Noem Awards TSA Staff $10,000 Bonuses For Working During Shutdown
Noem Awards TSA Staff $10,000 Bonuses For Working During Shutdown
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem 
$10,000 bonus checks on Nov. 13 to thousands of frontline Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers who stayed on the job during the federal government shutdown.
About 47,000 agents who worked through the 43-day 
despite not getting paychecks will be awarded a bonus along with back pay, according to Noem.
“We are going to not only continue their paychecks like they should have received all along, but also they’re going to get a bonus check for stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day, for serving the American people,” Noem said at a news conference at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
The officers were thanked for taking seriously every day the mission of the Department of Homeland Security, “and that’s keeping the American people safe while they go and commute across the country, and while they do their work and business and take care of their families,” Noem added.
A couple of the officers were singled out for their “exemplary” service and for taking on more hours and shifts during the shutdown.
“They were examples to the rest of the individuals that worked with them, and endured those hardships and continued to shine a light on what is special about America,” Noem said.
Noem added that she would be looking at all TSA officials who worked during the shutdown and would recognize their efforts with a bonus check to get them back on their feet.
She noted that TSA agents who missed work or called out sick were not necessarily exempt from receiving the bonus, saying that “people were not just inconvenienced but they were also damaged and harmed” by the government shutdown.
“What I’m so proud of today … is the outstanding patriotism and service of our TSA officers and officials that stepped up every single day,” Noem said.
She also recognized the public and private companies that stepped up during the shutdown.
“We still saw the best of America,” she added. “We saw people come together, support each other, take care of each other, and go above and beyond to make sure the mission of the Department of Homeland Security was fulfilled.”
The department worked late Wednesday night to complete administrative paperwork to start paying TSA agents the backpay they earned during the shutdown, Noem added.
TSA Precheck entry at San Diego International Airport on Oct. 26, 2024. Jane Yang/The Epoch Times
President Donald Trump Wednesday night
passed by Congress to fund the government until January, bringing an end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The Trump administration has implemented measures this year to help speed up TSA lanes in airports, including allowing passengers to leave their shoes on when going through the scanners.
The department also plans to implement veteran, military, and family lanes, according to Noem.
Fri, 11/14/2025 - 13:40
The Epoch Times
Noem Awards TSA Staff $10,000 Bonuses for Working During Shutdown
The Homeland Security chief commended airport security agents for working long hours and taking on extra shifts despite not being paid during the c...
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Homeland Security (@DHSgov) on X
Around 47,000 frontline @TSA officers continued to do an excellent job working throughout the shutdown despite the Democrats holding up their paych...
The Epoch Times
Trump Signs Bill to Reopen Government, Ending Record-Long Government Shutdown
The bill’s passage marked an end to the 43-day shutdown.
“We are going to not only continue their paychecks like they should have received all along, but also they’re going to get a bonus check for stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day, for serving the American people,” Noem said at a news conference at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
The officers were thanked for taking seriously every day the mission of the Department of Homeland Security, “and that’s keeping the American people safe while they go and commute across the country, and while they do their work and business and take care of their families,” Noem added.
A couple of the officers were singled out for their “exemplary” service and for taking on more hours and shifts during the shutdown.
“They were examples to the rest of the individuals that worked with them, and endured those hardships and continued to shine a light on what is special about America,” Noem said.
Noem added that she would be looking at all TSA officials who worked during the shutdown and would recognize their efforts with a bonus check to get them back on their feet.
She noted that TSA agents who missed work or called out sick were not necessarily exempt from receiving the bonus, saying that “people were not just inconvenienced but they were also damaged and harmed” by the government shutdown.
“What I’m so proud of today … is the outstanding patriotism and service of our TSA officers and officials that stepped up every single day,” Noem said.
She also recognized the public and private companies that stepped up during the shutdown.
“We still saw the best of America,” she added. “We saw people come together, support each other, take care of each other, and go above and beyond to make sure the mission of the Department of Homeland Security was fulfilled.”
The department worked late Wednesday night to complete administrative paperwork to start paying TSA agents the backpay they earned during the shutdown, Noem added.
