The post Trump’s $1.5 Trillion Military Budget is $11,200 per Household for His Dementia Dreams appeared first on CEPR.

Crypto And AI Could Be Dirty Words On 2026 Midterm Campaign Trail

Authored by Aaron Wood via CoinTelegraph.com,

The AI and crypto industries have made headlines over the past year thanks to the impressive war chests amassed by corporate political action committees (PACs).

Profligate spending during the last federal elections in the US has led to unprecedented policy changes favoring the crypto industry, with indications that a full legislative framework in the form of the CLARITY Act is on its way to becoming law. 

But this hasn’t endeared the crypto industry to voters. Recent polls from Politico show distrust of the crypto industry, and the electorate isn’t sold on the benefits of AI.

“Voters across the ideological spectrum are raising concerns,” Michael Beckel, director of money in politics reform at Issue One, told Cointelegraph. “Some candidates on both sides of the aisle are trying to harness that frustration and outrage.”

Voters don’t trust crypto and don’t believe AI benefits them

According to the recent poll by Public First for Politico, most Americans don’t trust crypto and don’t believe in the benefits of AI. 

Source: Politico

While Republican voters are somewhat more likely to trust crypto, 47% of Americans overall trust a traditional bank over a crypto platform, while 17% trust a crypto platform as much as a traditional bank. 

The numbers for AI aren’t great either. Some 43% of Americans overall believe that the risks outweigh the benefits, while 33% believe the inverse. 

Source: Politico

Currently, most people haven’t heard about the major crypto and AI lobbies. According to Politico, only nine percent have heard of AI Super PAC Leading the Future. Only three percent have heard of pro-crypto PAC Fairshake.

That’s not much compared to public awareness of large lobbies like the National Rifle Association or the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which are practically household names.

Still, association with crypto could be a problem. Ohio Republican Representative Jim Renacci told Politico, “I do think if they see somebody is backed by crypto, that’s always going to be a problem, because, let’s face it, the people that I talk to in Ohio, they don’t understand crypto, and most say they’re not comfortable with [it].”

Improving awareness around crypto lobbies may not help them much. Rick Claypool, research director at Public Citizen, told Cointelegraph:

“Generally speaking, voters are against corporate money influencing politics.”

“Even after Citizens United, the norm had been for big, brand-name corporations not to engage directly. Or when they did engage, they would often contribute through dark money groups that obscure their funding source.”

In this regard, the crypto industry’s spending spree in 2024 was somewhat unusual. Major contributors like Coinbase or a16z weren’t shy about the millions of dollars they put into campaigns.

But even then, “the voter-facing message from Fairshake was never about crypto, which voters never really cared about.” Mailers and ad buys reflected the supported candidates' positions more broadly, or sometimes attacked those of the perceived anti-crypto candidate. 

Overall, “candidates who are seen as not beholden to corporate interests have an electoral edge,” said Claypool. This was true for populist candidates like US Senator Bernie Sanders and even US President Donald Trump, who claimed during his 2016 campaign that “he was so rich he could not be bought, which is laughable in hindsight.” 

If awareness about crypto — and crypto’s concerted efforts to influence policy — increases among the electorate, it may not shake out well. 

Issue One’s Beckel said, “If voters view an industry as toxic, that can have serious implications for candidates who don't want to be perceived as too close to a controversial company or industry.”

Grassroots organize against AI, crypto gets its day in Washington

Voter dissatisfaction with a certain industry has translated into real action. 

Beckel noted a recent example when voter attitudes about the oil and fossil fuel lobby were enough to get some Democratic candidates to swear off any contributions. Beckel said that some organizations are already urging lawmakers to forswear any contributions from AI lobbies.

Indeed, there has been a grassroots movement growing against the AI industry more directly, namely the construction of the highly expensive and resource-intensive data centers. Local movements in seven states have blocked or delayed over $64 billion in data center investment. One state, Maine, is poised to introduce a state-wide ban.

Municipalities in California, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Indiana and Virginia have banned or delayed projects. Source: Data Center Watch

According to Claypool, this could prove a great opportunity for Congressional candidates “to seize the grassroots momentum against data centers and Big Tech for Democrats in particular, but not exclusively, since the tech sector has so fully enmeshed itself with the Trump administration.”

This increasing partisan alignment could also affect how voters perceive these industries. 

Jason Thielman, former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said that the crypto industry has attempted to “maintain a degree of bipartisanship and identify people whom they think will be champions on these issues.”

But even as the lobby claims to be bipartisan — Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called crypto “the most bipartisan issue” in DC — its priorities like deregulation and withdrawn enforcement lean mostly, but not exclusively, Republican, said Claypool.

Claypool said that “crypto billionaires have tried to present themselves as scrappy underdogs against Wall Street.”

“But that's a less compelling argument now that crypto allies run, in addition to the White House, the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, the Treasury Dept., and the Commerce Dept.”

Furthermore, the sector has become deeply tied to Trump himself after the president’s full embrace of the industry in 2024, as well as pardons for convicted crypto execs and his use of crypto for his own personal enrichment. 

With Trump’s popularity sliding due to geopolitical bungles, an unpredictable economic outlook and controversial policies at home, having ties to him and his party may carry political risk.

In a Democratic Illinois Senate primary, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton accused her opponent Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of being backed by big money from “MAGA-backed crypto bros.” She won by seven points. 

It could also influence future policymaking. Said Beckel, “If an industry is viewed as a friend of one party and enemy of another, it may be more likely to be in the crosshairs or under the microscope when the other party is in power.”

For crypto and AI, that moment may come as soon as Nov. 4.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 10:30



 

This week, I sit down with Jason Zweig and William Bernstein. We discuss “Money and Me” the last book of author and journalist Jonathan Clements. Jason and Bill also examine Clements’s approach to personal finance and its impact on financial journalism.

They recall how each of them met Jonathan, and how he impacted the entire financial community.

A list of Jonathan’s books is here; A transcript of our conversation is available here next week.

You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube (video), YouTube (audio), and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.

Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with Chris Davis, Chairman and Portfolio Manager of Davis Funds. The firm oversees $20 billion in client assets, with Davis (and colleagues) co-investing $2 billion in their own mineus alongside shareholders. Davis was named Morningstar’s Portfolio Manager of the Year; he also sits on the boards of Berkshire Hathaway and Coca-Cola.

 

Jonathan Clements’ Books

 

 

 

 

 

The post MiB: Remembering Jonathan Clements with Jason Zweig and William Bernstein appeared first on The Big Picture.

"Brief Exchange": Top U.S., Cuban Military Leaders Meet At Edge Of Guantanamo Base

Three weeks after CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with officials in Havana, reopening a political backchannel between Washington and the Cuban government, a rare military-to-military meeting unfolded at the edge of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

U.S. Southern Command wrote on X that Marine Gen. Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, met with Cuban Gen. Roberto Legrá Sotolongo and other officers at the perimeter of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay for what SOUTHCOM described as a "brief exchange on operational security matters."

#SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan met with Army Corps General, Gen. Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, First Deputy Minister of the Chief of the General Staff, and other senior leaders from the Cuban military today at the perimeter of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for a… pic.twitter.com/V4Fau3HxSo

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) May 29, 2026

SOUTHCOM did not elaborate on the brief exchange between top U.S. military brass in the region and Cuban generals. No statement was issued by the U.S. Embassy in Havana, leaving the meeting framed as yet another signal that U.S.-Cuba talks are strengthening.  

In mid-May, CIA Director John Ratcliffe held high-level talks with Cuba's Interior Minister, the head of Cuban intelligence, and Raúl Castro's grandson, Raulito Rodríguez Castro.

Havana, Cuba pic.twitter.com/7S7TtJPyf5

— CIA (@CIA) May 14, 2026

Havana's communist government released a statement noting that the meeting "took place Thursday, May 14, against a backdrop of complex bilateral relations."

AP noted that Cuban officials presented a report to Ratcliffe and his team, claiming to demonstrate that the communist-run island poses no threat to U.S. national security.

Meanwhile…

• Axios Warns Cuba Stockpiled 300 Attack Drones With Crosshairs On U.S. Homeland

Increased back channeling has come amid a sharp escalation in U.S.-Cuba tensions. The Trump administration has been pressing Havana for sweeping economic and political reforms, while the U.S. naval blockade on fuel shipments remains in place.

President Trump has repeatedly warned Havana about military intervention. The Justice Department last week unsealed an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro and five others of the communist regime.

Also, the Treasury Department subpoenaed far-left influencer Hasan Piker over his trip to Cuba. He and CCP-aligned NGOs that went to Cuba are being investigated by officials to determine if they violated U.S. sanctions and laws.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 09:55

Leftist German Party Leader Forced To Correct Lies About AfD Leader, Pay Her Legal Fees

Via Remix News,

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the anti-migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has successfully sued the Left Party leader and won a retraction after she spread falsehoods about Weidel on live television.

In mid-May, Ines Schwerdtner, the federal chairwoman of the Left Party, claimed during an interview on Welt TV that Wediel neither resides in Germany nor pays taxes. 

“Alice Weidel doesn’t even live in Germany, she doesn’t pay taxes here,” she told viewers.

This statement is false.

While Weidel spends much of her time with her family in Switzerland, she has her primary residence in Germany and pays taxes in the Federal Republic of Germany. Weidel has been very guarded about the issue over the years, as she faces a high threat level and avoids appearing in public due to the security threat she lives under.

AfD leader has family taken to safe house and cancels rally due to attack threat

Weidel’s lawyers explained in a warning letter, cited by Junge Freiheit, that this claim was false, as their client both lived in Germany and paid taxes. 

The law firm Höcker filed a lawsuit on the AfD’s behalf seeking an injunction. Weidel’s lawyers also demanded that Schwerdtner ensure the relevant passage was deleted from Welt TV’s programming.

Furthermore, the lawsuit calls on the Left Party leader to acknowledge the “claim for damages.”

Following this, Schwerdtner’s lawyer sent a letter to the Höcker law firm stating that their client had “indeed made a mistake.” The Left Party leader additionally undertook to “refrain” from making the false statement that Weidel does not pay taxes in Germany. 

The letter also pointed out that the interview in question on Welt TV had since been deleted by the broadcaster. Furthermore, Schwerdtner stated that she would transfer the legal fees “within one week.”

Germany: Left Party wants voting rights for all foreigners who have lived in the country for 5 years

Weidel’s press spokesman, Daniel Tapp, told JF that in politics one “shouldn’t be too sensitive in principle.”

However, when “blatant falsehoods are being spread, one cannot let them stand unchallenged.” 

The AfD has been surging in the polls, with one survey last week showing it hitting a record 42 percent in Saxony, double the support of the second-place Christian Democrats (CDU).

Germany: Anti-immigration AfD soars to record high 42% in state of Saxony, nears absolute majority

A poll in May showed the AfD at 29 percent at the national level, while the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) fell to 22 percent.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 09:20

Intercepted Iranian Missile Damages U.S. Reaper Drones, Injures Five At Kuwaiti Air Base

An Iranian Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile targeted Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base, a key operational hub for the U.S. Air Force's expeditionary forces in the Gulf region.

An initial report from Bloomberg News indicates that Kuwaiti air defenses intercepted the tactical ballistic missile in the last 24 hours, but falling debris struck part of the base, injuring five Americans and damaging one MQ-9 Reaper drone while severely damaging another.

