US lost nearly $2B worth of military equipment in first 4 days of strikes against Iran

Tens Of Millions Of Taxpayers May Be Owed IRS Refunds From Pandemic Era: Watchdog Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The IRS’s internal watchdog has stated that tens of millions of U.S. taxpayers may be owed refunds or abatements of penalties or interest during the COVID-19 federal disaster period. A 1040 Internal Revenue Service tax form, in this file photo. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times “The bottom line: You may be entitled to a refund or reduction of assessed penalties and interest,” the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) stated in a...

Trump Teleprompter Operator Made $100K Betting On Kalshi Markets Tied To Speeches Authored by Nate Kostar via CoinTelegraph.com, US President Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator is in talks with federal regulators to settle allegations that he used nonpublic information to profit from bets on Kalshi markets tied to the president’s speeches, ABC News reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant who has operated Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, allegedly placed bets on more than a dozen markets tied to Trump’s speeches, generating more than...

Supertanker Rates Hit Six-Year High: Here's What Driving It Global very large crude carrier (VLCC) rates have jumped to six-year highs due to two recent catalysts: first, a growing war-risk premium tied to the possibility of a US-Iran conflict, and second, ongoing consolidation in fleet ownership that is tightening vessel availability. Let's begin by noting that war-risk insurance premiums are rapidly being priced into VLCC tanker rates. The Strait of Hormuz has once again come into focus as the world's most important energy chokepoint, where any flare-up in a US-Iran...