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Sophie Cunningham went from the hardwood to the bar top on Friday night.

One star NFL rookie is going to miss some time just weeks before the start of the regular season.

Two police officers shot and killed a 20-year-old man experiencing a mental health crisis and expressing suicidal thoughts last month.

The NFL has a new highest-paid cornerback — again.

A female cyclist attempted to cross a flooded bridge and had to be revived after being pulled under the water.

Jaxson Dart had Giants fans — and John Harbaugh — holding their breath and exhaling with exultation.

Somali Piracy Surges Amid Hormuz Blockade

Authored by Alex Kimani via OilPrice.com,

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced hundreds of commercial ships onto longer routes around Africa, and Somali pirates are moving quickly to exploit the sudden increase in traffic off the continent’s eastern coast. Oil tankers MT Honour 25, MT Eureka and MT Asana were hijacked in the Gulf of Aden and off Puntland between April and July 2026, the largest attacks by Somali pirates in years. The Iran war has now delivered these groups more targets, spread across thousands of miles of ocean, while diverting naval resources to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

Somali piracy peaked in 2011 before an international crackdown reduced attacks to a fraction of their former levels. The first major revival came in late 2023, when Houthi attacks in the Red Sea forced hundreds of vessels away from the Suez Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope. And with U.S. forces all diverted to the war against Iran in the Persian Gulf, it’s largely a free-for-all for Somali pirates.  Unlike the disorganized bands of the early 2000s, today's Somali pirates are ranging much farther from shore, and their operations have become much more sophisticated. And perhaps even more concerning, according to reports from a UN panel of experts, there is now direct coordination between Yemeni militants and Somali networks.

In exchange for creating maritime chaos to keep Western navies distracted, the Houthis have supplied Somali pirate cells with advanced weaponry, military training and precision GPS tracking devices to pinpoint commercial hulls. Al-Shabaab--one of the most lethal terrorist groups in Africa--provides onshore logistical backing along parts of the Somali coast where pirate gangs launch operations or hold hijacked vessels. Intelligence reports indicate the group receives a generous cut of up to 30% from successful maritime ransom payouts.

According to a joint study by Interpol, the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Horn of Africa piracy generated over $400 million in ransom payments from 179 hijacked ships between 2005 and 2012, averaging roughly $2.23 million per ship. The money follows a structured economy, with pirate crews receiving a standard 10% to 15% fee, local financiers claim 30% to 50% for funding food, fuel and weapons, while the rest is laundered into legitimate businesses, according to the study. And it’s only becoming more lucrative with time. 

A June 30, 2026, analysis by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) reports that ransom demands have been made for all three commercial vessels hijacked in the current wave.

The demand for Eureka was reportedly $10 million.

Separately, the pirates holding Honour 25 have demanded $3 million for the tanker, cargo and crew. 

GI-TOC says pirates received $1.2 million-$1.5 million for the release of the Chinese fishing vessel Liao Dong Yu 578 in March this year. The same vessel had reportedly generated another $2 million ransom in 2024. GI-TOC says counter-piracy officials believe the latest payment helped catalyze the current wave of attacks.

The Gulf of Guinea is yet another piracy hotspot in Africa thanks to the region’s riches in oil and gas as well as a well-trained militia due the Delta's secessionist movement. While local law enforcement and naval forces have managed to curb attacks in shallower waters, pirates are highly adaptable to new environments. Now, they are using heavily armed mother ships to strike targets well outside state jurisdictions and exclusive economic zones. The region’s pirate networks now operate with military-grade weapons, an intricate shipping intelligence network and complicated financial backing.

War-risk insurance premiums for commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf spiked by over 1,000%--surging from pre-conflict levels of roughly 0.15%–0.25% of a vessel's value up to 7.5% and 10% per voyage shortly after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March.

With African maritime zones highly vulnerable due to a lack of equipment and manpower, and with American forces diverted to the Persian Gulf indefinitely, piracy sees its biggest opportunity yet. It means an African diversion isn’t necessarily going to avoid risk premiums.

Tyler Durden Sat, 08/15/2026 - 14:00

Get up to $1,500 back in bonus bets for the NFL Preseason with the BetMGM bonus code POSTBET if your first bet doesn't win.

"It's out of control. It's amazing. It's the most successful I've ever been by far," the 'RHONY' alum said.

"It's out of control. It's amazing. It's the most successful I've ever been by far," the 'RHONY' alum said.

The pursuit for Tarik Skubal began approximately nine months ago. At Major League Baseball’s GM meetings in early November, the Los Angeles Dodgers made it known that they wanted to be involved in the Skubal sweepstakes if the Detroit Tigers were going to trade the two-time Cy Young winner. Tarik Skubal was traded to the...

