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From jubilation to heartbreak in a matter of moments for Croatia. 

Two people were diagnosed with the potentially fatal pneumonia-like illness in the neighborhoods of Carnegie Hill and Yorkville as of Thursday, with possible additional cases pending test results.

MLS does not view the stateside World Cup craze as something still to come, but as momentum the league believes it has already been building for years.

Former workers reveal the eerie interior had a “lost time capsule vibe” with old furniture, strange colors, and even artificial windows.

It took Spain three weeks and four games into this World Cup to arrive fully formed.

The 10-ton electric semi slammed into a vintage Volkswagen Beetle at an intersection on U.S. 50 in Dayton, NE around 7:20 a.m. on June 28, according to local authorities, Forbes reported.

Swift and Kelce are expected to hold court at a much larger celebration on Friday.

Swift and Kelce are expected to hold court at a much larger celebration on Friday.

They've been close friends for more than two decades, so it's no surprise Swift and Anderson are on the same style wavelength.

They've been close friends for more than two decades, so it's no surprise Swift and Anderson are on the same style wavelength.

Danai Shaiikov didn’t know what had happened. 

Former LSU gymnast and social media star Olivia “Livvy” Dunne was back in the Hamptons for Fanatics founder Michael Rubin’s white party Wednesday. 

Portugal won its Round of 32 World Cup matchup against Croatia on July 2 in dramatic fashion. After falling behind 1-0, Portugal tied things up on a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty in the second half, then scored what ended up being the game-winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Goncalo Ramos celebrates scoring the...

If no one truly knew how good the U.S. national team was before the World Cup started, then no one had even the slightest clue of how good its defense was. 

US Navy Tests 3D-Printed Composite Patches To Speed Up F/A-18 Fighter Jet Repairs

Authored by Mrigakshi Dixit via Interesting Engineering,

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) and Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) have co-developed a 3D-printed composite repair method designed to reduce F/A-18 Super Hornet maintenance times by approximately 50 percent.

An F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot prepares for flight at Fleet Readiness Center Southwest in San Diego.NAWCAD Visual Information

When an F/A-18 fighter jet gets damaged at a remote base, fixing its advanced composite parts typically takes weeks. The Navy had to wait for specialized technicians to arrive or ship massive parts across the globe to repair depots in the US, keeping combat jets grounded.

Also, the Navy faces a drop in critical combat readiness as it struggles to keep up with fighter jet repairs.

The new method could solve this challenge. The engineers have designed a high-performance, 3D-printed composite patches that can be manufactured and applied directly onto grounded aircraft. Rather than waiting weeks for a shipping container, sailors at forward bases can soon hit print.

"Our goal is to put capability directly into the hands of the Fleet," said NAWCAD Commander Rear Adm. Todd Evans. "By simplifying a complex repair so it can be done forward, our engineers would get aircraft back in the fight faster - it's a smart solution that makes our squadrons more self-sufficient and directly improves operational readiness."

Print, Patch, Fly

The strategy's real advantage is that it leverages infrastructure the Navy already owns. As per the official release, the service has deployed industrial 3D printers to 22 maintenance sites around the world. The process strips away geographic vulnerability.

Sailors can complete repairs on-site instead of waiting for replacement parts to be shipped from repair depots in the United States by manufacturing the necessary patches where the aircraft are deployed.

Transitioning 3D printing from a novelty to a flight-ready combat repair requires extreme precision. To guarantee safety, the joint engineering team developed extensive application procedures and specialized quality checks. The patches are designed to withstand the extreme aerodynamic forces and thermal environments typical of supersonic fighter operations.

The technology has already passed strict laboratory tests.

Flight Testing Expected Soon

In the summer, it faces the ultimate test: a live flight demonstration on an operational Super Hornet. This is the U.S. Navy's primary carrier-based, twin-engine fighter jet. It handles everything from air-to-air combat to precision bombing runs.

Testing the 3D-printed patch on an operational jet, instead of a stripped-down laboratory model, will be a huge milestone. It will ultimately showcased whether or not the Navy is confident enough to let a pilot fly a frontline combat jet at high speeds with a 3D-printed part attached to it.

Reportedly, this deployment of the new patch method aligns with a major structural shift for the U.S. Marine Corps, which plans to deactivate all remaining Hornet squadrons by 2030. The service is phasing out the maintenance specialties associated with the aging fighter jet as it transitions entirely to a tactical fleet of fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

Nevertheless, if the method gets widely adopted, the patch method will fundamentally alter how naval aviation views sustainment. The Navy will be able to respond to the demands of modern combat with much greater speed and agility.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/02/2026 - 21:45

NJ transit said equipment issues sparked several delays that snarled morning and evening commutes as an oppressive "heat dome" blanketed the tri-state area.

America's $31 Trillion Economy By State

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, its economy has grown to nearly $31 trillion, making it the world’s largest by a wide margin.

Using the latest estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), this visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, ranks every state by nominal GDP in 2025, showing how each contributes to national output.

