If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The great transatlantic tech romance has hit the skids. What was sold as a landmark agreement binding Silicon Valley brains to British ambition has been shoved into neutral, all because Britain decided it quite fancies telling American machines what they are allowed to say. Washington has now suspended the much-trumpeted US-UK technology agreement, a decision driven by mounting alarm over Britain’s new censorship law, the Online Safety Act. The idea that a British regulator might fine or muzzle American firms has landed in Washington like a dropped wrench. One participant in the talks put it bluntly, telling The Telegraph, “Americans went into this deal thinking Britain were going to back off regulating American tech firms but realized it was going to restrict the speech of American chatbots.” The Online Safety Act gives Britain the power to fine companies it believes are enabling “harmful” or “hateful” speech, concepts elastic enough to stretch around just about anything if you pull hard enough. The communications regulator Ofcom has not been shy about using these powers. Enforcement notices have already landed on the desks of major American firms, even when their servers, staff, and coffee machines are nowhere near Britain. From Washington’s perspective, this looks less like safety and more like Britain peering over the Atlantic with a ruler, ready to rap American knuckles. The White House had been keen on the £31 ($41) billion Tech Prosperity Deal, seeing it as a front door to closer ties on AI research and digital trade. Instead, officials began to see the Online Safety Act as a mechanism for deciding what American platforms, and their algorithms, are allowed to say. Chatbots like ChatGPT or Elon Musk’s Grok suddenly looked like potential defendants in a British courtroom, accused of wrongthink. Matters finally tipped over when UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced in early December that the government would “impose new restrictions on chatbots” to close supposed loopholes. That was the moment Washington’s patience packed its bags. Monitoring the rollout, US officials concluded that the law had wandered far beyond its original promise and straight into the regulation of AI speech itself. As one US source put it, “the perception is that Britain is way out there on attempting to police what is said online,” a phrase that, in diplomatic language, means this is a complete nightmare. If the speech row was not enough, Britain has also managed to irritate Washington with its Digital Services Tax. This 2 percent levy on the revenues of companies like Meta, Google, and Amazon was supposed to be temporary. It has turned out to be more like that houseguest who says they are just staying the weekend. The Labour government has confirmed the tax will remain until some grand global solution appears. President Trump, never one to whisper, has described countries that do this as treating US firms like a “piggy bank,” and he has dangled the threat of retaliatory tariffs with the enthusiasm of a man who enjoys pulling levers. Together, the speech rules and the tax have frozen progress on the wider Economic Prosperity Deal agreed in May 2025. US negotiators now accuse London of failing to reduce trade barriers or update its regulatory mindset for the digital age. In other words, you promised an open road and delivered a maze of speed bumps. Britain is not alone in poking Washington’s free speech nerve. Across the Channel, the European Union has been busy too. X was recently fined €120 million under Brussels’ digital rules, a move that American officials see as part of the same trend. The EU’s Digital Services Act and Britain’s Online Safety Act look, from afar, like siblings who both enjoy telling other people how to behave. To US policymakers, these regimes risk building a global censorship machine under the comforting label of safety. Washington’s view remains rooted in the First Amendment belief that governments should not decide acceptable speech, whether it comes from a human throat or a line of code. If an algorithm says something foolish, the answer is more speech, not a regulator with a clipboard. Downing Street insists all is not lost. A spokesperson says the two countries remain “in active conversations” and that Britain is “confident of securing a deal that will shape the future of millions on both sides of the Atlantic.” Perhaps. But this feels a long way from the optimism of Trump’s September state visit, when both sides cheered more than $40 billion in US investment pledges for British AI and data centers. For now, the tech pact sits in limbo, a casualty of a deeper argument about who gets to decide what can be said online. The United States keeps insisting that open expression is the engine of innovation. Britain has opted for an illiberal approach that places expression under its official supervision. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post US Suspends $41 Billion Tech Deal with UK over Online Censorship Laws appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

By the time the Transportation Security Administration gets through with you, you’ll have paid to walk through their scanners, explain your liquids, and now, if you forget your “acceptable” ID, to exist. The agency’s latest brainstorm is a $45 fee for anyone who dares to show up at an airport without the proper government-issued hall pass. Officially, it’s called the “Confirm.ID program.” Become a Member and Keep Reading… Reclaim your digital freedom. Get the latest on censorship, cancel culture, and surveillance, and learn how to fight back. Join Already a supporter? Sign In. (If you’re already logged in but still seeing this, refresh this page to show the post.) The post Pay to Fly, Pay to Be Watched appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

BREAKING: Trump Admin To Cut All Funding to Hospitals Performing Pediatric Sex Changes

The 'Most Secure Election in History™' Had Some Big 'Oopsies," But Fear Not...

