Viral Influencer: How Bill Gates' Billions Shape US Medical Research

Authored by Paul D. Thacker via RealClearInvestigations,

Bill Gates has long been one of the most admired people in the world, especially since he stepped down from his role running Microsoft to devote himself and much of his fortune to philanthropy. That reputation has been tarnished recently, however, by revelations of the billionaire's close relation with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and exposes on his own fraught relationships with women.

On the eve of Gates' private testimony with Congress scheduled for tomorrow, a trove of federal whistleblower documents provided to RealClearInvestigations is renewing questions about how Gates money has bought what critics complain is an untoward influence on government health policy. For almost a quarter of a century, his main vehicle of power, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), allowing Gates to shape the direction of the country's health strategy in ways that have benefitted his own priorities and pet causes while polishing his image as a benevolent global do-gooder.

At a time of growing concern about the power of billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman, Gates' efforts stand out. Instead of lobbying federal agencies for specific policies, Gates leveraged his wealth to work inside the government, partnering with high-ranking NIH officials to steer taxpayer research funding and design scientific policies for several federal programs.

The cache of several dozen emails and documents, made public for the first time by an NIH whistleblower, reinforces previous reports detailing Gates's extensive influence over U.S. biomedical research. During the height of the COVID pandemic, Kate Elder, a senior vaccines policy adviser for Doctors Without Borders, complained to Politico, "What makes Bill Gates qualified to be giving advice and advising the U.S. government on where they should be putting the tremendous resources?"

Emails and internal plans, for example, show that the NIH - the world's largest funder of biomedical research - gave the Gates Foundation first billing for the joint workshops and meeting held on federal property.

The Gates Foundation did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The NIH also declined to comment.

Leveraging Investments

Like most philanthropies, the Gates Foundation tries to grow its endowment through investments. Some of these efforts, especially its stake in vaccine companies, blur the lines between profit-seeking and the foundation's mission to develop and deliver vaccines around the world. This symbiotic relationship between capitalism and charity also benefits Gates, whose power and position hinge in large part on the size of his foundation's assets. Before the pandemic, The Nation magazine reported that the Gates Foundation had a $40 million stake in CureVac - this was not a grant but an investment. CureVac was one of many companies the nonprofit bought stock in that were working on COVID vaccines and therapeutics.

Around that same period, the Gates Foundation announced that it had begun to "leverage a portion of its $2.5 billion Strategic Investment Fund" to advance the nonprofit's COVID work. The Gates Foundation also turned a $55 million investment in Pfizer's COVID vaccine partner, BioNTech, into over $550 million when it sold stock a couple of years later after the vaccine hit the market.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was established in 2000 with an initial endowment of $20 billion and a primary focus on reducing global health disparities. Rather than working exclusively through non-governmental agencies, the Gates Foundation began contributing to the NIH through the agency's own nonprofit, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH). Congress created the FNIH in 1990 as a firewall between NIH officials and outside donors seeking to influence federal research.

That firewall is not ironclad.

In 2018, for example, NIH officials, funded by beer and liquor companies through an FNIH grant, were in frequent contact with the alcohol industry while designing a study that seemed predetermined to find alcohol's benefits but not potential harms, such as cancer. The NIH also declined money in 2018 from drugmakers to support a proposed $400 million research program to discover opioid alternatives and addiction treatments. Like the alcohol funds, that drugmaker money would have also been routed through the FNIH.

Major Grants To Government

In 2003, the Gates Foundation donated $200 million to the FNIH to fund NIH scientific programs, an unprecedented sum. Rice University researchers warned in 2008 that this Gates cash was shifting the NIH's scientific priorities, even though the money was cycled through the FNIH. While FNIH manages and administers Gates money, they said, the Gates Foundation's scientific board ultimately "oversees and selects the projects to be funded" at the NIH.

After Gates gave an NIH lecture in 2013, NIH documents show that the agency began hosting Gates-NIH Workshops, eventually synchronizing federal research programs with Gates, to include coordinating grant funding and science policies across 10 NIH programs.

