UKRAINE’S DRONES ARE ACTUALLY DESTROYING THE RUSSIAN OIL INCOME

Drones© Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Industry Handout.

Summary and Key Points: Ukrainian long-range drones have struck 24 of Russia’s 33 major oil refineries since 2022, knocking out roughly a quarter of national fuel production and a third of gasoline output.

-Total damage to Russian oil infrastructure now exceeds $13 billion.

Ukraine Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Creative Commons.© Ukraine Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

-Ukraine has also destroyed up to 300 Russian air defense units a month, opening the way for deeper strikes — including a 600-drone assault on Moscow in mid-May and a first-time airport closure in Kaliningrad.

Ukraine Is Making Russia’s Oil Industries Pay

Ukraine’s escalating long-range drone and missile strikes have increasingly crippled Russia’s economic and logistical foundations.

Kyiv has systematically targeted Russia’s oil infrastructure, supply chains, and military-industrial sites.

Ukrainian long-range drone strikes have disabled nearly all processing facilities in Central Russia, knocking out 25 percent of the country’s fuel production capacity.

With nearly a third of gasoline and a quarter of diesel output impacted, the strikes aim to cripple Moscow’s war economy and restrict battlefield logistics.

This is changing the entire outlook of the war, as the tide has turned toward a possible Ukrainian victory.

S-70 Drone VIA X Screenshot. Image Credit: X Screenshot.© S-70 Drone VIA X Screenshot. Image Credit: X Screenshot.

Ukrainian Drones Have Hit 24 Of Russia’s Major Oil Refineries

Since the Russians invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainians have conducted at least 158 strikes against Russian oil refineries. And those strikes have been conducted against 24 of 33 major Russian refineries.

Those attacks have intensified in the past year. Up to this point in 2026, Ukrainian drone strikes against oil facilities have already surpassed all of 2024.

Evgeny Borovikov, deputy CEO of the Russian insurance broker Mains, said that direct damage to oil and gas infrastructure from drone attacks exceeded 100 billion rubles (around $1.1 billion).

He added that when other economic effects are taken into account—including lost production and secondary disruptions—the total impact rises above 1 trillion rubles (approximately $13 billion).

Lancet Drone. Image Credit: Russian State Media.© Lancet Drone. Image Credit: Russian State Media.

Lancet Drone from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.© Lancet Drone from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Russia’s economy relies on oil and gas taxes for 25 percent of its budget. It is already stretched tight, and this loss of revenue will stretch it to the breaking point.

Ukrainian drone attacks continue to target Moscow’s oil production facilities, effectively shutting down the Syzran Oil Refinery, which refines about 170,000 barrels a day. Six of Russia’s ten oil refineries were forced to shut down production, at least for a short time.

Western Economic Warfare Targets Russian Oil Industry

Beyond Ukraine’s direct kinetic attacks, international sanctions continue to target Russian energy revenue, hampering an already stretched Russian economy and its ability to fund the war in Ukraine.

The European Union imposed bans on short-term contracts for Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), forcing Moscow to seek alternative Asian markets and secure new transport fleets.

The measures prohibit spot-market imports, ban the use of EU terminals for transshipping and re-exporting Russian LNG to non-EU countries, and phase out the remaining long-term supply contracts by January 2027.

Ukrainian Drone and Missile Strikes Are Destroying The Economy

Ukrainian drone strikes have increasingly hit deep inside Russia, and the Institute for the Study of War reported that in addition to attacks on the oil industry, Russian authorities are being forced to restrict the use of airspace in the Moscow air zone.

The Russian Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) claimed on May 25 that Russian authorities will begin prohibiting civilian flights in the Moscow air zone at altitudes from 0 to 5,100 meters starting on June 1.

Russian authorities closed the Kaliningrad airport for a few hours due to a reported drone threat for the first time on May 25. That is significant, as the airport’s location, over 800 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory and bordered by NATO states, underscores the growing reach of Ukraine’s drones.

One drone strike targeting a navigation service in Rostov-on-Don resulted in the suspension of air service at 13 major Russian airports.

“Middle Strike” Drones Have Hammered Targets Deep In Russia

The Ukrainian drone attacks are savaging Russia’s air defense networks. According to United24, drones destroyed more than 250 air defense units in April; in March and February, the figures were similar—up to 300 units each month.

The destruction of Moscow’s air defenses is the basis of Ukraine’s Middle Strike Drone strategy and allows it to hit targets deeper inside Russia.

These Middle Strike attacks are less expensive than traditional missile systems and can be manufactured in greater numbers. The attacks are scalable and enable daily strikes against targets that sustain the Russian military.

And they enable deeper-strike operations, especially when Russian air defenses are neutralized.

The “Middle Strike” refers to the range between battlefield first-person-view (FPV) tactical drones and the long-range deep-strike missile systems.

These fixed-wing drones have eviscerated Moscow’s air defenses, allowing for deeper and more successful strikes against Russian infrastructure. This includes weapons and ammunition depots, warehouses, and command posts.

The ISW reported that since early May, Ukrainian “intensified intermediate-range strikes” (Middle Strike Drone attacks) have targeted Russian logistics at operational depths ahead of a planned Ukrainian maneuver.

