Zero Rss

Mystery Deepens: Remains Of Missing Los Alamos Nuclear Lab Employee Discovered In Forest

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity,

The body of Melissa Casias has been found in a remote area of New Mexico's Carson National Forest, almost 11 months after the Los Alamos National Laboratory employee walked out of her home and vanished.

This discovery marks another chapter in the disturbing wave of deaths and disappearances involving individuals tied to highly sensitive government programs. It arrives after President Trump ordered full UFO disclosure and two sets of classified files have now been released to the public.

Casias, 54, worked as an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the historic site of the Manhattan Project and a hub for ongoing nuclear weapons research. She was last seen alive on June 26, 2025, in Ranchos de Taos.

BREAKING: Human remains belonging to a lab employee have been found in the Carson National Forest in New Mexico.

Investigators say a gun was found near the remains of Melissa Casias, who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Casias was last seen alive on... pic.twitter.com/kBjzd6QW01

- Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 1, 2026

New Mexico State Police confirmed the identification of her remains after a hiker found them in the McGaffey Ridge area. A handgun was recovered alongside the body. The cause and time of death remain undetermined pending further investigation by the Office of the Medical Investigator.

The circumstances of her disappearance raised immediate red flags. Casias left behind her phones and identification after performing a factory reset on both devices, wiping all records of contacts and activity.

Surveillance captured her walking alone eastward on State Road 518 around 2:20 p.m. that day. Her husband, also a LANL employee, and daughter reported unusual behavior that morning involving a claimed forgotten security badge.

Family members and private investigators have maintained that Casias lost her security clearance due to financial troubles and that the disappearance stemmed from personal stress rather than foul play.

New Mexico State Police have indicated it appears she may have left voluntarily. Yet the discovery of her remains in a heavily trafficked forest restoration zone - where crews began active work in December 2025 - has only intensified public scrutiny.

Melissa Casias, Los Alamos National Lab scientist missing since June 26, 2025, has been found dead.

A handgun was recovered right next to her remains.

This matches a strange pattern... roughly half of these cases turned out to be "suicides."

Yeah, suuuure, like Epstein,...

- Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 1, 2026

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker previously expressed concern over the case, noting: "In a classified lab, or just a high clearance lab, they would basically be in the know on what's going on. And it wouldn't be the first time their administrative assistant has been targeted."

Casias was one of several New Mexico-linked individuals with defense and nuclear program connections who went missing under similar conditions. The pattern has drawn nationwide attention since the February 2026 disappearance of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, widely described as a UFO gatekeeper. His vanishing occurred just days after President Trump issued a full disclosure order.

That incident kicked off intensified coverage of a broader series of cases. By mid-April 2026 the tally had reached at least 11.

These reports detail repeated losses among personnel with overlapping expertise in NASA projects, nuclear propulsion, aerospace engineering, JPL rocket technology, and potential UFO-related programs.

From a NASA scientist found charred in a Tesla crash to an aerospace engineer and family killed in a plane incident, the cases accumulated. Speculation around JPL disappearances and experts tied to "dark project secrets" added layers, highlighting vulnerabilities in fields critical to U.S. superiority.

Despite the mounting cases, President Trump has stated the incidents are not connected. In remarks to reporters he said there is "not much of a connection" and expressed hope they represent coincidence involving "a lot of scientists."

NOW - Trump says string of missing and dead scientists are not connected: "There's not much of a connection." pic.twitter.com/BSaOPYDOuo

- Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) April 30, 2026

Two major tranches of UFO-related disclosure files have since been released under the Trump administration, giving Americans unprecedented access to previously hidden documents and videos, although it's not clear what many of the footage shows.

Official narratives continue to treat each case in isolation, pointing to stress, personal issues, or unrelated accidents. Yet the clustering of nuclear lab employees, aerospace engineers, JPL rocket scientists, and figures with documented access to classified propulsion and advanced technology programs has left many questioning whether the deep state apparatus is working overtime to protect its secrets even as disclosure moves forward.

Los Alamos remains central to America's nuclear security infrastructure. Administrative staff in such environments routinely handle sensitive information. The pattern now spans multiple states and facilities, with several cases involving wiped devices, abandoned personal items, and sudden, unexplained exits - hallmarks that fuel legitimate concern rather than idle conspiracy.

The discovery of Casias's remains does not close the book. It opens new questions about timing, access, and potential motives at a moment when the American public is finally receiving long-suppressed information on unidentified aerial phenomena and related technologies.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 20:05

Indian Refiners Freeze Domestic Jet Fuel Prices

Indian refiners have frozen the price of jet fuel for domestic flights after airlines asked for a respite from fuel price hikes, Bloomberg has reported, adding that in April, jet fuel prices jumped by 8.6% in response to tighter supply.

In an additional concession to airlines, Indian fuel makers also reduced the price of jet fuel for international flights, the report also said, citing unnamed spokespeople from state-owned refiners.

Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. have hiked fuel prices four times in the past month in response to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. These are the first fuel price hikes in four years in India, as the government has taken pains to insulate consumers from the fluctuations in global oil markets. India depends on imported crude for over 80% of its consumption.

As we explained two weeks ago, "Where To Find The Next Phase Of The Global Energy Shock", European refiners had ramped up production away from cheaper gasoline and toward much more expensive jet fuel, in response to widespread shortages of kerosene. This was coupled with higher imports from the US, Nigeria and Norway, which also helped to stabilize supply. 

But while Europe may have procured much needed jet fuel, in many cases thanks to state subsidies which will transform into more expensive debt as Japan found out this week, India has been less lucky.

The world's third-largest crude importer saw its wholesale inflation jump to 8.3% in April from a year earlier because of the Middle Eastern war and its impact on global oil supply. This was a significant acceleration from 3.88% annual inflation in March, driving wholesale fuel prices higher. These surged in April, with gasoline prices up by 32.4% and diesel prices up by 25.19%. That’s up from a monthly rise of 2.5% for gasoline in March, and 3.62% for diesel.

At the end of May, Kpler analysts revised down their demand projections for India by as much as 39% for this year, expecting growth of just 77,000 barrels daily, down from earlier forecasts of 128,000 barrels daily.

That’s despite a sanction waiver on Russian crude, which accounts for a third of India’s total oil imports and which the United States has extended twice already. Still, India was also importing quite a lot of oil from the Middle East. These flows have been crimped by the Iranian closure of free ship movement in the Strait of Hormuz, despite a deal between Tehran and New Delhi that has allowed several vessels carrying energy commodities to pass through the chokepoint and deliver oil and gas to India.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 19:40

Ron Paul: The Federal Reserve Is Why The People Are Unhappy

Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity,

According to the University of Michigan’s latest Index of Consumer Sentiment, a record number of Americans have negative views of the economy. This is yet more evidence that the American people are dissatisfied with their economic condition. Some commentators have claimed to be perplexed by the people’s negative views of the economy since government statistics show that most Americans have good jobs that pay them good salaries.

One problem with this defense of the economy is that government statistics are manipulated to understate the true rates of inflation and unemployment. Trip Powers, writing on Substack, looks at the situation using a more accurate definition of unemployment than what is used by the government. By, for example, including those who have given up looking for work and those working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job, the unemployment rate is over ten percent. An unemployment rate that high indicates a significant economic downturn.

The main reason why even many Americans with above average incomes are dissatisfied with the economy is high prices. According to the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, which is known as the Federal Reserve’s favorite measure of inflation, prices have increased by an understated 3.8 percent over the past year. The culprit behind the price increases is the Federal Reserve. Today, prices are several times higher than they were when President Nixon in 1971 severed the last link between the US dollar and gold, thus removing any restraints on the Federal Reserve’s ability to inflate the currency.

With inflation rising more than incomes, many Americans have suffered a loss of purchasing power even though their nominal income increased. The erosion of Americans’ purchasing power has led to a debt-based economy. This has created a number of bubbles that likely will soon burst. According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by economist Mike Shedlock, total car, credit card, and student loan debts are now higher, measured in real dollars, than nearly 20 years ago during the Great Recession.

Of course, the greatest debtor is the US government.

The Federal Reserve’s practice of buying government debt in order to pump more money into the economy enables maintaining the largest government in history.

Without the Federal Reserve, the US government would have to finance the welfare-warfare state via direct taxation, instead of through the central bank’s hidden (and regressive) inflation tax.

Many Americans voted for President Trump in 2024 because of his promise to lower prices. Now, Democrats may gain control of one or both houses of Congress by running as the party of “affordability.” Unfortunately, most politicians think the way to address the affordability crisis is with more government spending facilitated by the Federal Reserve. That will only worsen the affordability crisis.

