Authored by former CIA officer Larry Johnson

I stumbled across something pretty bizarre today when I queried one of the AI-search engines about Russia’s capture of territory in Ukraine in 2026. Here is what the Chinese KIMI claimed:

The evidence from multiple sources — including Ukrainian official claims, Western think tanks, and Ukrainian independent trackers — suggests that Ukraine recaptured substantially more territory than Russia captured during the first half of 2026, driven by the southern counteroffensive. However, the pace of Ukrainian gains has slowed since spring, and Russia has made small net gains in recent months (June–July). The overall net for the full year so far appears to still favor Ukraine, but the margin and the exact numbers depend heavily on whose methodology you use.

There you have it… Ukraine is winning the war on the ground according to AI. Let me emphasize that you will find this same propaganda on GROK or Claude. The Western propaganda effort is paying dividends on the information operation side of the house. Even the Chinese-coders who created KIMI are pushing Western propaganda.

So let me give you the actual rundown for 2026. Russia started 2026 with Gerasimov’s report to Putin announcing the liberation of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) — the Donetsk logistics hub under siege for nearly two years — and of Vovchansk in Kharkiv. Through November of 2025 the MoD had reported a steady run of captures, including Petrovskoye in the DPR and Tikhoye and Otradnoye in Dnepropetrovsk.

Moving into the spring of 2026, TASS reported that Russian forces liberated 63 settlements from March through May 2026 — 20 in March, 16 in April, and 27 in May, the strongest month. The regional breakdown was 21 in Kharkiv Region, 19 in the DPR, 14 in Sumy, six in Zaporozhye, and three in Dnepropetrovsk. The Sumy and Kharkiv gains are framed by Moscow as building a “security zone” along the Russian border.

By early summer (June), Gerasimov reported that Russian forces were continuing the liberation of “Donbass and Novorossiya,” advancing on all fronts. The 3rd Army was advancing toward Slavyansk and Kramatorsk — liberating Piskunovka, reaching the outskirts of Nikolayevka, and reported to be less than 5 km from the eastern edge of Kramatorsk, with the capture of Krasny Liman (Lyman) said to be due soon.

Battlegroup West advanced on a broad front; in the Kupyansk area, having repelled Ukrainian attempts to break through to western Kupyansk, with assault units pushing west toward Shevchenkovo. In the Dobropolye area north of Krasnoarmeysk, fighting in Dobropolye and Annovka, with Lenina (Ukrainian name Mirnoye) taken and Shevchenko, Krasnoyarskoye, and Svetloye reported as liberated.

In July TASS counted 32 settlements liberated, with 22 of them — over 68 percent — in Kharkiv Region and the DPR. By battlegroup: North took ten, Center eight, West six, East five, and South three, and the month’s most significant developments were the liberation of Konstantinovka in the DPR by Battlegroup East and the capture of Belitskoye by Battlegroup Center. Konstantinovka is one of the four Donetsk fortress belt cities.

At present the Russians are driving on the last major Ukrainian-held Donetsk agglomeration — the Konstantinovka–Druzhkovka–Kramatorsk–Slavyansk belt — alongside the Sumy/Kharkiv border zone and consolidation in Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk.

Along with the ground operations in eastern Ukraine, Russia has ended Ukraine’s ability to conduct maritime and trade operations from Odessa and Nikolaev since July 22nd.

Zelensky’s decision to strike Russian shipping in the Azov Sea made for some good pr for a few days during the big “Ukraine Turning The Tide” campaign, and triggered the expected Russian response, which is magnitudes more damaging to Ukraine. Stupid beyond belief. https://t.co/SIUDo2LtP5

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 5, 2026

Ukrainian farmers will not be able to export products via the Black Sea ports and western supplies, which once flowed freely through Odessa. Ukraine’s maritime lifeline is severed and will not be in operation until after the war with Ukraine is over.

Finally, there is the daily Russian missile and drone attacks on Kiev and other key Ukrainian logistics and military hubs. The destruction of factories and warehouses is effectively bleeding Ukraine dry. The West persists in painting the war in Ukraine as a crusade that sits on the threshold of victory, but the realities on the ground tell a dramatically different, grim story… Ukraine is losing.

UBS analysts identified five long-term forces likely to keep global food inflation “structurally higher” above its pre-pandemic average of about 2.5%, crushing consumer hopes that price pressures will simply fade.

