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Navy Secretary John Phelan Abruptly Departs Trump Admin With No Explanation, "Effective Immediately"

In a terse, one-paragraph statement released this afternoon, the Pentagon announced the immediate departure of Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan, effective immediately.

Navy Secretary John Phelan speaks at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 22, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Undersecretary of the Navy Hung Cao has been elevated to Acting Secretary of the Navy. The announcement, issued by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell (Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs), offered no explanation for the move and simply thanked Phelan for his service “on behalf of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Deputy.”

STATEMENT:

Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately.

On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy.

We wish…

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) April 22, 2026

The timing of the firing could hardly be more dramatic. The United States remains engaged in active military operations against Iran following the launch of Operation Epic Fury on February 28 - a joint U.S.-Israel campaign targeting Iranian missile stockpiles, naval assets, and defense infrastructure. Although a ceasefire took effect around April 8, tensions remain extremely high. The U.S. Navy is currently enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports in and near the Strait of Hormuz, announced in mid-April after diplomatic talks collapsed. Recent incidents have included the seizure of Iranian-flagged vessels attempting to run the blockade, Iranian attacks on commercial shipping, and ongoing enforcement actions that continue to roil global oil markets and international shipping lanes.

Phelan, a Palm Beach-based private equity investor, art collector, and major Trump donor who had poured millions into supporting the president, had no prior military or Navy experience when he was nominated in late 2024. Despite criticism over his lack of relevant background and potential conflicts of interest stemming from investments in defense contractors such as Dell and Palantir, he was confirmed by the Senate. During his roughly thirteen-month tenure (March 2025–April 22, 2026), Phelan focused heavily on bureaucratic efficiency: he axed Biden-era climate and DEI contracts and grants, reportedly saving approximately $300 million. He also pushed aggressive initiatives to accelerate shipbuilding, increase lethality across the fleet, and deepen partnerships with private-sector technology firms like Palantir.

Just yesterday, Phelan had delivered remarks at the Navy’s annual conference. In February, reports surfaced that he had flown aboard Jeffrey Epstein’s plane in 2006—well before Epstein’s first arrest. Phelan maintained that he was invited by someone else, had no further contact with Epstein, and addressed the matter publicly at the time.

Stepping into the role is Hung Cao, a Navy Captain with more than 25 years of service.

A Naval Academy graduate and decorated combat veteran, Cao’s record includes extensive experience in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), diving, special operations, and surface warfare. He fled Vietnam as a child refugee from communism, later balancing Navy budgets at the Pentagon and deploying multiple times. Cao ran for U.S. Senate in Virginia with President Trump’s endorsement and was confirmed as Under Secretary of the Navy in October 2025. Supporters have hailed him as a “badass” warrior with genuine operational credibility—the exact opposite profile of the donor-turned-political-appointee he is replacing.

Multiple outlets are already describing Phelan’s removal as a firing orchestrated by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The move fits a broader pattern of rapid turnover at the top of the defense establishment under the current administration, driven by demands for loyalty and warfighting readiness. Earlier this year, the Army’s top general was also removed.

Meanwhile, Democrats are pouncing. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), framed the sudden change as evidence that things are not going well inside the administration. 

When they fire the Chief of Army and the Secretary of the Navy during a war, they know it’s going badly.

— Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (@SenLBR) April 22, 2026

As of this writing, no public explanation has emerged from the Pentagon or the White House. 

The Navy’s operational chain of command - Chief of Naval Operations, fleet commanders, and forward-deployed forces - remains unchanged and fully in control. Still, the abrupt leadership transition at the top of the Department of the Navy (now operating under the rebranded Department of War) during active combat operations is historic in its speed and opacity.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 20:14

After The Bombing, Tehran Confronts Widespread Ruin

After more than a month of conflict, a fragile ceasefire has allowed people in Tehran to begin assessing the scale of destruction, according to a new Bloomberg report.

The city, home to around nine million people, now bears widespread signs of damage, from shattered buildings to entire blocks reduced to rubble.

Although the truce has been extended for now, talks between the US and Iran have stalled, with major disagreements still unresolved around nuclear activity, regional control, and military influence.

The Bloomberg piece notes that the toll has been severe. At least 3,300 people have been killed across Iran, including civilians, and the physical damage is extensive. Because of restrictions on imagery and reporting, the full picture is still unclear, but satellite-based analysis suggests more than 7,600 buildings nationwide have been damaged or destroyed.

In Tehran alone, roughly 2,800 structures were hit. These include not just military or industrial sites, but also homes, businesses, and public facilities, reflecting how tightly intertwined different parts of the city are.

Experts note that even when strikes are intended to be precise, the reality in a dense urban environment is far messier. In Tehran, residential neighborhoods, commercial areas, and government facilities are often located side by side, making it difficult to isolate targets. As a result, the impact of attacks spreads beyond their intended focus, affecting civilian life in ways that are hard to contain.

The war has also deepened Iran’s existing economic and social pressures. Even before the conflict, the country was dealing with high inflation, environmental strain, and ongoing sanctions. Now, reconstruction costs are estimated at roughly $270 billion—close to the size of Iran’s entire economy—and inflation could climb above 70%.

Many businesses have shut down or are operating at reduced capacity, housing damage is widespread, and unemployment is expected to rise, increasing the risk of broader poverty.

Outside the capital, strikes have hit key industrial and energy hubs, disrupting supply chains and production. Damage to major steel plants and petrochemical facilities is already affecting other industries, from manufacturing to food packaging. These knock-on effects are likely to compound the economic strain in the months ahead.

Even if the ceasefire holds, rebuilding will take years, and the path forward remains uncertain as the country grapples with both physical destruction and deep structural challenges.

The uncertainty around what comes next is weighing heavily on residents and policymakers alike. While Iranian officials have floated ideas such as seeking reparations or leveraging control of key trade routes like the Strait of Hormuz to help fund reconstruction, any meaningful recovery will depend on political stability and the easing of international tensions.

Without that, access to capital, materials, and foreign investment will remain constrained, complicating efforts to rebuild critical infrastructure and restore economic activity.

There is also a broader question about how reconstruction will unfold. In past conflicts, rebuilding has sometimes helped drive recovery, but it can also deepen existing imbalances depending on how resources are allocated. As one expert put it, “damage does not only affect the structures that are hit, it also ripples out,” underscoring how the effects extend beyond physical destruction into the social and economic fabric of the city.

In Tehran, where housing, commerce, and public services are tightly interconnected, the challenge will be not just repairing what was lost, but restoring stability in a system already under strain.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 20:05

Watch: Jon Stewart Gives Trump Rare Credit

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

President Trump’s executive order to slash red tape and accelerate psychedelic therapies for America’s veterans is drawing praise from an unlikely source: Jon Stewart.

In a segment on his show, the longtime Trump critic paused his usual routine to acknowledge the move, calling it a genuine win for those who served. 

The order, signed just days earlier in the Oval Office with Joe Rogan present, directs the FDA to fast-track reviews of promising treatments like ibogaine for PTSD, traumatic brain injury, depression, and addiction.

Jon Stewart gives Trump rare credit for doing veterans “a solid” by fast-tracking ibogaine and other psychedelic treatments for PTSD.

“Ladies and gentlemen… I want to give credit where credit is due. We don’t obviously often do this. The president did a solid.”

“Over the… pic.twitter.com/j5SUpRmVuG

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) April 21, 2026

“Ladies and gentlemen… I want to give credit where credit is due. We don’t obviously often do this. The president did a solid,” Stewart said.

He continued: “Over the weekend, President Trump signed an executive order… fast-tracking the FDA process for novel psychedelic drug treatments for veterans suffering from all forms of PTSD and other psychiatric conditions, including addiction.”

Stewart even played footage from the signing ceremony, making fun of Trump’s distinctive pronunciation of “ibogaine” before catching himself. “I’m sorry. I’m falling into old habits. It’s good. You did a good thing. I’m nitpicking. I apologize,” he added. 

“A lot of the people are going to get the help they need,” Stewart concluded.

This marks a rare moment of cross-aisle recognition for a Trump policy that puts veterans’ lives ahead of decades-old bureaucratic barriers dating back to the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.

Earlier this month, Trump signed the directive titled “Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness” in the Oval Office on April 18, flanked by Rogan, RFK Jr., Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell.

Rogan, a longtime advocate for exploring these treatments after hearing from veterans and researchers, played a key role in bringing the issue to Trump’s attention. 

Rogan revealed the conversation that sparked swift action. After texting the president details on ibogaine’s potential for PTSD and opioid addiction, Trump replied almost immediately: “Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.”

At UFC 327 in Miami, Trump personally confirmed the move to Rogan. “It’s done. We’re gonna take care of this. This is a good thing. It’s a good thing for the soldiers, good thing for everybody,” Rogan recounted.

The order expedites FDA reviews, establishes safe-use protocols, opens Right to Try pathways, boosts data sharing with the VA, and funds expanded studies—all focused on substances showing strong early results for treatment-resistant conditions.

Trump framed the urgency clearly during the signing: “Since 9/11, we’ve lost over 21x more veteran lives to suicide than on the battlefield… and today, we’re bringing them new hope.” He added that the policy would “ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life. They’ve been through so much.”

