X-Bat Revealed: America’s Game-Changing Weapon Will Terrify China

Walmart pauses H-1B hiring

X-Bat “autonomous fighter”

Trump admin probes “weaponization”

Walmart, which currently employs over 2,000 H-1B visa holders primarily in corporate roles, has halted offers to new applicants needing the visa.

The $100,000 fee, announced last month, targets new H-1B applications from abroad to curb program abuse and prioritize American workers, with exemptions for current visa holders or those already in the U.S. on student visas.

Over 70% of approvals go to Indian professionals, but the fee could shift focus to domestic talent.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump rebuffed a request by Schumer to meet until the three-week-old government shutdown ends. (INV)

Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing a large economic stimulus package exceeding last year's $92 billion equivalent, centered on inflation relief for households. (RTS)

The U.S. economy could potentially "inflect higher" in 2026, as economists highlighted tax cuts spurring business investment and boosting household income, while falling mortgage rates could drive residential construction. (YF)

Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman endorsed Trump as "the most pro-business president we've ever had," crediting his infrastructure and tax policies for boosting markets. (CNBC)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: The Motley Fool recommended allocating $1,000 to Alphabet and Meta, citing projections that show the companies could double in value over five years through AI-driven double-digit earnings growth. (MF)

Morningstar spotlighted high-dividend ETFs, led by Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF and Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, as prime low-cost vehicles for robust passive income in 2025. (MS)

MarketBeat highlighted three oversold large-caps—Cintas, Fastenal, and Gen Digital—as ripe for rebound after sharp declines, with analyst targets implying 15-20% upside. (MB)

Red Cat Holdings merits a Strong Buy rating thanks to its innovative unmanned drones and aquatic vehicles tailored for defense, fueled by robust U.S. military spending, according to Seeking Alpha. (SA)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Warner Bros. Discovery is open to a full sale after rejecting bids from Paramount's Skydance and another suitor, amid unsolicited interest from parties including Netflix and Comcast. (DL)

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) proposed reviving a $21 monthly per-employee head tax on firms with over 100 workers to address a $1.2 billion budget deficit. (FBN)

An in-depth investigation exposed the surrogate pregnancy industry's multibillion-dollar underbelly of lax regulation and rampant financial abuses like gambling debts. (WSJ)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Rare earths mining is having a “crypto moment” as Cleveland-Cliffs' pivot to critical minerals sparks a 20% stock surge, fueled by China’s export curbs and U.S. tariff threats. (YF)

Gold prices steadied, rebounding modestly to $4,127.95 per ounce after a more-than-5% plunge, the steepest one-day drop since 2020. (INV)

The Trump administration plans to distribute over $3 billion in aid to farmers, resuming loan processing and payments amid the government shutdown. (RTS)

The Trump administration plans to purchase one million barrels of oil for the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, aiming to replenish the depleted stockpile. (BBG)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: China is pioneering a crypto-fueled redefinition of warfare economics, leveraging the digital yuan as an instrument of statecraft to finance conflicts and evade U.S. sanctions. (BIC)

The Federal Reserve has proposed new rules allowing stablecoin issuers to directly access the U.S. banking system without intermediary banks. (CN)

Coinbase will acquire onchain private investment platform Echo for $375 million in cash and stock. (TB)

Crypto advocacy groups urged the Trump administration to defend the CFPB's open banking rule against challenges from major banks. (CT)

The X-BAT, a 26-foot-long drone with a 39-foot wingspan, features a single afterburning jet engine, a 2,000-nautical-mile range, and a 50,000-foot service ceiling, with a modular, open-architecture design for easy upgrades.

The X-BAT’s tail-sitting VTOL capability allows runway-independent operations, enhancing survivability by avoiding ground-based attacks and reducing reliance on tankers, critical in Pacific theater wargames.

The X-BAT’s VTOL and stealth design counters China’s strategy of targeting airfields and tankers, enabling dispersed operations from non-traditional platforms, while its lower cost (est. $20-30M vs. $100M+ for China’s J-20) allows the U.S. to field greater numbers, overwhelming China’s numerical production advantage.