"Bill Gates, along with the NIH, the Wellcome Trust, it was this cartel," the whistleblower, a former NIH official who requested anonymity, told RCI. "This is a globalist movement. And that's something that I don't think the public knows."

The Gates Foundation held its second annual meeting with the NIH in July 2105, with both sides proposing new areas of teamwork, and later agreeing to cooperate on funding and research policies for global health. One area of overlap was the West African Ebola outbreaks. To align the Gates Foundation's Ebola research with the federal agency, Gates routed money through the FNIH so that NIH employees could hire the McKinsey consulting firm.

According to the NIH's summary of the 2015 workshop, McKinsey's study of the Ebola field found 20 therapeutics, eight diagnostics, and eight different vaccines, concluding that the Merck and GSK vaccines were the most advanced.

At no point in the several dozen emails and documents provided to RCI did NIH officials appear to raise any concerns about conflicts of interest regarding their work with Gates, nor the hiring of McKinsey to shape federal research and development policies. McKinsey is a global consulting firm whose clients include dozens of foreign governments and some of the world's largest corporations.

House Democrats released an April 2022 investigation that documented McKinsey's conflicts of interest during the opioid epidemic that killed tens of thousands of Americans, finding that McKinsey provided consulting advice to both Purdue Pharma and the Food and Drug Administration from 2008 to 2019.

In one example, the report surfaced emails with McKinsey employees congratulating themselves for influencing a 2018 speech on opioid safety by then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb.

When Congress brought McKinsey managing partner Bob Sternfels before cameras during a 2022 public hearing, he alleged that his firm did not have a conflict of interest when it gave simultaneous advice to both OxyContin's manufacturer and the government agency that regulated OxyContin. Two years later, McKinsey paid a $650 million fine to resolve a criminal and civil investigation into the firm's consulting work with Purdue Pharma.

"The NIH and BMGF have had a long history of interaction, particularly with respect to vaccines and drugs," reads the NIH summary of the 2015 Gates-NIH meeting.

A longtime NIH official said that the agency's leadership initially held Gates at arm's length, but eventually gave in. "They were very suspicious at first," said the official, who requested anonymity. "But they got caught up in, 'Wow, he's the richest man in the world!"

The NIH official added, "What I saw, which really, I think, extends until this day, is a complete merging of NIH and Gates. And I've never seen that written anywhere. I don't think people realize this incredible symbiotic relationship."

Bill Gates Is Coming!

Bill Gates added a bit of splendor to the Gates-NIH workshop series when he made his first personal appearance at the April 2016 meeting. As part of the meticulous planning for the event, NIH Director Francis Collins held a 45-minute teleconference 10 days prior to hash out the meeting's details with Trevor Mundel, a former pharmaceutical executive in charge of global health at the Gates Foundation.

According to a list of key "milestones and accomplishments" sent at the time to Collins, the Gates Foundation was by then firmly entwined within the NIH ecosystem to include dual workshops, joint clinical trials, combined research policies, and collaborative funding efforts. For example, NIH staff and Gates employees worked together on clinical trials for TB treatment in Africa. Both Gates and NIH employees also began a joint study for TB with support from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

The night before the meeting, the NIH held a reception and a catered dinner, paid by the FNIH, for almost two dozen Gates executives at the Cloisters Mansion, a historic, stone castle in rural Maryland, where actor Will Smith married actress Jada Pinkett.

Emails show that the NIH continued scrambling that night to lock down the arrival of other attendees, which included Obama officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Robert Califf.

To provide Bill Gates a luxury experience, NIH staff prepared Collins - a Nobel Prize-winning scientist - a minute-by-minute itinerary for the arrival of Gates and his retinue the following morning. NIH police were ordered to greet Bill at the facility's entrance and then escort the billionaire's three-vehicle convoy the final half mile to one of the main research centers, where the Director lingered in waiting. Such deference to power, said a senior Trump official when reading the Collins itinerary over the phone, is normally reserved for the president, first lady, or visiting dignitaries of state.

