Why Senator Schumer’s government shutdown strategy is already falling apart
If you want to know the headlines that the few thousand people who run Washington read in the morning, check the three big platforms that used to be big newspapers — the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post — the two big news networks that dominate online traffic — FoxNews.com and CNN.com — and the four “newsletters” that are avidly read within the Beltway even though they barely make a ripple outside of it: Axios, Semafor, Politico and Punchbowl News.
That’s nine total landing pages. Check them all tomorrow and every day thereafter that the “Schumer Shutdown,” named justly for Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), goes on. Those nine pages will slowly, but surely, chart the rising cost to Democrats of the shuttering of the government. Schumer lost three votes from his caucus on Tuesday night and the pressure is only going to grow with every day that goes by.
The nine landing pages all joined on Wednesday in either the “both sides are responsible” if they are liberal outlets, or the other approach favored by the neutrals: “Federal Government shuts down!”
WASHINGTON POST WARNS DEMOCRATS MAY HAVE WALKED INTO TRUMP ‘TRAP’ OVER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
If you are a senator or representative from a blue state or district, you could perhaps be excused for thinking that the country isn’t going to blame you. Maybe. But that’s going to change very quickly.
Those electeds might even have thought on Tuesday night that somehow President Donald Trump, or Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), or House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) would get “blamed,” and that the stunt engineered to placate the dominant, but whacky, left-wing of the Democrats could actually work.
They were wrong Tuesday night and they are wrong this morning and every morning to come.
Because everybody knows.
Those nine pages are going to change and the branding of the “Schumer Shutdown” is going to spread. Inexorably. Because it is true. And because everybody already knows it is true. Every Democrat knows it is true.
That’s the harsh reality for Democrats: Everybody. Knows.
They know that Schumer is afraid of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and the hard left Democrats she leads. It’s “unofficial leadership,” of course, but Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) passed the baton to AOC and she is using it to beat Democrats into line. Schumer knows he will lose to her in a primary in 2028 because he’s 74 now, has been in Congress for 50 years and will be 78 when he runs again.
I don’t know, because I can’t read minds, but I suspect that Schumer cannot imagine life after being in Congress. It is reasonable to guess that he’s actually afraid of not being in Congress.
How could anyone after 50 years in the same halls, doing basically the same thing, not be afraid of that sudden evisceration of purpose? Schumer is a Hill creature. He won’t know what to do with himself when he’s retired via a primary challenge which is most assuredly coming. (Schumer could take the dignified way out as Congressman Jerry Nadler did by announcing his retirement, but Nadler had never mattered and Schumer has occasionally mattered. It’s harder to leave a job that matters than one that doesn’t.)
Schumer organized enough Democrats to vote for a Continuing Resolution in the spring to avoid a government shutdown and got creamed by his left wing for doing so. Now Schumer has refused to do it again because he can’t handle a second battering from the left.
Part of the left is ignorant of the rules of the Senate, but part of it is bent on this fight it cannot win because they have lost, lost, lost for ten years. Even when they won with former President Joe Biden, they lost because of his infirmity and the stubbornness of his family and inner circle. Thus, they are in the wilderness and they are angry about it.
Thus, the shutdown. And I suspect it is going to go on until Schumer receives assurances from his caucus and perhaps even from AOC that he won’t get put in the barrel again.
That might be a while because Democrats are not just angry, they are blind — or to put it more precisely, they are blinded by the legacy media and the newsletters they consume. They may very well think they are “winning.” Look at the nine. Or watch some MSNBC, or whatever it is called now.
The left-wing legacy platforms do not matter to the majority of the country and that’s the key. The country beyond the Beltway understands that Democrats shuttered the federal government, not Trump, or Thune, or Johnson. Voters are always much smarter than Beltway elites credit them with being. Voters don’t get their news from the legacy media or newsletters by and for Beltway elites. They get their news from the platform you are reading right now and from each other.
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“News” is now mediated by a thousand sources, from “The Ruthless Podcast” (now part of the vast Fox News family, as is this column), to The Free Press (soon to be owned by CBS if reports are correct) and hundreds of talk show hosts on radio or with podcasts, the consumers of which talk to each other. The legacy media doesn’t actually matter much anymore when it comes to “making the news.” It takes the truth to form a national consensus and the truth will come out.