Inflation in November was lower than analysts had predicted, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Thursday reveals. In its delayed report on November prices, BLS was unable to make its usual comparisons to the previous month (October), due to the recent 43-day federal government shutdown at the hands of House Democrats refusing to pass a continuing resolution for funding. CPI data collection was suspended during the shutdown, which lasted from October 1 through November 12. CPI data collection resumed on November 14. October data could not be retroactively estimated in virtually all cases, BLS explains in the report: “BLS did not collect survey data for October 2025 due to the lapse in appropriations. BLS was unable to retroactively collect these data. For a few indexes, BLS uses nonsurvey data sources instead of survey data to make the index calculations. BLS was able to retroactively acquire most of the nonsurvey data for October.” Compared to a year earlier, the CPI for all items increased 2.7% in November, less than economists’ expectations of 3.1% and down from the 3.0% rise over the 12-month period ending in September. Inflation, as measured by the “core” CPI index, which excludes the volatile gasoline and food categories, was also cooler than expected, rising 2.6% from a year ago – the smallest 12-month increase since March of 2021. November prices for some products (including airline fares, eggs, propane, firewood and kerosene) were actually lower than they were year-ago. November Prices Compared to 12 Months Earlier: All items: up 2.7% Core items: up 2.6% Food: up 2.6%, but 1.9% at-home costs (3.7% away) Meats, poultry, fish: up 6.8% Eggs: down 13.2% Fruits and vegetables: up 0.1% Energy: up 4.2% Gas: up 0.9% Fuel oil: up 11.3% Propane, kerosene, firewood: down 5.9% Utility gas service: up 9.1% Airline fares: down 5.4% Housing prices: up 3.0% Notably, while the price of all food items combined increased 2.6% from November 2024, inflation in the cost of food away from home (3.7%) nearly doubled that of food at home (1.9%). Traditionally, the CPI’s report provides price comparisons to the previous month. But, without October data, it reported comparisons to September, making the two-month comparisons incompatible with the typical month-to-month results in previous reports. Compared to September, seasonally-adjusted CPI increased 0.2%, as did the core index. Due to the vagaries of the data, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to take results from the BLS report for November into account when deciding whether or not to cut interest rates at its next meeting in January. Still, the White House celebrated November’s results and year-to-year comparisons. “Today’s report shows that inflation came in far lower than market expectations — a stark comparison to the record-high 9% inflation crisis caused by Joe Biden,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “Core inflation is at a new multi-year low, as prices for groceries, medicine, gas, airfare, car rentals, and hotels keep falling. Americans can expect this trend of lower prices and bigger paychecks to continue into the New Year!” “Here’s what they’re saying,” the White House wrote in a statement quoting media and economists cheering November’s numbers: CNBC’s Steve Liesman: “That is a very good number.” CNN’s Matt Egan: “Clearly, this is another step in the right direction.” Harvard University Professor of Economics & Public Policy Ken Rogoff: “A better number than anyone was expecting… Positive news. There’s no other way to spin it.” Economist Steve Moore: “Amazing… This is good news for Wall Street; it’s good news for Main Street… I got a big smile on my face right before Christmas with this number.” Strategic Wealth Partners CEO Mark Tepper: “Incredible. I thought tariffs were supposed to be inflationary, by the way, and we’re seeing inflation coming down. The affordability gap is closing every single day under President Trump’s watch. We’ve seen real wage growth be positive, inflation slowing — this is great for America.” The Washington Examiner’s Tiana Lowe Doescher: “It’s incredible to look at that core [inflation] number… the lowest number we’ve had since Biden started this all lighting the economy on fire… That is called bringing it back. Well done to Donald Trump!” Bloomberg’s Chris Anstey: “The lowest estimate in Bloomberg’s survey of 62 economists was 2.8% for the core year-on-year increase. (That was from Citigroup.) And the reading came in two tenths below that. Remarkable.” The Washington Post’s Andrew Ackerman: “Inflation cooled unexpectedly in November, easing pressure on household budgets and handing the White House a welcome reprieve.”

