On July 1st, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced microreactor developer Deployable Energy had achieved criticality on their Unity reactor design at Idaho National Labs (INL). 

CRITICALITY NUMBER THREE! 🎉

On June 30, 2026, at around 11:55 PM MDT, @DeployableE’s Unity microreactor achieved initial criticality at @INL. It is the third nuclear test reactor this year to go critical under @ENERGY authorization.

Congratulations to Deployable Energy on… pic.twitter.com/TaIKbtnNTx

— Office of Nuclear Energy | US Department of Energy (@GovNuclear) July 1, 2026

This is the third privately developed and funded reactor to have obtained the nuclear milestone of sustaining a chain reaction of fissioning uranium atoms inside of a reactor core.

Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy”, was the starting point. The executive order contained, among many other things, a goal for the DOE to start up a reactor testing program that enabled rapid iteration and commercialization of advanced nuclear technology.

Soon after, the DOE launched the Reactor Pilot Program (RPP), as well as a sister program to fuel these reactors (in the future) called the Fuel Line Pilot Program (FLPP).

The selectees of the RPP included 11 different reactor projects:

• Aalo Atomics Inc.
• Antares Nuclear Inc. 
• Atomic Alchemy Inc.
• Deep Fission Inc. 
• Last Energy Inc. 
• Oklo Inc. (two projects)
• Natura Resources LLC
• Radiant Industries Inc. 
• Terrestrial Energy Inc. 
• Valar Atomics Inc.

Over the next several months, the developers raced to iterate through their designs with the goal of achieving criticality before America’s birthday, this upcoming weekend. 

First, Antares achieved zero power criticality on their sodium heat pipe design in the beginning of June. This was followed a couple weeks later when Valar achieved criticality on their gas reactor in Utah. Valar took the testing a step further to actually producing nuclear heat and performing critical safety tests on a live stream.

And just before reaching the July 4th holiday, Deployable Energy announced their success in achieving a chain reaction of fission in their core. 

Deployable Energy’s success is most notable because the company was not even a part of the RPP. The company was achieving iteration and criticality of their reactor design under the more recently launched Nuclear Energy Launch Pad. This program is the long-term successor project that will succeed the RPP in the FLPP for the years to come.

Multiple other companies are still in pursuit of initial criticality, which will enable them to continue on their path of iteration and preparation for commercializing their designs under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This includes companies like Oklo, Radiant, and Aalo. 
 

Update(1315): The American side is keeping up the illusion of progress on Iran talks, even as Tehran has once again on Wednesday confirmed no direct meeting has taken in place in Doha – nor are there plans for direct dialogue, its deputy FM has said. President Trump has simultaneously hailed “very good” talks on Iran in Doha – apparently just referencing envoys Witkoff and Kushner merely dialoguing with third country intermediaries. 

On the same day, Vice President JD Vance played a little ‘bad cop’ – warning that if Iran fails to acquiesce and destabilizes the region that the US could respond, escalating in several ways. “If Iran attempts to rebuild its nuclear program, threaten its neighbors and support terrorism, President Trump has options to deal with it,” Vance said, without specifying further. Earlier the WSJ stated that Trump had been briefed on several military options – including ‘all-out war’; however, the US president is said to want to give diplomacy more time.

Vance additionally stated that the US “dropped bombs on Iran because it fired on ships, and we used leverage to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz” – and suggested this could be done again. He also mentioned that current indirect Doha talks are “to discuss the details and flow of maritime traffic.” According to more:

Addressing troops at a naval air base in Virginia, US Vice President JD Vance says Iran’s nuclear program has been set back decades thanks to American military strikes against it.

“If you look at what our own intelligence says about their nuclear program, they are further away from developing a nuclear bomb than they have ever been since basically the last 20 or 30 years,” Vance says, stopping short of US President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear program has been “totally obliterated.”

“What the president asks you to accomplish is to destroy the defense industrial base of that country, so that if they ever decided to rebuild their military, or if they ever decided to rebuild that nuclear program, they would be harmless to do it. You did that exactly as well,” Vance tells the US troops.

Iran has meanwhile consistently denied that it is pursuing nuclear weapons, but very likely many IRGC hardliners are calling for just that.

On the Hormuz front, the US believes it is regaining leverage:

• US SEES 10 MILLION BARRELS VIA HORMUZ SAPPING IRAN OIL LEVERAGE
• VANCE: WE’VE HAD FREE COMMERCIAL TRANSIT FOR LAST THREE DAYS
• VANCE: WE CAN’T DROP BOMBS  FOR SAKE OF DROPPING BOMBS
• VANCE: IF IRAN TRIES TO REBUILD NUCLEAR PROGRAM, US HAS OPTIONS

*  *  *

President Trump started this week by claiming that Iran had “requested” direct talks in Qatar, but as of yet the ground reality in Doha is that Iranian officials have refused, leaving US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to just bide their time and deal with Qatari and Pakistani intermediaries.