"Dr. Collins will meet Bill Gates after he exits the car and steps inside of the building," the itinerary read. After posing for a photo, Collins was bidden to escort the billionaire into the main auditorium and welcome the audience for Gates.

The agenda shows Collins and Gates Foundation's Trevor Mundel gave a joint introduction before stepping aside for Bill Gates's opening speech. Moderated by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the man who would later lead the U.S. medical response to COVID, the first panel included a mix of NIH and Gates executives discussing microbial outbreaks and public-private partnerships to develop pandemic-preventive vaccines.

Collins then moderated a panel on "Research on Engineered Gene Drives and Vector-Borne Disease Control: Status and Next Direction." Gene drive technology involves inserting specific genetic traits to spread rapidly throughout a population. Gates has long been a fan of gene drives to control mosquitoes, but the technology is highly controversial as it could also drive species to extinction and irrevocably alter ecosystems. The NIH's scientific program to control mosquitoes with genetic technology was apparently started with seed money from Gates in 2003. Last August, the African nation Burkina Faso suspended a malaria program funded by Gates over safety concerns.

Beginning in 2012, a Bill Gates-funded nonprofit called Target Malaria began a gene drive technology study to eradicate malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Burkina Faso. Last August, Burkina Faso's government suspended Target Malaria's project over safety concerns and worries about the excessive influence of Bill Gates on the country's sovereignty.

Gates only stayed the morning of the 2016 meeting and left before lunch. "Bill Gates is escorted, by Dr. Collins, out of the building through the same hallway he entered," reads Collins' itinerary. "NIH Police escort Mr. Gates and staff to the exit gate."

The meeting ended with a wrap-up and review of next steps, led by Collins and a Gates executive.

Later that year, the FNIH honored the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Pfizer with an award for supporting the NIH's mission. Gates was recognized for $413 million dollars in donations and Pfizer for $73 million. In a press release announcing the honor, the NIH said, "Their gifts created cornerstone programs and paved the way for our partnerships with literally hundreds of other organizations dedicated to driving biomedical research worldwide."

The FNIH continues to maintain close ties to pharmaceutical interests, a major NIH funder. The current CEO, Julie Gerberding, came to the FNIH during the COVID pandemic, having previously served as President of Merck Vaccines.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 17:00

Man Accused In Fatal Charlotte Train Stabbing Ruled Incompetent To Stand Trial

Two months after mental health experts deemed Decarlos Brown Jr. incompetent to stand trial for the fatal train stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska last year - when Brown shouted "I got that white girl" - a federal judge has agreed with them. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks alongside photos of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska and Decarlos Brown Jr. during a press briefing at the White House on Sept. 9, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Brown, 34, will be committed to a federal facility for treatment for up to four months in an attempt to restore competency, Judge Kenneth D. Bell said in his order on June 9.

After Brown's time in the treatment facility, the court will again take up the case to determine if he is then considered competent. If he is found competent, the murder case will resume.

If he is not found to be competent, and the court finds he cannot be restored to competency, the court will rule on further treatment.

The defendant stands accused of stabbing Zarutska to death on a Charlotte, North Carolina, commuter train in August 2025.

Brown was charged with one count of Violence Against a Railroad Carrier and Mass Transportation System Resulting in Death. If convicted, the defendant faces the death penalty.

A random horror caught on camera

As we noted in April, the killing occurred on the evening of August 22, 2025. Twenty-three-year-old Iryna Zarutska, still wearing her black baseball cap from her shift at Zepeddie’s Pizza, boarded the Lynx Blue Line light-rail train heading home. She took a seat. Seconds later, Brown - already seated directly behind her - pulled a pocketknife from his hoodie and stabbed her three times in the neck and upper body in a sudden, unprovoked attack.