Eventually, Congress will be forced to cut spending as the soon to be over 40 trillion dollars Federal debt leads to a dollar crisis. This crisis will result in the collapse of the welfare, warfare, and fiat money system. Whether it is replaced with an even more authoritarian system or a restoration of liberty depends in part on whether those of us who know the truth do all we can to spread the ideas of liberty.

If we are successful, we can make America free, prosperous, and affordable.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 19:15

Alphabet Raising $80BN In Equity To Fund Capex, Including $40BN ATM Offering And $10BN Deeply Discounted Deal With Berkshire

As we have discussed ad nauseam in the past years, perhaps the biggest mystery surrounding the entire AI supercycle, is where will the hyperscalers find the funds to pay for the trillions in projected capital spending now that most of their Free Cash Flow is flat or negative (with the exception of Microsoft).

And while many are forced to resort to aggressive debt issuance with Morgan Stanley estimating that credit markets will fund $1.5 trillion of global data center spending through 2028...

Source

... or participating in murky rating-boosting SPV deals, which as we discussed recently indicate an unwillingness to exhibit AI related assets on their balance sheets something others are also catching up to...

Source

... others opt to sell stock instead.

That's what Google parent Alphabet did after the close today when it announced it was raising $80 billion in equity offerings, including an investment deal with Berkshire Hathaway, to help fund its massive AI capex plans.

The offering includes a $40 billion so-called at-the-market (ATM) program, traditionally reserved for short-squeezed meme stocks selling directly to retail for which there is no clear institutional demand, to sell shares from time to time beginning in the third quarter, according to a statement Monday. 

The company will also offer $30 billion in underwritten offerings of shares and mandatory convertible preferred stock, as well as a $10 billion private placement with Berkshire.

“AI is driving an expansionary moment for Alphabet,” the company said in the statement. “By scaling its investments, the company seeks to expand its foundational infrastructure to support the significant growth opportunity ahead.”

Alphabet intends to use the proceeds from the various offerings for "general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures to scale AI infrastructure and global compute." Remarkably, Google revealed that it will use the bulk of the ATM offering to pay for tax obligations related to vesting of employee equity awards. In other words, the multi-trillion company is using retail investors to pay taxes.

The mandatory convertible stock and the underwritten common equity offerings are expected to price Tuesday after the market closes in New York, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News.

Berkshire Hathaway started building a stake in Google’s parent last year, and held Class A and Class C shares collectively worth about $16.6 billion as of the end of March, according to regulatory filings. To incentivize Berkshire to invest alongside the ATM offering, Google agreed to sell $10 billion to Berkshire at a solid discount to its closing price of $376, namely a ~6% discount for the $5 billion Class A Common Stock, and an almost 8% discount for the $5 billion Class C offering at $348.20.

This is the second notable investment by Berkshire in just two days as the company starts to put its massive cash hoard to use.

Greg Abel, who took over the reins of the firm after Warren Buffett retired last year, has started to invest its record $397 billion cash pile. On Sunday, Berkshire announced its intention to buy home builder Taylor Morrison for $6.8 billion, providing a vote of confidence in the US housing market.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 18:45

"Debug": Google Seeks Federal Approval To Release Millions Of Mosquitoes In California, Florida

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

Google is seeking federal approval for a new program called "Debug" that would release up to 32 million mosquitoes in California and Florida to combat disease-carrying mosquitoes already found in the wild.

A laboratory technician holds a mosquito at the World Mosquito Program factory in Medellín, Colombia, on June 4, 2024. Scientists have long released biologically modified mosquitoes to curb transmission of diseases such as chikungunya. Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP via Getty Images

Pitched as a program to "stop bad mosquitoes by raising and releasing good ones," Google's Debug brings together a group of scientists and engineers to create technology to breed and release sterile mosquitoes to try to eliminate the ones that transmit diseases to animals and humans.

The Federal Register noted on May 1 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing Google's request for an experimental permit under section 5 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Public comment on the permit request must be received by June 5.

Despite their small size, mosquitoes are considered the "deadliest animal" in the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are more than 3,700 types of mosquitoes worldwide, and some are more dangerous than others.

The species Google's Debug is targeting - Aedes aegypti - carries dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Some mosquitoes carry West Nile virus, malaria, and lymphatic filariasis, killing more humans than any other creature worldwide.

Malaria alone killed at least 597,000 people throughout 83 countries in 2023, the last year the data were available. That same year, the United States saw cases of "locally acquired" mosquito-transmitted malaria for the first time in two decades.

A "locally acquired" case of malaria means the victim was bitten by a mosquito carrying the parasite in the United States, rather than contracting the illness abroad while traveling.

There are roughly 2,000 cases of malaria reported in the United States every year, with most of them coming from people traveling overseas in places where malaria is rampant. West Nile virus is the leading culprit of mosquito-borne disease in the United States. More than 120 deaths are reported each year, with roughly 2,000 people experiencing the illness.

In Debug's landing page, Google notes that most mosquito-transmitted diseases lack effective vaccines or treatments.

"Attacking mosquitoes with pesticides is unsustainable because they're becoming less effective over time and can be toxic. Clearing standing water is not enough because people can never find all the places that mosquitoes breed," Google states on the project's website. "We need a new approach."

Google said it is using male mosquitoes carrying a naturally occurring bacterium, Wolbachia, that prevents them from reproducing with female mosquitoes in the wild. Since only female mosquitoes can bite and spread disease, the goal is to continually reduce the number of "bad mosquitoes" over time.

Google's technique "uses a naturally occurring bacteria and uses no chemicals, no toxins and doesn't involve genetic modification. Similar approaches have been used to safely combat other pests for decades," Google states. "We're combining the Debug team's scientific and engineering expertise with the help of international partners to raise and release lots of good bugs and stop bad mosquitoes that can spread disease."

Google said its Debug program has already completed multiple field trials with "promising results."

"Male mosquitoes don't bite, so residents within a trial area shouldn't notice any increase in nuisance biting mosquitoes," Google states on the project's FAQ page. "We expect to see a population decrease within weeks to months of the initial releases. The number of released male mosquitoes should also reduce over time as the neighborhood population decreases."

At least one lawmaker has criticized the company's approach.

In a May 31 post on X, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said:

This close-up photograph shows a mosquito in Montlouis-sur-Loire, central France, on Oct. 21, 2022. Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty Images Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 18:25

GoPro Warns It May Not Survive As AI Memory Crunch Bites

GoPro shares have been under pressure since last fall, when memory prices began to soar as AI data center buildouts tightened global supply and diverted capacity away from consumer electronics.

On Monday, GoPro filed an 8-K with the SEC, warning of "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern and stating that it expects to file an update to its financial statements.

The action-camera maker, once a $12 billion-plus Wall Street MoMo darling after its 2014 IPO, has plunged into micro-cap territory, with a total market cap of around $190 million as of late Monday afternoon.

Revenue plunged 26% in the first quarter. The company has already needed lender waivers after breaching loan covenants, and it does not expect to comply with several future covenants.

Last month, GoPro's own filing warned of an "unprecedented increase and volatility in memory component costs."

The AI memory boom has crushed GoPro, and the market punished GoPro shares as early as last fall, when the memory price spike began.

Bloomberg noted that in April, one of GoPro's suppliers planned to reduce memory supply, which dented the company's forecasted sales. This only suggests higher input costs, weaker margins, and reduced pricing flexibility.

GoPro is seeking to pivot away from its consumer-camera market, exploring aerospace and defense as potential new markets and product categories.

By the way, it's easier just to wear Meta RayBans for action sports ... 

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 18:00

California Legislators Shriek: 'Stop Nick Shirley!'

Authored by Mike McDaniel via AmericanThinker.com,

Without the second Trump Administration, we would surely not have discovered, and most importantly, acted upon, the fraud being committed around the country, most notably in blue states like Minnesota and California. So much has been discovered so rapidly, President Trump appointed Vice President Vance to head an anti-fraud task force, and the DOJ hired additional prosecutors to handle the dramatically increasing number of cases. Federal officials are suggesting the sheer amount of fraud, discovered and yet to be discovered, is so staggering clawing back that money could balance the federal budget.

