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A federal appeals court stayed the execution of Christa Pike, who was scheduled to be put to death at 10 a.m. CDT Wednesday in Tennessee.

Trump’s $200BN Korean “Investment” Is A Gas Plant With No Customers, Eight Reactors With No Sites, And A Pipeline Seoul Calls A “Future Discussion”

A week ago, we wrote that South Korea had finally found a home for the first slice of the $350 billion it promised Trump: a $22.3 billion, 6.3GW gas plant in Encinal, Texas, with no customers, no PPA, and turbines that may not show up this decade. That left, as we put it then, “$328 billion to go.”

That number is about to get a lot smaller, if only on paper. According to Bloomberg, at 3pm ET, Trump will announce from the Oval Office that Korea is committing $200 billion to US energy projects: eight large nuclear reactors, the Encinal plant, and the long-suffering Alaska LNG export venture, which Bloomberg earlier reported would get $54 billion of Korean backing. A White House official described it as the first tranche of projects to win approval under last year’s trade deal.

One small detail: Seoul hasn’t publicly confirmed any of it. And according to Korean press, it doesn’t entirely agree.

The math adds up… a little too well

Recall how the deal is structured. Of the $350 billion, $200 billion is upfront capital for “strategic industries,” capped at $20 billion a year, with a separate $150 billion for shipbuilding. Now add up the three projects that have been floated:

Eight reactors: about $120 billion, per Korea’s own government briefing (six Westinghouse AP1000s and two Korean APR1400s, per Kyunghyang Shinmun)
Alaska LNG: $54 billion
Encinal, Texas: $22.3 billion
Total: $196.3 billion. In other words, today’s announcement would use up about 98% of Korea’s entire strategic-investment tranche in one go, with $3.7 billion left over for bubble tea or whatever. At the $20 billion annual cap, just funding these three would take roughly a decade, which is convenient for a program that runs well past the next two elections.

Here is where it gets awkward. In its National Assembly briefings, the Korean government listed Encinal as the only approved first project. The eight reactors and Alaska LNG were both classified as “items for future negotiation,” according to SBS and Seoul Economic Daily. The latter notes that Commerce Secretary Lutnick is leading the announcement, flanked by Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, while Korea’s own trade minister, Kim Jung-kwan, who actually negotiated the thing, is not expected to be there.

Kim was even more explicit on the nuclear piece, telling reporters that the plan “does not mean that the nuclear power projects will immediately proceed” until final arrangements and government reviews are done. So the $200 billion headline is roughly $22 billion that Seoul has signed off on and $174 billion that Seoul is still arguing about.

The midterm pipeline

Bloomberg flagged the timing, noting that the announcement comes amid deep voter dissatisfaction with the cost of living and the risk that Republicans lose Congress in November. Goldman’s Alec Phillips relaunched the bank’s US Election Monitor this morning (full note available to pro subs) and his numbers are not great for the GOP: Democrats lead the generic ballot by 8.5 points, prediction markets give them a greater than 90% chance of winning the House, and better than 60% odds of taking the Senate. Phillips does caution that Senate polling has historically overstated Democratic performance at this stage, especially in red-leaning states.

Which brings us to Alaska. Per Seoul Economic Daily, Democrat Mary Peltola leads incumbent Sullivan 46.5% to 45%, with local fuel prices a big issue. Korean commentators are openly calling the Alaska LNG announcement a “midterm card.” As for whether a 740-mile pipeline that hasn’t reached FID will lower anyone’s gas bill before November 3, we had a thought on that last night:

*TRUMP TO UNVEIL $54 BILLION ALASKA LNG PLAN AMID MIDTERM WOES
Surely the LNG will be used to help US consumers and not be exported to Japan and Korea, right?
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 29, 2026
Recall that the whole point of Alaska LNG is to ship North Slope gas to Asian buyers, with some diverted for in-state power. When we last covered the project in October 2025, it was a $44 billion venture, and Asian buyers were quietly worried the costs were too high. Korea’s reported $54 billion commitment alone is now bigger than the whole project’s price tag was a year ago. That is some impressive cost inflation, even by pipeline standards. Glenfarne has signed preliminary deals with importers but still hasn’t taken FID; Korea’s money is supposed to unlock it.

