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Has there ever been a social media post more important than the one that President Trump just made?  I believe that it would be very difficult to overstate the significance of what we have just witnessed.  Now that Trump has decided to publicly back the revolution in Iran, it is either regime change or bust.  And by publicly declaring that the U.S. is going to help the protesters, he has made it very clear that there will be a military showdown with the Iranians.  War is here, and we are going to witness a staggering amount of death and destruction.

For those that have not seen it yet, the following is what President Trump posted on his Truth Social account earlier today…

Telling the protesters in Iran to “keep protesting” would have been controversial enough.

But when he boldly instructed them to “take over your institutions”, he publicly backed an internal revolution in Iran.

Let that sink in for a moment, because this changes everything.

And when President Trump stated that help is on the way for the protesters, he was promising that the U.S. will intervene.

There is no turning back now.

Of course the Iranians have nobody to blame but themselves.

After President Trump warned them not to do it, the regime in Iran used automatic weapons to viciously mow down vast numbers of unarmed protesters…

Eyewitnesses say government forces have begun opening fire, apparently with automatic weapons and at times seemingly indiscriminately, on unarmed protesters. Hospital workers say protesters had been coming in with pellet injuries but now arrive with gunshot wounds and skull fractures. One doctor called it a “mass-casualty situation.”

Despite the communications blockade, a recurring image has made its way out of Iran: rows and rows of body bags.

In videos uploaded by opposition activists on social media, families can be seen sobbing as they huddle together over bloodied corpses in unzipped bags. And in footage aired on Iranian state television, a morgue official, sheathed in blue scrubs, stands amid bags neatly arranged along the floor of a white room, under glaring fluorescent lights.

The tyrants in Iran are going to deserve everything that they get.

One source in Iran has described “rivers of blood” in Tehran and snipers that are firing at will at unarmed protesters from the rooftops…

Iranian-American journalist Karmel Melamed told CBN News, “My sources have been telling me it’s a slaughterhouse. There are rivers of blood. That’s what my source has been telling me, in Tehran alone,” he said, and added, “A lot of regime forces have been perched on top of buildings, and in many cases, mowing down people from above. Snipers from inside of buildings have been shooting protesters.”

If you choose to do this to your own people, you should not expect any mercy.

One 23-year-old woman was literally shot in the back of the head as she protested against the tyranny in Iran…

Rubina Aminian attended Shariati College in Iran’s capital, Tehran, where she studied textile and fashion design. She is one of the only people killed in the recent demonstrations to be identified.

Aminian was killed on Thursday after joining a protest after leaving the college, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group.

“Sources close to Rubina’s family, citing eyewitnesses, told Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman from Marivan was shot from close range from behind, with the bullet striking her head,” the group said in a statement.

Shockingly, there are websites in the United States that are actually defending the Iranians.

No matter what side you are on, there is no excuse for defending what the regime in Iran has just done.

No excuse at all.

At this point, thousands are dead.

In fact, an Iranian official admitted to Reuters on Monday that the death toll has reached approximately 2,000…

An Iranian official said Jan. 12 that about 2,000 people had been killed in the protests, according to Reuters. It is the first time authorities have acknowledged the high death toll from an intense crackdown amid two weeks of nationwide unrest, the news agency reported.

Two other Iranian officials told the New York Times that somewhere around 3,000 people have died…

A senior Iranian health ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said about 3,000 people had been killed across the country but sought to shift the blame to “terrorists” fomenting unrest.

Another government official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he had seen an internal report that referred to at least 3,000 dead, and added that the toll could climb.

Of course the truth is that the true death toll is probably far higher than that.

Iran International is estimating that at least 12,000 Iranians have been killed…

Over the past two days, Iran International’s editorial board has reviewed – through a rigorous, multi-stage process and in accordance with established professional standards – information received from a source close to the Supreme National Security Council; two sources in the presidential office; accounts from several sources within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the cities of Mashhad, Kermanshah, and Isfahan; testimonies from eyewitnesses and families of those killed; field reports; data linked to medical centers; and information provided by doctors and nurses in various cities.

Based on these reviews, we have concluded that:

In the largest killing in Iran’s contemporary history – carried out largely over two consecutive nights, Thursday and Friday, January 8 and 9 – at least 12,000 people were killed.

In terms of geographic scope, intensity of violence, and the number of deaths in a short time span, this killing is unprecedented in Iran’s history.

We have never seen a slaughter of this magnitude in the entire history of Iran.

And Iran International is telling us that it has received information that indicates that the slaughter was “carried out on the direct order of Ali Khamenei, with the explicit knowledge and approval of the heads of all three branches of government”…

Based on information received, those killed were mainly shot by forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij.

This killing was fully organized, not the result of “sporadic” and “unplanned” clashes.

Information received from the Supreme National Security Council and the presidential office indicates that the killing was carried out on the direct order of Ali Khamenei, with the explicit knowledge and approval of the heads of all three branches of government, and with an order for live fire issued by the Supreme National Security Council.

Many of those killed were young people under the age of 30.

The nuts that are running Iran are deeply evil.

Nobody can deny this.

Today, CBS News is reporting that the death toll could actually be as high as 20,000…

Information trickling out of Iran on Tuesday suggests that a crackdown by authorities to end more than two weeks of widespread anti-government protests has likely been far more deadly than activists outside the country have reported. With phone lines opening back up for calls from inside the Islamic Republic, two sources, including one inside Iran, told CBS News on Tuesday that at least 12,000, and possibly as many as 20,000 people have been killed.

Of course the killing has not stopped.

In fact, the public executions of protesters that have been arrested are just beginning.

On Wednesday, a 26-year-old protester named Erfan Soltani is scheduled to be hanged…

A young Iranian whose ‘only crime is shouting for freedom’ is set to be the first victim to be executed in the Islamic Republic’s brutal crackdown on the protests sweeping the country, human rights groups say.

Erfan Soltani, 26, will be allowed only a final ten minutes with his family before he is hanged tomorrow morning for allegedly taking part in an anti-government protest last Thursday.

The clothes shop owner was arrested at his home in Fardis, central Iran, detained in prison and quickly served the death penalty.

The Iranians are trying to justify their actions by insisting that they were forced to do something about “armed violence” that was being carried out by rioters that are being secretly backed by the United States and Israel…

Facing global condemnation and threats of US intervention over casualties associated with anti-government protests, the Iranian government summoned French, German, Italian and British ambassadors in Tehran and screened a collection of videos purportedly showing “armed violence carried out by protesters.” Saying the images belie the notion that protests have been uniformly peaceful, Iran demanded that the envoys share the videos with their respective governments and stop voicing support of the “rioters.”