“While food inflation globally has fallen from the COVID peak, a new debate is emerging: is the c2.5% LT average obsolete?” London-based managing director and equity-research analyst Sreedhar Mahamkali asked in a note penned on Monday.

Mahamkali and his team outlined five long-term drivers of global food inflation:

1. Climate risk is global, although its intensity differs by geography and commodity. Academic research suggests climate change could add around 0.9 to 3.2 percentage points to annual global food inflation by 2035.

2. Weak farm profitability limits investment and supply responsiveness globally. The pressure is most visible where farms are small, fragmented or exposed to volatile inputs, although scale, subsidies and access to credit can provide greater protection in some markets.

3. Higher welfare standards are lifting costs in animal protein. UK and European poultry provide the clearest current evidence, but similar changes in stocking density, housing, biosecurity and traceability are emerging across several markets.

4. Labor costs are rising across the food chain. The effect is strongest in labour- intensive farming, processing, logistics, food service as well as the front-end retail, although productivity, automation and the availability of lower-cost labour produce meaningful regional differences.

5. Supply flexibility is constrained globally: some markets face limited land expansion and tighter standards, while others contend with underinvestment and climate vulnerability.

“We expect food-at- home to start regaining share from historical lows, suggesting higher spend in the Food Retail channel with potential tailwinds as we demonstrate with a UK case study. On the other hand, wallet share compression of the discretionary categories means food-away- from-home and non-food retail are more vulnerable,” the analyst pointed out.

He expects food inflation to run above historical levels in the UK, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia and China, while remaining broadly unchanged in the US and Latin America and declining in India:

The UK faces all five drivers, but a rational competitive landscape enables better pass- through, leaving it as the best-positioned retail market.

Europe too faces many of the pressures, but greater fragmentation dilutes pricing power. In the fragmented US, structural cost pressure is largely offset by competition, likely leaving inflation in line with history.

In Latam, Brazil is relatively insulated with moderate impacts from labour cost inflation, welfare standards and a better supply outlook aided by technology with the outlook the same as history.

By contrast, ASEAN sees a sticky underlying cost base and a potential El Niño in H2 suggesting sustained pressure. China is likely to see a gradual increase in food inflation as external cost pressures are effectively transmitted.

Higher operating costs persist in Australia with regulation/welfare standards leading to higher inflation with some costs likely absorbed by retailers. India is the exception, benefiting from policy intervention and productivity gains with lower inflation than in the past.

Visualizing: Food prices could keep rising faster than they did before Covid, remaining above the historical average of about 2.5% annual inflation. Several long-term pressures are making food permanently more expensive.

For the food inflation narrative to continue, the analysts outlined what they are tracking over the next six months:

Here are the winners and losers under different food inflation scenarios:

Five out of eight regions are likely to see higher inflation:

The era of cheap food may be ending. Food inflation could further ignite as other Wall Street desks warn about El Niño risk developing and Professional subscribers can read those notes here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal. 

Via The Cradle

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) lifted sanctions on Iraq’s Fly Baghdad Airlines and two of its aircraft on Wednesday, clearing a carrier Washington had blacklisted in January 2024 over alleged support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. 

The Baghdad-based carrier was delisted from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) list under each of its three registered names, Fly Baghdad Airlines Company, Fly Baghdad, and Iraq Express.

Two Boeing 737 aircraft flown by the airline, carrying the tail numbers YI-BAF and YI-BAN, were removed from the list at the same time.

A US Treasury official, who spoke anonymously, told AFP that the airline had cleared the department’s administrative reconsideration process.

“FBA (Fly Baghdad Airlines) has demonstrated major changes to their operations such that their listing is no longer warranted,” the official said.

The same official said the delisting is “not indicative of any shift in US policy toward the Government of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, any designated terrorist organization, or any person who supports or acts on behalf of any of these.”

Not every restriction tied to the airline has been dropped. Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani, the Iraqi national identified as the company’s owner when the sanctions were first imposed, remains blacklisted.

His entry was rewritten so that the designation now cites the IRGC Quds Force directly instead of Fly Baghdad.

Washington first designated the airline, its aircraft, and its owner in January 2024, alleging the company supported Iran’s Quds Force and allied groups in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

The delisting comes amid a broader US sanctions campaign that continues to target Iran’s IRGC-linked logistics and aviation networks. 

