RQ-180 Spy Drone Reappears Again In Greece As Larissa Air Base Backs U.S. Recon Ops

New footage of what appears to be the highly secretive Northrop Grumman RQ-180 stealth surveillance drone has surfaced near Larisa, Greece, according to the aviation outlet The Aviationist.

The RQ-180 apparently appeared in daylight hours on approach to landing at Larisa Air Base, home to the Hellenic Air Force’s 110 Combat Wing. The footage offers one of the clearest views yet of the flying-wing spy drone and confirms it is neither the B-2 Spirit nor the B-21 Raider. 

Screenshot from videos taken by Efthymios Siakaras near Larissa, Greece. (Image credit: The Aviationist/Efthymios Siakaras)

The aircraft has never been formally acknowledged in detail by the Pentagon, but the designation has circulated in defense reporting since at least 2013. Its core mission is to collect imagery, radar, and signals intelligence in places where a non-stealth drone, such as the Global Hawk, would be too vulnerable. 

The earliest video of the RQ-180, which could be among the first-ever glimpses of the drone, emerged in late March and was first reported by the local Greek news website OnLarissa. 

The Aviationist pointed out this latest footage only suggests that "Larissa is in fact being used as a regular forward operating location for the RQ-180." 

Larisa Air Base has already been used for MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance operations in the region. The base is part of the Eastern Mediterranean support network, where Reuters reported that Western militaries increased their presence last month. 

The RQ-180's most likely role in the US-Iran conflict is reconnaissance.

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/07/2026 - 04:15

Europe's Climate Policy Forces Industry Into Retreat; Even Its Critics Are Folding

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

In the media business, five months is an eternity. And it does indeed seem like an eternity has passed since Christian Kullmann, CEO of the German chemical giant Evonik, sharply criticized European climate policy at the end of October.

At the time, Kullmann gave an interview to Süddeutsche Zeitung, in which he called—if not for the outright abolition—then at least for a significant weakening of the EU-wide CO₂ emissions trading system, given the dramatic state of the economy.

Kullmann rightly pointed out that there is probably no stricter CO₂ regime anywhere in the world than in the EU. And since the climate, as we know, has no borders, he argued it makes little sense to disadvantage domestic cutting-edge technology in this way. He explicitly referred to the costly CO₂ trading system, which drained a staggering €21.4 billion from the German economy last year alone—under the banner of climate policy through this relatively new mechanism.

Five months after these remarkable statements—briefly breaking the long-standing silence of German industrial leaders—the question must be asked whether there is anywhere else in the world a comparable project to the EU’s CO₂ regime. With the United States abandoning its policy of artificial energy scarcity, its war on conventional energy production, and heavy-handed regulation of its own industrial base, the EU now stands alone in its ideological campaign against economic rationality. No one else seems willing to join the chorus of Europe’s climate apocalypticism.

This European isolationism may elsewhere be perceived as a form of late-stage counter-colonization—a return flow of capital from remorseful Europeans willing to accept self-imposed sacrifice to help other regions get back on their feet. Around the world, this selflessly naive “degrowth suicide” is welcomed, as it delivers not only so-called climate support from European funds but, more importantly, accelerated industrial investment from European companies—served on a silver platter by eco-socialist policymakers. A civilizational ingredient that, it seems, Europe itself now believes it can do without.

In China, one has learned to remain quiet when a geopolitical rival makes mistake after mistake—as is currently the case with European climate policy. Energy-intensive firms like Evonik are penalized by CO₂ pricing with an artificial competitive disadvantage. Once embedded in political and administrative structures, this amounts to a genuine stimulus program for foreign industrial locations.

At the same time, China—like the increasingly deregulated United States under President Donald Trump—is developing a powerful vacuum effect in global capital markets. The world is benefiting from German engineering and European capital.

This dynamic is particularly evident in the chemical industry. As a highly energy-intensive sector, it has suffered one of the hardest blows from European climate policy, alongside the automotive industry. Kullmann’s warning about the erosion of economic foundations was more than justified—but it came far too late and remained, for a time, a lone voice in the wilderness.

Since 2018, Germany’s chemical industry has lost roughly a quarter of its production capacity. The sector is operating at an average capacity utilization of just 70%, a level that reflects a sectoral depression not seen in Germany since the end of World War II.

Yet the worse the economic situation becomes, the more firmly German policymakers cling to their belief in the green transformation. Corporate silence is secured by a massive subsidy machine, just as the sympathetic media sector provides the shrill soundtrack to the broader economic decline.

Tactically astute from a media standpoint, Brussels—under pressure from European industry—has agreed to ease some pressure from the CO₂ cost burden. The European Commission is expected to temporarily freeze the volume of circulating certificates within the market stability reserve in order to stabilize prices.

For Evonik CEO Kullmann, the outcome presented by Brussels appears acceptable. His once sharp criticism of the CO₂ mechanism has mysteriously vanished into the media ether. The change of heart clearly follows the promise of further subsidies.

A destructive mechanism has emerged between large corporations and an eco-socialist political leadership. At the media level, corporate executives and political actors stage a kind of ping-pong game that simulates critical debate and conflicting interests at the highest levels of decision-making.

Evidently, there is no willingness to even slow down the ongoing transfer of wealth—from the productive sectors of society to politically favored extractive sectors such as the green economy—even amid prolonged economic stagnation. The economic and social consequences of this policy are, for now, being conveniently ignored in both Brussels and Berlin.

* * * 

About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a German graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/07/2026 - 03:30

British Official Admits UK Not Capable Of Rescuing Their Own Lost Airmen

Europe has been dancing on the edge of a knife, flirting with notions of war with a battle hardened Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.  As these tensions escalate, questions are being raised about the actual combat readiness and capabilities of countries that have relied on the US for their security for so long.

The primary division between the Trump Administration and NATO countries, the thing that started it all, was the initial refusal of so many of them to pay their fair share for defense.  Currently, most NATO members budget around 2% of their GDP to defense under the NATO treaty.  When asked to budget 5%, European governments became indignant, only agreeing to meet the target in a decade.

In an interesting recent admission from The Telegraph, Tom Tugendhat, a British MP and former security minister, argues that the UK simply lacks the independent military capabilities needed to pull off a rescue operation of one of their own airman similar to the recent US operation in Iran.  He says that if one of their pilots needed to be saved, they would have to ask the US to do it.  

“We do not have the platforms, the satellites, the reach or the mass. Our rescue plan, if the airman were British, would be to call the U.S.”

Tugendhat warned about the situation in Iran in March, saying he had questions as to why Prime Minister Keir Starmer failed to deploy appropriate air defense assets in the region to protect UK citizens and allies from missile and drone strikes.  Starmer is facing mounting criticism for his delay in deploying the HMS Dragon to Cyprus, following an attack on UK base RAF Akrotiri. 

Expressing his dismay at the lack of protection for British personnel, Tugendhat told GB News:

"My take is pretty simple - we may not have agreed with the initial decision to strike, that's an American and Israeli decision...But I see absolutely no reason why we didn't have assets in the region, why we didn't have Type 45 destroyers in the region to protect our citizens and our allies. It's baffling to me."

Beyond their heavy reliance on the US and Europe's lack of military spending, Europe is facing a crisis of public confidence. European military readiness has been exposed in the past few years as severely lacking, and a core problem these governments refuse to address is the fact that most young men simply don't want to fight for them.  In other words, in a voluntary system the governments and the countries in question need to hold similar values to the men they want to send into battle. 

With far-left progressive elements holding power across Europe, this is simply not the case.  So, their only option is to force a draft. 

Several senior UK officials and MPs have publicly entertained or discussed the possibility of forced conscription (a military draft) as something that the government might implement in the event of a major war.  UK military recruitment is far below requirements with the Army and Royal Navy consistently hitting only 60% of their personnel goals. 

Dr. Mike Martin, a Liberal Democrat MP and former British Army officer, stated in March 2025 that if the UK became involved in a general war with Russia, “we’ll be conscripting the population - there’s no question about that.” He described it as something Britain “must be prepared” for, given the significant risk of wider conflict.  Notions of an incoming draft have been a major topic in the British media for the past couple years. 

The suspicion is that the establishment is acclimating the public to the idea over time, getting them ready to accept it as inevitable.  

Germany is creating the framework for a draft right now.  As of January 1, 2026, German men aged 17 to 45 must obtain "permission" from a Bundeswehr Career Center before traveling abroad for more than three months.  They witnessed what happened in Ukraine at the start of the war with Russia; millions of young men fled the country to avoid conscription.  Germany is establishing loss prevention, clearly planning for a near term clash with the Russians. 

One strange narrative that has been circulating on social media is the argument among Europeans that the US "wasted" millions of dollars in military equipment in their successful mission to rescue "just one" wounded airman.  The operation included special forces landing two MC-130s on a makeshift landing strip right under the nose of the IRGC and securing the area for the extraction of the stranded airman.  The planes became stuck in the sand and had to be destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of the Iranians.  

It's highly revealing that this sacrifice of equipment for the sake of saving a lost soldier is confusing to many Europeans.  It shows that they can't comprehend the idea of a government that would actually care enough to save them rather than throw them to the wolves.  In other words, there is no loyalty on either side of the equation and Europe's weaknesses go well beyond the political.  

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/07/2026 - 02:45

France's Debt Spiral: Tax Hikes Mask A Looming Crisis

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

On both sides of the Franco-German border, the same problem persists: overburdened and reform-averse politicians struggle against a rapidly accelerating debt spiral. Their preferred tool: higher levies.

Last week, France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure reported a revision of the projected budget deficit for the current year.

Initial estimates for 2026 had suggested a deficit well above five percent. Yet numerous fiscal measures brought last year’s deficit down to 5.1%. For 2026, the Finance Ministry expects it to stabilize at around five percent—provided the ongoing energy crisis and the war in Iran do not cast a lasting shadow over the year, and the economy does not abruptly collapse.

With total public debt at roughly 115% of GDP, France cannot possibly meet the Maastricht criteria under this level of new borrowing.