California: The Economic Engine of America

If California were an independent country, it would have the world’s fourth-largest economy, behind only the U.S., China, and Germany, and ahead of all other nations. It is currently the world’s largest subnational economy.

This data table lists U.S. states by their 2025 nominal GDP.

Rank State Nominal GDP in 2025 (billions $) Share of U.S. GDP (%) 1 California 4,251 13.8 2 Texas 2,904 9.4 3 New York 2,468 8.0 4 Florida 1,835 6.0 5 Illinois 1,202 3.9 6 Pennsylvania 1,056 3.4 7 Ohio 967 3.1 8 Georgia 925 3.0 9 Washington 895 2.9 10 North Carolina 894 2.9 11 New Jersey 887 2.9 12 Massachusetts 820 2.7 13 Virginia 798 2.6 14 Michigan 730 2.4 15 Arizona 598 1.9 16 Tennessee 590 1.9 17 Colorado 584 1.9 18 Maryland 568 1.8 19 Indiana 545 1.8 20 Minnesota 531 1.7 21 Wisconsin 473 1.5 22 Missouri 468 1.5 23 South Carolina 379 1.2 24 Connecticut 376 1.2 25 Oregon 343 1.1 26 Alabama 341 1.1 27 Louisiana 340 1.1 28 Utah 316 1.0 29 Kentucky 307 1.0 30 Nevada 281 0.9 31 Iowa 277 0.9 32 Oklahoma 274 0.9 33 Kansas 241 0.8 34 Arkansas 198 0.6 35 Nebraska 198 0.6 36 District of Columbia 193 0.6 37 Mississippi 165 0.5 38 New Mexico 153 0.5 39 Idaho 136 0.4 40 New Hampshire 126 0.4 41 Hawaii 125 0.4 42 Delaware 117 0.4 43 West Virginia 109 0.4 44 Maine 103 0.3 45 Rhode Island 84 0.3 46 Montana 82 0.3 47 North Dakota 82 0.3 48 South Dakota 81 0.3 49 Alaska 75 0.2 50 Wyoming 53 0.2 51 Vermont 48 0.2 - 🇺🇸 U.S. 30,762 100.0

California is a powerful, diversified economy in which different sectors dominate different areas. Los Angeles, for example, is a major media hub, while San Francisco and the Bay Area’s Silicon Valley remain a global center for many of the world’s most valuable tech firms.

The Central Valley, meanwhile, serves as one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world, with high output in dairy products, wine, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.

Beyond these well-known sectors, the Golden State is also a major player in energy, particularly solar power, as well as a key logistics hub owing to the massive ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

The Trillion-Dollar Club

Beyond California, five other states have a GDP exceeding a trillion dollars as of 2025: Texas ($2.9 trillion), New York ($2.5 trillion), Florida ($1.8 trillion), Illinois ($1.2 trillion), and Pennsylvania ($1.1 trillion).

Some of these state economies, like Illinois and New York, are highly concentrated in one major city, such as Chicago or New York City. Others, like Florida and Texas, are more diffuse. Four Texan cities, for example, number among the country’s 10 most populous as of 2025.

In line with its diversified economy, Texas is a major agricultural, defense, and energy player. The Lone Star State also has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state.

The Diversified U.S. Economy

While technology and entertainment drive California, Texas combines energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and defense.

Elsewhere, states specialize in industries ranging from finance and pharmaceuticals to tourism and farming. This geographic diversity helps make the U.S. economy more resilient, as slowdowns in one industry or region can be offset by strength in others.

The Great Plains, for example, are major producers of agricultural goods like soy and corn, as seen in the Iowan ($277 billion) and Nebraskan ($198 billion) economies. These states are particularly sensitive to droughts or trade disputes with major agricultural markets like China or Mexico.

Meanwhile, other states depend more on tourism, particularly in major cities. Nevada’s $281-billion economy, for example, is heavily concentrated in Las Vegas, making the state vulnerable to drops in tourist numbers.

Curious how each U.S. state ranks in terms of its business reputation? Check out Ranking the Best State Economies in 2024 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/02/2026 - 21:20

'Something Has Gone Completely Wrong': Palantir's Alex Karp Goes Ballistic On OpenAI, Anthropic

On Wednesday, Palantir CEO Alex Karp delivered a blistering critique of frontier AI labs, accusing them of having an "effing insane" business model that leaves enterprises paying escalating token costs for limited value while risking their proprietary data and intellectual property. He said that top AI labs such as Anthropic and OpenAI were misleading corporate partners - "overselling" the risks of AI while at the same time offering their most powerful models to companies and governments worldwide. 

When CNBC host Becky Quick said "You sound pretty angry," Karp replied: "This is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me," he told CNBC, joking later that he might "get kicked out of the room."

Karp's comments come amid a "revolt" against U.S. AI labs - driven by a combination of high costs, questionable ROI, and increasing regulatory headwinds which have driven some major U.S. companies to cheaper Chinese alternatives, creating multiple pressure points for OpenAI, Anthropic, and others.