There is some reporting that Treasury removed Iran-related sanctions from its website. A Treasury official tells me, “This is not indicative of any shift in U.S. policy toward the Government of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—Qods Force, any designated terrorist…

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 5, 2026

Just last week, Washington sanctioned entities tied to Mahan Air, which it alleges helps move weapons, personnel and equipment for the IRGC Quds Force. 

The action also hit support firms in China, India and Russia that Treasury says served as the airline’s sales agents and logistics intermediaries.

As China races to modernize its armed forces, its strategy is increasingly centered on developing technologies that could offset America’s traditional military advantages instead of matching the U.S. system for system, according to the South China Morning Post.

That philosophy dates back to Unrestricted Warfare, a book published in 1999 by former PLA strategist Qiao Liang. Rather than copying America’s arsenal, Qiao argued China should focus on capabilities Washington lacks. Nearly three decades later, he says the concept still applies. Modern militaries, he said, are now “building weapons for the wars they expect to fight, rather than fighting wars with the weapons they possess.”

With the People’s Liberation Army approaching its 100th anniversary next year, Beijing is expected to unveil another round of modernization goals as it works toward Xi Jinping’s objective of creating a “world class military” by 2049. Analysts say the focus has shifted beyond simply catching the United States. China wants to help define the next era of warfare through artificial intelligence, quantum technology, hypersonic missiles, laser weapons and autonomous systems.

That ambition is perhaps most visible in aviation. The public appearance of China’s tailless sixth generation fighter prototypes has fueled speculation that Beijing could be setting the pace in next generation air combat. Military analyst Fu Qianshao called the development “a landmark event,” arguing that China is no longer just following trends established by the United States and Russia.

SCMP writes that future battlefields, analysts say, will revolve around connected, intelligent systems rather than individual weapons. Piloted aircraft may direct fleets of drones, armored vehicles could become mobile command and sensing platforms, and combat operations will increasingly link forces across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace with artificial intelligence playing a growing role in decision making.

China is investing heavily across that spectrum. The PLA has accelerated work on advanced aircraft carrier technology, AI powered drone swarms, underwater autonomous vehicles, electronic warfare and high performance computing. Much of that development is supported through Beijing’s military civilian fusion strategy, which combines military research with universities and private technology companies.

Among the most closely watched programs are hypersonic weapons, quantum communications and artificial intelligence. China is widely regarded as a leader in hypersonic missile development and has spent years building quantum communication networks that could strengthen secure military communications. AI is already being tested for intelligence analysis, battlefield planning and autonomous drone operations.

Chinese planners have also closely studied the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, where drones have transformed modern combat. That has accelerated work on laser and microwave based air defense systems designed to defeat large drone swarms before they can reach their targets.

Even so, analysts caution that emerging technologies are unlikely to replace traditional military power on their own. Instead, they are expected to strengthen existing forces by making conventional ships, aircraft, missiles and ground units faster, more connected and more effective while introducing new opportunities and new risks.

For many Americans, owning a car is a necessity, but the financial burden varies dramatically by state. In the least affordable places, annual vehicle expenses consume nearly one-quarter of the typical household’s income.

This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, ranks every state by annual car ownership costs as a share of median household income, based on analysis from LendingTree of active auto loan holders. The estimates include financing, insurance, fuel, and maintenance.

The States Where Car Ownership Costs the Most

The table below ranks every state by annual car ownership costs as a share of median household income.

Data is for active auto loan holders. Cost and income figures were adjusted to 2026 dollars.

Louisiana is the nation’s least affordable state for car ownership, with the typical household spending 23.2% of its income, or $14,894 annually, on vehicle expenses. By comparison, Massachusetts households devote just 10.6% of their income to car ownership.

Mississippi, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Alabama round out the top five, with households in each spending roughly one-fifth of their income on car ownership.

Why Car Ownership Is Less Affordable Across the South

The South dominates the least affordable rankings because many states combine relatively modest household incomes with high ownership costs.

Insurance is one major factor. Louisiana and Florida, for example, consistently rank among the country’s most expensive states for auto insurance due to severe weather, litigation costs, and high accident claims.

Drivers in many Southern states also travel more miles each year, increasing spending on fuel, maintenance, and repairs.

America’s Most Affordable States for Car Ownership

Massachusetts has the nation’s lowest car ownership burden, with annual costs equal to 10.6% of median household income, or $11,745.

