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At the Administration for Children's Services, life-or-death decisions about kids' safety are being made by folks who are just not very good at assessing risk.

The NYSE has taken the early lead in the marijuana race.

Nestor Roman II, 30, of Dalton, faces multiple charges after authorities said he stole the rescue vehicle and later crashed several miles from his burning home.

DHS said the three men were previously caught illegally entering the US before being released during the Obama administration.

Got Hard Assets? UBS Says "Position For A Commodity Upcycle" As Global Scarcity Emerges

One day after veteran commodities strategist Jeff Currie told investors to "get long and buckle up" for the next leg of the commodities rally, UBS strategist Sagar Khandelwal issued a similarly bullish call, urging clients to "position for a commodity upcycle."

Khandelwal said electrification, surging power demand, artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending, persistent supply constraints, and years of underinvestment are converging to create a perfect storm for a sustained upcycle in hard assets.

Commodities can generate returns while protecting portfolios against energy disruptions and renewed inflation, he said. That defensive role becomes valuable when the toxic mixture starts hitting stocks and bonds. 

Here's how the UBS strategist framed the trade:

Position for commodity upside

We believe commodities can provide both a structural source of return and portfolio protection in scenarios where higher inflation expectations challenge equities and bonds. While commodities have historically offered valuable diversification benefits due to their relatively low correlation with traditional asset classes, we also see a supportive longer-term backdrop driven by electrification, rising power demand, AI infrastructure investment, and supply constraints across several markets. In our view, investors should maintain diversified exposure across precious metals, energy, industrial metals, and agriculture to capture a broad range of opportunities. Given fast-shifting leadership within commodity markets, we think an actively managed approach can help investors navigate the commodity upcycle.

Gold

Gold has resumed its upward trend as US inflation concerns have ebbed, and markets have reined in expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes. Looking ahead, however, we believe central bank demand, continued diversification away from the US dollar, and global debt concerns will remain important structural supports. For investors with substantial gains following the strong rally over the past year, higher prices may provide an opportunity to rebalance some exposure into other commodity sectors. We continue to view gold as a useful strategic diversifier, and we remain constructive on gold prices over the next 12 months.

Energy

The ongoing conflict between the US and Iran highlights the fluid nature of geopolitical events and how they can impact energy. With crude supply remaining restricted and both sides facing constraints in reaching a compromise, uncertainty over how quickly shipping conditions and production will normalize is likely to keep energy markets sensitive. In our view, energy exposure can help protect against lingering supply uncertainty and inflation spillovers, while robust demand supports a constructive medium-term outlook.

Industrial metals

Industrial metals, such as copper, have benefited from secular demand drivers such as electrification, the energy transition, and the ongoing global buildout of AI infrastructure. Prices have remained resilient despite periodic global economic growth worries. While factors like tariffs and trade policy risks may keep prices volatile in the near term, demand trends remain constructive for the asset class over the longer term. In copper specifically, supply constraints and projected market deficits reinforce our positive longer-term outlook.

A look at the Quantix Commodity Index Total Return shows that the broad commodity complex has surged to a record high, gaining more than 22.5% since late June. The index tracks 24 US-dollar-denominated futures across energy, agriculture, livestock, industrial metals, and precious metals, suggesting the rally is no longer confined to a single corner of the physical world.

That momentum in the commodities index reinforces veteran Currie's warning last week that "scarcity in the physical world" is reemerging. Already, we're seeing London copper trading above $14,000 a ton, the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index breaking out to a three-year high, and European tungsten prices exceeding $3,000 a ton.

Currie's conclusion was very blunt: "The illusion of abundance is likely behind us."

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/28/2026 - 05:45

“What if the next time the same person puts an explosive in a suitcase when the opportunity arises,” asked the US-based StopAntisemitism NGO.

'White Lives Matter' Graffiti Sparks Investigation, Suspects Face Up To 3 Years In Prison

Via Remix News,

Polish prosecutors are now investigating a "White Lives Matter" graffiti as a hate crime in the city of Rzeszów, with the suspects facing up to three years in prison if they are apprehended and convicted.

Painted on a wall in the Polish city of Rzeszów, the graffiti was reportedly created as a memorial to the murdered British youth Henry Nowak.

??? In Poland, prosecutors are now investigating a "White Lives Matter" graffiti as a hate crime, with the suspects facing up to 3 years in prison if they are apprehended and convicted.

Painted on a wall in the Polish city of Rzeszów, the graffiti was reportedly created as a... pic.twitter.com/FP1HYP0cDZ

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) August 25, 2026

Polish police have reportedly secured surveillance footage and referred the case to Polish prosecutors.

However, Polish newspaper toRzeszow claims that cameras are not in the direct area where the wall was painted, making it difficult to identify the suspects.

Authorities also painted over the entire wall.

Major Polish news outlet wPolsce24 has reacted with outrage to the investigation: "The Rzeszów case is part of a broader trend of suppressing the voices of white people who dare to remind them that their lives also have value. When black people say "Black Lives Matter," it is a fight for equality. When white people say "White Lives Matter," it is immediately racist."