Instrumental in exposing sufficient fraud so it could no longer be ignored by local or state officials is independent journalist Nick Shirley, who exposed the infamous “Quality Learing Center” day care fraud in Minneapolis, as well as many less well-known fraudulent day cares. So effective was Shirley, and so quickly did his work anger local fraudsters and state officials, Shirley received so many death threats he apparently decided to give California a try. This was the immediate result: 

Graphic: X Post

Independent journalist Nick Shirley has released a devastating 40-minute investigative video that exposes what appears to be massive waste and potential fraud in California’s hospice, Medi-Cal, and daycare programs. His report, now viewed more than 7.7 million times on X, uncovers over $170 million in questionable billings tied to ghost hospice and daycare operations that show virtually no signs of actually caring for patients or children.

Shirley found that focusing mostly on Victory Blvd. in Van Nuys:

Graphic: X Post

In Minnesota and California, honest public employees tried for years to expose fraud, but their superiors and the state Attorney General’s Office ignored them. But with Shirley’s discovery of incredible levels of fraud, the California Legislature was prodded into action: they’re criminalizing exposing fraud:  

Independent journalist Nick Shirley accused California lawmakers of trying to shield taxpayer-funded organizations from scrutiny after the state Assembly advanced AB 2624, dubbed the "Stop Nick Shirley Act," a bill the author says is intended to protect immigration service providers from harassment and threats.

"I obviously hit a nerve," Shirley said during an appearance Wednesday night on "Fox News @ Night" with Trace Gallagher.

"What's interesting about this, this bill is it's protecting NGOs and nonprofits," Shirley said. "These are organizations and groups that receive our tax dollars, yet they want to make it so we can't find out what they're doing with our tax dollars."

Shirley argued the proposal would discourage investigations into organizations receiving public funds.

And that’s obviously the point of the legislation. But why would legislators, people sworn to protect the public, presumably at least in part by catching criminals defrauding taxpayers of billions, want to protect those criminals? It’s a puzzler, unless, perhaps, those NGOs and nonprofits are primary funding sources of the Democrat Party and Democrat politicians? But surely that can’t be happening in a single-party state like California, where corruption is all but nonexistent? Shirley explained:

"The Somalis in Minnesota, they stole hundreds of millions, billions of dollars, and then the hospice fraud that took place inside California," Shirley said.

"Everyone was saying that was bogus. And then her husband actually tried to take credit for exposing the hospice fraud after I had went and exposed the hospice fraud."

Shirley was referring to Assemblymember Mia Bonta's husband, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has not responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

"The fraud has been going on for so long. These fraudsters thought they could get away with it for so long that so many people started committing this fraud."

Graphic: X Post

What’s really amazing, though utterly unsurprising, is Shirley is only talking about hospice fraud. That’s only the shrink-wrap packaging on the box of a 100-story-tall fraud package.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, something is rotten in the bluer than blue state of California.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 17:40

Massachusetts Sues UnitedHealthcare Over Alleged $100 Million Fraud

Authored by Sylvia Xu via The Epoch Times,

Massachusetts sued UnitedHealthcare on May 29, alleging the company defrauded the state’s Medicaid program by making seniors appear sicker than they were to secure higher payments.

The company contracted with MassHealth to provide a Senior Care Options—which combines Medicare and Medicaid benefits into one plan—for seniors aged 65 and older.

UnitedHealthcare allegedly received more than $100 million in fraudulent payments from MassHealth between 2015 and 2025, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell stated in the complaint.

UnitedHealthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, said the complaint is “meritless and doesn’t accurately describe our Senior Care Options program” in ‌a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.

The legal complaint alleged UnitedHealthcare inflated payment rates in three ways.

Upcoding

Massachusetts paid UnitedHealthcare a per-member, per-month rate for each senior enrolled in the plan based on UnitedHealthcare’s assessments of the member’s health conditions.

UnitedHealthcare allegedly labeled members as having behavioral health disorders such as depression or anxiety, or substance use disorders to gain higher reimbursement rates, according to the complaint, when the members had no diagnosis or treatment on record for such conditions.

An analysis by the attorney general’s office revealed that nearly 30 percent of UnitedHealthcare’s 2014 through 2024 behavioral health assessments lacked any matching medical claims to support the mental health diagnoses reported to the state.

Keeping Overpayments

The insurer’s internal reviews identified that many members were incorrectly placed in the highest and most expensive level of care despite not qualifying for it, according to the lawsuit.

While the company eventually downgraded these members to lower-paying levels, it allegedly failed to inform the state of the prior errors or return the extra money it had already collected.

Story continues below advertisement

Unneeded or Nonexistent Nursing Services

The insurer was paid $1.4 billion for members who did not qualify for the most expensive status, but the insurer justified the rate by submitting assessments claiming members required daily or frequent skilled nursing care, the complaint alleged.

However, an investigation revealed that most of these members neither received nor actually needed the specialized nursing services, according to the complaint.

Out of more than 88,000 assessments for the highest payment level, UnitedHealthcare asserted that 99.3 percent of those members were receiving nursing visits seven days a week. However, the complaint alleged that almost 90 percent of those members had not received a single nursing visit in the week before UnitedHealthcare filed the assessment.

Arguments

A January Senate report accused UnitedHealth Group of using high-tech scanners and a team of specialists to capture profitable, extra diagnoses in beneficiaries to maximize federal payments from the Medicare Advantage program.

The corporation issued a statement that same day, citing studies that it had commissioned to argue that Medicare Advantage saves money for both the government and beneficiaries.

The Attorney General’s Office alleged that these were intentional failures, the result of a “growth at all costs” strategy employed by UnitedHealthcare that incentivized and encouraged field nurses to code MassHealth members as sicker or less able than they were.

Bernadette Di Re, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s plan in Massachusetts from 2011 through 2020, allegedly attributed pressure to “cut staff,” “[g]et more numbers,” and “[g]et more money from the state” as the reason she resigned and left the company, the lawsuit stated.

“The state’s managed care plans need to act in good faith on behalf of their members and the financial resources of our state’s Medicaid program. Our investigation found that UnitedHealthcare knowingly violated these obligations by manipulating health assessments to increase its profits,” said Campbell in a statement.

The company responded in a statement: “The Attorney General is simply wrong that Massachusetts seniors with complex care needs should not be receiving the support and services UnitedHealthcare is helping to provide. We remain focused on working with our state partner to help our members live healthier lives.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 17:00

The Latest Graham Platner Scandal Could Be His Undoing

Graham Platner built his Senate campaign on a carefully curated image: the decorated veteran, the Maine oyster farmer, the working-class progressive who talks straight and fights for the little guy.

Despite a slew of scandals, including a Nazi-linked tattoo and many extremely problematic Reddit posts, Maine Democrats handed him the keys to one of their most coveted 2026 targets: the Senate seat held by incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. 

Gov. Janet Mills, who ran against Platner in the Democratic primary, launched attack ads targeting his Reddit comments before suspending her campaign ahead of the June 9 primary and clearing the field for him. That left Platner as the consensus Democratic standard-bearer in a race the party views as essential to reclaiming the Senate majority. 

Now, a cascade of new revelations about his past is forcing an uncomfortable reckoning for the Democratic Party, as some Democrats are now asking, in public and in private, whether the party rushed to embrace a candidate who was never fully vetted.

A new report from the Wall Street Journal revealed that days after Platner formally announced his Maine Senate bid last year, his wife, Amy Gertner, quietly pulled a campaign aide aside to disclose that she had previously discovered sexually explicit text messages between her husband and multiple women on a private messaging app called Kik. She had found them in the spring of 2025, early in their marriage. She raised them again with campaign staff in late August as part of the campaign’s internal opposition research on him, out of concern that the messages could blindside the operation as momentum was building.

Campaign aides weighed the disclosure, then decided the texts were a private marital matter. In a statement released through the campaign, Gertner framed the episode as a test the marriage passed. "We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren't easy," she said. "And we came through it, not in spite of how much we've been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we've built. Our marriage today is stronger than ever before." 

However, the text messages are more problematic than just a mere marital issue, because the platform itself carries serious baggage. Anti-exploitation groups have described Kik as a haven for online predators.

The app has appeared in multiple prosecutions in Maine alone in recent years, and the Center on Sexual Exploitation called it a "predator's paradise" and warned that it has a "huge child exploitation problem."

One law enforcement professional told The Maine Wire, "only pedos use Kik." 

Following these latest allegations, we learned on Sunday that Platner’s campaign manager, Morris Katz, attempted to prevent Genevieve McDonald from publicly discussing information she had about Platner’s alleged infidelities.

From @bangordailynews, Platner’s campaign manager Morris Katz tried to stop Genevieve McDonald from sharing information about Platner’s infidelities (which he had since the beginning of the campaign) with threats of defaming her. pic.twitter.com/LTUbROD0Ja

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 31, 2026

 According to McDonald, the campaign offered her $15,000 to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which she refused. She claims that after declining the offer, the campaign worked to discredit her through local media outlets. 