Eventually, every citizen “sees” the tapestry that are all the news sources at a distance sufficient to allow patterns to emerge. And this particular pattern has “Democrats shut down the government for no reason at all” written all over it.
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Democrats went full “Thelma and Louise” over the shutdown cliff because they don’t listen to anyone except themselves.
It’s going to be a hard landing. The sooner the Democrats pull the parachute, the better it will be for them. But there’s lag time in polling. It could be a while. A very long while as the GOP has absolutely no reason to move an inch. None. And they won’t.
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Protester flees police after ICE building assault as ‘dialogue liaison officer’ watches
Police are seeking the public’s help in finding a woman accused of assault near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland, Oregon, after one of its “dialogue liaison officers,” sworn officers tasked with “hold[ing] a safe space” for protesters, lost track of her.
Portland Police Bureau officials said that just before 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, a dialogue liaison officer (DLO) was monitoring a “gathering” outside the ICE building in the South Portland neighborhood, when he was flagged down by a person who said an assault had just taken place.
The DLO followed the woman, who was described as a White female with a large septum nose piercing wearing a black mask and carrying a backpack, trying to talk to her to “hear her side of the story,” according to a news release from Portland police.
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The woman would not stop, so the DLO told her she was being detained. She allegedly refused the lawful police order, and fled.
The DLO called in additional police resources, and just before 9 p.m., patrol officers met with the victim and began an investigation.
DLOs are sworn police officers, though they act in the role of a liaison and “cannot get involved in enforcement action,” according to the release.
ANTI-ICE PORTLAND RIOTERS WITH GUILLOTINE CLASH WITH POLICE IN WAR-LIKE SCENES
Officials said the case has since been assigned to a detective in the Major Crimes Unit, though they did not release any information regarding the alleged assault.
“PPB members continue to conduct follow-up investigations into criminal activity and will forward cases to the Multnomah County District Attorney for prosecution when feasible,” according to the release. “Sometimes arrests are not made at the scene when tensions are high, and arrests are made at a later date.”
FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE LEADS TO ARREST OF SUSPECT ACCUSED OF INJURING ICE OFFICER
According to the city’s website, DLOs were put in place to “build relationships with protesters” following the violent 2020 protests in Portland.
Officer Jessica Ruch, an exemplary DLO featured on the site, wrote in May 2025 that liaison officers are stationed at protests to “get an idea of what that group is going to need to create or hold a safe space,” according to the site.
Ruch admits on the site that she “grew up going to protests,” calling them “a celebration of community and values.”
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“We don’t have a riot squad anymore. That’s an antiquated model. That vocabulary implies that the entire group of protesters has a single mindset,” Ruch wrote. “We do have a rapid response team who are trained to respond to potentially hazardous situations like civil disturbances or natural disasters. They come in when they need to address something quickly, and then they get out of there. We don’t want to be the bad guys.”
After discussing where she was when George Floyd was murdered, Ruch said her biggest concern was someone driving a car into a gathering “deliberately targeting protesters.”
The Portland Police Bureau did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Joe Rogan blasts ‘insane’ media silence on arrests for social media posts
Podcaster Joe Rogan criticized the American media for focusing on late-night host Jimmy Kimmel instead of what he called a dangerous erosion of free speech in the United Kingdom.
Kimmel’s comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin led to his show being briefly suspended, sparking a wave of backlash as an example of censorship.
Rogan argued that focusing on a single talk-show host was a distraction from what he described as the U.K. and Europe’s crackdown on speech. The British government has faced criticism for its proposed digital ID mandate, which detractors warn could be used for government control.
Rogan pointed to the reported 12,000 arrests a year for social media posts in the U.K. “The fact that our mainstream media is relatively silent on this is insane,” Rogan said. “You’re seeing a complete total attack on one of the most fundamental principles of the Western world, which is your ability to express yourself…”
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“These people are not calling for violence,” Rogan added. “They’re being arrested for wild things. People are being arrested for liking posts. Some people were investigated for viewing posts. Twelve thousand people arrested by the police in the U.K., the same place that just implemented digital ID. I mean, this is an Orwell nightmare coming to life right in front of our face, and no one’s flinching.”