Surveillance video, which quickly circulated online, captured the gruesome moment: Zarutska’s desperate attempts to fight back as blood poured from her wounds, while other passengers initially failed to intervene. Brown stood, wandered through the train leaving a trail of blood, and exited at the East/West Boulevard station. He was arrested on the platform minutes later. Investigators say he told officers he believed the young woman had been “reading his mind.”

Zarutska, who had fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 seeking safety and a new life in America, died at the scene. Friends and family described her as vibrant, hardworking, and full of hope. Heart-wrenching videos later shared by loved ones showed her laughing, cooking, and enjoying simple moments with friends—images that stood in heartbreaking contrast to the brutality of her final minutes.

A suspect with a long trail of red flags

Brown was no stranger to the justice system. Court records and family statements show he had amassed more than 14 arrests in North Carolina since 2007, including charges for assault, firearms violations, and felony robbery.

Two years after he was released from a five-year sentence for robbery, the same year Zarutska fled Ukraine, Brown was arrested again for assaulting his sister, who did not pursue charges. 

His mother and sister have publicly described a sharp decline in his mental health after a prison stint, including violent outbursts, delusions, and refusal to take prescribed medication for schizophrenia. Despite multiple attempts by his family to have him involuntarily committed, he was repeatedly released - most recently on cashless bail after what authorities described as a bogus 911 call.

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Community members gather for a vigil honoring the life of Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed on a commuter train last month, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 16:40

55% Of Democrats Would Prefer Living Outside The US; Survey Finds

Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness,

A poll conducted last month shows 55 percent of Democrats answering affirmatively when asked "Is there any other country on Earth you would rather live in than the United States today?"

Breitbart reports that the Elon University/YouGov America 250 National Survey conducted between April 30 and May 4 asked 1,000 US adults ages 18 and older about their feelings as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th year.

Thirty-eight percent of Independents answered yes while only 10 percent of Republicans said the same.

Jason Husser, director of the Elon University Poll, described a country that remains proud but uneasy as the anniversary approaches.

According to a new Elon University/YouGov poll, a full *55%* of Democrats said that they would rather live in a different country than the United States.

Only 10% of Republicans said the same. pic.twitter.com/cSpccKhC6d

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 7, 2026

When respondents were asked where they would choose to live outside the US, Canada topped the wish list at 19 percent, followed by the United Kingdom at 9 percent, and Japan and Australia at 5 percent each. Ireland, Switzerland, Norway, and Italy also drew interest.

According to PJ Media, the same survey found 68 percent of adults said they are proud to be American, with 95 percent of Republicans answering in the affirmative, 62 percent of independents and only 48 percent of Democrats. Similarly, a poll conducted last fall showed a majority of Democrat voters aligned with socialism over capitalism and supported far-left candidates, stating:

Unsurprisingly, the survey found that socialism is largely toxic to Republicans and many independents, explaining why far-left Democrats have had more success in places like New York City but have struggled in red and battleground areas. The poll also found that a plurality of independent voters and Republicans prefer capitalism.

American voters are leaning away from Democrats as the critical midterms approach, with a recent CNN poll showing Democrat support sliding.

In April, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) summarized the battle for the midterms, saying, "I think this election actually comes down ... to two sentences, and those sentences are 'They're crazy. We're not.' And I think we have to highlight that for the American people."

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 16:20

Dan Loeb Reveals DOJ Threat To Trump Over Ross Ulbricht Commutation In Final Hours Of First Term

Authored by Juan Galt via Bitcoin Magazine,

Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb has publicly claimed that the Department of Justice threatened President Donald Trump in the final hours of Trump's first term in January 2021, warning it would "go after" him if he commuted the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, creator of the Bitcoin-powered Silk Road marketplace. After the reported threat, Trump withdrew the commutation, forcing Ulbricht to serve four additional years in prison before receiving a full pardon in January 2025 during Trump's second term.