About five people, including both contractors and active duty personnel, suffered minor injuries, the person said. One Reaper was destroyed and at least one other was seriously damaged. -BBG

⚠️ Bloomberg reporting the consequences of Thursday night's Iranian ballistic missile strike on Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait: Several Americans suffered minor injuries. Two MQ-9 Reaper strike drones - $30 million each - seriously damaged.

The weapon: a Fateh-110 ballistic… https://t.co/WgmB42pBU5 pic.twitter.com/3xYK4oHSHx

— The Tectonic (@thetect0nic) May 30, 2026

News of the strike on ASAB, where the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing under U.S. Air Forces Central acts as a forward logistics, airlift, and combat-power gateway for the broader CENTCOM theater, comes as the US and Iran on Friday reached a tentative memorandum of understanding to extend a ceasefire by 60 days and restart nuclear negotiations. However, the proposal still requires final approval from President Trump, according to U.S. officials cited by Fox News.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also indicated yesterday that Washington is maintaining maximum leverage, saying sanctions relief will remain off the table unless Tehran reopens the Hormuz chokepoint, transfers highly enriched uranium, and accepts that it cannot maintain a nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore overnight, where he said the US military is prepared to resume strikes against Iran if negotiations over the nuclear program collapse.

.@SECWAR “We were in a cabinet meeting just a couple of days ago, and the president said—hey, it will be a great deal—and if Iran doesn’t want to make a great deal that ensures they don’t get a nuclear weapon—they can deal with the guy on my left.

That was the only time I’ve… pic.twitter.com/Int1YiuflQ

— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) May 30, 2026

"Any deal will be a good one. A great one," Hegseth said Trump told him. "And if Iran doesn't want to make a great deal that ensures they don't get a nuclear weapon, they can deal with the guy on my left," he added, referring to the War Department.

"We are more than capable," Hegseth noted in reference to a renewed military strike against Tehran. "Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe."

Hegseth's remarks came just hours after Trump met with officials in the White House Situation Room to discuss the next phase of negotiations with Iran.

"The Situation Room meeting has concluded and lasted approximately two hours. President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his red lines. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon," a White House official said in a statement issued late Friday.

Iran's Foreign Ministry commented on the memorandum of understanding between the two nations, stating that nothing has been finalized yet.

News of progress toward a peace deal comes as energy experts warn of an energy cliff that could emerge as soon as next month if the Hormuz chokepoint remains closed.

It's clear that inventories, floating storage, rerouted cargoes, emergency substitutions, and rationing have absorbed the initial shock of lost Gulf-area crude, offsetting the roughly 10 million barrels of oil that weren't reaching their intended destinations each day. Additionally, daily headlines have pushed Brent crude futures to $91 per barrel by Friday afternoon.

But as we've warned, if the Hormuz chokepoint doesn't reopen in the near term, crude oil could soon be aggressively repriced higher, as those inventories are being drained at an alarming rate.

Latest on the energy market:

• UBS Warns Of "Scary" Oil Price Scenarios Once Inventory Buffers Run Dry

• "Approaching Unheard Of Inventory Levels": Exxon, Chevron Issue Apocalyptic Warning About What Happens Next To Oil

• 'Tank Bottoms' Loom At Cushing After Across-The-Board Inventory Draws, Another Huge SPR Drain

Latest Bloomberg headlines:

US Naval Blockade

• The US continues its blockade of Iranian vessels, with the US Central Command attempting to stop Iranian vessels seeking to pass through the blockaded area by issuing warnings along the blockade line.

• US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is still in place as of Saturday morning.

Iranian Missile Attacks

• An Iranian ballistic missile strike on Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base within the past 24 hours caused minor injuries to several Americans and seriously damaged two MQ-9 Reaper strike drones.

• Kuwaiti air defenses intercepted the Fateh-110 missile, but falling debris struck the air base.

Ceasefire Negotiations

• The US and Iran have reached a preliminary deal to extend a ceasefire by 60 days and discuss Tehran's nuclear program, but President Trump has yet to agree to the terms.

• Trump left a two-hour Situation Room meeting on Friday without deciding on the possible deal, despite earlier suggesting an agreement was near.

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that the US is ready to restart attacks on Iran if a deal cannot be reached.

Strait of Hormuz Transit

• Iran state TV reports that 2 ships have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.

• The US affirmed that deals with Iran to sail through the Strait of Hormuz safely are prohibited, regardless of whether a payment is made.

• Several vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked in recent days, according to the Chevron CEO.

• Qatar opposes permanent legal fees for transit through the Strait of Hormuz, but a temporary fee for mine-clearing purposes is negotiable.

Polymarket: //--> //--> Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by June 15?
Yes 8% · No 93%
View full market & trade on Polymarket //--> //--> US x Iran permanent peace deal by June 7, 2026?
Yes 14% · No 86%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

The clock is ticking for a deal to avert an energy cliff that top energy experts warn is near.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 08:45

UK's Ofcom Investigates Airing Of Trump Interview Calling Climate Change A "Hoax"

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

I have been writing about the decline of free speech in the United Kingdom for years, including in my book The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage. 

One of the most critical components of the British censorship system is Ofcom, the Office of Communications, which regulates the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications, and postal industries.

The most recent controversy is detailed in the Telegraph, with Ofcom investigating GB News over the simple replaying of a Trump interview in which he called climate change a “hoax.” 

Ofcom is investigating GB News for failing to challenge Trump’s characterization, even though many people share his views on climate change.

It is a breathtaking demonstration of the censorship culture in the United Kingdom. World leaders make controversial statements in every interview.

A free press allows the public to hear such viewpoints and reach their own conclusions on the merits of such arguments or policies.

The debate over the climate change data continues to rage.

The dates for dire predictions for massive environmental disasters, including those of Al Gore, have passed. Professor Guy McPherson received widespread press attention for his 2016 prediction that the entire human race would be wiped out by 2026. It appears that he is wrong.

Al Gore received the 2007 Peace Prize for his film The Inconvenient Truth as media, academic, and government censors attacked anyone questioning his data. His apocalyptic predictions have not borne out, and recent scientific papers have rejected the predictions found in the underlying studies.

Gore predicted more frequent and stronger hurricanes, but some insist that global data reveal a slight decline in both frequency and intensity. Others argue that the number may be decreasing but the intensity is increasing.  We have not seen the type of global hurricane disaster that Gore described in the movie.

Critics point to NASA data to argue that the areas burned by wildfires have fallen by more than 25 percent over the past quarter of a century.

While the global population quadrupled in the last century, deaths from climate-related disasters have plummeted from the 1920s, when an average of nearly half a million people died annually from such events.

Even the film’s famous use of polar bears has not panned out. Polar bear populations have more than doubled from around 12,000 in the 1960s to over 26,000 today.  While some have contested those figures, it has certainly not resulted in the wipeout predicted by Gore.

I believe that climate change is real, and there are other signs of more severe climate events, including flooding, that present real dangers for various countries. The point is not to say that it is all a hoax, but that reasonable people can disagree on this question.

That brings us back to the British censors.

In the last two decades, free speech protections in the U.K. have been eviscerated and the government is doubling down on the criminalization of speech. The criminalization of speech has expanded exponentially as individuals and groups call the police to silence those who criticize them or advocate opposing views.

Even silent prayer or “toxic ideologies” can lead to arrest. Expressing concerns over Western cultural values is now treated as an admission of “right-wing ideology,” warranting investigation. A few years ago, a neo-Nazi living with his mother was found to have a room filled with hateful symbols and material.

Judge Peter Lodder dismissed free speech concerns over the defendant’s possessions with a truly Orwellian flourish:

“I do not sentence you for your political views, but the extremity of those views informs the assessment of dangerousness.”

Calling the defendant “a right-wing extremist,” Mr. Lodder said the contents of his room were evidence of “enthusiasm for this repulsive and toxic ideology.”

The British people have become conditioned to censorship as different groups seek to silence those who express opposing viewpoints. The result is one of the most speech-phobic nations on Earth as offices like Ofcom fuel the fear of free speech.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 08:10

The Case For Air Conditioning Is Growing In Britain

A recent spell of extreme heat has intensified debate over whether UK homes should be designed with built-in cooling systems, according to FT.

Air conditioning remains uncommon in Britain, with fewer than 5% of homes equipped with it, reflecting a long-standing view that cooling is a luxury rather than a necessity.

FT writes that current building standards favor passive methods of controlling indoor temperatures, such as insulation, shading, and natural ventilation. Developers generally prioritize these measures, arguing they are more energy-efficient and better aligned with environmental goals. Concerns about the cost of installation, higher electricity consumption, and pressure on the power grid have also limited the adoption of air conditioning in new developments.

However, rising temperatures are challenging this approach. Critics argue that passive measures become less effective during severe heatwaves, particularly in modern, well-insulated buildings that can trap heat indoors. Climate experts have warned that a significant share of the UK’s housing stock may require some form of active cooling as temperatures continue to rise.

Consumer attitudes appear to be shifting as hotter summers become more common. Demand for air conditioning has increased among homeowners, tenants, and landlords, while installers report surging enquiries during periods of extreme heat. Yet retrofitting existing properties remains difficult due to high costs and planning restrictions, especially in older buildings.

As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, the question is no longer whether overheating is a problem, but how homes can be adapted to remain comfortable while balancing energy efficiency and sustainability.

Meanwhile, as Bloomberg notes, the heat is also creating new challenges for people who work remotely. With temperatures reaching record levels for May in London, companies that install air-conditioning systems report a sharp rise in inquiries and bookings.

The issue reflects a wider mismatch between the UK’s housing stock and a changing climate. Most homes were built to conserve heat during winter, not to cope with extended periods of extreme warmth. Despite rising temperatures, fixed air conditioning remains uncommon, leaving many households dependent on fans or portable cooling units.

For residents, the consequences are increasingly disruptive. Some workers are abandoning home offices in favor of air-conditioned workplaces, while others describe sleepless nights, overheated apartments, and difficulty focusing during the day. Even getting to the office offers limited relief, as much of London’s Underground network still operates without air conditioning.

The debate reflects a broader challenge facing Britain as it adapts to a warmer climate. While concerns about energy use and sustainability remain valid, increasingly frequent heatwaves are forcing policymakers, developers, and homeowners to reconsider what constitutes a comfortable and resilient home.

Britain is finding that as temperatures continue to rise, cooling may become less of a luxury and more of a practical requirement for modern living.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 07:35

Norway Lobbies To Persuade EU To Drop Arctic Drilling Ban

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

Norway, Western Europe's top oil and gas producer, has intensified lobbying at the European Union to persuade the bloc to remove or tweak its moratorium on Arctic oil and gas drilling.

Norway, which is not a member of the EU but is the biggest gas supplier to European markets, has sent nearly a dozen of its ministers to Brussels so far this year to discuss energy and trade and the state of the Arctic drilling.

The Iran war and the biggest oil and gas supply disruption in history have added to Norway's arguments that Europe needs reliable supply from places outside of conflict zones.

However, the EU's moratorium enacted in 2021 due to the bloc's climate commitments and environmental concerns, does not allow drilling in Norway's northern parts of the Barents Sea, which is estimated to contain most of the remaining Norwegian oil and gas resources.

“Norway is very active and good at making its voice heard,” the EU's special envoy for the Arctic, Claude Veron-Reville, told Bloomberg in an interview this week.

