Large US naval battleships continue to suffer problems at sea. While there have been many headlines of late detailing the problems of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier connected to its extended deployment amid the Iran war, a separate warship is having serious problems in Pacific waters, quite apart from the crisis in the Persian Gulf.
"A US Navy guided-missile destroyer spent four days last month without working toilets, galley services and air conditioning in the blistering heat of the South China Sea after the warship lost power," CNN reports.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Benfold. US Navy/APThe military has since confirmed an engineering failure which caused the significant outage, which basically shut down all the ship's systems, including the ability to maneuver on its own.
A US 7th Fleet statement identified that the USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was on routine operations in the Indo-Pacific on when an "engineering casualty involving its generators" occurred.
It happened on July 24, and has now set back additional operations. It was supposed to be part of the USS George Washington strike group which is at the moment headed to the Middle East in order to relieve the Lincoln carrier.
However, the Benfold is still stuck in Asian waters. "There were no injuries to the crew, who demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism, and unwavering steadiness in their response," the US Navy statement said.
The four-day crisis impacted the ship's galley services, toilets, air conditioning and potable water, the 7th Fleet also confirmed. The heat would have been sweltering.
No explanations have been given as to how the crew managed the waste problem. USNI, which first reported the crisis, describes of the repair process:
The George Washington Carrier Strike Group supported the destroyer, according to 7th Fleet. USS Robert Smalls (CG-62), the cruiser attached to the George Washington Carrier Strike Group, helped provide meals for the crew, Comer said.
Contractor tugboats towed Benfold to Subic Bay where it was met by personnel from the Ship Repair Facility – Japan Regional Maintenance Center on July 28, with crew receiving contracted lodging off the ship the next day. Power was restored on July 30, Comer said.
All repairs were completed by Aug. 7 when the ship completed a berth shift for fuel. The destroyer left Subic Bay on Aug. 8.
Benfold, which had been sailing with the George Washington Carrier Strike Group, pulled into Yokosuka, Japan, on Thursday, according to ship spotters. It did not transit the Malacca Strait with the other ships of the GW CSG, which are likely heading toward the Middle East.
The timing of this engineering failure incident is very bad for the navy, given already there's much scrutiny being placed on long deployments at sea connected to the Iran conflict.
US Navy destroyer left without working toilets, food service or AC for FOUR DAYS after losing power in sweltering South China Sea
USS Benfold suffered generator failure on July 24, leaving its crew without basic amenities amid blistering heat — 7th Fleet spox confirms to CNN pic.twitter.com/CJBm5r7jv1
Congressional leaders are currently focused on the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln, amid reports of problems in supplying the ship and mental health problems following a record-deployment.
The Hill reports Monday that "A group of 15 senators said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth owes Americans answers about the ongoing deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group after reports of low morale and a mental health crisis among service members aboard."
Tyler Durden Mon, 08/17/2026 - 22:10Authored by Sydney Rodman via RealClearEnergy,
One of President Trump's campaign promises was eliminating climate scams. As net-zero climate policies fade into the shadows, another climate scam is biting the dust.
Bill Gates's daughter, Phoebe Gates, may not have her father's entrepreneurial talent, but she, too, frequently peddles climate alarmism. Mr. Gates, however, renounced climate doomerism last year in a widely-shared memo.
A recent media investigation determined the younger Gates and her cofounder, climate influencer Sophia Kianni's self-described sustainable e-commerce startup, Phia, was reportedly collecting sales commissions it had not earned. Phia was marketed as a climate-friendly platform that directed shoppers to secondhand products. Unsurprisingly, the startup created its own climate of lies.
Phia claims to be climate-friendly by promoting secondhand clothing options. Co-founder Sophia Kianni described Phia as having a fundamental "sustainability aspect ... buying an item secondhand actually represents an 80% reduction in carbon footprint compared to buying new." Before studying at Stanford University, Ms. Kianni founded a major Left-wing climate activism organization called Climate Cardinals and served as a climate ambassador at COP27 in Egypt. Gates, for her part, frequently touts her sustainability and climate bona fides. Like father, like daughter.
On the surface, Phia appeared to be successful and profitable. The company secured considerable amounts of seed funding, totaling over $43 million, and had a reported valuation of $185 million by early 2026.
Yet, Phia reportedly was cheating the system. The startup was allegedly using computer code to claim it facilitated numerous purchases - and thus collect a portion of sales - that it had nothing to do with. According to computer experts who investigated the coding behind Phia's platform, a plug-in extension, quietly, unknown to the user, opened an invisible tab in the background. Doing so digitally registered Phia, falsely, as an affiliate marketer involved in the online transaction. Since some revenue in online commerce automatically goes to the affiliate marketer who was the final click before the user's purchase, Phia made itself that final click - even though it was not - and earned millions.