That story. Genevieve McDonald said the campaign offered to pay her $15,000 to sign an NDA. She declined. Platner's campaign then smeared her in local outlets https://t.co/lMk8ryylqk pic.twitter.com/Al5VisaOC9

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) May 31, 2026

McDonald also shared a message from Katz warning that if the story became public, the campaign would state “on the record, and by name” that she had “violated the personal trust of Amy and Graham” and spread “explicit falsehoods to sabotage the campaign.”

Platner campaign advisor Morris Katz to Genevieve McDonald: “If the story goes in its current iteration, we’ll communicate directly on the record, and by name, that Genevieve violated the personal trust of Amy and Graham and shared explicit falsehoods to sabotage the campaign.” pic.twitter.com/O1F1FlBOZz

— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) May 31, 2026

Platner’s use of the app comes on top of a growing pile of damaging information that has been accumulating for weeks, but the sexting revelations and the NDA threats are structurally different from every prior scandal: they don’t just describe a flawed man; they describe an active cover-up by his own campaign.

Every scandal that surfaces makes the carefully curated version of Graham Platner harder to believe, and harder to see how his campaign can survive.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 16:40

'The Mad & The Free': Can American Society Debate Its Way Out Of Psychosis?

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

Psychodrama

“A sane society cannot debate its way out of psychosis. It must diagnose the patient with lethal precision and restore the ancient boundary between the mad and the free.”

- LHGrey on X

When you watch video of the shenanigans at the Delaney Hall ICE building in Newark, NJ, you must suspect you’re seeing a hopped-up political vaudeville act. Freaky as the “protesters” may be — with their tatts and piercings, gummi bear hair color, rolls of blubber, perpetually hoisted cell phones, drums, whistles, and pitiful umbrellas — they are no less actors than Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney out in Hollywood.

New Jersey State Police Cavalry to the Rescue!

The Delaney Hall mobbers are allegedly paid by someone or some entity. You’d think the authorities and the news media would be racing to find out who that is. But, so far, no official announcements and, wouldn’t you know, The New York Times did not even report on doings over there in its Monday morning edition.

Independent reporter Nick Sortor, undercover in Antifi garb, discovered their “craft services” tent adjacent to the action in the industrial wasteland where Delaney Hall stands next to the reeking Passaic River.

The tent was full of riot gear, tactical supplies, snacks, energy drinks, hot meals (lasagna!) delivered on the hour, first aid supplies, and other “protester necessities,” as if the siege of Delaney Hall was a major Hollywood production shoot.

Anyway, after days of freaks and geeks playacting “oppression” at Delaney Hall, the New Jersey riot cops showed up, including the mounted cavalry, and stuffed several busloads with arrested “protesters,” many of them from out-of-state. Did they bother to interview the folks manning the craft services tent to inquire what organization was paying for all the merch? Isn’t it about time for whoever is signing those checks to get indicted for fomenting and abetting insurrection?

The Democratic Party is reduced to psychodrama, and the nature of psychodrama is that it’s about nothing — nothing real, at least. It’s all concocted sound-and-fury to give the (false) impression that some injustice is occurring. In the case of Delaney Hall, a holding facility for illegal border-jumpers awaiting deportation, the alleged injustice is “unsanitary conditions, inadequate food, poor medical care, and physical and psychological torture.” In reality, conditions there are arguably better than the average Motel 8. Many of the inmates are murderers and rapists, of course, the worst of the worst.

You might suppose that the objective of the melodrama at Delaney Hall was to create another martyr a la Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti out in Minneapolis this past winter.

Those two unfortunate dupes were induced by the party script to FAFO, leading to their tragic and pointless deaths. Alas, the incidents failed to incite the sort of national uprising that the Lefty-left will not stop seeking.

And now summer is nearly here and (the old song goes) “the time is right for dancing in the streets.” Or, rather, fighting in the streets.

The time is also right for the FBI and the DOJ to shut down the funny money supply line for it, and it’s hard to figure now how they might fail to do that.

The Delaney Hall arrests give them a vast opportunity to debrief the players, find out exactly how these stunts are being organized.

To see exactly how much nothing the Democratic Party stands for, you need only get a load of the California primary campaigns, with the election to be held tomorrow (Tuesday June 2).

For instance, Tom Steyer, the hedge funder running for governor, staged an event Friday to support transgender track star AB Hernandez, who has been dominating in the 2025 and 2026 California state women’s track championships by notable margins.

AB Hernandez is a biological male subject to extreme cosmetic and hormonal procedures to impersonate a female, but it does not alter the fact that he is a biological male and he is engaged in impersonation.

Men in women’s sports is increasingly a losing issue in American politics.

Twenty-seven states have enacted laws against it.

The International Olympic Committee has banned biological men competing in women’s events (and the Olympics are coming to LA in 2028). Yet, there is candidate Tom Steyer on-screen trying to sell himself on the most nakedly reality-optional issue-of-the-day.

Sheer psychodrama.

Steyer’s rival, Xavier Bacerra, is arguably more pathetic and idiotic. As California Attorney General from 2017 to 2021 he allowed massive public services and campaign finance fraud to blossom across the state. Then, as HHS Secretary under “Joe Biden,” he presided over the Covid-19 fraud and let hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant children to go missing during the four-year-long open border operation. We’re talking world-class incompetence.

Down in Los Angeles, the current mayor, Karen Bass, is so devoid of accomplishment that she’s reduced to merely smiling like a Cheshire Cat as she goes through the final motions of the contest. Her campaign slogan is “Let’s Do This Together.” Do what? Run Los Angeles further off a cliff? Outsider Spencer Pratt has crept up to about even with Mayor Bass in the polls. His prospects remain pretty dim, though hopes are high for him. Similarly, outsider Steve Hilton in the race for governor. The question to be answered Tuesday: has reality-optional politics finally run out of mojo in California? And will that be “roll credits” for the Democratic Party?

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 16:20

May Auto Demand "Stronger Than Expectations", Deutsche Says

In a preview of May U.S. auto sales, Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu and his team said industry demand appears to be holding up better than expected. They estimate the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate (SAAR) reached 15.9 million units during the month, modestly above last year's pace of roughly 15.7 million. While total vehicle sales are projected to be slightly lower than a year ago, the comparison is skewed by one fewer selling day in May 2026.

After adjusting for that calendar effect, daily sales rates improved by more than 2%, suggesting underlying consumer demand remains relatively healthy.

We expect May US light vehicle SAAR to come in at 15.9m units. This compares to ~15.7m last year. Absolute sales are expected to be up MoM at ~1.453m units (vs. April at ~1.380m), but down YoY from ~1.475m in 2025. The absolute YoY change doesn't necessarily indicate a significant downgrade in consumers health but is reflective of one less selling day in 2026 resulting in a daily sales rate that actually rose ~2.3%.

The firm's dealer and channel checks indicate that automakers largely maintained pricing discipline throughout the month. Average transaction prices continued to edge higher both sequentially and year over year, reflecting a relatively stable pricing environment. Incentive activity was mixed, however.

Ford increased promotional spending through its employee pricing program, a strategy similar to one used last year, contributing to a notable rise in incentives. Industry-wide incentive levels remained significantly above year-ago levels, driven primarily by Ford and Stellantis, although incentives declined modestly compared with April.

According to Deutsche Bank's conversations with industry participants, geopolitical developments in the Middle East have not yet had a meaningful impact on vehicle demand:

This month, thus far, is stronger than our coming in expectations. Based on our conversations, the Middle East conflict appears to have little impact yet on light vehicle sales. Powertrain mix also appears relatively unchanged despite elevated oil prices. Overall we maintain our full year at 15.9m, still somewhat more conservative than the automaker's latest forecasts.

Higher fuel prices also do not appear to be changing consumer purchasing behavior, as the mix of vehicle powertrains sold has remained largely unchanged.

Looking ahead, Yu and his team left their full-year U.S. light vehicle sales forecast unchanged at 15.9 million units. That outlook remains somewhat below the forecasts recently provided by several automakers, reflecting Deutsche Bank's more cautious stance on the industry's trajectory through the remainder of the year.

On the company level, Ford's aggressive incentive activity continues to stand out, particularly in the full-size pickup segment, where incentives on the F-150 increased materially during the month. General Motors maintained relatively stable pricing and incentive levels, while Stellantis continued to offer some of the highest incentives in the industry despite modest sequential moderation.