In this context of Tehran putting direct contacts on hold, Trump has reportedly been briefed on options for a possible return to broader war with Iran, but has for now opted to continue diplomatic negotiations, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal citing admin officials.

The late Monday report described that discussions on “all-out war” planning involved War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, with the focus of the briefing described as assessing whether the United States should abandon talks with Tehran and resume full-scale military strikes. The Journal characterized, citing the officials, the latter option as—

…a move some of them describe as “finishing the job.” While not making a final decision, Trump has told aides he believes another round of full-scale attacks could derail diplomacy and hurt Washington’s chances of ultimately dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.

While Trump is said to be leaning toward diplomacy, the report suggests he had not made a final decision yet, as new large-scale strikes would certainly destroy already fragile negotiations.

The WSJ further specified the president has told advisers he is ready to allow nuclear negotiations with Tehran to extend beyond an August 18 deadline, giving breathing room and flexibility for talks to produce real results.

It should be noted that the Pentagon and US intelligence community routinely present ‘options’ for the Commander-in-Chief:

Pentagon briefings on a president’s military options in a conflict aren’t unusual, with Trump routinely holding formal and impromptu meetings on Iran. But the latest discussions suggest he is looking for ways to break the deadlock with Tehran and hasn’t yet ruled out a return to fighting. Resuming the conflict, some officials acknowledge, would be a tacit admission that the much-touted Iran deal failed.

Central sticking points remain the initial release of $6 billion in Iranian frozen assets, and the question of tolls or fees for Hormuz Strait passage. The US side has yet to see enough good behavior from Iran to release the funds – but perhaps the administration is more worried about domestic criticism from the hawks. Neither side has found agreement for moving forward.

In the meantime so-called hardliners within Iran are putting pressure on their negotiators to make Washington ‘pay’ if it won’t honor its agreements outlined in the MoU. As geopolitical blog Moon of Alabama has laid out:

The U.S. is obviously not willing to fulfill the conditions set out in its Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. It will need more pressure from Iran to make the U.S. agree to its demands.

The current team of Iranian leaders who had negotiated and signed the MoU are President Masoud Pezeshkian -a good heart surgeon but unexperienced politician-, Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf -a former IRGC leader and professional politician-, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi -a longtime professional diplomat.

All three are now under critique for multiple breaches of the MoU by the U.S. and the perceived lack of Iranian responses to those.

Some 68 members of 88 men strong Assembly of Experts have published (in Farsi, in in English) a strong admonishing advice to the negotiators to stick to the ten points the Supreme Leader of Iran had defined.

The Assembly of Experts is the elected board of senior Islamic jurists which can elect and disposes of the Supreme Leader. It is residing in Qom. Its assembly building had been destroyed in one of the U.S. attacks on Iran.

The Assembly’s statement from just days stated in part, “In accordance with the commitment of the respected officials to the leadership and the people, it is expected that any breach of the agreement and violation of the clauses of the memorandum of understanding will be responded to immediately.”

The Iranian Foreign Minister’s own rhetoric has grown more pointed and heated at this point:

The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see.

POTUS has committed the U.S. to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them.

Any threat against our People and Leadership will receive Immediate Powerful Response. pic.twitter.com/VrKa259gYd

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 1, 2026

So far, the White House has tended to ignore such strong rhetoric coming from Araghchi – again, likely not willing to damage negotiations all based on some social media tit-for-tat exchanges.

But all of this without doubt demonstrates that Tehran won’t so easily bend, and the two sides could be headed toward more direct clashes as absolutist demands and interpretations keep being presented.

A remote former Coast Guard tower off the coast of North Carolina has become one of the country’s most unusual vacation destinations, with thrill-seekers paying to spend days stranded 35 miles out in the Atlantic on what’s been dubbed the world’s most dangerous hotel, according to the NY Post.

Interest in Frying Pan Tower recently surged after charter captain Austin Aycock posted a TikTok showing six guests being dropped off at the rusting structure before he motored away, joking, “See you in a couple days!” The video has attracted more than 2.2 million views, with viewers split between fascination and disbelief.

(Photos: NY Post)

Built in 1964, the decommissioned light station sits about 80 feet above the ocean in an area known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Once guests arrive, there’s no easy way back. Leaving requires either a helicopter or a 35-mile boat ride to shore.

The Post writes that rates start at about $200 per person per night with a three-night minimum stay. Aycock said one particularly adventurous group remained on the tower for two weeks.

The location isn’t for the faint of heart. The surrounding waters are home to great white, bull, and tiger sharks, while the tower sits in hurricane-prone waters where storms can bring winds exceeding 100 mph. Medical emergencies also present a challenge due to the remote location.