Stephen Colbert’s Wednesday cold open for The Late Show not only smeared the Republican Party by claiming their health care policy motto is simply “Kill,” but the CBS host also took House Majority Leader Steve Scalise out of context by omitting his actual beliefs to do it. The cold open began with CBS News 24/7 anchor Mugo Odigwe setting the table, “Health care is at the top of the congressional to-do list as premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year for more than 20 million Americans. House Republicans have released a package of bills they say will help fix the problem.”     That then led to a clip of Scalise at a recent press conference asking, “When I watch TV commercials, I see this gecko lizard, and I see the emu, and I see all these other animals out there selling health—they're selling car insurance. They're selling homeowners' insurance; why aren't they selling health insurance?” Colbert left off the part where Scalise answered his own question, “I see this gecko lizard, and I see the emu, and I see all these other animals out there selling car insurance, they're selling homeowners' insurance; why aren't they selling health insurance?' That's because the laws at the federal level prohibit the ability for people to have choices to get people trying to offer them lower cost products for health insurance.” Actually addressing the substance of Scalise’s claim would not have allowed Colbert to then play a satirical ad where a narrator declared, “We here at the GOP are proud to unveil our new health care insurance plan. And just like the Geico Gecko and the LiMu Emu, we have a fun new animal mascot to help sell it: Rocco, the health care dog.” A man was then shown asking Rocco three times what the party’s health care message should be: MAN: Rocco, what should our message be for America? ROCCO: I want you to go out and kill. MAN: What if they need health care? ROCCO: Kill. MAN: Are you sure that's the right message? ROCCO: Kill! The announcer then concluded, “The new GOP health care plan. Remember our motto” before Rocco repeated one more time, “Kill!” Satire doesn’t work when it is satirizing a straw man. Scalise gave a reasonable diagnosis of the problem, but Colbert omitted that so he could get in a cheap shot about Republicans not caring if people die, and that is why The Late Show is going away next May. "Kill," however does sound an awful lot like Canada's euthanasia policy Here is a transcript for the December 17 show: CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 12/17/2025 11:57 PM ET MUGO ODIGWE: Health care is at the top of the congressional to-do list as premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year for more than 20 million Americans. House Republicans have released a package of bills they say will help fix the problem. STEVE SCALISE: When I watch TV commercials, I see this gecko lizard, and I see the emu, and I see all these other animals out there selling health—they're selling car insurance. They're selling homeowners' insurance; why aren't they selling health insurance?” ANNOUNCER: We here at the GOP are proud to unveil our new health care insurance plan. And just like the Geico Gecko and the LiMu Emu, we have a fun new animal mascot to help sell it: Rocco, the health care dog. MAN: Rocco, what should our message be for America? ROCCO: I want you to go out and kill. MAN: What if they need health care? ROCCO: Kill. MAN: Are you sure that's the right message? ROCCO: Kill! ANNOUNCER: The new GOP health care plan. Remember our motto. ROCCO: Kill!