Rogan echoed the significance at the event: “For 56 years we’ve lived under those terrible conditions. We’re free of that now. Thanks to all these people… and thanks to President Trump.”

Ibogaine, in particular, has drawn attention from veterans’ groups and researchers. Preliminary data, including from Stanford studies on special operations vets, points to dramatic reductions in PTSD symptoms and opioid dependency after treatment—results that have driven desperate Americans to seek care abroad when blocked at home.

 

Stewart’s segment highlighted exactly that point: veterans who have exhausted conventional options now have a faster path to potentially life-changing therapies.

The timing couldn’t be more critical. Veterans continue to face sky-high suicide rates and addiction crises that standard treatments have failed to stem. By prioritizing evidence over ideology and results over inertia, the Trump administration is delivering where previous efforts stalled.

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Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 19:40

China's "National Team" Dumped ETFs In Q1 To Cool Overheating Market

For years, and especially after the local stock bubble burst in spectacular fashion a little over a decade ago, China's "National Team" - a polite euphemism for the country's Plunge Protection Team - could be relied upon to step in and provide a lending hand - or rather buying hand - to stabilize stocks in the nick of time. Well, it may be time to rename it to the Surge Protection Team

According to Bloomberg, China’s “national team” has stepped back from its dominant role in the country’s biggest stock ETFs, pointing to efforts to rein in an overheated rally earlier this year.

Central Huijin Investment Ltd - a core unit of China’s sovereign wealth fund that traditionally led a group of state-backed investors used to stabilize markets - cut its ownership in several key exchange‑traded funds to below the 20% disclosure threshold, according to first‑quarter filings. Its current stake is unclear and won't be reported until sometime in the summer. 

The disclosures, according to Bloomberg, offer the clearest confirmation yet that the national team cut a substantial portion of its ETF holdings in January, as turnover hit a record and the rally turned increasingly speculative, particularly in parts of the technology sector. They also indicate Beijing is no longer just propping up the market, but is willing to drain speculative excess — a break from past rescue playbooks.

Central Huijin and its asset management arm may have reduced their holdings by at least half in flagship products such as the 200 billion yuan ($29.3 billion) Huatai-PineBridge CSI 300 ETF. The two entities held 42.6% and 40% respectively as of the end of last year.

Even smaller funds such as the HuaAn SSE 180 ETF, previously 92% owned by the national team, reported no single shareholder above the 20% threshold, indicating the stakes were cut across the board. 

Quarterly ETF filings only require disclosure of investors with holdings of 20% or more, a threshold Central Huijin had consistently met until local stocks erupted higher in Q1.

While ownership levels can fluctuate as others trade, the sharp decline in total ETF units outstanding during the period suggests the market’s dominant buyer until recently played a decisive role in the outflows.

Remarkably, some of the National Team sales might have locked in gains of around 50%, based on the rise of the CSI 300 Index from early‑2024 lows, when the national team began aggressively buying ETFs to stem a market meltdown, through January this year, when the selling likely took place. The exact returns would depend on the specific ETFs and the timing of those purchases.

The scale of the stake reductions may become clearer with first-half filings due in the third quarter, when the identities and holdings of the top 10 investors are revealed.

Morgan Stanley estimates the national team sold about $80 billion of positions in January and February. Analysts including Laura Wang expect the money to be used for investing in longer-term, more “strategic and thematic” ETFs.

“The fact that they have relinquished this dominant position in ETFs implies that they have much more potential to create upside in the market going forward, sitting on cash, while their power to create downside is now diminished,” said Cheng Hao, fund manager at Zhejiang Feiluo Assets Management.

And now that the National Team is mostly in cash, local stocks can drop again and the government will be there to prop them up again. Rinse. Repeat. 

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 19:15

Tesla Slides After Unexpectedly Raising 2026 CapEx Guidance To $25BN

Update: In our original review of the Tesla earnings, which were solid enough to push the stock over $400 ahead of the earnings call, we said that something about the CapEx seemed off, namely that at just $2.5 billion in Q1 (and the reason why free cash flow was positive), Tesla's run-rate was about half behind its $20 billion full year capex projection.

TSLA free cash flow positive since Q1 capex was only $2.5BN, half the run-rate it should be implied by the $20BN guidance https://t.co/DI30b9ksR4 pic.twitter.com/xTIOQgSwy6

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 22, 2026

The company confirmed as much, with the CFO saying on the call that it would see negative free cash flow for the rest of 2026. 

But what really trapdoored the stock was Musk starting off the call by saying that Tesla is going to be “substantially increasing” their investments in the future and to expect to see significant increase in capital expenditures. How significant? Well, Tesla now see CapEx at a whopping $25 billion in 2026, a $5 billion increase from the previous guidance. How did Elon Musk justify this? Because, as Bloomberg's conference call readalong said, "Musk framed the warning that Tesla will ramp up CapEx in the context of (and yes I am paraphrasing) but: "
"everyone else did."

If that wasn't enough, Tesla also said it would significantly increase vehicle production, which in light of the company's surging car inventory and still rather tepid demand (unless of course gas goes to $5), could be a problem. And just to keep folks guessing about where even more cash burn could come from, Musk concludes saying that “Tesla is working on a lot of large, ambitious projects."

To be sure, TSLA is not the first company to be punished for raising Capex: both Meta and Microsoft tumbled last quarter after aggressive capex boosts, but at least they had comfortable positive free cash flow. Tesla does not, and suddenly the market is on edge.

As Karobaar Capital’s Haris Khurshid said on TSLA's postmarket stock reversal: “Higher capex pushes the payoff further out, which the market tends to push back on in the short term. The print pulls [the stock] up, then the call brings it back once the timeline comes into focus. Investors like the story but then keep resetting when they realize how much still needs to be delivered.”

So yeah: while Tesla hit all the right notes with its earnings report, the call was a mess, because as Bloomberg's Kit Carlson writes, "spending has been a huge concern for many investors and analysts, even ahead of this new increase" and sure enough, TSLA stock tumbled after hours, sliding from a session high of $406 to $377 before stabilizing around $383, erasing all after hours gains and then some.

* * *

Earlier:

Heading into today's TSLA earnings, Wall Street was braced for a miss, with debate only around how big it would be. Well, it wouldn't be an Elon Musk joint if there wasn't some big twist, and sure enough, the stocks is soaring after hour on what can only be described as a very big, and very unexpected beat.

Here is what the company reported for the first quarter:

• Rev. $22.39B, beating Est. $22.19B
• Adj EPS 41c, beating Est. 34c, the second straight quarter Tesla’s earnings beat expectations.
  • EPS 13c vs. 12c Y/Y
• Gross Margin 21.1%, beating Est. 17.7%
• Auto Gross Margin Ex-Reg Credit 19.2% vs 12.5% Y/Y
• Free Cash Flow positive $1.44B, beating est. Negative $1.86B

Perhaps the most interesting of the above, besides the modest beats in revenue (which benefited from positive FX impact of about $900 million in the quarter translating into $200 million at the bottom line; as well as higher average selling prices) and EPS, is that despite weak EV and energy unit sales, Tesla’s reported gross margins in both businesses are up. Generally, fixed costs spread over fewer units puts pressure on GPM, all else equal. The auto margin, less credits, of 19.2% is up q-o-q and y-o-y. In energy, despite lower revenue both sequentially and versus last year, Tesla reports what looks like a record gross margin for that business of almost 40%.

Yet while Tesla turned in higher auto gross margins than expected, given weak sales, that fades away when reading down the P&L: operating margin of just 4.2%. 

Meanwhile, earnings continue to subsist heavily on a diet of regulatory credit sales, which in Q1 dropped to 381 million from $337 million a year ago, and net interest income.

And visually:

Here is the qualitative YoY comparison:

Starting at the top, it's no surprise that that TSLA likes soaring gas prices, which have helped a "rebound in demand" in the core US market, to wit:  “We saw continued growth in demand for our vehicles in markets in APAC and South America, while also seeing a rebound of demand in both EMEA and North America.”

The surprisingly optimistic comments come several weeks after the automaker reported one of its worst quarters of auto sales in years. 

Here is how TSLA laid out its automotive business" We are focused on optimizing our vehicle product portfolio, with an emphasis on vehicles designed for a fully autonomous future. We continued the launch of Model 3 and Model Y trims globally, including the roll-out of the Model YL in markets outside of China and more affordable trims of both models. We also began deliveries of Cybertruck in the UAE."

Unlike recent quarters, we didn’t have an “other updates” section with a surprise investment, there’s minimal change in language and if anything it projects a lot of confidence in core business. In short, a "no surprises, no drama" print.

One key metric that is also key to Elon Musk’s pay package, is active FSD subscriptions. They were up slightly this quarter to 1.28 million from 1.1 million at the end of 4Q, and up a whoppint 51% YoY.

There were some working capital issues: global inventory spiked to 27 days, up from 15 days, which was to be expected given that Tesla produced more than 50,000 cars than it delivered in 4Q, but still that’s a lot of inventory to clear.

And speaking of inventory, Tesla has overcapacity in its factories, so now the company is rolling out the Model YL (Long) in “markets outside of China” and more affordable trims of both models. It also began deliveries of cybertruck in the UAE.