“Norway knows very well how to intervene, they are very well organized and very present,” Veron-Reville added.

Norway argues that an arbitrary line defining the Arctic area shouldn’t be viewed as the cut-off line for oil and gas drilling.

“There are no climate arguments for treating oil and gas produced north and south of a certain line differently,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Bloomberg.

Norway’s lobbying efforts clash with this week’s call of dozens of Scandinavian financial institutions which urged the European Commission to remain firm in its opposition to Arctic oil drilling even as the bloc could face physical oil shortages in weeks.

The EU could unlock 3.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of natural gas, or about 22 trillion cubic feet, if it rethinks its Arctic policy, Norway-based consultancy Rystad Energy said early this year.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 07:00

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of Danish Blend coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads:

• SpaceX: The AI IPO: SpaceX’s revenue in 2025 was $18.7 billion, which works out to a potential price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 93x.  The highly-anticipated Form S-1 filing document arrives as SpaceX officially unveils financials for the space rocket startup founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Trung Phan’s notes reframes the SpaceX IPO as an AI infrastructure play more than a launch business. The valuation barely makes sense, even if you accept the reframe. (SatPost by Trung Phan)

• Ukraine is turning the tables: The FT on the cumulative weight of Ukrainian deep strikes, drone economics, and Russian logistics rot. The war isn’t over but the trajectory just shifted. (Financial Times) see also All non-drone militaries are obsolete: Noah Smith on the Ukraine lesson: a $300 drone burning a $3M tank is not an edge case, it is the new mean. Procurement budgets pointing the wrong direction. All warfare is drone warfare now. (Noahpinion)

• The Average Guys Outsmarting Wall Street on Prediction Markets: How prediction-market ‘sharps’ have made millions wagering on everything from war to Rotten Tomatoes. A NYT Magazine feature on the regular-Joe Polymarket bettors who keep posting risk-adjusted returns that would have any quant shop’s head spinning. The story everyone wants to be true, told carefully. (NYT Magazine)

• Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas of his Holiness Pope Leo’s on AI: In his letter, the first American Pope says Humanity faces a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together (Vatican)

• How Barnes & Noble Became Private Equity’s Most Radical Retail Experiment: A Bloomberg feature on the surprise comeback of Barnes & Noble under Elliott — local manager autonomy, smaller stores, books actually displayed face-out. The rare PE story with a happy ending. (Businessweek)

• Being creative requires taking risks: Henrik Karlsson on why nothing actually creative comes out of the optimization mindset. Short, dense, worth saving and re-reading. (Escaping Flatland) see also Hacks vs. Artists: Nick Maggiulli on the difference between churn-it-out hacks and the people who actually care — applied to investing, writing, and most of what we do for money. A good Monday read. (Of Dollars and Data)

• The Strange Melancholy of Slaying Monsters: The MIT Reader on the long literary history of heroes who feel hollow after the kill — Beowulf to The Last of Us. Better than the cover sells. From “Shadow of the Colossus” to “Undertale,” video games have turned one of their oldest rituals into an ethical dilemma. (The MIT Press Reader)

• ‘The devil’s child’: the rise and fall of the only female yakuza: A Guardian long-read on Mako Nishimura — the only woman ever to make it inside Japan’s yakuza hierarchy — and the wreckage on the way in and out. She fought her way into the Japanese underworld, but drug addiction and the slow demise of organised crime gangs almost destroyed her. Reads like a novel and is somehow true. (The Guardian)

• How Bill Lawrence Became TV’s Most Prolific Showrunner: The creator of “Rooster,” “Scrubs” and “Shrinking” — not to mention “Ted Lasso” and “Bad Monkey” — did not expect to have a career renaissance in his late 50s. The Wrap on Bill Lawrence’s Scrubs-to-Shrinking arc — the showrunner economics of building a stable of writers, recycling cast, and quietly running half the comedy slate. (The Wrap)

Video of the day: SNL Documentary By James Franco

Be sure to check out our special Masters in Business this week, Remembering Jonathan Clements with Bill Bernstein and Jason Zweig. The two recall Clements’ impact on the investor community; they discuss his posthumous book, “Money and Me.”

 

Is AI Profitable Yet? (No.)

Source: Is AI Profitable

 

