Originally published at: Iran Attacks US Warships, US Sinks First Merchant Ship Since WW2 – Plus, Worst Treasury Yields in 100 Years – Peak Prosperity
Geopolitics
After the IRGC fired anti-ship ballistic missiles at U.S. warships, CENTCOM struck three Iranian tankers, sinking the Kylo. This exchange marks two firsts in the Iran War: the first time Iran has directly attacked U.S. warships, and the first time since World War II that the U.S. has attacked a merchant vessel.
Separately, adding to Economic Outcast sanctions, the Treasury sanctioned Turkey-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi and two subsidiaries for allegedly transferring funds for the IRGC Quds Force and routing Iranian oil revenue. Days earlier, UAE branches of Banque Misr lost dollar access on comparable grounds. US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack has described the sanctions as targeted at one institution rather than Türkiye as a whole.
Meanwhile, in Russia, envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin after a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv. The Kremlin maintains its demands for Ukrainian territorial concessions and NATO neutrality.
Economy
Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett states that long-dated Treasuries show rolling ten-year returns of negative 2 percent, the weakest in a century, and notes similar past periods preceded market shifts in 1939, 1974, and 2009. A Council on Foreign Relations analysis by Benn Steil and Yuma Schuster reports that price-sensitive buyers now absorb a larger share of Treasury issuance, with the price-sensitive portion rising 17 points during QT2 as debt grew from $31 trillion toward $38.5 trillion. The same weakness Bank of America casts as a possible generational entry point could, on the Council on Foreign Relations’ reading, instead signal a market that now needs higher term premiums to clear growing issuance, thus worsening the debt trajectory.
In a Mises Institute essay, Ryan McMaken argues that many current economic elites gained position through bailouts, regulation, and monetary policy rather than customer choice, citing 2008 rescues and government contract recipients. In the essay, he also outlines the difference between “economic elites” and “political elites,” and how the prevailing economic system impacts the nature of the economic elites.
Artificial Intelligence
A Sargasso Capital analysis states that the AI contest will hinge on adoption in the Global South rather than benchmark performance. It cites China’s 2026 purchasing-power GDP of $44.3 trillion versus $32.4 trillion for the U.S., declining U.S. share of Hugging Face downloads, and expanded Chinese cloud zones in Southeast Asia. The analysis notes Beijing’s formation of a 29-nation AI cooperation group.
US Politics
The Trump administration is drafting a rule that would permit a married stay-at-home parent to receive Child Care and Development Fund subsidies when the spouse works at least 35 hours weekly. The subsidy averages about $9,000 per child. Unmarried couples and non-working single parents would stay ineligible. Critics state the change would reduce funds for current recipients without added appropriations. Some HHS lawyers question its legality. The idea appeared in Project 2025. Critics have argued that the change would divert limited funds from single working parents who make up the majority of current recipients.
Conspiracy Theory
A 116-year-old church in Toledo, Ohio, burned down, marking yet another historic church fire. As with many of the other recent fires, officials listed the cause as undetermined.
Health
A study in Science Advances reports that researchers found bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis (and its toxic enzymes) in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, with levels correlating to two well-known Alzheimer’s-related protein changes. Oral infection in mice produced brain colonization, increased amyloid production, and hippocampal neuron damage. Gingipain inhibitors lowered bacterial load, reduced amyloid, and preserved neurons. The bacterium spreads via routine oral care and has been found in other tissues. Other analyses note that Alzheimer’s disease is multifactorial and that clinical trials of gingipain inhibitors have not met primary cognitive endpoints overall.
Environment
Southeast Colorado farmer Eric Hanagan reports that 2026 ranks as the driest year on local records, exceeding the 2002 drought and the 1930s Dust Bowl period. Canal company data show roughly 2.5 inches of precipitation, with no Rocky Mountain snowpack or spring rain and only one brief hailstorm. The Arkansas River bed lies exposed, and local teenagers have driven trucks across it. Hanagan links the water shortage to population growth in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo.
Sources
Colorado Farmer: 2026 Drought Tops Dust Bowl in La Junta History
It’s the worst year of drought in the recorded history of La Junta.
Source | Submitted by VTGothic
Gum Bacteria Linked to Alzheimer’s Pathology in New Study
Porphyromonas gingivalis, the keystone pathogen in chronic periodontitis, was identified in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Source | Submitted by Acorn Endeavors
Real Elites Don’t Need Bailouts or Lobbyists
The real elites have always been those who receive the voluntary and free support of others through the private sector, or through other non-violent means of interaction: through families, religious institutions, and other institutions of the private sector.
US Sanctions Turkish Bank for Alleged IRGC Fund Transfers
The sanctions come as part of Washington’s Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign to economically asphyxiate Iran by cutting off its remaining revenue and severing the channels it uses to move money abroad.
China’s AI Stack Wins the Global South as US Controls Backfire
The AI race that matters is not who builds the smartest model in the richest city. It is who becomes the operating system for the economies that still have the most growth left in them.
Witkoff-Kushner Moscow Trip: Putin Sets Terms, Low Hopes for Ukraine Deal
Expectations for the visit are low, though, according to people close to the Kremlin.
BofA Spots Century-Worst Bond Returns as Rare Buying Chance
Periods of negative long-run returns have historically served as highly lucrative entry points for investors seeking major market turnarounds.
Treasury’s Price-Sensitive Buyers Signal Looming Debt Spiral
As Treasury issuance continues to grow, and price-sensitive investors control more of the market, a U.S. debt crisis becomes more likely.
US Hits Three Iranian Tankers After IRGC Strikes Warships
The US and Iran traded attacks at sea overnight after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two American warships.
US Sinks First Commercial Tanker Since WWII in New Escalation
This is the first commercial ship the US has sunk in the war and the first time since WW2.
Vance Plan Opens Child Care Funds to Stay-at-Home Parents
The Trump administration is drafting a rule that would open a federal child care program — built to help low-income parents hold jobs or finish school — to households where one married parent stays home, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Iran Fires Anti-Ship Missiles at U.S. Carrier, Prompting Evasive Maneuvers
Tehran launched anti-ship ballistic missiles toward the carrier for the first time, marking a major escalation in the war.
Toledo Church Burns in Latest “Cause Unknown” Fire
Another “cause unknown” church fire
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: StephenJIII_42, Grok, U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, Wystler_, and Reuters.
