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NBA champion Knicks guard Josh Hart has fully embraced the Cam Schlittler hype train.

A North Carolina furniture manufacturer allegedly shot and killed his business partner this week after a court ruled against him in a contract dispute.

The winner of the U.S. Open in 2018 — the last time the tournament was held at Shinnecock Hills — did not make the cut.

Matt Fitzpatrick will spend part of his Saturday with one eye on the course and one eye on the leaderboard. 

A heartbroken Southern California family is speaking out after their beloved daughter and sister was gunned down inside a Pomona apartment complex — only realizing she was the victim while watching a live police chase on television.

Two of LIV Golf's biggest stars, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, found themselves leaving the east end of Long Island earlier than expected.

America's Military Readiness Depends On Deployable Nuclear Power

Authored by James Durso via RealClearDefense.,com,

For decades, energy policy in Washington was debated on the basis of economics, climate change, and domestic politics. That era is over. The United States is entering a period where energy security must be recognized as a core pillar of national security and military readiness.

The global competition underway with China is not just about trade or tariffs. It is about industrial capacity, technological dominance, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor manufacturing, and defense production – all of which depend on a foundational requirement: abundant and reliable electric power.

America’s future military superiority will rely in part by whether the nation can generate enough resilient, secure baseload electricity to support its defense industrial base and rapidly expanding digital infrastructure.

That is why deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) must be a top national priority.

The United States faces a convergence of unprecedented energy demand and an electric grid that is at capacity and is vulnerable to cyberattacks, physical sabotage, transmission bottlenecks, and extreme weather events.

Intermittent energy sources alone will not meet the scale or reliability requirements necessary to sustain America’s strategic position. The nation requires dependable, 24/7 baseload power capable of supporting critical infrastructure under all conditions – including during natural disasters, geopolitical crises, or military conflicts.

Advanced nuclear energy, delivered by SMRs, is rapidly emerging as one of the few realistic solutions capable of meeting those demands on a shorter timeline than legacy power systems.

Unlike traditional large-scale nuclear plants, SMRs are designed to be smaller, factory manufactured, and more flexible in deployment. They can be built to support specific industrial facilities, defense installations, AI infrastructure, and in remote or constrained environments where grid reliability is a concern.

The national security implications are significant.

Modern military operations are increasingly energy intensive. Defense installations, logistics hubs, shipyards, semiconductor fabrication plants, weapons production facilities, and command and control infrastructure all depend on uninterrupted electricity. Yet many of these facilities remain dependent on centralized transmission systems vulnerable to disruption.

One of the most strategically important developments in the SMR sector is the growing focus on “behind-the-meter” deployment capability — the ability to place reactors adjacent to mission-critical facilities rather than relying exclusively on long-distance transmission infrastructure.

This approach could fundamentally reshape military and industrial resilience in the United States.

Distributed advanced nuclear generation could provide secure dedicated power to defense installations, industrial corridors, AI campuses, and manufacturing hubs while reducing dependence on vulnerable grid infrastructure without competing for electric power with civilian communities. It could also improve survivability during cyberattacks, physical sabotage, or grid instability scenarios.

Equally important is the question of fuel security.

One of the least discussed but most consequential challenges facing the advanced nuclear industry is fuel availability. Several next-generation reactor concepts depend on High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU), a fuel source that lacks large-scale commercial availability in North America and is tied in part to Russian-controlled enrichment capacity.

That presents a strategic vulnerability the United States cannot afford to ignore.

Energy independence cannot exist if critical fuel supply chains remain dependent on geopolitical competitors or unstable foreign markets. Any serious national nuclear strategy must prioritize technologies capable of operating with commercially available fuel supported by secure supply chains.

This is where deployment readiness becomes critically important.

For years, much of the advanced nuclear conversation has focused on future concepts, demonstration projects, and theoretical deployment timelines. But America’s strategic competitors are not waiting. China is rapidly expanding its nuclear footprint domestically and internationally as part of a broader geopolitical strategy tied to industrial influence and infrastructure dominance. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that from 2014 to 2023 China increased installed net nuclear capacity almost three times, and that domestic experience is the basis for Beijing’s push to export 30 nuclear reactors by 2030 to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The United States must move with urgency, and the technology exists to do it now.

Today, NuScale Power is the only SMR developer with full U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission standard design approval under the modern Part 52 licensing framework and the only company currently positioned with a commercially deployable, regulator-approved SMR technology transitioning to manufacturing.

That distinction matters because licensing is the hurdle that will determine which technologies are deployed in the next decade.

Most competing SMR and Generation IV reactor companies, to include Westinghouse, Oklo, TerraPower, and X-Energy are years away from NRC approval, rely on unproven fuel supply chains, or continue operating within demonstration programs without commercially deployable designs. Many experts acknowledge that several competing technologies may not achieve meaningful commercial deployment for another decade or longer.