Do restrictive fiscal rules, such as the increasingly fading Maastricht criteria, even matter anymore in the Eurozone? It’s a rhetorical question: public spending dynamics are no longer controllable. One could also say: EU nations have entered a phase of fiscal fatalism.

After a 4% increase in government spending in 2024, outlays rose again last year, this time by 2.5%. The state apparatus continues to expand, regardless of the dramatic debt levels, pushing the public-sector share of GDP to 57%.

Similar to Germany, this figure does not account for the bureaucratic overhead borne by the private sector on behalf of the increasingly feudal state. Hundreds of thousands of private-sector jobs exist solely to fulfill government reporting and compliance obligations.

Massive Tax Hikes

Meanwhile, the French government remains stuck in its involuntary role as a reform-incapable instrument of the crumbling status quo. Parliament’s majority arithmetic leaves it paralyzed. A reform process to shrink the welfare state, reduce the massive bureaucracy, and achieve sustainable budget management is now completely out of reach for Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s minority government.

Every administration supported by President Emmanuel Macron functions as a placeholder, interchangeable and powerless in a parliamentary arithmetic deadlock. Macron, facing dramatically poor approval ratings as a sort of “president without a people,” knows the fragility of France’s public finances and can at least rely on one thing: a broad political alliance capable of delivering temporary relief through tax hikes.

In Paris, as in much of the EU, policymakers are staunch etatists—staunchly loyal to the state and simultaneously hungry for power—making a large government apparatus serve their interests.

Over the past two years, France has cranked up the tax screws: a minimum rate for top incomes above €250,000, an increase in property wealth taxes, and a rise in corporate taxes for larger firms, yielding up to €6 billion in additional annual revenue.

New levies on higher dividend payouts and large corporate stock buybacks have been introduced. A Tobin-style financial transaction tax is planned to hit wealthy shareholders. Energy and environmental levies have also risen. As with tobacco and alcohol, the message is clear: “We tax luxury and the rich.”

This creates the impression of socially just taxation, while distracting from the fundamental problem: the expanding state, a European disease driving the continent into turbulence.

Where the Journey Leads

France illustrates both the mechanics and potential timeline of the emerging national debt crisis. Through intensive public-relations work and the backing of state-aligned media, politicians cultivate the impression of massive social imbalances. Punchline: societal decay and poverty, up to the misery of public finances, are the undeniable result of capitalist plunder.

The only functioning corrective to this systemic injustice comes from the benevolent, balancing state, stepping in to deliver fiscal transfers and enforce a form of justice.

In the sticky rhetoric of “justice,” the government conceals its complete failure—whether in border policy, over-bureaucratization, or the naive belief in a centrally planned economy. The result is a lifeless economy, which in France fares no better than in Germany. Only in energy has the importance of nuclear power been recognized—a wise choice, securing significant advantages for French industry.

Fiscal policy in Paris and Berlin now moves hand in hand toward the fiscal inferno. Berlin delayed necessary action by two years, but 2026 promises to be a year of major shocks. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government is expected to raise both inheritance tax and the top income tax rate.

Options on the tax roulette wheel include a two-percentage-point hike in VAT and the end of spousal income splitting—measures particularly cherished by the political left in its ongoing attack on the remnants of the bourgeois family sphere.

The CDU’s participation in this scheme, leveling itself with other socialist parties in the Bundestag, reveals the intellectual and ethical erosion of a party led to the threshold of socialism by Angela Merkel and now finally pushed over by Friedrich Merz.

From general political-ideological mismanagement emerges a crisis-management strategy. Germany and France offer clues about fiscal trajectories in the coming years.

In short: the state will feed off the shrinking economic substance, masking its failures with higher levies while postponing necessary reforms.

This has immediate consequences for capital markets. If the sell-off of European sovereign bonds continues, the European Central Bank will have to intervene to prevent the public debt Ponzi scheme from collapsing.

This trend is highly inflationary and accelerates the process of social and economic erosion. Those capable of cutting the Gordian knot of Europe’s complex fiscal entanglement remain, for now, on the sidelines.

* * * 

About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a German graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination

Tyler Durden Tue, 04/07/2026 - 02:00

How Modern Influence Operations Work, Part 1: The New Influence Stack

Authored by Charles Davis via The Epoch Times,

On a Tuesday night in a dorm room, a student opens TikTok for a “five-minute break.”

The first clip is a montage of rubble and sirens.

The second is a professor-style explainer, neatly captioned, delivering a single moral conclusion.

The third is a shaky phone video of a confrontation on another campus—shouts, police lights, a crowd surging like weather.

The student doesn’t search for any of it.

They don’t even follow the accounts.

The feed arrives already confident about what matters.

This is the political technology of our moment: the system that decides—thousands of times a day—what you see next.

The Influence Stack

For most of the past century, influence meant broadcasting. You bought a newspaper, aired a radio spot, printed leaflets, argued in the town square. Feedback was slow, indirect, and expensive.

Today, influence runs on a different stack. It is microtargeting—figuring out which slice of the population to target. It is recommender distribution—determining what to place in front of the target group and in what sequence. It is measurement of effects—watch time, rewatches, scroll-hesitation, comments, shares. And it is iteration—rapidly adjusting what works and discarding what doesn’t.

Once those pieces lock together, persuasion stops looking like a party debate. It takes on the appearance of a thermostat: sense the room, nudge the temperature, sense again.

Microtargeting Didn’t Begin With TikTok

Microtargeting is older than the smartphone feed. 

Campaigns have long merged voter files with consumer and demographic data, then tailored appeals to specific segments. What changed, especially by the early 2010s, was tempo: the ability to see what’s working while the moment is still unfolding.

The Obama campaign’s 2012 digital operation offers a useful bridge between the older world and the current one. Their teams watched web behavior in near real time and used it for rapid response. During a presidential debate, when then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said “binders full of women,” the campaign immediately bought search ads keyed to the phrase and linked to a fact sheet; the campaign’s digital lead described an “immediate uptick in both traffic and engagement” from users searching that term.

That isn’t TikTok. It’s still the open web—search, ads, landing pages. But the shift shows a new logic: observe behavior as it happens, then redirect attention before the story cools. Strike while the iron is hot.

Algorithmic platforms industrialize that loop. Microtargeting is not about “who gets which mailer.” It becomes a live system, stitched to distribution and feedback. Different demographics can be shown targeted versions of the same reality, and the system learns—at scale—how each group responds.

And “response” doesn’t require explicit agreement. It can be attention, arousal, and volatility: two extra seconds of watch time, a rewatch, a comment typed in anger and posted, a share to a group chat.

Ranking Systems Don’t Just Reflect Preference. They Shape It.

We don’t have to guess whether ranking changes what people see. Researchers have tested it inside platforms.

A large-scale study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) drew on a “massive-scale randomized experiment” on X, then known as Twitter, that assigned a randomized control group—nearly two million daily active accounts—to a reverse-chronological feed “free of algorithmic personalization,” precisely so the effects of ranking could be measured. The authors reported measurable differences in “algorithmic amplification” across political actors in multiple countries.

That’s the key: ranking is an intervention. When a system orders content, it decides what becomes salient, what feels common to particular groups, what appears urgent, and what fades. Political power can emerge even when nobody writes a manifesto inside the company. The feed trains the user. It is an environment, and environments shape behavior.

This is also why the public debate so often misses the point.

People argue as if the only question is whether a platform “censors” a viewpoint or “pushes propaganda.” Those concerns matter. They just sit on top of a deeper mechanism: the simple act of ranking, repeated billions of times, changes what societies talk about.

Measurement: The Hidden Power Is the Dashboard

The influence stack is powered by dashboards.

A broadcaster might learn weeks later whether a message landed. A platform learns in minutes whether a clip increased retention among 19-year-olds in a specific place, at a given hour, after a strategically set sequence of prior videos.

This creates a persuasion capability that older institutions weren’t built to match: rapid experimentation on human attention. Content becomes a hypothesis. The audience becomes a living lab. The system keeps what works.

Universities update policy once a semester. Newsrooms adjust framing over days. Legislatures move over months. The feed scope and focus can pivot before lunch.

Why Anger Wins Inside the Loop

A hard truth about the influence stack is that not all emotions travel equally well through it. High-arousal emotions move faster because they prompt action.

In a landmark study of sharing, Jonah Berger and Katherine Milkman found that virality is linked to physiological arousal: content that evokes high-arousal emotions, including anger and anxiety, is more likely to spread than content that evokes low-arousal emotions like sadness.

Politics adds another accelerant: moral emotion. A PNAS study analyzing large datasets of social media debate found that moral-emotional language increases diffusion; in their sample, each additional moral-emotional word in a message was associated with a substantial increase in sharing.

And anger has particular advantages in networked environments. A computational analysis of Weibo found anger to be more “contagious” than joy and more able to travel along weaker social ties—meaning it can move beyond a tight-knit group and spill into wider communities.

Put those together and the targeting logic becomes almost mechanical. Anger keeps people watching. It increases the odds they’ll share. It tends to bridge out of local clusters into broader networks. In an engagement-optimized system, anger is not just a feeling. It’s a distribution advantage.

Iteration: How Talking Points Come Back as Optimized Themes

And then there is the old broadcast trick—the repeated phrase, the tagline, the talking point—reappearing in new clothes.

In television news, theming worked because repetition makes ideas feel common. In the influence stack, the system tests variations. It monitors the retention curve, watches share velocity and comment intensity. The phrases that survive are the ones that travel and harden into slogans that feel “everywhere,” because the platform has learned exactly where “everywhere” is.

This is how a moral frame becomes a transport mechanism. A short phrase is easy to caption, easy to hashtag, easy to stitch and remix. It is also easy for the system to recognize and route toward audiences that have historically responded to that emotional key.

The Verification Problem

A second political fact of the influence stack is that outsiders struggle to verify what’s happening in real time.

