In the last week, billionaire-funded super PACs spent more than $85 million trying to defeat Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. Guess what? THEY LOST BOTH RACES. The American people are rising up against the oligarchs.

In the latest Coalition Defense of Taiwan update, AEI’s @DAlexBlumenthal examines Japan’s ongoing defense reforms, PLA Navy plans to expand its aviation assets, and the PRC’s response to Philippine territorial claims to the UN over the Scarborough Shoal.

In the Guardian, former NBA player-turned-activist Etan Thomas defends DiJonai Carrington after she blamed "white privilege" following her Flagrant 2 on Sophie Cunningham. Thomas also compared Caitlin Clark to a "delicate white flower" as he argued that black WNBA players are treated unfairly. "The question isn’t simply whether white privilege exists in the WNBA. The real question is: How much more evidence do people need before they’re willing to admit that it does?" Lol.

In the nineteenth century, travelers reportedly discovered a strange abandoned village hidden far from major towns. Homes stood empty. Cooking utensils remained inside kitchens, personal belongings were still scattered across rooms, and food was reportedly left behind. Yet the villagers were gone. There were no clear signs of a battle, no obvious disaster, and no convincing evidence explaining where everyone had disappeared. Searchers looked through nearby forests and roads, hoping to find clues. Nothing solved the mystery. Some believed the villagers had fled because of disease or danger. Others suspected conflict, migration, or something never recorded by history. The truth remains uncertain. What happened to everyone? To this day, the mystery continues to fascinate people because the village appeared to be abandoned without a clear explanation.