Loeb, founder and CEO of Third Point LLC, made the revelation on the All-In Podcast while discussing his role in criminal justice reform and Ulbricht's clemency efforts. "On the last day of Trump's 45th term, we were certain that he was going to get out," Loeb stated. "And the Justice Department, for whatever reason, said, 'If you commute his sentence, we're going to go after you,' to the president. So he, as I understand, he withdrew the commutation."

This account is the first public report of such a direct threat from the DOJ during the closing days of Trump's first presidency. It has not been independently corroborated by other sources to date, and no specific DOJ official has been named as delivering the warning. The claim rests on Loeb's recollection, likely conveyed through the advocacy chain that included crypto figures like Riva Tez, Charlie Kirk, and then-White House counsel David Warrington.

DOJ Leadership In January 2021

Jeffrey A. Rosen served as Acting Attorney General after William Barr's departure in late December 2020. Richard Donoghue was Acting Deputy Attorney General. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, a DOJ unit that reviews clemency petitions and issues recommendations, operated under their oversight. Presidents, including Trump, frequently bypassed standard OPA processes for politically sensitive cases.

The alleged threat appears to have gone well beyond typical DOJ advisory input on issues such as sentence proportionality, victim impact, or enforcement priorities. Ulbricht had been serving a double life sentence plus 40 years following his 2015 conviction on charges including operating a continuing criminal enterprise, narcotics distribution via the internet, money laundering, and hacking. Contrary to popular belief and widely publicized insinuations by the mainstream media, Ulbricht was never prosecuted on any charges related to murder for hire.

Silk Road, which relied primarily on Bitcoin for transactions, represented one of the earliest large-scale experiments in the use of an alternative currency to the dollar, making the case and its history foundational to the Bitcoin community.

A warning framed as potential retaliation against the President himself would constitute an extraordinary escalation in tensions between the executive branch and the Department of Justice over clemency authority. Such pushback likely stemmed from institutional concerns about appearing soft on major drug trafficking and money laundering cases tied to the early Bitcoin economy.

Four-Year Delay And Political Impact

The reported DOJ intervention in the final days of Trump's first term cost Ulbricht four more years behind bars. As Loeb recounted, Charlie Kirk later took the lead on the clemency effort. "This was his only ask of the president," Loeb said, referring to Kirk. Kirk's advocacy helped turn Ulbricht's release into Trump's primary promise to libertarians and the crypto community during the 2024 campaign. Trump delivered on that promise with a full and unconditional pardon early in his second term.

Ironically, the delay strengthened the "Free Ross" movement. What began as advocacy for clemency in a case viewed by many in Bitcoin circles as emblematic of government overreach evolved into a potent political force. The campaign highlighted issues of disproportionate sentencing, self-custody, privacy tools, and resistance to broadly unpopular and ineffective war on drugs, core themes in Bitcoin's ethos of financial sovereignty and of high importance to the libertarian voting block. This momentum and Trump's promise to pardon Ulbricht are widely considered to have earned Trump the libertarian and crypto vote in 2024.

Broader Context For Bitcoin

Loeb framed his involvement in Ulbricht's case as part of broader criminal justice reform, linking it to his broader philanthropy efforts on education and concerns over opportunity and income inequality. He highlighted three categories for clemency: the wrongly convicted, the rehabilitated, and those with disproportionately harsh sentences. Ulbricht, who acknowledged wrongdoing on Silk Road while denying murder-for-hire allegations, fit the latter category in Loeb's assessment.

The episode highlights ongoing tensions between law enforcement, Bitcoin innovation, and the libertarian culture that makes up a large part of the U.S. public. Silk Road, one of the earliest Bitcoin marketplaces, remains a reference point in debates over decentralization, privacy, and regulatory overreach. Similar cases continue to draw attention in the Bitcoin community, including Bitcoin activist Ian Freeman, the developers of the Samourai Wallet privacy tool, and Roman Storm of Tornado Cash - all facing charges viewed by many as attacks on Libertarian leaders, the freedom of commerce, self-custody and financial privacy tools.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 15:40

Goldman Details A Quiet Month For Western Nuclear While Russia And China Pick Up Speed

May saw multiple significant milestones and announcements in the Western nuclear industry. One of the biggest achievements was in the US last week when microreactor developer Antares brought their pilot design critical for the first time. 