To be fair to Seoul, the timing isn’t crazy from an energy-security perspective. Goldman’s Samantha Dart wrote after Gastech last week that corporates across the LNG chain expect the Iran status quo to persist, and that without a meaningful recovery in Persian Gulf exports this winter, JKM will likely reach $35/mmBtu by year-end, versus a $24.85 base case. A supply source that doesn’t pass through Hormuz has obvious appeal for Asian importers. It’s also telling that KOGAS just approved roughly $1.26 billion for LNG Canada Phase 2, which is a project that actually exists. Meanwhile Goldman’s John Mackay listed “higher costs for new US greenfield capacity” among the key debates heading into Gastech, and few greenfield projects are more greenfield than a 740-mile trench across the Arctic permafrost.

Eight reactors, zero sites

The nuclear piece is the biggest part of the package and the least developed. What we know:

Structure: $120 billion for eight units in three phases: two AP1000s first, then two APR1400s plus two more AP1000s, then two final AP1000s. A six-month gap is targeted between the Phase 1 and Phase 2 EPC contracts, and both sides agreed only to make “reasonable efforts” to keep to it (UPI).
Sites: None yet, though talks favor federal land.
Lead times: 54 months for reactor vessels, 57 months for steam generators and 65 months for coolant pumps. Seoul has floated up to $10 billion by year-end for advance equipment purchases, pending National Assembly approval, and DOE has separately authorized $17.5 billion in conditional loans for long-lead AP1000 gear.
Per-unit cost: $15 billion per reactor. That’s ambitious given Vogtle’s two AP1000s came in north of $30 billion, but at least it’s within shouting distance.
The real fight has been over who gets to design and own what. Goldman’s Seoul trading desk flagged on September 16 that the core disagreement delaying the talks was the nuclear leg, with the US “reportedly showing reluctance toward constructing Korean-designed reactors on its soil,” and not keen on handing Korea voting rights in Westinghouse. That friction shows up in the numbers: a day earlier the same desk reported Seoul wanted at least a 15% stake in Westinghouse plus board seats. By last week, KED had it at about 7%, and Kyunghyang reported a 5–10% target, with the government insisting voting rights “could be obtained even at” that level. We’ll see.

This is a saga we’ve been tracking for a while. Back in November 2025 the administration declared it a “national emergency” and said it would buy 10 large new reactors. By March, slow progress had pushed the administration to start talking with Westinghouse’s rivals. In August, the plan became a Korean problem:

According to reports, The U.S. govt has proposed that S. Korea acquire a stake in Westinghouse Electric Company as Washington pursues an $80 bn partnership aimed at breaking ground on 10 large-scale nuclear reactors by 2030. KEPCO(015760) is being considered as the acquisition…
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 24, 2026
And by Labor Day, “up to eight” reactors with a price tag of $120–130 billion. So in about ten months we went from 10 reactors for $80 billion to eight for $120 billion, which is the most nuclear thing about this whole story.

Longer term, the more interesting action may be in smaller units. Goldman’s Yuichiro Isayama noted this month that Japan’s third tranche under its own $550 billion pledge is likely to focus on SMRs (after about 10 units were already assumed in the second), and flagged Japan Steel Works (Buy) as the big winner because SMR primary components still need the same large forgings as full-size reactors. As we’ve argued for a while, modular reactors are the only long-term solution to the AI power crunch; Tokyo seems to agree, while Seoul is betting on the gigawatt-scale designs that made Vogtle famous for all the wrong reasons.

Who buys all this power?

As a reminder, Korea’s own case for Encinal assumes the power “can be sold to Big Tech at premium prices,” per a local report flagged by Goldman’s Seoul desk. The demand is certainly there. Goldman’s Power Up America team projects AI infrastructure capex of $1.3 trillion in 2027 and $2 trillion in 2028, which it says corresponds to 35GW and 57GW of new data center deployments, adding that “the physical grid could emerge as the ultimate constraint.” Against that, Encinal’s 6.3GW plus roughly 9.5GW of reactors that won’t be online until well into the 2030s is a rounding error… if it gets built at all.