NuScale’s position does not simply reflect a business milestone but the reality that the United States currently has NRC-approved SMR technology with a near-term pathway toward commercial deployment at scale.

The recent collaboration involving the Tennessee Valley Authority, ENTRA1 Energy, and NuScale is important not simply because of the companies involved, but because it signals a broader shift from discussion to deployment.

The proposed initiative, potentially involving up to six gigawatts of SMR capacity, reflects growing recognition that advanced nuclear energy may soon become indispensable to supporting America’s industrial expansion, digital economy, and national security infrastructure.

This is an exciting development that underscores a reality policymakers must confront: deployment timelines matter.

The United States does not have the luxury of waiting another decade for energy technologies trapped in prolonged licensing processes, uncertain fuel pathways, or unresolved manufacturing challenges. Strategic competition is accelerating now.

This is not an argument for abandoning other energy sources. It is an argument for recognizing that advanced nuclear power is increasingly becoming an essential component of America’s long-term energy resilience strategy alongside fossil fuels and renewables.

The debate over SMRs should not be framed as solely an energy issue.

It is fundamentally about whether the United States can maintain military readiness, secure critical infrastructure, support advanced manufacturing, power the AI revolution, and preserve geopolitical leadership in an increasingly unstable world.

Energy dominance is no longer simply economic policy. It is national defense policy. Small Modular Reactors allow America to maintain its strategic advantage.

Tyler Durden Fri, 06/19/2026 - 23:00

Many of the world's biggest stars have already produced during the 2026 World Cup.

The USA men's national team produced another impressive World Cup performance on June 19, when they defeated Australia by a score of 2-0.

A ballclub is only as good as its bullpen, so it should come as no surprise, then, what a difficulty it has been for the Giants to build any semblance of momentum this season.

Zoe Lavely, the mother of the girls featured in Tyler Brodsky’s widely shared TikTok video, broke her silence in a lengthy Facebook post this week.

This time, the Liberty didn’t have it late in the game. 

Some stakeholders in LA have exploited homeless voters –– and lax voting rules –– to entrench their power.

8 Frightening Forecasts For The Future Of Fraud

Fraud is entering a new era. Businesses across North America expect fraud trends like biometric fraud, deepfake scams, and synthetic identities to become more common in 2026 as criminals adopt faster and more sophisticated tools.

This visualization, created by Visual Capitalist's Julia Wendling, in partnership with Inigo for the Fraud in Data campaign’s sixth post, uses data from the Sumsub Fraud Report 2025 to explore the fraud trends businesses believe will shape the future of digital risk.

Biometric Fraud Could Become the Biggest Threat

Surveyed businesses expect biometric fraud to rise the most, with 67% predicting an increase. As companies rely more on facial recognition, voice authentication, and remote onboarding, fraudsters are finding new ways to exploit those systems.

Deepfake technology is already making identity verification harder. In the future, AI-generated videos, cloned voices, and stolen biometric data could make fraud attempts more convincing and more scalable than ever before.

Businesses also expect synthetic identity fraud to grow, with 56% anticipating a rise. Criminals are increasingly combining real and fake information to create identities that can bypass traditional fraud checks.

AI and Deepfakes Are Changing Fraud Trends

Businesses expect fraud attacks to become more automated in 2026. Around 44% predict increases in advanced AI-driven attacks, deepfake scams, and forged identity documents.

Another 33% expect AI-generated fake profiles to rise as fraudsters use generative AI tools to impersonate real users online. These scams could become faster to produce and harder to detect across financial services, ecommerce, and digital platforms.

As fraud tactics evolve, businesses may need to shift from reactive fraud prevention toward real-time risk monitoring powered by machine learning and behavioral analysis.

Data Breaches Will Continue to Fuel Identity Fraud

Data breaches are expected to remain a major source of fraud risk. About 33% of businesses anticipate more identity theft linked to stolen personal data.

Organized fraud networks are also expanding, according to 22% of respondents. As cybercriminal groups become more coordinated, fraud operations could become increasingly global and industrialized.

The Future of Fraud Trends

Companies that invest in adaptive verification systems, stronger cybersecurity, and understand the data around fraud prevention may be better positioned to respond to the next generation of threats.

Tyler Durden Fri, 06/19/2026 - 22:15

Scotland's tough World Cup loss on Friday did not come without controversy.

On Friday night, it was the Reds. Next month, it may be the National League All-Stars that Cam Schlittler, the Yankees' budding ace, starts against.

The candidate finished last of the three major candidates vying to replace Nancy Pelosi.

A homeless Sacramento man is facing numerous felony charges after allegedly stealing a police cruiser and leading officers on a chase Friday that ended only after dozens of officers responded near Lodi.

The soccer old heads — the veterans who paved the way for this World Cup squad — hate the term “golden generation.” That’s a title won.

California’s next governor won’t be chosen until November, but the debate over a proposed wealth tax is already defining the race.