Overall, Deutsche Bank views the May sales environment as constructive, with demand trends remaining resilient and pricing conditions generally supportive.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 15:40

10 Examples That Show That The Chaos & Lawlessness In The Streets Of America Is Totally Out Of Control

Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

We aren’t supposed to talk about the social decay that is running rampant all around us. Instead, we are supposed to just shut our mouths and pretend that everything is just fine. But that isn’t the truth. Homelessness is the worst that it has ever been, more Americans are addicted to drugs than ever before, gang members outnumber the police, women are being sexually assaulted in staggering numbers, thieves are having a field day and street violence is seemingly everywhere.

Of course if crimes never get reported they never show up in the official numbers, do they?

We know that there have been instances where the crime numbers have been purposely manipulated in order to make local politicians look better.

But no matter how much corrupt officials monkey with the numbers, nobody can deny the reality of what is going on in our neighborhoods.

The following are 10 examples that show that the chaos and lawlessness in the streets of America is totally out of control…

#1 In Seattle, people living near Aurora Avenue have put up “large homemade barricades” in a desperate attempt to keep the rising tide of lawlessness away from their homes…

Residents in a troubled Seattle neighborhood have begun erecting large homemade barricades across residential streets after a surge of gun violence left many fearing for their safety.

Neighbors living near Aurora Avenue say repeated shootings, alleged prostitution activity and late-night chaos have pushed the community to a breaking point.

Following another burst of gunfire over the weekend, frustrated residents took matters into their own hands by physically blocking off nearby roads in an effort to keep traffic and suspected criminal activity out of the area, Fox 13 reported.

If I was living in that area of Seattle, I would probably take even more drastic actions.

Personally, I don’t understand how anyone can possibly feel safe now that the entire area has turned into a war zone…

The latest escalation occurred around 4 a.m. Saturday near Aurora Avenue North and North 98th Street. Seattle Police responded to the scene after neighbors reported hearing more than 30 gunshots.

Surveillance video from a nearby property captured the encounter, where several men can be seen ducking behind cars and returning fire.

Rudy Pantoja, who works for the property owner, said they spent the weekend patching bullet holes in the side of the building.

#2 Conditions have gotten so much worse in New York City in recent months. For example, a running gun battle in the Bronx resulted in a 5-year-old girl getting grazed by a stray bullet…

Terrifying video captured a reckless gang gun battle on a Bronx street on Wednesday that left a 5-year-old girl grazed by a stray slug to the head.

Footage released by the NYPD shows three suspected ganbangers firing off several rounds as they run from the scene on Southern Avenue in Longwood — with at least two shooting blindly over their shoulders.

The broad-daylight shooting between two warring gangs unfolded along Southern Boulevard in Longwood around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, sending innocent bystanders scattering for cover, sources said.

#3 Portland was once one of the most beautiful cities in the entire world, but now it has become a rotting, decaying, drug-infested hellhole. One homeless woman that is apparently deeply addicted to drugs is regularly dragged away by a group of unknown men and brutally sexually assaulted…

Citizen journalist Kevin Dahlgren and other locals told the Daily Mail that the middle-aged woman is regularly accosted by a group of unknown men.

They said she is usually taken to a nearby motel or apartment, where she is forced to shower, before being subjected to horrific sexual assaults.

Portland residents, specifically those in the Old Town area of the city, who know the woman said the group attacks can go on for days before she is dumped back on the streets.

#4 Over the past few years, chaotic “teen takeovers” during which vast hordes of young people run completely wild have become a regular occurrence in major cities all over the nation…

Have you seen the new social media-generated phenomenon, Teen Takeovers? A Teen Takeover is when a riot of teens, in numbers overwhelming to local police, floods a local prearranged meeting through social media to wreak havoc.

Youth run wild, defying authority, starting fires, ramming police cars, smashing windows, robbing stores, doing anything and everything that comes to their minds that is against the law and societal order. It is a young human explosion of anger, rebellion, organized chaos, destruction of property, breaking laws, theft, and bodily injury.

Those involved say they aren’t looking to really hurt anybody. They only aim at destroying their little part of Western Civilization as a protest against what they have been indoctrinated to believe are rampant injustices.

#5 In Detroit, a couple of “teen takeovers” on Memorial Day weekend started out peacefully but quickly turned violent…

A troubling trend is growing across Detroit and the country— large “teen takeover” gatherings that erupt into violence, and Memorial Day weekend brought two more incidents to the forefront.

Massive crowds flooded Peterson Park on Memorial Day for one of the so-called teen takeovers. Neighbors say it started out peacefully, but fights broke out and police moved in to disperse the crowds.

One neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said the situation has him worried about what comes next.

#6 In Chicago, 5 police officers were hit by a vehicle during a “teen takeover” on Memorial Day weekend…

Mayor Brandon Johnson will face questions on Wednesday following two “teen takeover” incidents that resulted in dozens of arrests and left several officers injured.

Over the holiday weekend, two large gatherings devolved into chaos.

The first occurred early Sunday morning in the 1200 block of South Loomis Street on the Near West Side.

During that incident, five Chicago police officers were hit by a car while trying to disperse the gathering.

#7 We live at a time when advertising what you believe can literally get you killed. Earlier this month, a 69-year-old man in Southern California was literally beaten to death right in front of his home which was brightly adorned with pro-Trump decorations…

A Southern California man known for his patriotic and pro-Trump home decorations died after he was assaulted outside his house, authorities said.

Kerry Sheron, 69, died Sunday night after the assault Wednesday in Escondido, north of San Diego, the city’s police department said in a statement Monday.

Thomas Caleb Butler, 32, was arrested last week on charges of attempted murder, elder abuse, criminal threats and battery in connection with Sheron’s death. He is being held without bail, jail records show.

#8 Wearing the wrong clothing can also get you attacked. In Los Angeles, a Jewish man was recently viciously assaulted as he was walking home from his local synagogue…

The incident itself occurred shortly before 10 p.m. on April 27, officials said, when James allegedly followed the victim in a van as he walked through an alley in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, jumped out and suddenly attacked him “without provocation.”

KTLA obtained video surveillance footage of the altercation and learned that the 32-year-old victim was walking home from the Adas Torah synagogue while wearing traditional Jewish clothing when the suspect approached in the van.

“I just didn’t have a good feeling,” the victim, who requested anonymity, recalled. “I make eye contact with [the male driver], try to make a face [that says], ‘Is everything cool?’ And then he just jumped out of his car like a lion.”

As the suspect walked to his car, he allegedly yelled “Free Palestine!” the victim added.

#9 Be very careful when using online marketplaces. One man that advertised two Corvette seats for sale on Facebook Marketplace probably never imagined that the man that he planned to sell them to would end up killing him…

A Michigan man convicted of murder in the case of a Facebook Marketplace sale that went wrong was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday.

Omar Brogdon, 31, of Detroit, received his sentence from Judge Khary L. Hanible at the Genesee County Circuit Court in Flint, MLive reported. In April, he had been convicted of felony murder, second-degree murder, armed robbery and three counts of using a firearm while committing a felony for a deadly shooting.

#10 Domestic violence has become a raging epidemic in our day and time. An incident that recently occurred in Arizona was particularly shocking…

A crazed Arizona mom gunned down her two children in a shocking murder-suicide after earlier shooting a woman who’d been with her husband at a bar, according to cops.

Andrea Clarice Davis, 38, drove to Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill in Glendale just after midnight Monday and shot at her husband of 12 years, Nolan Davis, 39, and a 36-year-old woman he was with outside, police told AZFamily.

The other woman, who has not been identified, was shot in the back of the head as she got in her car to flee, according to Glendale police spokesperson Jose Santiago.

Andrea Davis then drove home and texted her husband to say she was going to hurt their two young children — sending him a horrific image of one of them bleeding from the head, police said.

When I was growing up, the crazy people were solidly in the minority.

But now it seems like the crazy people are in the majority.

Perhaps that is because well over 50 percent of the population is hooked on either legal or illegal drugs these days.

Our society is coming apart at the seams all around us, but we keep being told that everything is okay.

Of course the truth is that everything is most certainly not okay.

Chaos and lawlessness are raging all around us, and conditions just continue to get even worse year after year.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 15:05

Russia Bans Jet Fuel Exports As Ukrainian Attacks Cripple Refining

Russia is banning exports of jet fuel through November 30, 2026, as it seeks to ensure domestic supply amid intensifying Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian refining infrastructure, OilPrice.com reported.

Russia on Monday announced it is temporarily banning jet fuel exports until the end of November to keep sufficient domestic aviation fuel supplies. Supplies under intergovernmental agreements are exempted from the ban, the Russian government said today.

