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Facts Matter

Facts Matter

The Epoch Times

Romanbalmakov, Politics, News Commentary, Theepochtimesroman, Factsmatter, Epochtimes, Factsmatterroman, Roman, Romanepochtimes, News

51.2K Ratings

Overview

"Facts Matter" investigates complex issues based on the principles of traditional journalism: no spin, no favorites. We give you the facts—you decide the rest.

334 Episodes

Tests Show Chinese-made Buses Have Kill Switches, Can Be Halted Remotely

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of videos online of people glazing Chinese electric vehicles. How good they are. How fast they are. How well designed and sleek they are. How luxurious the interiors are. How good they are on power. And even how good they are on price. Basically, how they knock it out of the park compared to American EVs.I’ve also seen quite a few business videos, of people criticizing the United States for not allowing Chinese TVs into our market—for fear it would collapse U.S. auto manufacturing. Now, that might all be true. However, there’s another factor to consider, which is that when you’re dealing with a Communist nation like China, nothing is ever as it seems. Case in point, Norway is now finding out that the Electric buses they’ve been buying from the Chinese have a backdoor—which allows them to be disabled remotely. i.e. by someone outside of Norway. Let’s dive into this particular story together, because through it a lot of different issues get exposed to the public including how government officials try to save money by buying from China, only to find out that the stuff they bought contains literal kill-switches that can be activated by Communist cadres in the CCP.

Transcribed - Published: 5 December 2025

Fani Willis’s Case Against Trump Collapses: Prosecutor Drops 2020 Election Interference Case

In a case that's going out in a whimper, rather than a bang, on Nov. 26, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges that were pending against President Donald Trump in Georgia were dropped. Let’s go through the history of the case, as well as the details of why the new Georgia prosecutor decided to drop it entirely.

Transcribed - Published: 3 December 2025

Judge Dismisses James Comey, Letitia James Indictments

In a bit of a surprising move, on Nov. 24, a federal judge dismissed the indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James. However, the reason it was dismissed wasn’t based on the merits of the case, but rather a technicality—a technicality that can be fixed, and the indictment refiled. So let’s break it down.

Transcribed - Published: 29 November 2025

US Navy Racing to Recover 2 Crashed Aircraft From South China Sea

The U.S. Navy is scrambling to retrieve two aircraft that fell into the South China Sea without explanation in October—and they’re trying to find them before the Chinese do.On the flip side, the decision on whether or not to sell Nvidia’s AI chips to China now sits on President Donald Trump’s desk. Until that’s settled, some people are allegedly getting creative with AI chip “exports.” Four men were recently arrested by the feds and accused of selling AI chips directly to China and making off with $4 million in the process. Let’s go through it all together.

Transcribed - Published: 26 November 2025

FBI Director Issues Update on Trump Rally Shooter

Today we present updates on the 2 assassination attempts made on President Donald Trump’s life, as well as the hunting perch that was discovered near a Florida airport by Secret Service agents roughly a month and a half ago.

Transcribed - Published: 21 November 2025

Supreme Court Justice Warns of ‘Greatest Danger’ Facing America

There have been a lot of developments recently on the Supreme Court front, including cases regarding mail-in ballots and whether they can be received after Election Day; gay marriage; whether transgender passports are a thing or not; as well as what the Supreme Court justices believe is the greatest threat facing America today. Let’s go through it all together.

Transcribed - Published: 19 November 2025

Everything to Know About the Proposed $2,000 Tariff Revenue Checks

In what would be one of the largest payouts in U.S. history, President Donald Trump announced his plan on Nov. 9 to take the huge sums of money collected from tariff revenue and use them to send $2,000 checks to most American households. Meaning that as long as you’re not a high-income earner, you stand to get a piece of the nearly $200 billion collected in tariffs to date.However, there are factors at play that may stop this plan entirely. Let’s go through what those factors are.

Transcribed - Published: 14 November 2025

Mexican National Who Became a US Mayor Faces Voter Fraud Charges

The mayor of a small town in Kansas is facing a slew of felony voter fraud charges after the state attorney general announced that the mayor, who is a Mexican national, has allegedly been voting in U.S. elections since 2022. Let’s go through the details together.