(Photos: NY Post)

Despite its isolation, the tower can accommodate up to 12 guests across eight bedrooms and offers modern comforts including solar power, high-speed internet, hot showers, a fully equipped kitchen, and a reverse osmosis water system.

Visitors can fish, snorkel over a nearby reef, shoot biodegradable clay targets, or hit fish-food golf balls into the ocean. A professional chef is also available for private groups, while the massive helipad doubles as a scenic spot for stargazing and watching the sunrise.

The viral video sparked plenty of reactions online. Some commenters said nothing could convince them to stay overnight, while others joked the tower would be the perfect place to hide from a zombie apocalypse. One viewer summed up the skepticism by asking, “What’s the opposite of a bucket list?”

In the same week Democrats began sounding alarms over radical left-wing revolutionaries gaining power and hijacking the party, there is a new report from Axios that Kamala Harris privately spoke with far-left New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and held closed-door meetings with progressives, including pro-Palestinian activists, as she appears to lay the groundwork for a potential 2028 White House run.

Axios reported, “Harris, who occasionally has texted with Mamdani in the past few months, called him two days after the mayor’s handpicked candidates swept three congressional races in New York City, ousting a pair of incumbents.”

“It’s the latest sign the former vice president is laying the groundwork for a potential White House run in 2028 — and is looking to strengthen or repair her relationships with left-wing Democrats,” the report said.

Axios did not reveal the specifics of the conversation, but the timing is telling.

Democratic Party elites are increasingly fearful that Democratic Socialists are gaining real power inside the party, and Harris’ private outreach to Mamdani suggests she understands the far left may be impossible to ignore ahead of 2028.

The wake-up call for the Democratic Party came last week in New York City, where Democratic Socialists scored closely watched House primary victories over candidates backed by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The result sparked panic inside the party, as establishment Democrats went to MSM to rant:

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville/ New York (D) Congressman Tom Suozzi

‘START YOUR OWN MOVEMENT’: Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville is calling on Socialists to start their own movement and stop using the Democratic Party to advance it.

“If it’s such a powerful, sweeping movement that’s got momentum everywhere, then go ahead and be at the… pic.twitter.com/et3mZzqIA8

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) June 26, 2026

New York Attorney General Letitia James

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich

🚨 DEMOCRATS IN FULL CIVIL WAR — MODERATES VS SOCIALISTS!

Even Elissa Slotkin is reading the tea leaves: “The Democratic Party is a circular shooting squad… we just don’t have people who understand the moment and what leadership means.”

James Carville straight-up telling the… pic.twitter.com/IlGBHWUNMQ

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) June 26, 2026

Hakeem Jeffries

Hakeem Jeffries refuses to answer if he will work with New York City Democrat Socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier.

CNBC: How are you going to work with some of these folks?

JEFFRIES: “Her views are clearly not my views… in terms of what brings Democrats together…” pic.twitter.com/JdjmwxSfr2

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 25, 2026

Our take is that Harris might not just be repairing relationships with socialists but also hedging against a party base that is quickly shifting far left as the establishment scrambles to contain it.

That’s because mainstream America might not be ready for a socialist takeover. The Trump team fired up their narrative machine and blasted the “communists” last week … Trump said on Truth Social last week:

“These are not social Democrats; these are hard-core, godless Communists. This is the most serious threat to our Country since its existence 250 years ago.”

Polymarket odds on Democratic Presidential Nominee 2028

Whether Harris asked Mamdani to dial back the socialist propaganda remains unknown as the party, with no guardrails, increasingly embraces socialism and Marxism – just as much of Latin America is eradicating far-left extremists from power.

Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times,

The ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom underscores a harder-to-resolve supply issue for copper, according to veteran natural resource investor Rick Rule.

Speaking recently with Siyamak Khorrami, host of EpochTV’s “Market Insider,” Rule said the increasingly energy-intensive lives people around the world are living have pushed up demand for copper. With companies and countries investing heavily in AI, future demand for the red metal will be “staggering,” he said.

At the same time, the world, especially the United States, doesn’t have enough copper development projects “in the pipeline,” Rule said, making a copper shortage and higher prices inevitable.

Growing Supply Deficit

According to the International Copper Study Group, global refined copper consumption rose to 28.2 million metric tons in 2025 from 25.8 million metric tons in 2022, while production increased to 28.6 million metric tons from 25.2 million metric tons over the same period. This represents a supply surplus of 400,000 metric tons.

However, given the essential role copper plays in electrification, digitalization, and technologies such as AI, data centers, electric vehicles, and defense, a January S&P Global study predicts that demand for the metal will rise to 42 million metric tons by 2040. The study also estimates that, without “meaningful supply expansion,” there could be a copper shortfall of about 10 million metric tons by then.

