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For the second time in the last three years, the Bruins have prevailed in the head-to-head all-sports competition with rival USC known as the Crosstown Cup.

FBI Arrests CIA Official With $40 Million in Gold Bars, $2 Million In Cash Stashed in His Home

In what may be the most bizarre story of the week, if not all of 2026, the NYTimes reports that a senior CIA official was arrested last week after investigators found hundreds of gold bars worth over $40 million stashed in his Virginia residence, a non-fiat fortune that he apparently brought home from work, according to court papers.

The CIA official, David Rush, is being held in jail while he awaits a detention hearing in the coming days on charges of stealing public money by filling out fraudulent time sheets. But, as the NYT admits, the charging documents filed in Alexandria, Va., still leave a lot unanswered about his recent conduct.

The only formal charge lodged against Rush is that he inflated his academic credentials and obtained military leave pay worth tens of thousands of dollars. The authorities say he falsely claimed to be a member of the Navy Reserve when he was discharged.

In a 2009 application for a government position for which he was subsequently hired, Rush allegedly lied about obtaining a bachelor's degree from Clemson University and a master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, according to the affidavit. The investigation revealed that Rush never attended or obtained a degree from either institution, according to the affidavit. 

The court papers describe Rush as a “former senior executive service-level employee at a United States government agency.” According to NYT sources, he until very recently held a senior position at the CIA.

In a joint statement, the CIA and FBI said the arrest occurred on May 19, after the agency alerted the bureau.

“After a C.I.A. internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the F.B.I. for a law enforcement investigation,” the statement said.

From last November to March, the court papers say, Rush asked for, and received, “a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses.”

When the CIA conducted a review of where the gold and currency were stashed, the agency was “unable to locate the gold bars or significant amounts of the foreign currency,” according to court papers.

On May 18, FBI agents searched Rush’s home and found “approximately 303 gold bars, each of which weighed approximately one kilogram,” according to an affidavit. Based on the price of gold, the affidavit said, the estimated value of the gold exceeded $40 million. Investigators also seized nearly three dozen luxury watches, many of them Rolexes.

The affidavit also claims that Rush lied about his military credentials while applying to enter the senior executive service level ranks and committed "timecard fraud" regarding military leave. He allegedly claimed 744 hours of military leave, resulting in $77,000 in compensation, since being honorably discharged from the Navy in 2015, according to the affidavit.

The biggest question of all remains unanswered: the court papers do not indicate why Rush appears to have kept so much gold, and $2 million in U.S. currency, not to mention 35 Rolexes in his home, or what work project would have required him to amass such wealth.

Below is the full charging affidavit from the criminal case (1:2026mj00177 USA vs Rush, Virginia Eastern Court).

David Rush Affidavit by Zerohedge

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2026 - 07:55

Not surprisingly, Mets fans have already seen enough.

UK Targets Kremlin-Linked Crypto Network In Latest Sanctions Round

Authored by Micah Zimmerman via BitcoinMagazine.com,

The United Kingdom has unveiled a fresh package of sanctions against Russian financial structures that use crypto and offshore payment routes to sidestep restrictions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. 

The measures focus on the Kremlin-backed A7 network, a ruble-based settlement system, and a cluster of exchanges and firms that route payments through Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.

Announced by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, the package covers 18 new designations that target what London describes as the backbone of Russia’s illicit finance channels. 

Officials say the list includes a Kyrgyz bank suspected of handling A7 flows, a major global cryptocurrency exchange that has sent more than 1.5 billion dollars to entities close to the Kremlin, and three Georgian companies that run Russia-focused trading platforms.

The A7 network has emerged as a central hub in Russia’s attempts to blunt the impact of Western sanctions on its war economy. Investigations by independent researchers describe A7 as a cross-border settlement platform that uses a ruble-backed token, branded A7A5, and links to Promsvyazbank, a state lender that supports the Russian defense sector.

According to the UK government, A7 claims to have moved more than 90 billion dollars during the past year, a sum that officials say approaches half of Russia’s annual military spending. 

Separate journalistic probes have found that A7-connected wallets and entities handle a significant share of cross-border transfers for sanctioned oligarchs and state-linked businesses.

The crackdown lands at a moment when Russia’s own forecasts show a weaker outlook for growth under sanctions pressure. This month the Economy Ministry cut its 2026 growth projection to 0.4 percent from 1.3 percent and reduced the estimate for 2027 from 2.8 percent to 1.4 percent, an admission that extended war spending and trade limits weigh on expansion.