Transcribed - Published: 12 November 2025

Bill Gates Admits There Is No ‘Doomsday’ Risk From Global Warming: Let’s Examine the Models

Ahead of the United Nations 30th annual climate conference, Bill Gates released a memo that, you could say, surprised a lot of people. That’s because in this memo he seemingly changed his position on climate change, acknowledging that there is no “doomsday” risk from global warming.Now, the memo is long (it’s over 5,000 words) and it’s filled with data, graphs, charts, and anecdotes—laying out the argument that climate change is not going to lead to the end of civilization, that measuring temperatures isn’t the best measure of progress on the issue, and that thirdly, the money being spent on climate related issues would be better allocated towards improving human health and prosperity.

Transcribed - Published: 7 November 2025

What Does the Rise of American Socialism Mean for Our Country?

Let’s examine the rise of socialism into the cultural mainstream—and find out what it means for America's future.

Transcribed - Published: 5 November 2025

Studies on Transgender Individuals Find Elevated Suicide Rate—Especially After Surgery

A new study out of Canada finds that suicide rates among transgender individuals are significantly higher than in the general population.By itself, this isn’t exactly news, but it does add to a growing body of research that shows that people who actually go through with “gender-affirming surgeries” have higher rates of suicide and poorer mental health outcomes than those who don’t. Let’s go through this research together.

Transcribed - Published: 31 October 2025

13 Counties in Oregon Vote to Secede and Join Idaho as Part of 'Greater Idaho' Movement

Unbeknownst to most Americans, the eastern part of Oregon is in the process of attempting to break away from the state.After many years of being fed up with the policies coming out of Portland, over a third of the counties in Oregon have voted to secede. Specifically, they voted to leave Oregon and join the state of Idaho. This is part of a growing regional shift known as the "Greater Idaho" movement. What’s truly interesting about this particular movement is that it might actually succeed.

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2025

Third Assassination Attempt Against Trump?; FDA Issues Major Drug Recall

Today, let's go through the evidence surrounding a potential new assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, a monkeypox outbreak in LA County, and the FDA issuing a massive recall for a popular statin medication.

Transcribed - Published: 24 October 2025

Border Crossings Down 95 Percent; LA County Declares State Of Emergency Over ICE Operations

Despite media incredulity on the campaign trail, the Trump administration has succeeded in almost completely shutting down illegal border crossings. Now the administration is working on catching criminal illegal aliens via Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, some municipalities are putting up resistance, such as Los Angeles County, which just declared a state of emergency over federal ICE operations.

Transcribed - Published: 22 October 2025

California’s New Law Redefines Glocks as ‘Machinegun-Convertible’ Pistols, Bans Them

California’s new law just signed into effect by Gov. Gavin Newsom reclassifies many Glock handguns as “machinegun-convertible pistols.” Let’s go through what this means and whether the state has the legal authority to do it.

Transcribed - Published: 17 October 2025

Report Uncovers Source of Radioactive Isotope-Tainted Shrimp at Walmart, and It’s Not What You Think

Since August of this year, the FDA has issued no fewer than five warnings and recalls for shrimp contaminated with cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that’s created only during nuclear fission. And finally, after many months, a new report sheds light on how this shrimp (sold in America) was actually contaminated with cesium-137. Let’s go through it together.

Transcribed - Published: 15 October 2025

CDC Reports 98 People Sick Amid Viral Outbreak on Cruise Ship

Today, let’s go through a CDC update—both in terms of a viral outbreak onboard a cruise ship and some incoming major changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.

Transcribed - Published: 10 October 2025

Judge Awards Baby's Family Nearly $1 Billion Compensation After Hospital Botched Delivery

In Utah, a state judge recently awarded a family nearly $1 billion in compensation after a local hospital completely botched the delivery of their baby girl—such that the baby will likely suffer a lifetime of disabilities. Let’s go through the details.

Transcribed - Published: 8 October 2025

YouTube Settles With Trump for $22 Million

On Sept. 29, court documents were filed showing that YouTube had agreed to pay nearly $25 million in order to settle its lawsuit with President Donald Trump and others. Let’s go through the details of the case, as well as the where the money will go.

Transcribed - Published: 3 October 2025

Amazon Settles With FTC, Ordered to Pay $1.5 Billion in Customer Refunds

In one of the largest settlements in U.S. history, Amazon settled a case with the Federal Trade Commission on Sept. 25 for a staggering $2.5 billion. And it’s worth mentioning that more than half of that money is earmarked for customers—meaning that if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can get a small piece of that settlement. Here's the history of the case, as well as how you can check whether you qualify for the money.

