US Has Lost About a Dozen MQ-9 Reaper Drones in Iran War

China Eyes Iran's Postwar Reconstruction In Bid To Lock Up Future Oil Supplies Beijing is positioning itself to lead the post-war reconstruction effort in Tehran - a move analysts suggest could secure China long-term access to critical Iranian oil reserves. The diplomatic groundwork was laid during a recent meeting in New Delhi between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, according to Nikkei Asia. The talks underscore China's broader strategy to expand its economic and diplomatic footprint in the Middle East amid the...

US Mortgage Debt Hits $13.2 Trillion, Average Household Owes Nearly $109,000 Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times, America’s mortgage debt continues to escalate, hitting the $13.2 trillion mark, according to an April 30 WalletHub report. The personal finance website and app indicated that the average U.S. household owes nearly $109,000 in outstanding mortgage balances and that mortgage debt has remained on an upward trend over the past few years. “Mortgage rates are the highest they’ve been in around a decade, and home prices have seen a meteoric rise in recent years...

Crypto And AI Could Be Dirty Words On 2026 Midterm Campaign Trail Authored by Aaron Wood via CoinTelegraph.com, The AI and crypto industries have made headlines over the past year thanks to the impressive war chests amassed by corporate political action committees (PACs). Profligate spending during the last federal elections in the US has led to unprecedented policy changes favoring the crypto industry, with indications that a full legislative framework in the form of the CLARITY Act is on its way to becoming law.  But this hasn’t endeared the crypto industry to voters....