The Islamic Republic has intensified its anti-US messaging in recent weeks, as it ramps up its propaganda war with violent state-sponsored billboards plastered across Tehran.

Aaron Judge’s lengthy path back to the Yankees' lineup has taken another step.

Each week, the California Post will power rank MLB’s 30 teams and check in on one intriguing awards race. Records as of Saturday morning: 1) Rays (74-47) For the first time this year, the Rays climb to the top of these standings thanks to their recent nine-game win streak. Amazingly, they might be coasting the...

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti says he wants to play Notre Dame despite reports that the Hoosiers canceled their scheduled 2030-2031 series.

After resigning his seat as a member of parliament in July over an undisclosed $6.7 million gift from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire, Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage won his re-election campaign, beating out a slew of wacky candidates, like comic Count Binface.

Part of the idyllic La Jolla Cove in San Diego could be shuttered after prosecutors charged an unruly teen with physically abusing a sea lion there.

Dolphins have been filmed using shells to ensnare their prey off the coast of Australia, marking the first time this clever tactic has been caught on camera.

Democratic Socialist Leaders Squirm When Asked About Cuba, Venezuela, And Nicaragua's Dictatorships

Mexican journalist and Miami-based news anchor Jorge Gilberto Ramos Ávalos had one of the most revealing exchanges yet with the leadership of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Ramos repeatedly pressed the socialists' national DSA co-chairs on whether Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua should be classified as dictatorships. Neither of the far-left extremists could provide a direct answer.

Ramos asked Ashik Siddique, co-chair of the DSA:

But help me understand the difference between the kind of democratic socialism that you support and what's happening in Cuba and in Nicaragua, in Venezuela. Recently we heard Daniel Ortega saying that he doesn't want to have elections in Nicaragua.

Of course, Cuba hasn't had multiparty elections since 1959. In Venezuela it is clearly still a dictatorship. So what's your relationship with these countries? Do you believe that Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are dictatorships?

Siddique responded to Ramos' question but could not answer it directly.

Ramos asked again:

And I understand the situation, but I mean, is Cuba a dictatorship for you?

Yet, in a familiar display of Trump derangement syndrome, Siddique again deflected the question, shifting the discussion away from Cuba's communist system and toward his claim that President Trump is a "dictator": 

I think in the United States it's hard for us to judge other countries being dictatorships when we have Donald Trump as president, when basic voting rights are under attack in the U.S., validated by the Supreme Court just a few months ago. I think we have a lot of work to do in the United States to make sure we have a democracy.

🚨 DSA Co-Chairs Squirm When Pressed on Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua

This is a longer clip, but it captures the best parts of a broader discussion DSA national co-chairs Ashik Siddique and Megan Romer had with The Moment hosts Jorge Ramos and Paola Ramos.

Jorge repeatedly… pic.twitter.com/d2MqonAcya

— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) August 14, 2026

What's most revealing in this exchange is that DSA leaders won't acknowledge left-wing dictatorships but instead default to blaming Trump, rather than communism, for Cuba's problems. Their ignorance is unbelievable and not rooted in reality, despite much of South America having rejected decades of nation-killing left-wing regimes in recent elections that have only ushered in a right-wing wave of common sense across the continent.

Related:

• South America Just Rejected Socialism. So Why Is North America Buying It?

"This is not based in reality. The DSA is an authoritarian movement seeking to dissolve our government, and their justification, enabled by self-described democratic moderates, is 'Trump did it too.' But he didn't do it. America is not a dictatorship. We've allowed the TDS to go on unchallenged long enough. It's time for everyone to stop coddling the crazy toddlers and to put away the communism," Mike Solana responded to a post on X by the Manhattan Institute's Stu Smith.

Watching DSA co-chairs refuse to call Cuba and Venezuela dictatorships while claiming that American democracy is no better than those authoritarian regimes could be viewed as ideological subversion (read here) intended to change Americans' perception of reality and eventually gain enough political power to usher in their agenda to abolish the U.S. empire from within:

Other DSA leaders have stated their exact goal: to "destroy America from within."

Daniel Di Martino, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, stated on X, "The Cuban regime pays these people and their group. They are NOT ALLOWED to question or criticize Cuba because of this. It's like the North Korean agents that crash out when you ask them to say "F*** Kim Jong Un." Keep putting them on the spot." 

Tyler Durden Sat, 08/15/2026 - 13:25

“Effective immediately, Slipknot will no longer be associated with Sid Wilson,” the message reads.