While energy storage had been Tesla’s fastest-growing sector but that trend failed to continue into the first quarter, when year-over-year revenue slipped 12% and quarterly deployments of 8.8 gigawatt-hours were the lowest in a year. This is what it had to say about the business:

"Progress continued at the new Megafactory outside Houston, which will produce the Megapack 3 for Megablock. Start of production is on track for later this year. We began meaningful customer deployments of Tesla’s first in-house designed solar panel produced at Gigafactory New York. The new panel has 18 individual power zones – 3x more than a conventional residential panel – enabling it to reliably produce more energy in shady conditions. Other innovations include improved aesthetics and faster and simpler installation." 

Turning to the far more important robotics business, the company expects the first large-scale Optimus factory to start in Q2. The first generation line, designed for 1 million robots a year, will replace the Model S and Model X lines in Fremont. The company is also preparing Gigafactory Texas for the second-generation line, which is being designed for long-term annual production capacity of 10 million robots.

Turning to AI, Tesla said that "Cortex 2 is now online and has started running training workloads." Tesla continues to ramp its onsite training infrastructure to ensure sufficient compute resources for the development of our AI products and services and "are also continuing our custom silicon development with Dojo 3 in an effort to reduce the cost of training over time."

In the battery business, "ramp has begun across our new battery and material factories, including LFP cells in Nevada, cathode material and lithium refining in Texas." Battery pack capacity continues to be the limiting factor on ramping our vehicle production the company said.

What is the company's other supporting infrastructure? This is what it had to say: "Gigafactory New York is now producing V4 Supercharging cabinets, which boast 3x the power density and 2x the number of stalls per cabinet compared to V3. Alongside the ramp of Tesla Semi, we are deploying public Megachargers, including our first one in Southern California. While we aim to leverage as much of our existing investments as possible, we continue to build out our supporting infrastructure for our vehicle and mobility businesses, including Robotaxi expansion, across established and growth markets around the world. In Q1, we added over 2,200 net new Supercharging stalls, growing the network 19% year-over-year. This year we look to increase our presence in Japan by doubling our service centers and expanding our Supercharger coverage in the world's third largest vehicle market"

The company's outlook was generally very favorable:

• Volume: "We are focused on maximum capacity utilization at our factories. Deliveries and deployments will be impacted by aggregate demand for our products, supply chain readiness and allocation decisions between sale to customers or use for our owned and operated fleet."
• Cash: "We will manage the businesses such that we ensure a strong balance sheet, maintaining sufficient liquidity to fund our product roadmap, long-term capacity expansion plans – including further vertical integration – and other expenses."
• Profit: "While we continue to execute on innovations to reduce the cost of manufacturing and operations, over time, we expect our hardwarerelated profits to be accompanied by an acceleration of AI, software and fleet-based profits."
• Product: "We continue to evolve and augment our product lineup with a focus on cost, scale and future monetization opportunities via services powered by our AI software. We remain focused on growing our sales volumes through a differentiated and efficiently managed product portfolio, which includes leveraging and optimizing our existing production capacity before building new factories and production lines. Cybercab, Tesla Semi and Megapack 3 are on schedule for volume production starting in 2026. First-generation production lines for Optimus are being installed in anticipation of volume production. Capacity build out and ramp related to our multi-year infrastructure initiatives, including AI compute, solar, battery material and semiconductor manufacturing are underway."

There was yet another sign of convergence between Elon Musk’s companies: 

“Our partnership with SpaceX aims to build the largest chip fab ever: vertically integrating logic, memory and advanced packaging to allow for rapid iteration as we anticipate greater chip demand than what existing and planned industry capacity can accommodate. This begins with the Tesla-owned Research Fab on our Gigafactory Texas campus.”

As for Terafab, we already knew that this mega project would start with a pilot line. But what’s interesting is this is Tesla’s and not a part of the joint-venture with SpaceX/xAI. Here’s what the deck says:

“This begins with the Tesla-owned Research Fab on our Gigafactory Texas campus.”

Last but not least, TSLA surprised the market by reporting a positive free cash flow...

... but Tesla pulled a number of levers:

• Stock-based comp nearly 2x, year-over-year
• Big swing in accounts payable and receivables add ~$1.9B, offsetting much of the big inventory headwind
• Most of all, capex at just $2.5B, or only about half the run-rate implied by guidance

Also don't expect free cash flow to remain positive: Tesla is working to ramp up production as part of a more than $20 billion spending plan this year. For the first three months of the year, however, Tesla spent less than $2.5 billion, half the outlay the company will need to average per quarter to reach its expenditure forecast for the year. This contributed to Tesla posting $1.4 billion in positive free cash flow for the quarter, far better than analysts’ expectation that the carmaker would burn through almost $1.9 billion.

Looking ahead the company is excited "about Tesla’s positioning in 2026 with tailwinds persisting for the autos business, our continued progress on FSD (Supervised), the ramp of Robotaxi, progress on Optimus ahead of mass production and the growth of our energy production capacity"

Amusingly, TSLA's outlook slide didn't have a single number in it.

Judging by the stock reaction, the market is also excited, and as Interactive Brokers Chief Strategist Steve Sosnick writes, this print is “good enough.” He highlighted the adjusted profit and revenue beats as well as the “surprise” positive flip to free cash flow. “The car business improved, and there is nothing that disrupts the futurism that juices Tesla’s valuation. Now it’s up to what Musk says on the call”

Others, like Adam Sarhan, of 50 Park Investments, were also happy: "The real story isn’t just these numbers — it’s the execution on the roadmap. The trajectory feels constructive. Longer term, I’m still very bullish on Tesla’s positioning in AI, robotics, and energy. These results show resilience and set up better comps ahead. The market will digest the forward commentary tonight, but the fundamentals are pointing up."

That said, the initial euphoric reaction may moderate if analysts interrogate this idea of rebounding demand on the earnings call, given that Tesla has loads of cars in inventory right now. 

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 19:00

Not So Fast: Virginia Judge Blocks Redistricting Referendum

Update (1835ET): A Virginia judge ruled on Wednesday that the state’s redistricting referendum approved by voters a day earlier was invalid, nullifying the election results.

"Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote," said Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, adding that the state would appeal. 

As American Greatness notes further, Tazewell County Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that the referendum was likely unconstitutional as it violated procedural requirements in the Virginia Constitution, including the timing of the vote and the failure to publish the amendment three months before the prior general election.

The Tazewell Circuit Court also ruled the ballot language was misleading, specifically the phrase “restore fairness,” which Hurley determined could improperly influence voters by implying opposition is unfair.

The constitutional amendment was framed on the ballot as a vote “to restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”  It narrowly passed Tuesday night by a margin of 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent.

In his written ruling, Hurley said the plaintiffs had an “extraordinarily high likelihood of success on the merits.”

The contested measure would allow Democrats to re-draw the state’s congressional maps from a 6-to-5 advantage to 10-to-1 majority, disenfranchising potentially millions of Republican voters ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The temporary restraining order was requested by the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and U.S. Reps. Ben Cline (R-Botetourt County) and Morgan Griffith (R-Salem).

In the emergency motion, the plaintiffs asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Virginia’s commissioner of elections, members of the State Board of Elections and several Tazewell County election officials. They contend the court should intervene immediately to “preserve the status quo” and prevent what they describe as “irreparable harm” before a hearing can be held.

“The Democrats’ unfair redistricting scheme is illegal. We are grateful that the court has agreed and swiftly applied justice to stop this unconstitutional power grab that would disenfranchise millions of Virginia voters by reassigning them members of Congress from other parts of the state,” said Cline. “This ruling is an important victory in our fight to make sure that politicians don’t get to select their own voters.”

Hurley’s ruling declares that any and all votes for or against the proposed constitutional amendment in the April 21, 2026 special election are ineffective and enjoins Defendants and their successors from certifying the results of the election.

Additional legal challenges argue the amendment violates the single-subject rule and was improperly advanced during a special legislative session. Although the Virginia Supreme Court allowed the referendum to proceed while reviewing the case, if it upholds the lower court’s findings, the referendum results could be invalidated.

President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social Wednesday morning, claiming the referendum itself was “rigged.” In his post, Trump wrote:

“A RIGGED ELECTION TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT IN THE GREAT COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA! All day long Republicans were winning, the Spirit was unbelievable, until the very end when, of course, there was a massive ‘Mail In Ballot Drop!’ Where have I heard that before — And the Democrats eked out another Crooked Victory! Six to five goes to ten to one, and yet the Presidential Election in November was very close to a 50-50 split. … Let’s see if the Courts will fix this travesty of ‘Justice.’”

Trump’s comments focused on the overnight counting of mail-in and absentee ballots — which flipped the initially reported lead — echoing his past criticisms of election procedures. The referendum was extremely close (roughly 51.4% Yes / 48.6% No), and in Virginia it is standard for in-person votes to be tallied first on election night while mail ballots are counted later.

Virginia’s Republican-hating Attorney General Jay Jones (D) has already vowed to appeal the ruling.

“My office will immediately appeal the ruling issued by the Tazewell County Circuit Court,” Jones said. “These arguments are already before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the proper forum to consider the arguments, which has set a schedule for receiving arguments and has justifiably allowed the vote to proceed during this time.”

Virginia Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle (R-Hanover) and House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-Scott) issued a joint statement saying the ruling was “a necessary step to protect Virginia voters from an illegal and rushed” redistricting referendum.