He argued that Americans are more outraged about talk-show commentary than the loss of civil liberties in the English-speaking world.
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“No one in America is freaking out about what’s happening in the UK at all. I mean, you get people online that are kind of freaked out by it, but they’re way more freaked out by nonsensical things like whether or not what Jimmy Kimmel said in his monologue was offensive,” he said.
Rogan argued that the Kimmel controversy gave Americans the illusion of power while governments abroad quietly expanded their control. He compared the British government’s restrictions to a wrestling “choke hold,” saying citizens risk losing their basic freedoms. The U.K. has been sharply divided over free speech in recent years, especially on issues such as mass migration and gender ideology.
Some of those divisions surfaced during the “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London, which drew tens of thousands of protesters on Sept. 13, 2025, waving Union Jack and St. George’s flags near Parliament.
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Urban’s rumored new romance ‘all over Nashville’ after Kidman divorce filing
Nicole Kidman filing for divorce from Keith Urban sent shockwaves among fans, and now there are rumors swirling there may be a new woman in the country star’s life.
An insider told Fox News Digital that they have heard whispers of another woman.
TMZ was first to report that Urban may already be involved with another woman, with a source close to Kidman saying, “All the signs point to the fact Keith is with another woman. Let’s just say Nicole doesn’t dispute that, but she’s still shocked over it.”
Another source claimed to the outlet the news of Urban’s rumored new fling is “all over Nashville.”
NICOLE KIDMAN FILES FOR DIVORCE FROM KEITH URBAN CITING ‘MARITAL DIFFICULTIES’
People magazine reported that Kidman feels “very betrayed” by her marriage of 19 years coming to an end.
“Nicole’s hurt and feels betrayed. It’s devastating to her. She’s shocked,” a source told the outlet.
On Sept. 30, Kidman filed for divorce from Urban, ending 19 years of marriage. She cited “irreconcilable differences” and ongoing “marital difficulties,” according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Kidman listed Sept. 30 as the couple’s date of separation.
Although Kidman and Urban’s split may seem sudden to fans, those close to the couple said it was a long time coming.
It “really hasn’t been a secret,” a source told People, adding they “have been living separately for a while now.”
“People close to Keith felt like the split was kind of inevitable,” the source claimed.
Insiders close to the couple said they had already been living separate lives, emotionally and physically, for some time.
“Their lives were moving in different directions, and once he quietly set up his own place, it felt like the writing was on the wall,” another source told the outlet.
In the divorce filing, the “Big Little Lies” star asked to be named the primary residential parent of the couple’s two daughters.
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She also requested the court approve a parenting plan that would give her 306 days a year with the children, leaving 59 days annually with Urban. Kidman and Urban share two daughters: Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret.
The Oscar-winning actress first met Urban in 2005 at an event in Australia. One year later, the couple married in Sydney.
Fox News Digital has reached out to reps for Kidman and Urban for comment.
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Padres flamethrower shatters MLB record with jaw-dropping pitch in playoff battle
San Diego Padres star reliever Mason Miller made MLB postseason history on Wednesday night in an effort to keep his team’s season alive.
The Padres needed a win in Game 2 of their Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs after losing Game 1 on Tuesday afternoon in the Windy City, and they leaned on the star-studded bullpen to get the job done.
Miller was among those as he pitched nearly two innings, but it was his ninth pitch of the night that rewrote the MLB record books. The flame-throwing righty threw a 104.5 mph fastball to strike out Cubs catcher Carson Kelly.
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That pitch wasn’t just the fastest Miller has thrown in his career, but it’s also the fastest pitch in the postseason since pitching track in 2008, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
It was an incredible outing by Miller, who struck out all five of the batters he faced over 1.2 innings of work. In all, he’s seen seven batters in this Wild Card series, and he’s set all of them down by strikeout.
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The Padres went with Robert Suarez, another stud right-hander, for the final four outs in the 3-0 victory that brings this postseason bout to a decisive Game 3 on Thursday in Chicago.