Sign up for our reads-only mailing list here.

~~~

To learn how these reads are assembled each day, please see this.

 

The post 10 Weekend Reads appeared first on The Big Picture.

Both Sides Agree Iran Deal 'Close' But Not Finalized, As Trump Promises 'Final Determination' Soon Summary

• NYT: President Trump’s meeting in the Situation Room lasted about two hours, but the president did not reach a decision on any new deal with Iran.
• Trump repeats conditions on Iran for lifting US naval blockade, oil pushed lower. Fars responds: "Mix of truth & lies."
• Trump vows to 'unearth' and gain control of nuclear dust in 'cooperation' with Iran and/or China, says no money will be exchanged with Iran, and that it 'must agree' to never have a nuclear weapon (Truth Social).
• NY Times reports surprising element of the Iran peace draft deal: a proposed investment fund for Iran - reportedly $300 billion.
• Tehran confirms MOU stalled, but is being reviewed, amid lack of trust in negotiating with Washington.
• The Revolutionary Guards said any renewed conflict would spread “far beyond the region,” threatening “crushing blows” and “utter ruin” in places opponents “cannot even imagine.”

//--> //--> US x Iran permanent peace deal by June 30, 2026?
Yes 38% · No 63%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

*  *  *

Trump After 2-Hour Situation Room Meeting: No Deal Yet

By close to day's end on Friday, both sides appear in agreement that no deal has been reached. First, fresh reporting after a two-hour White House situation room meeting from the NY Times:

President Trump’s meeting in the Situation Room lasted about two hours, but the president did not reach a decision on any new deal with Iran, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak about internal deliberations.

The administration believes it is close to an agreement but there are still certain matters being debated including the unfreezing of funds for the Iranians, the official said.

And from the Iranian side, the last afternoon official message was as follows (Reuters, state sources):

A senior Iranian source tells Reuters that a political understanding has been reached between Iran and the US, though it has not yet been finalized.

More from NYT:

Trump Promises ‘Final Determination’ on Iran Proposal

Trump: Iran's Uranium will be unearthed by the United States; Fars: Trump's claims "mix of truth and lies"

These Truth Social messages are starting to appear uncannily similar to ones already issued weeks ago. But this seems more confirmation that there is no MOU which has been 'finalized' - but that some key things have been agreed to.

• Trump is again saying the US will get the 'nuclear dust'
• Iran "must agree" to never have a nuclear weapon
• No toll system for Hormuz
• Removal of all sea mines
• "No money will be exchanges until further notice."

 

Oil pushed lower on the headlines via Trump's post...

Seems Trump is going to say "yes" to the Iran deal

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) May 29, 2026

But amid the return to some 'optimism' in headlines, there are the usual caveats and counternarratives (likely accurate):

This is what an Iranian official told me late last night, anticipating that Trump would be making such an announcement like the one he just made on Truth Social. Iran has also warned Trump would likely mischaracterize the privately agreed terms to promote his “victor” narrative. https://t.co/1JOvSGHrEM

— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) May 29, 2026

Iran Clarifies Deal 'Not Finalized' Amid Lack Of Trust

Iran's Tasnim reports Friday that the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is not yet finalized, and that Thursday's flurry of Western media headlines about an agreement finally being reached were inaccurate.

"The text is not finalized yet and the account in Western media is not precise," a fresh statement indicates. Official confirmation will be announced if it does get to the point of being finalized, Tasnim notes. The report cited an Iranian official to say that "the text of the possible memorandum of understanding has had changes over the past few days."

The warring sides are attempting to lock in a 60-day extended ceasefire, during which time they will get back to the table - and that's when finer details like how to address Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium will be dealt with. It is now day 91, and according to the latest Friday:

Iranian Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Ghalibaf says: "We have no trust in guarantees or words."

Late Thursday, US Vice President J.D. Vance indicated that President Trump has not approved, at a moment Washington is insisting the nuclear issue be more front and center as part of the MOU.

However, the Iranians have consistently said their nuclear program is not up for negotiation toward ending the war - but that it is something that can be talked about once the conflict closes.

According to a summary of the latest on the stalled MOU from an Al Jazeera correspondent: 

Diplomatic efforts to preserve the ceasefire between the United States and Iran have continued behind the scenes, with officials signaling progress towards a framework that could open the door to formal negotiations after weeks of conflict and disruption across the Gulf and beyond.

Despite the optimism, questions remain over the timing and scope of any agreement.

Iranian media reports suggested discussions are continuing and that key details have yet to be finalized, while both sides continue to navigate sensitive issues, including Iran’s nuclear program and security in the Gulf.

Ghalibaf: We Achieved Concessions Through Missiles, Not Dialogue

More from Iran's chief negotiator in a Friday update:

What has become clear is that US and international media reports have consistently proven premature, too out front, thinly sourced, and ultimately inaccurate in their generally optimistic claims of a deal being 'finalized' or else 'imminent'.

Iran Threatens 'Utter Ruin' on US-Gulf-Israel if War Resumes

In the meantime, Iran's ongoing threats of an escalated, protracted war happen to be very clear:

The Revolutionary Guards said any renewed conflict would spread “far beyond the region,” threatening “crushing blows” and “utter ruin” in places opponents “cannot even imagine.”

The warnings come after a war that saw Iran target US bases, Israeli cities and critical infrastructure in Gulf Arab states, while effectively shutting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and triggering a global energy shock.

The Islamic Republic has also been touting new "tools" to use against its enemies, per CNN:

Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any future retaliation would “feature many more surprises,” while Iran’s military threatened to open “new fronts” using “new tools.” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, said the armed forces had used the ceasefire period to rebuild their capabilities “at the highest level.”

Some pundits fear that such references to "new fronts" could mean either the closure of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, or even the possibility of missiles reaching Europe.

Umud Shokri, an energy strategist at George Mason University, has explained in a statement, "A simultaneous crisis in Bab al-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz would be far more serious, potentially affecting both Red Sea trade and Persian Gulf energy flows, which would raise oil prices, freight rates, and inflationary pressure worldwide."

One of the newest and most surprising elements of the Iran peace draft deal is a proposed investment fund for Iran — reportedly $300 billion.

Iran originally framed this as reparations for war damage (which it estimates at $300B–$1T). The U.S. side is rebranding it as an… pic.twitter.com/zdrgCiacfH

— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 29, 2026

Still, the Trump administration is pressing for a deal which would make its Iran gambit look like 'victory' - something which finally reopens energy transit points and sees the removal of highly enriched uranium from Iran. Tehran leaders, however, don't appear in the mood to allow Washington to have its cake and eat it too.

More Latest Headlines

More latest Iran developments via Newsquawk:

• Many points regarding the Iranian nuclear file have been resolved; Iran has agreed to international oversight of its nuclear facilities to prevent their dismantling, Al Arabiya reported citing sources. Iran wants to transfer the enriched uranium to China with a commitment not to deliver it to America.
• Chairman of the Iranian National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament said there are no plans to transfer enriched uranium out of the country, Asharq reported.
• Iran Deputy for Foreign Policy and International Security Ali Baqeri held separate meetings in Moscow with the Foreign Policy Advisor to Brazil's President and the Secretary General of Egypt's National Security Council.
• IRGC Commander said Iran forces are ready to act on Supreme Leader's order and enemies should not make mistakes as they will get themselves and others into trouble.
• Iran military source said US drone was intercepted near Bushehr in southern Iran, according to Al Jazeera.
• US Vice President Vance said that US President Trump is not yet ready to endorse the Iran agreement, while Vance noted that US and Iran made a lot of progress towards a ceasefire deal, according to AFP. Vance said US and Iran are at odds on uranium enrichment and stockpiles, according to SNN.
• White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller stating in an interview with Fox News that US President Trump is directly involved in negotiations with Iran.
• US President Trump said we completely sank the Iranian Navy and destroyed their air force, did not target all of Iran’s military leadership so that what happened in Iraq would not be repeated.
• US military said Iran's state TV claim that Iranian forces downed a US aircraft near Bushehr is false and no US aircraft was shot down by Iran, with all US air assets are accounted for.
• US VP Vance said US and Iran are exchanging proposals regarding some drafting points including issue of enrichment, adds time is still early to know when an agreement with Iran will be reached and if it will happen at all.
• US Treasury imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran's military oil sales, according to Reuters. IRNA reported US sanctions 25 individuals, firms and vessels over Iran oil.
• US President Trump said that US has all the cards, Iran has been defeated militarily, according to a Fox interview.
• Al Hadath posted Iranian television reported “the downing of an American fighter jet” in the vicinity of Bushehr, with no American confirmations.
• US official denies what Iranian TV announced about downing any American plane near Bushehr, according to Al Hadath.
• Israel's Channel 12, citing military sources, said "The army recommends to the political leadership intensifying the air and ground strikes in Lebanon".

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 02:55

When The Grid Dies: How A Single Blackout Could Unravel A Modern World

Authored by Milan Adams via Preppgroup,

For decades, infrastructure analysts, military planners, and emergency preparedness experts have warned that modern civilization is built upon a dangerously fragile foundation.

Electricity is no longer merely a convenience of industrial society; it is the bloodstream of every institution sustaining modern life. Water purification systems, food distribution chains, hospitals, communication networks, banking systems, fuel pipelines, transportation corridors, satellite infrastructure, and emergency services all depend upon uninterrupted electrical continuity.

What follows is a dramatized reconstruction of a prolonged nationwide blackout and the sequence of societal failures that unfolds afterward.

Though fictionalized for narrative intensity, the mechanisms behind the collapse are rooted in real vulnerabilities documented by energy experts, cybersecurity specialists, and federal emergency studies over the past several decades.

The First Day — The Extinguishing of the Great Machine

At 4:12 in the morning, long before sunrise reached the eastern seaboard, the first disturbances began spreading through the electrical arteries of the United States. Inside regional grid control centers, operators noticed unstable fluctuations racing through transmission frequencies connecting several major sectors of the national power network. Similar anomalies had appeared before during severe storms or regional overload incidents, and at first the event seemed manageable. Automated balancing protocols activated instantly while engineers attempted to isolate unstable sectors before the disturbance propagated farther outward. Yet within minutes the system began behaving in ways that experienced technicians later described as deeply unnatural.

Massive substations disconnected from the network one after another as transformers erupted under abnormal strain. Entire transmission corridors collapsed in rapid succession across multiple states while gas compressor stations abruptly failed after synchronization systems destabilized. Power plants automatically disengaged from the grid to protect turbines from catastrophic overload damage, but the protective measures only accelerated the wider collapse already spreading across the country. Before dawn had fully broken, immense regions of the United States disappeared into darkness.

The first reaction among the public was irritation rather than fear. Alarm clocks failed. Wireless networks vanished. Elevators froze between floors. Morning commuters discovered traffic lights dead at major intersections while gas stations sat powerless beside clogged roads. Millions initially assumed the outage would last only a few hours because modern populations had become psychologically conditioned to believe every disruption was temporary and every institution fundamentally stable. Yet beneath the surface of ordinary frustration, panic had already begun inside the agencies responsible for maintaining national order.

Cellular networks became overloaded almost immediately as millions attempted to contact relatives simultaneously. Emergency dispatch systems collapsed beneath an avalanche of calls reporting fires, traffic collisions, medical emergencies, and electrical accidents. Airports grounded flights across the country while financial institutions struggled to maintain even minimal continuity. Then, shortly before midmorning, another layer of modern civilization began deteriorating as large portions of the internet itself started disappearing region by region. Data centers exhausted backup reserves. Routing infrastructure failed. Communication nodes vanished from the network faster than technicians could stabilize them. Social media descended into chaos before becoming inaccessible entirely across many states.

Inside federal emergency facilities, the atmosphere shifted from concern into dread. Continuity-of-government protocols were activated before sunrise while intelligence analysts attempted to determine whether the catastrophe had been orchestrated deliberately. Preliminary evidence suggested coordinated intrusions may have accompanied the cascading failures, raising the terrifying possibility that the blackout was not an accident at all but the opening phase of a far larger attack against the nation’s infrastructure backbone.

By afternoon, Americans flooded supermarkets and pharmacies with growing desperation as electronic payment systems failed nationwide. Customers stripped shelves of bottled water, batteries, canned food, fuel containers, infant formula, and medicine with astonishing speed. The architecture of abundance that had defined consumer society for generations began collapsing within hours once the electrical systems sustaining it ceased functioning. Refrigeration units warmed steadily while digital inventory systems went dark. Employees abandoned stores to protect their own families as arguments over supplies escalated into violence.

As evening descended, modern America encountered a darkness few citizens had ever witnessed. Entire metropolitan skylines vanished beneath an abyssal blackness untouched by neon signs, office towers, streetlights, or suburban floodlamps. The silence unsettled people almost as much as the darkness itself. Highways once overflowing with traffic stood eerily still while apartment towers loomed above silent streets like abandoned monoliths from a dead civilization. Only the distant wail of sirens, scattered gunfire, and the glow of isolated fires disturbed the unnatural stillness spreading across the land.