The decision comes after drone strikes on refineries pushed Russia’s crude-processing rate to the lowest in more than 16 years. In an effort to curb the flow of petrodollars into the Kremlin’s coffers, Ukraine has targeted a wide range of energy assets including sea ports and pipelines. 

The ban is not expected to be felt on the tight international jet fuel market as Russia is a small exporter of aviation fuels.  Last year, it exported an average of 30,000 barrels a day, or less than 2% of the global supplies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Vortexa Ltd. Daily average exports slipped to 28,000 barrels in the first four months of 2026, with Turkey being the main buyer, the data show. 

But the ban on kerosene exports follows a ban on gasoline exports, in force since April 1, as Russia has seen its refining capacity and capability crippled in recent weeks by intensifying drone attacks from Ukraine.

Kyiv has targeted several major refiners and oil export terminals since the war in Iran began, aiming to cripple Russia's ability to take advantage of the soaring international oil and fuel prices.

Last month, Ukraine targeted the 300,000-barrels per day Yaroslavl oil refinery in Russia, escalating the drone attacks on Russian refining and oil exporting assets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“We are bringing the war back home – to Russia – and that’s only fair,” Zelenskyy said in May.

The attack on the Yaroslavl oil refinery, co-owned by Gazprom Neft, was the fourth on the facility in one month, as Ukraine looks to diminish Russia’s refining and export capabilities amid soaring international oil and fuel prices.

Since international crude oil prices surged following the war in the Middle East, Russia has boosted its oil revenues as not only prices have jumped, but Russian oil was made desirable in India again, thanks to U.S. waivers for sales of Russia’s crude already loaded on tankers.

Ukraine is intensifying attacks on Russian refineries and oil export ports as Kyiv looks to limit Russia’s oil exports and revenues.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 14:45

Taiwan's Opposition Leader Tours US, Fresh Off Xi Meeting, As Trump Nixes Call With Taiwanese President

Just two weeks ago, when fielding questions from reporters about the now paused massive US arms package to Taiwan, President Trump stated: "I have to speak to the person that right now is - you know who he is - that's running Taiwan."

And now, in the wake of Trump's May Bejing visit to meet within Xi Jinping, CBS reports, "President Trump is no longer expected to speak with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te before Chinese President Xi Jinping's potential trip to the United States this fall, multiple sources familiar with the discussions" stated.

Xi had warned Trump that Taiwan could become a "very dangerous situation" if mishandled - and since then the estimated $14 billion weapons package has been put on pause.

Reuters: Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s Kuomintang, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in April.

That a sitting US president is not speaking to Taiwan's elected leader is actually normal based on Washington's policy of strategic ambiguity, and official acknowledgement of 'One China'. Trump is signaling that this will not change for now:

No sitting U.S. president has spoken directly with a Taiwanese leader since 1979 due to diplomatic sensitivities in managing relations with China, although in December 2016, while Mr. Trump was president-elect, he received a congratulatory call from then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ying-wen.

"I think [Lai], if he has time, would love to tell him our side of the story, the Taiwan story, which is one that — of resiliency, of a state staying up against the Chinese aggression," Alexander Yui, Taiwan's Representative to the U.S., told "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on May 17.

But while the self-ruled island's leader Lai Ching-te is in political limbo and waiting on the sidelines as Washington and Beijing continue to try and heal relations, the head of Taiwan's lead opposition party will be touring around the United States:

In April, Cheng Li-wun became the first leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party to meet Xi Jinping in a decade. On Monday, she is flying to the U.S. with a message Beijing would recognize as its own.

Cheng, the chairwoman of the Kuomintang, is set to begin a two-week U.S. tour that is billed as a peace mission but also carries the weight of U.S.-China geopolitics. It is happening as Beijing is urging Washington to rethink its support for Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island that doesn’t recognize Beijing’s claim to govern it.

Cheng is a possible contender in Taiwan’s 2028 presidential election, in a party that has traditionally supported reconciliation with China. Her message for an American audience is that Taiwan—formally the Republic of China, not to be confused with the People’s Republic of China—operates under a constitution that already supports the principle that the island and the mainland are part of a single China. Cheng maintains that she, not the current government, is the leader best positioned to guarantee stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Importantly, The Wall Street Journal speculates on the possibility of Cheng meeting with Trump, or possibly other White House officials - though it seems unlikely:

If Cheng returns home having secured high-level American access, she can present herself back home as the one figure capable of managing both Beijing and Washington.

“That,” Sacks said, “would be a fairly formidable proposition.”

The question is whether President Trump will play along. People close to the White House said Cheng shouldn’t expect meetings with top administration officials, pointing to a policy framework in which the administration engages foreign opposition leaders only when they are seen as likely future heads of government—a bar Cheng hasn’t cleared.

Cheng has expressed her willingness to meet Trump, though she has also said that is likely to be hard. 

This is all about steering self-ruled Taiwan into China's orbit, and Beijing asserting political power to do so in the face of the Trump administration, after China has long stated its official policy of reunification to the mainland through political means.

Beijing has continued to present itself as the only peace guarantor and as a force for stability and is seeking 'Taiwan's willing participation' - at a moment the Middle East is on fire largely as a result of American policy and quickness to result to force and surprise attacks.

It will be interesting to see who in the Administration will meet with her. At a minimum, it will be the Managing Director of AIT Washington, Ingrid D. Larson.

Taiwan’s main opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun, is set to begin a two-week U.S. tour as Beijing urges Washington to…

— Dennis Wilder偉德寧 (@dennisw5) June 1, 2026

Xi and Cheng, when they met in Beijing back in early April, expressed a desire for a "peaceful" resolution to the many decades-long Taiwan crisis, and posed for photos at the Great Hall of the People. They engaged in public remarks but also held a private, closed-door meeting.

Cheng emphasized in words to reporters that Chinese and Taiwanese officials should work to "transcend political confrontation and mutual hostility." She stated, "Instead, it should become a strait that connects family ties, civilization and hope – a symbol of peace jointly safeguarded by Chinese people on both sides."

Her rhetoric was tinged with familiar Chinese Communist Party talking points as she heralded China's supposed eradicating of absolute poverty while seeking to achieve the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation".

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 14:10

US Coast Guard Eliminates Race-Based Enlistment Preferences

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Coast Guard has eliminated race-based preferential enlistment for college students who wish to join the service and commission as officers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a May 29 statement.

“The program in question, the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI), includes a preference for students from educational institutions that meet certain quotas for specifically identified racial groups in their student bodies,” DHS said.

“Such requirements stand in stark contrast to the Trump Administration’s focus on fairness, merit, and eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies throughout the federal government. They are also in violation of the equal protection requirements of the U.S. Constitution.”

CSPI is a scholarship program aimed at college juniors and seniors. Students who join the program become active-duty Coast Guard members and are entitled to military benefits. The enrollees remain at the university until they complete their degrees.

During academic breaks, the students work with the Coast Guard. A mentor will be assigned to guide each student as they prepare to begin their career, according to the Coast Guard website.

To apply for CSPI, the student must be a sophomore or junior at a federally designated Minority Serving Institution, according to the website.

Such schools include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Asian American and Native American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Native American Non-Tribal Institutions, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions.

DHS said it has terminated such requirements as of May 28.

With the elimination of racial requirements, CSPI will function as a race-neutral program in which becoming commissioned officers in the Coast Guard will be determined by merit and achievement rather than “immutable characteristics,” the department said.

“The Trump Administration is more focused than ever on eliminating unconstitutional DEI policies like this one,” DHS general counsel James Percival said.

“By getting rid of these unconstitutional diversity quotas, we are returning the Coast Guard’s focus to military readiness, upholding the law, and making America a safer place.”

Crackdown on Military DEI

On Dec. 18 last year, President Donald Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026, which authorized $901 billion in military and national security spending.

Sec. 901 of the bill prohibited DEI programs in the Department of War. The Secretary of War was banned from developing, implementing, or maintaining “an employee resource group or an affinity group based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”

The secretary was also prohibited from developing a training course related to diversity, equity, inclusion, intersectionality, and any critical theory related to race or gender.

Prior to the bill’s signing, the Modern Military Association of America had criticized the anti-DEI measures, calling them “harmful provisions,” according to a Dec. 10, 2025, statement from the association.

“The strength of the U.S. military lies not only in its size, but in its ability to draw on the talents, skills, and lived experiences of Americans from all backgrounds. A diverse force is more agile, innovative, and prepared to meet the complex challenges of modern warfare,” the association said.

“If enacted, they would jeopardize the health and well-being of service members, undermine recruitment and retention, and weaken overall military readiness.”