San Diego’s offense saw a jolt thanks to veteran third baseman Manny Machado, who belted a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to pull ahead after one run scored by the Padres in the first inning.
The Padres’ pitching staff held the Cubs to just four scattered hits in this game, as Dylan Cease went 3.2 innings, allowing three hits and striking out five over his 69-pitch outing.
It may have been short, but that’s what happens when you have the arms San Diego does in the bullpen. Adrian Morejon went 2.1 innings without allowing a hit before Miller came in.
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More of the same should be expected in a do-or-die game, though the ball will first go to the veteran Yu Darvish. The Cubs will turn to Jameson Taillon to start Game 3.
Officials tout ‘total collaboration’ on strategy amid reports of brass concerns
Rejecting reports of a split with the brass, the Department of War says the National Defense Strategy was “seamlessly coordinated” with senior civilian and uniform leaders — and that “any narrative to the contrary is false.”
On Monday, The Washington Post reported that multiple senior officers had raised concerns about the forthcoming strategy, pointing to a divide between political leadership.
Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg pushed back on Wednesday, in an on-the-record statement to Fox News Digital.
“The Department’s National Defense Strategy has been seamlessly coordinated with all senior civilian and military leadership with total collaboration — any narrative to the contrary is false,” Feinberg said.
RENAMED DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMING ‘SOON,’ TRUMP SAYS
A senior War Department official said the strategy was the product of “extensive and intensive” collaboration across the department.
The drafting team included a policy lead, a Joint Staff deputy and representatives from the military services who consulted widely with civilian and uniformed offices.
Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby and the acting deputy under-secretary for policy, Austin Dahmer, met with leaders from every group. The official called that level of policy-shop engagement “unprecedented.”
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Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided feedback directly to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Colby, the official said, and both assured him his input would be reflected in the final draft.
The Post report said political appointees in the Pentagon policy office led the drafting and described unusually sharp pushback from some commanders over priorities and tone.
The War Department disputes that characterization and says the document was coordinated at the principal level and aligned closely with the National Security Strategy.
The pushback comes a day after Hegseth addressed hundreds of commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
TOP US MILITARY BRASS TO HOLD SECRETIVE MEETING WITH HEGSETH AS TRUMP RAMPS UP RUSSIA CRITICISM
In a 45-minute speech, he argued the force needs tougher standards and a tighter focus on warfighting. He has recalled one-star and above officers from around the world to brief in person and has removed several senior general officers as part of a broader overhaul.
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Hegseth says new directives will restore rigorous physical, grooming and leadership standards and require combat roles to meet one set of physical benchmarks.
The Washington Post did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Delta planes collide at LaGuardia, passenger hospitalized in late-night incident
Two Canadair jets operated by Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, collided on a taxiway at LaGuardia Airport in New York Wednesday night.
The incident took place at 9:58 p.m. between two Canadair CRJ-900 regional jets.
One was an outbound flight and the other inbound, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
A Delta spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that one flight attendant had suffered a minor injury and was treated by EMTs before being transported to a local hospital as a precaution. No other passengers were injured.
2 SMALL PLANES COLLIDE IN MIDAIR AT REGIONAL ARIZONA AIRPORT, LEAVING 1 DEAD
Delta confirmed the incident, describing it as a “low-speed collision” involving Endeavor Air flight 5155 from LaGuardia to Roanoke, Virginia, and Endeavor Air flight 5047 arriving from Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Delta teams at our New York-LaGuardia hub are working to ensure our customers are taken care of after two Delta Connection aircraft operated by Endeavor Air were involved in a low-speed collision during taxi,” Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant said. “Delta will work with all relevant authorities to review what occurred as safety of our customers and people comes before all else. We apologize to our customers for the experience.”
DELTA AIRLINES, JAPAN AIRLINES PLANES COLLIDE ON THE GROUND IN SEATTLE
They have said that preliminary information indicates the departing aircraft’s wing made contact with the fuselage of the arriving aircraft.
Passengers from both planes were deplaned on the taxiway and returned to Terminal C by bus. Delta said customers were provided with food and beverages, as well as with hotel accommodations and rebookings for those whose travel was disrupted.