New Hampshire and Maryland also rank among the most affordable states, helping make the Northeast the country’s least financially burdensome region for car ownership. Higher incomes help keep costs manageable across much of the region, while extensive public transit may allow some households to drive less or own fewer vehicles.

These rankings show that car affordability depends on more than the cost of owning and operating a vehicle. Household income also plays a major role, meaning similar expenses can create very different financial burdens depending on where people live.

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the cheapest car brands to own and maintain.

Looks like $100,000 bitcoin may be on deck, because Cramer is selling.

The ultimate inverse indicator Jim Cramer says he is selling all of his bitcoin, warning that rapid advances in quantum computing could threaten the cryptocurrency’s security within the next three to four years, according to Cointelegraph and Coindesk.

The CNBC host made the decision after interviewing IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, who urged investors to be “paranoid” about the potential impact of quantum computers on modern cryptography. Cramer said the conversation convinced him it was time to exit his bitcoin position.

Crypto traders, however, largely shrugged off the warning. Instead, many celebrated the announcement, reviving the long-running “inverse Cramer” meme, which jokingly treats his bearish calls as bullish signals. “If Cramer is selling, it’s time to start buying,” one trader wrote on X.

Bitcoin barely reacted, continuing to trade around $64,000 despite Cramer’s comments, a recent Coldcard security incident, and signs that large bitcoin holders have begun moving or selling coins as overall crypto trading volumes decline.

The quantum computing debate itself remains unsettled. Some analysts believe bitcoin may need to transition to quantum-resistant cryptography within the next several years, while others argue practical quantum computers capable of breaking Bitcoin’s encryption are still decades away. Even if such a breakthrough occurs, experts note it would threaten far more than cryptocurrencies, potentially disrupting banks, governments, and nearly every digital system that relies on modern encryption.

Cramer’s latest warning also comes with plenty of historical baggage. The television personality has become famous for making high-profile market calls that later proved spectacularly wrong, from recommending Silicon Valley Bank shortly before its collapse to repeatedly changing his stance on bitcoin over the years.

That track record has turned “inverse Cramer” into one of Wall Street’s favorite running jokes, with many investors instinctively betting against his latest prediction rather than following it.

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday arrested five more “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens convicted for heinous crimes, including voluntary manslaughter, criminal indecent exposure, aggravated assault, and fentanyl trafficking.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), more than three million illegal aliens have left the United States due to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown: 2.2 million self-deportations, and over 985,000 deported by DHS.

Each of the five violent criminals highlighted by DHS Tuesday were arrested in deep blue sanctuary cities where anti-ICE agitators continue to harass immigration officers.

• Fernando Ruiz-Maldonado, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted for voluntary manslaughter in Los Angeles, California.

• Sergio Loya-Lozano, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted for criminal indecent exposure, hit-and-run, and TWO counts of driving under the influence in San Jose, California.

• Olman Josue Pineda-Jimenez, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, convicted for aggravated assault and harassing communications in Charlotte, North Carolina.

• Heriberto Hernandez-Sosa, a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic, convicted for fentanyl trafficking in Worcester, Massachusetts.

• Jose Manuel Pertuz-Pena, a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela, convicted for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in Cook County, Illinois.

Immigration agents continue to carry out their law enforcement duties in blue sanctuary enclaves despite the left’s relentless coordinated campaigns of violence against them.

According to DHS, immigration officers have experienced a 1,300+ percent increase in assaults against them, a 3,300 percent increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats.

“Every single day, we are REMOVING criminals from American communities. Just yesterday, ICE arrested murderers, sexual predators, violent assailants, drug traffickers, and other dangerous criminal illegal aliens,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

“Under the Trump Administration, the Department of Homeland Security is enforcing the law, deporting criminal illegal aliens, and defending the homeland. It’s no wonder crime rates have reached historic lows.”

DHS has listed over 40,000 illegal alien criminals on their Worst of the Worst (WOW) website which tracks ICE arrests of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, violent gangbangers and arsonists.

A DHS spokesperson told American Greatness Tuesday that over 985,000 illegal aliens have been deported since President Trump took office. An additional 2.2 million have self-deported.

“In President Trump’s first year back in office, more than 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations,” the spokesman said via email.

“As of July 12, we have now deported over 985,000 illegal aliens and arrested over 1 million illegal aliens.”