And then there’s the behind-the-meter question. As we noted last week, Goldman’s Carbonomics team raised its outlook for BTM generation at data centers from 40GW to 67GW by 2030. If hyperscalers increasingly build their own on-site power (which we have long argued should be mandatory), then grid-scale plants that were financed on the premise of selling premium power to Big Tech may find Big Tech has already left the room. And with large gas turbines effectively sold out through 2030, Encinal and the BTM crowd are fighting over the same equipment anyway.

Bottom line

Japan went first in February with a $36 billion opening tranche, led by an Ohio gas plant whose sponsor, SB Energy, has since delayed its IPO. Korea is now doing the same thing, just bigger and faster: one gas plant Seoul has agreed to, $174 billion of projects it still calls “future discussion,” and a headline number that will do a lot of work between now and November 3.

Last week we said there was $328 billion to go. After today, Trump will say $150 billion. Seoul will probably say it’s still $328 billion. For once, both may be right.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 09/30/2026 – 14:00

Democrats blocked a push to tackle one of the key issues driving this midterm election cycle, and may have given a vulnerable Republican a political lifeline in the process.Republicans’ effort to crack down on rising electricity costs caused by the boom in data centers across the country was stifled on Wednesday by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats, despite cruising through the House in a massive bipartisan vote.Schumer’s blockade, however, wasn’t unanimous among Democrats, with four — Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. — breaking ranks to support the bill.The Ratepayer Protection Act, would have created a standard for AI companies and the data centers they run to bear the brunt of electricity costs — an issue that has become a predominant concern for voters this midterm cycle.FIRST DATA CENTER BILL CLEARS HOUSE AS BOTH PARTIES SCRAMBLE FOR ANSWERS ON AFFORDABILITYBut Democrats argued it was a toothless effort that lacked any real enforcement mechanism, and merely a political ploy to give vulnerable Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, a boost.”The Ratepayer Protection Act is a fraud. It does not require any protections at all,” Schumer said. “While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill.””We need real action on data centers. And what do Republicans decide all of a sudden to push force forward a bill that is totally optional?”While the U.S. continues its arms race with China for AI dominance, voters want to see tech companies cool their jets and slow the rapid construction of data centers. A Fox News poll from July found that 70% of voters, both Republicans and Democrats, opposed the construction of new data centers.SCHUMER PREACHES AFFORDABILITY IN DEM MIDTERM PITCH WHILE SABOTAGING GOP FIXES FOR SOARING COSTSRepublicans, including Husted, hoped that voter concerns could persuade Democrats to break from Schumer and vote in favor of the bill heading into Wednesday’s test.”We all know that people would like to see us do something to lower their prices,” Husted said. We have the opportunity to do that.”Data centers have become a political cudgel against Husted in his race against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who has labeled him the “face of data centers” in a battle that could determine who wins the majority in November.Husted argued that the bill passed the House with only three Democrats voting against it, and that this push didn’t need to be labeled a “partisan victory.” Killing the bill, however, could give Husted a needed boost to campaign on, given that Democrats stopped one of the main issues voters have going into the election, particularly in Ohio.”It’s like, look, this can be an opportunity for the Democrats to join us and say, ‘yeah, we agree. We’re gonna work with them to get something done,’ and I hope they will,” Husted said.ANXIETY GROWS OVER EMERGING ELECTION ISSUE, BUT GOP SAYS WASHINGTON ISN’T THE ANSWERBut Democrats countered the legislation was just a stunt to give Husted political ammunition.Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., told Fox News Digital that voters could see through the politics being played with by the GOP, and that the bill is “good for Senator Husted, but not necessarily for them.””Because it’s not, it doesn’t have anything that would actually force change,” Kim said. “And so that’s what we need. We need something that is actually gonna be substantial and meet the moment rather than things that are just designed to be able to help with political elections.”Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that it was a massive bipartisan effort in the House, and questioned “why you would say that” the effort was just a political front to give Husted an issue to campaign on.”I just think, if you’re looking at issues that we want to get at the heart of what everybody seems to be saying, the Democrats and others are saying, are important, we’re concerned about,” Thune said. “And it’s a chance to actually make the law, it’s not just making a point here.”

