Cate Long

@Reuters Pagan.

Bones and crystals greet visitors at Marina Abramovic show in Venice reut.rs/4tM9r7X reut.rs/4tM9r7X

"The lesson for me from 2008 and the Great Depression is that debt is the match that lights the fire," @andrewrsorkin in his brilliant interview w/ @DM_Rubenstein at @MilkenInstitute (skip to minute 9 in the video) milkeninstitute.org/content-hub/ev…

@MarioNawfal LFG.

🇮🇱🇮🇷 Israel is locked, loaded, and ready to strike Iran According to officials, Netanyahu held a security meeting, and they are "prepared for all scenarios." They've also updated their target list in Iran. Source: Jerusalem Post

@grok @EricLDaugh The tankers are chefs kiss!

@cate_long @EricLDaugh You're welcome! Hope the pirate Bessent hits the mark—complete with sword and tankers in the background for that Strait of Hormuz vibe. Let me know if you want any tweaks.

🚨 NOW: Sec. Scott Bessent reveals Iranian leadership have FLED into HIDING, he's closely watching their financials and President Trump is opening the Strait "I think the Iranians are starting to believe their OWN propaganda." "They have high tolerance for pain? Well, their SOLDIERS will not have a high tolerance for not getting PAID." 🔥 "The Iranians do NOT have control of the Strait — we have ABSOLUTE control over the Strait!" "Just to be clear, the leadership is hunkered down in bunkers all over the country." "I don't think THEY know what's going on!" "Their Navy is not a Navy anymore. It's a band of pirates. They are trying to cut off international freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz." "And the US is opening that up. This is a humanitarian effort." "I had numerous countries come up to me, some of the poorest, some of the most vulnerable, and ask us to do this because it's not only energy that's in there, it's fertilizer, it's food transport, it's LPG for the more than the billion plus people in India used to cook."

@grok @EricLDaugh Thank you!

@cate_long @EricLDaugh

@Jenniffer @gobiernodepr @lafortalezadepr @KentuckyDerby Fabulous.

@HCapLonghorn For sure.

@cate_long Like this - decades overdue.

US orders withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany: Pentagon (Approx 31,000 🇺🇸 troops will remain in Germany. Still too many.) theepochtimes.com/us/us-orders-w…

@OpinIndependent Truth.

@cate_long A herd would be so cool !

Good morning from Tulsa, Oklahoma. "American Bison" by sculptor Stephen Lablanc on the Arkansas River. Natureworks, the nonprofit responsible for outdoor sculptures throughout the city, has a plan for a herd of 40 bison at LaFortune Park vision2025.info/the-tulsa-herd/

🔥 For the FOURTH month in a row, America’s manufacturing sector continues to expand based on the latest survey data. There is no greater champion for American manufacturers than President Trump.

🚨 POD UP! -- OpenAI misses targets, but Codex gains on Claude -- Elon vs Sam Altman trial, Brockman's diary -- Why AI cybersecurity is the next major market -- Hyperscalers show huge revenue and bigger Capex -- Retatrutide and peptides go mainstream (0:00) Bestie intros (3:05) OpenAI misses targets, Codex gains on Claude (20:02) AI cybersecurity: a market that's about to explode (31:03) Elon vs Sam Altman lawsuit (41:00) Big tech smashes earnings, Capex explosion (52:44) Vibecoding nightmare: AI deleted someone's codebase (58:33) Retatrutide craze: peptides go mainstream (1:06:34) Friedberg's Supreme Court experience

Here's how: Step 1: Set up a subsidiary lender. Step 2: Own most of it but don't consolidate it. Step 3: The sub borrows on its own b/s, often at much higher leverage levels Step 4: The BDC records the whole equity stake as one line item at fair value. Nothing new but worth highlighting. The 2x leverage cap stays intact on paper. The actual leverage can be much higher depending on what the sub is running

Meanwhile Venezuela has just signed deals w/ US energy firms Hunt Overseas Oil Company and Crossover Energy and preliminary deals w/ EU firms Eni, Repsol, and BP. VZ has the resources to be one the wealthiest countries in this hemisphere oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-…

"I feel like what happens with people like this is they get thrust into the influencer economy overnight, experience the withdrawal that comes from not being on air, and begin dialing up their hot-takes in order to continue getting called back on the podcast circuit." 100% this. cf @mtgreenee especially.

Not only does Pakistan have a mutual defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, but from what I understand the royal family safeguards some of its VIPs using Pakistani military personnel, because they trust them more than their own security services. If Pape is going to argue that Pakistan is helping the enemy of a country it is sworn to defend—one whose royal family outsources its security to—he should at least make some effort to address this inconsistency. Also, suggesting that Iran has its eyes on emerging from this conflict as one of the fourth center of world power (presumably alongside China, Russia, and the US) seems like yet another headline grabbing statement by Pape. I feel like what happens with people like this is they get thrust into the influencer economy overnight, experience the withdrawal that comes from not being on air, and begin dialing up their hot-takes in order to continue getting called back on the podcast circuit.

"US Senate committee examining potential abuses of a lucrative Puerto Rico tax break by wealthy Americans is asking the IRS to investigate the role played by two [former @bakermckenzie] lawyers who advised on several of the transactions." #muniland Puerto Rico will likely be the only global tax haven in history to go "bankrupt". (No paywall) nytimes.com/2026/04/30/bus…

@lourdgoogoo @DeChristianLife I'm pretty sure the advice is for married couples.

@cate_long @DeChristianLife It inadvisable for a man to open up to a woman. There is a high probability that she will throw it back in your face some time in the future. Not all women do this, but too many to risk it.

Why men don't open up

@SusieWiles47 Wonderful.

The Artemis II crew and missions have proven to be an enormous source of American pride. Yesterday, the crew and their families visited the White House. They are even better in person than when we saw them from space and, they brought donuts!

@yunque_100x35 @EDSecMcMahon

@cate_long Mr. Long, Please investigate the laxity at the University of Puerto Rico, which is closed by a small group of communists but they continue to collect the Pell Grant, that is, federal funds. I think the Federal Government should suspend these funds.

As background for the discovery fight between Prepa bondholders & the OBoard whether the utility has generated net revenues during the 9 years of the bankruptcy I've aggregated the extremely sparse public financial data for the debtor #muniland. Notably after the debtor has spent in excess of $500 million on bankruptcy attorneys & consultants there are still years long delays in reports that are required by statute. It has to be asked if the debtor is intentionally obscuring their financial condition because this reporting black hole has no historical precedent.