Needless to say, the Europeans aren’t buying it.

In fact, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz just said that we are watching “the last days” of the Iranian regime…

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Iran’s theocratic regime was living out its ‘last days’ as pressure grew on the government over violence against protestors.

‘When a regime can only hold on to power through violence, then it is effectively finished,’ Chancellor Merz told reporters in Bengaluru during a visit to India.

‘I believe that we are now witnessing the last days and weeks of this regime.’

Let’s hope that he is right.

But the Iranians will not go down without a fight.

When push comes to shove, the Iranians are not going to hold anything back.

Neither will Israel.

I will be writing much more about this in the coming days.

In this article, there are two last things that I wanted to mention.

First of all, the Russians are proclaiming that any threats of military action against Iran are “categorically unacceptable”…

Russia has condemned what it described as “subversive external interference” in Iran’s internal politics and said U.S. threats of military strikes against the country were “categorically unacceptable.”

“Those who plan to use externally inspired unrest as a pretext for repeating the aggression against Iran committed in June 2025 must be aware of the disastrous consequences of such actions for the situation in the Middle East and global international security,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

When Trump ultimately takes military action against Iran, our relations with Russia will get even worse, and that is certainly not good news.

Secondly, the Chinese are quite angry about the 25 percent tariff that President Trump just slapped on all of Iran’s trading partners…

China sharply criticized Washington’s move to levy tariffs on countries trading with the Islamic Republic of Iran, issuing a statement Tuesday – less than 12 hours after President Trump announced the punitive action on Truth Social – condemning the decision.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated, “China’s position on the tariff issue is very clear.” She said, “We have always believed that there are no winners in a tariff war. China will resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”

Our relations with China are rapidly deteriorating, and those that have been following my work for a long time definitely understand why that is so important.

World War III is officially here.

More than half of the nations on the entire planet are either engaged in military conflict or are funding military conflict.

And now the Middle East is about to explode.

A final showdown between Israel and Iran has been brewing since 1979, and we are the ones that are going to get to see it happen.

So buckle up and hold on tight, because things are only going to get wilder from this point forward.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The headline of this article is not a misprint.  The reason why “affordability” has become the number one issue for U.S. voters is because most of the population is being absolutely crushed by the rising cost of living.  Just look at how much you are paying for electricity compared to five years ago.  And just look at how much you are paying for food compared to five years ago.  Housing costs have risen to absurd heights, property taxes have become absolutely insane in many areas of the country, and health insurance premiums have more than doubled for millions of Americans.  It isn’t just a coincidence that so many people are bitterly complaining about the cost of living these days.  The truth is that most of the country is experiencing very real pain.

Of course it isn’t an accident that this has happened.  Our politicians have borrowed and spent 28 trillion dollars that we did not have since Barack Obama first entered the White House in January 2009, and I warned that all of this money would create rampant inflation.

On top of that, the Federal Reserve has pumped trillions of dollars that were created out of thin air into the financial system since 2008.  That has helped the stock market hit record highs, but it has been one of the factors that has made the cost of living unbearable for the rest of us.

The very foolish decisions that our leaders have been making have had dramatic consequences.

Our standard of living is crumbling right in front of our eyes, and now a brand new report is telling us that 92 percent of employed Americans have been forced to cut back on spending…

For millions of Americans, staying financially afloat now means difficult trade-offs. As the price of everyday necessities continues to rise faster than wages, new data shows workers are cutting back wherever they can – often at the expense of savings, overall financial security and even essential needs.

That is the picture emerging from Resume Now’s 2026 Cost-of-Living Crunch Report, a national survey of 1,011 employed Americans, which has found that only 17 percent of Americans feel financially secure enough to cover essentials and save money. Nearly two-thirds of respondents cited everyday essentials as their biggest financial burden. What’s more, a remarkable 92 percent said they have cut back on spending, including on items many would previously have considered non-negotiable.

Please notice that only “employed Americans” were asked about the cost of living.

More than 100 million U.S. adults are not working at all.

For those that do not regularly follow my work, yes that is an accurate number.  The vast majority of U.S. adults that are not working are considered to be “not in the labor force” by the federal government.

Another survey that was conducted at the end of December found that 70 percent of Americans consider the cost of living where they live to be “not very affordable” or “not affordable at all”…

American consumers aren’t feeling great about the economy or their own financial situation, with the phrase “affordability crisis” dominating headlines and political campaigns over the last few months.

The majority — 70% — of Americans surveyed in a Marist poll of over 1,400 adults taken in December, say that the cost of living in their area is not very affordable, or not affordable at all, for the average family.

This is the result of decades of incredibly bad economic policy.

The purchasing power of our money has been steadily declining, and now 65 percent of employed Americans are struggling to even afford everyday essentials…

Sixty-five percent of the survey respondents said that affording everyday essentials was a top contributor to their financial strain.

Jared Kessler, founder of Forex Broker, said the concentration of stress around essentials is a key indicator that the problem runs deeper than any short-term financial shocks. “It is clear, based on this data, that we are experiencing a real cost-of-living crisis as opposed to an immediate inflationary response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he told Newsweek.

Read that last sentence again, because it is so true.

We are in the midst of a nightmarish cost of living crisis that never seems to end.

At this stage, 60 percent of employed Americans “could only cover three months or less of expenses if they were to lose their job”…

Sixty percent of respondents said they could only cover three months or less of expenses if they were to lose their job, leaving little room for error in the event of layoffs, illness or other events that could impact their financial standing. For many, even routine expenses are being trimmed.

Most of the country is living right on the edge.

Nobody can deny this.

And consumer sentiment rapidly moved in the wrong direction in 2025…

Between January and November last year, consumer sentiment among the lowest and middle terciles of American household income fell 29.8% and 27.6%, respectively, while the country’s highest third of earners suffered a steeper 32.1% decline.

Our politicians in Washington shouldn’t have been borrowing and spending so much money all these years.

But they did.

And we should have never allowed ourselves to go 38.4 trillion dollars in debt.

But we did.

Many of us ranted about the bad decisions that were being made for years.

But most of the population didn’t listen.

Sadly, as I pointed out in a previous article, we have now reached a point where “affordability” has become the number one issue for U.S. voters…

A University of Michigan poll published in December shows that high prices remain a pain point for consumers. About 46% blame high prices for poor personal finances — among the highest shares since the series started in the late 1970s.

