Tucker Quits the GOP, $6.5B Fraud Bust, & Retirees Flee Florida

Sunday morning. Coffee's hot. The news? Absurd as ever.

A congressional candidate in New York City wants the government to seize every property landlords own. Bold. Then reporters did the unthinkable. They checked her family tree. Dad? A landlord. The revolution always sounds great until it knocks on your own front door.

But set the hypocrisy aside for a second, because this isn't just any Sunday. America turns 250 next week. Two and a half centuries of grit, freedom, and arguing with each other at full volume. And honestly? We wouldn't have it any other way.

So pour a cup, raise it to the old girl, and let's get into it. 🇺🇸

Tucker Carlson has officially left the GOP, declaring its leaders betrayed the voters who put them there. When the guy on your team starts narrating your downfall, it's been a rough stretch.

Across the pond, Keir Starmer resigned after two years, a mutiny in his own party, and a Trump assessment that he "failed badly." Britain's now in political turmoil. Two years. That's barely a probationary period. Down in Colombia, Trump-backed Abelardo De La Espriella declared victory over the outgoing leftist president's pick. The map keeps shifting, and not in the direction the establishment ordered.

Back home, the $1 billion Obama Presidential Center opened near Lake Michigan to enormous fanfare. Just don't call it a library. It holds none of Obama's presidential records and instead runs as his foundation's headquarters. A billion dollars and the one thing a presidential library is supposed to have got stored somewhere else.

John Bolton walked into federal court looking like a man who lost a bet, preparing to plead guilty to retaining classified information. He may dodge jail entirely by writing a check up to $2.24 million. Rules for thee, settlement for me.

The administration asked Congress for $88 billion in supplemental funds for the Iran war. Just a casual ask.

Trump accused America's biggest oil companies of fleecing drivers, ordering the DOJ to investigate after crude prices dropped but pump prices stayed stubbornly high. Funny how gas falls like a feather and rises like a rocket.

Alan Greenspan died at 100. For nearly two decades he ran the Federal Reserve and moved global markets with a raised eyebrow. Few men have ever made more people pretend to understand interest rates.

Citadel's Ken Griffin is urging New York's business leaders to stand up to socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, warning the city's future is at stake if they keep quiet. Turns out billionaires get nervous when the guy in charge wants to redistribute them.

Three Democratic senators asked the FCC to pause the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger over foreign investors controlling one of America's largest media giants. Suddenly everyone cares who owns the news.

And Intel is up 494% since August 2025, right around the time the U.S. government took a 10% stake. Nothing juices a stock like Uncle Sam buying in.

Coca-Cola and the IRS are heading to a Miami appeals court with $20 billion on the line, all over how Coke and its foreign subsidiaries reported profits from 2007 to 2009 using a practice called transfer pricing. Two years of accounting, two decades of lawyers.

General Motors sidelined more than 1,000 workers at its flagship Detroit plant on Friday, then announced 50 new robots to take their place. Nothing says thanks for building the company like replacing the crew with machines that never break for lunch.

And YouTube quietly settled a social media addiction case brought by a 15-year-old in Florida who blamed the platform for harming kids' mental health. The company chose to pay rather than let a jury hear it. Funny how nobody settles a case they think they'll win.

Last Week:

We asked whether politicians should be banned from using prediction markets, given the inside knowledge they're sitting on. 90% of you said yes. Common sense, as usual.

Turns out the folks writing the laws probably shouldn't be betting on the outcomes. Who knew.

This Week:

America turns 250 this week. Two and a half centuries of grit, freedom, and a flag that still means something. We've buried our doubters before, and we'll do it again.

So this week, hand on heart, we're asking:

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Winners:

Buc-ee’s:
Global fame from World Cup visitors has the Texas chain fueling up for a national push, with 15 new travel centers in the pipeline. Turns out the world showed up for the beef jerky and clean bathrooms, and now everyone wants in.

The US Economy:
Grew at 2.1% in the first quarter. Slow and steady, but moving in the right direction.

