US not ready for influx of hyper-deadly new Narcan-resistant opioid from China: DEA agent

 The US is “behind the curve” on fighting a deadly new synthetic narcotic that’s dramatically more lethal than fentanyl and resistant to Narcan, a top DEA agent warns.

Just as authorities in the US and China increase efforts to tackle the scourge of fentanyl, the drug manufacturers, who are motivated by “greed,” shifted to start producing nitazenes — an even deadlier poison, said Drug Enforcement Administration Houston Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan C. Pullen.

The Trump administration has hit Mexico and China with sanctions and tariffs to force the foreign governments to act against illicit drug producers responsible for the poisonings of thousands of Americans each year.

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Nitazenes and other synthetic drugs are often disguised to look like prescription pills.Getty Images

Additionally, with President Trump’s effort to close the southern border, the feds have seen a significant drop in the flow of illicit fentanyl into the US.

But the Chinese pharma companies and cartels have already moved to introduce a new and stronger drug that many authorities are just now learning about, Pullen said.

“I do think we are behind the curve. But that’s been the case with these synthetic opioids — that they shift,” he told The Post.

“And if we get into a place where then we are able to issue controls or China issues more controls on the precursor chemicals that go to these, they’ll just change the analog and it’ll go to another precursor chemical. China’s already done that,” he added.

Nitazenes are produced in China, often with the help of Mexican cartels that finish the product and move it north across the border, according to Pullen.

The potent narcotic can be up to 43 times stronger than fentanyl depending on the formula, according to the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission.

Nitazenes are not included in routine drug tests or toxicology screenings, making them all the more challenging to detect.

While the feds are “making headway” to tackle the new threat, there’s still more work to be done, said Pullen.

“So it’s very very difficult to stay ahead of it, so we’ve got to continue to step up our enforcement along the border,” he said.

“I think that the number of overdose deaths being reduced in the United States is a testament to that. The enforcement is not the only reason its reduced. Naloxone [aka Narcan] is a huge piece too, but we’re definitely making some headway and we’re gonna keep pushing on that.”

There were 80,000 overdose deaths in the US in 2024 — a 27% drop from the 110,000 deaths estimated in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While the wider use of Narcan has contributed to the drop in overdose deaths, nitazenes is often resistant to the drug antidote — adding a terrifying new pitfall, Pullen warned.

“It’s incredibly deadly and normal treatment methods like naloxone … don’t work as well on nitazenes because it’s so much stronger,” said Pullen.

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Photo of Houston DEA chief Jonathan C. Pullen and Attorney General Pam Bondi.DEAHQ/Facebook

“It’s really hard to overcome if you’ve taken one.”

In the Houston-area, there were 15 deaths related to nitazenes and 11 seizures of the drug between November and February, according to the DEA.

Two of the victims were best friends Lucci Reyes-McCallister, 22, and Hunter Clement, 21, who ingested pills marketed as Xanax and Percocet that actually contained N-pyrrolidino protonitazene, a form of nitazenes that is 25 times stronger than fentanyl.

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An illustration that highlights the U.S. cities with the highest rates of nitazene-related overdoses.Jared Larson / NY Post Design

And their mothers are warning America’s youth in the hopes of saving lives.

“They could think something is clean or rather safe when it’s actually pressed for something that’s 20 to 40 times stronger, more deadly than fentanyl,” Lucci’s mother Grey recently told The Post.

“It just really lit a fire under me. There was no way Lucci was going to die in vain,” she added.

The drug was developed 60 years ago as a possible alternative to morphine, but was outlawed for medical use over its high overdose risk.

Authorities in Europe have already seen several overdoses from the synthetic narcotic. It was first detected in the US in 2019.

Last January, a Florida man confessed to distributing protonitazene that he received in mailed shipments from China, according to the IRS.

Customs officers at Kennedy are also seeing the drug coming through the airport “at least a few times a week in quantities ranging from just a few grams to upwards of a pound or more,” Andrew Renna, assistant port director for cargo operations at the airport, said in May.

https://nypost.com/2025/08/28/us-news/america-not-ready-to-combat-nitazene-synthetic-opioids-dea-agent/

‘Dark money’ group paying pro-Dem influencers up to $8K a month: report

 A secretive dark money group tied to the Democratic Party is paying online influencers up to $8,000 a month to disseminate left-leaning talking points, according to a report.

The “Chorus Creator Incubator Program” is said to be funded by the “Sixteen Thirty Fund,” a nonprofit sometimes portrayed as the left’s answer to the Koch network and which has funneled money to dozens of Democratic-friendly influencers, according to WIRED magazine.

The names attached to the program span some of the most recognizable liberal voices online.

They include Olivia Julianna, the Gen Z activist who spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention; Loren Piretra, a former Playboy executive turned Occupy Democrats podcast host; and Barrett Adair, the content creator who runs a viral American Girl Doll–themed meme account.

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Olivia Julianna takes a selfie with Joe Biden.X / @0liviajulianna

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Olivia Julianna is the Gen Z activist who spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

The program also includes Suzanne Lambert, who styles herself a “Regina George liberal”; Arielle Fodor, a teacher with 1.4 million TikTok followers; Sander Jennings, the TLC reality star and older brother of trans influencer Jazz Jennings; and David Pakman, host of a YouTube show.

Leigh McGowan, better known to her audience as “Politics Girl,” is also reported to be tied to the program.

Each of them, and many more, were brought into communication with Chorus, the nonprofit arm of a for-profit influencer agency, to take part in the “Sixteen Thirty Fund”–financed program.

