Category: News
Clandestine Campaign To Defund ZeroHedge, The Federalist & Breitbart Traced To Kier Starmer Operation
Clandestine Campaign To Defund ZeroHedge, The Federalist & Breitbart Traced To Kier Starmer Operation
Very early into the COVID-19 pandemic, ZeroHedge suggested that a little-known Chinese lab in Wuhan might know something about the novel coronavirus sweeping the globe. As a result, and as you know, we were subject to an intense demonetization / deplatforming campaign that included getting kicked off of Twitter, PayPal, Facebook and other platforms, dropped by our advertisers, and targeted by MSM hit pieces which colluded with foreign ‘watchdogs’ to inflict maximum damage.
These same groups also targeted outlets including The Federalist and Breitbart over various reporting, which suffered similar fates.
Now, thanks to a new book by investigative journalist Paul Holden that builds on reporting by Matt Taibbi, Paul Thacker and others, we learn that the origin of these campaigns, launched years before the pandemic, was none other than UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s political machine, which began targeting left-wing outlets speaking critically of Starmer such as The Canary, and then went after conservative outlets in America – just in time for the 2020 US election.
Documents and internal accounts, many drawn from newly disclosed materials, reveal a coordinated project that operated behind a veil of anonymity, misdirection, and unreported political financing.
This murky operation known as the Stop Funding Fake News (SFFN) was launched and resourced through a think tank, Labour Together, that would later be fined for failing to declare £739,000 in donations between 2018 and 2020. Said funds helped underpin this clandestine anti-media strategy which affected news outlets from the UK to the United States.
At the center of the effort was Morgan McSweeney, a political strategist who has since become Starmer’s chief of staff and, according to public commentary by prominent journalists, one of the most powerful unelected figures in the modern Labour Party.
The newly disclosed materials reveal that SFFN was not in fact some grassroots, anonymous activist collective it claimed to be, but a political weapon forged by senior Labour figures and funded by millionaire donors, including individuals active in pro-Israel political advocacy.
The goal: destabilize independent media ecosystems aligned with Labour’s left under Jeremy Corbyn, elevate Starmer’s leadership bid, and delegitimize outlets – domestic and foreign – that threatened the faction’s consolidation of power.
Publicly, SFFN claimed to be run by anonymous activists. Privately, it was shaped by McSweeney and operated from the same small office suite in South London that housed Labour Together.
SFFN ultimately migrated under the umbrella of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an organization that grew out of a corporate shell once controlled solely by McSweeney.
British political operative and CCDH head Imran Ahmed
CCDH would later present SFFN as one of its signature initiatives.
Three Fronts of a Political Offensive
The documents reported by Holden reveal a three-part strategy that reshaped the British political landscape – and reverberated into U.S. media and politics. In a nutshell, this is how the sausage was made:
1. Destabilizing Jeremy Corbyn’s Leadership
SFFN’s narrative interventions were designed to amplify an “antisemitism crisis” that dogged Corbyn, boosting controversies and legitimizing a media ecosystem hostile to Labour’s left. This influence work aligned directly with the political interests of the centrist faction preparing for a post-Corbyn future.
2. Engineering Starmer’s Rise
Labour Together later claimed credit for helping deliver Starmer’s 2020 leadership victory, with McSweeney acting as his campaign chief. After Starmer won the July 2024 general election, McSweeney formally became chief of staff, solidifying the faction’s institutional dominance.
3. Silencing Dissenting Media
SFFN’s most aggressive project was an astroturf campaign against media outlets perceived as ideological threats. Targets spanned both the left (such as The Canary and Evolve Politics) and the right, as noted above.
In each case, the tactic was the same: identify advertisers appearing on targeted sites, publicly shame them through social media threads, and provide tools – including downloadable blocklists – to automatically exclude those outlets from programmatic advertising networks. The effort succeeded in devastating the business model of some targets; others survived but saw sustained pressure.
We took matters into our own hands, launching our premium service and later the ZeroHedge store in order to keep the lights on (thank you).
The Breitbart Offensive
Holden reports that SFFN then set their sights on Breitbart in October 2019 – after an anonymous X account tagged the UK Parliament and likened its ads on Breitbart to funding extremism. SFFN ran hard with this – promoting the allegation and labeling Breitbart a “bigoted, conspiracist fake news site.”
Later that day, the Press Association contacted Parliament for comment. Within hours, Parliament suspended the ads. To further legitimize the operation, anti-Corbyn MP Mary Creagh publicly leaned on the Conservative leadership to formalize the ban, citing a list of SFFN-identified sites.
Two weeks later, SFFN announced another victory: the UK Cabinet Office had implemented a “whitelist” that barred Breitbart, The Canary, and a long roster of other outlets from receiving government advertising.
On the 18th of October 2019, SFFN posted that they had contacted an unnamed journalist about how the UK’s Cabinet Office was advertising on its target websites. The journalist found out that the Cabinet Office “now implemented a ‘whitelist’ meaning the government now only advertises on pre-approved websites. The Canary, Evolve, Rebel, Politicalite, Breitbart etc no longer receive government advertising.” The post ended with three handclap emojis. “Good to see government use its authority to set an example against these dishonest & hateful websites.” –Paul Holden via Drop Site
The campaign extended into the private sector. In 2020, Ford UK publicly stated it was investigating ad placements on Breitbart. By 2021, SFFN was targeting Breitbart’s YouTube monetization and urging advertisers to block the site across Google’s ad infrastructure.
The group’s blocklist eventually included 28 domestic and international sites, among them U.S. outlets aligned with the alt-right and the British far-right figure Tommy Robinson.