Platforms point to transparency and researcher access. While those programs are meaningful; sometimes they lag the speed of events. The influence stack’s advantage is velocity in a world of slow oversight. When you can’t see the full system—distribution weights, downranking rules, recommendation pathways, enforcement decisions—you can’t reliably separate organic waves from algorithmically amplified waves, or evaluate whether interventions were neutral or asymmetrical.

What This Series Will Do

Over the next installments, we’ll walk up the stack.

We’ll examine emotion recognition and why even flawed affect inference can be dangerous when institutions treat outputs as truth. We’ll look at China’s operational model—identity resolution plus sensor coverage plus data fusion—and why architecture matters more than any single sensor. We’ll treat TikTok as a distribution layer where iteration is fast and verification is hard. Then we’ll apply the framework to a test case Americans lived through: the surge of campus protest dynamics during the Gaza war, what we can measure, and what we cannot responsibly claim.

The point isn’t to reduce genuine political conviction to “the algorithm did it.” People protest for real reasons. Institutions fail for real reasons. But in a world where attention is programmable, it becomes reckless to pretend the feed is only entertainment.

The influence stack doesn’t replace politics. It changes the temperature at which politics happens.

And once you see it, the question stops being whether a single video “caused” anything.

The question becomes: who controls the thermostat—and who gets to audit it?

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 23:25

China Introduces Pistol-Like Coil-Gun Based On Electromagnetic-Launch Systems

Authored by Bojan Stojovski via Interesting Engineering,

A new handheld coil gun developed in China is designed for discreet, non-lethal use, including law enforcement operations, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Capable of firing between 1,000 and 2,000 rounds per minute, the weapon can penetrate wooden boards from distances of several dozen yards. Its adjustable power settings allow it to incapacitate rather than kill when set lower.

China develops electromagnetic weapon for covert operations.Gamersky

The compact electromagnetic launcher features a 12-inch barrel and is light enough to be comfortably held and operated with one hand, allowing for greater mobility and ease of use in tight or urban environments where traditional firearms or larger coil guns would be cumbersome.

Equipped with a laser pointer for improved accuracy, the device – also called a Gauss gun – uses electromagnetic coils to accelerate metal projectiles at high speeds, miniaturizing technology previously limited to larger military systems.

Merging stealth and increased destructive power

The latest Chinese handheld coil gun offers a stealthy alternative to traditional firearms, producing no muzzle flash or smoke, minimal noise, and no ejected shell casings. These features make it particularly suited for covert operations, according to Chinese media. 

The showcased model represents an upgrade from last year’s test version, featuring a slightly longer barrel and the ability to fire larger, heavier projectiles. While its rate of fire is somewhat slower, the weapon delivers significantly greater kinetic energy and destructive force, increasing its impact per shot, the South China Morning Post reported.

The weapon is equipped with an electronic display that provides real-time information on battery life, ammunition count, and firing modes. Operators can adjust the electric current to control output power, allowing them to vary projectile speed depending on the target’s distance and situational conditions.

This feature enables the coil gun to deliver precise, controlled force, allowing operators to tailor each shot to the situation. By adjusting power and projectile speed, the weapon can incapacitate or deter targets effectively while significantly reducing the risk of fatal injury, making it suitable for law enforcement, crowd control, or other scenarios where non-lethal force is preferred.

Portable coil gun could supplement traditional firearms 

The coil gun’s design places a detachable magazine behind its centrally positioned grip, allowing the electromagnetic coils to run the full length of the chassis. This layout maximizes projectile acceleration while keeping the weapon compact and easy to handle. 

Currently, the portable device is intended mainly for specialised non-lethal scenarios, limited by battery output. However, as battery technology advances, the weapon could see broader applications, potentially supplementing or even replacing traditional firearms in certain combat situations, offering a new form of precision, low-visibility firepower on the battlefield.

China has been advancing larger-scale electromagnetic weaponry as well. In 2023, the PLA Naval University of Engineering reportedly tested what is believed to be the world’s most powerful coil gun, capable of launching a 273-pound projectile at speeds reaching 435 miles per hour. 

Beijing is also advancing railgun technology, a type of electromagnetic weapon that propels projectiles along a pair of parallel rails at extreme speeds, while promising higher velocity and longer range than conventional guns, potentially transforming naval and land-based combat. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 22:35

US Oil Premiums Hit Record High As World Scrambles For Crude

By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com

The premiums for U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude have soared in the spot market to a record high of between $30 and $40 per barrel above key regional benchmarks as Asia and Europe scramble for supply amid the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

WTI Midland is being offered for July delivery in north Asia at premiums of between $30 and $40 per barrel, depending on the benchmark against which they are marked, trading sources told Reuters on Monday.

"Asian refiners, shut out of Middle Eastern supply, are bidding aggressively for ​every available Atlantic Basin barrel," said Paola Rodriguez-Masiu, chief oil analyst at Rystad Energy, in a note dated April 3.

With most of the Middle Eastern supply still trapped at Hormuz and all Gulf producers slashing upstream production in response to the closed Strait, competition for barrels from other producers has become fierce and has pushed premiums higher and higher.

WTI Midland is offered to North Asia at a premium of $34 per barrel over the Dubai benchmark, a trader told Reuters. Another trade source said there are also offers of WTI Midland priced $30 per barrel above Dated Brent. There have been offers at nearly $40 a barrel above ICE Brent for August delivery, additional sources told Reuters.

The offers for spot WTI Midland have jumped in recent days from around $20 per barrel premium for cargoes sold at the end of March.

U.S. crude has become prized oil supply in the absence of free flows from the Middle East. As a result, the price of the WTI Crude futures benchmark soared past Brent Crude futures at the end of last week.

WTI Crude rarely trades at a premium to Brent. Brent crude reflects seaborne crude and typically leads during global supply shocks, while WTI crude is usually discounted.

As Julianne Geiger noted, part of the move is technical: WTI’s front-month contract reflects May delivery, while Brent has already rolled to June, skewing the headline spread.

Month-matched spread...

 

But the deeper driver is extreme prompt pressure - WTI backwardation has surged to record levels - signaling immediate demand for secure, deliverable barrels.

With rising uncertainty around global shipping routes, WTI has effectively gained a “security premium,” narrowing and even reversing its usual discount to Brent.

The current inversion points to a breakdown in normal pricing signals tied to physical flows.

* * *

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 22:10

Murder And Mayhem: A Look At ICE's 'Worst Of The Worst' Arrests

Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez and Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times,

The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts this term have focused on illegal immigrants with criminal histories.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made about 379,000 arrests from Jan. 20, 2025, through Jan. 20, 2026, and the administration has maintained that the majority involved those with criminal arrests or convictions.

Tricia McLaughlin, former assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said last year that 70 percent of ICE arrests were of criminal illegal aliens who had been charged or convicted of a crime in the United States. According to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, last year’s arrests included more than 7,300 suspected gang members and 1,400 known or suspected terrorists.

In December, DHS launched its Worst of the Worst searchable database of criminal illegal immigrants taken off the streets. The database, which currently lists more than 30,800 entries, allows visitors to search for those arrested across all 50 states with criminal histories that include homicide, assault, rape, drug trafficking, crimes against children, assault, armed robbery, and others.

President Donald Trump signs the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 29, 2025. The Laken Riley Act, which mandates the detention of illegal immigrants charged with theft-related crimes, is named for a 22-year-old student murdered by a Venezuelan national with no legal papers who was wanted for shoplifting. Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

Here is a sampling of 10 violent criminal illegal immigrant arrests in 2025 and early 2026.

Indecency With a Child

On Feb. 18, 2025, ICE arrested Guatemalan national Sostenes Pérez-López in Brighton, Massachusetts.

According to a Boston Police report, a mother and her daughter encountered Pérez-López at a laundromat on Nov. 23, 2024.

The young girl was drawing at a table near the laundromat’s entrance when Pérez-López approached her. Later, the mother noticed her daughter with an unknown man and went to her, at which point Pérez-López spoke to her in Spanish.

“Your daughter is very pretty,” he said. “They are going to steal her.”

When asked who was going to steal her daughter, Pérez-López responded, “The dogs,” and left the laundromat.

The girl later told her mother that Pérez-López had inappropriately touched her.

Local human trafficking and sexual assault investigators obtained a photo of the man from the surveillance video inside the laundromat and identified Pérez-López as the suspect on Nov. 27.

Pérez-López went to a police station after he was identified and asked to speak with investigators, according to the police report. He told detectives he was at the laundromat that day and saw a girl he believed to be about 5 years old standing by herself.

He instructed the girl to come to him, then told police that he put his left arm around her waist, “pulled her closer to him,” and said, “Hola.”

Pérez-López told police the girl “just looked up at the brim of his white cowboy hat” without speaking to him. He denied speaking to the girl’s mother.

ICE officers arrest Guatemalan national Sostenes Perez-Lopez during an enforcement operation in Brighton, Mass., on Feb. 18, 2025. Perez-Lopez was charged with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, according to ICE. Department of Homeland Security

Pérez-López was arrested and charged with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 on Nov. 28, 2024, according to ICE, which lodged an immigration detainer against him following his arrest.

​The Boston Municipal Court, Brighton Division, arraigned Pérez-López on Nov. 29, 2024, but ignored the ICE detainer and released him on bail on Dec. 12, 2024.

Pérez-López was served with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge following his February arrest, and he remains in ICE custody.

20 Sex Crimes

On April 1, 2025, ICE and federal partners operating in Lawrence, Massachusetts, arrested Ecuadoran national Gilberto Avila-Jara, whose criminal history includes more than 20 sex crimes against a minor.

Avila-Jara allegedly illegally entered the United States near San Ysidro, California, on Feb. 10, 1996, and was arrested on March 2, 1996, at Los Angeles International Airport, according to ICE.

ICE officers arrest Ecuadoran national Gilberto Avila-Jara in Lawrence, Mass., on April 1, 2025. Avila-Jara faces more than 20 sex crime charges involving a minor. Department of Homeland Security

​​Avila-Jara was removed from the country in July 1996, but later illegally reentered on an unknown date.