There were other major wins with Constellation clearing a path to bring their Three Mile Island reactor plant back to the grid years ahead of schedule, new partnerships with data centers and reactor developers including NANO and Supermicro, and Westinghouse owner Cameco stating there are as many as 20 new large reactors in the pipeline, to be formally announced in the near future. 

Unfortunately, that's all the West really has to show over these past few weeks: proposals and R&D milestones. 

Looking at the only scoreboard that really matters, China is now building 40 grid-scale nuclear reactors.   

Goldman Sachs analyst Brian Lee reviews headlines across the nuclear industry for May. 

New reactor progress and announcements North America

5/15/2026 - United States - The US DOE has awarded ~$94m to eight companies to support near-term SMR deployment, targeting licensing, site preparation, and supply-chain gaps to accelerate Gen III+ SMRs in the 2030s.

Europe

5/13/2026 - Belgium and Netherlands - Belgium and the Netherlands signed an MoU to strengthen nuclear cooperation, focusing on R&D, knowledge sharing, supply chains, and workforce development, while leveraging Belgium's operating experience and Dutch new-build/SMR plans.

Asia and other

5/11/2026 - China - Construction has begun on Unit 4 at China's Taipingling nuclear plant, with first concrete poured on 10 May, marking the start of full-scale build for the fourth of six Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors planned at the site.

5/11/2026 - Iran - Rosatom is continuing construction of Bushehr Units 2 and 3, with Unit 2 now over 60% complete and steam generators ~50% complete. Work remains focused on site construction and workforce ramp-up, with key equipment shipments expected from next year and manufacturing ongoing for Unit 3.

5/12/2026 - India - India has approved the restart of Tarapur Unit 2 after major refurbishment, allowing another 10 years of operation, while NTPC is advancing feasibility studies for its first nuclear project, marking progress toward private sector involvement in new builds.

5/13/2026 - Indonesia - Russia and Indonesia have discussed cooperation on nuclear energy, with Rosatom offering a full-scope partnership covering large reactors, SMRs, and floating plants, alongside support for infrastructure, localisation, and workforce development.

5/21/2026 - China & Russia - China and Russia signed three nuclear MoUs covering workforce development, fusion, and advanced science cooperation, reinforcing collaboration in future nuclear technologies.

5/22/2026 - Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan approved a localisation plan to build a domestic nuclear supply chain, aiming to raise local content to ~30% and support local firms' participation in upcoming nuclear projects.

5/22/2026 - Argentina - Argentina has granted Atucha II a 10-year operating licence extension, allowing the plant to run until May 2036, following regulatory inspections confirming it meets safety and operational requirements for continued service.

5/28/2026 - Kazakhstan - Russia and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement to build Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant, setting out project terms, financing (including a Russian export loan), and long-term cooperation.

5/29/2026 - South Korea - Construction has begun on Shin Hanul Unit 4 in South Korea, with first concrete poured for the reactor building, marking the official start of works. The APR1400 unit is targeted for completion in 2033, alongside Unit 3 (2022–33 timeline).

SMR announcement tracker

5/13/2026 - India - Tata Power's CEO confirmed the company is advancing SMR plans, preparing detailed project reports with NPCIL for two 220 MWe reactors, while conducting site studies across three Indian states to support potential deployment.

5/14/2026 - United States - FANCO and AtkinsRéalis have formed a strategic alliance to deploy the EAGL-1 SMR, combining capabilities to develop, test, and license the reactor and associated fuel facilities, with AtkinsRéalis serving as exclusive EPCM provider in North America and supporting scalable deployment targeted by 2033.