The news outlet further writes: "The slogan on the garages in Rzeszów was not an expression of hatred. There was a voice reminding us that white lives matters too. And as long as we treat some lives as 'more equal' than others, such slogans will appear on walls."

Meanwhile, authorities claim the graffiti is illegal under article 257 of the Polish penal code, which concerns the public insult of a group of people or an individual based on national, ethnic, or racial identity.

A group labeled "Narodowy Rzeszów" allegedly posted a video of themselves standing next to the graffiti holding a banner and flares and displaying the logo of the right-wing National-Radical Camp (ONR), however, it remains unclear if they sprayed the graffiti themselves.

Their post pointed to violence against Whites in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Social media platforms took the video down.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/28/2026 - 05:00

The summer of sewer diving keeps on going.

US District Judge Indira Talwani blocked a USPS rule backed by Donald Trump that would have restricted mail-in voting ahead of the election.

The World's $158 Trillion Stock Market In One Chart

In 2025, the global equity market reached a record $157.8 trillion in market capitalization, up more than $25 trillion from 2024.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, highlights the world’s major equity markets based on their 2025 market capitalization.

Data has been sourced from the World Federation of Exchanges via SIFMA.

The World’s Biggest Stock Market

With a total market capitalization of $68.9 trillion, the U.S. is by far the world’s largest equity market, accounting for roughly 44% of the global total.

The U.S. is home to the world’s two preeminent stock exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. Shares in the overwhelming majority of the country’s largest public companies are traded on these two exchanges.

The table below lists the world’s major equity markets as of the end of 2025.

RankCountryMarket cap in 2025 ($T)Share (%) 1🇺🇸 United States68.944% 2🇨🇳 China15.510% 3🇪🇺 European Union15.510% 4🇮🇳 India10.67% 5🇯🇵 Japan7.65% 6🇭🇰 Hong Kong6.14% 7🇬🇧 United Kingdom5.64% 8🇨🇦 Canada4.63% 9🇦🇺 Australia2.01% 10🇸🇬 Singapore0.81% --🌐 Other Developed Markets13.69% --🌐 Other Emerging Markets6.94% --🌎 World Total157.8100%

The U.S. has seen its dominance in global equities strengthen over the past decade. Its share of global equity market capitalization has risen by more than 10 percentage points since 2012, when it accounted for roughly one-third of the total.

Part of this rise has been driven by the strong performance of U.S.-listed tech companies like Apple, Alphabet, and NVIDIA, each of which is part of the so-called Magnificent Seven.

China and the EU Are Nearly Tied

China ranks as the world’s second-largest equity market, narrowly ahead of the European Union. Both round to $15.5 trillion in market capitalization.

Even at that scale, each market is less than one-quarter the size of the $68.9 trillion U.S. market. Notably, many prominent Chinese companies are also listed in Hong Kong, which is itself a $6.1 trillion market.

Equities in both China and the EU have faced pressure as investors weighed geopolitical uncertainty. Nonetheless, EU-listed equities gained nearly 40% in year-over-year value as markets reacted positively to increased German spending and relative policy certainty compared with the United States.

Asia’s Other Stock Market Giants

Beyond China, Asia is home to several other major equity markets, including India ($10.6 trillion), Japan ($7.6 trillion), and Singapore ($824 billion).

Of the three, India had the most difficult 2025. Compared with nearly 19% average growth across global equities, Indian stocks gained just 2.5% on average.

A lack of domestic AI champions was a significant factor. As equities in South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S. soared, investors redirected capital away from Indian companies.

To learn more about how the U.S. retail giants compare in annual sales, check out Which Are the Biggest Retailers in the U.S.? on Voronoi.

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/28/2026 - 04:15

The Wisconsin dad, who was supporting the Milwaukee Colts, took matters into his own hands as he made the drastic intervention at the team’s game against the Racine Eagles on Saturday.

"Hudson and her partner engineered a massive fraud scheme against Amazon, stealing nearly $10 million in just a few months," said US Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. 

Turkey Recruits Trump Insiders For New Washington Lobbying Push

Via Middle East Eye

The Turkish government hired a lobbying firm with close ties to US President Donald Trump earlier this month under a year-long contract worth $2.4m, according to US Justice Department filings reviewed by Middle East Eye.

Ballard Partners, led by Brian Ballard, a prominent Florida Republican fundraiser who also worked on Trump’s presidential campaign, signed the agreement with Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense on August 8. The firm will receive $200,000 per month.

via AFP

Under the contract, Ballard Partners pledged to provide “government relations services, strategic consulting and advocacy services” before the federal government, and keep its client informed about developments in Congress and US policy.

This is not the first time Ballard Partners has worked for Turkey.

In 2017, during Trump’s first term, Turkey hired the firm under a $1.5m contract. It was one of Ballard Partners’ first major deals in Washington after opening an office there.

At the time, the firm reportedly focused on the sanctions-evasion case against Turkish state-owned lender Halkbank. The Trump administration’s Justice Department dropped the charges against the bank earlier this year.

The new contract differs from the previous agreement because Turkey’s defense ministry is the principal client. Ankara is seeking to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet program after being removed in 2019 over its purchase of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.