"Something Has Gone Completely Wrong"

Karp slammed the token model used by Anthropic and OpenAI - saying "I'm not throwing shade at them, but something has gone completely wrong," he said. "The basic view among enterprises in this country is I'm going to chillax and waste my time with tokens."

He argued that that labs were overselling risks while simultaneously pushing powerful models, and that companies were effectively paying a "wealth tax" that transferred their "alpha" (competitive advantage) to third parties. On national security, he warned: "Are we really going to outsource the battlefield of this country to the consensus view in Silicon Valley? That is effing insane."

Palantir CEO Alex Karp on what customers actually want, the real business of frontier labs, and the importance of open source models:

“What the technical customers want is control over their compute, their models, their data stack, and their alpha. They want to know they own the… pic.twitter.com/2hvTx7VSyj

— Palantir (@PalantirTech) July 1, 2026

The remarks aligned with a 9-point "AI sovereignty" manifesto Palantir posted on X the day before, which criticized "tokenmaxxing" for incentivizing disposable scripts over robust systems and urged institutions to retain control over their data, model weights, and competitive edge.

Via X: 

Our thoughts on the importance of AI sovereignty.

1. Your AI sovereignty dictates your institution’s future. Sovereignty is the precondition for choice. Relinquishing sovereignty transfers the future choices of your institution to others, who are likely to exploit it for their gain and your loss.

2. Data retention is your treasure. Transfer it at your own peril. Your ability to win is dictated by your ability to recognize and use your unique edges, and you keep winning by compounding the underlying data to generate new insights. Transferring that data hands over access to your pre-existing winning plays and yields the means of production for new ones.

3. Tokenmaxxing hijacks your value orientation and decreases your institutional fortitude and intelligence. The pursuit of high token usage incentivizes disposable scripts over robust software — with the addictive feeling of false progress. There is a reason why those selling tokens refuse to charge based on value.

4. Controlling your weights is controlling your fate. Weights are the distilled form of hard-won, accumulated institutional knowledge. If you let others control your weights, you are allowing them to migrate the alpha of your business to theirs.

5. There is no contradiction between sovereignty and alpha. The architecture that maximally preserves sovereignty is one that enables institutions to own their tribal knowledge, and to compound it as alpha.

6. Politicizing the technical issues involving sovereignty is what your adversary wants. Techno-politicization is the wellspring of false sovereignty. Techno-politicization drives decisions that seem to reduce dependency, but ultimately limit agency — especially on the battlefield in the West.

7. Real expertise is existential. Allowing politics or favoritism to determine your technical decisions rewards whoever is best at politics, not whoever is right. Listen to those closest to the problems, not those speaking most compellingly about them.

8. Learn from institutions that are winning or that have consistently delivered. Institutions facing existential threats do not have the luxury of making technical decisions based on political preferences.

9. Only listen to institutions, countries, and people who have a proven record of being right. A track record of correctness is the best and only signal for future correctness. Judging something as right or wrong based on who you like is exceedingly misguided.

"Controlling your weights is controlling your fate," the manifesto stated. "If you let others control your weights, you are allowing them to migrate the alpha of your business to theirs."

Karp noted Palantir's expanded Nvidia partnership, which enables custom, sovereign AI deployments where customers retain control over compute, models, data, and weights - a direct counter to the metered frontier API model.

Watch CNBC's full interview with Palantir CEO Alex Karp

The Cost-Driven Shift To Chinese Models

As we've been noting, high token prices and mixed returns have prompted several U.S. companies to adopt or explore Chinese open-weight models:

• Microsoft is considering a Microsoft-hosted, fine-tuned version of China's DeepSeek V4 (or another open-source model) as a lower-cost engine for its Copilot Cowork agentic tool, as it moves toward usage-based pricing.
• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed the company cut internal AI spending by nearly 50% by defaulting engineers to Chinese open-weight models (Zhipu AI's GLM 5.2 and Moonshot AI's Kimi series) via an internal gateway, while maintaining high usage.
• Cursor, a fast-growing AI coding startup, built its Composer 2 model on top of Moonshot AI's Kimi K2.5 (backed by Alibaba).

Data from OpenRouter shows Chinese models capturing a rapidly growing share of global token consumption - in some periods exceeding 60% among top models - as enterprises seek cost relief without fully sacrificing capability.

Karp had warned against underestimating China's progress; these examples illustrate the trend in real time.

Watch the entire interview below:

here is the entirety of Palantir CEO Alex Karp's televised nervous breakdown this morning on CNBC pic.twitter.com/gzD8debrKB

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 1, 2026 Tyler Durden Thu, 07/02/2026 - 21:15

The massive 148,000-square-foot “adventure store” at Grossmont Center is set to open its doors in 2028.

Memo to Kamala Harris: You’re supposed to oppose the extremists in your party — not appease them.