Ukrainian forces notably began in May 2026 to interdict key Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in occupied Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. They have also limited Russia’s use of many of the main resupply routes it relies on.

These attacks have basically isolated the entire Crimean peninsula, as Moscow is wary of sending equipment, large troop concentrations, and ships to the ports there, lest they be attacked with virtual impunity.

Middle-strike drone strikes aren’t limited to Crimea. In mid-May, Ukraine sent more than 600 drones on an attack on Moscow itself. The targets struck by the Ukrainian drones included the Moscow Oil Refinery, the Solnechnogorskaya fuel-loading station, the Volodarskaya petroleum-product pumping station, and the Angstrem microelectronics plant in Zelenograd, outside Moscow.

Russia Is Powerless To Stop These Attacks

Russia, thus far, has been powerless to stop the Ukrainian drone attacks. If anything, they are only growing in size and effectiveness.

The campaign has been bolstered by tech-forward adaptations, such as the Hornet drone, which utilizes AI-assisted targeting and Starlink communications to maintain fire control over occupied territories.

These strikes have had a profound psychological effect on civilians. Deep strikes inside Russia are increasingly common, forcing the Russian populace to confront a war they previously believed they were immune to.

It is showing the population that the rosy proclamations that their “special military operation” is progressing according to plan are total hogwash.

RUSSIA CHEATS INDIA TO BUY FOR $1 AN OLD AIRCRAFT CARRIER, THEN FORCES $2 BILLION IN REPAIRS!, LOL

India’s Big Naval Nightmare: Buying An Old Aircraft Carrier from Russia

Kiev-Class Aircraft Carrier Rebuilt and Serving in India’s Navy.

India has always executed an unorthodox military strategy. It is equipped with nuclear weapons but depends heavily on conventional forces to thwart its arch-enemy, Pakistan. It was non-aligned during the Cold War and still maintains its flinty independence. India is also known for purchasing significant numbers of arms systems from Russia.

For example, it has around 2,500 T-72 tanks. One purchase it would probably like to reconsider would be the acquisition of an aircraft carrier from Moscow that has been a big disappointment over the years.

The India and Russia Aircraft Carrier Story Is Painful

The INS Vikramaditya is a cautionary tale in the Indian Navy. The Indians wanted their own aircraft carrier in the early 2000s and looked to Russia for help.

However, the resulting ship has been afflicted with schedule slips and cost overruns. The saga has been a trail of tears for the Indian Navy.

This story started in 1988 when the Soviet Union built the Kiev-class vessel named the Baku. This was an interesting hybrid ship. The front of the ship reminded one of a heavy cruiser with anti-ship missile launchers and two deck guns. The rest of the vessel was a helicopter carrier.

So far, so good.

Admiral Gorshkov Was a Cursed Bucket of Bolts

Then the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. The struggling Russian navy did not have much funding or the desire to feature the old Soviet navy flagships.

Baku was renamed the Admiral Gorshkov. It remained a part of the Russian maritime force until 1996 when the trouble started. Since the Russian maintainers were not careful there was an explosion in the boiler room. This was the beginning of the carrier’s heartache, and the Russians decided to retire it.

Meanwhile, the Indian navy had a problematic choice later that decade. They were also going to retire their only carrier, the INS Viraat. This ship was going to be removed from active duty in 2007, and it would leave a big hole in the navy and keep the Indians from projecting power in their neighborhood.

India Was in the Market for a New Aircraft Carrier

India looked around and there were just not any carriers available that the country could afford and the only bargain that it could find was in Russia.

By 2004, the Indians were ready to finance a deal with Moscow. The government in New Delhi agreed that year to spend a whopping $974 million on the clunky Admiral Gorshkov.

But since it was under a billion dollars, the Indians thought they made a prudent purchase and had a potential hit on their hands. They should have known better.

The biggest problem was that the Gorshkov had been inactive all those years. As I explained above, the Russian Navy is not known for its maintenance prowess.

This artifact was going to need some love and attention.

India Was a Demanding Customer

India wanted an entire aircraft carrier, not just a hybrid aircraft carrier-cruiser. That meant a large flight deck supporting jet fighters – not just helicopters. Twenty-four MiG-29K fighters and 10 Kamov helicopters would be on board.

Russia also promised to supply new radars, arresting gear, and improved elevators. India re-named the refurbished carrier Vikramaditya after an old-world term for regality.

The Old Russia Bait and Switch Ploy

But once again, the Russians failed.

The work wasn’t complete by 2007, and Moscow wanted more funds to finish to the tune of $2.9 billion. Sea trials were going to cost $550 million.

It became clear that the Russians wanted to bleed the Indians dry. By 2008, employees were only halfway done with the refurbishment. The Russian defense contractor had never worked on a carrier before, and it showed.

India was in for a penny and in for a pound. It had already spent the first billion dollars, and it was too late to give up and extricate from the deal.

The Russians stopped working on the carrier for another two years until India coughed more money. New Dehli agreed to pony up another billion dollars to sweeten the pot. It took an additional three years, but the carrier was finally delivered to conduct sea trials in 2012 and then commissioned in 2013.