“The Constitution sets clear rules for how amendments must be advanced. Those rules were not properly followed. Plain and simple. Virginians deserve transparency, fairness, and adherence to the law — not backroom deals,” they said.

Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli predicted on the Scott Jennings Show, Wednesday that the Virginia redistricting measure won’t survive the legal challenges.

“Here’s my prediction,” Cuccinelli posted on X. “The referendum gets tossed out in May.”

Now they care about activist judges! 

We are having quite the night in the courts. A Virginia judge just blocked the state from certifying the results of Tuesday's congressional map referendum as unlawful. Judge Jack Hurley Jr., ruled that Democrats did not follow the correct procedure for a constitutional…

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) April 22, 2026

* * *

Democrats’ decisive win in Virginia Tuesday night has dealt a significant blow to Republican hopes of retaining control of the House.

By persuading voters to dismantle the state's independent redistricting commission - created just six years ago - Democrats wiped out four Republican-held congressional districts. This means Virginia's House delegation is now on track to shift to a 10-to-1 Democratic advantage, a dramatic reversal for a state that remained firmly in GOP hands not long ago.

That said, Democrats dropped $65 million on the races (though the final tally was uncomfortably close), while Punchbowl reports that Republicans are trading blame internally - second-guessing whether they let a chance slip away to blunt the Democratic surge.

And with midterms right around the corner, there are few indications that President Trump or House Republican leadership possesses either the strategic focus or message discipline needed to protect their narrow majority. Fresh off Trump's 2024 presidential win, Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, clung to control by the slimmest of margins. Pulling off a repeat performance now looks considerably tougher.

Betting markets are already pricing in a Democratic win in the House.

//--> //--> Will the Democratic Party control the House after the 2026 Midterm elections?
Yes 85% · No 16%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

While party leaders insist a third Trump impeachment is off the table, the shift would almost certainly unleash a barrage of investigations and subpoenas aimed at the White House and Cabinet agencies - with major legal and political ripple effects. Lawmakers could also face even more protracted government shutdowns than the record-length appropriations lapses seen in the current Congress.

"I told Mike Johnson in July of last year that, 'If you go down this road, it's not going to work out for you,'" Jeffries told Punchbowl Tuesday night.

He added: "And at the end of the day, his best-case scenario was that he would net zero seats, but force at least 10 Republicans, who are incumbent members of his conference, into premature retirement. And that is exactly what has happened."

Jeffries earned significant credit for orchestrating Tuesday's outcome - as Virginia Democrats first had to steer the ballot measure through the state legislature twice, beat back multiple court challenges, and then win over voters. A nonprofit aligned with Jeffries poured $38 million into the effort to secure passage, and he personally managed the operation from beginning to end - designing the referendum strategy, recruiting staff and directing on-the-ground coordination. Many Virginia Democrats initially resisted the high-stakes gamble, requiring Jeffries to personally persuade both the state delegation and the warring legislative chambers to fall in line.

True to form, Jeffries remained measured when asked whether Tuesday's result clinched the majority or signaled an impending blue wave. He did, however, declare victory in the broader redistricting battle.

"When you line up the congressional map in Texas and compare it with the response in California, they're going to lose seats and would be fortunate if in Texas, they win two or three of the five seats that they claimed they were going to steal from Democrats," Jeffries said.

The biggest wild cards left for both sides are Florida and the future of the Voting Rights Act, which is up to the Supreme Court. Tuesday's result intensifies pressure on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to advance an ambitious congressional map next week capable of delivering Republicans a net gain of three to five seats. Yet DeSantis is encountering pushback from the state's Republican congressional delegation and the GOP-controlled legislature, many of whom doubt such an aggressive redraw is feasible. Several Florida Republicans caution that Latino voters are not reliably in the GOP column and may not show up for the party the way they did in 2024, urging caution.

Spending in Virginia was wildly lopsided. Democrats poured $56.4 million into television and digital ads; Republicans mustered just $24.6 million. Republicans still lost by fewer than 90,000 votes out of more than 3 million cast.

According to the report, GOP strategists insist they deliberately avoided nationalizing the contest to keep from energizing the Democratic base. They argue that heavier spending would simply have provoked an even larger Democratic response. They also note that the "No" side outperformed Trump's 2024 numbers in the state. Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and onetime House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who helmed the opposition effort, pledged to keep fighting the new map in court.

House Republicans, however, were already firing off frantic messages Tuesday night. Several told reporters they had been assured that additional money would make no difference in Virginia - yet the narrow margin suggests otherwise. 

The American Action Network, a nonprofit close to Johnson, quietly funneled money to the group bankrolling the "No" campaign, according to a person familiar with the transaction. Meanwhile, only one solidly Republican seat remains, in the state's southwest corner. GOP Reps. Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith may find themselves forced into a member-versus-member primary.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 18:35

Aaaand It's Gone... PE Shop Thoma Bravo Writes Off Over $5BN From 2021 SaaS Firm Acquisition

Not a great night for SaaS...

Given the eight straight days of gains for Software stocks, one could argue that the death of code-base companies was greatly exaggerated (cough -dead-cat bounce - cough), but not every boat is being lifted by this massive short-squeeze rebound

JPMorgan Trader Brian Heavey said earlier that it "seems we are moving from 'SAAS is dead' to 'maybe they can co-exist'", but it appears one software firm is indeed 'no more'.

In July 2021, Thoma Bravo took customer-experience (CX) software leader Medallia private in a $6.4 billion all-cash leveraged buyout.

Thoma Bravo and its co-investors contributed roughly $5 billion of equity, while Blackstone and other private-credit lenders provided $1.8 billion of debt.

The deal reflected the era’s sky-high software valuations and Thoma Bravo’s aggressive playbook of buying mature SaaS platforms with heavy leverage.

But...

By 2026, the investment had become one of private equity’s most visible busts.

Medallia’s growth stalled in a crowded CX market where survey-based platforms faced commoditization and slower enterprise spending.

PE Insights reported two weeks ago that debt servicing costs ballooned to nearly $300 million (carrying around $3 billion in total debt).

Annual earnings hovered around just $200 million - insufficient to cover interest - leaving the company struggling to deleverage.

Around a month ago, Barron's reported that lenders were under serious pressure as Blackstone, the lead creditor, repeatedly marked down its large loan position: from par to the high 80s in mid-2025, then to roughly 70 cents on the dollar by February 2026, with further declines reported into the 60s.

Other lenders including Apollo and KKR followed suit.

All of which brings us to today...

Reuters reports that, according to two people familiar with the matter, Thoma ​Bravo is nearing an agreement to hand over software ‌firm Medallia to its lenders, wrapping up months of restructuring negotiations.

The move will wipe out $5.1 billion ​in equity for Thoma Bravo and its co-investors.

Medallia provides software that collects and analyzes customer and employee feedback for companies, and has like other software/SaaS companies, seen its valuation ​hit in recent months over concerns that its services will eventually ‌be ⁠supplanted by artificial intelligence.

Will this prompt markdowns across other SaaS firms in PE books? We suspect it might force some hands to admit the painful truth.

With a literal tsunami of supply on its way this year - most notably Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX all pushing to IPO in 2026 at massive valuations - some investors may see parallels to the classic 2021-vintage risks exposed by Medallia today: overpayment at peak multiples, excessive leverage, and sector headwinds that private ownership could not fix.

For Thoma Bravo and other large-scale investors, it stands as a cautionary tale of how quickly high-priced software bets can sour when growth assumptions prove overly optimistic.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 18:25

Harvard Creates Robot Ants That Work Like Real Insects To Build And Dismantle Complex Structures

Authored by Mrigakshi Dixit via Interesting Engineering,

Researchers at Harvard have developed a fleet of robotic ants that mimic the self-organizing behavior of social insects to build and dismantle structures without blueprints or central leadership.

An illustration of how the collective, decentralized behavior of ants has inspired experiments with cooperative robots that can complete tasks without central control.

Dubbed “RAnts”, these robotic ants have been designed by researchers from the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). 

These are simple, decentralized robots that can spontaneously organize to build — and just as easily destroy — complex structures.

Instead of chemical pheromones, these robots use light fields (photormones) to communicate.

“Our new study shows how simple, local rules can lead to the emergence of complex task completion that is self-organized and thus robust and adaptive,” said Professor L. Mahadevan, the Lola England de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Physics at SEAS and FAS.

“We also introduce the concept of exbodied intelligence, where collective cognition arises not solely from individual agents, but from their ongoing interaction with an evolving environment,” Mahadevan added.

Digital pheromones

Ants prove that you don’t need a big brain to be a great builder. All that is needed is a great team. Without blueprints or supervisors, these tiny creatures construct some of nature’s most complex habitats.

And now, experts are taking this cue. In recent years, AI development has obsessed over faster chips and bigger digital brains. 

But Professor L. Mahadevan and his team looked elsewhere, particularly exbodied intelligence.

In this model, the smart systems aren’t located inside the robot’s hardware. Rather, the intelligence emerges from the interaction between the robot and its surroundings. 

This study demonstrates that decentralized agents can achieve complex goals by following minimal physical rules and responding to environmental cues.

In the wild, ants communicate via pheromones — chemical breadcrumbs that signal where to walk or where to dig. To replicate this, the Harvard team used photormones.