Copper prices have risen significantly. Copper futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $6.20 per pound on June 28, nearly doubling from their post-pandemic low of $3.23 per pound, reached on July 11, 2022.

The situation is more challenging for the United States. The country is a net copper importer, producing less than half of the refined copper it consumes. According to the United States Geological Survey, a scientific agency under the Department of the Interior, America produced 850,000 metric tons of refined copper in 2025 while consuming 2.2 million metric tons, resulting in a deficit of more than 1 million metric tons.

The United States is expected to remain a net importer of copper through 2040, with imported refined copper projected to account for about 70 percent of consumption, according to a June 23 SEC filing citing Wood Mackenzie data.

In November 2025, the Department of the Interior added copper to the U.S. Geological Survey’s critical minerals list.

Underinvestment

“In copper, we have been systemically underinvested in exploration, in construction, in development, and we’ve been doing so for 30 years,” Rule told Khorrami.

“This is a capital-intensive, long-term business. There is nothing we can do right now—nothing, not one thing—that will prevent a supply shortage within five years.”

Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025—Copper

Rule said developing a new copper mine is a very long process, taking about 10 years to explore and find a mine, three years to drill, three more years “in a good country” to secure a permit and funding, and two years to build—about 18 years in total.

“The difficulty is that people weren’t doing enough of this 18 years ago,” he said.

Wood Mackenzie estimated in a 2021 analysis that the world copper industry had committed around $120 billion in capital spending to maintain production at the time, offsetting the impact of grade decline and depletion.

“Nonetheless, without additional substantial investment, production will decline from 2024 onwards. Coupled with demand growth, this decline in output will lead to a theoretical shortfall of around [16 million metric tons] by 2040,” the analysis states. To close the copper supply shortfall, the analysis said, the industry would need about $325 billion in additional investment.

“The industry is looking right down the barrel at an incredible capital spend to merely maintain current production levels, never mind increase it to meet the demands of rural electrification in the third world, data centers, electric vehicles, the electrification of everything,” Rule said.

“If you believe the numbers that people like Google and Amazon are putting out in terms of their data center demands, we will need to produce more copper between 2026 and 2050—24 short years—than has been mined in the history of mankind,” he said.

Rule said the industry has entered a copper construction cycle.

“For a long time, when copper was languishing at $3 a pound, the industry didn’t make enough money to build new mines; $6 a pound is not a bad incentive price.”

Permitting Hurdles

However, he said there are currently few construction-ready projects due to decades of underinvestment in mineral exploration. In the United States, he added, the permitting process is a major hurdle for these projects to move forward.

For example, Rule said the Resolution Copper project, jointly owned by Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP and located in Arizona, is a high-quality copper deposit and well-located, but has been waiting more than a decade for a permit.

According to Rio Tinto’s website, if developed, the Resolution Copper project could be one of the largest copper mines in the United States, having the potential to supply up to one-quarter of the U.S. copper demand.

After decades of exploration, the Resolution deposit was officially discovered in 1995, according to the Department of Agriculture. It started the permitting process in 2013 and released its independent Final Environmental Impact Statement in 2019, entering a new phase of public consultation, according to a Rio Tinto press release. The company said in a March release that it had completed a key land exchange advancing the project toward development.

“All of this points to the fact that we’re going to have to get used to higher copper prices,” Rule said.

Three decades after suing Pepsi for refusing to give him a fighter jet, John Leonard finally got a reward that may be even better, according to a post at Supercarblondie. 

Leonard became the center of one of advertising’s most famous legal battles after taking a 1996 Pepsi commercial at face value. The ad, promoting the company’s Pepsi Points loyalty program, jokingly claimed customers could redeem seven million Pepsi Points for a military Harrier jet.

Rather than laugh it off, the Seattle college student raised enough money to buy the required points and submitted a claim for the aircraft. Pepsi rejected it, insisting the jet was never a real prize.

The article says that the case went to court, where a judge ruled that no reasonable person would believe Pepsi was seriously offering a fighter jet in a soft drink promotion.

Although Leonard lost the lawsuit, the bizarre dispute became legendary and was later chronicled in the Netflix documentary Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?.

Now, nearly 30 years later, Frontier Airlines gave the story a happy ending. As part of a Super Bowl campaign called “The Big Redemption,” the airline converted Leonard’s original seven million Pepsi Points into seven million Frontier Miles, effectively giving him free flights for life.

The airline even featured Leonard in a tongue-in-cheek commercial, handing him the keys to an Airbus A320neo as a nod to the decades-old saga.

Now in his 50s with a wife and children, Leonard joked that unlimited airline miles are far more practical than owning and maintaining a military fighter jet. After waiting three decades, he never got the Harrier, but he may have received an even better prize.