Losers:

Everyone:
The Fed's preferred inflation gauge climbed again in May, with the PCE index up 0.4% on the month and 4.1% over the year, thanks to the energy shock from the Iran war. The bill for global chaos always finds its way to your grocery receipt.

Wall Street:
Dallas rolled out the red carpet for Morgan Stanley's proposed $1.3 billion skyscraper, approving an $18.5 million incentive package to lure thousands of jobs out of New York. When far-left politicians start surging, the moving trucks start idling.

He called the dot-com crash. He called the 2007 housing collapse. Now legendary investor Jeremy Grantham is warning that the AI bubble is the biggest in American history, and he's not whispering it.

Here, the GMO co-founder lays out exactly why he thinks it bursts, the strategy he's using to protect his own money, and why he believes house prices need to drop 30%.

You don't have to agree with him. But when the guy who's been right about the last two crashes starts ringing the bell, it's worth a few minutes of your Sunday to hear him out.

The Justice Department unveiled charges against 455 people on Tuesday for alleged healthcare fraud and opioid schemes totaling $6.5 billion. The defendants included 90 doctors and other professionals, accused of filing false claims that did real harm to patients. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche promised it's only the start, vowing to find fraudsters, seize assets, and prosecute. Officials pointed to one defendant who allegedly cleared an 18-year-old basketball player's heart test as normal despite an enlarged heart. The player, Kaiden Francis, died weeks later during a workout. A record 45 states and territories joined this year's takedown.

Translation: Turns out "trust me, I'm a doctor" was doing a lot of heavy lifting for $6.5 billion.

A fresh wave of Silicon Valley money may be heading for South Florida. With OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic all moving toward market debuts, billions in overnight liquidity are about to land in the pockets of executives and middle management alike. Instead of reinvesting in California, this new class of tech millionaires is already flooding Florida brokers with calls. Fort Lauderdale realtor’s say the California area codes have started showing up, while investors expect the same "tipping effect" that pulled wealth out of New York to now pull it out of the Golden State.

Translation: When the money packs its bags, it always seems to know which way the sunshine and the tax code are pointing.

Wyoming Republican congressional candidate Reid Rasner, one of ten in the GOP primary for the state's sole House seat, was discharged from his finance job in April. According to an SEC disclosure, the $22 billion firm LPL Financial cut ties after Rasner allegedly "engaged in unapproved outside business activity." No further details were offered, which never stops the imagination.

Translation: Nothing says ready to manage the federal budget like getting shown the door for activity nobody approved.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian revealed exactly what it'll take for airfare to drop: more supply and smoother skies. With travelers already squeezed by inflation and high ticket costs, Bastian pointed to a logjammed system rather than just fuel prices, saying fares come down when airlines can fly more. Meanwhile, Delta keeps chasing what it calls a "fortress balance sheet."

Translation: Prices will fall the moment it's convenient for Delta, which is to say, sometime around never.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has been subpoenaed by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul after backing out of a previous commitment to testify on COVID origins before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Paul announced the subpoena on X Monday, noting Fauci had agreed to appear voluntarily, then changed his mind. He'll now testify in July, whether he's free that day or not. It's the latest round in a long-running feud between the two.

Translation: Funny how the guy with nothing to hide keeps finding reasons not to sit in the chair.

Emmy-winning KWQC anchor Dustin Nolan choked up during his final morning broadcast Friday, telling viewers in the Iowa Quad Cities he was leaving the news industry for good. He took aim at a business he says now chases trends and sanitized stories, thanking his audience for trusting him over the years and promising he'd always given them everything, the facts, and himself. No script, no spin, just a man walking away from the desk on his own terms.

Translation: When the people delivering the news start tapping out over what it's become, maybe the problem isn't the audience.

A $13 million lottery ticket has three parties locked in a courtroom fight in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to an amended complaint, customer Soonchun Kim bought $60 in tickets last November, but cashier Marline Ybarra accidentally printed $85 worth and left the extra $25 by the register, some slipping behind the printer. That night, one of those leftover tickets hit the winning numbers. The store's manager, Robert Gawlitza, allegedly clocked out, took off his uniform, and bought the unsold tickets for himself. Circle K filed suit in February asking a judge to sort out who actually owns the prize.