Transcribed - Published: 2 October 2025

Homeland Security Issues Warning to 3 States Over ICE Detainers

The Department of Homeland Security has been relatively busy recently, with the most recent topline developments including a serious warning issued to three states: California, New York, and Illinois.

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2025

IRS Issues Significant Update on Trump Tax Cut Affecting 4 Million Americans

The IRS just released an important update to the “no tax on tips” provision included within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. Let’s go through what the provisions say, as well as see if your job qualifies.

Transcribed - Published: 25 September 2025

Trump Files $15 Billion Lawsuit Against NYT

President Donald Trump has filed a new defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. A New York judge has dismissed two terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione. The federal government is sending the National Guard into Memphis, Tennessee. Let’s discuss all these stories together.

Transcribed - Published: 19 September 2025

FBI Confirms DNA Match in Kirk’s Death, Reveals Details of Note

Let’s go through the most recent developments in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination—both from the government and civil side.

Transcribed - Published: 17 September 2025

Supreme Court Rules 6–3 to Allow ICE to Ramp Up Operations

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6–3 decision on Sept. 8 in favor of the Trump administration, allowing it to, once again, set up ICE checkpoints in Southern California. Let’s go through the backstory of this ruling as well as what it means going forward.

Transcribed - Published: 12 September 2025

300,000-Plus Americans Infected With Dangerous Chagas Parasite

Chagas disease has become so ubiquitous in the southern part of the United States that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently put out a report saying that it’s now time to consider it “endemic.” Let’s go through what the disease is, how it’s spread, and what you can do to keep yourself safe.

Transcribed - Published: 10 September 2025

Top 6 Amazon Scams to Avoid

Scammers on Amazon have become more creative and brazen. Let's go through the top 6 scams that they use to try to steal your hard-earned money, so that you can avoid them.

Transcribed - Published: 3 September 2025

Iran’s President Says Country Is Running Out of Water, Government Offices Shut Down, Extreme Rationing

Aside from the sanctions, war, and inflation, Iran is facing another major problem: a water crisis that is forcing the country's citizens to ration water (if they can find it). Let’s go through the causes of the crisis.

Transcribed - Published: 29 August 2025

FDA Suspends Ixchiq Vaccine After 1.5 Years of Safety Data Showed Serious Risk

On Aug. 25, the FDA informed the public that the agency officially suspended its approval for Valneva’s Ixchiq vaccine.Ixchiq is a vaccine for Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease. The vaccine was initially approved to be administered in the United States in November 2023, under the FDA’s fast-tracked accelerated approval pathway. Let’s go through what the data showed, as well as why the FDA decided this move to stop the vaccine was necessary.

Transcribed - Published: 27 August 2025

RFK Jr. Announces Major Overhaul of Vaccine Injury Compensation System

In a recent statement, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his intention to work alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi to overhaul the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Let’s go through the history of this program, how it works, and the problems that Kennedy is attempting to fix.

Transcribed - Published: 22 August 2025

Federal Compensation Agency Gets $55 Million So Far for COVID Vaccine Refusers

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced that it has been able to get more than $55 million in compensation to American workers who were impacted by the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, including those who had sought religious accommodation. Let's go through some of the more recent cases.

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2025

Scientists in Georgia Manufacture New Lab-Made Strain of H5N1 Bird Flu Virus

After discovering a case of bird flu jumping from a dairy cow to a human, scientists have been scrambling to reverse engineer that strain of the virus and test it in laboratory settings. To that end, let’s discuss several papers that came out of this effort.

Transcribed - Published: 15 August 2025

The Supreme Court Case That Could End Racial Gerrymandering Requirements

One of the surprising aspects of the American electoral system is that while regular gerrymandering is frowned upon, racial gerrymandering is actually required by law. Meaning that if you redraw a congressional district to benefit your political party, you might get criticized for it, but that’s about all. Under certain circumstances, however, if you redraw a state’s congressional districts and don’t go out of your way to give more weight to minorities, then that is actually illegal. Essentially, states have to consider race when apportioning their congressional districts.At least, they have to for now—because it looks like the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to change this soon.Let’s go through the details together.

Transcribed - Published: 13 August 2025

Arrest Warrants Issued for Texas Democrats Who Fled State; Texas GOP’s New Map Would Create 5 New Red-Leaning Districts

With midterm elections coming up next year, GOP state lawmakers in Texas are taking action. In a newly designed congressional redistricting map, they created five new right-leaning districts—the populations of which voted for Trump in the last presidential election.Texas Democrats fled the state in order to avoid voting on the map, but warrants for their arrests have now been issued.Let’s go through the details of this drama together.