Consumers’ views of their current financial situation in December “collapsed” into negative territory for the first time since July 2022, the month after pandemic-era inflation had peaked, according to a poll published Tuesday by the Conference Board.

Overall, 65% of U.S. households say the cost of living has gotten worse or much worse in the past year, according to a recent Politico poll.

Previous generations handed us the keys to the greatest economic machine that the world had never seen.

And we went out and wrecked it.

50 years ago, the U.S. economy was so dominant that it would have taken stupidity on an epic scale to cause it to fail.

But somehow we managed to do it.

Even though our standard of living is in the process of collapsing all around us, most Americans are still working hard and are “effectively trying to muscle through this”…

“What we’re seeing is there is still inflation pressure across the system, particularly in the retail environment, and consumers, through our research tell us that they are effectively trying to muscle through this,” Will Auchincloss, Americas retail sector leader at EY-Parthenon, says. “They’re trying to buy what they’ve always bought or want to buy, but in the face of higher prices.”

Most of us want to continue to live the way we did before, but we simply do not have enough money to do it.

So U.S. households are piling up tremendous amounts of debt.

In fact, U.S. household debt recently hit an all-time record high of 18.59 trillion dollars…

Americans’ household debt levels – including mortgages, car loans, credit cards and student loans – are now at a new record high, according to data released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Total household debt reached $18.59 trillion from July through September of this year, up by $197 billion from the previous quarter.

Of course the federal government is an even bigger offender.

The U.S. government is now 38.4 trillion dollars in debt, and it is being projected that number will be well above 40 trillion dollars before the end of this year.

For more than a decade I warned about what would happen if we kept going down this road, and now it has happened.

We are literally committing societal suicide.

The next time you feel like screaming while you are paying your bills, you might want to remember who got us into this mess in the first place.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The fall of the tyrannical regime in Iran would be one of the most important geopolitical stories of the past 50 years and would totally transform the entire Middle East.  But Ayatollah Khamenei and his minions will not go down without a fight.  Several days ago, I warned that the reason why the regime in Iran had shut down Internet access was because it was planning to use extreme violence against the protesters.  Of course that is precisely what has transpired.  President Trump told Iran what the U.S. would do if that happened, and now we have learned that he is being briefed on military options.  When Trump hits Iran, the Iranians will strike back by targeting U.S. bases and Israeli cities.  Once Iranian missiles are fired at Israeli cities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not hesitate to unleash the full force of the IDF on the Iranians.

This is it my friends.

We are literally watching history in the making.

This is the moment that will determine whether the regime in Iran stands or falls.

The protests in Iran have now been going on for over two weeks, and it is being estimated that somewhere around 2 million Iranians are participating…

Estimates are that somewhere between 1.5 and 2 million protesters are now in the streets of Iran in what is now being called a revolution, as the regime appears to be on the brink of collapsing. One huge telltale sign is that a mosque in Tehran was burned to the ground. Iranians are also burning the regime’s flag and openly defying brutal Sharia law.

On Friday, President Trump once again warned the regime in Iran not to kill protesters…

Mr. Trump appeared to lay out his red line for action on Friday when he warned that if the Iranian government began “killing people like they have in the past, we would get involved.”

“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts,” he said at the White House. “And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”

Of course there was no way that the nuts running Iran were going to show restraint.

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, the death toll in Iran has now reached at least 538…

At least 538 people have died in Iran’s sweeping anti-government protests, according to a U.S.-based human rights group, as unrest heads into its third week and tensions with the U.S. escalate.

Of those killed, 490 were protesters and 48 were members of the security forces, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Sunday. More than 10,670 people have been arrested, the group said, and warned the real toll could be higher as it continues to verify reports.

Other reports are indicating that the death toll is much, much larger.

Two eyewitnesses that were present in Kahrizak are claiming that they saw over 400 dead bodies in that city alone…

Footage sent to Iran International from Kahrizak, south of Tehran, shows several dead bodies in body bags.

According to eyewitness accounts accompanying the videos, dozens of bodies are visible at the site, with additional bodies reportedly located in another nearby industrial shed.

Two eyewitnesses who visited Kahrizak in search of their loved ones told Iran International that they saw more than 400 bodies there.

Why isn’t the western media talking about reports such as this?

According to Iran International, it is being estimated that at least 2,000 protesters have been slaughtered in just the last 48 hours…

The most conservative estimates indicate that at least 2,000 people have been killed over the past 48 hours.

A doctor in the northern city of Rasht told Iran International that one hospital alone received at least 70 bodies.

Sources describe particularly intense violence in areas including Fardis in Karaj, and parts of Tehran, while stressing that similar reports are emerging from many other locations across the country including the western provinces of Ilam and Kermanshah.

This should be front page news all over the United States.

But instead, the corporate media is obsessed with talking about Renee Nicole Good.

Meanwhile, morgues are literally “overflowing” with bodies in major cities all over Iran…

Bodies are piling up at overwhelmed hospitals in Iran as major protests in the country continue, according to reports. The BBC confirmed that the morgue was overflowing at Poursina Hospital in Rasht city after at least 70 bodies were brought there overnight. Elsewhere, a medic at a Tehran hospital said their staff was in crisis mode after protesters were brought in with “direct shots to the heads” and “to their hearts as well”.

Clearly, Iran was not afraid to cross the red line that President Trump had established.

So on Sunday, President Trump told the protesters in Iran that the United States “stands ready to help”…

In a separate post on social media, the U.S. State Department warned that President Trump is not bluffing…

The State Department separately warned: ‘Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he’ll do something, he means it.’

I don’t know what the Iranians were thinking.

President Trump bombed Iran before, and now it appears that he is going to do it again.

In fact, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are both telling us that President Trump has already been briefed on military options in Iran…

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous U.S. officials, first reported Saturday night that Mr. Trump had been given military options but hadn’t made a final decision. The WSJ reports that Trump will receive further options on Tuesday.

And CNN has spoken to two U.S. officials that are saying the exact same thing…

President Donald Trump is weighing a series of potential military options in Iran following deadly protests in the country, two US officials told CNN, as he considers following through on his recent threats to strike the Iranian regime should it use lethal force against civilians.

Trump was briefed in recent days on different plans for intervention, the officials told CNN, as violence in the country has led to dozens of deaths and arrests.

A number of options presented to the president have centered on targeting Tehran’s security services being used to tamp down the protests, the US officials said.