Weaponizing the Image of Grassroots Activism
Throughout 2019, SFFN steadfastly refused to disclose who ran the operation, claiming its activists faced undefined risks. Interviews and profiles repeated the fiction that it was just a small band of concerned citizens.
Yet from its inception, SFFN was powered by political professionals. It was launched only after McSweeney and CCDH’s Imran Ahmed recruited television personality Rachel Riley to front the campaign. Labour Together’s funds and office space supported its rollout. The project was effectively shielded from legal accountability by its anonymity, even as it issued sweeping defamatory accusations against its targets.
McSweeney and Ahmed asked if Riley would front a campaign to tackle The Canary. She agreed “with alacrity,” according to an account by two Sunday Times journalists. Her celebrity endorsement lifted SFFN out of obscurity and powered its success. She would later become a patron of CCDH and now lists herself on X as an “ambassador” of the organization. –Paul Holden via Drop Site
One of SFFN’s earliest and most consequential victims was The Canary. Though independently regulated and later cleared of allegations of racism or incitement, the outlet lost crucial advertising revenue and shed staff. Former employees described a chilling effect across the left media ecosystem as prominent commentators distanced themselves from a now-toxic brand.
The attack’s success was openly celebrated within liberal circles; commentators hailed SFFN for restoring “objective reality in politics,” even as its covert origins remained concealed.
CCDH, Twitter Files, and the Attempt to Rewrite History
The political sensitivity surrounding SFFN resurfaced in 2024, when leaked emails from CCDH showed repeated internal discussions about targeting Elon Musk’s Twitter. Amid the backlash, CCDH sources insisted McSweeney had played no operational role in the organization – a claim contradicted by company records showing he was the sole director of its precursor entity for more than a year and remained formally involved until April 2020.
In 2024, Matt Taibbi and Paul Thacker reported on emails leaked from within CCDH. They showed that, for over a year, CCDH’s internal team meetings included the action item: ‘kill Musk’s Twitter.’ ‘This is war,’ Musk posted in response. In the furor that followed, The Guardian was told that McSweeney had played no operational role in CCDH, which now claims ownership of the SFFN project. Imran Ahmed, who later claimed credit for both SFFN and CCDH on Twitter, claimed that McSweeney had simply gifted him a “shell company” (Brixton Endeavours) that was then converted into CCDH, and which later absorbed SFFN . The response was canny in not stipulating whether McSweeney had any operational role in SFFN. –Paul Holden via Drop Site
CCDH’s later retellings cast SFFN as an example of its “global” anti-hate strategies. One of its leaders described the financial approach explicitly: if news sites rely on advertising, “within a couple of months, you can completely eviscerate the economic base of a website.” SFFN had been the proving ground.
In 2023, Paul Thacker wrote in Tablet:
In March of 2021 a nonprofit group called the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) released a report about online misinformation. Founded in the U.K. by a former Labour Party political figure named Imran Ahmed, the CCDH was virtually unknown at the time in the U.S., but that was about to change. The report quickly reached the hands of executives at Twitter. “COVID-19 misinfo enforcement team is planning on taking action on a handful of accounts surfaced by the CCDH report,” a Twitter official wrote on March 31. One account they eventually took action against belonged to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was then running against Joe Biden for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.
A few months later, the same report was being cited by the Biden administration. At a press briefing in July 2021, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki quoted from the CCDH report in a briefing where she accused Facebook of undermining federal vaccine policies. “There’s about 12 people who are producing 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms,” Psaki claimed, citing the CCDH’s work, while warning social media companies to shut down these “misinformation” accounts. “They’re killing people,” President Biden told a reporter a short time later, leveling the charge of murder against Facebook for its alleged role in providing a platform for “vaccine misinformation.”
Facebook’s Vice President Monika Bickert later criticized CCDH’s claims for being free of evidence—failing to define the term “anti-vaxx,” for example—and neglecting to explain how they came up with their numbers and conclusions. But it had little effect. By then the report had popularized the idea of a “disinformation dozen,” a narrative that hardened as it was promoted by countless news outlets, fact checkers, and social media accounts devoted to round-the-clock attacks on “disinformation.”
More recently, the CCDH has popped up again, leading the battle against Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, who has been cast as a champion of racists and antisemites. “The CCDH has been at the forefront of reporting on the hate proliferating on X/Twitter since Musk completed his takeover in late October 2022,” Ahmed wrote last month in The Observer. In a number of publications over the past year, the group has repeatedly blamed Musk for allowing his platform to spread hate speech. Once again, these efforts have been uncritically amplified in the press and in a letter to Musk from House Democrats that reiterates Ahmed’s claims, and cites him and CCDH.
Meanwhile, last month it was reported that the Trump White House plans to deport Imran Ahmed – who Thacker says should be prosecuted before that’s done. You can read Holden’s entire report over at Drop Site News, even though Ryan Grimm (formerly of HuffPost and The Intercept) is a massive dick who hates us for some reason.
💥NEW: How PM Keir Starmer’s Machine Quietly Moved to Cripple Breitbart, The Federalist, ZeroHedge, and Left Independent Outlets
On Breaking Points, Ryan introduces Drop Site’s latest investigation, adapted from Paul Holden’s book, exposing how Keir Starmer and his chief of… pic.twitter.com/NVPDm7aWmw
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) December 4, 2025
Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/04/2025 – 13:25
Police ‘Will Not Cooperate With ICE Agents’: Minneapolis Mayor
Police ‘Will Not Cooperate With ICE Agents’: Minneapolis Mayor
Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times,
As Minnesota anticipates more U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action in Minnesota—a state where many Somali immigrants are accused of defrauding welfare programs—Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the city’s law enforcement will not work with federal agents.