Transcribed - Published: 8 August 2025

Former City Council President Gets 2 Years in Prison for Enacting 2022 Mail-in Ballot Scheme

On July 23, Alina Habba, the acting U.S. Attorney for the state of New Jersey, released a statement regarding a former Atlantic City official who was being sentenced to 2 years behind bars for the crime of submitting fake mail-in ballots.He was found guilty for his role in the procurement, casting, and tabulation of fraudulent mail-in ballots submitted in connection with the general election on Nov. 8, 2022.The man in question is a political organizer and former president of Atlantic City’s city council—Craig Callaway. His story is quite interesting—because not only does it highlight a concrete example of major ballot fraud, but also, it shows us how this type of fraud cuts across party lines—being used by both Republicans and Democrats.We covered this story briefly when the charges against Callaway first came to light last year. Now let’s go through the details of his election operations in Atlantic City.

Transcribed - Published: 6 August 2025

CDC Releases Update on Long COVID Symptoms

Let’s go through the most recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding Long COVID—and then crunch some numbers to see how many people might be collecting disability payments for it.

Transcribed - Published: 1 August 2025

“Big 4” Consolidate 80% of Beef Supply; Steak Prices Soaring

With a new Department of Agriculture report showing a nationwide cattle shortage—alongside a corresponding spike in the price of ground beef—let’s examine the monopoly that’s developed in the beef processing sector and how it’s affecting American ranchers.

Transcribed - Published: 30 July 2025

Newly Surfaced Leaked Audio: Trump Says He Warned China Over Taiwan

An audio recording of President Donald Trump was recently leaked, in which the president claimed to have threatened Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping that he would bomb Beijing if China invaded Taiwan.The leak came as tensions continue to grow in the Asia-Pacific region, with the Chinese regime acting with ever more aggression and increasing its air and sea incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification and exclusive economic zones. Let’s listen to the audio recording, and then go through the details of what actions both Taiwan and China are currently engaged in.

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2025

RFK Jr., Marco Rubio Announce US Rejection of WHO Agreement

On Friday, July 18, the Trump administration formally announced that the United States will be rejecting a certain World Health Organization agreement. Specifically, this was an agreement that U.S. officials say would have granted the WHO certain powers over America in the event of another pandemic. Let’s go through the details together.

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2025

3 Former Council Members Caught by FBI, Sentenced to Prison for Scheme to Steal Local Mayoral Election

In Pennsylvania, 3 former local officials have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a scheme to steal a local mayoral election.The scheme involved dozens of individuals having their identities used, both wittingly and unwittingly, to request mail-in ballots and cast fraudulent votes.Let’s go through the details of the scheme together, as well as how it was ultimately uncovered by the authorities.

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2025

Japan Dumps 12th Batch of Nuclear Wastewater Into Pacific Ocean; Here's Why

Unbeknownst to most people, Japan recently released its 12th batch of radioactive nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.This latest batch of discharge weighed approximately 7,800 tons, or around 15.6 million pounds. Including this latest batch, it means that Japan has dumped an estimated 86,000 tons of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean thus far. This sounds like a lot, but it’s actually only the beginning. Its plan is to continue doing this for the next 30 years, and in the process, dump roughly 1.3 million tons of nuclear wastewater. The reason for this stems from what happened 14 years ago, during the Fukushima nuclear disaster. That was when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused a near meltdown of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The disaster led to the contamination of a million tons of water. For the past 14 years, Japan has kept this water inside the plant, where it has been slowly treating it. But it ran out of space. Therefore, the Japanese government began to slowly release this treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. Let's go through the full story, as well as what the latest research has found, in terms of the effects that this wastewater is having on the local marine life.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

Pardoned Jan. 6 Defendant Receives Life Sentence

A man who was pardoned for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach was recently handed down a life sentence for what he attempted to do while awaiting trial. Specifically, for his plan to murder the FBI officials who were working on his case. Let's go through the story together.

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2025

RFK Dismisses All 17 Members of CDC’s Vaccine Committee, Installs New Replacements

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee on June 9—specifically, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). It’s essentially the CDC’s vaccine expert panel responsible for studying the effects—including the side effects—of vaccines that are still in development, as well as those that are already on the market.Let’s go through the details of why he chose to gut this committee, as well as who he chose to replace the fired members.