​On Dec. 18, 2020, Avila-Jara was arraigned in Lawrence District Court for more than 20 offenses, including indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, rape of a child with force, and aggravated statutory rape of a child, according to ICE.

* * * Sale ends Friday

​On that same day in December, ICE Boston lodged an immigration detainer against Avila-Jara with the Lawrence Police Department. However, the court refused to honor the detainer and released Avila-Jara on bail on March 17, 2021.

On April 22, 2021, the Essex County Superior Court arraigned Avila-Jara for six counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, eight counts of rape of a child with force, and eight counts of aggravated statutory rape of a child.​

Murder and Assault

ICE arrested René Pop-Chub, a Guatemalan national who had pending charges for murder, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment, in Hyattsville, Maryland, on April 12, 2025.

Pop-Chub was captured and subsequently removed by Border Patrol twice—once on June 13, 2013, in Falfurrias, Texas, and again on Dec. 11, 2017, in Cowlic, Arizona.

After illegally entering the United States for a third time, he was arrested on Aug. 19, 2024, by police in Maryland and charged with first-degree assault.

ICE officers arrest Guatemalan national Rene Pop-Chub in Hyattsville, Md., on April 12, 2025. Pop-Chub has pending charges for murder, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. Department of Homeland Security

ICE lodged a detainer with the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections on Oct. 9, 2024, but it was ignored, DHS said.

On Oct. 31 of that year, the District Court for Prince George’s County forwarded the case to the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County for the currently pending charges.

However, the district court refused to honor ICE’s immigration detainer and released Pop-Chub on April 8, 2025. He was arrested by ICE four days later.

Sex Offender Drags Officer

Mexican national Roberto Carlos Muñoz-Guatemala had a history of run-ins with the law dating back to 2010 before ICE agents caught up with him in Bloomington, Minnesota, during a traffic stop.

Muñoz-Guatemala had multiple driving offenses on his record and was previously convicted of domestic assault and a felony sex crime against an underage teenager, according to DHS.

Mexican national Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala. Department of Homeland Security

In October 2022, Muñoz-Guatemala’s 16-year-old stepdaughter accused him of sexually abusing her for several months after her mother left to live with her new boyfriend, according to Minnesota court records.

The teen got proof of the abuse by propping her cell phone up on some schoolbooks and recording an incident, state court records show.

At the time of his 2022 arrest for sexual abuse, ICE issued a detainer, which was not honored by local authorities, and Muñoz-Guatemala was released from custody.

He was convicted of a felony sex crime and sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2023, but was later released on supervised probation, according to state court records.

Three years later, when he was stopped by ICE, he refused to get out of the vehicle and allegedly tried to flee, dragging one of the officers some 50 yards.

Muñoz-Guatemala called Bloomington Police after fleeing, “claiming he was just assaulted” by ICE, court records read.

The officer recovered but was later involved in the Renee Good shooting. Good was protesting ICE and drove her vehicle toward the officer, striking him as he opened fire.

Federal immigration agents stand guard after one of their vehicles was involved in a crash while making an apprehension in St. Paul, Minn., on Jan. 31, 2026. Scott Olson/Getty Images

ICE first lodged a detainer on Muñoz-Guatemala in 2013.

Tren de Aragua Attack

Gabriel ​Hurtado-Cariaco, identified as a member of Venezuelan terrorist gang Tren de Aragua, first crossed the U.S. southern border illegally in 2023 and was removed. He tried again in 2024 and was released into the country under the Biden administration.

An ICE officer and FBI agent caught up with Hurtado-Cariaco outside an apartment complex in Bellevue, Nebraska, after authorities issued an arrest warrant for the man, who claims he was a first sergeant in the Venezuelan military from 2013 to 2018 before deserting.

Initially, Hurtado-Cariaco “signaled non-verbally” to the agents that he would comply as they approached to take him into custody. But the officers realized too late that it was a ruse.

With no warning, the alleged Venezuelan gang member crashed into one of the ICE officers, sending her flying. The pair hit the ground, and the ICE officer smacked her head and injured her elbow. She would later tell investigators that Hurtado Cariaco lured her in with his relaxed body language.

Federal officers arrest Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco, an alleged member of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, in Nebraska on June 18, 2025. Hurtado-Cariaco was charged with attempted murder of a federal officer and assault on a federal officer. Department of Homeland Security

The alleged gang member then ripped off the officer’s body armor and continued the assault, according to DHS. He managed to get her in a chokehold and began to squeeze her neck.

The FBI officer was able to get Hurtado-Caiaco in a chokehold and applied “deadly force” to get him to release his grip on the officer. He turned the fight on the FBI agent but eventually fled.

The ICE officer and FBI agent gave chase, called for backup, and eventually made the arrest.

The ICE officer was hospitalized and treated for serious injuries to her head and arm. Hurtado-Cariaco was charged with attempted murder of a federal officer and assault of a federal officer.

10 Arrests, 19 charges

A Salvadorian national with a long rap sheet who was repeatedly released into local communities was taken off the streets by ICE in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Oct. 24, 2025.

Salvadoran national Jorge Armando Melendez-Gonzalez in Fairfax County, Va., on Oct. 24, 2025. Department of Homeland Security

Border Patrol arrested Jorge Armando Meléndez-González after he illegally entered the country on June 22, 2015, and refused to comply with a judicial removal order in October 2016, according to ICE.

Between March 19, 2018, and July 18, 2025, Meléndez-González was arrested 10 times and charged with 19 different crimes, including felony malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, assault and battery, grand larceny, trespassing, possessing a false identification, and public intoxication.

Just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2023, Fairfax County Police officers were called to a Merrifield, Virginia, parking lot, where they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. One was shot in the arm and the other in the abdomen, according to a Fairfax County press release. Both were treated at a local hospital.

Almost two hours later, police received a 911 call from the hospital that a man had walked in with a gunshot wound to the arm.

As it turned out, Meléndez-González, who was living in Falls Church, Virginia, had approached a group of men who were standing in front of a business that night. One of the men assaulted Meléndez-González , who then opened fire into the crowd and fled, according to police.

​ICE in the District of Columbia said it lodged two immigration detainers against Meléndez-González with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. One was issued on Aug. 28, 2023, and another on July 18, 2025.

Fairfax County officials refused to honor the detainers and released him, according to ICE.

Manager Protects Sex Offender​

A Minneapolis apartment manager tried to protect a 57-year-old Somali sex offender from arrest by blocking federal enforcement agents from entering the building on Jan. 7, 2026, according to ICE.

Mahad Abdulkadir Yusuf was eventually arrested at his Lake Street apartment after ICE launched a targeted enforcement operation to apprehend the longtime Minneapolis resident.

ICE officers conduct a targeted enforcement operation to arrest Somali national Mahad Abdulkadir Yusuf, a convicted sex offender, in Minneapolis on Dec. 31, 2025. Department of Homeland Security

Minnesota District Court records show that in June 2020, the Richfield Police Department was called to a long-term care facility in Hennepin County, where a 69-year-old woman accused Yusef of forcing her to perform sexual acts.

She told police that he had entered her room that night several times and had tried to force her to perform sexual acts in the past.

He was arrested on felony criminal sexual conduct charges but was convicted of misdemeanor nonconsensual sexual contact in 2023.

Yusuf was also arrested in 2016 for assault in the first degree and has an active warrant from 2024 for obstructing police.

He originally entered the United States in 1996 and was a lawful permanent resident, but “threw away his shot at the American dream by repaying our country’s generosity with these vicious crimes,” according to ICE.

​Stabbed in the Back

Honduran national Rafael Aguilar, who was charged with attempted murder and convicted of second-degree assault after stabbing a victim in the back on April 19, 2025, was picked up by ICE agents in Baltimore on Jan. 13, 2026.

Prince George’s County failed to honor an immigration detainer and instead released Aguilar back into the community on Jan. 6, according to ICE.

​He was initially charged with attempted second-degree murder. The county court system reduced the charge and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but he served only 141 days before being released on probation.

Tren de Aragua Homicide

On Jan. 7, 2026, ICE officers in Dallas arrested Venezuelan national Alberth José Simancas-García, an alleged member of Tren de Aragua who was wanted in Peru.

In August last year, an immigration judge with the Dallas Executive Office for Immigration Review issued a final order of removal for Simancas-García. ​

In December, a Homeland Security Investigations task force in Dallas received information from its Houston office that Simancas-García was wanted in Peru for questioning relating to a homicide. Peruvian officials alleged he had committed additional violent crimes, including armed robbery, assault, and firearms violations.

(Left) ICE officers arrested Venezuelan national and alleged gang member Alberth Jose Simancas-Garcia in Dallas on Jan. 7, 2026. (Center) ICE agents in Baltimore arrested Honduran national Rafael Aguilar on Jan. 13, 2026. (Right) ICE arrested Guatemalan national Oscar Vasquez Lopez in Savannah, Ga., on Feb. 16, 2026. Department of Homeland Security

Deadly U-Turn

ICE attempted to arrest Oscar Vásquez López, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, under a final order of removal issued by a federal judge in 2024. ​During a Feb. 16, 2026, operation in Savannah, Georgia, officers saw López enter a vehicle and tried to detain him.

He initially stopped, but then allegedly fled the scene. He made an illegal U-turn, running a red light and colliding with a vehicle, killing the special education teacher driving. She was pronounced dead at the scene, ICE said.

López, who suffered only minor injuries, was charged by the Chatham County Police Department with vehicular homicide, according to ICE.

​“This vehicular homicide is an absolute tragedy and deadly consequence of politicians and the media constantly demonizing ICE officers and encouraging those here illegally to resist arrest—a felony,” McLaughlin said. “Now, an innocent bystander has lost their life.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 21:45

North Korea Keeping Iran At Arm's Length, Hoping To Improve Ties With Trump

When the Ukraine war began over four years ago, North Korea only deepened its relations and defense cooperation with Moscow. Later into the conflict, it even sent thousands of troops to assist Russian military and security forces - and an undisclosed number of DPRK troops died or suffered wounds while fighting Ukraine.