The Second Day — The Unraveling of Ordinary Life

Morning arrived carrying no reassurance. Power remained absent across enormous portions of the country while communication networks continued deteriorating. Refrigerators leaked onto kitchen floors. Fuel stations remained dead. Emergency broadcasts urged calm, yet the tone of official statements had already begun changing from confident reassurance to carefully managed uncertainty.

The second day shattered the illusion that the crisis would resolve quickly.

Hospitals entered a state of escalating catastrophe as backup generators consumed fuel reserves far faster than administrators had projected. Emergency rooms overflowed with patients suffering dehydration, respiratory distress, panic attacks, untreated injuries, and complications from interrupted medical treatments. Pharmacies could no longer verify prescriptions because insurance databases and digital medical records were inaccessible. Families carrying diabetic children moved frantically between medical centers searching for refrigeration options before insulin supplies spoiled completely. Dialysis facilities in several states shut their doors entirely, effectively condemning thousands of patients once dependent upon routine treatment to slow and unavoidable deaths.

Meanwhile, another crisis was spreading quietly beneath the surface of public attention. Municipal water systems had begun failing in sequence across the country. Most citizens rarely considered the immense electrical infrastructure required to deliver clean water continuously into homes, apartment towers, hospitals, and businesses. Giant pumping stations moved billions of gallons every day through treatment facilities and pressure systems that now operated sporadically or not at all. Faucets sputtered weakly in some neighborhoods while others lost water entirely. Officials issued emergency boil-water advisories despite the growing reality that countless households no longer possessed reliable ways to heat water safely.

The psychological atmosphere across the country darkened visibly by nightfall. Looting erupted in several urban districts after sunset as small groups smashed storefronts searching for batteries, alcohol, medicine, generators, and food. Police departments attempted aggressive responses initially, but manpower shortages, fuel scarcity, and communication failures rapidly weakened operational effectiveness. Officers found themselves trapped inside the same unraveling crisis consuming the rest of society, worried not only about maintaining order but also about the safety of their own families.

The first unmistakable signs of decomposition had begun appearing within major cities. Spoiled food rotted inside powerless warehouses, supermarkets, restaurants, and suburban kitchens simultaneously. Garbage collection systems stopped functioning. Sewage pumping stations began failing under mounting pressure. The odor drifting through urban streets became heavier and more nauseating with each passing hour as sanitation systems quietly collapsed beneath the weight of the blackout.

By the end of the second night, many Americans experienced a realization more terrifying than the outage itself: the systems they had trusted all their lives were neither immortal nor invulnerable. Civilization, once perceived as permanent, suddenly appeared alarmingly fragile.

The Third Through Fifth Days — The Rot Beneath the Republic

The third morning marked the beginning of widespread panic.

Distribution centers could no longer function without electricity, digital logistics, or stable fuel deliveries. Freight systems stalled across the country while trucks sat immobilized beside empty highways because refineries, pumping stations, and communication infrastructure had all collapsed together. Americans discovered with growing horror that most supermarkets carried only a few days’ worth of inventory under normal conditions. Once panic buying consumed those reserves, nothing remained behind the shelves.

Suburban neighborhoods transformed almost overnight into armed enclaves gripped by suspicion and fear. Residents organized patrols after reports of burglaries and violent home invasions spread through fragmented radio broadcasts and word of mouth. Firearms disappeared from store inventories wherever transactions remained possible while ammunition became more valuable than cash in many regions.

Inside major cities, darkness itself became dangerous. Without streetlights, illuminated buildings, or functioning transportation systems, urban centers transformed after sunset into vast labyrinths of shadow illuminated only by scattered fires and flashlight beams. Criminal organizations adapted to the collapse with terrifying speed. Pharmacies were raided systematically. Supply convoys transporting medicine or emergency food were ambushed before reaching shelters. Entire neighborhoods fell under the control of armed groups after local law enforcement effectively ceased functioning there.

Behind closed doors in emergency command facilities, utility engineers delivered assessments so catastrophic many officials initially refused to accept them. Several critical transformers had suffered irreversible destruction. These colossal machines could not simply be replaced from nearby warehouses because many required specialized manufacturing timelines measured not in days, but in months or even years. The horrifying realization spreading through federal agencies was that the blackout might evolve into a prolonged national collapse rather than a temporary infrastructure emergency.

By the fourth and fifth days, money itself had begun losing practical meaning. Banks remained closed. Electronic transactions were impossible. Debit cards, retirement accounts, investment portfolios, cryptocurrencies, and digital banking systems became inaccessible abstractions trapped inside powerless networks. Millions who had considered themselves financially secure only days earlier suddenly discovered they could not purchase fuel, food, medicine, or transportation regardless of how much wealth technically existed in their accounts.

Several developments during this phase accelerated the national breakdown dramatically:

1. Fuel distribution networks ceased functioning almost entirely, immobilizing emergency vehicles, freight systems, and civilian transportation simultaneously.

2. Hospital generators began failing under continuous operational stress, forcing medical personnel into catastrophic triage conditions unlike anything seen in modern American history.

3. Municipal sanitation systems collapsed across multiple metropolitan regions, creating ideal conditions for disease outbreaks.

4. Refugee movements intensified as urban populations fled toward rural areas, overwhelming small communities already struggling with dwindling resources.

5. Public trust in federal authority deteriorated rapidly after repeated promises of imminent restoration failed to materialize.

The refugee crisis expanded with alarming speed. Families abandoned major cities carrying backpacks, bicycles, children, and improvised carts filled with scavenged supplies. Highways became graveyards of stalled vehicles after gasoline vanished from entire regions. Rural communities reacted with mounting hostility toward incoming outsiders, fearing desperate urban populations would consume already limited resources.

Trust between strangers dissolved rapidly. The social fabric holding the nation together had begun tearing apart at every seam.

The Sixth and Seventh Days — The Black Sabbath of the Nation

By the sixth day, the healthcare system had descended into visible collapse.

Hospital generators overheated or exhausted their remaining fuel reserves one after another. Intensive care units lost climate control while refrigerated medications spoiled in darkened storage rooms. Ventilator-dependent patients died in increasing numbers as exhausted nurses and doctors struggled beneath battery lanterns to maintain even the most basic forms of treatment. Ambulance systems deteriorated rapidly because emergency vehicles could no longer refuel consistently. Families transported injured relatives using bicycles, makeshift stretchers, shopping carts, and bare hands.

The emotional trauma inflicted upon medical personnel during this period became almost impossible to measure. Physicians trained to preserve life suddenly found themselves operating inside institutions stripped of medicine, electricity, sanitation, refrigeration, communication, and hope. Crowds gathered outside hospitals demanding antibiotics, painkillers, oxygen, or treatment while frightened staff attempted to maintain order inside buildings increasingly resembling war zones.

Disease spread quickly through overcrowded shelters and apartment complexes where sanitation systems had failed completely. Contaminated water triggered severe gastrointestinal outbreaks while spoiled food poisoned thousands already weakened by dehydration and stress. Mosquito populations exploded near stagnant floodwater and untreated sewage basins. Funeral homes ceased functioning almost immediately after refrigeration systems failed, forcing authorities to establish temporary body storage sites behind schools, churches, hospitals, and emergency centers.

One week after the collapse began, the United States no longer resembled the nation that had existed only days earlier.

Entire metropolitan regions operated beneath continuous darkness while fires burned unchecked across abandoned districts where firefighting infrastructure had collapsed alongside municipal water pressure. Smoke drifted permanently above city skylines. Helicopters occasionally crossed the night sky transporting military personnel or emergency officials, but for ordinary citizens the sensation of abandonment became overwhelming.

Food shortages intensified relentlessly. Parents skipped meals so children could consume the final remnants of canned goods and scavenged supplies. Elderly residents died alone inside powerless apartments where nobody remained to check on them anymore. Packs of abandoned animals roamed through silent suburbs after owners either fled or succumbed to illness, starvation, or violence.

Police departments across the country deteriorated beneath exhaustion, desertion, fuel shortages, and communication failures. Some officers abandoned their posts entirely to protect their own families while others continued operating in fragmented units focused solely on defending strategic infrastructure and government compounds. Neighborhoods militarized themselves with barricades constructed from abandoned vehicles while armed civilians patrolled through the darkness carrying hunting rifles and improvised weapons.

The old assumptions sustaining modern life had vanished completely by the end of that first terrible week. The blackout was no longer perceived as a disaster from which recovery would naturally follow. It had become something far more disturbing: the slow and visible disintegration of the civilization itself.

Across large sections of the country, trust in federal authority had already begun disintegrating completely by the end of the second week. Emergency broadcasts continued appearing sporadically over battery radios, but the language coming from Washington had grown increasingly detached from the reality unfolding inside the streets of collapsing cities. Officials still spoke of “stabilization efforts” and “temporary infrastructure disruptions” while millions of Americans were already living without clean water, functioning hospitals, refrigeration, fuel, medicine, sanitation, or reliable food access. The distance between official rhetoric and lived reality created a bitterness that spread faster than the blackout itself.

In many metropolitan regions, nighttime became synonymous with terror. Once the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, entire districts transformed into hunting grounds where armed groups moved through darkened streets searching for supplies, medicine, generators, batteries, or vulnerable homes. Apartment complexes that had once housed middle-class families descended into violent internal conflicts after residents realized no outside assistance was coming. In some buildings, tenants barricaded entrances together and organized rotating night watches. In others, people abandoned entire floors after fires, assaults, or outbreaks of disease spread through cramped hallways and powerless ventilation systems.

The collapse of sanitation infrastructure accelerated conditions toward something resembling medieval plague environments. Sewage overflowed into intersections after pumping stations failed completely, contaminating groundwater and attracting enormous infestations of insects and rats. Rivers surrounding major cities filled with untreated waste while desperate civilians gathered water from the same contaminated sources because municipal supplies had vanished days earlier. Dysentery, severe gastrointestinal infections, dehydration, and respiratory illness spread through shelters with terrifying speed. Medical experts who still retained communication with emergency authorities warned that the country was entering the early stages of a full-scale humanitarian extinction event.

The refugee columns moving out of major cities grew larger with every passing day. Long lines of civilians stretched for miles along highways littered with stalled vehicles and burned transport trucks. Families pushed children through freezing rain beneath improvised blankets while carrying the final remnants of their possessions in shopping carts and backpacks. Some believed rural farmland would offer safety and food. Others simply fled because remaining inside the cities felt increasingly suicidal. Yet the countryside had already begun changing as well. Small towns armed themselves aggressively after reports spread of looting raids carried out by starving migrants. Makeshift checkpoints appeared outside farming communities where armed civilians interrogated strangers before allowing passage. In several states, violent clashes erupted after refugee groups attempted to force entry into isolated towns guarding wells, grain silos, livestock, or fuel reserves.

The collapse of fuel infrastructure had by now crippled nearly every remaining layer of organized response. Military convoys struggled to maintain transportation routes because diesel supplies were disappearing nationwide. Emergency helicopters flew less frequently. Police departments abandoned entire districts they no longer possessed the manpower or gasoline to patrol. Freight rail systems remained frozen while shipping ports stood silent beneath rusting cranes and powerless loading systems. America’s enormous industrial machine had not merely stalled; it had begun decomposing in place.

Several realities became unmistakably clear during this stage of the collapse:

1. The national food reserve was effectively exhausted in most populated regions, forcing millions into direct competition over whatever resources remained locally available.

2. The healthcare system no longer functioned as a national institution, existing only in fragmented pockets around surviving generators, military compounds, or improvised clinics.

3. Large urban centers were becoming structurally uninhabitable, particularly high-density districts dependent upon elevators, water pressure systems, refrigeration, and electronic logistics.

4. Armed territorial groups had begun replacing local government authority in several neighborhoods, suburbs, and transportation corridors.

5. The possibility of restoring the electrical grid quickly was rapidly disappearing, especially after engineers confirmed extensive transformer destruction across multiple regions.

Inside government facilities protected by military security, analysts quietly discussed mortality projections so catastrophic they bordered on incomprehensible. Under prolonged grid failure conditions, deaths from starvation, disease, exposure, untreated medical conditions, dehydration, and violence were expected to rise exponentially once existing food reserves vanished entirely. Some emergency models projected that if restoration failed for several months, casualty levels could eventually surpass anything seen in modern American history.