“Our police officers are not ICE agents; they will not cooperate with ICE agents,” Frey said at a Dec. 2 news conference.
ICE has been conducting large-scale immigration enforcement operations in a number of cities, sometimes drawing opposition from protesters and from Democratic leaders.
At the news conference, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O‘Hara and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter III emphasized support for law-abiding Somalis and other immigrants who hold jobs and run businesses. People who are fearful of ICE action should inform themselves about their rights, the officials said. O’Hara also said that his officers “absolutely have a duty to intervene” if people’s rights are being violated.
O‘Hara said his officers “do work with federal law enforcement literally every day around violent crime, around people smuggling fentanyl into the country, gang violence, those types of things.” However, O’Hara said, “Federal law enforcement is aware that we absolutely will have nothing to do with anything related to immigration enforcement.”
That has been true for years in the Twin Cities, which are among more than a half-dozen so-called sanctuary cities that the Justice Department has sued over policies that shield illegal immigrants.
The pending lawsuit, coupled with the new public remarks from the Twin Cities’ leaders, reflects increasing tensions between Minnesota and the federal government.
After recent publicity over massive Minnesota welfare-fraud schemes that mostly involve suspects of Somali origin, President Donald Trump announced plans to end “temporary protected status” for Somalis in the North Star State. Minnesota Democrats, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Gov. Tim Walz, and Attorney General Keith Ellison, have criticized the president’s actions.
At Trump’s direction, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she investigated immigration programs in Minnesota; she reported finding that “50 percent of visa applications” and other immigration-related programs were fraudulent.
Noem, speaking during the president’s Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting, did not specify which immigrant groups were allegedly submitting false immigration applications.
During “Operation Twin Shield” earlier this year, ICE, the FBI, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) found 275 cases of suspected immigration fraud in and around Minneapolis and St. Paul, USCIS officials said, calling it a first-of-its-kind operation to detect and deter immigration fraud.
Mayors Defending Somalis Amid Fraud Cases
The two mayors, Frey and Carter, said that the entire Somali community is being unfairly targeted and wrongfully vilified over the actions of a few.
Since 2022, charges have been brought against 78 people, and dozens have been convicted or await trial in the Minnesota-based Feeding Our Future scandal, which involved a nonprofit and its affiliates falsely claiming they provided meals to needy children.
A pair of other welfare-fraud scandals emerging from the region are still developing. Altogether, the fraudulent claims amount to billions of dollars, authorities have said. The fraud was allegedly committed mostly by Somalis who sent much of the stolen money back to their homeland. The Treasury Department is investigating claims that Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab took a percentage of those financial transfers.
Frey and Carter emphasized that most of the estimated 80,000 Somalis living in Minnesota are U.S. citizens. Seventy-eight percent of them live in the Twin Cities, according to Minnesota Compass, making Minneapolis home to America’s largest Somali community. Frey said he is proud of that fact.
On Dec. 3, the day after the Minnesota news conference, a reporter asked Trump to react to Frey’s expression of pride in the Somali community. The president criticized Frey’s comments, adding that Somalis “have taken billions of dollars out of our country” and hail from a crime-ridden nation.
Trump has also stated that Somalis who complain about America are unwanted.
The Epoch Times sought a comment from Frey, who did not immediately respond.
Frey criticized Trump’s stance at the news conference.
“He’s wrong, and we want them here,” Frey said. “Somali people have been an extraordinary benefit … They have started businesses and created jobs. They have added to the cultural fabric of what Minneapolis is. They were welcoming to me when I first came out to Minneapolis.”
‘Zero Tolerance’ for Impeding ICE
Both mayors expressed concern that ICE will make mistakes and snare lawful Somali American citizens once the illegal-immigrant dragnet hits the Twin Cities.
In response to the comments from the Twin Cities’ officials, border czar Tom Homan said, “We’re going to enforce the law, without apology.”
Homan, in a Dec. 2 interview with Fox News, said Noem’s findings and the welfare-fraud crimes are making the Twin Cities a higher priority for ICE.
He didn’t say when increased enforcement operations might begin, or how many agents might be sent there. Homan said he has told police in other sanctuary cities that it is their duty to make their communities safer—and that communities do become safer after ICE removes criminal illegal immigrants and legal immigrants who commit deportable offenses. Homan said it was “shameful” for local law enforcement not to partner with ICE to achieve that common goal.
He urged non-cooperative police to “stand aside” and allow ICE to operate. Otherwise, the Justice Department will show “zero tolerance” and will prosecute anyone who impedes ICE.
O’Hara, the police chief, said his officers stay out of immigration issues.
“We don’t provide information to federal immigration authorities; we don’t ask people about their immigration status,” he said at the news conference.
Those actions align with a city ordinance that forbids city employees from asking people about their citizenship or immigration status. The local law also prohibits city workers from using “any knowledge of [a resident’s] status to enforce immigration laws,” the Minneapolis government website states.
Within days, Minneapolis officers will be receiving updated guidance for handling immigration-related matters, the police chief said, incorporating “feedback from community and community-based organizations.”
Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/04/2025 – 13:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/police-will-not-cooperate-ice-agents-minneapolis-mayor
Enterprise Rent-A-Car license plate revoked after immigration agents illegally swapped it out, records show
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias revoked an Enterprise Rent-A-Car license plate after it was swapped out by federal immigration agents, records obtained by the Tribune show.