Crypto is replacing bank links for Russia

Western authorities and crypto analytics firms have flagged crypto as a key tool in Russia’s effort to replace severed bank links. Research into related platforms such as A7A5 and exchanges that serve Russian users has traced billions of dollars in stablecoin and token flows that bypass traditional banking checks, much of it through venues in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Cooper framed the new sanctions as part of a broader drive to hit the financial lifelines of Moscow’s war machine and close off safe havens for enablers of the invasion. She said the UK would keep working with allies to expose, disrupt and dismantle the structures that move money and goods for Russian forces.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Britain has sanctioned more than 3,300 individuals, companies and vessels linked to the Kremlin, from banks and energy giants to defense suppliers.

The government estimates that international sanctions have stripped more than 450 billion dollars from Russia’s economy, a loss equal to an estimated two years of funding for its war against Ukraine.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2026 - 07:45

The ballistic missile was fired at 10:17 p.m. Wednesday ET and was successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces.

Last week, it was reported that the "Peaky Blinders" actor, 48, had been fired from the Paramount+ series “MobLand” after two seasons.

Last week, it was reported that the "Peaky Blinders" actor, 48, had been fired from the Paramount+ series “MobLand” after two seasons.

Alamo Drafthouse has sparked outrage after introducing a new ordering policy that means customers can use their cell phones to buy snacks during films.

The Justice Department is examining whether longtime advice columnist E. Jean Carroll committed perjury in testimony related to her two civil lawsuits against President Trump

The NBA’s 2025-26 awards were fully revealed after the Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla on Tuesday became the youngest Coach of the Year winner in over 50 years.

Seattle has built an ecosystem where militant progressive activists can repeatedly manufacture “emergencies,” then claim to be able to solve them with public money.

Drone Stocks Erupt After Report Of Pentagon Funding Deals

President Trump's war economy is accelerating, with a new report indicating that the Department of War is set to unleash funding deals across a handful of drone companies. The effort comes as the DoW's procurement program now favors startups, and there has been an emphasis within the department on ramping up America's drone manufacturing base, as hyper-innovation from the war in Ukraine has brought forward 2030s-era war technology.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the DoW has been in talks with a group of drone startups and suppliers, including Performance Drone Works, Unusual Machines, and Neros Technologies, about potential funding packages that could include debt, conditional loans, and possible equity stakes.

The financing would not be used to purchase batches of suicide drones directly. Instead, the plan is to expand domestic manufacturing capacity, lower unit costs, and help these war-unicorn startups ramp up production ahead of a major stockpiling effort by the DoW.

The DoW's $1.1 billion Drone Dominance initiative aims to stockpile 300,000 low-cost attack drones by the end of 2027 at a unit price of less than $5,000.

The WSJ's report sent drone-related firms soaring in premarket trading, with Unusual Machines soaring 33%, Red Cat up 13%, AeroVironment up 8%, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions up 8.4%, and Airo Group up 2.9%.

None of this should be surprising to readers, as we've detailed the Trump team's playbook with the DoW to reset procurement programs, funneling funding into defense startups while building out production lines for low-cost war machines, such as drones and robots.

We identified Axon, which plans to import Ukrainian war tech into the US to build up US stockpiles faster.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is becoming a drone manufacturing hub for allied forces that stretch across Eurasia.

Let's remind readers of our forward-looking theme published in January. 31: 

• "Explosion In AI Data Center Buildouts Will Demand Next-Gen Counter-Drone Security"

Then, after a couple of data centers in the Gulf area were hit by Iranian attack drones, we note:

• "Micro AI Sentry Guns May Be Next Layer Of Defense For Data Centers Against Kamikaze Drones"

Beyond one-way attack drones and interceptor drones, we suspect counter-drone threat systems, such as passive acoustic detection, will become popular in the US because there is a missing layer of air defense around critical infrastructure, from power grids to data centers.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2026 - 07:20

SGA is even trying to play to the refs in the court of law.

Today, May 28, is National Burger Day — or National Hamburger Day, however you wish to say it. The burger has been an American favorite for quite some time, and they’re often a go-to during the summer season with barbecues heating up. Restaurants across the country are celebrating the special day with deals and freebies...

A new report reveals how the United Nations has been hijacked by bad actors intent on subverting the United States, its allies and the West as a whole.

Helen Mirren, 80, was accosted while she was with her husband Taylor Hackford, 81, on Wednesday night.

Now, the seniors from Long Island increasingly have some much younger neighbors.

"I think the American dream is about possibilities ... " said Karen Knudsen. "The only obstacle is yourself."

Secure the bet $10, get $200 in bonus bets offer with the bet365 bonus code for Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

In the history of college softball, there might be only one thing more terrifying than facing UCLA’s Lisa Fernandez in the pitching circle.