSenior Sudanese commanders implicated in a “campaign of rape” have been targeted by the UK on the first anniversary of a mass atrocity that saw tens of thousands of civilians killed over several days.A year after the fall of El Fasher, the British government said it had sanctioned military leaders from both sides in the country’s ongoing conflict whom it suspected of sexual violence during the siege of the city. Continue reading...
'What a joke': Shock after Trump stokes 'deliberate chaos' at UN with endorsement
President Donald Trump seems to be trying to stoke what one analyst described as "deliberate chaos" at the United Nations. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the Trump administration is advocating for former Hungarian dictator Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for the U.N. Secretary-General position. That would give Orbán power to settle conflicts between body members and would require him to be the public-facing head of the organization. Orbán did not officially state that he is running for the Secretary-General position, as he has reservations about a nationalist politician serving in such a role, according to the report. Current Secretary-General António Guterres' term ends on Dec. 31. The Journal's conservative editorial board was none too pleased about the report. "Maybe the best to say about the Orbán idea is that it would lift the veil by giving the U.N. a leader as low as Turtle Bay has already sunk," the editors wrote. The report also outraged several political analysts online. Jim Stewartson, a politics writer, described the move to support Orbán's hypothetical candidacy as "deliberate chaos.""It feels like we’re watching the end of a bad frat party where a bunch of chuds run out of beer so they just start breaking stuff and throwing furniture in the pool or whatever. It’s just deliberate chaos," Stewartson posted on X. Mike Nellis, a Democratic political strategist, was flabbergasted by the idea. "Holy s---, they're nuts," Nellis posted on X. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarianism, was not entertained by the report either. "What a joke," she posted on X.