The move follows widespread concern during Operation Midway Blitz about federal officials changing out license plates while conducting raids throughout the region. Giannoulias opened a hotline for complaints in October and sent a letter to ICE leadership warning against tampering with plates after the Tribune reported on an encounter where a federal agent told a woman, “You can record all you want. We change the plates out every day.”
Giannoulias this week said his office received hundreds of complaints about immigration agents potentially violating the law and revoked the license plate for a 2026 Chevy Tahoe used by agents.
“Let me be very clear. Swapping Illinois license plates is illegal. Period,” he said in a video published by his office. “And no one, including federal agents, is above the law.”
Giannoulias warned Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons on Oct. 23 that “swapping, altering, tampering, or any other change made to a license plate that is properly displayed on any vehicle is unlawful” under state law, according to a copy of a letter from the secretary of state’s general counsel to Lyons.
His office also sent letters to rental car companies warning that they also can have their license plates revoked.
Since President Donald Trump’s mass deportation operation launched in early September, agents in vehicles were seen conducting immigration enforcement efforts from the city to the suburbs. Some vehicles donned Illinois license plates, others sported out-of-state tags. But concerns circulated over whether those vehicles were operating with proper licensing.
The secretary of state’s office issues registration plates to vehicles titled in Illinois. State law requires that Illinois-registered vehicles have both a front and rear license plate and that when displayed, plates are free from obstruction and clearly visible, per the secretary of state’s office. Further, while other states may only require a rear license plate, all vehicles driving on Illinois roads must have proper licensing in line with the laws of their state, Giannoulias’ office said.
The penalties for displaying an unauthorized plate or obscuring or modifying license plates in any way include fines and potential jail time. License plates may also be suspended or revoked by the secretary of state.
That’s what happened to an Enterprise vehicle, according to a revocation letter from Giannoulias’ office to the business’ parent company, EAN Holdings LLC, obtained by the Tribune. The company must now request a new plate, under state law.
The rental car company did not immediately return a request for comment. Neither did the Department of Homeland Security.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/immigration-agents-swap-license-plate/
Down to Business: Roses still the big seller at Phillip’s Flowers in Naperville
Business: Phillip’s Flowers & Gifts
Address: 1007 E. Ogden Ave, Naperville
Phone/website: 630-357-5235; www.phillips-flowers.com
Co-owner/executive vice president: Baxter Phillip, 67, of Hinsdale
Years in business: 30-plus years in Naperville; 102 overall
What does your business do? “Our specialties are fresh flowers and arrangements, indoor blooming and green plants. That includes a wide range of wedding flowers, funeral flowers, floral décor,” Baxter Phillip said.
“There are three legs to our stool. One is the everyday flower business, new baby, Christmas, Valentine’s, the ‘thank you for letting my kid stay at your Aspen condo, sorry he tore it up so bad.’ That’s the everyday business. Another is weddings and events. The third leg of the stool is sympathy expressions. There are 50-plus funeral homes in Chicagoland that rely on us to deliver the family flowers for their customers.”
What do you like about this business? “One of the neat things about our business is we have relationships with our customers from the birth of their babies through college graduations, weddings, anniversaries and even times of sorrow. I can’t tell you how many customers tell us, ‘You did my grandparents’ wedding, my parents’ wedding, my daughter’s wedding.’ That’s very meaningful and touching to us.”
Roses remain the most popular flower sold by Phillip’s Flowers & Gifts. The Naperville store is the largest of six in the Chicago area for the family-owned company, which started in 1923 in Cicero. (Steve Metsch/Naperville Sun)
When did Phillip’s start? “In 1923. My grandparents, James and Helen, in Cicero. Not because that was Al Capone’s headquarters. In the 1920s, that was an upscale suburb of Chicago.
“Today, we have shops in Elmhurst, Hinsdale, La Grange, Naperville, Westmont and Wheaton. We deliver to the city and 150 suburbs six days a week. We are one of the larger nationwide florists as well. … Same-day delivery nationwide by computer with 20,000 other florists in America. … FTD started it in the early 1900s by telegraph. … Telaflora is the larger network.”
What’s the background? “We’re a fourth-generation family business and we currently have six family members involved. Seven if you count a part-time spouse.”
Is that difficult? “No, it’s really great. It’s no more difficult than working with nonfamily members. Fortunately, we all get along very well. We all have different areas of interest and strengths.”
What’s your strength? “I am not a florist. We have several family members who are exceptional designers. I was the black sheep in the family. I focus on websites, customer service, marketing and corporate stuff.”
What challenges do you face? No. 1 is finding great people. We’re fortunate. We have about 150 wonderful employees, But in the floral industry, it’s hard to find great people because most of our children don’t go to college and graduate thinking, ‘I hope I can become a florist.’ We attract artistic people, but they’re getting harder and harder to find. The second big challenge is the rising cost of everything. The third biggest is the increasing complexity of everything. … Now you have to have websites and email communications and data security provisions.”
Do you have a huge network of suppliers? “We buy most of our flowers direct from around the world. The big sources of fresh-cut flowers are Ecuador, Colombia, Holland, but we also buy orchids from the Philippines.
“When my grandfather started, he’d drive down to Chicago and buy his flowers every morning at the flower market.
“As shipping advanced, my father started buying direct from around the world by fax and phone. Now we buy by email from 100-plus different growers in South America alone. … California is still a producer of some fresh-cut flowers.”
How many flowers do you sell weekly? “Thousands and thousands. But we’re a cyclical business. When there are lot of weddings going on, we’re buying a lot of flowers.”