Then, more difficulties ensued. Spare parts were hard to come by. The boilers were thought to have been newly replaced, but they were faulty and kept the propulsion system from working correctly. The boilers broke down at least once.

The carrier had no air defenses, so the Indians tried to retrofit some anti-aircraft systems. Other updates require the Vikramaditya to be in drydock again, which could take another three years.

The Indians had to learn how to purchase aircraft carriers from the Russians. This is likely a valuable lesson taught at Indian naval academies and command and general staff schools. The Indians may have been able to build at least a helicopter carrier on their own, but they were blinded by ambition and wanted the full deal. They will likely never depend on the Russians again for such a big purchase.

POPE LEO COMPARES AI TO THE TOWER OF BABEL…? HOW ABOUT CRITICIZING THE MURDER OF CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND THE 7,000 PERVERT PRIESTS INSTEAD ?

Pope Leo Compares AI Threat to Biblical ‘Tower of Babel’

The head of the Catholic Church is adding his moral suasion to a growing backlash against the impact of artificial intelligence

Pope Leo XIV presenting his encyclical letter "Magnifica Humanitas" to an audience in the Vatican.

Pope Leo at the presentation of his first encyclical letter ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ on Monday in the Vatican, Italy. Gomez/Vatican Pool/Spaziani/dpa/ZUMA Press

VATICAN CITY—Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial intelligence “threatens to normalize an anti-human vision” and said that the concentration of immense digital power in the hands of a few private actors must be countered.

The pontiff’s encyclical letter—a text that is poised to define Leo’s papacy—reads like a sharp warning to Silicon Valley executives and humanity more broadly about the future of civilization as new technologies rapidly advance.

The risk, he said, is that humans will be reduced “to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.”

Leo used two biblical images to describe the choice humanity faces.

“The primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem,” he wrote.

In the Bible, the Tower of Babel symbolizes a top-down, grandiose project where decisions are driven by pride, profit and a push for homogenization, the pope suggested in his text. In the rebuilding of Jerusalem, diverse people worked together to rebuild the ruined walls and established a fraternal coexistence within them, he added.

Leo’s encyclical has been long-awaited by policymakers, business leaders and different faith groups who see the Catholic Church, the largest Christian denomination, as a source of ethical guidance on tech policy.

In so doing, the pontiff is specifically calling out the private actors who are building the AI systems that will transform society.

“Leo sees the challenge of AI as a choice about its design, and about who gets to make those choices,” said Vincent Miller, a professor of theology at the University of Dayton, Ohio.

Pope Leo XIV signing his Encyclical Letter "Magnifica Humanitas".

The pontiff signed the encyclical letter earlier this month. VATICAN MEDIA/AFP/Getty Images

The encyclical is inspired by the church’s thinking about what it means to be human, and draws on 2,000 years of moral and social teachings.

It is also the product of a decadelong dialogue between the Vatican and Silicon Valley on the ethical and social challenges posed by AI.

Conversations with scientists, political leaders and teachers led Leo to a disturbing conviction, the pontiff said Monday.

“Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed, freed from the logic that turned it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death,” he said. “It must be at the service of all, and of the common good.”

At the presentation of the encyclical, Leo was accompanied by Christopher Olah, a co-founder and safety researcher at AI firm Anthropic, which has tried to position itself as a proponent of AI safety. It is a central player in the AI landscape, showing rapid growth in its business and emerging as a flashpoint on questions of AI safety and national security.

Anthropic has leaned in to philosophical questions such as whether AI models experience consciousness. The company employs an in-house philosopher to help instill morality in its AI.

The planned inclusion of Olah drew criticism for appearing to give Anthropic the Vatican’s stamp of moral approval. Vatican officials said Olah’s participation wasn’t intended as an endorsement, but as a gesture aimed at encouraging dialogue with the industry as a whole.

Olah said that AI companies—Anthropic included—have incentives that go against doing the right thing: commercial pressure, competition, pride and ambition.

“We will always be influenced by those incentives,” Olah said. That is why it is “enormously important that there be people outside those incentives,” such as church leaders, who insist on safety and “who are willing to be our earnest, thoughtful critics.”

Meeting the pope has become a rite of passage for a new generation of tech leaders, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Cohere’s Aidan Gomez and top officials from OpenAI. Demis Hassabis, head of Google DeepMind, the search giant’s AI arm, was in 2024 named by the Vatican to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Leo is adding his moral suasion to a growing backlash against the impact of AI.

In the U.S. and overseas, workers are concerned about job losses. College graduates are booing commencement speakers who evoke AI. Residents are protesting energy-hungry data centers. A man threw a Molotov cocktail at the house of OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

That the criticism comes from the first American pope is a rebuke for a technological revolution incubated in the U.S. and supported by President Trump, who has lashed out at the pontiff for criticizing the war in Iran.

Leo’s emphasis on threats to individuals’ human dignity and opposition to autonomous weapons casts him in contrast to techno-optimists who argue that AI will usher in a productivity revolution and that the U.S. must deploy its advances militarily before rivals such as China do.

A person holds up Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical Letter "Magnifica Humanitas" focusing on artificial intelligence in the Vatican.