5/18/2026 - Sweden - Blykalla has applied to build a six-reactor SEALER SMR plant in Norrsundet, Sweden, with ~330 MWe total capacity, marking Sweden's first application for a commercial advanced reactor park and initiating the formal government approval process.

5/19/2026 - United States - The US NRC has completed its environmental assessment for the proposed Long Mott SMR plant in Texas, finding no significant environmental impact, marking a key licensing milestone that allows the project, featuring four X-energy Xe-100 reactors at Dow's Seadrift site to progress further through the regulatory approval process.

5/20/2026 - Rwanda - Rwanda and the US have signed an MoU on civil nuclear cooperation, establishing a framework to strengthen collaboration on nuclear energy development, with a focus on safety, security, and non-proliferation standards.

5/20/2026 - United States - Deep Fission is targeting a ~$1.66bn valuation via a planned Nasdaq IPO, aiming to raise ~$156m to fund R&D, licensing, and construction of its first pilot reactor. The company is developing 15 MWe borehole SMRs deployed ~1 mile underground, targeting applications such as data centres and large power users.

5/21/2026 - United States - The US NRC has accepted the application for a KRONOS microreactor at the University of Illinois for formal review, confirming it contains sufficient information to begin detailed safety, environmental, and technical evaluation.

5/21/2026 - South Korea - TerraPower has partnered with HD Hyundai and Hyundai Engineering to support Natrium deployment, including manufacturing, supply chain, and construction of multiple units.

5/26/2026 - France - Newcleo has installed the main vessel for its non-nuclear PRECURSOR demonstrator in Italy, a key step in developing its lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) technology. The 10 MW test system, due for completion in 2026, will simulate reactor operations and support progress toward the company's 30 MWe demonstration reactor.

5/26/2026 - Sweden - Studsvik has submitted a third application in Sweden to build an SMR plant, proposing 2–4 light-water reactors (~600–1,400 MWe total) at its Nyköping site, with a target for first operations in the 2030s (subject to approvals).

5/26/2026 - United States - Deployable Energy has received DOE approval of the PDSA for its Unity microreactor, establishing the initial safety basis for testing and enabling the project to move into final preparations for demonstration, commissioning, and startup under DOE oversight.

5/27/2026 - Russia - Rosatom has completed the first RITM-200C reactor unit for a floating nuclear power plant, marking the start of series production for its planned fleet. The ~58 MWe reactor will be installed (two per unit) on floating plants to supply power to a copper mining cluster in Chukotka, supporting low-carbon energy for remote industrial use.

5/28/2026 - UK - Rolls-Royce SMR has selected Škoda JS and Doosan Enerbility for pre-production of key reactor components, supporting design, manufacturing readiness, and early project delivery.

6/4/2026 - United States - The DOE announced that Antares Nuclear's Mark-0 advanced reactor became the first reactor under its Reactor Plot Program to successfully complete a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration. This achievement occurred a month ahead of the July 4th deadline set by President Trump's Executive Order, and represents the first reactor in more than four decades to achieve criticality in the US.

Global reactor critical updates

In the month of May, there have been few changes to new reactor construction starts, grid connections, shutdowns, or restarts.

Global reactor construction tracker

Fuel announcements

5/6/2026 - United States - BWXT has secured its first customer for its $500m TRISO fuel plant in Gillette, with Kairos Power expected to both purchase fuel and partner on production, marking early external demand for the facility beyond BWXT's own needs. The plant is currently in development with construction targeted around 2028 and operations expected by 2030–31.

5/13/2026 - Czech Republic - Framatome and Czech Research Centre Řež have signed a cooperation deal to develop innovative fuels for research reactors, focusing on supporting the safe, flexible use of different fuel types at the LVR-15 and LR-0 reactors and advancing fuel design, core modelling, and optimisation work.

5/22/2026 - United States - Antares signed a long-term HALEU supply deal with Urenco, securing fuel for its microreactors (expected online ~2031) and marking the first multi-year HALEU contract.