What about December? “This time of year, it’s all about outdoor wreaths, swags and patio pots. … We’ll sell about 2,500 poinsettias leading up to Christmas. And we sell centerpieces. A lot of businesses send floral arrangements.”
What about grave blankets? “The first time in the last 10 years that I’ve heard (someone ask) about those was from you and an online inquiry today. … We do those with evergreens.”
What do wedding flowers cost? “$1,500 to $60,000.”
Which flower is most popular? “Roses are still the most popular. … There are hundreds of rose varieties and they all come in multiple colors. … My wife loves peach and pastel roses.”
Which flower is your favorite? “I’m like a kid in a chocolate factory.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Go work for someone else in that business first. Learn that trade. There’s always plenty to learn from others.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/naperville-phillips-flowers-store-roses/
Jensen To Rogan: “Next 6-7 Years You Will See A Bunch Of Small Nuclear Reactors”
Jensen To Rogan: “Next 6-7 Years You Will See A Bunch Of Small Nuclear Reactors”
Jensen “sign my tit” Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA and the man responsible for the AI boom, was recently on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast discussing a wide range of topics, when he gave the nuclear sector the ultimate tailwind: the AI revolution needs small modular reactors (SMRs), something we have been saying for over a year.
When the conversation turned to energy, and particularly new nuclear power, Huang spoke about the immense and growing power demands of AI data centers, which he dubbed as “gigawatt factories”, and echoed what we just said, namely that that these power needs cannot be integrated into the existing public grid without risking instability and soaring power prices…
To prevent skyrocketing electric bills, every state has to follow the Texas example: each data center must have its own “behind the meter” onsite power generation.
“We believe data centers should pay for the full cost of their power,” Dominion Energy spokesperson Aaron Ruby… https://t.co/0u1owTeAs8 pic.twitter.com/8W421s3rzV
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 23, 2025
… and should instead remain “behind the meter”, with data centers using dedicated or off-grid power generators – such as SMRs – necessary for the continued growth of AI.
As a result, Jensen sees “a whole bunch of small nuclear reactors in the next six or seven years”
Rogan: By small, like how big are you talking about?
Huang: Hundreds of megawatts.
Rogan: Okay. And that these will be local to whatever specific company they have.
Huang: That’s right. Will all be power generators.
Reactors such as those currently being built by Nano Nuclear and Oklo. No wonder their stocks are soaring today.
Here is the exchange:
JR-“Currently that is a big bottleneck right, it’s energy?
JH-It is The Bottleneck…The next 6-7 years I think your going to see a whole bunch of small nuclear reactors
JR- probably the smartest way to do it
JH-It takes the burn off the grid” $NVDA $NNE pic.twitter.com/tUh1BxhPXl
— NANO Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ: NNE) (@nano_nuclear) December 3, 2025
Of course, we have been pounding the table on modular nuclear reactors as the only real solution to the data center power drain for nearly two years, focusing on the more realistic options in recent weeks, and highlighted this very scenario just a few days ago, when the Department of Energy said it was assisting the Tennessee Valley Authority and Holtec International with the development and deployment of 300 MW small reactors in the 2030s, all small but critical initial steps in the rollout of small modular reactors.
There was also a significant development from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when they announced the completion of their final safety evaluation for the construction permit application for Bill Gates’ sodium reactor project in Wyoming. This was the last stage of reactor developer TerraPower’s construction permit review for their 345 MW reactor, and they now expect to have the construction license in hand early next year. Commercial operations are targeted for 2031.
Anyway, back to the podcast where, to the surprise of none of our readers, it took only 5 minutes of them talking to come to the topic of how dependent new AI is on the development of new energy.
Jensen went on a short run about how critical it was to the AI industry that Trump started his latest term by beating the table on new energy development:
“[Trump] came into office and the first thing that he said was ‘drill baby drill’. His point is we need energy growth. Without energy growth, we can have no industrial growth. It saved the AI industry. I got to tell you, flat out, if not for his progrowth energy policy we would not be able to build factories for AI, not be able to build chip factories, we surely won’t be able to build supercomputer factories, none of that stuff would be possible without all of that. Construction jobs would be challenged, right? Electrician jobs, all of these jobs that are now flourishing would be challenged. And so I think he’s got it right, we need energy growth. We want to re-industrialize the United States. We need to be back in manufacturing.”
As we recently covered in our summary of how well Europe’s grand green energy transition is going, we highlighted how the availability of cheap energy is enabling the growth of the AI industry in the US. Had the US followed in the footsteps of our peers across the water, we could have been facing energy prices as much as three times higher for industrial customers.
With the U.S. taking the more productive “and” approach to renewable energy, the country has added GW of power across a range of energy varieties, including both green sources like wind and solar, and traditional sources like coal, gas, and nuclear. Then again, as we discussed yesterday, the US will need to add over 100+ GW by 2032 to maintain the AI cycle, a staggering amount of power generation.
Jensen elaborated a little bit further on the energy-AI relationship, noting that energy is “the” bottleneck with developing new AI factories:
Rogan: So currently that is a big bottleneck, right? [It] is energy.
Huang: Yeah, it is the bottleneck. The bottleneck
Because you can print money, you can’t print energy.
The money is not the problem: AI is the new global arms race, and capex will eventually be funded by governments (US and China). If you want to know why gold/silver/bitcoin is soaring, it’s the “debasement” to fund the AI arms race.
But you can’t print energy https://t.co/qwdD8QbVON
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 14, 2025
Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/04/2025 – 12:45
Bayern Múnich mantener racha invicta en la Bundesliga al recibir a Stuttgart
Por JAMES ELLINGWORTH
DÜSSELDORF, Alemania (AP) — Bayern Múnich se florea invicto después de 15 partidos de liga y copa en el fútbol alemán.