After repeatedly warning Iran, there is no way that Trump is going to let them get away with slaughtering thousands of protesters without responding.

Needless to say, the regime in Iran will react to any attack very strongly.

In fact, Iran’s parliament speaker is suggesting that Iran may even take preemptive action…

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a televised warning, declaring: “In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets. We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.” His remarks prompted lawmakers to chant “Death to America!” on the parliament floor, highlighting escalating hostility toward the U.S. amid the crisis.

When Qalibaf used the term “occupied territory”, he was referring to Israel.

Without a doubt, a U.S. attack would prompt Iranian missile strikes on Israeli cities, and it is being reported that Iran’s underground missile facilities “have been placed on exceptional standby”…

According to reports cited by The Telegraph, Iran has moved key military units to elevated readiness, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operating at alert levels not seen during previous recent conflicts. Sources indicate that IRGC forces inside underground missile facilities — often described by officials as “missile cities” — have been placed on exceptional standby, underscoring growing concern in Tehran over both internal instability and external threats.

So what will the Israelis do if Iran starts firing missiles at them?

It will be as if someone had just thrown a big, juicy fastball right over the heart of home plate, and there will be no holding back this time.

For the moment, the IDF says that it is “monitoring developments” in Iran…

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday it is “monitoring developments” in Iran as the country enters its third week of anti-government protests.

“The protests are an internal Iranian matter. Nevertheless, the IDF is prepared defensively and is continuously improving its capabilities and operational readiness,” an IDF spokesperson said in a statement.

The events that are currently unfolding in the Middle East are quite dramatic, but they shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

We really are living in the end times, and we were warned that these things were coming.

But most of the population is so confused about what is going on in our world right now.

World War III is here, and the death and destruction that we will soon witness will shock the entire planet.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The left wants to get millions of activists into the streets during the months ahead, and just like last time around they are hoping that an incident in Minnesota will be the spark.  Meanwhile, ICE has initiated a “wartime recruitment” strategy and is planning to meet any protests head on.  Both sides absolutely hate one another, and we have already seen so many incidents of violence.  This is such a tragedy, because none of us should want to see Americans fighting against Americans.  Unfortunately, I am convinced that the civil unrest that we are witnessing will greatly escalate as 2026 rolls along.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Rachel Maddow revealed what the left’s plan is…

Rachel Maddow Calls for More Protests Against President Trump

“Once you have 3.5% of a population protesting nonviolently against a dictator or an authoritarian, that is essentially an unstoppable force that they can’t oppose.”

If you do the math, that would be more than 10 million people in the United States.

They want to flood the streets with far left activists just like they did in 2020, and they fully understand that there will be widespread violence just like we saw back then.

And now the death of Renee Nicole Good has given them exactly what they needed.

The mainstream media is portraying her as an innocent victim, but the truth is that she had been recruited as an anti-ICE “warrior” and she was simply doing what she had been recruited to do…

Renee Nicole Good, the mom who was killed by a federal agent after veering her car toward him, was an anti-ICE “warrior” and was part of a group of activists who worked to “document and resist” the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, The Post can reveal.

Good, who moved to the city last year, linked up with the anti-ICE activists through her 6-year-old son’s woke charter school, which boasts that it puts “social justice first” and prioritizes “involving kids in political and social activism,” multiple local sources said.

“She was a warrior. She died doing what was right,” a mother named Leesa, whose child attends the same school, told The Post at a growing vigil where Good was killed Wednesday.

She never should have been there.

And we all knew that clashes between ICE and anti-ICE radicals would eventually produce this sort of an incident.

In the aftermath of Good’s death, protests immediately erupted nationwide…

Protests have erupted nationwide after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis Wednesday.

Renee Nicole Good, 37, was killed during an immigration enforcement operation in a residential neighborhood south of downtown.

While heated protests were happening in Minnesota, demonstrations also took place or were expected to Thursday in New York City, Seattle, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Antonio, New Orleans and Chicago. Protests were also scheduled in smaller cities later this week in Arizona, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.

Needless to say, these protests were very well funded.

In fact, we have learned that funding for the protest in New York City came from a very familiar source…

The protest tonight in New York City against ICE is being paid for and organized by ‘PSL New York City – Party for Socialism and Liberation’

They are funded by Neville Roy Singham who lives in China and works with the CCP

He donated over $20 million to entities like the Justice and Education Fund, which supports Party for Socialism & Liberation activities like protests

He also funds groups with heavy Party for Socialism & Liberation leadership overlap

In other words in a huge networks of organization of professional protesters working to take down America

If the left thinks that they can get the Trump administration to back down, they are wrong.

According to CBS News, approximately 2,000 federal agents have been deployed to Minneapolis for a 30 day “surge”…

The Trump administration has begun a massive deployment of hundreds of Department of Homeland Security agents to the Twin Cities area as it escalates its federal crackdown amid a widening fraud scandal in Minnesota, multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the plan told CBS News.

The crackdown could involve roughly 2,000 agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation branch and Homeland Security Investigations, the agency’s investigative arm tasked with fighting transnational crimes, the officials said. They requested anonymity to discuss operations that have not been publicly announced.

The plan is for the agents and officers to oversee a 30-day surge in operations in the Twin Cities area, making the region the first major target of the Trump administration’s expanded immigration crackdown in the new year, officials said.

We heard the word “surge” being used a lot during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Using military terminology is only going to increase tensions.

And the Washington Post is telling us that ICE has begun a $100 million “wartime recruitment” strategy…

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are planning to spend $100 million over a one-year period to recruit gun rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers and a geo-targeted advertising campaign, part of what the agency called a “wartime recruitment” strategy it said was critical to hiring thousands of new deportation officers nationwide, according to an internal document reviewed by The Washington Post.

The spending would help President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation agenda dominate media networks and recruitment channels, including through ads targeting people who have attended UFC fights, listened to patriotic podcasts or shown an interest in guns and tactical gear, according to a 30-page document distributed among officials this summer detailing ICE’s “surge hiring marketing strategy.”

The Department of Homeland Security has spoken publicly about its fast-tracked effort to significantly increase ICE’s workforce by hiring more than 10,000 new employees, a surge promoted on social media with calls for recruits willing to perform their “sacred duty” and “defend the homeland” by repelling “foreign invaders.” The agency currently employs more than 20,000 people, according to ICE’s website.

If they are preparing for “war”, who do they intend to fight?

I am sure that many of you have seen those ads by now.

There are a lot of unemployed people out there these days, and so I am sure that they are getting a lot of applications.