5/22/2026 - United States - The US NRC has begun an accelerated review of Orano's Project IKE uranium enrichment plant, targeting completion of the technical licensing review within ~12 months (by April 2027) after formally accepting the application.

5/27/2026 - United States - Oklo has been selected by the US DOE for advanced negotiations under its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, which aims to convert surplus plutonium into fuel for advanced reactors, with Oklo expected to lead utilization efforts (with Newcleo support).

6/4/2026 - United States - XE's 1Q26 earnings results included an update on its fuel manufacturing build out, with its TX-1 facility now 56% complete and operations expected to commence by 1H28. This facility can support 11 reactors at steady state, with its TX-2 facility, which is still in the planning and design phase, expected to support another 44 reactors.

6/4/2026 - United States - SOLS held a webinar on its uranium conversion business, including a market overview, key competitive advantages, adj. EBITDA growth targets, opportunities within non-conversion capabilities, and thoughts on potential capacity expansion.

Uranium pricing and volume trackers

Spot pricing remained broadly range-bound. Spot U₃O₈ prices were largely stable through early May in the mid $80s (~$86/lb), before softening in the second half of the month and briefly declining to ~$83/lb. Prices subsequently rebounded into late May and early June, recovering to ~$85–86/lb as buying interest re-emerged. Market activity remained intermittent throughout the period, with trading flows largely episodic and driven by traders, while financial participation, including SPUT, appeared opportunistic rather than sustained.

Term pricing firm, supported by tightening fundamentals. Term uranium pricing remained resilient, with long-term indicators holding around ~$90/lb and rising toward ~$93/lb into late May, reinforcing the view of a structurally higher pricing band. Market backdrop continued to point to tightening supply-demand fundamentals, with 2026 primary production expected to fall short of base demand, implying a need for secondary supplies and supporting longer-term price signals. Overall, term market conditions remain constructive, though execution continues to be selective.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 15:20

From Classes On Bad Bunny To 'Queering God' Higher-Ed Has Lost Its Way

Via The College Fix,

Higher education is not what it used to be.

Gone are the days when students were required to study the classics. Nowadays it seems like any gibberish can pass for scholarly study.

The examples are myriad, write Daniel Buck, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Garion Frankel, incoming editor at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.

“Oregon State University offers ‘Disney: Gender, Race, and Empire.’

Students at Indiana University can attend the course, ‘Having it All: Postfeminist Media After Sex and the City,'” the two wrote in The Hill on June 2.

“How about ‘Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics’ at Yale University? The Bad Bunny Syllabus that inspires this course — which lists topics such as ‘LGBTQ Activism,’ ‘Gender and Sexuality in Reggaeton’ and ‘Political Protests of Summer 2019’ for study - is also in use at Wellesley College and Loyola Marymount University.

Both Swarthmore College and the University of Chicago offer courses on ‘Queering God.'”

The scholars go on to note these classes are no outliers:

Harvard offers an English course, “Taylor Swift and Her World.”

At UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, students can take “Artistry, Policy, and Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version” through the Department of Economics.

Penn State Berks offers a course titled, “Taylor Swift, Gender, and Communication.”

Another unofficial sub-genre of courses focuses on Korean pop music — “Lights, Camera, Action: The Visual Culture of K-Pop” at Columbia University, “K-Pop and Human Rights” at Binghamton University, “Kangnam Style: K-Pop and the Globalization of Korean Soft Power” at Stanford University, or “K-Pop and J-Pop Culture” at Florida International University.

The scholars point out that at a time when the return on investment for a four-year degree is plummeting and trust in higher education is at an all-time low, colleges and universities should return to their true purpose.

“A student who can tell you all about Swift’s entrepreneurship but cannot write a five-paragraph essay is not educated, but entertained,” the duo wrote.

“Why attend college in the first place? Universities were once places where students and faculty alike pursued higher aims — truth, beauty, ethics and even the divine.

What are they now? Too often, they resemble four-year summer camps, designed to make students comfortable with a participation diploma at the end.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/09/2026 - 15:00