When it comes to Iran, many pundits assumed Pyongyang might also do something similar in defense of Tehran, give the Middle East nation and fellow 'rogue' ally is under US and Israeli bombs; however, there are signs North Korea is actually distancing itself in this case.

via Reuters

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) sees no evidence that North Korea has sent weapons or supplies to Tehran since since Trump's Operation Epic Fury began, and is even remaining far away from such a move.

Lawmaker Park Sun-won, who attended a closed-door briefing held by the NIS, described Sunday that North Korea is not at all rushing to the Islamic Republic's aid.

This is also consistent with the Kim Jong Un government's public statements on the crisis, which have by and large been mute:

While Iran’s other allies China and Russia have frequently issued statements on the US-Israel war on Iran, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has only issued two toned-down statements so far, said the NIS.

While Pyongyang did condemn the US and Israeli attacks on Iran as illegal, it did not issue public condolences after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death or send a congratulatory message when Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeded him.

The spy agency said Pyongyang is likely adopting this cautious approach to position it for a new diplomatic chapter with the US once the Middle East conflict subsides, said Park.

Trump actually mentioned North Korea several times in Monday remarks from the White House on the Iran situation. He charged that a certain past president failed to act properly to prevent Pyongyang from going nuclear - and that the last several presided did as well.

He concluded that Kim Jong Un would not have nuclear weapons if that job was done right. The said that they are afraid to take "strong action".

Trump:

If a certain president did his job, North Korea would not have nuclear weapons right now. pic.twitter.com/Ib7jVqw9pt

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 6, 2026

It could be that Pyongyang is staying on the sidelines, and not offering direct support to its ally the Islamic Republic, given the obvious mismatch in military strength as the Iranians get pummeled by superior US aerial firepower.

In the case of Russa-Ukraine it is the opposite - where North Korea is on the side of the militarily stronger power and so perhaps feels more at east supporting its ally Moscow in such a context.

* * *

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 21:20

What Would Robert Louis Stevenson Say About Ozempic?

Authored by Ann Bauer via Brownstone Institute,

I have loved many addicts in my life.

I have been exasperated, impoverished, and terrified by them. But also amused, warmed, enraptured, elevated…That’s the thing about addicts. They contain multitudes, all drama and extremes. They’re charismatic until they’re repugnant, joyful until they’re suicidal. Everything is in vivid, dangerous color. It’s part of the ride and the reason they exert such a pull on cautious, ascetic people like me.

Some of my addicts are gone. My closest friend and “Damn Good Food” co-author, Mitch Omer, died at 61. Others have found God and turned their lives around (they’re now exciting and dramatic people of faith). I love people who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling, and food. Many surf between the four.

Recently, another category of people formed: the ones injecting themselves with GLP-1s, mostly to lose weight but also to control other impulses. It’s clearly great for the handful whose life and health were being destroyed by obesity. But for the others? I’m dubious.

Ozempic and its cousins (Mounjaro, Wegovy, Zepbound, et al.) modify the pleasure centers of the brain, making everything people crave—food, sex, smoking, alcohol, shopping, gambling, cocaine—less appealing. It doesn’t address the underlying problems of addiction, such as depression or dishonesty. It just eliminates the part of the person that enjoys and revels, the colorful, joyous side.

It’s a version of the drug in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, that the doctor ginned up to divide himself, creating a respectable man bound by reserve and a separate murderous, pleasure-seeking monster.

From Dr. Jekyll’s own account:

Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life. Many a man would have even blazoned such irregularities as I was guilty of; but from the high views that I had set before me, I regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame. It was thus rather the exacting nature of my aspirations than any particular degradation in my faults, that made me what I was and, with even a deeper trench than in the majority of men, severed in me those provinces of good and ill which divide and compound man’s dual nature. In this case, I was driven to reflect deeply and inveterately on that hard law of life, which lies at the root of religion and is one of the most plentiful springs of distress. Though so profound a double-dealer, I was in no sense a hypocrite; both sides of me were in dead earnest; I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I laboured, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering. And it chanced that the direction of my scientific studies, which led wholly toward the mystic and the transcendental, re-acted and shed a strong light on this consciousness of the perennial war among my members. With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.

Of course, the doctor’s desire to split off his hedonistic self will have devastating consequences. The lesson of Jekyll and Hyde is that decoupling morality from desire is unnatural. It disrupts the natural order. My question for RLS, were he still with us to answer: Do GLP-1s pose similarly catastrophic risks?

I think they may. One reason is my Uncle Joe.

Joe was a quiet, careful religious man. He and his wife, Darla, had desperately wanted children but it just never happened. They raised boxer dogs that they treated like babies. Joe worked as a photographer in North Minneapolis in this little tufted studio from the 1930s that smelled like rose cologne and dust.

Some time in the late 1970s, Joe started shaking uncontrollably. Terrible thing for a photographer. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and put on a whopping dose of Levodopa, which flooded his brain with dopamine. This got the tremors under control. He and Darla were hugely grateful. They needed Joe’s income and now he could go back to work.

But over the next half-decade, my uncle changed. He became furtive and untrustworthy. Around the time Darla discovered she had cancer, she also discovered that her husband had nearly bankrupted them. This tidy man had developed a rabid gambling habit—cards, horses, sports—and he was a terrible bettor. I was just a kid, but I remember my father talking about what a dumb bastard Joe was, how he lied to his wife and spent the money she needed for her treatments.

Darla died a few years later, and Joe kept right on gambling. He sold his business and used the money for trips to Las Vegas. By this time, the Levodopa was having diminishing returns and his Parkinsonian shaking was back. Joe’s doctors kept ratcheting up the dose, believing they were doing so with impunity. But the drug only made him step up his gambling. And spending. And drinking. And God knows what else.

Shortly after Joe died, penniless, news started to eke out that Levodopa was causing previously straight-laced people to do all sorts of out-of-character things. They were visiting prostitutes and buying fancy clothes, snorting blow and placing bets. Joe was part of the first wave of Parkinson’s patients that were treated with this new ‘miracle’ drug and went off the rails. He died alone, having borrowed money from everyone he knew and burned all the bridges he’d spent a lifetime building.

What does this have to do with Robert Louis Stevenson’s story about chemical medicine? Not a lot—directly. In Jekyll and Hyde, the main character sets out to create a potion that will free him from his rutting, profane, dissolute self (and vice versa). In the case of my uncle, chemists were simply trying to control the symptoms of his disease, and it had the awful, unintended consequence of turning a once-refined man into – basically – Mr. Hyde.

But Joe’s story is information about what happens when you mess with brain chemicals and try to spark or dampen certain behaviors. He wasn’t an addict they were trying to control. In fact, he was the kind of orderly person who shined his shoes and set them out every night. Levodopa MADE people like my Uncle Joe into addicts. Collaterally. And scientists missed it for years.

GLP-1 drugs center around the very same brain chemical: Dopamine. Instead of raising patients’ levels as neurologists did with Parkinson’s patients, Ozempic and the rest ‘modulate’ (which simply means adjust) Dopamine levels, suppressing them [typically] to a point where the pleasure-seeking cravings for food, alcohol, nicotine, and on and on are weak enough for people to overcome.

The Free Press ran an article recently on a little-talked-about downstream effect of GLP-1s: apathy. “They Went on Ozempic—and Gave Up on Life” by Evan Gardner reports on people who lost weight on the injectable, along with their libido, ambition, and desire to participate in the world. One woman finally had the boyfriend of her dreams, thanks (in her mind) to her slender new body, but no desire to have sex.

This is the opposite of what happened to Parkinson’s patients in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. The danger is that doctors are oblivious to (or ignoring) what’s happening because GLP-1s are easy, people want them, and they’re having the desired effect.

But what if the sum of becoming apathetic isn’t just laziness or low sex drive? What if it leads to something more sinister, such as a lack of empathy, the need for ever-more disruptive or violent entertainment, errors in high-risk high-stakes jobs, a dearth of parental love for a child….The list of potential ills goes on and on.

I ran this theory by a friend who works in the sober community, for a 12-step program, and he told me there are some professionals working in recovery who won’t accept people on GLP-1s into their programs. “A lot of us believe it’s an addiction if you’re relying on a drug that removes the need for spiritual work,” he said.

Robert Louis Stevenson warned about this very thing back in 1886. His story is about a drug made of phosphorus and salt and “some volatile ether” that allowed the addict, the rogue and criminal, to split off and wander free.

Today, we have a drug made of “salt forms of a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist,” being pushed by physicians and television campaigns and sports heroes and celebrities nationwide that allows people to silence the addict within—the self that once “laid aside restraint and plunged in shame”—stuff them in a crawl space, slam the door shut, and trap them there.

Don’t tell me that a Hyde-like creature isn’t going to get out eventually. There will be consequences.

“Prepare for a dreadful shipwreck,” I imagine Stevenson would say.

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 20:55

Tech Bros Sound Alarm As AI Data Centers Poll Worse Than ICE Agents

The tech bros are only now waking up to what we pointed out 1 year and 8 months ago: the early stages of public backlash against AI data center expansion. Since then, this resistance has spread nationwide as working-class people grow increasingly angry about hyperscalers erecting massive AI data centers in their backyards, with one of the most immediate consequences being surging power bills.

"If tech leaders don't organize and get America on their side, the situation on the ground - as seen in the three charts below - will get worse before it gets better," Chamath Palihapitiya, founder of Social Capital and co-host of the All-In Podcast, wrote on X.

Palihapitiya warned, "That, in turn, will tank the US economy since AI is responsible for much of our incremental GDP. Someone needs to step up." 

Palihapitiya posted what appears to be several slides from a Social Capital deck showing alarming trends in public sentiment toward AI data centers, clearly moving deeply negative. 

Charts

AI has a perception problem - and it's getting a lot more political:

• The first chart shows net favorability of AI is negative (-20), worse than ICE (-18) and close to politically toxic categories.