The political right celebrated after a White House X account posted a graph showing that legal immigration to the U.S. from nations with Muslim majority populations has all but halted.The account highlighted a 96 percent cut in legal immigration from majority-Muslim countries since 2024 and attached a graph from the Cato Institute, a notoriously pro-immigration think tank.The graph showed a drastic decline in quarterly admissions of immigrants from those countries beginning in January 2025, when President Donald Trump officially took office. It also declined in late 2024, the last year of former President Joe Biden’s tenure in office.AMERICA NEEDS WORKERS, BUT TRUMP’S POLICIES ARE SHARPLY CUTTING LEGAL IMMIGRATIONAt its peak, immigration from Muslim-majority nations was over 22,000 people per month between July and October of 2024, according to the graph. But by the beginning of January of this year, that number had dropped to almost zero.Online, the political right cheered the drastic shift.”Absolutely incredible victory for the American people, thanks to POTUS,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said.”These are the wins we need to continue to deliver on,” said Brandon Herrera, the GOP nominee for Congress in Texas’ 23rd District.”4 percent to go! Thank you, President Trump,” said Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla.”Let’s pump up those rookie numbers for every category of immigrant,” columnist Kurt Schlichter said.100 DAY SPRINT TO THE MIDTERMS KICKS OFF AS REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS CLASH FOR CONTROL ACROSS THE COUNTRYSome turned the graph into a referendum on the results of Republican leadership, and urged conservatives to vote during the 2026 midterm elections despite concerns about cost-of-living, the Iran war, and other issues for which Trump has been knocked by members of his own party.”I voted for this—and will again,” said user David Harrison.”The next time you get the urge to ‘punish the GOP.’ Remember that Democrats will reverse this overnight,” said Turning Point Action’s Ben Larrabee.”People screaming that Trump and the GOP aren’t doing anything about this problem [are] hardest hit, like squarely between the eyes,” online personality James Lindsay said of the graph.JONATHAN TURLEY: SUPREME COURT HANDS TRUMP A BORDER VICTORY LIBERALS CAN’T SPIN”Vote like Western Civilization depends on it, because it does,” said Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet.Not everyone was thrilled with the decline in legal immigration from this demographic, though, including David J. Bier, who is the director of immigration studies at Cato and who took credit for the research behind the graph.”Thanks for citing my work. You are violating the law and harming Americans while making the country less safe, less free, and less prosperous,” he said in reply.Despite Bier’s claim, no court has decided that Trump’s move to reduce immigration from Muslim-majority countries is “illegal,” though there have been challenges in district courts.During his first term in office, Trump faced a challenge to his proposed travel restrictions from Muslim-majority countries. The policy was enjoined by the federal district court for the District of Hawaii, and upheld by two federal appellate courts. However, the Supreme Court ultimately decided in Hawaii vs. Trump that Trump’s policy was legal.

It’s been a decade since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sparked headlines — and quite a bit of ire and controversy — over his attempts to have an uncomfortable conversation about social justice reform.
Kaepernick felt that the best way to go about his cause was to kneel during the traditional performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before major sports games.
Those antics did not go over well, with swaths of Americans who felt that Kaepernick’s demonstration was beyond disrespectful to the U.S. flag and country.
It was a legitimate PR nightmare for the NFL, as its viewership took a noticeable hit during Kaepernick’s protests.
Those ratings have since rebounded, and, to be clear, “bad” NFL ratings are still multiples higher than other television programming.
But that doesn’t mean the NFL has any interest in revisiting that controversy anytime soon.
Alas, the internet was none too pleased with the NFL this week after an actual star quarterback (Kaepernick was largely a back-up in 2016) was seen “disrespecting” America during Monday Night Football.
The Chicago Bears, minus their star quarterback Caleb Williams, stomped all over the Philadelphia Eagles in a 27-7 home win.
Williams is out with a hamstring injury, but still accompanied the team ahead of the big primetime match-up.
The NFL opened up Monday night’s festivities with a mariachi band playing the national anthem (which drew its own criticisms).
See if you can spot “Iceman” (a nickname which Williams has been trying to lift from NBA legend George Gervin) during this recital:

The Mariachi Herencia de México performed the national anthem in Chicago pic.twitter.com/6Sv20SBqIr
— ESPN (@espn) September 29, 2026