Using a biological concept called stigmergy, in which individuals respond to environmental changes made by others, the team created “RAnts” that communicate through light fields known as photormones. 

These digital signals act as a substitute for natural pheromones, allowing the robots to coordinate their actions by sensing and modifying their surroundings in a continuous feedback loop.

Diverse use

Following simple gradients in a “photormone” light field, these robots create a feedback loop that coordinates the entire swarm. 

These operate on just a few basic rules, like tracking signals, transporting blocks, and depositing them at specific thresholds. 

The beauty of the system lies in its simplicity. Interestingly, the swarm can switch roles instantly by adjusting just two parameters: the intensity of the light-following behavior and the setting for dropping or picking up blocks.

One minute, the robots are a construction crew, and the next, a demolition team.

This development offers a new model for autonomous robotics, proving that sophisticated, large-scale tasks can be managed through simple, self-organizing interactions.

It suggests that collective intelligence isn’t just in the robots’ brains, but arises from the constant interaction between the agents and their evolving environment.

These findings pave the way for diverse applications, ranging from autonomous construction in hazardous zones and planetary exploration to the creation of advanced experimental models for analyzing animal behavior.

The study findings were detailed in the journal PRX Life.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 18:00

Embassy Tells Americans Still In Lebanon Depart Now While Flights Available As Ceasefire Collapsing

The US-mediated Lebanon ceasefire is unraveling fast amid intensified fighting between Israel and Hezbollah on Thursday.

This has resulted in the US embassy in Beirut issuing an urgent renewed security alert, urging US citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial flight options are still available.

via AFP

The statement explained the security situation "remains complex and can change quickly." It further said that those who don't or cannot leave must be prepared to encounter emergency situations, and also warned of unexploded ordnance which has resulted in the recent war.

A 10-day ceasefire is still technically in effect - which began about six days ago after it was brokered between Lebanese and Israel officials in Washington D.C.

However, Hezbollah did not sign on, while also Israel said it would continue going after the Iran-allied paramilitary group, chiefly in the south of the country, where it has its main outposts.

At this point about 2,300 Lebanese have been killed since fighting intensified, including civilians, according to Beirut officials - and on the Israeli side, at least 13 soldiers and two civilians have died.

As part of the latest:

Lebanese media reported Wednesday that two journalists, Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj, were wounded in an Israel airstrike in the village of A-Tiri in southern Lebanon. According to the reports, Red Cross teams were dispatched to evacuate them. Later reports said two bodies and Faraj were recovered, while Khalil remained trapped, with Lebanese officials blaming Israel for difficulties in reaching her.

Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, said he was following developments and instructed the Red Cross to continue rescue efforts. A senior Lebanese army official told Reuters that an Israeli drone dropped a grenade near rescue teams, adding that Lebanon had appealed to Israel through the United States to allow access to the area.

And Israel has charged Hezbollah with breaching the ceasefire by sending drones and rockets into Israel lately.

Lebanon: The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is closely monitoring the security situation in Lebanon. The security environment remains complex and can change quickly. We urge U.S. citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial flight options remain available. We recommend that U.S. citizens… pic.twitter.com/RwHBB4DKpC

— TravelGov (@TravelGov) April 22, 2026

While the Lebanon ceasefire is separate from the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire, it certainly is parallel, and typically when Iran and Israel are locked in direct battle, so is Hezbollah.

Israeli officials are now warning the ceasefire in Lebanon could collapse "at any moment" - and precautions are also being taken in northern Israel.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 17:40

Here's How Trump Can Nuke Virginia's New Gerrymandered Map...

Authored by Matt Margolis via PJMedia.com,

Virginia used to be a model of fair redistricting. That reputation is now gone.

On Tuesday, Virginia Democrats passed a redistricting plan that transforms one of the most fairly apportioned states in the country into one of the most blatantly gerrymandered.

Keep in mind that Virginia only narrowly backed Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024 by roughly five points. Virginia is, in every way, a battleground state. Yet under the new map, nearly half the state’s voters effectively lose their voice. The new lines snake from densely packed, heavily Democratic suburbs deep into rural territory. There is nothing democratic about it.

And the endgame is obvious. If these maps survive a court challenge, Democrats will have a much easier path to stacking Congress against President Donald Trump — setting up yet another sham impeachment attempt over nothing.

Democrats aren’t even hiding what they’re doing anymore. Why would they? Republicans have spent years playing nice while the left plays to win, and they play dirty.

That has to stop. And there may be a remarkable way to stop it right now.

Chad R. Mizelle — former chief of staff to the U.S. Attorney General, former acting general counsel of DHS, former chief of staff at DHS, and former associate counsel to President Trump — has floated a counter-move.

He’s calling it a form of “re-Districting,” and it could nuke the Democrats’ new gerrymandered map.

Here’s the history. In 1790, both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to create the new national capital. Virginia’s portion — what is now Arlington County and the city of Alexandria — remained part of the District of Columbia until 1847, when Congress returned it to Virginia. The reason? To protect slavery. The District had abolished it, and Virginia slaveholders didn’t want to give up their slaves. Democrats love to talk about the legacy of slavery to justify tearing down statues, renaming buildings, etc. — to be consistent, they should give that piece of land back to the District.

The legal questions over this retrocession have never gone away.

President William Howard Taft and others argued that it was unconstitutional and pushed to reclaim the land for D.C. However, the Supreme Court has never definitively settled the matter.

Mizelle’s proposal is for Trump to issue an executive order declaring that slavery-motivated retrocession unconstitutional.

That order wouldn’t need to resolve everything on its own — it would immediately trigger litigation and force federal courts to finally answer the question: Do Arlington and Alexandria legally belong to Virginia or to the District of Columbia?

The legal footing here is rock solid, but the cultural argument is just as strong.

Obviously, Arlington and Alexandria are among the bluest jurisdictions in the country, packed with federal employees and D.C.-oriented professionals whose political and economic lives are already aligned with the capital.

As Mizelle notes, those residents would “feel right at home” as part of the District. Their removal from Virginia’s congressional map would substantially shift the partisan balance across the rest of the commonwealth, restoring a voice to the rural and small-town voters currently being drowned out.

This isn’t a mirror-image power grab. It targets a historically tainted decision, seeks legitimate judicial clarity, and corrects a gerrymander that disenfranchises nearly half a state. There’s more detailed legal analysis available over at The American Capital Project, and the constitutional case for returning that slice of Virginia to D.C. is solid.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Republicans have to stop playing nice. This is exactly the kind of response that shows Democrats the era of one-sided hardball is over.

Do it, President Trump. Do it.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 17:20

SaaS Stocks Slammed As ServiceNow Disappoints, Blames MidEast War

Perhaps indicative of the fragility of the current rebound - as Software stocks have recently ripped higher for 8 straight days - SaaS stocks are all deeply in the red after-hours as ServiceNow - the potential poster-child for AI disruption - cut its margin outlook amid lackluster results, sending shares reeling.

At first glance, it was a good print - the provider of business task management software posted first-quarter adjusted earnings of 97 cents a share, which was in-line with Wall Street estimates, according to FactSet.

Revenue for the quarter rose 22% to $3.77 billion, marginally above analyst expectations of $3.75 billion.

Additionally, ServiceNow said that subscription revenue will increase about 23% to $3.82 billion in Q2, the company said (marginally above the consensus of $3.75 billion).

But it wasn't all pretty...

But, it appears Wall Street was hoping for more - with investors already worried about the disruptive impact of AI on software stocks - as NOW shares sank 13% in extended trading...

...after the software company also cut its full-year forecast for subscription adjusted gross margin...

The software giant now expects a 31.5% margin on its full-year adjusted income from operations, whereas ServiceNow (NOW) was previously targeting a 32% margin.

The company's forecast for a 26.5% adjusted operating margin in the second quarter is also meaningfully below the 30.1% Wall Street consensus

But have no fear, the future looks incredibly rosy!!??

The lukewarm result was blamed on the Mideast conflict:

In Q1 2026, subscription revenues growth saw an approximately 75 basis point headwind from delayed closings of several large on-premise deals in the Middle East, due to the ongoing conflict in the region. This outlook reflects a prudent assessment of those geopolitical headwinds on deal timing for the remainder of FY 2026.

The margin narrative overshadowed ServiceNow's rosier view of its AI prospects, as CEO Bill McDermott said he expects $1.5 billion in AI revenue for 2026, up from a $1 billion projection before. McDermott told MarketWatch that the new outlook could be conservative.

But NOW's weakness was already impacting the rest of the SaaS space as pre-war worries re-blossomed...

Among other software stocks:

• Salesforce -5.2%, 

• Atlassian -6.6%, 

• HubSpot -5.5%, 

• Workday -4.6%, 

• MongoDB -1.9%, 

• Snowflake -2.3%, 

• Cloudflare -1.2%, 

• Microsoft -1.5%

Not pretty...

“We believe it will be difficult for results or management commentary to alleviate concerns around medium-term AI disruption,” wrote Brad Zelnick, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, in a note ahead of earnings.

Even more difficult now...

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 17:03

California Exposes Amazon's Alleged 'Retail Price Fixing' In Unredacted Court Filing

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday released a largely unredacted court filing packed with internal emails that allege Amazon strong-armed brands like Levi Strauss and Hanes into pressuring Walmart, Target and other rivals to raise prices - all to protect Amazon’s $2.66 trillion empire.

