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Embassy issues advisory about jet ski rentals from operators who are unlicensed and uninsured.

Conor McGregor has responded to allegations that he "took powerful, banned drugs” during the recovery of a fractured tibia and fibula.

California Democrats agreed this week to tax-related proposals that could raise health insurance premiums and slap a new tax on software downloads — as critics blast the deal for piling on costs at the worst possible time.

Curbless bathrooms, advanced filtration systems, mobility assistance and red-light therapy are the new “it” amenities among uber-rich homeowners and buyers.

Gavin Newsom has agreed to pay a $31K fine after failing, in a timely manner, to disclose millions in donations he solicited, many of which were tied to Los Angeles wildfire relief.

It's Christmas in June.

Record Percentage Of Central Banks Expect Gold Reserves To Increase In Next 12 Months

Today, the World Gold Council released their 2026 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey. Amongst the insights, here is the punchline: a record 45% of respondents expect their own gold reserves will increase over the next 12 months

Central banks have accumulated an average of 1,000t of gold over the past four years, up significantly from the 500t average over the preceding decade. This marked acceleration in the pace of accumulation has occurred against a backdrop of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, which has clouded the outlook for reserve managers.

The WGC's 2026 Central Bank Gold Reserves (CBGR) survey was conducted between 5 February and 19 May. With the majority of responses coming in after the start of the Middle East conflict, this year’s survey contains insights on how central bankers view gold in the light of ongoing geopolitical turmoil. The sample is highly representative of the overall central bank community, both geographically and in terms of gold owned. This robust participation is a powerful signal of engagement with gold amongst the central banking community. 

Here are the key highlights:

Similar to findings from previous surveys, central banks continue to hold favorable expectations on gold. Respondents overwhelmingly (89%) believe that global central bank gold reserves will increase over the next 12 months.

As noted above, this year, a record 45% of respondents expect their own gold reserves will also increase over the same period. The majority of the remaining respondents indicated they expect no change while 1% expect their institution’s gold reserves to decrease (hello, Turkey).

Gold’s performance during times of crisis, portfolio diversification and inflation hedging are some of the key factors for central banks to hold gold. In addition, gold as a geopolitical risk hedge and gold as part of a reserve diversification policy also feature as key reasons for increasing allocations to gold.

The majority of respondents (74%) see moderate or significantly lower US dollar holdings within global reserves over the next five years. Respondents also believe that the share of other currencies, such as the euro and renminbi will remain unchanged over the same period, while gold holdings will increase.

This year’s survey asked respondents how they would fund their new gold purchases. Half of respondents indicated through a domestic purchase program in local currency, while 38% indicated through selling existing reserve assets.

The Bank of England remains the most popular vaulting location among respondents at 57%, though central banks continue to diversify their storage across multiple locations. Domestic storage came in second at 49%, followed by the Bank for International Settlements at 16% (a slight uptick from last year). The Swiss National Bank saw a notable decline in preference, dropping to 6% from 12% in 2025.

A notable increase in changes to vaulting locations was observed in this year’s survey, with 9% saying they have increased domestic storage and 10% saying they have diversified overseas storage locations in the past 12 months, compared with 5% and 2% respectively in last year’s survey. The trend is also observed in future plans for vaulting, with 7% saying they plan to increase domestic storage and 9% saying they plan to diversify overseas storage locations in the coming 12 months. 

Summary:

This year’s survey reinforces the trend: central banks remain very positive on gold, highlighting its significance amid a volatile geopolitical and economic environment

The survey shows a continuation of the trend uncovered in previous years: central banks see gold making up a growing share of their reserve portfolios. 84% of respondents believe that gold will hold a (moderately or significantly) higher share of total reserves five years from now, up from 76% last year. Responses were also fairly consistent between central banks in advanced economies and EMDE (emerging markets and developing economies), with the majority anticipating that the proportion of total reserves held in gold would be moderately higher in five years’ time (Chart 1). Respondents were less sanguine on the US dollar. While it maintains its position as the dominant global reserve currency, data from the IMF’s Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) shows that its share has been on a gradual decline. And respondents believe this trend will continue, with 74% expecting its share to be lower five years from now (Chart 2, p4). Both advanced economy and EMDE responses were aligned in this view.

When asked about expectations for how global central bank gold reserves will change over the next 12 months, respondents were almost unanimous, with 89% of respondents believing that official gold reserves will continue to increase (Chart 3). This sentiment was consistent across both advanced economy and EMDE respondents. It should be noted that 11% of central banks believe that gold’s proportion of total reserves would remain unchanged, up from 5% last year.  In addition, 45% of respondents thought that their own institution’s gold reserves would rise over the next year, broadly in line with last year’s finding (43%).

Most respondents did not expect their gold reserves to change in the next 12 months. This marks a new record high in the proportion of central banks expecting to add gold to their own reserves with EMDE banks continuing to lead their advanced economy counterparts. Among EMDE respondents around half thought that their own gold reserves would increase in the next 12 months, while the other half anticipated they would remain unchanged.

