Walz Breaks Silence Over Nick Shirley's Bombshell Fraud Expose

Tech billionaires vs California tax

Israel’s Iron Beam

Walz breaks silence

A proposed ballot measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on assets above $1 billion for California residents, with revenue earmarked to offset healthcare funding gaps.

The tax would apply retroactively to anyone living in California as of Jan. 1, 2026, with payments spread over five years.

Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey said the measure would force founders to sell large portions of their companies to generate the cash needed to pay the tax.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman warned the policy could accelerate the departure of entrepreneurs, jobs, and investment from the state.

Venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Google cofounder Larry Page are reportedly weighing whether to sever ties with California if the proposal advances.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Robust U.S. GDP growth and accelerating corporate profits signal a resilient economy heading into 2026, with no recession in sight and strong earnings projected. (FOR)

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan expects the Trump administration to de-escalate tariffs in 2026, maintaining an average 15% rate on broad partners with higher levies for non-compliant countries. (NP)

U.S. small business owners are cautiously optimistic for 2026, with nearly 80% expecting revenue growth, a new survey found. (FBN)

Louis Gerstner, the former IBM CEO credited with engineering the company's dramatic turnaround in the 1990s, died at age 83. (BBG)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Credo Technology earned Zacks Bull of the Day honors for its recent earnings beats, surging revenues, and guidance for 170% fiscal 2026 expansion. (ZCK)

Morningstar highlights 10 undervalued energy stocks, including Occidental Petroleum and Devon Energy, as top buys for 2026 due to attractive valuations and high yields. (MS)

Sprouts Farmers Market shares, down 55% from their peak, offer a compelling buy-the-dip opportunity amid robust sales growth and an undervalued 15 times earnings multiple, according to Motley Fool. (MF)

Cloudflare earned a Buy rating on Seeking Alpha for its accelerating growth in AI inference workloads and competitive edge over hyperscalers despite valuation concerns. (SA)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: U.S. mines are discarding vast critical minerals like cobalt as byproducts—recovering even a fraction could greatly slash America's import reliance on China, a new study found. (SD)

Silver prices retreated sharply, with futures down 2.3% to $75.34 after hitting a record intraday high of $82.61 an ounce. (INV)

Texas allocated $350 million for a new advanced nuclear energy office, the largest U.S. state commitment, to spur next-generation reactor development. (OP)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Coinbase Institutional predicts that perpetual futures, prediction markets, and stablecoins will dominate crypto activity in 2026. (CD)

Indian police arrested a former Coinbase customer-service agent linked to a major 2024 data breach, in which hackers bribed offshore contractors to access sensitive user information. (CN)

North Korean hackers stole a record $2 billion-plus in crypto in 2025, driven by the historic $1.5 billion Bybit breach and other major attacks. (TB)

Trading volumes for the tokenized iShares Silver Trust surged over 1,200% in the past 30 days, accompanied by a nearly 40% growth in net asset value, as silver prices hit successive records. (CD)

Defense officials said Iron Beam batteries have begun field deployment, with full rollout expected nationwide by the end of December.

Iron Beam builds on earlier systems like Lite Beam, which became operational in June, but offers significantly greater power and range.

The system has already been credited with downing dozens of hostile drones during recent fighting against Iran, according to the Defense Ministry.

Unlike traditional interceptors, Iron Beam uses directed-energy lasers, reducing interception costs to a fraction of systems like Iron Dome or Arrow.

Officials say the system can engage multiple aerial threats simultaneously and intercept targets earlier in their flight path.

Rafael leads development alongside firms including Elbit Systems, with the IDF integrating Iron Beam into Israel’s multilayered air-defense network.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: AI experts forecast a "flood" of radically advanced models in 2026, delivering stunning leaps in image generation and capabilities. (TAR)

China proposed strict new rules for emotional AI chatbots, banning content promoting suicide, gambling, or mental harm while requiring human intervention for suicidal users. (FP)

Visa and Mastercard are gearing up for AI agents to autonomously shop, compare deals, and complete payments in chatbots as early as 2026. (CNBC)

Most Groq shareholders will receive cash distributions at a $20 billion valuation, while 90% of employees join Nvidia with vested shares paid in cash and unvested converted to Nvidia stock. (AX)

OpenAI is seeking a new Head of Preparedness, noting “the potential impact of models on mental health was something we saw a preview of in 2025” (ENG)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: A teleoperated Unitree G1 humanoid robot kicked its controller in the groin due to signal latency, then mimicked his pained reaction in viral footage. (BB)

Xiaomi's new Changping smart factory produces a flagship smartphone every six seconds with capacity for 10 million units annually. (MM)

A robot developed by the Zhejiang Shenchen Kaidong Technology Company set a Guinness World Record with 1,452 consecutive badminton rallies against top human players. (UPI)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: China sanctioned 20 U.S. defense firms and 10 executives over Washington's $11.1 billion arms sales to Taiwan, freezing assets in China and barring transactions. (RTS)

Blue Origin appointed former United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno as president of its new National Security Group to lead defense and security initiatives. (YF)

Turkish defense giant Baykar's Kizilelma unmanned combat drones achieved the world's first fully autonomous close-formation flight using advanced smart fleet algorithms for synchronized maneuvers. (NGD)

In a viral 42-minute video posted to X, Shirley and his crew visited multiple Minnesota child-care centers on a weekday, finding them nonoperational, according to allegations in the segment.

The FBI moved resources into Minnesota before the viral attention, focusing on the Feeding Our Future investigation, which uncovered a $250 million scheme siphoning federal food aid intended for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patel said the bureau believes this is "just the tip of a very large iceberg" and added that some defendants are being referred to immigration authorities for possible denaturalization and deportation.

Walz’s office responded: "The Governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight – including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed. He has hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions."

⭐ Editor’s Pick: California dropped its lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's cancellation of over $4 billion in federal high-speed rail grants. (RTS)

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's deportation of Center for Countering Digital Hate founder Imran Ahmed, ruling it unconstitutional retaliation for his censorship efforts against U.S. platforms. (BN)

The Trump administration is deploying a novel push to probe companies like Alphabet and Verizon over DEI hiring, claiming fraudulent use of federal contract funds. (WSJ)

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers announced the State Department will soon release internal documents detailing past U.S. government involvement in social media content moderation efforts. (RTN)