• That's a big signal: AI is no longer viewed as neutral "innovation" - it's drifting into polarized, politically charged territory.

• Translation: regulatory risk is rising, not falling.

Surging power bills are the core at public backlash against AI 

• Power prices were relatively stable from 2014-19, then erupted post-2020.

• The narrative forming (rightly or wrongly): AI plus data centers = massive energy demand = higher bills

• Whether AI is the main driver doesn't matter - perception is locking in causality.

Local backlash is now measurable - and accelerating

• Data center projects facing opposition are soaring fast

• Roughly 40% of contested data centers get canceled

• That's a real constraint on future supply growth

The warnings about public backlash against data centers were well known by our readership for nearly two years. We noted this again last year.

Something we warned about a year ago... https://t.co/xECu4mNEGj pic.twitter.com/dcpcO7Uc78

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 6, 2026

Even with AI at their fingertips, the tech crowd's messaging on data centers remains awful.

The same tech bros who spent years backing Democrats and supporting de-growth climate policies, before suddenly pivoting to Trump, are now running into a disaster of their own making. The public is already angry, and the political damage will be far from easy to unwind. Next time, they might want to fund politicians who prioritize grid security over a fake climate crisis. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 20:30

US Tests Mach-5 Hypersonic Missile In Joint Army-Navy Launch

Authored by Georgina Jedikovska via Interesting Engineering,

The U.S. has carried out a successful launch of a hypersonic missile made to travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5, meaning over five times the speed of sound, which allows it to cover vas distances in a matter of minutes.

A common hypersonic missile launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on March 26, 2026. via DoW

The launch of the common hypersonic missile, which is capable of covering more than 3,836 miles per hour (mph), was conducted as part of a joint test by the US Army and Navy.

According to the U.S. Department of War, the event took place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the state of Florida. The push is part of the U.S.’ ongoing efforts to develop advanced strike capabilities.

“The U.S. Army’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive Fires, in partnership with the US Navy’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive Strategic Systems Programs, conducted a successful launch of a common hypersonic missile from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on March 26, 2026,” the U.S. Department of War stated.

A joint military test

Designed to travel faster than Mach 5, hypersonic weapons are considered a key part of future warfare and a military technology breakthrough. Their high speed makes them difficult to detect and intercept with existing defense systems.

The latest test by the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy marks another step toward deploying a shared hypersonic missile system. It is developed for both land- and sea-based platforms, and aims to help accelerate deployment and reduce costs.

Officials noted that the missile is being designed to strike time-sensitive, heavily defended, and high-value targets with minimal warning. What’s more, its extreme speed significantly reduces enemy reaction time.

“The Army and Navy partnership to field a common hypersonic missile across land- and sea-based platforms supports the National Defense Strategy by accelerating timelines, reducing costs, and delivering a highly survivable capability to defeat time-sensitive, heavily defended, and high-value targets at speeds exceeding Mach 5,” the U.S. Department of War continued in a statement shared on April 2.

Hypersonic push continues

According to reports, the test is part of a larger Pentagon plan to quickly roll out advanced technologies for combat use. On November 17, the US Department of War said that hypersonic weapons are one of six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs) seen as essential for battlefield advantage.

“Our adversaries are moving fast, but we will move faster,” Emil Michael, under secretary of war for research and engineering, revealed in a press release. “The warfighter is not asking for results tomorrow; they need them today.”

The six areas include Applied Artificial Intelligence (AAI), biomanufacturing (BIO), Contested Logistics Technologies (LOG), Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance (Q-BID), Scaled Directed Energy (SCADE), and Scaled Hypersonics (SHY). All are aimed at strengthening battlefield performance.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said at the time that the nation’s military has long been at the forefront of military power. “Under Secretary Emil Michael’s six Critical Technology Areas will ensure that our warriors never enter a fair fight and have the best systems in their hands for maximum lethality.”

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, turning innovation into battlefield advantage will secure future dominance. “The War Department is committed to remaining the most deadly fighting force on planet Earth,” Hegseth concluded.

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 19:15

US Secretly Repositions Bulk Of Stealth Cruise Missiles For Iran War

President Trump has set a Tuesday evening deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran facing severe consequences if it refuses. Trump’s messaging suggests the next phase of the conflict could shift toward strikes on power plants, bridges, and other critical infrastructure nationwide.

New reporting from Bloomberg suggests that the Department of War shifted a large share of its JASSM-ERs, formerly the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range, a long-range, conventional, air-launched stealth cruise missile fired from bomber aircraft and fighter jets, from Pacific theater stockpiles and U.S. warehouses to bases supporting the Gulf theater.

Sources told the outlet that the JASSM-ERs shifted out of U.S. warehouses in late March were being delivered to Central Command bases or to Fairford in the UK.

Neither the report nor its sources disclosed all the CENTCOM bases to which the stealth cruise missiles were being sent.

In recent days, large waves of U.S. transport planes have been observed flying from the U.S. into Europe, suggesting the DoW may already be laying the groundwork for resupplying munitions to the Gulf theater.

Bloomberg noted, "After the moves, only about 425 JASSM-ERs out of a prewar inventory of 2,300 will remain available for the rest of the globe. That would be roughly enough for 17 B-1B bombers on a single mission. Another 75 or so are 'unserviceable' because of damage or technical faults."

The Air Force has described the JASSM-ER as having a range of more than 500 nautical miles, compared to about 200 nautical miles for the earlier JASSM.

The JASSM-ER allows U.S. forces to strike Iranian targets from farther away and with lower risk to aircrews - and comes after multiple U.S. military aircraft have been shot down, resulting in daring rescues of the crewmen.

The Air Force noted the JASSM-ER is already integrated into the B-1, B-2, B-52H, F-15E, and F-16, allowing many air-delivered launch options.

The movement of these stealth cruise missile stockpiles may suggest that if Iran does not agree to reopen the Strait by Tuesday evening, and also agree to some form of ceasefire, the next phase of the conflict will begin with a barrage of these missiles.

 

 

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 18:50

What The Hell Is Wrong With Modern Parents?

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

A 17-month-old toddler had his hand instinctively grabbed by a wolf at ZooAmerica inside Hersheypark, Pennsylvania, while his parents sat glued to their phones just 25 to 30 feet away on a bench.

Reports note that the parents didn’t even notice until bystanders rushed in amid the commotion.

Chaos at Hersheypark zoo when toddler is injured by wolf while parents were 'distracted by their phones' https://t.co/dRAhaW1bsB

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) April 6, 2026

This isn’t some freak accident in the wild. It’s the predictable result of a society where doomscrolling trumps basic parental vigilance – even feet from a wolf enclosure.

The parents have now been charged, but the bigger story is the mentality that lets this happen in the first place.

The incident took place Saturday at the 11-acre North American wildlife park. The toddler squeezed through a small opening in a wooden barrier into a restricted area, then reached a hand through the metal fencing of the wolf habitat. One of the three gray wolves then made contact.

Derry Township Police described it plainly: one of the wolves in the enclosure “instinctively and naturally grabbed” onto the toddler’s hand. They stopped short of calling it a bite. Bystanders pulled the child free. Injuries were mercifully minor.

The parents, Carrie B. Sortor, 43, and Stephen J. B. Wilson, 61, both of Lititz, Pennsylvania, only learned what happened when chaos erupted. On Sunday they were each charged with one count of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of children, a decision made in consultation with the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office.

ZooAmerica confirmed the child never entered the actual enclosure. In a statement, officials stressed visitor expectations: “Visitors were expected to ‘remain within designated areas and closely supervise children at all times.’”

They added: “Our habitats are designed with multiple layers of protection, and clear signage and barriers are in place to help ensure safe viewing.” On the wolf’s reaction, the zoo noted: “This type of response is consistent with natural animal behavior, and was not a sign of aggression.” They also reminded visitors that “Our wolves are well-camouflaged and you might mistake a wolf for a rock.”

The charges send a clear message: supervision isn’t optional when you bring a toddler to see wild carnivores. Yet the parents’ decision to step away and focus on screens reflects something deeper and uglier in modern life.

Letting a small child wander near wolves while you check notifications isn’t just careless. It’s the logical endpoint of a culture that treats real-world responsibility as secondary to digital distraction.

Where were the parents?? Should be charges brought against them for not supervising their child.

Toddler injured by wolf at Zoo America after crawling under a fence to enclosure https://t.co/C6nzDzAdAn

— Paul (@PaulGYoung) April 6, 2026

I hope they remove that child from their care since they suck at it.

— G (@BeholdYah) April 6, 2026

Toddler Injured by Wolf After Crawling Under Pennsylvania Zoo's Exterior Metal Fence https://t.co/NHjzw8cNOV Typical Democrat parent of today, we are not responsible for the safety and future of the kids God gives us.

— bitcap (@BarbaraFain16) April 6, 2026

“…distracted by their phones” a good reason to lose custody of your child.
I see it all the time.

— Linda Klase (@LindaKlase) April 6, 2026

Keeping your eyes on your kids near wild animals should be common sense – not something police have to enforce after the fact.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 18:25

Top University Dubbed 'MIT Of Iran' Bombed Along With Several Airports

US-Israeli strikes have been on a noticeable uptick against Iranian institutions of higher learning over the last days. This has included a large-scale aerial assault on Tehran’s Sharif University, which is often dubbed the "MIT of Iran".

After this attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened Iranian retaliation, warning "aggressors will see our might." He said several other universities have also been struck over the last days:

Israeli-U.S. aggressors have bombed the MIT of Iran. This follows attacks on other universities.

1,400 years ago, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that even if knowledge was situated in the distant Pleiades, Iranians would be capable of attaining it.

Aggressors will see our might. pic.twitter.com/Dn3hSCaBNv

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 6, 2026

These recent attacks have had a high rate of casualties, at a moment the Trump administration is vowing to go harder, imposing a Tuesday midnight deadline for Tehran to agree to ceasefire - or else it will face an unprecedented bombing campaign against bridges and power plants.