Vice-President JD Vance says that as ICE hires more people, we will soon see members of ICE going “door-to-door”…

“I think if we’re to see those deportation numbers ramp up as we get more and more people online working for ICE going from door-to-door making sure if you’re an illegal alien you’re going to have to get out of this country and if you want to comeback apply through the proper channels.”

The Trump administration seems to believe that they will be able to get the left to back down.

But instead, the violence just continues to increase.

In 2025, there was a 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE officers and a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks against ICE officers…

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released new statistics Thursday indicating a sharp increase in assaults, vehicular attacks, and death threats against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcement officers over the past year. According to DHS, assaults against ICE officers rose more than 1,300 percent during the first year of the Trump administration. DHS reported 275 assaults between January 20 and December 31, 2025, compared to 19 assaults recorded during the same time period in 2024, which the department characterized as a 1,347 percent increase.

DHS also reported a significant rise in vehicular-related incidents involving ICE personnel. Between January 21, 2025, and January 7, 2026, ICE officers experienced 66 vehicular attacks, compared to two during the same time span the previous year, an increase DHS calculated as 3,200 percent. In addition, DHS said it has recorded an 8,000 percent increase in death threats directed at ICE law enforcement officers, though the department did not specify the underlying totals in the release.

It is going to get a lot worse.

ICE is ramping up their “wartime recruitment” strategy so that they can conduct more operations in 2026, and the left hopes to mobilize millions of people to oppose them.

An internal revolution is brewing.

So many of the things that I have been warning my readers about for so many years are now happening right in front of our eyes.

This is not going to end well.

But most of you already knew that.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

After months of submitting resumes and filling out applications, many unemployed Americans have given in to despair.  Dozens of large companies all over the nation have been conducting mass layoffs, and the competition for any good jobs that do happen to be available has become extremely intense.  But if you have not lost your source of income, things may still seem fairly normal to you and you may be wondering what all of the fuss is about.  That is why I am calling this “the musical chairs economy”.  If you have been able to hold on to a chair each time the music stops playing, that is a good thing.  But you should also realize that there are millions of Americans that have been forced out of the game and are absolutely desperate to get back in.

Earlier today, I came across a social media post from a discouraged job seeker that really tugged at my heart…

In recent months I have heard so many stories like this.

Very highly qualified individuals feel like they are banging their heads into a wall because they can’t find work no matter how hard they try.

One unemployed worker named Tim Rogers that has been out of work for five months feels like the job applications that he is constantly submitting are going straight “into the abyss”…

I got laid off five months ago. Every morning I drink a pot of coffee while I write cover letters, tweak my résumé, and submit job applications into the abyss, knowing they will likely never be seen by human eyes—only crawled by the cold, lifeless algorithms of an artificial intelligence. I feel like General Zod from Superman, floating off into space trapped inside a two-dimensional phantom zone, screaming in silence about my job qualifications and core competencies.

The job market is a mess. The old system is broken and a functioning replacement has yet to fully emerge. We’re stuck in the between years—a dystopian digital doomscape that has job seekers and hirers picking through a landfill of A.I.-generated garbage and longing for the halcyon days of an analog past.

Some people are firing off hundreds or even thousands of resumes without hearing anything at all.

It can be extremely depressing when you feel like you are trying as hard as you can but you aren’t getting anywhere.

One woman that was laid off by Oracle in November 2023 still hasn’t been able to find work after more than two years…

I started at Oracle in January 2020 as a site reliability engineer. In November 2023, I started hearing that my Oracle coworkers were getting pulled into Zoom meetings and told they had been laid off. I hoped I wouldn’t be next, but I was. My entire team was let go.

I didn’t start looking for work right away because I’d received some severance pay, and I’d heard it was difficult to land a tech role during the holiday season. I took some time to reassess what I wanted from my career and began my job search in February 2024.

I was optimistic at first because most of my prior job searches hadn’t taken too long. As the months dragged on, it became clear I had the wrong impression of the tech hiring landscape.

More than two years after being laid off, I’m still unemployed.

It is January 2026 now.

After being unemployed for so long, her value in the marketplace has declined dramatically.

In this environment, it is so helpful to have a personal contact that can help you land a position.

Because in so many cases, the resumes and applications that job seekers fire off to potential employers are not even looked at by human eyes…

You did everything they told you to do. You earned the credentials, spent hours on your resume and revised multiple cover letters. You worked side gigs, volunteered, learned new software and perfected your LinkedIn profile. Yet, you can’t get a callback for an interview.

It’s as if your application vanished into the abyss of a company database, and the “thank you for applying” emails are piling up. So-called entry-level jobs now need years of experience, and junior roles expect postgraduate degrees.

You are likely wondering what you’re missing, but it’s not you — it’s the system. Across the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, automation now does the screening before a human ever has a look. Companies say they can’t find talent, yet many have stopped training people.

Unfortunately, it appears that conditions will become even harsher during the months ahead because things are certainly trending in the wrong direction.

In November, the number of job postings in the United States was the lowest in 14 months, and it was also the second lowest in nearly five years…

The number of postings in November was the fewest since September 2024. But outside that month, it was the lowest in nearly five years.

Open jobs in November fell sharply in shipping and warehousing, restaurants and hotels, and in state and local government.

As the job market continues to dry up, it is going to have enormous implications for the economy.

Americans just don’t have as much discretionary income as they once did, and as a result large retailers are closing locations all across the country.

And with fewer potential buyers floating around, home prices are starting to fall…

Housing market anxiety is spreading — with 26 of the country’s 50 biggest metro areas now seeing home prices lower than they were a year ago.

For the first time in nearly three years, the median US listing price has also slipped below $400,000, a key psychological level that had held firm since the pandemic boom, according to Realtor.com.

It appears that our housing bubble is starting to burst.

Sadly, home prices are declining the fastest in some of the markets that were once the hottest…

Worst is Austin, TX, where prices have plunged 7.3 percent over the past year to $462,000, the biggest drop of any major metro.

The pain is spreading well beyond Texas. Prices are down 6.7 percent in San Diego, CA slipping to just under $900,000, while nearby San Jose has seen values fall 5.5 percent to $1.19 million.

Needless to say, what we are currently experiencing is just the beginning.

Many of the economic trends that made big news in 2025 will continue to accelerate in 2026.

