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One stranded group member texted 911, reporting 11 people trapped in a cave near Davenport with water rapidly rising late Sunday night.

The fire has grown to over 180 acres, authorities said.

Saylor's Strategy Scoops Up Another $2B Bitcoin, Holdings Reach 843,738 BTC

Authored by Helen Partz via CoinTelegraph.com,

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, made another massive BTC acquisition last week as the crypto asset hovered around $80,000.

Strategy acquired 24,869 Bitcoin (BTC) for $2.01 billion between May 11 and 17, according Monday's 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: SEC

The purchases were made at an average price of $80,985 per BTC, raising Strategy’s cost basis to $75,700.

The company now holds 843,738 BTC, acquired for about $63.87 billion. At the time of publication, the holdings were valued at roughly $65.3 billion, according to CoinGecko.

STRC sales account for 97% of the entire purchase

Strategy funded nearly all of its latest Bitcoin purchase through sales of its STRC perpetual preferred stock, which accounted for about 97% of total proceeds.

According to the SEC filing, Strategy raised roughly $1.95 billion from the sale of about 19.5 million STRC shares.

In comparison, Strategy’s Class A common stock (MSTR) contributed a smaller share of funding, generating about $83.7 million in net proceeds from the sale of 430,344 shares.

Source: SEC

The outcome was broadly in line with expectations from STRC Live, which reported heavy STRC activity during the week, including a record trading day of 15.1 million shares, with estimated purchases of around 15,466 BTC.

The structure mirrors previous large bitcoin buys this year, including a 34,164 BTC purchase, Strategy’s third-largest on record, which was also largely financed through preferred securities rather than common equity.

Strategy co-founder Saylor previously signaled that the company would add to its Bitcoin holdings by posting a chart showing Strategy’s purchase history with 109 Bitcoin acquisition events since 2020.

Its 843,738 BTC now far outpaces BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, which holds around 817,000 BTC on behalf of its clients.

The purchases came a week after Saylor raised the possibility of selling Bitcoin during Strategy’s recent earnings call, framing it as a way to better protect the asset’s long-term value.

He said that sticking too rigidly to a “never sell” Bitcoin approach could, over time, work against the very asset the company is built to accumulate and hold.

Tyler Durden Mon, 05/18/2026 - 14:50

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Senate Parliamentarian Rejects White House Ballroom Funding In Reconciliation Bill

Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,

The Senate’s nonpartisan referee has rejected a bid by Republicans to fund $1 billion for the White House ballroom expansion and other White House security upgrades.

According to Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, the $1 billion proposal breaks the rules of the reconciliation process. As parliamentarian, MacDonough’s go-ahead is traditionally required to approve individual items passed under the partisan process.

Republicans are seeking to use the reconciliation process—which is not subject to the filibuster—to pass $72 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection, which has been blocked by Democrats in the wake of fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by immigration agents. The GOP bill would fund the agencies through 2029, the end of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Trump has long pushed for the addition of a major ballroom to the East Wing of the White House, particularly in the wake of an alleged assassination attempt while attending an event away from the executive mansion.

The Secret Service had requested the money after the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last month.

Republicans had pursued including this funding in an immigration enforcement funding package.

According to Democrats, MacDonough’s ruling holds that funding for a project as large as the proposed White House expansion is too broad to be included in the filibuster-proof bill.

It’s unclear which, if any, segments of the GOP proposal can be included in the final funding bill.

The parliamentarian left the bulk of the bill’s immigration language intact, barring some minor provisions such as the one providing funding for Customs and Border Protection to hire, train, and pay agents. Republicans have indicated that these sections can be revised and retained in the legislation.

A model of the White House and proposed ballroom (R) is displayed during a ballroom fundraising dinner with President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 15, 2025. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Technically, Republicans can ignore MacDonough’s rulings, which are ultimately considered advisory; however, respect for the parliamentarian’s authority is so deeply embedded in the upper chamber’s culture that this rarely happens.

Ignoring or overriding a ruling on a budget reconciliation bill would set a precedent that could deeply weaken the filibuster, an eventuality that members of both parties have long wished to avoid.

In 2021, after the Senate parliamentarian rejected a bid by Democrats to include a $15 minimum wage in a reconciliation package, some Democrats called for the ruling to be overturned; however, these calls were ultimately rejected.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks to members of the press in Washington on April 14, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) wrote in a post on X that “none of this is abnormal” during the complicated budget process that Republicans are using to try to pass the immigration enforcement and White House security money on a partisan basis.

“Redraft. Refine. Resubmit,” Wrasse said in the post.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) framed the ruling as a win for Democrats.

“Republicans tried to make taxpayers foot the bill for Trump’s billion-dollar ballroom. Senate Democrats fought back — and blew up their first attempt,” Schumer wrote in a May 17 post on X.

“Americans don’t want a ballroom. They don’t need a ballroom. And they sure as hell should not be forced to pay for one,” Schumer added, vowing that Democrats would continue to seek to block funding for the White House expansion.

Tyler Durden Mon, 05/18/2026 - 14:15

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