The Trump administration has steadily moved ahead with dismantling DEI policies and practices in the military despite opposition.

On Jan, 20, 2025, the first day in office of his second term, Trump issued the presidential action “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.”

On Jan.27, 2025, Trump signed another presidential action, stating that individuals expressing false “gender identity” cannot “satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”

In a July 20, 2025, announcement on X, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that after Trump was sworn into office, the Defense Department moved on three key initiatives—reestablishing deterrence, rebuilding the military, and restoring warrior ethos. This includes reevaluating DEI practices in the military.

“The results so far? Distractions like DEI, [critical race theory], social justice, politically correct stuff—gone,” Hegseth said.

During a May 23 address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, Hegseth doubled down on his criticism of DEI in the military. He called the slogan “our diversity is our strength” the “single dumbest phrase” in military history.

“Now, these sorts of silly things can be laughed at when they occur in a civilian lounge or civilian faculty lounge or debated in graduate seminars. But they cannot be tolerated in our formations. These ideas are what get people killed. Diversity is not our strength. Unity is our strength,” Hegseth said.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 13:55

Barry Diller Bets Big On Real-World Assets AI Can't Replace With MGM Resorts Bid

People Incorporated, formerly IAC and run by Barry Diller, has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire the remaining MGM Resorts shares it does not already own for $48.30 per share in cash. 

The latest Bloomberg data show People Inc. owns 26.1% of MGM Resorts, or about 66.82 million shares. The offer to buy the remainder would cover roughly 73.9% of MGM that is not already owned.

The $48.30-per-share offer represents a 24.1% premium to MGM's 30-day volume-weighted average price, more than a 30% premium to its 90-day VWAP, and a 10.6% premium to the most recent closing price. Such a deal would value MGM Resorts at $18.8 billion, including debt

MGM Resorts shares are up 15% in late morning trade. 

"We began investing in MGM nearly six years ago because we believed it represented a rare kind of business: one with real-world assets that AI cannot easily replicate or disintermediate and exceptional digital growth opportunities. That conviction has only strengthened over time," Diller wrote in a statement.

He continued, "We continue to believe the market materially undervalues the power and durability of MGM's assets. We believe MGM's management team is superb, and that there is a compelling opportunity to support MGM's next phase of growth and help unlock its full value."

People Inc. expects MGM to go private if the deal proceeds. It would fund the transaction with cash on hand at both People and MGM, as well as additional debt and equity commitments.

"People Incorporated expects that it will own just over 50.1% of the equity of the company, with other investors (which may include existing shareholders of MGM) holding minority interests. People Incorporated would control the MGM business," Diller's firm stated.

News of the take-MGM-private deal comes days after Tilman Fertitta, the Texas billionaire behind Golden Nugget and Landry's, reportedly prepared a $5.7 billion takeover of Caesars Entertainment.

Is Wall Street's next big trade a rush into assets AI can't easily disrupt? 

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 13:40

Trump: Hezbollah Agrees Shooting Will Stop & Israel Will Avert Attack On Beirut

Update(1335ET): In a rare development, Iran itself is now issuing warnings for northern Israel. Tehran is saying that if Beirut comes under fresh Israeli attack, then new assaults on northern Israeli settlements will in turn be unleashed:

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has warned residents of northern Israel to leave the area if Israel carries out threats to expand attacks on Beirut and its southern suburbs.

But at the same time there are reports saying Hezbollah has indicated to Washington that it is ready to agree to a ceasefire if Israel does the same. And more:

• HEZBOLLAH SAYS CONSENT WOULD BE WITHOUT PRECONDITION:CHANNEL 12
• TRUMP: HEZBOLLAH, ISRAEL AGREE NOT TO ATTACK EACH OTHER

Trump phone call with Netanyahu: Hezbollah agrees shooting will stop; will be no IDF troops going to Beirut:

Regional Asharq news writes that "Lebanon informed the US of Hezbollah's acceptance of Washington's proposal and its readiness to commit to not targeting Israel." But a ground war in southern Lebanon is already well underway - and a truce would likely be determinant on some level of an IDF withdrawal of territory captured in the last days.

*  *  *

The US-Iran ceasefire is being tested on multiple fronts, with Tehran already having announced Monday the suspension of contact with Washington over the escalation of Israel's ground war in Lebanon, where the IDF keeps pushing further north of the Litani River. Israel looks poised to resume major airstrikes on Beirut, despite that technically it has a US-mediated ceasefire in place with the government of Lebanon. Israeli leaders have vowed to halt Hezbollah's persistent drone strikes on northern Israel, and to establish a security buffer zone.

Also on Monday Israel's defense minister threatened there will be "no calm in Beirut" if Hezbollah's rockets and drones continue raining down on Israeli communities and troop locations. This is a direct threat to resume airstrikes on the capital city. This has direct impact on the US-Iran ceasefire:

IRAN'S STATE TV SAYS PROBABILITY OF CEASEFIRE BETWEEN IRAN AND U.S. ENDING IS HIGH IF ATTACKS ON LEBANON DO NOT STOP

via EuroNews

"The Dahiyeh in Beirut is no different from the communities in northern Israel – if there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut," Israel Katz said in a statement released by his office,

Dahiyeh a Hezbollah stronghold near the country's main international airport, but is densely packed with civilians. Each wave of Israeli attacks has historically resulted in high civilian casualties.

"At the same time, the IDF continues to operate with fire and maneuver against Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in Lebanon ... in order to push threats away from IDF forces and from the residents of the State of Israel, and to turn the Litani area into a zone under IDF security control, free of weapons and terrorists," Katz added.

Some pundits have argued that the new Lebanon campaign is aimed at hindering Washington from making a 'bad deal' with Tehran (from Tel Aviv's perspective). Others have said Netanyahu appears "stuck" and doesn't have a clear mission in Lebanon:

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is “stuck” in terms of military strategy in Lebanon, according to Jad Melki, professor of media studies at the Lebanese American University.

Melki told Al Jazeera that most of Israel’s escalation has been targeting civilian centres in the city of Tyre, villages in south Lebanon, and historical sites like Beaufort Castle.

“Most of these have been built by Netanyahu as major strategic accomplishments, but those have been mostly exaggerated. Even the Beaufort Castle – unless we’re living in the 12th century, it’s not a strategic military location anymore,” he said.

“The problem is that Netanyahu is stuck,” Melki told Al Jazeera. “He cannot advance very quickly, as he will break the Israeli army, and he cannot sit still in the occupied territories of South Lebanon right now because the resistance is basically hunting his soldiers like sitting ducks, so he’s stuck and can only bomb hospitals and kill civilians and medical workers.”

Opinions have remained varied as to what Israel hopes to gain by escalating things in Lebanon at this fragile point where Israeli is at war on multiple fronts (and might the Houthis join next?):

Told @BeckyCNN:

- IRGC media claim suspension of Iran-US exchanges of messages, but we should be cautious pending official announcement.

- Israel may tell Trump that escalation in Lebanon will strengthen his hand vs Iran, but likely aim is to derail Iran-US diplomacy. pic.twitter.com/NWmTQsbIbg

— Mohammad Ali Shabani (@mashabani) June 1, 2026

Local Israeli media outlets have also in some cases questioned the strategic utility of the entire operation in establishing a 'buffer zone', pointing out that Hezbollah’s tactical drone fleet is widely believed to possess an operational range in excess of 30 km.

Hezbollah has been having success especially with fiber-optic cable drones which are not to susceptible to jamming, hacking, or other electronic warfare interception measures. All of these developments mean that the Washington-mediated ceasefire is effectively dead, and as Hezbollah's asymmetric warfare is likely to ramp up in response.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 13:34

This Is How Leftists React To Facts...

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

When presented with uncomfortable irrefutable statistics on migrant crime, those on the left don’t debate—they threaten violence and scream about history as an excuse for chaos today.

That’s exactly what unfolded outside the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, Saunday. GB News chief US correspondent Ben Leo was on the ground covering anti-ICE protests—already marked by days of clashes, a hunger strike by detainees, and assaults on officers—when he calmly laid out basic facts about illegal migrant crime patterns in the UK while engaging with the ‘protesters’.

The furious black nationalist got inches from Leo’s face, accused Brits of colonizing the world “through rape, murder and pillaging,” and warned he was “holding everything back not to break your f***ing jaw.”

Me: certain nationalities in UK are more likely to commit sexual offences than Brits

Leftist nutcase: “I’m gonna break your f*****g jaw.”

ICE detention facility in New Jersey.