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The Port Authority reported no impact on airport operations. Delta said it will work with the FAA, NTSB and the Port Authority to review what occurred, emphasizing that “safety of our customers and people comes before all else.”
Trump’s ‘very clear’ stance on Russian jets praised as NATO leaders clash
EXCLUSIVE: Recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace have sharpened divisions inside the alliance over how to respond, exposing both the strength and the limits of collective defense.
Secretary General Mark Rutte clashed with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal last week after Estonia invoked NATO’s Article 4 clause, which triggers consultations when a member feels its security is threatened.
According to three European officials granted anonymity to speak freely, Rutte argued that repeated invocations risked diluting the treaty’s force. One source said he even raised his voice at Michal, warning that NATO must be cautious about how often it signals alarm.
Rutte argued that if Article 4 were invoked every time Russia violated sovereignty — through drone incursions, fighter jets, cyberattacks and more — it would quickly lose impact, according to the officials.
DENMARK CONSIDERS TRIGGERING NATO ARTICLE 4 AFTER DRONES FLY OVER AIRPORTS
A NATO spokesperson confirmed Rutte and Michal spoke Friday and said the secretary general “has supported Estonia throughout the process.”
Rasmus Ruuda, director of the Government Communication Office of Estonia, told Fox News Digital Rutte “expressed support for Estonia and the Prime Minister thanked NATO for its actions.”
“Article 4 is just a signal that we’re taking note of what happened,” said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a Lithuanian member of parliament and former NATO assistant secretary general. “We can be invoking Article 4 every week, and I think that only weakens us, because we’re unable to truly respond to that aggression that Russia is sort of throwing at us.”
The tension comes after a series of provocative moves by Moscow. Last month, missile-carrying Russian MiG-29s flew into Estonian territory, following an earlier breach of Polish airspace by 19 drones and repeated incursions over Romania. In Poland, jets scrambled to intercept the drones, shooting some of them down. It marked the first time since World War II that Polish armed forces mobilized to engage an airborne threat over their homeland.
The Russian jets in Estonia were eventually escorted out of its territory by Italian F-35s. Estonia’s Article 4 request followed Poland’s own invocation days earlier, prompting another round of consultations in Brussels.
Since its creation in 1949, Article 4 has been triggered only nine times. NATO’s warning to Russia after the Estonian request was blunt: any further breaches would be met with “all means” of defense. Estonia’s defense minister said his nation was prepared to shoot down Russian planes violating airspace “if there is a need.”
But Jeglinskas said signaling without consequence risks leaving the alliance trapped.
“We’re happy to do Article 4 every other day, but so what? What’s next?” he said. “The real question is what happens when the jets actually enter our airspace.”
The debate cuts to a deeper question: what constitutes a “need” to shoot down Russian jets? How can Russia be deterred without stumbling into direct war?
“The last thing we want is to have NATO get drawn into a war with Russia,” a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. “God knows how that ends.”
“Almost all wars … they don’t necessarily start with a big bang,” the official went on. “They start with an escalation, and then somebody feels they need to respond to this, and then you just get in a toxic spiral.”
‘PUTIN IS PUSHING THE LIMITS’: EASTERN ALLIES WARN TRUMP NOT TO PULL US TROOPS
The United States has promised to defend “every inch” of NATO while pressing Europe to bear more of its own defense burden. Washington’s mixed signals have only complicated matters.
Trump administration officials long favored reducing the U.S. troop presence in Europe. But President Donald Trump recently delivered one of the starkest warnings to Moscow, declaring that NATO states should shoot Russian aircraft down if they incur on their territory.
Jeglinskas said the statement resonated across the Baltic States. “What was really helpful was that President Trump was very clear,” he said. “That gives us confidence we’re on the right track, and we really appreciate the support.”
Still, allies remain divided on whether to escalate. Some warn that Eastern Europe cannot credibly threaten retaliation without an American security guarantee. Others argue that deterrence depends on showing Russia its incursions carry a cost.
