North Korea-Linked Gang ‘Stole’ Billions From Americans Through ‘Pig Butchering’ Romance Scams

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A Cambodia-based gang with ties to North Korea has “stolen” billions of dollars from Americans through romance scams and other cyber-heists since August 2021, federal officials said Thursday in announcing a crackdown on the malign network.

For years, the online marketplace Huione Group has helped North Korea and other transnational criminal gangs rip people off by sending texts or direct messages on social media platforms and sites to bilk them for fake investments or “pig butchering.”

The cons, which also take place on dating or professional networking sites, have gotten US retirees and others to invest in crypto or other virtual currencies — before eventually defrauding them.

Between August 2021 and January 2025, Huione raked in at least $4 billion in proceeds from the romance and investment racket, with affiliates helping facilitate payments (Huione Pay PLC), provide fiat currencies (Huione Crypto), and furnish an online marketplace with illicit goods and services (Haowang Guarantee).

The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shared the findings of its investigation into the Huione’s scam network in a press release obtained exclusively by The Post, tallying up $37 million that went toward North Korean cyber-heists and another $336 million in the romance and investments grift. (Read more from “North Korea-Linked Gang ‘Stole’ Billions From Americans Through ‘Pig Butchering’ Romance Scams” HERE)

Trump Admin Investigates Chicago Public Schools For Racial Discrimination

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The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for alleged racial discrimination in its “Black Student Success Plan,” which reportedly only focuses on the academic achievement of black students.

The Title VI investigation comes after education advocacy organization Defending Education filed a complaint with the department’s Office for Civil Rights in February. The Education Department’s press release states that the “Black Student Success Plan” deals with “remedial measures only for black students, despite acknowledging that Chicago students of all races struggle academically.”

“Chicago Public Schools have a record of academic failure, leaving students from all backgrounds and races struggling and ill-prepared to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of contemporary American life,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said. “Rather than address its record honestly, CPS seeks to allocate additional resources to favored students on the basis of race. The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will not allow federal funds, provided for the benefit of all students, to be used in this pernicious and unlawful manner.”

“To CPS, I say this: Every American student deserves access to a quality education, and the Trump Administration will fight tirelessly to uphold that ideal and ensure all students are treated equally under law,” he added. (Read more from “Trump Admin Investigates Chicago Public Schools For Racial Discrimination” HERE)

HHS Report Confirms No Evidence To Support Castrating And Mutilating Gender Confused Kids

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Acomprehensive Department of Health and Human Services review published on Thursday found that there was never any evidence to support the radical gender ideology that was welcomed by healthcare institutions across the nation.

The 409-page report, commissioned in President Donald Trump’s January 28th executive order effectively defunding chemical and surgical mutilation on children, found that the doctors who embraced and advanced radical gender ideology in pediatric patients experiencing gender confusion “lacked sufficient scientific and ethical justification” for those interventions.

“While no clinician or medical association intends to fail their patients — particularly those who are most vulnerable — the preceding chapters demonstrate that this is precisely what has occurred,” the report concluded.

HHS specifically determined that the “gender-identity” method used to rationalize irreversibly damaging kids’ minds and bodies is senseless and should not have gained widespread traction due to a “lack of robust evidence.”

“In short, ‘gender identity’ as it appears in SOC-8 and related literature is ill-defined,” the review suggested. “It may be true that a person’s gender identity is subjective, or undetectable by blood tests or neuroimaging, or otherwise beyond the reach of science, but the more critical point is that no tolerably clear definition of ‘gender identity’ has been offered in the first place. This is a serious problem, because the term figures centrally in the justification for medical intervention.” (Read more from “HHS Report Confirms No Evidence To Support Castrating And Mutilating Gender Confused Kids” HERE)

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Trump’s DOJ Nails Alleged Ringleaders Forcing Kids Into Sex Crimes, Self-Mutilation in Depraved Abuse Ring

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President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it took down the alleged ringleaders of “a violent online network that seeks to destroy civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations, which often include minors.”

The DOJ charged Leonidas Varagiannis, 21, and Prasan Nepal, 20, for operating a child exploitation subgroup within 764, an online transnational extremist network.

Varagiannis, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Greece on Monday. Nepal was nabbed on April 22 in North Carolina.

The defendants are accused of producing and distributing sadistic child sexual abuse material in the subgroup 764 Inferno. The men allegedly groomed, manipulated, and extorted minors into producing sexual and self-harm content.

The DOJ reported, “The affidavit alleges that the group targeted vulnerable children online, coercing them into producing degrading and explicit content under threat and manipulation. This content includes ‘cut signs’ and ‘blood signs’ through which young minors would cut symbols into their bodies.” (Read more from “Trump’s DOJ Nails Alleged Ringleaders Forcing Kids Into Sex Crimes, Self-Mutilation in Depraved Abuse Ring” HERE)

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How Striking Iran Could Sabotage Trump’s Nuclear Negotiations

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A strike against Iran would torpedo the Trump administration’s attempts at peace, Middle East experts told the Daily Caller.

Israel “has not ruled out” a limited strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Reuters first reported in April. The report follows Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel was planning to attack Iranian nuclear facilities potentially next month but was opposed by Trump, administration officials and others familiar told the New York Times (NYT).

“I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death,” Trump later told reporters, according to the NYT. “That’s my first option. If there’s a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran, and I think Iran is wanting to talk.”