I’m not surprised Charlie Kirk was murdered. These people are lunatics. pic.twitter.com/ET8GzoJhCM

— Ben Leo (@Benleo) May 31, 2026

Leo stood his ground without flinching. Lurking right behind the seething guy, a spectacled soy leftist pathetically attempted to pile on, weakly joining the intimidation effort by demanding Leo “go back to your country”—the height of irony at an open-borders rally.

The incident, captured on video and shared widely, shows how facts about immigration enforcement trigger outright rage from open-borders activists. While ICE works to secure America’s borders under policies prioritizing law and order, protesters treat any challenge to mass migration as a personal attack worth physical intimidation.

In the clip, Leo began by referencing data showing certain nationalities in the UK are disproportionately involved in sexual offences compared to native Brits. The protester immediately pivoted to colonial history.

“The BRITS that colonised the whole world you mean? That raped and pillaged the WHOLE WORLD to get the power they have THE BRITS,” he shouts.

“YEAH The BRITS who did THAT. And YOU guys have the audacity TO SAY AFGHANS AND SOMALIS DID WHAT?”

Leo responded evenly: “Well it’s not Audacity. It is just a fact.”

The man escalated, demanding: “IS IT NOT A FACT THAT Y’ALL COLONIZED THE WORLD THROUGH RAPE, MURDER AND PILLAGING, RIGHT OR WRONG?”

The guy then repeated insults—“you’re a piece of s,” “you’re a liar”—and got inches from Leo’s face, spitting as he ranted about how he “came out here for violence,” not to talk.

Leo stayed composed, pointing out the obvious: “This doesn’t make your argument look good. That’s the left. That is the degenerate violent left. You give facts. You get data. And they get violent.”

The exchange ended with the soy leftist in the background yelling “go back to your country.” Leo’s deadpan reply: “I live here.” When asked how he got there: “Aeroplane.”

On GB News, Leo later reflected on the moment. He explained he could have countered with historical facts—Britain’s role in abolishing the slave trade, Royal Navy efforts against it—but prioritized de-escalation and safety amid the aggression. “I was more concerned about watching his hands… making sure that he wasn’t about to swing for me.”

‘The clip demonstrates that the left lunatics are exactly that.’@Benleo reacts to the moment when an anti-ICE protester aggressively confronted him after he presented some simple facts on migrants in Britain.

📺 Freeview 236, Sky 512, Virgin 604 pic.twitter.com/00wKP1SxdV

— GB News (@GBNEWS) May 31, 2026

He also addressed the police response, calling it “chilling” and “worrying.” Officers appeared uninterested after the threat, with one suggesting Leo’s questions were “provocative.” Leo noted: “It didn’t really seem like the police were bothered… presenting simple facts and asking what you’re doing here… is somehow provocative.”

‘It didn’t really seem like the police were bothered.’

GB News Presenter @Benleo says the police response at the New Jersey detention centre, as he was being confronted, was ‘chilling’ and a worrying sign that authorities are too sympathetic towards agitators. pic.twitter.com/ixexJlXw1O

— GB News (@GBNEWS) June 1, 2026

This isn’t isolated. Protests at Delaney Hall have turned violent for over a week, with reports of objects thrown, entrances blocked, and even an ICE agent bitten. Detainees allege poor conditions, but federal officials call the strike a political stunt amid efforts to deport serious offenders.

The confrontation exposes a deeper hypocrisy. Leftist activists rage against “colonialism” while ignoring how British institutions—rule of law, abolitionism, and innovation—built much of the modern world migrants flock to. They excuse crime waves from unchecked migration by pointing to the past, yet demand America absorb endless inflows without consequences.

Leo’s calm handling underscores a key truth: facts don’t care about feelings. When open-borders ideology meets reality—rising sexual offences, strained resources, cultural clashes—it produces not debate but threats. This is the same mindset behind attacks on figures like Charlie Kirk and repeated assassination attempts on President Trump.

America First policies, like robust ICE operations, exist precisely because ignoring these patterns endangers citizens. The left’s violent reaction proves they know the data is irrefutable—they just refuse to accept it.

The left’s mask slips when challenged. They’re not tolerant—they’re unhinged when their narrative cracks.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 13:05

French Commandos Board & Seize 4th Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Vessel Since September

France announced Monday another weekend interdiction of a Russian "shadow fleet" vessel in international waters near its coast. The French Navy boarded and detained a sanctioned oil tanker, President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday, in an operation which had the assistance from the UK Royal Navy and other allies.

This marks the fourth time since September that French commandoes have intercepted a boarded a sanctioned Russian vessel in regional waters.

via AFP/French military

The vessel, identified as the Tagor, originated from Murmansk, Russia, and was taken by French authorities while it traversed around 400 nautical miles (740 km) west of the tip of Brittany.

"It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea and fund the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than 4 years," Macron wrote in a post on X.

The apparent legal justification France's navy has relied on for such actions is the practice of "flag-hopping" - which involves a crew repeatedly changing displayed flags, along with often invalid registrations to thwart international tracking monitors.

At the time of boarding, via soldiers rappelling from helicopter, the ship was falsely flying a Cameroonian flag while reportedly en route to the coastal African city of Limbe, Cameroon.

Macron confirmed further on X: "This operation took place in the Atlantic Ocean, on the high seas, with the support of several partners, including the United Kingdom, in strict compliance with the law of the sea."

The Kremlin again condemned such 'unlawful' seizures in international waters, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying, "We consider these acts as illegal, they border on international piracy … Russia is taking measures to ensure the safety of its cargo."

The vessel's captain is a Russian citizen, according to an embassy disclosure from Paris. According to more:

Guillaume Le Rasle, a spokesperson for the prefecture, said the tanker was under EU and US sanctions. “It is a vessel that was known and tracked,” he told AFP.

“The decision to divert it was taken Sunday evening. The objective of the diversion is to verify the validity of its flag,” Le Rasle said, adding that the tanker, which has frequently changed flags, was “almost empty” at the time of boarding.

La Marine nationale a arraisonné hier matin un nouveau pétrolier sous sanctions internationales en provenance de Russie : le Tagor. Notre détermination est constante et totale.

Cette intervention a été effectuée en Atlantique, en haute mer,… pic.twitter.com/zxEslYjbUE

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 1, 2026

The last several seized tankers were also flying flags of African nations, and these interdictions have stretched back through last year. In some instances, Russia has been sending military escorts - which of course has seen French and European militaries hold off executing any action.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 12:50

Anthropic Confidentially Files For IPO As Frontier AI Labs Race To Go Public

Four days after releasing its latest Claude Opus 4.8 model and raising $65 billion at a $900 billion valuation, Anthropic confidentially filed a draft Form S-1 with the SEC late Monday morning for a proposed IPO of its common stock.

"This gives us the option to go public after the SEC completes its review. The proposed initial public offering will depend on market conditions and other factors," the maker of the Claude chatbot wrote in a press release.

The move puts Anthropic and OpenAI in a race to become the first major frontier AI lab to tap public markets, as investor appetite for AI infrastructure and all things SpaceX remains hot into early June.

It's "worth noting: filing first ≠ pricing first a confidential draft S-1 starts the SEC clock but sets no date," CNBC reporter Deirdre Bosa pointed out on X.

worth noting: filing first ≠ pricing first

a confidential draft S-1 starts the SEC clock but sets no date https://t.co/EY8X4Q4y8N

— Deirdre Bosa (@dee_bosa) June 1, 2026

The Polymarket bet "Will Anthropic or OpenAI IPO first?" shows that the confidential S-1 filing was a surprise to prediction markets.

Anthropic's confidential S-1 filing was a surprise to prediction markets https://t.co/08PxrLSOXG pic.twitter.com/TivykIBSZb

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 1, 2026

The surprise news comes four days after Anthropic raised $65 billion at a $900 billion valuation, nearly tripling its prior valuation and potentially surpassing OpenAI as the most valuable frontier AI lab.

That round was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia, with additional participation from major investors including Baillie Gifford, Blackstone, Brookfield, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and Singapore’s Temasek.

The funding comes shortly after Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.8 and follows a prior $30 billion raise at a $350 billion valuation just three months earlier.

The Anthropic-OpenAI race to IPO comes as SpaceX is targeting an IPO for June 12, or next Friday, with shares expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SPCX.

Just last month. 

OpenAI plans to file for IPO confidentially as soon as Friday: CNBC pic.twitter.com/mlSdYl05XG

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 21, 2026

With the flurry of mega IPOs on deck, Goldman has the answer to whether markets can absorb all the incoming supply (read report).

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 12:40