Winter weather moving across northern states deepened the crisis even further. Without heating systems, millions faced lethal exposure risks inside powerless homes and apartment towers. Families burned furniture, books, flooring, and scraps of construction material inside improvised stoves to survive freezing nights. Carbon monoxide poisoning surged after desperate residents attempted indoor fires without ventilation. Entire neighborhoods sat dark beneath snow while bodies accumulated silently inside buildings nobody had the resources to search anymore.

The emotional collapse of society became visible everywhere. People no longer spoke about careers, politics, entertainment, technology, or future plans. Conversation narrowed toward primitive necessities: water, calories, antibiotics, ammunition, shelter, warmth. Parents stared at starving children with expressions of helplessness that survivors later described as more haunting than the violence itself. Elderly citizens increasingly volunteered to eat less so younger family members might survive longer. Across countless homes, Americans experienced the horrifying realization that civilization had never truly disappeared from history; it had merely been waiting beneath the surface for the systems sustaining modern life to fail.

The third week arrived beneath a sky permanently stained by smoke. From the outskirts of major cities, enormous black columns drifted upward day and night where industrial fires, burning neighborhoods, collapsed fuel depots, and abandoned vehicles continued smoldering without interruption. In many regions, sunlight itself appeared dimmer through the haze, casting a sickly copper glow across silent highways and darkened suburbs. Survivors who later described those weeks often spoke less about the violence and more about the atmosphere, the overwhelming sensation that the world itself had become diseased.

Inside the great urban centers, starvation began reshaping human behavior with terrifying speed. During the first days of the blackout, people still retained fragments of ordinary morality. By the third week, hunger had hollowed out much of what remained. Entire apartment blocks were abandoned after residents exhausted every edible resource inside them. Families moved through dead neighborhoods carrying crowbars and flashlights, searching empty homes for canned goods, bottled water, pet food, batteries, medicine, or anything that might prolong survival another few days. Supermarkets had long since been stripped bare, leaving only shattered glass, overturned shelving, and the sour odor of decay lingering beneath the darkness.

The streets themselves began changing appearance. Garbage mountains accumulated beside intersections because sanitation services had vanished completely. Rotting food, sewage overflow, dead animals, and human remains created an almost unbearable stench in many districts, particularly during warmer afternoons when heat settled over the cities like a suffocating blanket. Rats multiplied in extraordinary numbers. Packs of abandoned dogs roamed through suburbs once considered among the safest communities in America. Windows remained shattered across entire commercial districts where looters had torn through pharmacies, electronics stores, warehouses, and grocery outlets during the opening weeks of panic.

The collapse of communication transformed fear into something even more dangerous. Without reliable information, rumors evolved into a kind of social contagion spreading faster than disease itself. Stories circulated about military evacuation zones reserved only for politicians and wealthy elites. Others claimed foreign troops had landed on American soil while the government concealed the truth. In refugee camps and overcrowded shelters, terrified civilians whispered about entire towns being massacred for food supplies or quarantine zones where infected populations had allegedly been abandoned behind barricades. Whether the stories were true mattered less than the effect they produced. Paranoia became as common as hunger.

Along the highways leading away from major cities, enormous caravans of displaced civilians continued moving through the ruins of the country. Some traveled on bicycles while others pushed shopping carts filled with blankets, cooking pots, medicine, or exhausted children wrapped in coats against the cold. Many no longer knew where they were heading. They simply moved because remaining still felt like surrendering to death. Entire families slept beneath overpasses, inside abandoned vehicles, or in the hollow shells of gas stations stripped long ago by looters. At night, campfires flickered across the interstate system like scattered signals from a civilization that had fallen backward centuries in only a matter of weeks.

Rural America had become deeply hostile by this stage of the collapse. Farming communities armed themselves heavily after repeated raids carried out by starving migrants desperate for grain silos, livestock, fuel, or wells. Makeshift militias patrolled county roads wearing hunting gear and carrying military rifles scavenged from sporting stores or private collections. In some areas, local churches became centers of organized survival where food was rationed carefully beneath armed guard. In others, authority belonged entirely to whoever possessed the most weapons and the willingness to use them.

The winter that followed became one of the deadliest periods in modern American history.

Without functioning electrical grids, millions lost access to heating entirely. Apartment towers turned into frozen concrete tombs where elderly residents died silently beneath blankets inside darkened rooms. Families burned furniture, floorboards, books, fences, and scraps of insulation in desperate attempts to stay warm through the nights. Carbon monoxide poisoning killed thousands after improvised indoor fires filled powerless homes with toxic smoke. Entire neighborhoods disappeared beneath snow without a single visible light anywhere on the horizon.

Hospitals by now existed only in fragments. A handful of military facilities and isolated emergency compounds still operated generators, but most medical centers had become abandoned ruins filled with spoiled equipment, shattered windows, and empty corridors echoing beneath emergency lanterns. Survivable injuries once considered minor now carried death sentences. A simple infection, untreated pneumonia, dehydration, or contaminated water could kill within days. Pregnant women died during childbirth in apartments lit only by candles. Diabetics perished quietly once insulin vanished. The elderly disappeared in enormous numbers, followed closely by the very young.

The dead accumulated so rapidly in some regions that authorities stopped attempting formal burials altogether. Bulldozers dug enormous trenches outside major cities where bodies wrapped in blankets or plastic sheets were deposited in silence. In many places, nobody even recorded names anymore. Entire families vanished without documentation. Suburbs once associated with comfort and stability became ghost landscapes filled with abandoned vehicles, shattered homes, and drifting snow blowing through silent streets.

Perhaps the most horrifying transformation was psychological rather than physical. Civilization had always provided the illusion that humanity had evolved beyond its oldest instincts, yet prolonged collapse stripped those illusions away layer by layer. People no longer spoke about the future because the future itself had become unimaginable. The language of ordinary life disappeared. There were no conversations about careers, entertainment, technology, politics, or ambition anymore. Every thought revolved around heat, water, calories, shelter, and survival. Parents looked at starving children with expressions survivors would later describe as permanently haunting. Elderly relatives quietly refused food so younger family members might survive longer. Entire moral frameworks collapsed beneath the pressure of fear and deprivation.

By the fourth month, enormous portions of the United States had effectively ceased functioning as organized civilization. The federal government still existed technically, protected inside hardened facilities guarded by military units, but outside those isolated compounds America had fractured into disconnected islands of survival surrounded by vast regions of ruin. Some communities adapted through cooperation, strict rationing, agriculture, and armed defense. Others descended into predatory violence, raiding neighboring settlements for medicine, food, livestock, or fuel.

At night, the continent looked almost prehistoric from the sky.

Satellite imagery reportedly showed a North America consumed by darkness, interrupted only by isolated military installations, scattered fires, and faint clusters of generator light surrounding hardened compounds. The glittering electric web that had once illuminated the most powerful nation on earth had vanished almost completely. Cities that once glowed so brightly they were visible from orbit had become black scars against the frozen land.

And beneath that immense darkness, among the ruins of highways, silent suburbs, dead factories, and abandoned towers, survivors slowly began understanding the final truth of the catastrophe. The grid had not merely powered modern civilization. It had been civilization. Once the electricity vanished long enough, everything built upon it vanished as well, revealing how frighteningly thin the barrier had always been between order and collapse.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 23:25

How A 24 Mile Fence Once Divided California's North Coast And Sparked A Four Year Political Fight

For two weeks in 1976, a white nylon fence ran across the hills of Sonoma and Marin counties and disappeared into the Pacific Ocean, according to SF Gate. 

Called “Running Fence,” the installation stretched 24 miles and stood 18 feet high, supported by more than 2,000 steel poles. It was created by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude after four years of planning, permitting and construction.

The fence crossed private ranchland, coastal hills and highways before ending near Bodega Bay. Though temporary, the project required a large logistical effort: hundreds of workers, a lengthy environmental review and approvals from multiple county and state agencies. The artists negotiated individually with ranchers along the route, eventually securing permission from nearly all the landowners involved.

The article notes that public reaction to the project was sharply divided. Some residents saw the fence as disruptive or unnecessary, while others viewed it as an unusual experiment that would draw attention to the region.

Public hearings stretched on for years as lawsuits, permit appeals and environmental objections delayed construction. Christo later described the debates themselves as part of the artwork.

Construction moved quickly once final approvals were secured. Workers installed steel posts across the rolling landscape and attached long panels of white nylon fabric that shifted constantly in the coastal wind.

As the fence neared completion, officials raised concerns that the final section entering the Pacific Ocean had not received proper coastal approval, briefly threatening to halt the project.

The installation was ultimately completed without interruption.

When the fence opened, visitors arrived from across California and abroad to see it. Traffic backed up along rural roads, and spectators viewed the installation from hillsides, highways and small aircraft overhead.

Depending on the time of day, the fabric appeared bright white, silver or pink in the changing light.

After 14 days, the entire structure was dismantled and removed. Little physical trace of the project remained beyond photographs, sketches and preserved fragments of fabric.

Yet “Running Fence” became one of the most recognized temporary artworks in California history, remembered as much for the landscape it crossed as for the years of negotiations and public debate that surrounded it.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 23:00

Biden's Weaponized DOJ Ruined Tate Adamiak's Life. Top Gun Rights Group Calls On Trump To Pardon

Via Gun Owners of America,

In 2022 during the Biden Administration, federal agents arrested Patrick "Tate" Adamiak, a U.S. Navy sailor with no violent history or criminal record.

Tate's crime? He was a firearms enthusiast.

If that sounds like an exaggeration, it's not. Biden's weaponized DOJ charged Tate with violations of the National Firearms Act for having collectible firearm parts at home. Importantly, NONE of these items was an actual "firearm" under the NFA - at least, not until ATF agents tampered with evidence before trial, leading to one of the most unjust convictions we at Gun Owners of America have ever seen.

United States v. Adamiak is a case that everyone should be talking about.

That's because, right now, Tate is languishing in federal prison, serving a ridiculous 20-year sentence that is longer than sentences received by most violent criminals.

And to make matters worse, the U.S. Supreme Court has just declined to hear his case.

That means if DOJ doesn't ask that Tate's sentence be reduced at an upcoming hearing, then a presidential pardon is Tate's last shot at freedom.

We're calling on the Trump Administration to do the right thing and reverse this Biden-era miscarriage of justice.

The story of Patrick "Tate" Adamiak begins well before his 2022 prosecution, and it's worth telling here.

From an early age, Tate was fascinated with firearms, and he was as patriotic as they come. At the age of 17, Tate enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and eventually became a Master-at-Arms - the Navy's equivalent to military police. And, by the time he was 27 years old, Tate had been accepted to BUD/S - the selective training program to become a Navy SEAL.

Throughout his young adult years, Tate began amassing a collection of firearms and historic military memorabilia. At the height of his collection, Tate owned around 150 firearms, and his goal was to one day open a military-themed museum.

Unsurprisingly, Tate easily turned his hobby into a side hustle during his time in the Navy. He formed an LLC - Black Dog Arsenal - and soon became a top-500 seller of collectible firearm parts on GunBroker.

His specialty was inert, nonfunctioning military arms and replicas, including what are known as "demilitarized" or "demilled" parts kits.

Nothing Tate possessed was an actual, working machinegun.

To the extent Tate had any firearm parts, they were frames or receivers in a destroyed, cut-up state - significantly and permanently modified not to function as firearms, appealing only to collectors.

In other words, Tate sold nonfunctioning gun parts, which federal law does not regulate.

But that didn't stop Biden's anti-gunners from trying to ruin Tate's life. And during the Biden years, they found their opportunity.

In 2021, ATF paid a 20-time felon $8,000 to act as a confidential informant and help secure a conviction against Tate. This informant was cooperating with authorities in an effort to reduce punishment for his own firearm felonies.

Apparently, Tate's business success had caught ATF's eye, and they wanted to charge him with something - anything. This wasn't a one-off prosecution. In fact, it sounds eerily familiar.

We've seen precisely this sort of anti-business weaponization by Biden's ATF before.

GOA has previously covered the story of Tim Durkin, a successful entrepreneur and GOA member who the Biden ATF targeted, all for helping rural gun dealers stay afloat during COVID.

But back to Tate's case.

ATF's confidential informant tried to purchase a machinegun from Tate, repeatedly asking him to break the law. And each time, Tate refused, explaining that he did not have a Federal Firearms License, and so he could only sell parts.

Unfortunately, Tate's interactions with ATF's confidential informant did not end there.

It didn't matter that Tate had refused to break the law. ATF decided that Tate was a criminal; ATF just had to make him one. Ultimately, Tate ended up selling the informant some cut-up receivers of firearms that once had been machineguns.

Of course, these saw- or torch-cut items could not accept parts to fire fully automatically - they couldn't fire at all. They were just inert collector's pieces.

But that was good enough for the ATF.

In an affidavit later filed in court, one of the ATF agents on Tate's case claimed that each of these cut-up receivers was in fact an unregistered machinegun under the National Firearms Act.