The X-BAT supports air-to-air, air-to-ground, electronic warfare, and ISR missions, with internal and external weapons bays for missiles like AIM-120 AMRAAM.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: OpenAI unveiled Atlas, a groundbreaking AI-powered web browser that integrates ChatGPT, intensifying competition with Google. (AX)

Chinese scientists claim to have developed an analogue AI chip that delivers up to 1,000 times the throughput and 100 times the energy efficiency of Nvidia's H100 GPU. (SCMP)

A coalition of public figures, including Meghan Markle and Steve Bannon, joined the Future of Life Institute's call to pause superintelligent AI development until safety measures can mitigate existential risks. (MD)

AI beats lawyers at legal research, with a Vals AI study revealing that tools like Alexi and Counsel Stack score 74%-78% accuracy on 200 complex queries, outpacing lawyers' 69%. (LC)

A new AI algorithm developed by researchers outperforms human experts in detecting glaucoma, achieving higher accuracy in analyzing retinal images, which could enhance early diagnosis and treatment. (NM)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Amazon's leaked internal documents reveal plans to automate 75% of its operations, displacing over 600,000 U.S. jobs by 2033 through advanced robotics. (NYT)

Humanoid robots, developed by companies like Figure AI and Sanctuary AI, are poised to transform healthcare by performing tasks such as patient monitoring and medication delivery. (BBG)

Unitree Robotics unveiled its advanced H2 humanoid robot, a 5-foot-11-inch, 154-pound bipedal model capable of eerily lifelike pirouettes, karate strikes, and catwalk struts. (LIV)

Guinness World Records spotlights extraordinary robotic feats, from China's Qiu robot's 6,241-hit table-tennis rally to a U.S. team's 0.103-second Rubik's Cube solve. (GWR)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: The U.S. military is accelerating the deployment of AI-powered humanoid robots as frontline "synthetic soldiers" capable of autonomous combat, with companies like Boston Dynamics vying for multimillion-dollar contracts. (NN)

Elon Musk assailed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, accusing him of trying to "kill NASA" and mocking his intelligence with a "two-digit IQ" barb. (TG)

The U.S. Army integrated the Pentagon's Maven AI into wargaming exercises, to accelerate crisis-response planning and decision-making. (DN)

DARPA is seeking innovative designs and manufacturing for next-generation integrated circuits in photonic, quantum, and bio/organic technologies. (MA)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Sesame, the conversational AI startup, raised a $250 million Series B led by Sequoia and Spark Capital to develop a voice-powered personal AI agent for all-day smart glasses. (TC)

Multimodal AI startup Fal.ai secured about $250 million in funding, led by Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia, at a valuation surpassing $4 billion. (TC)

Findem, an AI-powered talent acquisition startup, raised $51 million in equity and debt funding, including a $36 million Series C led by SLW. (CBN)

Keycard, a startup managing AI agent access to enterprise systems, raised an $8 million seed co-led by a16z and boldstart, plus $30 million Series A led by Acrew Capital. (SA)

The IWWG, initiated by Gabbard in April, includes officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Justice Department, FBI, CIA, and other agencies, meeting biweekly to coordinate and share information.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel are vocal supporters, accusing the Biden DOJ of targeting Trump, pro-life advocates, and parents at school board meetings while neglecting other crimes.

Gabbard revoked credentials of former intelligence officials and established a task force to restore transparency in the intelligence community.

The Biden administration is accused of a “whole-of-government” approach to abusing power, including anti-Christian bias and politically motivated prosecutions, as cited in a 17,000-page House report and other findings.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: London’s Metropolitan Police will cease investigating non-crime hate incidents to refocus on serious crimes. (BBC)

Amid nationwide "No Kings" protests against President Trump, vandals defaced two San Antonio churches with anti-Trump graffiti invoking Jesus. (CBN)

TikTok repeatedly censored videos honoring the late Charlie Kirk for unspecified community guidelines violations. (CF)

An undercover video captures a University of Utah employee suggesting that DEI initiatives are merely being rebranded to evade the state's 2024 anti-DEI law. (FOX)