Society's ChildS


Wall Street

Loans to nonbanks threaten to precipitate next banking crisis

Christopher Whalen
Daily Reckoning
Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:17 UTC
wall street crash bank building cracked graphic financial crisis
Last week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp released the industry data for US banks for 2025. On the surface, the numbers look reassuring, even strong. But beneath the calm headline figures lies a growing risk that investors should not ignore. Domestic deposits increased for the sixth consecutive quarter in Q4 2025 by $318.3 billion or 1.8%, the FDIC reports. Loans grew by 2% in Q4 and almost 6% YOY. Foreign deposits grew 11%, but subordinated debt and FHLB advances each fell ~ 14% as banks shed excess capital and funding.

U.S. bank loan growth in 2025 was robust, with total loans and leases reaching $13.4 trillion by year-end, a sequential increase in Q4 and a 5.9% annual growth rate, driven by larger institutions. Personal loan balances hit $2.2 trillion, while credit card debt rose 5.5% annually but the utilization rate for credit cards is still less than 20% of the total credit available. Yet behind this placid picture is a growing threat to banks and financial markets. At first glance, this looks like a healthy banking system. But that placid picture masks a fast-growing vulnerability that could become the next major pressure point for banks and financial markets.
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AK47

Fake 'moderate' Gov. Abigail Spanberger expected to sign sweeping gun ban into law

Tim O'Brien
PJ Media
Sat, 14 Mar 2026 19:45 UTC
Abigail Spanberger
© Steve Helber/AP PhotoCreepy Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger
Now that the Virginia General Assembly has passed what it calls "assault weapon ban" legislation, all that's needed is for Gov. Abigail Spanberger to sign it into law, which is all but a given. Once signed, Senate Bill 749 will likely take effect as soon as July 1, 2026.

The law will ban the sale, import, manufacture, purchase, and transfer of what it describes as "assault firearms," and it will treat high-capacity magazines that can hold 15 rounds or more in the same way. It will make any violations of the law a "Class 1 misdemeanor," which could mean up to a year in jail and a $2,500 for a first offense.

While SB 749 does not explicitly ban AR-15 rifles, since the popular long rifle falls under the bill's definition of assault weapons, it will be effectively banned.

Comment: Salim taking a lot of heat:


The warning signs regarding Spanberger were already there:




Virginia Dems propose law to drop mandatory prison time for rape, manslaughter and possession of child porn

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Books

Will Johnny ever learn to read? The pushback against science of reading mandates

Vince Bielski
RealClearWire
Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:30 UTC
children classroom 1940 reading lesson
© Australia State Government Photographer/WikimediaSmall Children in Library Sitting at Tables, 1945
Half a century after the book Why Johnny Can't Read sounded an alarm about the rise of illiteracy in the U.S., it has only gotten worse: A quarter of all young adults, many of them high school graduates, are now functionally illiterate. Unable to read more than basic, short sentences, their prospects in today's information economy are bleak.

This crisis gave rise to a movement that embraced the science of reading and produced a surprising success story in the Deep South, a region dogged by the highest rates of childhood illiteracy in the nation. State leaders and education reformers in Mississippi and Louisiana led a remarkable improvement in elementary reading scores that now rank among the highest in the nation.

The turnaround was a long slog, requiring a heavy hand from the state to win buy-in for a wholesale transformation of curricula, teaching methods, accountability, and more. Former state education chief Carey Wright called it the "Mississippi Marathon." One of the biggest questions in public education now is whether the southern surge can spread nationwide, turning millions of struggling students into proficient readers with a brighter future.
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Sheriff

House Of Horrors: Cops Search Epstein's Zorro Ranch For Strangled Girls, 'Human Experimentation'

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Tue, 10 Mar 2026 21:39 UTC
zorro ranch
Weeks after New Mexico officials launched an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico - which has since been purchased to turn into a Christian retreat, the FBI and local law enforcement descended on the 7,500 acre property in search of dark secrets, including the possible graves of trafficked girls who may have been strangled to death during violent sex sessions on the property.

For years the rumors have swirled around the isolated estate near the tiny town of Stanley (about 30 miles south of Santa Fe), however the identities of the alleged victims - and whether their bodies are on the property - has remained a mystery.

The search - conducted on Monday and into Tuesday, is part of a planned state "truth commission" established by New Mexico lawmakers last month to investigate allegations surrounding Epstein's activities at the ranch because the feds have dropped the ball.
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Question

Epstein prison guard googled him minutes before body found — and made mysterious deposit before pedophile's suicide: DOJ

Gabrielle Fahmy
NY Post
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:35 UTC
Tova Noel
© APCriminal charges against Noel and the other guard were dropped in December 2021 by a federal judge
One of Jeffrey Epstein's prison guards googled the sex predator minutes before he was found dead — and also made a mysterious $5,000 cash deposit 10 days before the predator's jail-cell suicide, new Department of Justice documents reveal.

Tova Noel was one of the two Metropolitan Correctional Center workers accused of falsifying records to say they checked on Epstein throughout the night before his Aug. 10, 2019, suicide.

The guards were fired but criminal charges against both were later dropped.