Transcribed - Published: 9 July 2025

Who Counts? Trump to Reform Census to Avoid Counting Noncitizens

After several years of record-breaking illegal immigration, the second Trump administration is looking to make a significant change to the way that the U.S. Census is conducted. Specifically, they are seeking to end the practice of including illegal aliens when counting up a state’s official population. Last month, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Stephen Miller, said that the second Trump administration was determined “to clean up the census and make sure that illegal aliens are not counted.”Mr. Miller didn’t mention it in that speech, but the ramifications of making this kind of change would be dramatic. This is because the census count is used to apportion the number of House seats that each state gets, to determine the number of votes that each state has in the electoral college, and to decide where trillions of dollars in government funds should flow. Meaning that the question of whether or not illegal aliens are counted could determine who controls the U.S. House of Representatives after 2030. Let’s go through the details of the Trump administration’s plan together.

Transcribed - Published: 4 July 2025

Supreme Court Sides With Religious Parents, Allows Kids to Opt Out of LGBT Instruction

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of parents who were having a dispute with their local school district. Specifically, these were religious parents who wanted to make sure that their elementary-aged kids were not being exposed to LGBT storybooks.The parents wanted to be able to opt their kids out of having to learn that material. After several years of litigation, the parents proved successful in their case, and in the process they opened the door for the rest of the country to do the same. Let’s go through the details together.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

US Supreme Court Allows State Bans on Transgender Procedures for Kids to Remain

In 2023, the state legislature of Tennessee passed a law called SB 1, which explicitly banned minors who identified as transgender from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy. It was also later amended to ban “gender-affirming surgeries”.The text of the bill prohibited health care providers from administering puberty blockers or hormones for the purpose of “enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex [or] treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor’s sex and asserted identity.”This law applied to anyone in the state below the age of 18—even if that child had obtained their parents' consent. However, the law did allow for some exceptions. Children who needed these treatments for medical reasons would still be allowed to have them. For instance, under the law as it was written, a child who experienced early onset puberty could still be given puberty blockers by their doctor. It’s just that these interventions could no longer be given to children simply because they identified as transgender. Within days of passing, the law was challenged in court. Civil rights groups sued the state, arguing that the law was a violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. On the flip side, the state of Tennessee argued that this wasn’t discrimination; rather, it was simply the regulation of medical care for minors—something well within the purview of the state. The case eventually made its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court where, after hearing both sides of the argument, there was a 6–3 split decision in favor of Tennessee—and in favor of the other 25 states that have similar laws on their books. Let’s go through the details of this ruling together.

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2025

White Dairy Farmer Sues Trump Administration Over Anti-White Loan Program

In a surprising twist of events, a white dairy farmer from Wisconsin is suing the Trump administration for discriminating against white farmers. The details of this story trace back to a Biden administration diversity, equity, and inclusion program hidden within the American Rescue Plan.Let’s go through the legal history of this program, as well as what remnants of it remain within the U.S. Department of Agriculture today.

Transcribed - Published: 25 June 2025

Supreme Court Sides With White Straight Woman in ‘Reverse Discrimination’ Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has just issued a unanimous ruling in favor of a white straight woman who was allegedly discriminated against at work.This new ruling opens the door wider for such “reverse discrimination” cases—cases where the person discriminated against is part of the so-called majority group.Let’s go through the details of the case together, as well as what this ruling means for all of us moving forward.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2025

Another Chinese Researcher Arrested for Smuggling Biologics Into the US

About a week ago, we published an episode on this program detailing how two Chinese nationals—a researcher at the University of Michigan and her boyfriend—were caught by the FBI attempting to smuggle a dangerous pathogen into the United States. This was a deadly fungus that could be used to target crops.We ended that episode by considering out loud: How many other Chinese researchers here in the United States are possibly doing the same thing?Within a week, another Chinese researcher, who was also from the University of Michigan, was caught by federal authorities for attempting to smuggle biological material. This time it wasn’t a fungus. It was a type of roundworm.The concerning part of it was that this Chinese researcher came from Wuhan, China.Let’s go through the details together.

Transcribed - Published: 19 June 2025

Supreme Court Sides With Religious Groups in 9–0 Decision

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a catholic charity in Wisconsin. By doing so, they expanded the rights of all religious non-profits across the country. Let’s go through the details of the case, what the specific issue at play was, what the Supreme Court ruling said, as well as what it means for Americans who do not live in Wisconsin.


Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2025

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