“If we really want to send a proper message of deterrence to Russia, we need to be prepared to use kinetic force,” Jeglinskas said. “That means neutralizing those jets — shooting them down or finding other ways to impose consequences — so Russia actually feels the cost of its incursions. That hasn’t happened yet, and it leaves us vulnerable.”
The airspace disputes now extend beyond fighter jets. European Union members are meeting in Copenhagen this week to discuss shoring up air defenses after a wave of drone sightings. Denmark briefly shut down its airspace following mysterious drone activity, while Lithuania’s Vilnius airport and Norway’s Oslo airport also reported disruptions. Drones have even been spotted over Germany’s northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.
“We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either. We must do much more for our own security,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Düsseldorf.
NATO jets scrambled to intercept drones over Poland, but the response underscored a growing mismatch: deploying multi-million dollar fighters to counter small, unmanned aircraft is neither efficient nor sustainable.
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“NATO remains the most crucial element of our security equation,” Jeglinskas said. “It’s the backbone through which our security is viewed. There’s really no doubt about NATO’s political will and its capability to defend its territory, but warfare is changing — and the question now is, has NATO adapted to the new way of war that is seeping through the borders of Ukraine?”
Jeglinskas warned that neither NATO nor the Baltic States have done enough. “The Polish incursion signified that NATO is not fully ready to counter these threats,” he said. “Scrambling jets is a tremendous economic mismatch. If these kinds of attacks become swarms, it’s not sustainable.”
To address mounting threats, NATO last month launched Operation Eastern Sentry, reinforcing its presence on Europe’s eastern flank. Jeglinskas welcomed the move but said gaps remain.
“Jets are very important, but more jets don’t mean we’re more secure from low-altitude drones,” he said. “The question is: do we have sensors that can detect what’s happening from the ground up to a kilometer into our airspace? We don’t see that. It’s like a dead space.”
Jeglinskas called for stronger short- and medium-range radar, as well as layered defenses akin to Israel’s Iron Dome, capable of intercepting drones with both kinetic and electronic means.
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“NATO’s response is commendable,” he said, “but it’s not enough. You need technical know-how, the right capabilities, and systems that are truly integrated if you want to make this work.”
For now, NATO remains caught between signaling resolve and acting on it. As Russia continues to test the alliance’s borders, Jeglinskas and other Eastern European officials warn that credibility is at stake. The next incursion, they argue, may demand more than words.
Elon Musk makes history as first person to ever hit dizzying net worth milestone
Elon Musk on Wednesday reportedly became the first person in history with a net worth of $500 billion.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s fortune crossed the half-trillion mark around 3:30 p.m. ET, putting him about $150 billion ahead of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the world’s second-richest person, Forbes reported.
Musk’s wealth has skyrocketed from $24.6 billion in March 2020 to a series of milestones: $100 billion by late 2020, $200 billion in 2021 and $400 billion in 2024, before reaching $500 billion this week.
At his current pace, Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire by 2033, when Tesla’s proposed $1 trillion compensation package begins vesting, Forbes reported.
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“It’s not about ‘compensation’, but about me having enough influence over Tesla to ensure safety if we build millions of robots,” Musk said in an X post in September. “If I can just get kicked out in the future by activist shareholder advisory firms who don’t even own Tesla shares themselves, I’m not comfortable with that future.”
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Tesla stock rose nearly 4% Wednesday, adding about $9.3 billion to Musk’s fortune. The stock has nearly doubled since April, when Musk announced he would step back from his role leading President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to refocus on the EV maker, Forbes reported.
Tesla’s market cap is now within 10% of its all-time high, with Musk’s 12% stake valued at $191 billion. SpaceX, valued at $400 billion, contributes an estimated $168 billion to Musk’s net worth. Musk also controls a majority stake in xAI Holdings, valued at roughly $60 billion, according to Forbes.
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Last month, Tesla’s board of directors proposed a new compensation plan for Musk worth a potential $1 trillion, marking what would be the largest pay package for an executive in history.
The board’s proposal would give Musk up to 12% of Tesla’s stock, worth about $1 trillion, if the automaker hits aggressive targets such as a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion and other operational milestones over a 10-year period.
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Tesla did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.