Noel googled "latest on Epstein in jail" at 5:42 a.m. and then again at 5:52 a.m. — less than 40 minutes before her colleague, correctional officer Michael Thomas, found the disgraced financier dead in his cell by hanging at 6:30 a.m., according to an FBI record of Noel's internet search history that night.
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Gavel

Air Canada ordered to pay pilots after religious vaccine exemption denials

Lin Albalos
Human Resources Director
Fri, 06 Mar 2026 21:30 UTC
air canada
© Adobe Stock
Seven Air Canada pilots denied religious exemptions from the airline's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy have won back pay, after arbitrator James Hayes ruled on March 3, 2026, that Air Canada violated the Canadian Human Rights Act. The ruling has direct implications for employers that used similar religious accommodation processes during the pandemic.

In 2021, Air Canada directed employees seeking exemptions to provide "a personalized, written, and dated explanation from your religious leader explaining the religious reasons why you are unable to be vaccinated against Covid-19." Pilots denied exemptions were placed on unpaid leave as of October 31, 2021, while those granted exemptions were placed on paid leave pending employer consideration of possible accommodation.

The seven pilots, all of whom saw themselves as committed Christians, grounded their objections in Scripture, conscience, fetal cell lines in vaccine development, and the belief that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Air Canada denied all seven at the outset.

The company's accommodation framework required both the existence of a sincere religious belief and a clear nexus between that belief and the inability to be vaccinated. Denial grounds included requests "based on scientifically unsound facts such as the fear that COVID-19 vaccines may alter DNA."
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Laptop

Foreign hacker cracked into FBI's Epstein files in 2023, was 'disgusted' at child sexual abuse

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Thu, 12 Mar 2026 20:42 UTC
Geoffrey Berman announces charges against Jeffery Epstein
© Stephanie Keith / Getty ImagesUS Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman announces charges against Jeffery Epstein on July 8, 2019 in New York City.
A foreign hacker broke into a server at the FBI's New York Field Office and 'compromised files relating to the FBI's investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein' in 2023, Reuters reports.

According to the FBI, the intrusion was an "isolated" cyber incident - though not to be confused with a different cybersecurity incident involving a sensitive internal network used to manage wiretaps and FISA warrants.

"The FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network. The investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have further comments to provide at this time," the agency said in a statement.

Reuters' source claimed that the intrusion 'appeared' to be carried out by an individual cybercriminal as opposed to a foreign government (source: trust us bro, we're here to help).
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Dollar

Trump admin expands ban on foreigners receiving Small Business Loans

John Binder
Breitbart
Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:02 UTC
american passport sba small business loan
Agency says limited financing resources must prioritize citizens building businesses at home...

President Donald Trump's Small Business Administration (SBA) is banning foreign nationals from securing federal dollars via more small business loan programs, the agency announced Monday.

"The Trump SBA is committed to driving economic growth and job creation for American citizens," SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a statement:
Last month, we made it clear that SBA would not allow foreign nationals to access our core small business loan programs - and today, we are expanding that policy to include all SBA-guaranteed loans.
In particular, foreign nationals will not be eligible for the agency's Surety Bond program and Microloans, which offer loans of up to $50,000 for small businesses and not-for-profit childcare centers.

Comment: Funding foreigners and even illegal migrants with money meant for Americans trying to start small enterprises is a sore point in the business community. The carve-outs created by DEI policies have been especially damaging.





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Helm

"The Situation Is Dire": Half Of Available Global LNG Tankers Are Trapped In The Persian Gulf

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:56 UTC
LNG Tanker
There are thousands of ships in the global oil tanker fleet, by some estimates nearly as many as 9000 (and that excludes sanctions vessels). Just a fraction of these are either waiting to enter the blockaded Straits of Hormuz, or to leave it.

By contrast, the global LNG fleet is a tiny fraction, and now most of it is stuck inside the Persian Gulf.

According to the WSJ, at least 20 LNG carriers about half the available global fleet - are trapped in the Persian Gulf, with daily freight costs soaring as demand from Asia surges, according to ship brokers.

Comment: The results of wishful thinking that the war with Iran would be short with short term effects.

Shipping insurance as a weapon: How the Strait Of Hormuz shapes global power and energy markets

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Camera

Federal judge backs Washington state lawmakers in denying press credentials to independent journalists

Martha Bellisle
Associated Press
Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:49 UTC
washington state democrats deny press credentials independent journalists
© Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP, FilePolitical podcast host Brandi Kruse, foreground, speaks during a rally to urge Democratic lawmakers to hold hearings to consider GOP initiatives Jan. 31, 2024 in Olympia, Wash.
Washington state lawmakers were within their rights when they declined to issue press passes to three conservative media figures, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a case that echoes a national discussion over who qualifies as a journalist.

The Democratic-controlled Washington House of Representatives early this year declined to issue press credentials that would have granted the three access to parts of the Capitol in Olympia that are off-limits to the general public. The body said they were not bona fide journalists because they are participants in the political arena — advocating for certain agendas and hosting or speaking at rallies.

The three filed a federal lawsuit and asked the court for an emergency temporary restraining order that would force the House to give them passes in the closing days of the session. The group includes Ari Hoffman, host of Seattle's Conservative Talk show on AM 570 KVI; Brandi Kruse, host of the podcast unDivided; and Jonathan Choe, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a conservative think tank.
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