So if you are out of work right now, I would grab whatever you can, because competition for jobs is only going to get even fiercer during the months ahead.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

If we wanted to make Russian President Vladimir Putin and his minions extremely angry, we have certainly accomplished that task. When I learned that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker that was displaying a Russian flag and that was being protected by Russian warships, I was absolutely stunned. I have been relentlessly warning that being extremely aggressive with the Russians will backfire severely. If we truly want peace with the Russians, diplomacy is the only solution. Punching the Russians in the face won’t work, and if we continue to go down this path it could easily lead to the unthinkable.

For those that have not heard yet, the U.S. military just seized two more oil tankers.  One of them was a Russian-flagged vessel…

The United States has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic following a dramatic weekslong chase on the high seas.

The operation to seize the sanctioned vessel, which changed its name from the Bella 1 to the Marinera after fleeing the American blockade of Venezuela last month, was carried out early Wednesday. The U.S. also announced the seizure of another sanctioned tanker, the M/T Sophia, which it said was “conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea.”

The tanker that was formerly known as the Bella 1 had gotten permission from the Russians to register as a Russian vessel.

And the Russians had just dispatched Russian warships to escort it…

Russia has sent a submarine and other naval assets to escort an empty, rusting oil tanker that has become a new flashpoint in U.S.-Russia relations, according to a U.S. official.

The tanker, formerly known as the Bella 1, has been trying to evade the U.S. blockade of sanctioned oil tankers near Venezuela for more than two weeks. The vessel failed to dock in Venezuela and load with oil. Despite being empty, the U.S. Coast Guard has pursued the ship into the Atlantic in a bid to crack down on a fleet of tankers that ferry illicit oil around the world, including black-market oil sold by Russia.

Grabbing an oil tanker that was being protected by Russian warships was an insane thing to do.

And we did it even though the Russians specifically asked us to stop pursuing the tanker…

Russia has asked the U.S. to stop pursuing the vessel, according to three other U.S. officials. On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring “with concern” the situation surrounding the tanker, according to state news agency RIA.

Needless to say, the Russians are furious.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry immediately released a statement that strongly denounced what the U.S. had just done…

In a statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the ship is sailing in international waters under the Russian flag and is operating “in full compliance with international maritime law.” Moscow added that it expects Western nations to uphold that principle in practice.

This is a major turning point in our relations with Russia.

One member of Russia’s parliament is accusing the U.S. of “outright piracy”…

In response to the interceptions, Andrei Klishas, a member of the upper house of Russia’s parliament said the US actions were ‘outright piracy.’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put the world on notice by saying that the blockade of Venezuelan oil is in full effect, and said no ship is safe anywhere in the world.

The Russian Transport Ministry then responded by saying: ‘no state has the right to use force against vessels properly registered in other countries’ jurisdictions.’ It added that US forces boarded the Marinera at 3pm Moscow time, where communications were shortly lost with the vessel after.

And one of the most prominent voices inside Russia, Alexander Dugin, is warning that it is now time for “full fledged war with the West”…

Dugin is extremely influential.

I would not take his words lightly.

Even before this incident, there was zero chance that a peace deal with Russia was going to happen.

But now we are looking at a scenario in which direct conflict between the United States and Russia becomes quite probable.

We should be thankful that the Russian warships that were accompanying the seized oil tanker didn’t intervene.

We might not be so fortunate next time.

The fact that we are seizing oil tankers has also greatly angered the Chinese…

China is livid, and they’re not hiding it.

After Trump announced the U.S. will refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil previously frozen under sanctions, Beijing fired back, calling the move a blatant power grab and a direct hit on their interests.

Why? Because that oil wasn’t just sitting there, China had already paid for a big chunk of it, through loan-for-oil deals and state-backed agreements with Maduro’s regime.

China has been buying more oil from Venezuela than the rest of the world combined.

And the Chinese have lent tens of billions of dollars to the Venezuelans.

Is China just going to sit there and watch the U.S. take control of Venezuela and grab all the oil?

Apparently the U.S. is ordering Venezuela to cut off all ties with both Russia and China…

The US authorities demand that Venezuela should sever economic ties with Iran, China, Cuba and Russia as a condition for increasing oil production, ABC News television channel reported.

According to the US-based television broadcaster, Washington put forward several demands to the acting President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez.

Firstly, the Bolivarian Republic will have to “expel China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and sever economic ties” with these countries.

Secondly, Caracas is required to agree to “exclusive cooperation with the United States in the field of oil production,” ABC News reported.

The Chinese have invested an enormous amount of money in the Venezuelan oil industry.

Today, Venezuela possesses the largest proven oil reserves in the entire world, and China needs that oil.

Most people don’t realize this, but China imports about 70 percent of the oil that it uses.

So losing all access to Venezuelan oil would be a tremendous blow.

How far will the U.S. be able to push China before the Chinese decide that enough is enough?

And how far with the U.S. be able to push Russia before the Russians decide that enough is enough?

Many Americans are cheering the fact that we are starting to aggressively push other countries around, but it is only a matter of time before they start pushing back.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The rules of the game have changed. At one time, western bankers could easily pull a few strings and keep the global price of silver within an acceptable range. But now financial centers in Asia are becoming more dominant, and supplies of physical silver are becoming extremely tight. As a result, western bankers are no longer able to exert the same level of control.

At the end of December, CME Group hiked margin requirements twice in a single week.

In the old days, that would have essentially been the equivalent of dropping an atomic bomb on the market.

Of course they were able to drive the price of paper silver back down to about $70 for a few days, but here we are on January 6th, and it is already back to the $80 mark.

That isn’t the result that they were hoping to achieve.

And the gap between the paper silver market and the physical silver market has become extremely alarming.

If you want to purchase an ounce of physical silver in the United States right now, it will cost you close to 90 dollars.

In some countries in Asia, an ounce of physical silver will cost you more than 100 dollars.

Financial institutions that have enormous short positions are freaking out, because they are facing catastrophic losses.

I think that this is going to be a huge story in the months ahead.

The bankers were probably assuming that they could crush this silver rally just like they crushed the rally in 1980.  But the big difference this time around is that global supplies of physical silver have become extremely tight…

Silver has closed 2025 as the best-performing asset after a historic 26% surge in December. Yet market participants warn that this rally is not a replay of the Hunt brothers’ blow‑off in 1980 or the QE panic in 2011.

Back then, with leverage removed, the price could fall back because the metal was available. Today, silver is in a persistent deficit, experiencing surging industrial demand and a tightening geopolitical grip on physical flows.