The encyclical is inspired by the church’s thinking about what it means to be human. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

AI-driven weapons systems, he wrote, risk lowering the moral threshold for the use of force, and make “war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control.”

Last week, Trump delayed an executive order that would have created a voluntary process for testing AI models.

Leo, in the encyclical, said there is an urgent need to regulate AI. “It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required,” he wrote.

Leo has made AI a signature issue of his pontificate. INSTEAD OF CLEANING UP THE PEDO RIDDEN RANKS OF HIS PRIESTS WORLDWIDE.

Days after his election in May 2025, he told red-capped cardinals gathered in the Vatican that he chose his papal name as a homage to Leo XIII, the 19th century pope who stood up for workers against the industrial tycoons of his era.

Artificial intelligence, Leo said at the time, represented the industrial revolution of the modern age, and posed “challenges to human dignity, justice and labor.”

Titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” Monday’s encyclical was explicitly inspired by Leo XIII’s groundbreaking 1891 encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” Latin for “of new things.” Both were signed on May 15.

“Rerum Novarum”—which backed calls for safe working conditions and against the concentrations of wealth—laid the foundation of Catholic social teaching, helping shape the politics and welfare systems of modern Europe. It also set the stage for the church’s ambivalent relationship to capitalism.

The pontiff called the prospect of mass unemployment caused by digital innovations “a true social calamity.” He added: “Technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it.”

Leo condemned servitude created by the technological revolution, including laborers in rare-earth mines, underpaid data center workers and young people exploited by online criminal networks.

At the same time, he used the moment to apologize for the Holy See’s role in legitimizing the enslavement of non-Christians until it unequivocally condemned slavery in the 19th century.

“This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached,” the pope said. “In the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”

Tech industry watchers say the pope has the power to lead a cultural change in how we think about AI—and shape the ethical framework in which it should evolve.

“The pope,” said Glen Weyl, a faith-and-technology researcher, “is perhaps the single most important person in the world on AI at this moment.”

he forget to say that this POPE has done nothing to support Christians who are being killed daily worldwide, and is pushing open borders everywhere…Looking forward to the AI pope as soon as possible.

TRUMP GOLDEN PHONE IS A FLOP…?

The $500 device has received a gag-inducing comparison.

The long-delayed golden Trump Mobile phone looks nothing like the advertised image, has a smaller screen than promised, and its color leaves a lot to be desired, according to one of the few people to lay eyes on a real one.

The $500 Trump phone has now been delivered to tech media for review, one year after it was announced and nine months after its hard launch to cash-rich MAGA diehards.

Not only is the screen smaller than expected, but the phone is also not made in America as promised, Patrick Holland, the managing editor of tech site CNET, told CNN. Rather, Holland added, the packaging says the phone is “designed with American values in mind.”

Patrick Holland discusses the Trump Phone on CNN. screen grab

Holland reviewed the phone on CNN on Monday after spending the day testing it, and the news was not good for customers.

Holland says the actual product looks “nothing like the original image” from last year, which he said resembled an “altered iPhone 16 Pro.”

Trump Mobile Phone Is Finally Released—With a Major Blunder MADE IN CONFUSION

Martha McHardy

The tech expert ripped into the phone’s selling point, criticizing the “gold” coloring in honor of Trump’s favorite thing.

“Sometimes it looks like those gold coins that Scrooge McDuck would jump into for DuckTales,” Holland said of the Disney character bathing in his riches.

Donald Duck reluctantly takes his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie to the home of their reclusive great-uncle Scrooge McDuck. — Scrooge McDuck on a phone, not a Trump Phone. Disney XD/Disney XD via Getty Images

“Other times, it’s got a mustard vibe to it, and yet other times, it kind of looks like a urine sample.”

The CNET unboxing video also reveals that the American flag etched into the phone has 11 stripes, instead of 13. It comes with an old-school headphone jack and has Truth Social pre-installed. The camera also automatically filters selfies.

Holland said he would not recommend the phone to customers due to the unknown technical construction of the $500 item.

“We don‘t know what the processor is in the phone. We don‘t know what the software and security updates will be,” Holland said

He also said he has a “big worry” about whether the Trump Phone will actually ship to people who paid for it.

“While a couple of us in the media do have it, I can‘t find many cases of actual customers who put their money down to order the phone with the phone.”

President Donald Trump is regularly seen with his phone and frequently posts on his platform, Truth Social.

154 WOMEN BILLIONAIRES IN THE USA…

Clockwise from top right: MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, Taylor Swift, Alice Walton, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian© Paul Ryding

Taylor Swift. The president of In-N-Out Burger. The great-granddaughters of agriculture entrepreneur William Wallace Cargill.

These are some of America’s 154 female billionaires. Though they are far fewer in number than the country’s 981 male billionaires, these women have roughly the same size median net worth as the men do at just over $2 billion, according to data from Altrata, a wealth-intelligence firm.

There has been a striking jump in the number of women who are self-made, meaning they got at least some of their wealth from a significant enterprise they launched on their own. Far more women—about 60%—were at least partially self-made in 2024, compared with five years earlier, when only about 40% fell into that category. The rest owe their wealth to inheritance. Nearly all male billionaires are at least partially self-made.