ATF's theory? Even though the receivers had been destroyed, they hadn't been destroyed enough.

That's right - even though the receivers had been sawn apart with a "single cut through them," ATF claimed "each could be readily made/restored into an operational machinegun," and so each receiver legally was still a machinegun.

But there's just one problem with ATF's legal theory. It's found nowhere in the statute that Congress enacted.

Let's take a look.

The National Firearms Act defines "machinegun" as "any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person." 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b).

So, the statute covers not only functioning machineguns but also weapons that "can be readily restored" to fire fully automatically.

But the statute does NOT say that a weapon with a "single cut" through its receiver is readily restorable. In fact, the statute says nothing about how many cuts a receiver must have before it no longer qualifies as a "machinegun."

Even so, ATF has provided its opinion - not the law - on what constitutes "destroying" a firearm. In its publicly accessible NFA Handbook, ATF states that:

"The preferred method for destroying a machinegun receiver is to completely sever the receiver in specified locations by means of a cutting torch that displaces at least one-quarter inch of material at each cut location. ATF has published rulings concerning the preferred destruction of specific machineguns."

For many machineguns, this "preferred method" includes three or four receiver cuts. But again, this is just ATF's "preference" - it's not the law.

Yet under Biden's anti-gun administration, it would seem that violating even the arbitrary preferences of bureaucrats is enough to land you in prison.

Amazingly, it didn't even matter that Tate wasn't the one who cut the receivers in the first place - he bought them like that, from reputable military surplus wholesalers.

Those well-intentioned wholesalers never thought there was a problem, and neither did Tate.

But under ATF's approach - "show me the man and I'll show you the crime" - there was no avoiding ATF's vindictive prosecution.

Ultimately, based on ATF's subjective, entirely made-up reading of the statute, the Biden DOJ executed a search warrant at Tate's house in April 2022.

There, they found Tate's firearm collection and business inventory, including legally imported, deactivated WW2 relics, surplus military parts kits, and replica collectibles. ATF even seized Tate's money and antique currency collection, claiming it was the proceeds of illegal activity.

This is a common tactic by the feds - seize all your assets so that you can't hire a lawyer to defend yourself, or even pay living expenses while you await trial.

But even more important is what ATF did NOT find during its search.

ATF found no illegal machineguns at all.

So, in order to make DOJ's charges against Tate stick, Biden's slimy swamp critters at ATF took Tate's inert parts, slithered back under their rock in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and concocted actual machineguns.

That's right - ATF shipped Tate's inert firearm parts to its Firearms and Ammunition Technology Division, or "FATD." There, ATF employees tampered with the evidence, rebuilding and reconstructing Tate's inert items into functioning NFA firearms using government-owned components.

Take ATF's tampering with Tate's toy STEN gun, for example.

ATF took a nonfiring, $75 toy, and converted it into a machinegun using additional parts ATF acquired. That included forcibly inserting a bolt from a real STEN gun into the toy, swapping out the toy barrel for a real one, and manually loading and firing a single round as proof of concept.

But even after this malicious fabrication of evidence - creating a gun out of a toy - ATF still couldn't get the STEN to shoot more than once. How that qualified it as a "machinegun" - which must shoot "automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading" - is anyone's guess.

In fact, as one anonymous former ATF official commented:

"It is egregious to assert that this STEN replica is a machine gun when it cannot accept a magazine. Without a magazine, it can only hold one cartridge at a time, making it impossible to 'shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger, and therefore, impossible to be a machine gun.'"

But the absence of logic didn't stop ATF from using evidence of this so-called "machinegun" in court.

It's like the government searching your house, seizing your car and gun, using all those items to rob a bank, and then charging you with the robbery!

ATF also tampered with Tate's two inert RPG-7s. Not only were these decorative launchers completely missing their fire control groups, but they also had holes cut into their sides to render them permanently unusable.

Yet just like with the toy STEN gun, ATF converted one of these launchers into an alleged NFA-regulated firearm - this time, a so-called destructive device.

But in order to do so, ATF patched the hole that had been cut into the side of the tube, and then installed a new trigger group.

In other words, ATF simply undid all the steps that had been taken to render the item inert in the first place.

Of course, if this is the standard for something to be a firearm then, given enough time and effort by ATF, every "inert" firearm could be reconstructed, meaning the only way to "destroy" one would be to melt it into a pool of liquified metal or plastic.

Even after reconstructing Tate's RPG-7, ATF didn't attempt to actually fire it.

First of all, it's not like anyone can buy rocket-propelled grenades at a local hardware store. And even if you could, no ATF employee would want to be the guinea pig who drew the short straw and had to fire a grenade out of a launcher with a Band-Aid on the side.

So, rather than fire the actual round the RPG-7 was designed to fire, ATF decided to try something else entirely.

ATF inserted a bolt-action rifle training simulator, designed to fire a 7.62 round through the RPG.

In other words, ATF put its own gun into Tate's inert device, and then claimed that the RPG itself was a "firearm."

You'd think this was a joke if ATF hadn't actually done this in real life. Crawling inside a drainage culvert and firing off a .22 does not make the drain pipe a firearm. The same goes for Tate's demilled RPG-7.

Of course, gun owners should expect nothing less from an agency that has claimed that a sliver of metal is a machinegun, and that an ordinary metal water bottle might in fact be a firearm or even a machinegun.

The same agency that manhandled a barrel until the extension snapped off, and then claimed the firearm was ineligible for import.

Even worse was how Tate's criminal trial eventually proceeded.

After the trial judge allowed ATF's tampered evidence to be presented, a jury convicted Tate on all counts. Then, in 2023, the Biden DOJ triumphantly announced that Tate had been sentenced to serve 20 years in federal prison - all for inherently nonviolent conduct.

The appellate courts were no help.

The famously anti-gun U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejected Tate's appeal, dispensing with his Second Amendment argument in just one sentence. And on May 18, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Tate's petition for certiorari without even asking the government to respond.

We couldn't think up a more unjust prosecution, conviction, and sentence if we tried.

But it speaks volumes about the sorts of people and organizations that have come to Tate's aid.

For example, throughout this ordeal, the U.S. Navy stood with Tate, declining to prosecute him under the UCMJ.

In fact, the Navy never even demoted Tate, and instead allowed him to use personal leave time while in jail, paying him all the way. And once Tate ran out of leave, the Navy gave him an honorable discharge.

Ex-ATF agent Dan O'Kelly, Tate's expert witness on firearms, candidly expressed in a recent interview that:

"The ATF needs numbers to justify its existence. Each agent has to produce cases in order to justify their existence. Their training is ridiculous. They're only taught about 60 percent of what they need to know: make, model, and serial number. If you get into NFA stuff, the agents have no idea what they're looking at....

"The federal prosecutor was shown the law. Any FEO [Firearm Enforcement Officer] who testifies to something different than that commits a willful falsehood. They are the gun experts of the gun police. They ought to be charged with perjury and jailed, not to mention being fired. This case was the worst."

Adamiak was following a legal process and did everything he needed to do. He didn't try to "bend" the rules; he was following the law. The ATF put him in prison anyway.

And as of the filming of this video, Tate remains in federal custody. He has now exhausted his appeals, and the Supreme Court apparently had no appetite to right this wrong.

But here's where you come in.

We, as a community, need to help Tate.

That's why we at Gun Owners of America are calling on the DOJ to seek a reduction in sentence in Tate's case. Tate has an upcoming hearing where DOJ could do just that.

We also call on President Trump to grant Tate Adamiak a Presidential Pardon. After all, under this administration, ATF has entered a "new era of reform," pledging to clarify regulations and end weaponization.

There is no better place to start than to set Tate free.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 22:35

Repeat Speeders In Washington Could Soon Have Cars Electronically Restricted

Washington state has approved a new law targeting drivers with serious speeding violations by requiring them to use speed-limiting technology before regaining limited driving privileges, according to Slashgear. 

The measure, House Bill 1596 — also called the BEAM Act — was created in response to a fatal 2024 crash that killed Boyd Buster Brown, Eloise Wilcoxson, Andrea Smith Hudson, and Matilda Wilcoxson.

Beginning in January 2029, drivers whose licenses were suspended for reckless driving or excessive speeding will need to install an “intelligent speed assistance” device in their vehicles to qualify for a restricted license. Using GPS tracking, the system monitors a vehicle’s speed and prevents drivers from exceeding a programmed limit. The law allows only three manual overrides each month.

The bill classifies excessive speeding as driving at least 10 mph over the limit in areas posted at 40 mph or below, or 20 mph over the limit on faster roads. Washington is one of several states moving toward stricter enforcement measures for repeat dangerous drivers, following similar efforts in places like New York.

The article notes that the law also carries financial obligations. Unless a driver qualifies for assistance, they must pay for the installation, removal, and leasing of the device, along with a $21 monthly fee. That money will help fund a state program designed to assist lower-income drivers with the costs.

Tampering with the device is treated as a serious offense. Anyone caught removing, disabling, or altering the system without a legitimate repair or safety reason could face a gross misdemeanor charge, which may include up to one year in jail and fines reaching $5,000.

As more states experiment with new traffic enforcement strategies — including variable speed limits and automated monitoring systems — Washington’s approach reflects a growing push to reduce dangerous speeding through technology rather than traditional enforcement alone.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 22:10

Iranian Opposition News Outlet Got $800 Million In Debt Relief: Report

Via Middle East Eye

An $870m debt-relief deal suggests that Iran International, an Iranian opposition outlet, has ties to Saudi Arabian investors, according to a Financial Times report on Thursday. The links stem from documents related to a debt-for-equity swap that Iran International conducted in December to shore up its finances. Iran International has spent hundreds of millions of dollars since its founding in 2017 by British-Saudi investors, the FT reported.

According to the report, Iran International’s parent company, Volant Media UK, has lost more than $550m over the past five years, and it owes related entities about $645m. Those numbers came from documents that the FT reported as covering the financial year ending December 2024.

via AFP

Iran International says it is the “most popular Persian speaking foreign based news channel in Iran”.It employs 700 people and broadcasts into Iran from London via satellite, radio and social media outlets.

Iran International has been accused by critics of promoting “regime change” in Iran and advancing the position of the former shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, for a return to power. The outlet has long denied links to Israel or Saudi Arabia.

Iran International reported heavily on protests that struck Iran at the beginning of this year, sparked by a cost-of-living crisis brought on, in part, by US sanctions.

In January 2025, the news site reported that more than 36,500 people were killed in a crackdown on protests. Those numbers were significantly higher than those estimated by the US and other western-based human rights groups.

US President Donald Trump cited casualty numbers similar to those reported by Iran International days before launching a war on Iran on February 28, but did not disclose where he had gotten the death toll number.

Links

A New York Times report from April said that Israel also lobbied Trump to intervene in Iran, citing the protests that engulfed the country. Israel told the US that Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, could assist in "fomenting" further riots and rebellions to collapse the Islamic Republic.

According to the FT, Volant Media issued an allotment of 648 million shares, valued at about $870m, on December 13.

On that day, all of Volant’s original 50,000 shares were transferred from British-Saudi film executive Adel Abdulkarim Alabdulkarim, who is Volant’s company director and secretary, to Info-Cast Cayman Limited, an offshore company, the FT reported.

Alabdulkarim has “significant control” of Volant, the FT reported, citing his ability to appoint or remove the majority of the company’s board of directors. But Info-Cast Cayman was listed as the immediate parent company at year-end 2024.

Saleh Hussain Aldowais is the sole director of Info-Cast Cayman, the FT reported, citing Cayman corporate records. A person with that name is the chief operations officer at the Saudi Arabian state-backed Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG).

SRMG is a publicly traded company in Saudi Arabia that operates over 30 media companies and news outlets, including ASharq Al-Awsat, Arab News and Asharq News, which has a partnership with Bloomberg.

A spokesperson for Iran International told the FT that no new funds were injected into the company as part of the debt-for-equity deal.

They said the network “has never received funding from any government or state entity - including Saudi Arabia or Israel - whether directly or indirectly”.

“Where individuals associated with the business hold other external commercial roles, those interests are entirely separate… held in a personal capacity and have no bearing on the editorial, operational or financial independence of the network,” the person added.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 21:45

Meet America’s Largest Doomsday Bunker Community

Vivos xPoint, a survivalist bunker community built on a former military munitions depot in South Dakota, was created as a refuge for people preparing for disasters such as nuclear war, pandemics, or societal collapse, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal.

Marketed as “The Largest Survival Community on Earth,” the development offers long-term leases on converted concrete bunkers and promises a secure, self-sufficient lifestyle far from major population centers. While some residents use their bunkers as vacation homes or emergency shelters, the project has attracted significant controversy.

The Journal writes that instead of uniting residents around a common goal of preparedness, the community has become mired in disputes over property management and quality-of-life issues. Complaints have included malfunctioning septic systems, rising fees, property taxes, loose dogs, and an expanding list of community rules. Several residents have accused management of intimidation and unfair treatment, while the company maintains that only a small number of dissatisfied tenants are responsible for the conflicts.