Just as damning, Phia's damage-control efforts sowed more doubts about their fishy operations. Phia's spokesperson responded to allegations, stating that "as soon as we were notified, our team worked overnight to identify, mitigate, and has since resolved the issue." In other words, the company supposedly resolved the issue, but didn't deny any wrongdoing.
Phia's reputation could be in jeopardy. It received investment from celebrities such as Sydney Sweeney, Khloé Kardashian, Jessica Alba, Kris Jenner, and Hailey Bieber. Those investors may now wonder how much deception and incompetence is going on behind the scenes related to other facets of Phia's business model. In fact, this isn't Phia's first scandal. In November, Phia was reportedly busted capturing a "concerning amount of user data," according to reports, including collecting users' banking information.
A former senior executive for Climate Cardinals, who wishes to stay anonymous, has now come forward about Kianni's mismanagement style to the author. The anonymous whistleblower shared, "I was involved for two years and we didn't really do anything. It ruined my perspective for prestige." The whistleblower alleges that a company executive told him "all the numbers on the website are artificially inflated. None of them are real." Soon after, the company experienced a mass exodus of personnel, who decided that, in the source's words, they "no longer wanted to be part of the lies." After Kianni migrated to Phia, her past stayed with her. In order to get ahead, Sophia lied about a fake assistant and even bragged about it.
It is worth asking: is Phia on the path to being Theranos 2.0? The parallels to Theranos, the disastrous tech startup that investigative journalists exposed as being among the greatest scams of modern times - ultimately costing investors hundreds of millions of dollars - are uncanny. Oddly enough, founders of both companies started their company at Stanford and faced rejection there, helping place a "chip on their shoulder," in Phoebe Gates's words.
Both of these startups had great ideas in theory - but they did not survive reality. In fact, they never tried. That is also the case for the climate movement writ large.
Climate alarmism, itself a scam, is a macrocosm of the Phia story. It's a movement based on activism, not facts, and its fundamental claims don't hold up under scrutiny. Climate programs also received billions of government funds under President Biden, until the judicious Trump administration took notice and ended the gravy train. Falsehoods and fear mongering can be quite lucrative.
Phia should serve as a cautionary tale for the future of so-called climate investment - and the climate movement itself.
Sydney Rodman is a visiting fellow at Independent Women's Center for Energy and Conservation.
Tyler Durden Mon, 08/17/2026 - 21:45The establishment media commonly uses strategic phrases to hide or omit the truth behind certain uncomfortable situations. Since the BLM era, journalists cannot simply describe a violent mob as a "black mob", even if that description is generally true. Today, one must say the words "teen brawl" in order to avoid any implications of race.
It's a very similar tactic to those used by the media in the UK whenever a migrant (or child of migrants) commits a brutal crime - Simply call the suspect a "London Man" or a "Liverpool Man" or a "Glasgow Man" and hope no one asks questions.
In the US, whenever the media uses the words "teen brawl", it's easy to conclude who was involved. The fatigue is real.
Over the weekend the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis (a suburb of Milwaukee) experienced yet another of these seemingly spontaneous outbreaks of chaos when a horde of "teens" flooded into the event and began randomly attacking anyone nearby. It should be noted that even the witnesses are reticent to admit who the culprits were, choosing their words carefully.
Witness accounts report that law enforcement officers on scene were also targeted, with multiple police suffering injuries. Dispatch audio indicates chaotic moments near the rides. "They need some help at Spin City. Send anybody extra you have," one police officer could be heard saying.
🚨#BREAKING: Absolute CHAOS broke out at the Wisconsin State Fair as "teens" began BEATING ANYONE IN SIGHT.
MULTIPLE police officers were badly beaten, as families with kids were seen RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES as teens began brawling.
WE DON'T HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS!!! pic.twitter.com/gBbE73ph3f
Last day of the Wisconsin State Fair.
They went on a rampage. Anyone they could get their hands on. Shots were allegedly fired.
They’re calling it Killwaukee now.
We can’t keep living like this, something has to change. pic.twitter.com/AJ7Xi3BPiZ
Local news reports show police attempting to break up the fights, but the assailants swarm into the fairground crowds to avoid arrest. Roving mob fights involving black "youths" are common at state fairs across the region every year. The Minnesota State Fair reported similar incidents last year and rumors suggest a "bigger brawl" is likely this year.
It’s not just Wisconsin.
This was the Minnesota State Fair last year—and the year before there was a shooting in the midway.
Every year it gets more and more violent. I wonder why🤔#fight#statefair https://t.co/ktUFWO8377 pic.twitter.com/7Um9Tc6oYy
Why start brutal fights at the state fair? Maybe because the whole point is to ruin everyone else's day. Maybe the point is simply to create chaos and bask in the violence and misery. What is clear is that events that used to be safe for families are being turned into open melees just so urban demographics can revel in their own lack of impulse control.
Tyler Durden Mon, 08/17/2026 - 21:20