An investment firm is banking on the theory that some companies have access to alien technology.Firm Tuttle Capital calls itself "the antidote to Wall Street" and boasts a proprietary formula that strengthens its portfolio. Using the acronym HEAT — hedges, edges, asymmetry, themes — Tuttle might be leaning on its alleged proficiency in "big-picture trends" with its new exchange-traded fund, the UFO Disclosure AI Powered ETF.Funds will also target materials and energy firms that could possibly benefit from 'new energy sources or metamaterials inspired by alien technology.'Tuttle's new ETF — recently filed with the SEC — will invest at least 80% of its net assets in a "basket of companies" it believes have "exposure to advanced or 'reverse-engineered' alien technology, spurred by government disclosures about UFOs (unidentified flying objects) and alleged advanced technologies."While the companies are yet to be named, they are to include aerospace and defense contractors that "might have R&D programs rumored to work with classified technology, potentially leading to groundbreaking advancements."RELATED: Are aliens demons in disguise? This theory will shatter your reality Photo by Satellite image (c) 2023 Maxar Technologies via Getty Images At the same time, funds will also target materials and energy firms that could possibly benefit from "new energy sources or metamaterials inspired by alien technology."For example, investments are set to be made in companies that work with semiconductors and electronics because they may "incorporate or license advanced alien-inspired components, driving innovation in the tech industry."The ETF will attempt to invest in companies that could take down more UFOs in the future as well. This is described in the SEC filing as companies that specialize in detecting unidentified anomalous phenomena, in addition to countering them. The fund also plans on strategically shorting other companies that may become obsolete due to "alien-level" engineering emerging from their competitors. This includes, but is not limited to, "conventional propulsion firms and old-guard energy providers" that may fall behind due to advanced technologies.RELATED: Joe Rogan gets the aliens wrong — and the danger right Photo by: Bernard Friel/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images "I'm a trader. I look at [UFOs], and I say that they're using a power source that is light-years beyond anything that we have," CEO Matthew Tuttle said, according to the Financial Times. "If our government has this technology and it's released, that will be a game-changer."As described in the official documents, the entire "theme" the fund is banking on is regarded as "highly speculative and subject to rumor cycles."This comes with the stated risk that "government confirmation or denial of advanced alien tech is uncertain, and rumored breakthroughs might never materialize."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A Texas male with 37 prior arrests was released from jail, cut off his ankle monitor, then went on a crime spree, stealing over $200,000 in jewelry, KSAT-TV reported, citing the San Antonio Police Department and new documents.Michael Allen Loving, 38, was arrested again Tuesday after being accused in connection with a string of recent robberies and thefts, namely from pawn shops and mall jewelry stores, the station said.“I would say that it’s brazen that he just walks in, in the middle of the day,” said Camelia Juarez, a SAPD public information officer, according to KSAT. “He will just smash the glass, break it and take off with [the jewelry]."More from the station:Arrest affidavits related to Loving’s most recent arrests detail how he used that “smash and grab” technique at JCPenney at North Star Mall in October and at an EZ Pawn shop on West Woodlawn Avenue earlier this month.The affidavits said that he stole more than $37,000 worth of gold chains from JCPenney and another $45,000-plus in jewelry from the EZ Pawn shop.In both cases, Loving walked in and specifically asked employees to show him what he referred to as “cubans,” some of the most expensive jewelry in the display cases, the affidavit said.Loving smashed the glass cases in both businesses, grabbed the jewelry, and ran off, KSAT said, citing the arrest affidavits.Loving also threatened EZ Pawn shop workers with a gun, police told the station.“After he threatened those two employees at the EZ Pawn, he went to dozens of other jewelry stores,” Juarez added to KSAT.Juarez said Loving went on to steal more than $150,000 in jewelry from another business, the station said.RELATED: Male reportedly shatters glass front door of jewelry store in middle of night. His problem? Armed store owner is inside. Prior to his crime spree, Loving was arrested in connection with a smash-and-grab theft at an H-E-B on South Zarzamora Street, KSAT said, adding that police said he hit someone with his car as he fled. Officers later found the vehicle abandoned and found Loving — who had removed all of his clothing, the station said.He was soon released from the Bexar County jail with an ankle monitor — then just days later, he cut off the ankle monitor and went on his crime spree, police told KSAT.The Bexar County Sheriff's Office told Blaze News on Wednesday morning that Loving is behind bars.Juarez said investigators believe Loving has targeted other business owners who have not yet reported crimes, the station said, adding that other potential victims should call SAPD’s Property Crimes Division at 210-207-8326.