A silver rally in 2011 also got crushed, but we are in a totally different environment today and western vaults “are getting starved for physical metal”…

In 2011, ETF inflows and investment demand as a hedge against QE propelled the demand. Still, solar and industrial use were smaller, and above‑ground stocks and Western vaults could eventually meet demand once the panic cooled.

Today, these vaults are getting starved for physical metal. For years running, silver demand has outstripped mine supply and recycling, draining inventories. Industrial usage – especially solar, EVs, and electronics – has surged. The changing market dynamics have naturally shifted investment preferences.

Meanwhile, the Chinese have decided to substantially restrict silver exports, and that gives them a tremendous amount of power over the marketplace…

Meanwhile, China has not banned silver exports outright, but reclassified the metal as a strategic commodity. Thus, it controls the outflow through 44 licensed companies. Every outbound ton is now a political decision, not just a price response.

Everything is different now.

One analyst at Bank of America is actually projecting that the price of silver could go as high as $309 an ounce in 2026…

Michael Widmer, Head of Metals Research at Bank of America, stated in the report that gold will continue to serve as an important hedge and primary return driver. The bank forecasts that the average gold price will reach $4,538 per ounce in 2026, with potential to test the $5,000 milestone. Driving factors include tightening gold supply, rising production costs, and strong investment demand.

However, the report particularly emphasizes that silver’s upside potential far exceeds that of gold. Widmer pointed out that the current gold-to-silver ratio is approximately 59:1, while historical extreme lows were 32:1 in 2011 and 14:1 in 1980. A reversion of the ratio towards these historical lows implies that the silver price could surge to a range between $135 and $309 per ounce. This substantial potential appreciation makes silver highly attractive to investors willing to take on higher risk for extra upside.

If the price of silver even goes up to $100 an ounce this year, I think that it is going to create a tremendous amount of pressure on a lot of financial institutions.

The price of copper has also been skyrocketing in recent months.

It was up about 50% in 2025, and on Tuesday it hit yet another brand new record high…

Global copper prices hit an all-time high Tuesday, extending a run for both the industrial metal and its peers, as investors scrambled to secure supplies amid a surge in expected demand and uncertainty tied to tariffs and geopolitical risks.

In our high tech economy, copper is such a key commodity.

President Trump has been threatening to impose substantial tariffs on copper imports, and this is happening at a time when the AI data center construction boom is really ramping up…

Copper prices have powered more than 20% higher over the past two months, topping $13,000 a ton on the London Metal Exchange for the first time earlier this week, as supply disruptions increased the value of the key industrial metal and amid the threat of new levies from the Trump administration later this year.

President Donald Trump, according to reports, has been mulling tariffs of around 15% on all copper imports in 2027, with the levy increasing to 30% in 2028, just as demand tied to data-center construction, electric-vehicle production, and power grid projects accelerates. That has led to a surge in U.S.-based copper stockpiles as investors import the metal to avoid tariff charges and a resultant depletion of supplies in markets around the world.

Close to 3,000 new data centers are either being planned or are already under construction in the U.S. alone.

That is crazy.

Globally, it is being projected that data center construction will consume over half a million metric tons of copper each year by the end of this decade…

Data centers currently consume about 1.5% of global electricity supply, roughly the same amount as the entire U.K., according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The organization believes that, by 2030, demand will more than double, with AI responsible for much of the increase. That means data centers could be consuming more than half a million metric tons of copper annually by the end of the decade.

As executive chairman of HIVE Digital Technologies, I’ve watched this transformation firsthand. The infrastructure needed to power this new digital economy—whether it’s Bitcoin mining, AI training or cloud computing—is staggering. And it all runs on copper.

As long as the AI boom continues, demand for copper will continue to rise.

Of course the construction of AI data centers consumes a lot of physical silver as well.

This is something that is outside of the control of western bankers.

They are still trying to pull the strings, but they simply do not possess the same level of power that they once did.

That is really bad news for them, but it is exceedingly good news for silver investors.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

After years of heading in the wrong direction, nobody can deny that the United States is facing overwhelming problems.  So why don’t we focus on fixing those problems first?  The truth is that we can’t do everything because our resources are very limited.  U.S. households are more than 18 trillion dollars in debt, and the federal government is more than 38 trillion dollars in debt.  Even though we have literally stolen trillions upon trillions of dollars from future generations, our major cities are rapidly decaying, our infrastructure is crumbling, corruption is rampant, the middle class is shrinking, most of the population is struggling to even afford the basics each month, mass layoffs are happening all over the nation, our streets are teeming with hordes of drug addicts and homeless people, large numbers of Americans are selling images of themselves online just to make ends meet, and millions of others are living in their vehicles.

So why don’t we use what limited resources we have to fix our own problems?

If you don’t understand the point that I am trying to make, just go take a stroll through downtown Seattle.

The new mayor has decided that it will be her policy to allow people to openly do drugs in the streets…

Seattle’s new ultra-woke mayor has triggered chaos by ordering police not to arrest people doing drugs on the streets of the city plagued by crime and homelessness.

Democratic socialist Katie Wilson, 43, was sworn in as the city’s 58th mayor on Friday.

The progressive politician who co-founded the Transit Riders Union has already taken steps that concerned residents and law enforcement officials say will destroy Seattle.

The president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, Mike Solan, is warning that this will make the lawlessness in the streets of Seattle even worse…

‘We’ve all seen how our streets can be filled with death, decay, blight and crime when ideology like this infects our city, Solan continued in his statement.

‘Now with this resurrected insane direction, death, destruction and more human suffering will be supercharged.’

Lawmakers and residents have reacted to this news in horror, as the city already has a raging homelessness epidemic that they believe this lax drug policy will only amplify.

Once upon a time, Seattle was one of the most beautiful cities on the entire planet.

So what in the world happened?

Of course it isn’t just Seattle that has been transformed into a crime-ridden, drug-infested hellhole.

All over the nation, chaos reigns in the streets of major American cities.

In fact, last night a “hammer-wielding maniac” destroyed a bunch of windows at the Cincinnati home of Vice President J.D. Vance…

A hammer-wielding maniac who smashed four windows at JD Vance’s Cincinnati home has been arrested by the Secret Service after an overnight break-in.

William DeFoor, 26, was charged early Monday morning with one count each of obstructing official business, criminal damaging or endangering, criminal trespass and vandalism.

Secret Service agents heard a loud noise at the home around midnight and spotted DeFoor running from the home, which is the secondary residence for Vance, his wife Usha and their three young children, who were out of town at the time.