The richest Americans control a historically large share of wealth today. The number of billionaires in the U.S.—male and female—keeps growing, and many of them are getting wealthier.

Altrata evaluates public and private data to determine wealth, and evaluates the wives and daughters of living male billionaires individually. These wealth figures are based on estimates of assets that they hold in their own names—whether or not that was derived from family wealth or business. Altrata looked at where an individual’s primary business is located.

For example, Susan Dell, the wife of Michael Dell, is worth $5.8 billion, in part because she owns millions of shares of Dell Technologies in a trust. But Lauren Sánchez Bezos, wife of billionaire Jeff Bezos, doesn’t appear on the list because available data doesn’t show that she has large investments like an ownership stake in Amazon.com.

The Journal analyzed Altrata’s data for a look at some of America’s wealthiest women, where their money comes from, and how they spend it. The data is from between 2024 and early 2026.

Many of the women at the top of the billionaires list inherited their wealth from fortunes that their parents or grandparents built. The women in this category often keep a low public profile. Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, is the richest woman in the country with a net worth of $138 billion. (Each of her two living brothers has a similar net worth).

Some of these women are actively involved in the companies that are responsible for their vast wealth. Helen Johnson-Leipold, an heir to the S.C. Johnson fortune, runs publicly traded Johnson Outdoors, so her wealth is considered a combination of inheritance and self-made. A number of the Mars heiresses have held top roles at the candy and pet-food company.

Some built careers outside their family empires. Ronda Stryker, whose grandfather founded the medical-device company that shares her last name, worked as a special-education teacher for years. Oil magnate H.L. Hunt’s daughter June Hunt has hosted a Christian call-in radio show for decades.

Others started firms that are giants in their sectors. Judy Faulkner started privately held healthcare software company Epic Systems, where the company’s internal “10 commandments” include “do not go public.” Diane Hendricks co-founded roofing firm ABC Supply with her late husband Ken Hendricks.

Some operate major companies that prior generations of their families started, making their wealth part inheritance and part self-made. Abigail Johnson runs financial firm Fidelity Investments, founded by her grandfather. Lynsi Snyder is president of In-N-Out Burger, the fast-food chain her grandparents started in the 1940s.

Some of the most philanthropic billionaires are the ex-wives and widows of famous male billionaires. Melinda French Gates, who used to be married to Bill Gates, has given away at least $31 billion over the past decade. French Gates’s philanthropy is now focused on women’s rights and young people.

Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, has given away billions to causes from higher education to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, often with no strings attached.

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s widow Miriam Adelson has given at least $961 million to philanthropic causes, including many Jewish and pro-Israel organizations. She’s also a major political donor, backing Republicans including President Trump.

Altrata tracked public donations over the past decade. The analysis doesn’t include all donations from foundations or contributions from donor-advised funds. It doesn’t include donations below $1,000.

Celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Taylor Swift make up a handful of the self-made women billionaires, though they tend to clock in on the lower end of the billionaire scale. (Altrata notes that billionaires globally who are worth less than $2 billion have a roughly 10% chance of losing their billionaire status in a given year based on fluctuations in the value of their investments and other assets).

Some of them have amassed wealth by starting successful companies after reaching celebrity status. The bulk of Rihanna’s $1 billion net worth comes from her stakes in Fenty Beauty, estimated at $690 million, and her lingerie brand, estimated at $300 million, according to Altrata. Properties in Los Angeles and her native Barbados are worth at least a combined $43.5 million.

Taylor Swift’s $1.8 billion net worth include earnings from her monster Eras tour, which helped bring her estimated cash and other assets to $1.7 billion, according to Altrata.

DONALD TRUMP, JR. GETS MARRIED AGAIN IN PALM BEACH

Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson officially wed ahead of Bahamas celebration

Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson are officially married. The couple wed in a quiet ceremony on Thursday, ahead of a larger wedding celebration planned for the weekend in the Bahamas, Fox News Digital reported.

A marriage certificate obtained by TMZ confirmed the union. The license was signed by a Palm Beach County deputy clerk, and the ceremony was reportedly officiated by Brad McPherson, a real estate attorney with longtime ties to the Trump family.

The wedding caps a relationship that moved from first public sighting to engagement to marriage in roughly a year, a pace that suggests both parties knew exactly what they wanted.

President Trump sends well wishes, from Washington

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he would not attend the celebration, citing the demands of the presidency. His statement was direct:

“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.”

The president had formally announced his son’s engagement during a White House holiday celebration in December 2025. That public moment at the White House came after Donald Trump Jr. proposed to Anderson in late 2025.

MORE: Aaron Rodgers says upcoming Steelers season will be his last in the NFL

The elder Trump’s absence underscores a simple reality: the presidency doesn’t pause for family milestones. That he acknowledged it plainly, rather than quietly slipping away for the weekend, says something about the weight he places on the office.

From Palm Beach to the national stage

Anderson and Trump Jr. first sparked public interest when they were spotted together in Palm Beach in September 2024. Over the following year, Anderson became a regular presence at his side, attending events including the Republican National Convention, international trips, and private family dinners.

The bridal shower drew the Trump women together. Ivanka Trump, Lara Trump, Tiffany Trump, and Arabella Kushner all appeared at the event, which was held at Mar-a-Lago.