In all, Chorus told participants more than 90 influencers were expected to join, according to WIRED.

The arrangement was cloaked in secrecy.

Contracts reviewed by WIRED barred creators from publicly acknowledging the program, disclosing the identity of any funder or even admitting they were being paid at all, the publication reported.

A breach could mean expulsion from the program — and the loss of thousands in monthly income, according to WIRED.

One clause reportedly gave Chorus unilateral authority to demand creators take down content produced at its events.

Another required influencers to route any dealings with politicians through the organization, effectively turning Chorus into a gatekeeper between Democratic politicians and their online supporters, according to WIRED.

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Pro-Dem influencer David Pakman speaks onstage at Politicon 2018 in Los Angeles.Getty Images

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David Pakman pictured with Jamie Raskin.X / @dpakman

Some balked at the restrictions. In a group chat among influencers debating the terms, one pro-abortion creator, Pari (@womeninamerica), quipped, “I believe we are in Stage 5: Acceptance.”

Aaron Parnas, a Gen Z news influencer once hailed as “the Gen Z Walter Cronkite,” is reported to have told colleagues it was “take it or leave it.” Ultimately, many signed.

The program’s secrecy clause was deliberate.

“It avoids a lot of the public disclosure … that you see on political ads,” Graham Wilson, a lawyer for Chorus, said in a Zoom call with creators, according to WIRED.

“Your names aren’t showing up on reports filed with the FEC.”

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Suzanne Lambert, Chris Murphy, and Maxwell Frost sitting for a video recording.Instagram / @itssuzannelambert

That omission is exactly what alarms watchdogs.

“For democracy to thrive, we need transparency around who is paying for political messages,” Elizabeth Dubois, a University of Ottawa professor who studies digital politics, told the outlet.

Don Heider, head of Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, was even blunter.

“If the contract says you can’t disclose it, then it’s pretty simple — you can’t take the money,” Heider told WIRED.

Yet the money was hard to resist. In addition to the $8,000-a-month “amplifier” tier, some creators were offered smaller stipends, around $250 a month, to be part of what Chorus described as a larger incubator, according to WIRED.

The collective reach, Chorus bragged in fundraising materials, topped 40 million followers and 100 million weekly views.

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Arielle Fodor, a teacher with 1.4 million TikTok followers, is reportedly participating in the “Chorus Creator Incubator Program.”X / @watchTENETnow

Already, the cohort has produced collaborative content. A new weekly series, “Good News in Politics,” featured six influencers — including Eliza Orlins, Sander Jennings and @thezactivist — touting Democratic wins.

The creators encouraged viewers to “follow these creators bringing you hope instead of doomscrolling.”

For the Democratic Party, burned by years of failed influencer outreach, the strategy marks a dramatic shift.

After the Biden White House froze out critical creators and the Harris campaign alienated others, the party is now mimicking tactics long used by Republicans, who have spent decades cultivating a sprawling conservative media ecosystem.

But while right-wing influencers often receive direct funding through PACs or campaigns, Democrats are now accused of using nonprofit intermediaries to obscure the money trail.

The “Sixteen Thirty Fund,” founded in 2009, is no small player. It poured $141 million into left-leaning causes during the 2018 midterms, $400 million during the 2020 cycle, and $196 million on ballot initiatives in 2022.

Just four donors accounted for nearly two-thirds of its revenue last year. Now, through Chorus, that money is flowing to TikTokers, YouTubers and Instagram personalities.

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Content creator Suzanne Lambert styles herself a “Regina George liberal.”The Washington Post via Getty Images

Not all creators welcomed the arrangement. V Spehar, a TikTok star with 3.5 million followers, accused Chorus of using their image in fundraising decks without permission.

Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive YouTuber now running for Congress, told WIRED that she, too, was featured on Chorus materials without consent.

“What we need is investment in independent media,” Spehar said, “not another middleman.”

Some Democratic creators defended the program, including Elizabeth Booker Houston and Allie O’Brien, both of whom were reportedly offered high-paying slots in the incubator. Others, like Keith Edwards, a YouTuber who rose to prominence last year, blasted it as “predatory.”

The Post has sought comment from the influencers named in the article as well as from “Sixteen Thirty Fund.”

“Yes, I have received compensation to supplement years of previously unpaid work,” Piretra told the Post.

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Leigh McGowan, better known to her audience as “Politics Girl,” is also reported to be on the Sixteen Thirty Fund payroll.Variety via Getty Images

“The fund supports content creation sustainability while maintaining zero ownership, editorial control, or messaging input — they have no approval process, no deliverables requirements, and no review or oversight of what I create.”

Piretra said that “the expectation that creators should indefinitely absorb all labor costs without compensation is neither sustainable nor reasonable.”

“When my content is funded by an organization or vetted cause with shared values, you’ll see a clear disclosure,” Piretra added.

A spokesperson for the Sixteen Thirty Fund told the Post: “Chorus is doing crucial work to spread a pro-democracy message to Americans. Creators working with Chorus have always been encouraged to talk about their involvement in the program.”

The rep said that as a nonprofit, “Chorus creators are not paid to support candidates, but they are free to do so in their own time.”

“Sixteen Thirty Fund’s work with Chorus is limited to our role as a fiscal sponsor,” the rep said.

“We process donations on Chorus’s behalf but are not the original source of funding.”

https://nypost.com/2025/08/28/business/dark-money-group-paying-pro-democrat-influencers-up-to-8k-a-month-report/