Trump told Time Magazine he is open to meeting with Iran’s leader and said a deal is likely to happen, according to an interview published Friday. (Read more from “How Striking Iran Could Sabotage Trump’s Nuclear Negotiations” HERE)

Colon Cancer Patients Are 24 Times More Likely to Die Within 5 Years if They Had This Habit Before Their Diagnosis

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Here’s the bottom line — nearly 53,000 Americans are projected to die from colorectal cancer this year.

The overall five-year survival rate for the disease is around 65%. Several factors significantly influence prognosis, including the stage of the cancer at diagnosis, its location within the colon and the effectiveness of treatment.

A new study suggests that a popular habit may negatively affect colon cancer outcomes, significantly increasing the risk of death within five years of diagnosis.

“This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that heavy cannabis use may have underrecognized impacts on the immune system, mental health and treatment behaviors,” said lead study author Raphael Cuomo, an associate professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

An estimated 17.7 million Americans reported using marijuana daily or nearly every day in 2022, a rise that correlates with the decriminalization and legalization of pot and increased societal acceptance.

About 30% of cannabis users meet the criteria for addiction. (Read more from “Colon Cancer Patients Are 24 Times More Likely to Die Within 5 Years if They Had This Habit Before Their Diagnosis” HERE)

U.S. GDP Declines 0.3% as Economy Shrinks for First Time in 3 Years

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The U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter despite underlying strength in consumer spending and business investment.

Gross domestic product contracted at an annualized rate of 0.3 percent, the Department of Commerce said on Wednesday, as businesses rushed to bring in goods ahead of anticipated tariff hikes.

The decline in GDP marks a sharp reversal from the 2.4 percent growth rate recorded at the end of last year. This was the slowest rate of growth since 2022, when the economy avoided an official recession but contracted for two consecutive quarters.

Final sales to private domestic purchasers, a closely watched measure of business and consumer health that is seen as a better predictor of future growth, expanded at a healthy pace of three percent. That’s an acceleration from the fourth quarter of 2024’s 2.9 percent growth rate. After-tax personal income rose 2.7 percent, up from 1.9 percent and the strongest increase since the first quarter of last year.

Consumer spending rose 1.8 percent, the slowest rate since the first quarter of last year. Spending on durable goods fell while consumer spending on nondurables and services increased at a slower pace than the end of last year. (Read more from “U.S. GDP Declines 0.3% as Economy Shrinks for First Time in 3 Years” HERE)

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Rubio Announces Discovery of Disturbing Biden State Department Files During Cabinet Meeting

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed during a Cabinet meeting that the Biden administration’s State Department kept dossiers on Americans accused of serving as “vectors of disinformation,” including a file on an unidentified Trump administration official.

“We had an office in the Department of State whose job it was to censor Americans,” Rubio said during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump. “And, by the way, I’m not going to say who it is. I’ll leave it up to them. There’s at least one person at this table today who had a dossier in that building of social media posts to identify them as purveyors of disinformation. We have these dossiers. We are going to be turning those over to these individuals.”

Vice President JD Vance interjected, asking, “Was it me or Elon [Musk]? We can follow up when the media is gone,” and drawing laughter from the Cabinet.

“But just think about that. The Department of State of the United States had set up an office to monitor the social media posts and commentary of American citizens, to identify them as vectors of disinformation,” Rubio continued. “When we know that the best way to combat disinformation is freedom of speech and transparency.

“We’re not going to have an office that does that.” (Read more from “Rubio Announces Discovery of Disturbing Biden State Department Files During Cabinet Meeting” HERE)

Trump Reveals What He Told Zelenskyy During Viral Meeting at the Vatican

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President Donald Trump revealed Tuesday evening what he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed during their viral meeting at the Vatican when both were in attendance for the late Pope Francis’ funeral.

“I was telling him that it’s a very good thing if we can produce a deal, that you sign it, because Russia is much bigger and much stronger,” Trump said Tuesday evening during a town hall hosted by NewsNation, which he participated in by phone.

The pair met face-to-face for the first time since their contentious Oval Office meeting in February, while both attended the papal funeral. Neither White House or Ukrainian officials gave many details on the nature or content of the talk, other than that it was “productive” and “symbolic.”

“We discussed a lot one on one,” Zelenskyy posted on X following the viral meeting. “Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.” (Read more from “Trump Reveals What He Told Zelenskyy During Viral Meeting at the Vatican” HERE)

New York Times Mocked Over Report Discovering Christians Wearing Crosses for Necklaces

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The New York Times reported that the prevalence of Christian crosses as necklaces had grown in recent months, and many on social media responded with baffled mockery.

The Times report cited many different examples of prominent figures wearing crosses in public and added a history of the meaning of the cross, even prior to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

“Lately, the cross necklaces flash across cable news screens several times a week, suspended between the collarbones of Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, and Attorney General Pam Bondi,” reads the article by Misty White Sidell.

Not surprisingly, the Times got slapped with brutal ridicule online.

“This is real. People wear crosses and the NYT is ON IT,” responded commentator Mary Katharine Ham.

“So new that everybody’s nana has worn one since forever… Also every Italian guy I know,” replied education activist Erika Sanzi.

(Read more from “New York Times Mocked Over Report Discovering Christians Wearing Crosses for Necklaces” HERE)

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