The 19-page memorandum, filed in support of a preliminary injunction in San Francisco Superior Court, paints a picture of coordinated price elevation that Bonta calls “naked” and “per se illegal” under California’s Cartwright Act. The evidence builds on documents the Guardian first reported on last week, but goes significantly further by naming major brands and quoting verbatim email chains that had remained heavily redacted until Monday.

"You don’t see price fixing so explicitly and egregiously in writing like this," Bonta told reporters, framing the documents as proof that Amazon used its market dominance to eliminate real competition across the internet.

The case, The People of the State of California v. Amazon.com Inc. (CGC-22-601826), dates back to September 2022. California accuses Amazon of running what it calls a "Retail Price Fixing Scheme" that relies on threats of lost Buy Box placement, suppressed search visibility and outright order suspensions - tools the state says gave the company "overwhelming bargaining leverage" over vendors.

The emails tell the story in real time.

In one exchange detailed in the filing, Amazon flagged "styles of concern" to Levi’s - specifically Easy Khaki Classic pants listed cheaper at Walmart. The next day, Levi’s replied that it had "partnered with" Walmart to raise the price back to the desired $29.99 ladder. Amazon then matched the higher price.

Similar patterns appear with Hanes (pressuring Target and Walmart), Allergan eye drops (Walmart raised prices after Amazon suppressed the listing), pet treats coordinated with Chewy, and furniture sold through Home Depot. Vendors repeatedly acted as intermediaries, contacting rival retailers at Amazon’s direction to "fix" or "resolve" lower prices elsewhere.

The filing also describes Amazon’s internal enforcement mechanisms: "CRaP" (Can’t Realize a Profit) flags, Guaranteed Minimum Margin demands, and instructions to discuss pricing by phone to avoid a paper trail.

According to the filing, Amazon's conduct harms consumers by creating an invisible price floor across major online retailers. "The company is price fixing, colluding with vendors and other retailers to raise costs for Americans beyond what the market requires - beyond what is fair," Bonta said in a statement.

Amazon just got caught running a secret price manipulation operation with Levi's, Home Depot, Walmart, and many more.

Every time you "comparison shopped" online, you were looking at prices that were already rigged.

Here's what happened:

Amazon would monitor prices on Walmart,… pic.twitter.com/sCmIGY1cL4

— Ricardo (@Ric_RTP) April 21, 2026

Amazon pushed back sharply, calling the release "a transparent attempt to distract from the weakness of its case" and noting that the evidence is years old. "Amazon is consistently identified as America’s lowest-priced online retailer, and we’re proud of the low prices customers find when shopping in our store," a spokesperson said. "Amazon looks forward to responding in court at the appropriate time."

The timing is notable. Bonta filed the preliminary injunction request in February; a hearing is scheduled for July 23, 2026. Full trial begins January 19, 2027 - one of at least three major Amazon antitrust trials now teed up for next year, including the FTC’s separate monopoly case (joined by 18 states and the DOJ) that also features allegations of algorithmic pricing tactics known internally as "Project Nessie."

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states sued Amazon in 2023, accusing the company of illegally maintaining a monopoly in online retail by squeezing merchants who sell on its site and prioritizing its own products. Those actions resulted in “artificially higher prices,” according to the government’s suit.

In September, the F.T.C. agreed to settle a lawsuit against Amazon that accused the company of making it difficult for consumers to cancel its Prime subscription service. Under the terms of the settlement, Amazon agreed to pay up to $2.5 billion — including $1 billion in penalties and additional payouts to consumers. It did not admit or deny wrongdoing. -NYT

Legal experts say the explicit emails could make this one of the more straightforward price-fixing cases in recent Big Tech history - though Amazon is expected to argue that vendors set their own prices and that its practices ultimately benefit consumers through lower prices and greater selection.

For now, the unredacted documents give regulators, lawmakers and the public a rare, granular look inside the mechanics of modern retail pricing power. Bonta’s office framed the release as a transparency win amid a national affordability crunch. "Amid a crisis of affordability," the attorney general said, "Amazon is illegally working to rake in profits by making sure consumers have nowhere else to turn to for lower prices."

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 17:00

"Civic Action Requires More Than Textbooks": Chicago To Subsidize May Day Protests By Teachers

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

The Chicago Public Schools are facing a major truancy problem…among teachers.

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was up in arms over suggestions that classes should be held on May 1 when teachers wanted to be out protesting.

Called International Workers’ Day, May Day is a global day of protest for socialist, communist, and unionist groups.

The CTU was upset when parents objected that canceling a day of class for teachers to join a political protest was a burden for working parents. These teachers believe that they are teaching something far more important through their activism. In defending the demand for publicly subsidized protests, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter explained that “teaching our students what civic action looks like requires more than textbooks.”

While that does not help with the dismal proficiency scores of actual students, it is vital to training students as political foot soldiers.

The CTU and the National Education Association recently collaborated on a “curriculum build” to bring “social justice into the classroom” ahead of May Day. Dave Stieber, a history teacher in Chicago Public Schools is shown declaring that “May Day is a dress rehearsal for maybe there’s a random day in, you know, June that we all are, like, no work, no school, no shopping…So this is a continuation and a buildup of that.”

In the meantime, with only 2 of 5 students reading at grade level, the Chicago teachers chose to lower proficiency levels rather than improve their teaching record.

While failing on actually teaching students, the CTU is proficient at instructing politicians such as Mayor Brandon Johnson through the use of union dues to fund Democratic campaigns.  The CTU and other teachers’ unions funneled millions into Johnson’s campaign. By one estimate, 93 percent of Johnson’s campaign budget came from unions.

The CTU has long held the distinction of being the most radical teachers’ union in the country. It was a CTU delegation that went to Venezuela during the Maduro regime to praise conditions under socialism. In a country where dissenters and reporters were being jailed and killed, the Chicago teachers gushed about how “we did not see a single homeless person!”

Chicago area teachers have been charged with violent protests.

Suggesting that teachers should work rather than attend May Day protests set off the Chicago teachers. Now, the union has confirmed that classes will be held without the participating teachers, and Chicago Public Schools will pay for buses for both students and educators to go to the protests.

The city further promised that there would be no repercussions for either students or teachers playing hooky from school.

This is not the first time unions and teachers have allowed students to skip classes to support left-wing protests. In New York, teachers and students were allowed to skip school to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. Previously, students were allowed to skip school to protest climate change.

These school districts do not show the same participatory support for protests on the right. There is no accommodation or city-subsidized buses for pro-life protests or demonstrations in favor of Israel.

Nevertheless, the Chicago school system is declaring that this is what schooling is all about in the Windy City. CPS CEO Macquline King stated that “the agreement honors the proud history of civic action in Chicago and beyond.”

Decades ago, my parents helped create an organization to stem the exodus of families from public schools and to reinforce academic standards in the Chicago Public School system. They convinced more families to remain in the system because they believed (as I do) that public schools can play a critical role in shaping citizens through a diverse and shared experience.

I was long skeptical of voucher systems because of that commitment to public education. However, teacher unions and administrators are destroying public education in America. They are treating families as captive audiences while infusing education with social and political agendas. The only way to break this decades-long cycle of failure, in my opinion, is to give families alternatives by allowing them to send their children to schools with core educational (as opposed to advocacy) priorities.

Nevertheless, Mayor Johnson celebrated the funding of the May Day protests:

“We are pleased all parties are working together to ensure school communities can participate in commemorating International Workers Day…Encouraging participating allows Chicagoans to honor our history while advocating for our future. We look forward to a day of meaningful solidarity and community resistance to the forces trying to tear us apart.

Schools have long been a target for indoctrination by radical elements. The Cultural Revolution in China was the most extreme example where children were forced into protests and taught that political activism came before scholastics under the slogan “to rebel is justified.”

Mao declared that “our educational policy must enable everyone who receives an education to develop morally, intellectually and physically and become a worker with both socialist consciousness and culture.”

In the CTU/NEA seminar, Kirstin Roberts, a pre-school teacher in Chicago Public Schools, is shown explaining that the purpose is to “encourage teachers of young children not to feel like this is stuff that’s way beyond their students, not to be afraid of raising up social justice issues, including workers’ rights, anti-racism, pro LGBT, LGBTQIA plus issues, immigration and immigrants rights.”

The erosion of the line between education and advocacy is now occurring on every level of our educational system. Some universities now have “resident activist” programs or offer degrees in advocacy.

In my book Rage and the Republic, I discuss the rise of the “new Jacobins” in the United States, including a cadre of radical educators who use our schools to pursue fundamental changes in our constitutional system. Law professors and deans are now calling for trashing our Constitution as a threat to the nation while teachers are using classes to radicalize students.

Chicago’s subsidy of May Day protests uses public funds in the struggling school system to foster radical political agendas. It removes any doubt for parents about the priority of Johnson, the CTU, and many of these teachers.

Some of the sentiments expressed in Chicago could have been ripped from Mao’s Little Red Book and speeches. He insisted “education must serve proletarian politics” and demanded “the period of schooling should be shortened, education should be revolutionized.”