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Two Haitian men have been accused of using their small Boston-based retail stores as a front for a $7 million food stamp fraud scheme.The United States Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced charges against 74-year-old Antonio Bonheur and 21-year-old Saul Alisme. Authorities arrested both men on Wednesday and charged them with one count of food stamp fraud, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 'The fraud was shocking and glaring.'Court documents revealed Bonheur is a naturalized U.S. citizen, and Alisme is a Haitian citizen with lawful permanent residence in the U.S. Bonheur owned Jesula Variety Store, a 150 square-foot retail space, and Alisme owned Saul Mache Mixe Store, a 500 square-foot location. Both establishments were located in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood. Despite the stores’ small footprints, they redeemed millions of dollars’ worth of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 per month. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the redeemed funds outpaced those of a nearby full-service supermarket, which redeems approximately $82,000 per month.Bonheur was allegedly receiving his own SNAP benefits, which he used to transfer for cash at his store. RELATED: $500 million in SNAP funds is reportedly spent on fast food because of state program Jesula Variety Store. Image source: United States Attorney’s Office criminal complaintDespite 70% of the stores’ SNAP transactions exceeding $95, they stocked “little legitimate food inventory,” the attorney’s office found. “During undercover operations conducted at both businesses over the course of the investigation, SNAP benefits were allegedly trafficked for cash on four occasions from Jesula Variety Store and on two occasions from Saul Mache Mixe Store,” the attorney’s office wrote. “In each instance, the defendants themselves allegedly worked the cash registers and personally exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. Both stores were also allegedly observed selling liquor in exchange for SNAP benefits.”Additionally, the stores allegedly sold a donated food product intended for food-insecure children overseas and not authorized for retail sale.RELATED: Trump admin drops hammer on SNAP scammers after finding 186K dead people collecting benefits Saul Mache Mixe Store. Image source: United States Attorney’s Office criminal complaint“To be certain, these were not supermarkets. They were not full-service grocers. It would be a huge stretch to even call them convenience stores,” said U.S. Attorney Leah Foley during a Wednesday press conference. “There is no plausible way SNAP-eligible food could have been purchased from these stores for this long. Yet these two stores are alleged to have illicitly trafficked nearly $7 million in SNAP benefits.”“The fraud was shocking and glaring,” she added. Foley explained that the investigation also uncovered alleged “financial manipulations.” “Because the stores had little legitimate inventory, and almost no lawful income, the defendants relied almost entirely on [U.S. Department of Agriculture]-funded SNAP redemptions,” Foley continued. “To conceal their fraud, they used numerous bank accounts to transfer the SNAP benefits around between the accounts they controlled to create the illusion of legitimate business activity.” Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Earlier this week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that he would be overhauling yet another aspect of the military: the Chaplain Corps.On Tuesday, Hegseth explained a directive that will effectively overhaul the United States Chaplain Corps, "the spiritual and moral backbone of our nation's forces" that, for hundreds of years, "ministered" to the "souls" of American servicemen and women, as he explained in the video. 'In an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers.'Hegseth recounted the long history of the Chaplain Corps, which dates back to 1775, when George Washington himself established it. The "weakening" of this important institution has become "a real problem for our nation's military," Hegseth said."Sadly, as part of the ongoing war on warriors, in recent decades its role has been degraded," Hegseth said in the video. "In an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers. Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care."RELATED: Troops who refused COVID shot to receive retroactive honor to 'right the wrongs of the past': Hegseth Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty ImagesAs evidence of the New Age influence in the military, Hegseth referred to the United States Army's Spiritual Fitness Guide, which mentions "God" only once and "virtue" not at all, even as 82% of the military identify as "religious." Hegseth ordered the elimination of this "unacceptable and unserious" Spiritual Fitness Guide and the simplification of the Faith and Belief Coding System, an "overly complex" classification system of over 200 different beliefs.The Faith and Belief Code was apparently expanded in March 2017. The expansion went into more detailed distinctions among Protestant denominations, and it included alternate belief systems like "Magick and Spiritualist," "Wicca," "Pagan," "New Age Churches," "Humanist," and "Heathen." Hegseth promised more changes in the near future, saying that there will be a "top-down cultural shift" in the military that puts "spiritual well-being on the same footing as mental and physical health.""We are going to make the Chaplain Corps great again," he posted on X.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!