Middle East Eye reported last month that Ankara was considering selling the S-400 system to a third country, potentially the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to persuade Washington to lift sanctions against Turkey.

Ankara also hopes to take delivery of six F-35s that were manufactured for Turkey but have remained in storage in the US for years.

According to the Justice Department filings, the Ballard Partners team working for Turkey includes former Democratic congressman Robert Wexler of Florida, a prominent pro-Turkish voice who co-founded the Congressional Caucus on US-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans in 2001.

Wexler is also president of the S Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace in Washington and is known for his connections to pro-Israel circles.

Another member of the team is Thomas Boodry, who served as a special assistant to Trump and senior director for legislative affairs at the National Security Council until April 2025. Boodry was dismissed amid the removal of former US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.

Reports at the time suggested that Trump fired Boodry and five other officials shortly after meeting far-right activist Laura Loomer, who presented opposition research on several staff members and argued that they were disloyal to the president.

REPORTER: "Prime Minister Netanyahu opposes sending the F-35s to Turkey..."

PRESIDENT TRUMP: "Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not. Turkey has been a tremendous ally." pic.twitter.com/F0sdwvIYfE

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 27, 2026

The team also includes Syl Lukis, a senior partner at Ballard Partners and one of Ballard’s closest associates.

Bloomberg reported earlier this year that Ballard Partners’ alums include White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The firm generated more than $30m in federal lobbying revenue during the first quarter of 2026, more than any other firm on Washington’s K Street.

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/28/2026 - 03:30

A bearded Colbert filmed a brief video suggested his liberal pal deserves the award instead of his own program.

Crown Prince Haakon, 53, became King Haakon VIII of Norway following the death of his father, King Harald V. Ingrid Alexandra is now the heir.

NNSA says the cobalt-60 source posed a security threat if stolen by terrorists or other adversaries.

Rams rookie Ty Simpson capped an impressive preseason against the Chargers, giving Sean McVay plenty to consider before the opener in Australia.

Norway's King Harald, a reformer who emerged from the shadow of his well-loved father over more than three decades on the throne, has died aged 89, the royal palace said on Friday.

CIA Chief's Moscow Trip Was About Iran, Not A NATO Warning: Estonia's Ex-President

Speculation has abounded over the nature of CIA Director John Ratcliffe's surprise Tuesday trip to Moscow and what was conveyed to top Kremlin intelligence officials.

The 'official' Washington narrative of what was behind the trip was issued on Wednesday in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, which laid out Ratcliffe delivered a "warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries, according to people briefed on the visit."

Since then, media reports and pundits have mused that nearby small 'eastern flank' countries like Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania could be prime targets for some kind of Russian military action, at a moment Europe's support to Kiev has steadily ramped up.

Surprisingly, on Thursday former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves (president: 2006 – 2016), who remains influential voice in the European security debate and has served on an EU task force, told a European outlet that the CIA director's meeting was more likely centered on the Iran conflict and not on warning against attacking Europe.

Ilves in a freshly published interview with EuroNews said he had "severe doubts" that concerns over aggression against the Baltic states were the reason for Ratcliffe's visit.

"What is the real problem for the United States right now? The real problem is Iran, the fact that the Russians are giving targeting information to the Iranians," he said.

"Those are real problems for the United States, and that would be sufficient to warrant the director of the CIA to go to Moscow to tell them to back off."

US intelligence and Trump officials for months have alleged that Russia is likely helping Iranian forces with identifying and locating US military assets in the region. At times throughout Operation Epic Fury, Tehran appears to have even targeted CIA stations.

The bulk of American military assets and bases in the Gulf countries have suffered severe damage earlier in the conflict, resulting in a Pentagon troop drawback to safer areas. This is indeed a big deal if it is the case that Russia or China (or both) have handed the Iranians intel to help push back American bases and forces.

Former Estonian leader Ilves further explained that in reality there had been "no change in the US’s threat assessment for the Baltic states."

Yesterday CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow. The visit was brief but quickly fueled widespread discussion and speculation.

Official statements from Russia and Washington remain silent on the reason for the trip. Details about his counterparts remain unavailable as… pic.twitter.com/0W7t0i72Pq

— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) August 26, 2026

"If the purpose was to go and genuinely tell the Russians not to do anything in the Baltic states, as was claimed, then there would be some kind of activity here," he underscored. 

Also, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced Thursday that the country’s threat assessment had "not changed". Tsahkna said: "We remain vigilant, but Estonia’s threat assessment has not changed."

Ilves concluded in his comments that the official narrative is but cover for the real reason underlying Ratcliff's visit.

Skepticism has been widely voiced among independent journalists and pundits:

CIA chief urgently flew to Moscow in the middle of America’s losing war against Russia’s ally Iran, and the reason had nothing to do with a desperate attempt to turn Russia against Iran, but rather “Putin could try…limited assault on an allied country in the next few years”? 🤔 https://t.co/WmNYnGstfo

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 26, 2026

"I don’t think it’s a false flag, but rather just kind of make something up to divert attention from what is the real problem that the US faces right now," the Estonian ex-President said.

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/28/2026 - 02:45

"Bail out, bail out, bail out!" someone is heard shouting in the video.