In Chicago, the “period for schooling” is now being shortened in favor of “solidarity and community resistance.” While the students may not be able to actually read, they will learn the three R’s of modern education: resisting, raging, and rebelling.

Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 16:20

Pentagon Denies Widespread Reports Of Iran's 'Dark' Tankers Breaching US Blockade

Update(1510ET): The Pentagon has not been happy with today's media headlines that proclaimed Iranian 'dark' tankers (with their transponders switched off) have been able to penetrate and get past the US Navy's blockade. CENTCOM issued a late afternoon public message, stating: "Over past 24 hours, media reports have alleged that several commercial ships evaded the blockade, citing M/V Hero II, M/V Hedy, and M/V Dorena as examples. These reports are inaccurate. Hero II and Hedy did not sail past the blockade as part of a flotilla that 'ferried' millions of barrels of oil to the market.

It continued, "In fact, the Iranian-flagged tankers are anchored in Chah Bahar, Iran, after being intercepted by U.S. forces earlier this week. Dorena has been under the escort of a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after previously attempting to violate the blockade."

Earlier even Bloomberg alleged that two Iranian fully laden tankers breached the US blockade. Amid two competing and contradictory narratives, the fog of war remains thick, making it difficult to assess which version is ultimately correct.

U.S. forces have directed 29 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the U.S. blockade against Iran.

Over past 24 hours, media reports have alleged that several commercial ships evaded the blockade, citing M/V Hero II, M/V Hedy, and M/V Dorena as examples. These… pic.twitter.com/SKelkSOr77

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 22, 2026

* * *

As Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com reported earlier, Iran continues to export its oil out of the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz using dark mode on tankers to move past the US blockade outside the world’s most vital oil chokepoint.

At least two Iran-flagged supertankers fully laden with an estimated about 4 million barrels of crude have exited the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz and through the U.S. blockade, Bloomberg reports, citing satellite imagery analyzed by energy flows intelligence firm Vortexa.

The two Iranian very large crude carriers have been detected by satellite images as they had turned off their transponders and AIS positioning weeks ago. One of the supertankers, the Hero II, last transmitted a signal more than a month ago, with position in the Malacca Strait, data on MarineTraffic showed. The other VLCC, the Hedy, was last detected by AIS transponders around the same area near Malaysia and Singapore more than 70 days ago.

Various vessel-tracking and maritime intelligence firms say that Iran continues to export its oil and move tankers past the U.S. blockade, by increasingly using dark activity and signal spoofing tactics.

Earlier this week, an Iranian supertanker, which had delivered 2 million barrels of crude to a ship-to-ship transfer offshore Indonesia, was en route to return to Iran’s Kharg Island after entering the Strait of Hormuz through the U.S. blockade.

An Iran-owned VLCC departed Iran in late March 2026 and traveled to the Riau Archipelago in Indonesia, where she transferred 2 million barrels of crude oil to another VLCC, according to vessel monitoring data by TankerTrackers.com.

“Iranian flows continue via deception, including dark activity and ship-to-ship transfers,” maritime intelligence firm Windward said in a daily note on Tuesday.

“Iranian maritime trade remains active, but increasingly reliant on deceptive shipping practices and alternative routing strategies. New intelligence indicates potential shifts east of Hormuz, suggesting that pressure in the Gulf is driving adaptation rather than halting flows.”  

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 16:10

'Alligator Alcatraz' Can Continue Operating, Appeals Court Says

Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times,

A federal appeals court on Tuesday pulled a judge’s previous order to dismantle the high-profile detention center in the Florida Everglades for illegal immigrants, known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

In a 2–1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit sided with the Trump administration’s argument that there was minimal federal involvement in the facility’s construction, so a federal environmental review was not warranted.

“Using state employees and state funds, Florida officials, on their own initiative, constructed a detention center at an airport on state property in the Florida Everglades,” court documents showed.

Two environmental groups, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, joined the Miccosukee Tribe, which has villages close to the facility, in challenging construction of Alligator Alcatraz.

The groups accused state and federal officials of rushing to build the facility and failing to conduct an environmental review as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

That federal law, passed in 1970, requires federal agencies to evaluate environmental impacts of proposed major construction.

Construction began last year on the facility, located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Everglades, to assist with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and detainment of illegal aliens.

A lower court in August sided with the environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe, ordering officials to halt construction and even undo some work that had already been finished. But the higher court’s Tuesday order lifted that.

Federal authorities inspected the site for compliance with federal standards, court documents said, but this wasn’t enough to trigger a federally mandated environmental review.

“Because the environmentalists and Tribe failed to prove either a final agency action or federal control, and because the injunction, in part, violates a statutory prohibition of enjoining immigration enforcement, we vacate and remand,” Chief Judge William Pryor wrote in the federal appeals court ruling.

The 11th circuit has now twice lifted orders to halt construction—Tuesday’s ruling and again back in September.

“Victory secured against activist judge who held me in contempt,” Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote on X in response to the 11th circuit’s September decision.

“A win for Florida and President [Donald] Trump’s agenda!”

Friends of the Everglades and the Miccosukee Tribe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Center for Biological Diversity, however, issued a news release Tuesday in response to the latest legal development, calling it a “temporary” setback.

Wildlife and ecosystems remain imperiled, the group said.

“This disappointing decision won’t stop our challenges to the numerous environmental violations that the Trump administration is overseeing there,” Elise Bennett, director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said. “We’ll keep fighting because the Trump and DeSantis administrations’ obsession with sacrificing our Everglades, endangered panthers and wild waters to their cruel detention center is utterly indefensible.”

The groups further argue there was enough federal involvement to warrant a federal environmental review. The Center for Biological Diversity said FEMA committed hundreds of millions of dollars to Florida for building and operating the facility.

Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, had a statement in the news release as well, saying, “This fight is far from over.”

“Alligator Alcatraz was hastily erected in one of the most fragile ecosystems in the country without the most basic environmental review, at immense human and ecological cost,” she said.

Samples added that she is pursuing every legal avenue available to shut down Alligator Alcatraz.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 15:50

Tesla Earnings Preview: "Braced For A Miss"

Tesla reports after the US market close on Wednesday and according to the UBS trading desk, there has been very little discussion around TSLA lately, with the stock drifting 14% lower for most of the year until last week, when it squeezed higher to trade just below $390. 

The company has been the laggard among mega-cap peers despite still-lofty expectations. Consensus points to 1Q revenue of about $22.7 billion, with adjusted EPS around 38 cents and roughly 25 cents on a reported basis, even as deliveries of about 358,000 vehicles missed forecasts and flagged softer core auto demand. Analysts still expect a sharp rebound, with roughly 30% profit growth and a 15% increase in revenue.

Markets will likely overlook near-term weakness but focus heavily on what’s next: Investors are looking for updates on the robotaxi rollout, AI and robotics, as well as clarity on cash burn tied to a planned step-up in capex to as much as $20 billion this year. The disconnect is stark: as Bloomberg notes, a cyclical slowdown in autos versus an equity story still priced on long-duration growth, reflected in valuation metrics that are stretched across the board (roughly 184x forward earnings, ~15x sales and over 100x EV/EBITDA).

Taking a step back, the good news for Tesla - and the broader market - is that earnings revisions for the S&P 500 continue to trend higher for 2026 and 2027, even if largely concentrated in a handful of AI stocks - and early results have been solid, with a strong beat rate. But the reaction function is fading. According to Bank of America, stocks are no longer rewarding top and bottom line beats as they typically do, suggesting a high bar for earnings driven gains as the index hovers near all-time highs. 

Tesla, as one of the highest-duration names in the market, becomes a key test of that dynamic. If management reinforces the AI/autonomy narrative and justifies elevated capex, it supports the broader recovery in tech. But the overhang remains what is going on with Iran and the state of peace talks. This is not a market driven by idiosyncratic earnings. Netflix’s 10% drop alongside rising indexes underscores that geopolitics are taking precedence.

UBS analyst Joe Spak upgraded TSLA from Sell to Neutral last week as the stock reached his price target, and now sees a more balanced risk/reward profile - near‑term demand challenges and an investment phase offset by a longer‑term physical AI opportunity.

For 1Q, Spak expects an EPS miss, which is unlikely to be a surprise. UBS is modeling adjusted EPS of $0.33 versus $0.44 consensus. However, Spak believes the buy side is already braced for a miss based on 1Q26 delivery data, particularly weaker energy storage deployments.

Spak is modeling auto gross margins (ex‑credits) of 16.1% versus 15.5% consensus, believing FSD could help keep margins slightly elevated. If Tesla books an IEPPA receivable this quarter, that could further support gross margins and provide upside to expectations. Otherwise, Spak expects updates on Tesla’s long‑term vision, primarily focused on Robotaxi, Optimus, FSD, and the TeraFab.

Key areas where UBS expects additional detail include:

1. Color on demand trends across all regions
2. Reasons behind the energy storage deployment miss and implications for the balance of the year
3. Updates on Robotaxi deployment across additional cities
4. Progress on Gen 3 Optimus
5. Capex outlook not only for 2026 but beyond, including funding plans (TeraFab, solar, etc.)
6. Progress on the six factories TSLA plans to build this year
7. Commentary on commodity and logistics costs

Tune in shortly after the close for the full results.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 15:34

Duffy Seeking $10 Billion From Congress To Revamp Air Traffic Control System

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on April 21 the department requires $10 billion in additional funding from Congress to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control with a new software system.