Al Jazeera writes, "At least 34 people have been killed, including six children, as the United States and Israel carried out massive attacks across Iran, targeting a top university as well as residential areas, after US President Donald Trump set a Tuesday deadline for Tehran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power plants and bridges."

The report continues, "The Fars news agency reported on Monday that an air attack killed 23 people, including four girls and two boys aged below 10 years, in Tehran province’s Baharestan County."

Neither the US nor Israel divulged the reasons behind attacking university campuses. Many of the students at these very campuses were involved in the January protests. The US claims to be "helping" the protesters through the Trump-ordered massive bombing campaign.

One regional report says that at least 30 Iranian colleges and universities have suffered damage amid the ongoing attacks.

Shahid Beheshti University in northern Tehran was attacked last Friday. It issued a statement saying: "This hostile act not only targets the security of academics and the country’s scientific environment, but is also a clear attack on reason, research, and freedom of thought."

Damage at Sharif University, WANA News

Trump has threatened to bomb Iran "back to the Stone Age" - and that is precisely what appears to be in progress. An advanced Iranian civilization, with scientific know-how, is seen as a threat in Israel, which believes Tehran has long sought to achieve nuclear weapons status.

Airports have also been frequently targeted, with Israeli officials saying at the start of this week that dozens of aircraft and helicopters have been taken out - including "Bahram Airport, Mehrabad Airport and Azmayesh Airport" - according to regional media.

* * * Sale ends Friday

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 18:00

Supreme Court Clears Way For Dismissal Of Contempt Case Against Steve Bannon

Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 6 cleared the way for the Trump administration to dismiss the criminal contempt case against Steve Bannon over his failure to honor congressional subpoenas.

Steve Bannon attends a court hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Nov. 12, 2024. Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images

The high court granted Bannon’s petition in an unsigned order. The court did not explain its order. No justices dissented.

The Supreme Court sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for further consideration, as that court considers a pending motion to dismiss the indictment.

Bannon, an ally of President Donald Trump who served in the first Trump White House, was already convicted and imprisoned for four months in 2024 in the contempt case, but both Bannon and the Trump administration now want the case to be thrown out.

Bannon had been convicted by a federal jury in the nation’s capital on two counts of contempt of Congress for not providing documents or testimony to a Democratic-led House committee that was investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, security breach at the U.S. Capitol. At that time of the breach, Congress was in the process of certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. Joe Biden was inaugurated as president on Jan. 20, 2021.

Bannon had said the committee’s investigation and the charges later brought against him by the Biden administration were politically motivated.

At the sentencing hearing, prosecutor J.P. Cooney said Bannon opted to “thumb his nose at Congress,” adding that Bannon was “not above the law, and that’s what makes this case important.”

The Supreme Court turned away Bannon’s request to delay his imprisonment while the appeal played out. He served the sentence and was released a week before Trump beat then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, in November 2024.

Bannon filed a petition with the Supreme Court in October 2025, asking the justices to throw out his convictions that were made under 2 U.S.C. Section 192, the criminal contempt-of-Congress statute.

The petition said the law is the only federal criminal statute in which “willful” mens rea—a legal term meaning criminal intent—requires merely “intentional” conduct. In that law, Congress criminalized “willfully ... [defaulting]” on a legally authorized congressional subpoena, the petition said.

The D.C. Circuit found that “willfully” required only intentional conduct, which meant the government did not have to prove the subpoena recipient understood his conduct was unlawful.

Three circuit court judges dissented from that court’s May 2025 ruling, finding that interpretation was inconsistent with 150 years of caselaw, violated basic rules of legal interpretation, and would seriously harm the separation of powers.

The separation of powers is a constitutional doctrine that divides the government into three branches to prevent any single branch from accumulating too much power.

The Supreme Court’s longtime position is that in the criminal context, “to prove willfulness, the Government must demonstrate that an individual knew that his conduct was unlawful,” the petition said.

“Congress conspicuously omitted ‘willfully’ when criminalizing a different set of actions. The use of two different mens rea requirements demonstrates that ‘willfully’ was meant to impose a heightened standard,” the petition added.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a brief in February supporting Bannon’s petition.

“The government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice,” the brief said.

The government has filed a motion with the federal district court in which Bannon was convicted asking for the indictment to be dismissed with prejudice, the brief said. A dismissal with prejudice means the same charges cannot be refiled.

Bannon has had other legal challenges. In February 2025, he entered a guilty plea in New York state court to charges of deceiving donors in a private fundraising effort to complement Trump’s proposal to build a wall at the U.S.–Mexico border. Bannon was not sentenced to incarceration.

At the end of his first term, Trump pardoned Bannon after he and three others were involved in a campaign to build barriers along the southern border but were accused of keeping some of the money they raised.

Bannon had entered a not guilty plea and said the charges were a “political hit job.”

Approached by The Epoch Times, Bannon declined to comment on the Supreme Court’s new ruling.

The Epoch Times reached out to the DOJ for comment. No reply was received by publication time.

Reuters and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 17:40

Federal Appeals Court Reinstates $656 Million Judgment Against Palestinian Authorities

Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,

A federal appellate court has agreed to reinstate a $656 million judgment against Palestinian authorities for Americans killed or wounded in attacks by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority while in Israel.

The ruling from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was issued in the wake of a Supreme Court decision authorizing such suits for victims of international terrorism in a legal saga that’s been ongoing since the mid-2010s.

“We conclude that the original judgment for the plaintiffs should be reinstated. That conclusion is consistent with the plain import of the Supreme Court’s decision,” the judges said in a decision dated March 30.

The Supreme Court’s decision directly overturned a prior ruling made by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on the matter.

The case has its earliest origins in a law passed by Congress in 1992, the Anti-Terrorism Act, which permitted victims of international terror to sue the offender.

In 2014, in the case Sokolow v. PLO, the PLO was successfully sued under that law in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In the case, victims were awarded $218.5 million in damages by a jury—tripled to $655.5 million under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The victims and their families have stated that Palestinian agents were either directly involved in the attacks or helped incite them.

The Palestinians have consistently argued that the cases shouldn’t be allowed in American courts.

In 2016, the case was brought before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. In their decision, circuit judges tossed out the verdict from the lower court, and ruled that U.S. courts had no jurisdiction over international actors in non-U.S. countries.

Frustrated by the ruling, Congress in 2019 passed the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (PSJVTA), which sought to create a legislative carve-out to ensure that lawsuits against the PLO and Palestinian Authority could move forward.

The legislation stated that the PLO and Palestinian Authority had “consented” to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts if they either paid martyr benefits to terrorists or their families or if they maintained any non-United Nations offices in the United States.

In 2023, the matter came again before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and the court held that the PSJVTA was unconstitutional. Its ruling stated that Congress could not simply “deem” an action to constitute consent to U.S. jurisdiction without running afoul of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

In a unanimous decision in June 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of victims, overturning the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling that the Fifth Amendment was violated by the PSJVTA.

With the vacation overturned, the courts will now move toward enforcement of the lower court ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, although collecting the funds from the PLO may meet with practical obstacles.

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 17:00

Wyoming's Helium Empire Ascends As Qatar Gas Goes Flat

Readers have already been well briefed, see here and here, that roughly one-third of global helium supply has been disrupted, setting the perfect storm of chaos to spread across high-tech industries, particularly semiconductors. The shock is being driven by shipping restrictions through the Gulf and the shutdown of output from top producer Qatar, where damage to the Ras Laffan complex could keep supplies constrained for years. 

As the U.S.-Iran conflict enters its second month, one of the clearest second-order effects of the widening Gulf energy shock is the rewiring of global energy flows.

Buyers are already being forced to reassess the risks of concentrated energy exposure to the Gulf region, whether in crude and refined products or in LNG and helium, as war damage to major LNG export facilities in Qatar and Hormuz-related shipping constraints suggest energy flows could remain impaired for a prolonged period. Some of the countries most exposed to Gulf disruptions are in Asia, Africa, and Europe, as well as California in the U.S.

The good news for global buyers seeking more reliable alternatives to Gulf energy products is a theme we pointed out last month: American LNG exporters in the Gulf of America stand to be major beneficiaries of the disruption.

Adding to that theme, UBS analysts led by Manav Gupta said ExxonMobil stands out as a major beneficiary of the helium shock.

"Qatar was expected to increase its share of global capacity to 34% over the next five years; however, damage to the Ras Laffan facility could delay this expansion," Gupta noted. But as it has turned out, the head-to-head race with the U.S. in LNG export capacity has paused for now, as the U.S. pulls ahead.

2025 Helium production by country

Gupta continued, noting that XOM is set to dominate the global helium market through its facilities in Wyoming:

XOM's LaBarge facility in Wyoming, provides 20% of the world's supply, which has not been impacted by recent events in the Middle East. With an estimated eight decades worth of helium left to produce there, LaBarge is poised to play a significant role through the end of this century.

This facility, is capable of producing ~1.4 billion cubic feet per year of Grade A helium. With over 30% of global capacity disrupted, this location will play a key role in meeting global needs for Helium which is a critical element for many advanced technologies, like MRIs for healthcare, rockets for space exploration, and microchips for advanced computing.

Extracting helium was not part of LaBarge's original design when the facility began producing natural gas in the mid-1980s. After large quantities of helium were discovered underground, it soon became central to the facility's operation.

The two wars now stretching across Eurasia - the Russia-Ukraine conflict and, now, the U.S.-Iran conflict - are accelerating a rewiring of global energy flows toward suppliers seen as more stable and secure, above all the U.S.

Professional subscribers can read the full note on why UBS says XOM is a "net beneficiary of the current helium market tightness" at our new Marketdesk.ai portal.

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 16:40

Ex-CIA Analyst: What The Hell Happened With The Pilot Rescue Op In Iran?