The findings highlight that gold sentiment within the central banking community remains upbeat. Expectations point to continued gold buying over the next 12 months, reflecting sustained confidence in gold’s strategic role amid evolving geopolitical and macroeconomic dynamics.

More in the full survey available here for subs.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/16/2026 - 17:20

The reason I'm never paying for Pilates again.

“Donald Trump, I don’t have time for Operation Epic Fury no more," the man said on a social media video. "Now you know I got a live f–king bomb.”

A ghoulish “reporter” fangirling over Luigi Mangione apparently got tattoos of his signature and the phrase “carpe diem” in his handwriting after the alleged CEO assassin appeared to write to the OnlyFans figure from jail.

The underdog New York college basketball team has grabbed a player from St. John’s. Fordham has landed former top-100 recruit Kelvin Odih via the transfer portal, according to multiple reports, after just one year with the Red Storm. It is the first time since Fordham has grabbed a four-star recruit since 2008, when the Rams...

“Love Island: USA” is heating up as the islanders adjust to their new normal after the fan-voted recoupling shook up the Villa. Our “Virtual Real-Tea” co-hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real are recapping episodes 9 – 12 with our “Love Island” correspondent Jordan Emanuel. Kenzie Annis is torn between Caleb McDaniel and Corbin Mims as...

“Love Island: USA” is heating up as the islanders adjust to their new normal after the fan-voted recoupling shook up the Villa. Our “Virtual Real-Tea” co-hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real are recapping episodes 9 – 12 with our “Love Island” correspondent Jordan Emanuel. Kenzie Annis is torn between Caleb McDaniel and Corbin Mims as...

"What we saw here was pure negligence from many avenues," said instructor Chris Batten.

More than 500,000 packages of macaroni and cheese sold at Aldi stores nationwide have been recalled because they may contain undeclared soy lecithin, a soy-derived ingredient that can pose a risk to people with soy allergies or sensitivities.

Cam Jordan is returning to New Orleans. 

"By Any Means Necessary": Candidate Struck From Alaska Ballot Over Alleged Democratic Dirty Trick

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

There is an interesting controversy in Alaska where an election official just disqualified a candidate over his name. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) is in what is considered a close race with Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola. The seat is viewed as critical to the Democrats' retaking power. The race was thrown into disarray when a retired teacher named Dan Sullivan, who had no connection to the GOP but did have connections to Democratic operatives, got on the ballot.

The alleged dirty trick by Democratic and Peltola supporters would have split Sullivan's vote through sheer confusion. Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher disqualified Dan J. Sullivan, putting an end to it this week.

The suspected dirty trick comes at a time when Democratic candidates and pundits are calling for winning back power "by any means necessary."

It could create an interesting appeal if teacher Sullivan claims that this is just a colossal coincidence or that he has a right to be a vehicle for electoral confusion.

This is an old trick employed by other Democratic candidates in history, including J.F. Kennedy. In Kennedy's first run for Congress in 1946 in Boston, he was up against Boston City Councilor Joe Russo in the primary. The district was heavily Irish and Italian. Kennedy's father, Joe, allegedly paid another Joseph Russo, a custodian, to run to divide the Italian vote through confusion.

In 2000, Republicans faced similar allegations when the House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt found himself running against Richard A. Gebhardt.

Beecher concluded that Dan J. Sullivan and the Democrats were engaged in the same dirty trick to try to seize the seat. In a letter this week, she concluded that the teacher's candidacy was "filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot's fairness or neutrality," in a letter published Monday.

Under Alaska's ranked-choice voting system, Dan J. Sullivan could have advanced to the general election among the top four vote-getters - rigging the result for Peltola.

Beecher noted several indicators that teacher Sullivan and the Democrats were engaged in a dishonest campaign of confusion. She noted that he voted under the name Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., but requested to appear on the ballot as Dan Sullivan - making him identical to the incumbent. He even tried to register using the initial "S" once, which would have matched the senator.

She also noted that Dan J. Sullivan had not registered as a Republican before launching his Senate campaign and that he created a new website that used a "color scheme and overall theme" similar to the incumbent's campaign materials.

She also noted his connection to Amber Lee, an Alaska Democratic consultant and past supporter of Peltola.

If true, it is a disgraceful role played by this retired teacher and Democratic operatives. While claiming to be defending democracy, Democratic activists and leaders often use the most anti-democratic measures of ballot cleansing or, in this case, ballot confusion.

The question is the role of Peltola, the DNC, and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee in encouraging this dirty trick in Alaska. That would require an inquisitive, independent national media.

Once again, from Alaska to Maine, Democrats may have to ask, "Are we the baddies?"

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/16/2026 - 17:00

Messi will make World Cup history tonight.

Lionel Messi is expected to play for Argentina in their World Cup debut against Algeria in Group J.

We're pouring out a piping hot cup of java to honor Lorelai and Rory.