Donald Trump Jr. was previously married to Vanessa Trump from 2005 to 2018. They share five children: Kai, Donald Trump III, Tristan, Spencer, and Chloe.

Who is Bettina Anderson?

Anderson, 39, brings her own biography to the marriage, one rooted in Palm Beach society, philanthropy, and conservation work. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in art history, criticism, and conservation. Her LinkedIn profile also lists her as a member of Sigma Delta Tau.

She has worked as a model and lifestyle influencer, serving as the face of a marketing campaign for Hamilton Jewelers and appearing on the covers of regional luxury magazines including Palm Beach Illustrated and Quest. She has more than 144,000 followers on Instagram.

But Anderson’s profile extends beyond the social circuit. She co-founded The Paradise Fund with her siblings, an environmental and disaster relief nonprofit now called Paradise.ngo. She also serves as executive director and spearheads the Project Paradise Film Fund, which awards grants to filmmakers documenting Florida’s endangered freshwater springs and wildlife.

Her family has deep roots in the Palm Beach community. Her father, Harry Loy Anderson Jr., was made president of Worth Avenue National Bank at age 26 and was instrumental in creating Palm Beach Day Academy, a coeducational independent day school in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. He died in 2013 after what his obituary described as “a long illness and battle with Alzheimer’s.”

Her mother, Inger Anderson, is involved in advocacy through the YMCA, Urban Youth Impact, and the Paradise Fund. Anderson has a twin sister, Kristina, whom she has called “the greatest blessing in the entire world” on Instagram.

A sense of humor about it all

Before her relationship with Trump Jr. became public, Anderson’s Instagram offered a lighter self-portrait. She once described herself as “just your typical stay-at-home mom… only I don’t do household chores… or have a husband… or have kids…”

That last part has now changed.

Anderson was previously engaged to businessman Beau Wrigley, though that relationship did not lead to marriage.

A family affair, with a full house

The marriage merges two large, visible families. Trump Jr.’s five children from his first marriage are well known in their own right. His eldest daughter, Kai, recently announced a new NIL partnership with Accelerator Active Energy and her decision to attend the University of Miami.

Anderson, for her part, has spoken warmly about her new extended family, posting about “the most beautiful nephews and niece” on social media.

The Bahamas celebration this weekend will serve as the public wedding event. The Thursday ceremony handled the legal formalities, marriage certificate, officiant, deputy clerk’s signature. The weekend is for the rest of it.

In a political era that grinds through every news cycle looking for conflict, a wedding is a welcome change of subject. The country’s business will be waiting Monday morning. For one weekend, at least, the Trump family gets to be just a family.

NUTTY BUTTERS ANTI-AMERICAN CHINESE WOMAN-MEI VANG, (OF COURSE A DEMOCRAT) RUNNING FOR CONGRESS

Neo-Marxist Mai Vang, Running for U.S. Congress, Rejects the Pledge of Allegiance and Turns Her Back on US Flag

As Memorial Day approaches and Americans prepare to honor the fallen who secured the blessings of liberty, one Democratic congressional candidate in California has chosen a different path: open defiance of the nation’s most basic symbols of unity.

Sacramento City Council member Mai Vang has repeatedly refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during public meetings and has been captured on video turning her back on the American flag. This is not a quiet personal conviction but a public statement from a woman seeking to represent the United States in Congress.

Vang’s actions stand in stark contrast to the district she hopes to serve. California’s newly redrawn 7th Congressional District includes more conservative areas that value tradition and national pride alongside traditional Democratic strongholds. Yet Vang, polling competitively against incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui, has made her protest a point of pride rather than a liability. In doing so, she exposes a troubling trend on the left: the elevation of grievance over gratitude and global activism over national loyalty.

As a recent NY Post editorial notes, she has no place in the United States Congress.

Her refusal isn’t occasional hesitation but deliberate theater. Videos from city council meetings in 2025 and 2026 show Vang consistently averting her gaze from the flag while others participate. She even boasted about the practice on social media, framing the moment of national unity as an opportunity to “center our communities” and reflect on alleged injustices committed “under this nation’s influence,” complete with hashtags supporting causes far removed from her constituents’ daily concerns.

This episode raises profound questions about what kind of leaders Americans want shaping their future. The Pledge of Allegiance, for all its simplicity, represents a covenant: one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. To reject it so brazenly while pursuing elected office isn’t principled dissent; it is a declaration that the republic itself falls short of one’s ideological standards.

Vang’s approach mirrors a growing radicalism that views America not as a flawed but exceptional experiment in self-government, but as an inherently oppressive force requiring constant resistance.

Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio captured the disconnect sharply, noting that reciting the Pledge is “Patriotism 101.” Even those who disagree with aspects of policy or history can stand in recognition of the sacrifices that preserved the republic. Vang’s choice to turn away during ceremonies, including a Veterans Day event, disrespects not only the flag but the men and women who defended the freedoms that allowed her family to find refuge here.

The irony deepens when considering Vang’s background as the daughter of Hmong refugees who escaped persecution with American military support. Her family’s story embodies the promise of America as a beacon for the oppressed. Yet rather than embracing that inheritance, she weaponizes selective grievances.