El siguiente obstáculo para el equipo de Vincent Kompany será una visita el sábado a Stuttgart en la Bundesliga.
Enfrentamientos clave
Stuttgart confía aprovechar el exigente calendario del Bayern. El reinante campeón alemán tuvo que emplearse fondo para someter 3-2 al Union Berlín el miércoles en Copa de Alemania. El Bayern prevaleció en parte gracias a dos autogoles del Union y sufrió hasta lo último.
Leipzig, que marcha en el segundo lugar a ocho puntos del Bayern, buscará no rezagarse cuando el equipo de Ole Werner reciba a Eintracht Frankfurt el sábado. El Frankfurt están en apuros: además de languidecer en el séptimo lugar del torneo aelmán, corre el peligro de naufragar en la fase de liga de la Champions.
Quinto en la tabla, Hoffenheim atraviesa un buen momento de cara a su duelo del domingo ante el tercero Borussia Dortmund. Una victoria le permitiría adelantar al Dortmund.
Jugadores a seguir
El cabezazo de Harry Kane contra el Union en la copa dejó al capitán de la selección de Inglaterra con 25 goles en 21 partidos para el Bayern esta temporada. Tiene otros cinco con Inglaterra para llevar su cuenta a 30 con su club y selección.
Ibrahim Maza suma tres goles y dos asistencias en sus últimos cinco partidos en todas las competiciones con el Leverkusen, en la tarea de mediocampista ofensivo que una vez ocupó Florian Wirtz. Marcar el gol de la victoria contra el Dortmund en la copa el martes fue otro paso adelante. El Leverkusen visita el sábado a Augsburgo.
Fuera del campo
Mainz y Augsburgo afrontan los partidos del fin de semana con entrenadores interinos. El colista Mainz despidió a Bo Henriksen, quien llevó al equipo al sexto lugar la temporada pasada, pero el equipo se sumió en una racha desastrosa esta campaña, marcada por problemas de disciplina. Benjamin Hoffman estará a cargo el viernes contra Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Augsburg despidió el lunes a Sandro Wagner después de que el equipo perdiera ocho de sus 12 partidos de la Bundesliga con el ex delantero al mando. Manuel Baum dirigirá al equipo hasta el receso de invierno.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Review: ‘Falstaff’ by Chicago Opera Theater is a sunny farce that shows off the real Salieri
In Steppenwolf Theatre’s “Amadeus,” running through January, Antonio Salieri is the villain. That play and its 1984 film adaptation repeated fictions that have tarred the composer’s reputation for centuries: that Salieri was unseated by Mozart as the composer du jour, became a bad sport about it, then yearned for the younger musician’s downfall — or worse.
For a taste of the real Salieri, head across town to Chicago Opera Theater’s production this weekend. “Falstaff, or the Three Pranks,” his 1799 opera with librettist Carlo Prospero Defranceschi, is one of many comic operas penned by this supposedly surly composer. Like many of those overlooked opuses, it’s a goofy delight, as was its Chicago premiere on Wednesday.
Director Robin Guarino transplants Shakespeare-via-Salieri’s farce to the “Windsor Resort,” a chi-chi, “White Lotus”-style hotel. Falstaff and his sidekick Bardolfo (bass-baritones Christian Pursell and Peter Morgan) are imagined as long-haired sleazes who hide out in the resort’s supply closet. Lothario that he is, Falstaff sets his sights on Mistress Ford and Mistress Slender (sopranos Vanessa Becerra and Tzytle Steinman), both of whom are on vacation with their husbands (tenor Andrew Morstein and baritone Laureano Quant).
Unfortunately for Falstaff, Mistresses Ford and Slender are also best friends. Together, they concoct ploys to undermine the creepy interloper, often with a cocktail in hand. Bardolfo, just as sick of Falstaff as all the rest, eventually joins in on the collusion, courting a resort housekeeper along the way (soprano Denis Vélez).
Two details stand out in this production. One is that Falstaff’s infamous weight becomes a non-issue. Beyond what’s already in the libretto, Guarino’s production doesn’t emphasize it. Nor does it try to cram Pursell — a trim guy — into a fat suit, or something else similarly wincing.
Purists may gripe that this isn’t really “Falstaff,” then. To me, it kept the narrative emphasis where it ought to be. Falstaff isn’t repulsive because he’s fat. He’s repulsive because he treats women like garbage, and expects them to love him for it.
Tzytle Steinman, from left, Christian Pursell and Vanessa Becerra perform in Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Antonio Salieri’s “Falstaff” at the Studebaker Theater. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The second detail is the chemistry between the scheming Ford and Slender. This “Falstaff” is essentially a buddy comedy, and Becerra and Steinman play off one another exceptionally well. Becerra’s turn as the title role of last season’s “Leonora” was already a high bar, but she outdoes herself as Mrs. Ford, in a performance of infectious enthusiasm and firecracker vocal dazzle. Steinman is usually her lower partner in duets, together creating a gleaming composite instrument. On her own, she’s a gifted character soprano, able to warp her voice while retaining its essential luster.
Costuming the resort guests, Jessica Pabst’s designs deal a royal flush of one-percenter archetypes, from madras golf trousers to sweaters knotted over shoulders. The women leads are no exception, Slender leaning more Margaret Thatcher while Ford skews Kardashian.