If you fast forward to right about the 49-second mark, you can clearly see Williams in his sweats, wearing sunglasses, and casually strolling on the sideline. That was in stark juxtaposition to the other Bears and Eagles players and coaches, who were standing at attention for the anthem.
Christian sports pundit Jon Root actually had little issue with the mariachi band. His focus was on Williams.
“I may be in the minority here, but I thought the mariachi band playing the United States National Anthem for Monday [Night] Football was kinda cool,” Root posted. “The problem people should have is Caleb Williams disrespecting the flag by walking around during the Anthem.”
Other X users echoed these sentiments, with one posting: “Caleb Williams too good for the national anthem? Just wandering the sideline.”
Notably, this isn’t the first time that Williams has been questioned about his behavior during the national anthem.
As Fox News pointed out, Williams was similarly grilled last season when he was spotted hamming it up with a teammate during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

10/10 National Anthem. No notes. pic.twitter.com/byEsg27xzE
— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2025

The Bears will host the woeful New York Jets on Sunday. Williams is not expected to play, as he continues to recover from his injury.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Bears QB Caleb Williams Accused of ‘Disrespecting the Flag’ During National Anthem appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Twenty-eight individuals in 12 different states have been charged with election interference or illegal voting in federal elections in the past two weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice says.
The effort to root out illegal, noncitizen voting has come as part of a large-scale move by the Trump administration to ensure election integrity prior to this year’s midterm elections.
This effort has extended to different states across the nation. On Monday, the DOJ announced charges against 12 individuals relating to election crimes committed in seven different states. This comes after the department, on Sept. 18, announced charges against 16 individuals, including three in Georgia, for illegal voting.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security commented on the partnership with the DOJ to root out election fraud across the country.
“DHS and DOJ are laser-focused on prosecuting and removing aliens who vote and preventing the dilution of the votes of U.S. citizens,” the DHS spokesperson told the Daily Signal. “Only Americans should elect American leaders.”
“Our message to aliens who vote in American elections is clear: We will find you, arrest you, and you will face the consequences—including criminal charges and deportation.”
While investigations continue to root out election fraud, officials at the DOJ say the 28 individuals come from various countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and more.
Noncitizens across the nation have been charged with voting in elections, submitting voter registration applications, or election interference, the DOJ says. Some even voted multiple times.
Three noncitizens from Antigua and Barbuda, Mexico, and Venezuela living in Georgia were charged with illegal voting in elections, the DOJ recently announced.
Pauline Lewis, 65, an alleged noncitizen from Antigua and Barbuda, was detained on the grounds of voting as an illegal alien in a federal election.
Gabriel Covarrubias, a 44-year-old alleged noncitizen from Mexico, was suspected of voting in person using an incorrect name in the federal election of November 2024, while also making an untrue statement in an application for a U.S. passport.
Analiea Milliscent Eccles, a 44-year-old noncitizen from Venezuela and recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, voted nearly 10 times from 2008 to 2024. Additionally, she made a false statement that she was a U.S. citizen to cast her ballot in an election.
The scope of this interference in Georgia cannot be ignored, as the DOJ said individuals residing in Florida, Texas, Utah, and nine other states have been charged with these crimes, including multiple guilty pleas.
While some of the individuals involved were illegal aliens and some were only suspected noncitizens, or even lawful permanent residents, these crimes have not only involved noncitizens voting but also have expanded to additional crimes—such as untrue statements on citizenship applications and the suspected removal of roughly 300 mail-in ballots by a former mail carrier.
In Georgia, this occurred following the subpoena that was issued by DHS to the secretary of state’s office this month, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Mike Hassinger, public information coordinator for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, told the Daily Signal that he cannot “comment on any specific allegations made in ongoing investigations.”
However, he added, “Georgia was the first state in the nation to conduct citizenship verification of its voter rolls.”
In a statement sent to the Daily Signal, Raffensperger said, “These cases show exactly why citizenship verification matters. Georgia will continue to verify all voters, investigate potential violations, and work with law enforcement agencies to enforce the laws that keep Georgia elections secure.”
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

Basketball in Lebanon has become an important distraction, offering a temporary escape from war, financial hardship and the deep traumas.