TSA Precheck entry at San Diego International Airport on Oct. 26, 2024. Jane Yang/The Epoch Times
President Donald Trump Wednesday night The Epoch Times
Trump Signs Bill to Reopen Government, Ending Record-Long Government Shutdown
The bill’s passage marked an end to the 43-day shutdown.
Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge
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Noem Awards TSA Staff $10,000 Bonuses For Working During Shutdown | ZeroHedge
ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
The 
Using the MITgcm climate model and ocean data back to 1960, the team concludes the AMOC has been weakening since the late 20th century and could collapse before 2100. If that happened, Europe could face drastic cooling — possibly nearly 60 degrees — and drier conditions. As Jonathan Bamber told the Daily Mail, “Winters would be more typical of Arctic Canada and precipitation would decrease, also.”
Reuters notes the AMOC last collapsed before the Ice Age ended roughly 12,000 years ago.
Travelers from Italy, the United States, Russia, and other countries allegedly went to Bosnia during the war to fire on residents of the besieged city "for entertainment".
They are said to have paid money to soldiers belonging to the army of Bosnian Serb warlord Radovan Karadžić, who was decades later convicted of crimes against humanity at the Hague.
Serbian authorities have vehemently denied the sensationalist allegations related specifically to the years-running siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1996 which took over 11,000 lives.
Prosecutors in Milan are now working to identify the Italian citizens allegedly involved. Statements indicated they will include potential charges of "premeditated murder aggravated by cruelty and vile motives."
There's reason for skepticism, however, given some of the specifics seem hard to believe and over-the-top, and given Balkan conflicts have notoriously been clouded in wartime propaganda and enduring historical 
The reality is that for the bulk of the historic siege few people could move in or out of the city's environs or outskirts, and various layers of snaking checkpoints and barriers were erected and staffed also by foreign troops at times.
For example, the BBC concludes with a lengthy case for 
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) says that $100 million is believed to have been siphoned off due to a “money laundering operation,” and other associates were involved.
The 15-month investigation featured 1,000 hours of wiretapping and resulted in 70 raids, according to NABU.
There are numerous reports speculating that Mindich, 
Five Norwegian political parties, including three backing Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s next government, have now 
The data for this graphic comes from 
Gen Z and Millennials Dominate the Workforce
Gen Z (ages 13–28) and Millennials (ages 29–44) together account for 44% of all people—and most of the world’s workers. Millennials alone make up 1.7 billion people.
The Aging Populations of Boomers and the Silent Generation
At the upper end of the age spectrum, Baby Boomers (ages 61–79) represent about 12.8% of the population, while those 80 or older—the Silent Generation and older cohorts—make up just 2%.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out 
The government is currently offering illegal immigrants $1,000 and free flights to self-deport back to their home nations. This gives them a chance to come back legally. Those arrested and deported won’t be able to return to the United States, DHS said.
According to the DHS, law enforcement has been removing the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” from the country, including rapists, murderers, drug dealers, and pedophiles, despite facing opposition from politicians in sanctuary jurisdictions.
Sanctuary 
Sold Out in India, Panic in London
Bloomberg comments 
But when it came, he was still blown away. At the start of last week, his company, India’s largest precious metals refinery, ran out of silver stock for the first time in its history.
“Most people who are dealing silver and silver coins, they’re literally out of stock because silver is not there,” said Raina, who is head of trading at MMTC-Pamp India Pvt.
“This kind of crazy market — where people are buying at these levels — I have not seen in my 27-year career.”
Within days, the shortages were being felt not just in India, but around the world. India’s festival buyers were joined by international investors and hedge funds piling into precious metals as a bet on the fragility of the US dollar — or simply to follow the market’s irrepressible surge higher.
By the end of last week, the frenzy had rippled across to the London silver market, where global prices are set and where the world’s biggest banks buy and sell in huge quantities. Now, it had run out of available metal. Traders describe a market that was all but broken, where even large banks stepped back from quoting prices as they fielded repeated calls from clients yelling down the line in frustration and exhaustion.