Pursell was effortlessly assured as Falstaff, his voice focused, polished, and innately flexible. As a comic actor, he landed Falstaff’s slimy self-confidence perfectly, earning some of the evening’s biggest laughs — and there were many. With a baritone of vibrant immediacy, Quant, playing the easygoing Master Slender, likewise stood out among the cast, as he has in many a local booking.
Master Ford is Master Slender’s foil: jealous, short-fused, and bombastic. Morstein’s voice traversed the role’s huge leaps with ease and opened up most in balladic arias — like the Act 2 duet with Mrs. Ford, after all was forgiven. His Achilles heel, at least on Wednesday, were the role’s many fast and furious coloratura passages, which sometimes tumbled out of his grasp.
Of the principals, Betty makes the latest entry, only emerging as a key player in the opera’s second half. Vélez’s sparkling soprano and winsome stage presence more than made up for lost time. As Bardolfo, Morgan was the weaker of that particular pair, his bass-baritone more ponderous than hearty.
Set against a verdant leaf print backdrop, Andrew Boyce’s airy, modular set is the right balance between effective and manageable. (In the spirit of “She Who Dared,” scene changes are handled by chorus members dressed as hotel attendants — a simple but immersive touch.) Responsive, cool-toned lighting by Thomas Hase added extra depth to the action, toggling between onstage focal points.
Christian Pursell, center, performs in Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Antonio Salieri’s “Falstaff” at the Studebaker Theater. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Meanwhile, conductor Christine Brandes led fluidly from the pit, with alert dynamics and a knack for quick fixes when singers fell out of step with the orchestra. The orchestra itself was less assured on opening night, its intonation faltering sporadically.
Where the production completely splats is in its supertitles. A slangy translation is one thing — and even here, Cori Ellison’s is sometimes strained. Needlessly inserting words just to better fit the staging, as though Italian is just “Peanuts” parent-babble one can superimpose their whims upon, is quite another. Hence why Beyoncé shows up in the supertitles at some point, and Falstaff apparently asks for a double shot of tequila despite singing about brandy and toast. Ay.
Once one gets past those bitter notes, this production is much like the Aperol spritzes Mmes. Ford and Slender guzzle poolside: fizzy, sweet and quite coiffable.
Hannah Edgar is a freelance critic.
Review: “Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle” (3 stars)
When: 3 p.m. Dec. 6-7
Where: Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave.
Tickets: $50-$150 at chicagooperatheater.org
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/review-falstaff-chicago-opera/
Racing simulation business gets early green light from Naperville planners
Naperville Planning and Zoning commissioners like the idea of a racing simulation center opening on Route 59, and think it could be busy, but it’s contingent on the Naperville City Council approving the zoning parameters the business needs.
Sim Racing is seeking a conditional use to operate an entertainment venue in a B2 community shopping center district and a parking variance to deem the 23 spots available on-site as sufficient.
Planning and Zoning commissioners unanimously endorsed both requests, passing along the issue to the council with a positive recommendation.
If approved, Sim Racing could move into the vacant half of a building in High Grove Plaza at 1911 Glacier Park Ave., connected to Xtreme Dance Center. Signs for Sim Racing, which describes itself as “a mix of virtual gaming and racing,” are already on the facility.
Yana Miska, operations director for Sim Racing, said the business would welcome customers by appointment only and would offer 16 “top-of-the-line simulators that are created to mimic real-life driving on the track.” One or two employees would staff the center at a time, and the 4,500-square-foot facility would include a lounge with seating in addition to the simulators.
Miska said the building would not require any exterior changes, and the racing center wouldn’t create much noise because drivers would hear the sounds of their simulated races on individual headsets.
Brad Iwicki, an assistant planner for the city, said staff supports a conditional use for the racing center because it’s compatible with a goal in the land-use master plan of providing diverse entertainment options.
Staff also supports the requested parking variance because the space’s previous tenant — a dance studio — operated until 2023 without issue using the 23 spaces available, he said, and a parking study conducted by Sim Racing determined the spots would be enough.
Staff also would place a condition on the potential approval of the parking variance, which would require the business to notify the city of any plans to increase the number of simulators, Iwicki said.
Miska said customers of Sim Racing’s existing Algonquin location often carpool if they’re coming to race in groups. The business is committed to making sure parking at its planned Naperville facility is not a problem, he said.
“I have a really good relationship with with Xtreme Dance Center,” Miska said. “We’ve spoken about parking and sharing the space and doing things together. Everyone is on the same page.”
Commissioners expressed enthusiasm for the racing center and its plans to offer programs for kids and families, plus coaching for young people interested in pursuing professional racing.
“This is a fantastic concept. I think you’ll be very busy very quickly,” Commissioner Derek McDaniel said. “I think the opportunity is limitless.”
Marie Wilson is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/04/racing-simulation-business-center-naperville-commission/
CEO sigue al frente de AMC Entertainment tras derrame cerebral
Por MATT OTT
WASHINGTON (AP) — El CEO de AMC Entertainment seguirá al frente de esa cadena de cines a pesar de sufrir un leve derrame cerebral el mes pasado, anunció el jueves la compañía.
Adam Aron, de 71 años, sufrió el derrame cerebral mientras estaba en un viaje de negocios en Londres, donde recibió atención médica de emergencia de inmediato.
Aron se está recuperando rápidamente y continuará liderando la cadena de cines más grande del mundo, indicó la empresa.
Además de una inicial dificultad para hablar, AMC dice que Aron no ha mostrado pérdida de función cognitiva cerebral y que espera una “rápida y completa recuperación”.
“Dada su agudeza mental y resistencia física, el Sr. Aron sigue al mando total de AMC y continúa desempeñando sus funciones como presidente del consejo, director ejecutivo y presidente”, declaró AMC en un comunicado.