Authored by former CIA officer Larry Johnson

Iran's air defense system succeeded on Friday, April 3, in downing a US F-15E over Iran. There is some dispute and confusion about the exact location (more about that later). The pilot and the WSO (i.e., Weapons System Officer) both successfully ejected but were separated. The pilot was quickly rescued by the Combat Search and Rescue (i.e., CSAR) and the two Pave Hawk helicopters ferrying him back to safety were hit, but managed to make it to Kuwait — despite trailing visible black smoke.

The WSO was not so lucky. He reportedly landed 5 miles northwest of where he was ultimately rescued. I do not deny that he was recovered by US Special Operations forces on a ridge on a mountain — The red circle on the left hand side of the photo is the reported location of the pilot, the red circle on the right hand side of the photo is the airfield where the US Special Forces landed.

There are some real oddities about this story. The WSO is normally a Lieutenant or a Captain… This WSO is a Colonel who is the Vice Wing Commander at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (MSAB) in Jordan. This helps explain the large number of assets devoted to finding and rescuing him. A variety of press reports claim he suffered a broken leg or a broken ankle. This raises a legitimate question… How did a man with a broken leg walk five miles and then climb a mountain? I’m not suggesting it is an impossible task, but it does raise some questions about the accuracy of the US military’s account of events.

Now here is the kicker… The geolocated wreckage of the C-130s which were apparently using a local “agricultural airstrip” (see the photo above) just happens to be right over a mountain, about 35km (21 miles) away, from Isfahan’s nuclear facility, where Iran’s ‘near-weapons grade’ enriched uranium is alleged to be stored. Was this whole affair a botched raid by US Special Operations forces to seize Iranian uranium for the Isfahan facility?

Before giving you my opinion, I want you to consider some other accounts that are circulating. The first up is Simplicius’ Substack article: It’s Official: US Boots-On-Ground Deep Inside Iran Amidst Another Day of Humiliating Losses. Simplicius claims that a large-scale US rescue operation for the second crew member (weapons systems officer) of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle has effectively confirmed the first official U.S. “boots on the ground” inside Iran. What the US presented as a straightforward combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) mission involved significant special operations forces penetrating deep into Iranian territory, resulting in heavy US losses of aircraft according to Iranian reports and open-source evidence.

Simplicius argues the “rescue” narrative may have served as cover or coincided with a broader objective: the operation was centered precisely in the area where Iran stores significant enriched uranium and nuclear-related materials. He suggests this marks a dangerous escalation, with US special operations forces now operating deep inside Iran — the first acknowledged “boots on the ground” in the current conflict.

Anthony Aguilar, a retired Special Operations officer, has a slightly different take. He offers the following hypothesis:

The rescue operation expanded to become the desired Delta Force, JSOC, SOF, ST-6 high-risk operation to ALSO seize the uranium in Iran; hence the need for so many operators, support, aircraft, etc. This WAS intended to be that operation. It failed. So what happened to the aircraft. I do not believe that they were “stuck”. I have seen MC-130Js plow through dirt, mud, snow, gravel, etc. I doubt they were stuck. It is more likely that the aircraft took hits upon entry and also likely took hits and damage while on the ground at the hasty FARP at the old airfield in Isfahan, “conveniently” close to where the suspected uranium may have been stored.

The there is Greg Bagwell, who is currently President UK Air & Space Power Association, a Podcaster, a RUSI Distinguished Fellow and a former RAF Senior Commander. He wrote the following on X:

Some may be wondering why the US flew 2 x MC-130 into a landing zone in Iran rather than use other types available. The clue is in the use of the Night Stalker AH-6 Little Bird Helicopters, which were also destroyed at the forward landing site. The WSO was located a few hundred kms inside Iran and it was probably considered too risky to fly Helos all the way in and out after so much prior warning had been given, and after the hits sustained when extracting the pilot on Day 1. But, the location of the WSO high up in the mountains and with what sounds like an injury, still needed the sort of assistance that only a Helicopter could provide. Step up the Night Stalker AH-6 Little Bird.

It’s transportable by C-130 and can be readied for flight in minutes from off loading. So all that was needed was somewhere to land a C-130 far enough away from trouble, but close enough to the downed airman. Meanwhile the AH-6 Little Bird Helicopters would have picked up the downed airman and brought him back to the airstrip. Unfortunately, the surface of the runway appears to have been unable to support a C-130. As a result, some De Havilland Canada Dash 8s (yes the irony!) were sent in to extract personnel, but these could not have carried the AH-6 Little Birds. So the only option was to destroy both the MC-130 and the AH-6 helicopters, rather than risk flying the latter out. So that’s why we didn’t see a V-22 Osprey or a Sikorsky MH-60/HH-60 Pave Hawk be involved – it was a calculation based on risk and utility. Some will see parallels with the Desert One strip disaster on Operation Eagle Claw in 1980, but this was a calculated risk that worked.

AH-6 Little Bird

Now let me tell you what I think happened. The shoot down of the F-15E was not a ruse to disguise a planned Special Ops raid on the nuclear site in Isfahan. It was an unlucky event for the pilot and the WSO. Given the rank of the WSO — and the highly classified knowledge he has about US operations in the Gulf and in Iran — recovering him became a top priority. The urgency of the situation resulted in the JSOC unit (I’m assuming they are based in Kuwait) being alerted to join the CSAR effort. The two C-130Js probably were already loaded with two AH-6 Little Birds. I think it was pure serendipity that the missing WSO was located northwest of the rudimentary air strip that the JSOC unit had been planning to use to stage its raid on Isfahan. Their familiarity with the area, based on their prior planning for the Isfahan raid, resulted in them being tasked to recover the WSO in lieu of the designated CSAR unit, which is manned by Pararescue Jumpers aka PJs (who, in my opinion, are the baddest asses in Special Ops).

We still do not know why the C-130s were not able to take off and that two planes from the 427th Special Operations Squadron flying C295s were summoned to carryout the extraction of the US forces, including the WSO.

This whole fiasco may be a blessing in disguise. The loss of a number of key air assets and the exposure of the remote airfield within shouting distance of Isfahan may compel the US commanders to cancel the planned raid to capture nuclear material from Iran.

A lot of skepticism has emerged surrounding the downed pilots narrative...

As i wrote yesterday, the Americans were trying to create FARP (Forward Arming & Refueling Point) near that mountain which happens to be 25 Kms south of Iran’s Isafahan Nuclear Facility Tunnels at 32.585522° N, 51.814933° E.

In an article just last month, Rafael Grossi stated… https://t.co/7uiHaqHKqW pic.twitter.com/b6rqbxTD0P

— Navroop Singh (@TheNavroopSingh) April 6, 2026

While the US forces, like chess pieces, had been assembled and were in place on Friday, April 3rd, to carry out the mission against Isfahan, the Commanding Admiral at CENTCOM may be having second thoughts and is communicating his concerns about the Op-Sec compromise to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I only know one thing for certain — we are not yet getting the truthful story about the rescue of the WSO on Saturday.

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 16:20

UBS: Trump's Historic Military Budget Request Could Boost Beaten-Down Defense Stocks

U.S. defense stocks showed signs of stabilizing in April after tumbling since Operation Epic Fury began in late February and sustaining a Mach bloodbath. The improvement followed Friday's White House proposal to lift military spending sharply, to roughly $1.5 trillion in 2027. 

UBS analyst Allyson Gordon said Monday morning that the White House budget request "should help sentiment," which has deteriorated since the U.S.-Iran conflict began. Last week, Gordon asked, "Why is U.S. defense performance lackluster?"

Earlier, the analyst said:

Defense stocks are in focus after Trump requested a $1.5 trn FY2027 defense budget on Friday. The headline is positive for the group, though market reaction remains to be determined.

On the supportive side, defense stocks have underperformed expectations since the Iran conflict began for several reasons, and the size of the budget request should help sentiment. However, investors remain skeptical that Congress will ultimately pass a $1.5 trn budget, raising the question of whether this is "as good as it gets."

Analyst Gavin Parsons outlined the key elements of the proposal and the relative winners and losers. Missiles appear to be a major beneficiary, reinforcing the bullish narrative for RTX. Shipbuilding also stands out as a positive (GD, HII), while the proposed B‑21 reduction was a surprise negative for NOC. That said, investor positioning is likely to reflect continued uncertainty around what ultimately makes it through Congress.

From here, the proposal moves to Congress, which must pass a budget by September 30 to avoid a shutdown or continuing resolution at the start of FY2027 (October 1).

The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, or ITA, a basket of major U.S. defense firms, initially ramped in the early days of the U.S.-Iran conflict but then dumped into a deep 16% correction from the early March high. By the end of the month, and into late last week, ITA began to stabilize, up 6.5% from the low.

Last week, in a separate note, Melius analyst Scott Mikus upgraded RTX to a "Buy" from "Hold," citing "Epic Fury tailwinds."

Mikus said, "Given the need to replace missiles, missile interceptors, damaged radars, aircraft, and other equipment used in Operation Epic Fury, we are raising our estimates and price targets for the large defense primes."

"We see margin tailwinds for defense contractors as they move past stale-priced contracts and receive awards for mature production programs that are margin accretive," added Mikus.

Now the question is: How will defense stocks respond to President Trump's Tuesday evening deadline for Iran to reopen the Hormuz chokepoint?

*IRAN REJECTS A CEAESFIRE IN REPLY TO US VIA PAKISTAN: IRNA https://t.co/yrWftZNKvI

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 6, 2026

IRNA's foreign policy correspondent says that its response, which consists of ten paragraphs, Iran has emphasized the need for a permanent end to the war, taking into account Iran's considerations, while rejecting a ceasefire.

This answer includes a set of demands from Iran,… https://t.co/anVYR1uZVm

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 6, 2026

Any rejection of a ceasefire could result in the next phase of the conflict, one in which the U.S. begins targeting critical infrastructure nodes and continues to drain key stockpiles of missiles and bombs that will clearly need to be replaced at some point, hence Mikus's note on "Epic Fury tailwinds."

Professional subscribers can read the latest defense stocks notes at our new Marketdesk.ai portal

Tyler Durden Mon, 04/06/2026 - 15:40