Compare this to Rep. Matsui, whose own family endured Japanese American internment during World War II yet continued to serve the nation with distinction. Matsui may be a Democrat, but at least she doesn’t overtly hate America.

Beyond symbolism, Vang’s record reveals substantive priorities that align with her Pledge protests. She has opposed city budgets over police funding disputes and championed policies that prioritize ideology over public safety. She is vehemently anti-Israel and a vocal “Free Palestine” activist.

Critics like community organizer Amy Gardner describe her approach as “infuriating,” particularly in how it undermines law enforcement in neighborhoods that need it most. This pattern suggests her rejection of the flag is part of a larger worldview that sees American institutions themselves as the problem.

Republican leaders have taken note. California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin highlighted the broader implications: too much contempt for law enforcement and too little respect for country. San Joaquin Republican Party Chair David Cushman observed that Vang’s attempt to position herself as the AOC of the Central Valley misreads her district’s values. Republican challenger Zachariah Wooden put it plainly: such rhetoric rejects basic American principles.

In an era when congressional districts send representatives to Washington to defend the Constitution they swear to uphold, voters must consider whether candidates who cannot bring themselves to honor its most visible emblem deserve their trust. The Pledge is not a loyalty test for conformity but a reminder of shared commitment to something greater than factional grievances.

ENTRENCHED LOW-VALUE EMPLOYEES DRAG THE BUSINESS DOWN..FIRE THE SLACKERS!

CEO Saves His Failing Company by Firing Entire HR Department

When Elon Musk purchased Twitter and took the company over in 2022, he proceeded to fire approximately 80% of the social media company’s bloated 7500 person workforce. This included almost all HR related employees. The company roster was pared down to a lean 1500 people. Everyone in the establishment media claimed that Twitter (now called “X”) was going to collapse.

The political left and their corporate allies did everything in their power to make this happen, including advertising cancellations and even government intervention, but they failed. X’s monthly active user (MAU) count has grown over the past 5 years – rising from roughly 360 million in 2021 to over 550 million by early 2026. Part of the reason for this success despite the constant attacks was Musk’s removal of internal saboteurs.

The majority of corporations today have inflated their teams with people who do not add value – Rather, they create problems from thin air and drag the company down. The primary vehicle that facilitates this sabotage is the Human Resources department.

Trending:HR departments were originally created as a means of monitoring compliance with state and federal laws to avoid liability. In many cases this revolved around “sexual harassment” or “discrimination” in the workplace, but it ended up becoming a progressive crusade to make women, LGBT and minority groups a protected class of workers that are difficult to fire because HR is more concerned with lawsuits.

This lack of accountability based on gender and minority privilege reached its peak during the height of the woke era and DEI. Companies were rife with useless employees who did little work while raking in six-figure salaries.

Today, the situation is changing rapidly. A wave of layoffs has hit the white collar sector since 2025. The end of DEI is leading to mass cuts which are largely affecting women, with minority women making up the bulk of the job losses.

***SuppOne company CEO, Ryan Breslow of Bolt, saved his company from implosion by a simple change which allowed him to more easily make a number of other changes: He fired his entire HR department.

Breslow, who stepped down as CEO in 2022 but returned in 2025, cut 30% of the workforce in April and replaced HR with a smaller “people operations” team focused on training. “They were creating problems that didn’t exist,” Breslow, 31, said at Fortune’s Workforce Innovation Summit. “Those problems disappeared when I let them go.”

Bolt was founded in 2014 and makes checkout payments technology. The company saw a whopping valuation collapse from $11 billion in 2022 to $300 million in 2025.

But HR wasn’t the only group to lose their jobs. Breslow said employees had grown complacent during the boom years. He gave workers 60 days to adapt to a leaner culture but said 99% couldn’t make the shift. “There’s a sense of entitlement that had festered across the company,” he said.

He fired nearly the entire leadership team and eliminated four-day workweeks and unlimited PTO. Bolt now operates with about 100 employees, down from thousands. “We have a team a quarter of the size, who are much more junior, who work a lot harder, who have better energy,” Breslow says.

The CEO’s observations echo across the corporate world in the US and in Europe, and it’s the reason why many DEI related jobs are disappearing and why so many college graduates with psychology and communications related degrees can’t get hired to save their lives.

It makes sense; Human Resource employees are 75% to 80% women and 18% LGBT, far above the averages in most white collar fields. These demographics commonly lead to a grievance-based work environment and an entitlement culture. These are the groups who often create problems from thin air as a means to manipulate the policy courses of companies and they are difficult to eject because of liability fears.

Placing them in a position of power with the ability to drum up internal conflicts is a detrimental mistake.

Time, however, is healing. The era of easy salaries for low value employees is quickly coming to an end. Numerous tech companies and venture capital companies that expanded during the last decade are cutting the dead weight. The viral TikToks of women spending most of their workday in corporate cafeterias and yoga rooms are disappearing. The free ride is over, and soon there may not be any HR department’s left to protect the barnacles from being scraped off the ship.

THE DUMBEST SCHOOL SYSTEM IN AMERICA IS THE COSTLIEST-NEW YORK CITY

When Will New York Taxpayers Finally Revolt Against the Failing NYC School System?