Meanwhile, lawlessness also continues to run rampant in high places all over the country.

So what is being done about it?

After all this time, how many corrupt members of past administrations have been arrested and put in prison?

After all this time, how many corrupt corporate executives have been arrested and put in prison?

After all this time, how many of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates that also sexually abused young girls have been arrested and put in prison?

How can we tell the rest of the world how they should be doing things when we can’t even get our own house in order?

We have been getting hit by crisis after crisis, and economic conditions are steadily deteriorating.

In fact, we just learned that U.S. manufacturing activity has contracted for a 10th consecutive month…

US manufacturing activity contracted for a 10th straight month in December, a survey indicated Monday, pointing to a continued drag in sentiment from tariffs and trade policy uncertainty.

The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing index fell to 47.9 from November’s 48.2 reading, the lowest of 2025 despite modest improvements in employment and some other categories.

Our artificially-inflated stock market continues to hover near record highs, but at the same time the number of large corporations that are going bankrupt just continues to rise…

Between January and November 2025, at least 717 companies filed for Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to data from S&P reviewed by The Washington Post.

That marks a 14% jump compared to the same period in 2024, and the most filings seen since 2010, the tail end of the Great Recession.

According to the Daily Mail, we are also seeing a very alarming surge in bankruptcies among small businesses too…

A frightening recession indicator is flashing red — and Americans can see it all over Main Street.

Experts told the Daily Mail that a sudden surge in bankruptcies and store closures — hitting mom-and-pop shops, small restaurants, and local retailers — could be an early warning sign that the economy is starting to crack.

One expert that was interviewed by the Daily Mail is warning that this surge in bankruptcies is a clear indication that a recession is coming…

‘The little guys are going to start falling first,’ Joe Barsalona, a Delaware-based bankruptcy lawyer at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, said.

‘A recession is coming. I agree with economists that the increase in small business bankruptcies is a canary in a coal mine.’

Of course many would argue that a recession is already here.

In recent months, I have written a lot about the mass layoffs that have been occurring all over the country.

Well, now Newsweek is reporting that over 100 companies have filed WARN notices for mass layoffs that will be taking place in January…

More than 100 companies have filed WARN notices indicating plans to lay off workers in January 2026, according to WARNTracker.com. The following companies have filed a notice.

I tried to warn my readers that a tsunami of layoffs was coming.

Now it is here.

The following is the full list of 119 companies that have filed WARN notices for this month…

AARP
AbbVie
Adams County Public Hospital
AeroFarms1526 Cane Creek
Amazon
Amentum
American Signature, Inc.
Apogee Architectural Metals
Archer Daniels Midland Company
Atkore Plastics Southeast
Augusta Sportswear, Inc.
Bechtel National Inc.
Best Dressed Chicken, Inc.
Blue Plate Oysterette LLC
Blue Shield of California
Bond 45 National Harbor Restaurant
Braga Fresh Foods, LLC
Building Materials Manufacturing LLC
BWW Law Group, LLC
Catalent, Maryland, Inc.
Charles River Laboratories
Clari Inc.
CNO Financial Group
Colonial Savings, F.A.
ColWyo Coal Company LP
CommUnify
Consolidated Hospitality Supplies
Corteva
CoStar Group
Couchbase, Inc.
CRST Expedited, Inc.
Dental Benefit Management, Inc.
Dillard’s Inc.
Dometic Corporation
DRT, LLC
DSV Air & Sea Inc.
enDevelopment Logistics, LLC
FedEx
FreshRealm
Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission
Galleher LLC
General Motors
Giesecke + Devrient ePayments America Inc
Gilead Sciences
Grand Lux Café, LLC
Great Floors
H&M Fashion USA, Inc.
HD Supply
Heibar Installations Inc.
Henkel Corporation
HRL Laboratories
Hudson
Huntington National Bank
Illumina
ImmunityBio
Inline Plastics
Institute of International Education
International Paper
Invincible Boat Company
Kloeckner Meals
Lakeshore Learning Materials, LLC
Louis Vuitton USA Inc.
Lumileds
Maritime Applied Physics Corporation
Marshalls of CA, LLC
Mattel
McDonald’s
MDWise
Meteorcomm LLC
Mettler-Toledo Rainin, LLC
Michigan Sugar Company
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Nationstar Mortgage, LLC
NIKE Retail Services, Inc.
Nordstrom Portland Rack
Ojai Valley Inn
Palo Verde Hospital
Panasonic Well LLC
Peraton’s Environmental Integration Services III
Post Consumer Brands, LLC
Presbyterian Home for Central New York, Inc.
Providence Health & Services
Rad Power Bikes, Inc.
RATP Dev and Midtown Group
Raytheon Technologies
Rebel Restaurants, Inc.
Red Run Corporation T/A Food Depot
Regional Medical Center of Central Alabama
Retail Services WIS Corporation
Revity, Inc.
Roads Express, LLC
Saddle Creek Logistics Service
SC Industrial Holdings, LLC
SDH Education West, LLC
SDH Service East, LLC
Shell Recharge Solutions
SLO Brewing Co. LLC
Smokin Bear LLC
Smurfit Westrock
Sodexo
Spirit Airlines, LLC.
Synopsys, Inc.
Takeda Development Center Americas Inc.
Terzo Enterprises Incorporated
The Cheesecake Factory
The French Gourmet, Inc.
The Taubman Company
TJX Companies, Inc.
TransAlta
United Supermarkets
Van Law Food Products, Inc.
Verizon
Virginia Mason Franciscan
Warner Music Group
Wells Fargo
West Fraser, Inc.
White Coffee Corporation
WIS International
WWL Vehicle Services America, Inc.

That is quite a long list, isn’t it?

The American people are not stupid.

They can see what is happening, and one recent survey found that 52 percent of U.S. adults actually believe that a recession has already started…

According to the ARG data, 52% of Americans believe the economy is already in a recession, and 64% say it’s getting worse.

These numbers suggest that many Americans are feeling the squeeze, even if official metrics don’t yet reflect a recession.

Only 11% think the economy is improving. Just 22% rate it as excellent, very good, or good, while 73% call it bad, very bad, or terrible, showing a clear gap between public sentiment and political narratives about economic strength.

Looking ahead, 60% believe the national economy will be worse a year from now, and just 16% say it will be better.

Yes, things are certainly bad now.

But they are not even worth comparing to what is further down the road.

So why don’t we use our limited resources to address the historic challenges that we are facing in our own nation?

If we love this country, we should try to fix it.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.