This account of how the silver market broke is based on conversations with more than two dozen traders, bankers, refiners, investors and other market participants, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
100-to-1 Ratio
When traders and analysts try to pinpoint the immediate cause of the silver crisis of 2025, they inevitably point to India.
During the Diwali holiday season, hundreds of millions of devotees buy billions of rupees worth of jewelry to celebrate the goddess Lakshmi. Asia’s refineries usually meet this demand, which typically favors gold. But this year, many Indians turned to a different precious metal: silver.
The pivot wasn’t random. For months, India’s social media stars promoted the idea that after gold’s record rally, silver was next to soar. The hype began in April, when investment banker and content creator Sarthak Ahuja told his nearly 3 million followers that silver’s 100-to-1 price ratio to gold made it the obvious buy this year. His video went viral during Akshaya Tritiya, an auspicious day for buying gold — second only to the Dhanteras festival on Oct. 18.
The premiums for silver in India above global prices, usually no more than about a few cents an ounce, started to rise above $0.50, and then above $1, as supplies ran short.
And just as Indian demand was soaring, China — a key source of supply — closed for a week-long holiday. So bullion dealers turned to London.
They soon discovered that the city’s precious metals vaults were largely sold out. While London vaults underpinning the global market hold more than $36 billion in silver, the majority of it was owned by investors in exchange-traded funds.
Demand for silver ETFs has soared in recent months, amid concerns about the stability of the US dollar, a wave of investment that’s become known as the “debasement trade.” Since the start of 2025, ETF investors have hoovered up more than 100 million ounces of silver, according to data compiled by Bloomberg — leaving a dwindling stockpile available to supply the sudden boom in Indian demand.
Premiums soared above $5 an ounce, well beyond the normal spread of a few cents. “I have been here in this company for the last 28 years and I have never seen these kind of premiums,” said M.D. Overseas’s Mittal.
Panic in London
Traders described a growing panic as liquidity dried up. The cost of borrowing silver overnight soared to annualized rates of as high as 200%, according to consultancy Metals Focus. As the big banks that dominate the London market started to step back from the silver market, bid-ask spreads became so wide as to make trading near impossible.
In another sign of the disarray in the market, one trader said the big banks were offering such wildly different quotes that he was able to buy from one bank at its ask price and simultaneously sell to another at its bid for an immediate profit – a rare sign of dysfunction in such a large and competitive market.
For the past five years, silver demand has outstripped silver supply from mines and recycled metal — in large part thanks to a boom in the solar industry, which uses silver in its photovoltaic cells. Since 2021, demand has outstripped supply by a total of 678 million ounces, according to the Silver Institute, with photovoltaic demand more than doubling over the period. That compares to total inventories in London of around 1.1 billion ounces at the start of 2021.
The stress in the silver market has been building since the start of the year, as fears that silver would be ensnared by President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs prompted traders to attempt to front-run any possible levies by shipping more than 200 million ounces of metal into New York warehouses.
On top of the tariff drawdowns, more than 100 million ounces of silver flowed into global ETFs in the year through September, as a wave of investment demand for precious metals supercharged a rally that helped drive gold through $4,000 an ounce for the first time in history.
Together, the two trends drained London’s reserves, leaving dangerously little metal available to underpin the roughly 250 million ounces of silver that change hands in the London market every day. Based on Metals Focus estimates, by early October the “free float” of metal not owned by ETFs in the London silver market had dropped to less than 150 million ounces.
Silver Falls More Than 6% as Precious Metals Retreat After Rally
Also note 
Those same trusts paid $4.5 million to the state and $30.2 million to the feds. The Pritzkers personally kicked in another $1.6 million in federal taxes and $512,000 to Illinois.
As for that gambling income, the campaign clarified that “The Governor had winnings and losses from a casino during the year.”
Thanks for that incredible clarification. Meanwhile, his 2026 running mate, Christian Mitchell, made a modest-by-comparison $583,600. Forbes pegs Pritzker’s net worth at $3.9 billion, up a casual $200 million from last year.
As for Zero Hedge readers, they appear to be skeptical. One responded to our Tweet pointing out this story by