Tensions have occasionally escalated into serious confrontations. In one highly publicized incident, resident David Streeter became involved in a dispute with a contractor that ended in a shooting after an alleged physical altercation. Streeter claimed self-defense, and a grand jury declined to indict him. Other residents have also faced eviction proceedings following disputes involving firearms or violations of rules that some argue were added after they signed their leases. These incidents have fueled ongoing legal battles between residents and Vivos.

A major source of frustration has been the gap between the community’s marketing and reality. Vivos promoted plans for shared amenities such as a restaurant, gym, store, medical clinic, community center, and other facilities. However, many of these projects have not been completed, leading residents to accuse the company of misrepresentation. A class-action lawsuit seeks refunds for tenants and alleges that Vivos failed to provide the livable conditions and amenities it promised.

Despite the disputes, some residents continue to value the location’s isolation, security, and peaceful environment. Supporters argue that the bunker complex still offers a unique option for those concerned about future disasters. Critics, however, contend that ongoing litigation, management conflicts, and unmet expectations have overshadowed the original vision, turning what was meant to be a haven from catastrophe into a community struggling with its own internal challenges.

Ultimately, the story of Vivos xPoint highlights a central irony of survivalist communities: preparing for external threats does not eliminate internal challenges. While the bunker complex was designed to protect residents from worst-case scenarios such as war, pandemics, or societal collapse, many of its biggest problems have stemmed from ordinary human conflicts over rules, property, and expectations.

Whether Vivos ultimately fulfills its promises remains to be seen, but its experience demonstrates that building a resilient community requires more than just a physical shelter...

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 21:20

Maryland's Glock Ban Aims At The Gun, Not The Criminal

Authored by David Manney via PJ Media,

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed SB 334 into law Tuesday, putting the state on a collision course with gun owners, firearm dealers, and 2nd Amendment groups.

The law targets "machine gun convertible pistols," mainly Glock-style semiauto handguns that use a cruciform trigger bar. Maryland lawmakers argue criminals can convert those firearms into fully auto with illegal devices called Glock switches.

The question remains: Why is Maryland banning future sales of common handguns because criminals already break the law with illegal conversion devices?

SB 334 bars manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, receiving, or transferring covered pistols after January 1, 2027. Current owners won't have to surrender their firearms, and like hell they should. Active and retired law enforcement officers receive exemptions, and the law also allows immediate family transfers, inheritances, and certain gunsmith repairs.

State Sen. Sara Love (D-Montgomery County) sponsored SB 334. Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George's County) sponsored HB 557, the companion bill in the House of Delegates. The Senate passed SB 334 by a 28-16 vote on March 19. The House passed it 91-40 on April 9 before Moore approved the bill as Chapter 771.

Supporters frame the law as a public safety measure. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, and other officials have also pursued Glock through litigation, arguing Glock pistols can be converted too easily with auto sears.

Police officials have warned about converted weapons appearing in crimes and threatening officers. A fully automatic weapon in criminal hands can turn a street dispute into a massacre in seconds.

Yet the constitutional problem remains. Glock switches are already illegal under federal law and Maryland law. The new law burdens future lawful buyers because criminals misuse illegal parts. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearm industry trade association, warned the measure would prohibit an entire class of lawfully made and lawfully sold handguns. The NRA also prepared a legal challenge after Moore approved the law. From the NSSF:

"To borrow on a line from James Carville, whom Democrats revere, 'it's the criminal, stupid,'" said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF's Senior Vice President & General Counsel. "These bills, and similar laws passed in other states, punish law-abiding citizens by infringing on their Second Amendment rights to legally obtain the firearms they choose to protect themselves and their families against criminals who, by definition, have no respect for life or law. Instead of enforcing the law and holding these criminals accountable, Maryland's lawmakers pander to gun control donors and antigun special interests to ban an entire class of firearms, which the U.S. Supreme Court's Heller decision clearly holds violates the U.S. Constitution. Should Governor Moore sign these bills into law, NSSF intends to have Maryland's Attorney General Anthony Brown explain in court why Maryland willfully violates the rights of her citizens and ignores its responsibility to hold criminals accountable."

Mark Pennak, president of Maryland Shall Issue, has called the bill unconstitutional and signaled a lawsuit. Maryland House Republicans also urged Moore to veto the bill, arguing the law bans the most popular handgun in the state because of conduct already forbidden by law.

The United States Supreme Court has said the 2nd Amendment protects weapons "in common use" for lawful purposes, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen requires modern gun laws to fit the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.

Maryland didn't solve the Glock switch problem by signing SB 334; it shifted pressure from criminals with illegal conversion devices to lawful buyers who want ordinary self-defense handguns.

Courts will decide whether the state can make that leap. Until then, Moore has given Maryland a gun law with a messy constitutional foundation and a lawsuit almost certain to follow.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 20:55

'We Outright Grabbed The Wallets': Bessent Boasts $1BN In Iran State Crypto Seized To Date

Washington's economic war on Iran and its 'shadow' banking network continues, as on Friday Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the US has seized $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets as part of the economic component of President Trump's Operation Epic Fury.

The billion dollar figure represents the running total seized to date, building on prior milestones in the conflict, particularly a recent major April 2026 freeze of $344 million in USDT on the Tron blockchain. By close of April, $500 million total had been seized.

And so clearly with the addition since then of some half-billion dollars more in seized digital assets, the US Treasury program has only greatly accelerated in the last several weeks.

During his Friday speech before the Reagan National Economic Forum, Bessent stated:

"Just outright grabbed the wallets. Some of them may be typing in right now and might not realize their wallet had been grabbed."

Assets are held "on behalf of the Iranian people" - he described, while framing that the Iranian government had 'stolen' the money from the Iranian populace.

Bessent on Iran:

We have seized about $1 billion of Iran's crypto — just outright grabbed the wallets.

Some of them may be typing in right now and might not realize their wallet has been grabbed.

This is money that's stolen from the Iranian people. pic.twitter.com/h3ycrJn1Jy

— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 29, 2026

Bessent is signaling further relentless waves of OFAC wallet designations and aggressive asset forfeitures coming in the next months, as highly sanctioned Iran continues to seek alternative means of conducting financial transactions.

As we've featured before, for ordinary Iranians - roughly one in six of the population - crypto served as a vital lifeline. Facing relentless rial depreciation (down nearly 90 percent since 2018), chronic inflation of 40 to 50 percent, and frequent power blackouts or internet shutdowns during protests, citizens turned to Bitcoin and stablecoins like U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins (USDT) on the Tron network to hedge savings, facilitate remittances, and move value when traditional banking failed. Spikes in Bitcoin withdrawals to personal wallets often coincided with domestic unrest and regional conflicts.

Yet this parallel financial system has also become a powerful tool for the state. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) steadily tightened its grip on Iran’s crypto flows. IRGC-linked addresses received more than $3 billion in 2025—up from over $2 billion in 2024—with their share rising to more than 50 percent of total Iranian crypto inflows by the end of 2025. These figures represent conservative lower bounds based only on identified and sanctioned wallets.

Washington in the meantime is still entertaining dreams of sparking some kind of anti-regime uprising based on applying the economic squeeze to the Iranian system, but apart from unrest back in January, this has utterly failed to materialize. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 20:30

Why Stable Systems Fail: The Illusion Of Institutional Control

Authored by Luc Lelièvre via The Mises Institute,

There is a persistent belief in modern political life that systems fail because they become fragile. Institutions, it is assumed, weaken under pressure and eventually break down. This intuition is not just incomplete—it is backward.

Systems do not fail when they become fragile; they become fragile because they have already lost contact with the realities they claim to govern. What appears as stability is not strength, but the final illusion of a structure that can no longer correct itself. This is not a matter of conspiracy or intent, it is structural. 

When institutions become more responsive to their own internal logic than to the world they were created to manage, this dynamic begins to unfold. As James C. Scott observed in Seeing Like a State, modern administrative systems must simplify in order to function. They translate complex, local, and context-dependent realities into legible categories, procedures, and metrics. This makes governance at scale possible—but it also creates systematic blind spots.

At first, the displacement of reality is subtle. Signals are filtered, anomalies are treated as exceptions, friction is absorbed. From within the system, nothing appears fundamentally wrong: Processes continue, reports are generated, decisions are made. This is the phase most observers mistake for stability.

In reality, the system becomes less responsive—not because it lacks information, but because it can no longer recognize what falls outside its categories. It does not consciously ignore reality; it simply ceases to register parts of it. As its categories harden, the system becomes more coherent, outputs are more consistent, procedures are more standardized. Language is more uniform, however, this coherence is achieved by exclusion, not mastery.

Rigidity is not strength, it is the loss of adjustment. At this point, fragility appears to emerge under pressure. However, this is misleading. A system becomes fragile because it must prevent itself from recognizing its own failure. Any signal requiring fundamental revision threatens not just a policy, but the system’s internal logic. The cost of recognition becomes prohibitive.

This is the knowledge problem identified by Friedrich Hayek: knowledge in society is dispersed, tacit, and often inarticulable. No centralized system can fully integrate it. As argued in The Fatal Conceit, attempts to do so inevitably distort or suppress what cannot be processed.

A contemporary illustration is the bureaucratic handling of the covid pandemic in Canada and Quebec. Centralized directives frequently overrode local realities and visible human costs. Once the framework was fixed, admitting significant errors became too costly. Criticism was absorbed through procedure rather than leading to meaningful revision—an instance of administrative rigidity that sustained the appearance of control.

At this point, the problem is no longer ignorance but overreach. Systems do not merely fail to process dispersed knowledge; they restructure reality so that corrective feedback no longer enters. What replaces it is not coordination, but representation. Under these conditions, power does not respond, it absorbs.

Demands are acknowledged but redirected. Critiques are translated into procedural adjustments. Pressure accumulates without producing structural change. It is dispersed, reformulated, or deferred. This creates a second illusion: that pressure leads to correction; it does not.

Pressure can be absorbed indefinitely—so long as it does not align. Fragmented demands rarely threaten a system. Even widespread dissatisfaction can coexist with institutional continuity if it lacks coordination and timing. Saturation is not mobilization.

As Mancur Olson argued in The Rise and Decline of Nations, mature systems accumulate organized interests that resist adaptation. Over time, this produces rigidity while preserving the appearance of order. What appears to be stability is closer to inertia than to equilibrium. Feedback loops become captured. Signals are no longer responses to reality, but to negotiated representations of it. The system ceases to adjust and begins to persist.

History repeatedly illustrates this pattern.

Late-stage regimes often display surface stability. Their structures remain intact, their procedures continue. Their authority is formally unchallenged. However, beneath this lies a growing disconnect between institutional representation and lived reality. The system persists—but as a closed loop.

When change occurs, it is rarely gradual. It emerges when multiple conditions converge—economic strain, political disillusionment, social fragmentation. Only then does accumulated pressure become transformative. Until that point, stability can appear indefinite.

This is why a crisis is often misread as the beginning of failure. By the time fragility becomes visible, it has long been present; what changes is not instability itself, but its expression. The real danger is not that systems fail, but that they continue to function after losing the capacity for correction.

As Ludwig von Mises emphasized in Bureaucracy, administrative systems can operate according to rules even when those rules no longer achieve their intended ends. The mechanism continues—but without effective steering.

Markets, by contrast, reveal what bureaucracies suppress. Price signals communicate information about scarcity, preference, and misallocation that no centralized structure can replicate. Coordination emerges not from design, but from dispersed knowledge. Correction rarely comes from within closed systems.

Stability, in this sense, is not evidence of health, it is often the final stage of a system that has lost the ability to adapt. Modern systems do not fail when they become fragile. They become fragile because they have already failed—structurally and long before that failure becomes visible.

The more decision-making is centralized, the more lived knowledge is replaced by abstract representations detached from reality. What follows is not reform, but substitution. At that point, the system no longer responds in any meaningful sense, it simulates a response.

Its stability is an illusion produced by abstraction, rigidity, and the suppression of signals it cannot process. It endures not because it is strong, but because it no longer registers what would force it to change.

The question is not when the system will fail, it is how long it can continue after failure has already occurred. History suggests the answer is uncomfortable: Systems do not collapse when they finally become unstable; they appear stable until the moment their failure can no longer be ignored.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2026 - 20:05