New York City’s public schools represent one of the most glaring examples of government inefficiency in America today. While Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushes socialist spending priorities, the Department of Education devours more than a third of the city’s massive $126 billion budget—$43 billion annually for public schools alone.

Yet enrollment continues its steep decline, test scores stagnate, and families flee the system in search of better alternatives. This is not mere mismanagement; it is a tragedy funded by hardworking taxpayers who deserve far more accountability.

Jeff Bezos recently captured the absurdity with precision, comparing NYC schools to a dysfunctional Amazon operation where packages arrive late, overpriced, and incorrect. The comparison lands because it is painfully accurate.

A Citizens Budget Commission report lays bare the scale: New York spends a nation-leading $44,000 per pupil despite mediocre outcomes on standardized tests. Meanwhile, the system maintains excess capacity with hundreds of under-enrolled schools protected by “hold harmless” policies that prioritize bureaucracy over students.

This disconnect between lavish spending and dismal results should alarm every resident footing the bill. As enrollment drops by tens of thousands year after year, the bureaucracy expands rather than contracts. Such inverted incentives reveal a system captured by special interests rather than oriented toward genuine education.

Chancellor Kamar Samuels deserves credit for publicly criticizing the “hold harmless” policy and overly rigid class-size mandates. Some modest relief made it into the state budget under Governor Kathy Hochul, but these represent mere tweaks to a fundamentally broken machine. The real issue runs deeper: a monopolistic public education model insulated from competition and real consequences.

Parents recognize this reality. The sharp enrollment declines reflect not just demographic shifts but deliberate choices by families opting for charter schools, private options, or leaving the city entirely. Young families in particular cite school quality as a primary reason for departure. When government schools consume enormous resources yet fail to prepare children for productive lives, they accelerate urban decline rather than foster renewal.

The irony grows thicker under progressive leadership. Mamdani’s administration faces pressure to fund expansive social programs while the education budget crowds out fiscal flexibility. Taxpayers watch their hard-earned dollars fund administrative bloat, excess buildings, and ideological experiments instead of reading, writing, and arithmetic proficiency. This pattern repeats across blue cities, where public institutions serve employees and unions more effectively than the citizens they ostensibly serve.

Conservatives have long argued for parental empowerment through school choice, transparency in curricula, and basic accountability metrics. The NYC example validates those concerns. No private enterprise could survive such inefficiency. Only government monopolies, protected by law and political patronage, persist in delivering declining services at ever-rising costs.

History offers warnings about empires that neglected the formation of the next generation. When education systems prioritize self-preservation over student outcomes, societies weaken from within. America’s founders understood education’s vital role in maintaining a virtuous republic capable of self-government.

As the prophet Hosea declared, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) In our age, the tragedy lies not in the absence of funding but in its reckless misallocation away from the knowledge children desperately need.

Taxpayers across New York should demand more than incremental reforms. The obscene mismatch between investment and results in NYC schools calls for structural change: broader school choice, elimination of wasteful mandates, and a return to educational fundamentals. Until citizens revolt at the ballot box and in public discourse, the tragedy will only deepen, burdening future generations with both ignorance and insurmountable debt.

ELON MUSK’S NET WORTH IS NOW OVER $700 BILLION…GO ELON GO!

Elon Musk is worth a record $722 billion after a $45 billion gain on Thursday.
SpaceX’s IPO filing this week revealed he’s borrowing against virtually none of his shares.
The revelation led Bloomberg to remove a $45 billion liability from its wealth estimate for Musk.

Elon Musk’s estimated wealth soared by $45 billion to a record $722 billion on Thursday after the release of SpaceX’s IPO prospectus offered fresh transparency into his personal finances.

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO’s net worth jumped after the Bloomberg Billionaires Index removed a $45 billion liability tied to his SpaceX stake.

Bloomberg had assumed that 57% of Musk’s SpaceX shares were pledged as collateral for personal loans, after he said in 2019 that he’d borrowed against some of them.

However, SpaceX’s prospectus revealed that as of May 1, Musk had only pledged about 238,000 of his 849.5 million SpaceX shares — less than 0.3% — as “security for personal indebtedness.”

The disclosure led Bloomberg to scrap the $45 billion liability, catapulting Musk’s estimated wealth by that amount to a fresh high.

He’s now gained an unmatched $103 billion this year, making him richer than the next two people on Bloomberg’s rich list, Alphabet cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, combined.

Musk’s wealth has ballooned as his companies’ valuations have soared.

Tesla stock has surged roughly 14-fold since the start of 2020, propelling the EV maker’s market capitalization to $1.3 trillion.

SpaceX’s valuation rocketed around 20-fold between the spring of 2020 and December last year. The rocket business, which acquired Musk-owned xAI in February, has targeted a valuation north of $1.5 trillion as a public company.

Musk owns about 11% of Tesla, but could double the size of his stake in the coming years if he hits the milestones in his latest pay package. He owns around 50% of SpaceX per the rocket-and-satellite company’s filing this week.

The tech titan’s $722 billion fortune exceeds the market value of most of the world’s largest companies, including Exxon Mobil, Visa, and Intel.