“Ha mantenido una comunicación cercana y constante con la junta directiva de AMC, tanto respecto al pronóstico de su recuperación como a los asuntos generales de negocios de la compañía”, añadió.
AMC aún no se ha recuperado completamente de la pandemia de COVID-19, cuando la compañía se vio obligada a cerrar cines, suspender al personal y registró una pérdida de 4.600 millones de dólares en 2020. Las ventas han mejorado gradualmente cada año desde entonces, pero la compañía aún no ha registrado una ganancia anual completa.
El auge de los servicios de video en streaming tras la pandemia también ha presionado a los cines, ya que la gente cada vez más se queda en casa para ver películas y otros programas.
Después del pico de la pandemia, los inversores minoristas invirtieron dinero en acciones de AMC como parte de la fiebre de las acciones meme, elevando sus acciones de alrededor de 11 dólares cada una a casi 340 dólares en junio de 2021. Tras un declive gradual de dos años, las acciones de AMC colapsaron en agosto de 2023 y ahora se cotizan apenas por encima de los 2 dólares.
Aron también lideró la incursión de AMC en las criptomonedas en 2021, cuando la cadena de cines comenzó a aceptar un puñado de monedas digitales como pago por entradas de cine, palomitas de maíz y otras concesiones. Ese mismo año también emitió tokens digitales no fungibles, llamados NFT, a compradores de entradas y accionistas.
Al cierre del tercer trimestre que finalizó el 30 de septiembre de 2025, AMC informó que tiene alrededor de 860 cines y 9.600 pantallas en todo el mundo.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Hombres negros despedidos de juntas clave de transporte acusan a Trump de discriminación
Por JOSH FUNK
Dos hombres negros que fueron despedidos por el presidente Donald Trump de la Junta Nacional de Seguridad en el Transporte (NTSB) y de la Junta Nacional de Transporte Terrestre (STB) acusaron el jueves a la administración de discriminación en su contra como parte de un patrón de destitución de líderes negros en todo el gobierno.
Robert Primus en la STB y Alvin Brown en la NTSB eran los únicos miembros negros de las juntas de supervisión de las agencias reguladoras, que oficialmente son independientes, cuando fueron despedidos en agosto y mayo. Ambos ya habían presentado demandas impugnando sus despidos, argumentando que la Casa Blanca no tenía una causa justificada, como exige la ley. Democracy Forward presentó las nuevas demandas por discriminación en nombre de ambos hombres.
“Cuando observas quién ha sido removido sin causa y quién ha permanecido en su puesto, el patrón es imposible de ignorar: comisionados negros en todo el gobierno federal han sido despedidos sumariamente. Mi destitución abrupta fue ilegal y discriminatoria”, dijo Brown, quien era vicepresidente de la NTSB.
La Casa Blanca no ha comentado sobre la nueva demanda legal, pero ha dicho que Trump estaba dentro de sus derechos legales al despedir a Primus y Brown. La administración aún no ha presentado una respuesta formal a la demanda de Primus, pero pidió a un juez que desestime la demanda de Brown argumentando que la protección legal que dice que los miembros de la junta solo pueden ser despedidos por causa es inconstitucional, y que el presidente debería poder elegir a su equipo en cada agencia ejecutiva.
Cuando Brown fue despedido, los expertos dijeron que no recordaban que alguien hubiera sido despedido de la NTSB, que tiene la tarea de investigar desastres en todos los modos de transporte para determinar qué los causó y hacer recomendaciones para evitar que tragedias similares vuelvan a ocurrir. La NTSB está investigando actualmente casi 1.250 casos, incluyendo la colisión de un avión de pasajeros y un helicóptero militar sobre Washington, D.C., que mató a 67 personas en enero.
Primus fue apartado de la STB poco después de que Union Pacific propuso adquirir Norfolk Southern por 85.000 millones de dólares, un acuerdo masivo que la junta de cinco miembros evaluará en el próximo año o dos. Fue el único miembro de la STB que se opuso a la adquisición de Kansas City Southern por parte de Canadian Pacific en 2023 porque le preocupaba el impacto en la competencia. Trump apoya el acuerdo de Union Pacific.
Por ley, no más de tres de los cinco miembros de cada junta pueden ser de un mismo partido. Primus y Brown son demócratas. En su primer mandato, Trump nominó a su cargo a Primus; el presidente Joe Biden lo designó presidente de la junta y la lideró hasta que Trump comenzó su segundo mandato y designó a Patrick Fuchs. Los abogados de Primus señalaron que al otro miembro demócrata de la STB se le permitió continuar sirviendo.
En la NTSB, otro de los miembros demócratas, que es blanco, sigue en servicio pese a que su mandato expiró a finales de 2023, como es habitual hasta que se confirme un reemplazo. Pero Brown fue el despedido, a pesar de que estaba programado para servir hasta finales de 2026. Trump nominó a un blanco para reemplazarlo.
Las demandas argumentan que estos despidos reflejan la creciente antipatía de Trump hacia ver a personas de color en posiciones gubernamentales: “Esta tendencia encaja con el mensaje constante del presidente Trump criticando la diversidad y la inclusión y su claro y demostrable énfasis en contratar a personas blancas”.
Trump ha despedido a varios miembros de juntas en diversas agencias que se supone que son independientes, incluyendo la Reserva Federal, la Comisión de Igualdad de Oportunidades en el Empleo y la Comisión Reguladora Nuclear.
La Comisión de Comercio del Senado considerará avanzar en las nominaciones de los reemplazos de ambos hombres la próxima semana.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