Duffy told Reuters in an interview that the additional funding would go toward developing new software aimed at improving the efficiency of air travel and reducing flight delays.

“This tool lets us see and then spread flights in a way that allows for way less disruption,” he told the news outlet. “We could fix this.”

Congress allocated $12.5 billion last year under the One Big Beautiful Bill to upgrade air traffic control infrastructure and equipment to enhance aviation safety. At an April 21 event, Duffy provided an update on the project, saying it is expected to be completed in about two and a half years.

Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has replaced nearly 50 percent of ​copper ⁠wires, converted 270 radio sites nationwide, installed new surface awareness systems at 54 airports, and transitioned 17 towers to electronic flight strips using the allocated budget from Congress.

“We are going to need more money for the software side of this build,” he said at the event.

“Congress is ... going to have to find a pathway to get us the rest of that money. It’s going to take us time to develop it, deploy it, debug it, train on it. And so getting that software started now, hopefully as our build completes with all of the infrastructure, we will have the technology of the software ready to meet up in two and a half years and have a brand new system for America to use.”

The Transportation Department said in January the overhaul would involve launching an airspace modernization office to oversee the installation of a new air traffic control system and creation of an advanced aviation technologies office to oversee the integration of drones and other air mobility vehicles into U.S. airspace.

The FAA will also move more key leadership posts to permanent roles and consolidate management of finance, information technology, and human resources under the administrator, according to the Transportation Department, adding that the restructuring will not lead to workforce reductions.

Multiple safety-related incidents happened at airports over the past year due to equipment issues. In May 2025, air traffic controllers in Denver were forced to switch to emergency backup frequencies after they lost contact with aircraft for about 90 seconds. The controllers had to use emergency backup because both primary and main backup frequencies went down.

Another incident took place in late April 2025, when controllers overseeing Newark Liberty International Airport lost contact with planes for about 30 seconds, leading to flight delays.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 15:20

Two Armed Robbers Steal $1.8 Million From Brinks Armored Truck In Philadelphia

Authored by Bryan Jung via PJMedia.com,

Two masked men armed with rifles carried out a brazen daylight robbery of a Brinks armored truck  in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia, escaping with what authorities say could be as much as $1.8 million in cash.

Philadelphia Police Department officials told ABC 6 that the robbery occurred around 9:45 a.m on April 21 on the 7200 block of Torresdale Avenue, as the Brinks truck was servicing a Budget Financial Center.

Brinks is a national security and cash logistics company that transports money for banks and retailers.

According to law enforcement officials, a blue Acura SUV pulled into the lot, with two suspects dressed in black jumping out, brandishing rifles and confronting the driver before seizing bags of cash.

No injuries were reported, with the suspects fleeing the scene within seconds, witnesses said.

Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators shows the men exiting the vehicle and pointing a rifle at the armored truck employee.

Shortly after the heist, police located a blue Acura believed to have been used in the robbery under Interstate 95 near Front Street and Fairmount Avenue in the city’s Northern Liberties neighborhood.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now leading the investigation alongside local police, as authorities work to identify the suspects and recover the stolen cash.

This robbery follows a year-long string of armored truck heists in the Philadelphia region, including separate incidents in 2025 involving armored delivery trucks.

Three men were charged last June for stealing around $2 million from a truck in the Port Richmond robbery, while later that month, another pair of robbers with AR-style rifles held up a Loomis driver who was delivering cash to an Aldi store on Whitaker Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, taking around $100,000 and the driver's handgun.

Three men robbed a Brinks driver on July 2 at the Holmesburg Shopping Center on Frankford Avenue, stealing an undisclosed amount of cash and the driver’s firearm.

On July 15, two armed men armed with AR style rifles attempted to rob a Brinks driver in the Rhawnhurst section of Philadelphia, but fled after the driver opened fire.

The Brinks employee drew his duty weapon and began firing in the direction of the suspects, one of whom fled on foot, while the second drove away in a black Nissan Maxima from the scene.

On July 22, an armed man robbed around $700,000 from a Brinks truck outside an H Mart grocery store in Cheltenham, which was the scene of another Brinks robbery on August 12 by two unknown suspects.

The two suspects took a bag filled with money and fled the scene in a black Acura, which was later recovered, according to the FBI.

In October, two more men were indicted on charges of robbing Brinks trucks in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, and on Castor Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia.

Federal investigators have previously linked the multiple 2025 incidents involving Brinks trucks to organized criminal gangs using similar tactics, including stolen vehicles and high-powered firearms.

Officials are asking anyone with information to contact law enforcement as the suspects remain at large.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 14:40

Trump Deploys Five Defense Production Act Memos For American Energy

President Trump signed five presidential determinations under Section 303 of the Defense Production Act on Monday. All five declare critical energy capacities essential to national defense and authorize federal purchases, commitments, and financing to cut through financing shortages, permitting delays, and supply chain choke points. 

Any mention of renewables are noticeably absent, as the administration has been pounding the table on the reliability of coal and natural gas, especially through the recent winter storm...

"Sleep Tight, America. We Got This": NatGas And Coal Power Plants Prevented Grid Collapse During Historic Winter Blast https://t.co/CvAfdeiwts

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 27, 2026

They sit under the national energy emergency we flagged back in January 2025. The moves target fossil fuel production and the infrastructure that actually moves power, while nuclear and geothermal get their own lanes.

Section 303 of the DPA allows the government to act as the financial support for these industries due to the administration’s interpretation that the private sector can't do it on their own. 

Domestic Petroleum Production, Refining, And Logistics Capacity

This determination covers exploration, production, refining, gathering and transmission pipelines, storage, and marine terminals. DPA authorities now back projects to secure jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline for the military and industrial base, cutting reliance on foreign suppliers that have weaponized energy in the past.

Coal Supply Chains And Baseload Power Generation Capacity

Coal mining, rail and barge transport, terminals, on site stockpiles, and plant life extensions all get the treatment. The memo stresses that baseload coal power remains irreplaceable for defense installations and the exploding electricity demand from AI and manufacturing. Federal support will speed maintenance and logistics that markets alone have left stalled.

Natural Gas Transmission, Processing, Storage, And LNG Capacity

Pipelines, compression, processing plants, underground storage, LNG liquefaction, and export facilities fall under this one. The goal is steady domestic supply plus stronger exports to allies. Long lead times for equipment and construction are the stated problem. 

Development, Manufacturing, And Deployment Of Large Scale Energy And Energy Related Infrastructure

This broader determination is for engineering, site acquisition, permitting, early stage financing, and domestic manufacturing capacity for large energy projects. It removes the capital and regulatory friction that has slowed big builds across the sector, creating a practical foundation for faster scaling wherever the need is greatest.

Grid Infrastructure, Equipment, And Supply Chain Capacity

Transformers, transmission lines, substations, high voltage breakers, power electronics, and the full upstream supply chain are targeted here. Aging equipment, foreign dependence, and slow domestic output threaten reliability. The action backs US manufacturing to harden the grid that must carry power from every source.

Nuclear and Geothermal

As we have tracked since the May 2025 executive orders, the nuclear fuel supply chain is already moving under its own DPA Consortium and related authorities, with the explicit target of quadrupling US nuclear output by 2050. 

Geothermal development was also left out of today's batch. It too appears to be advancing on its own parallel track through existing federal programs and private sector momentum that do not require another layer of Section 303 intervention right now.

These efforts could benefit from the expanded DPA authorities granted to Energy Secretary Chris Wright on March 13, 2026. In an amendment to the National Defense Resources Preparedness executive order, President Trump delegated additional powers directly to the Energy Department, enabling Wright to invoke Section 303 authorities swiftly to restart critical domestic oil infrastructure and counter supply disruptions caused by the war. That same streamlined authority now positions Wright to accelerate implementation of yesterday's five determinations.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 14:20

CIA Security Officer Files Lawsuit Against Steve Baker And The Blaze For Identifying Her As J6 Bomber

Authored by 'sundance' via The Last Refuge,

Steve Baker and The Blaze are being sued by former Capitol Hill police officer Shauni Kerkoff, who Baker accused of being the J6 pipe bomber based on “gait” analysis and other dubious claims.

Mr Baker, a former FBI employee named Kyle Seraphin and Kentucky representative Thomas Massie also pushed the accusation, saying FBI Director Kash and other FBI officials were lying and an innocent guy was arrested.

The arrested suspect, Brian J. Cole, Jr., confessed to the crimes.

Yesterday, Shauni Kerkoff, who now works for the CIA security office, filed a lawsuit against Steve Baker and The Blaze, claiming Steve Baker was motivated by anger over his arrest for activity in the J6 event where Ms. Kerkoff was present providing security.

According to the lawsuit, Steve Baker and The Blaze created a conspiracy theory using Shauni Kerkoff as the target of their claims.

This is going to be an interesting lawsuit to watch unfold as there are various types of conspiracy claims similar to Mr Baker that are circulating. 

If their claim is false, both Mr Baker and The Blaze could end up in the same financial position as Alex Jones.

[SOURCE]

I suspect this is not going to end well for Steve Baker, The Blaze or Glenn Beck.

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/22/2026 - 14:00