Translation: Nothing turns a $25 mistake into a federal case quite like thirteen million dollars sitting behind the printer.

Surveillance footage caught an Amazon driver treating an Indiana couple's pristine front lawn like a personal driveway. Around 7:30am, the driver in a blue Toyota bypassed the Magills' actual driveway and paved walkway, cutting straight across the freshly mowed grass at their farm property. The car left a dark looping trail, then made a three-point turn that carved even more tracks into the soft turf, before stopping right in front of the house, the concrete path just feet away. The driver, in an Amazon vest, hopped out and grabbed a single cardboard box.

Translation: Two days shipping, zero days of respect for a man's lawn.

The old retirement playbook is getting rewritten. For decades, Americans worked up north and retired to Florida for sun, beaches, and low taxes. Now a growing wave of seniors is heading back out, settling instead in the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Texas, states offering the same perks with fewer headaches. The trend has a name: "halfbacks," retirees who moved to Florida only to drift halfway home. Data shows over 2.1 million Americans 65 and older relocated in 2025.

Translation: Turns out paradise loses some shine once you've spent a few summers in it.

United CEO Scott Kirby raised eyebrows when he was photographed boarding an American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Houston, his company's chief rival. No, he hasn't lost faith in his own fleet. Kirby is cashing in a lifetime travel perk handed to him in his exit package when he left a senior role at American a decade ago, guaranteeing free, reserved, any-class seats for himself and his family. The catch: it's strictly personal, no United business allowed. Kirby still commutes from Dallas, where his kids are in school, rather than relocating to United's Chicago headquarters.

Translation: The deal was too good to walk away from, even for the man running the competition.

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^{Energy Exploration Technologies, Inc. (“EnergyX”) has engaged Beehiiv to publish this communication in connection with EnergyX’s ongoing Regulation A offering. Beehiiv has been paid in cash and may receive additional compensation. Beehiiv and/or its affiliates do not currently hold securities of EnergyX.}

^{This compensation and any current or future ownership interest could create a conflict of interest. Please consider this disclosure alongside EnergyX’s offering materials. EnergyX’s Regulation A offering has been qualified by the SEC. Offers and sales may be made only by means of the qualified offering circular. Before investing, carefully review the offering circular, including the risk factors. The offering circular is available at invest.energyx.com/.}

^{Comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar results. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Market shortfall are forward‑looking estimates and are subject to substantial uncertainty.}

Independence Day
Saturday July 4th
America turns 250. Fireworks, cookouts, and a nation that's still standing.
Why You Should Care: A quarter of a millennium in, and the experiment is still running. Worth a toast.

June Jobs Report
Thursday July 2nd
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Employment Situation at 8:30am ET, bumped up a day for the holiday.
Why You Should Care: The biggest number of the week. It tells you whether the labor market is holding firm or starting to crack under inflation.

FIFA World Cup: USA vs. Bosnia
Wednesday, July 1, 8pm ET
The Americans face Bosnia in Santa Clara, with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line. Airs on FOX. Tune in and cheer on the red, white and blue.
Why You Should Care: Home soil, a packed stadium, and a nation watching. This is the kind of night that turns casual viewers into flag-wavers. USA, USA, USA.

This week, America turns 250. A quarter of a millennium. And depending on who you ask, we're either a tired old empire circling the drain or the most remarkable experiment the world has ever run. We'd argue it's the second one, and it isn't close.

Start with the receipts. This country put a man on the moon, built the airplane, lit the world with Edison's bulb, and wired the planet together with the internet. We gave the world the polio vaccine, the assembly line, the smartphone in your pocket, and the GPS that tells you where you are when you're lost. American jazz, blues, rock, and hip-hop became the soundtrack of the entire planet. Hollywood taught the world to dream in widescreen.

We wrote a document 250 years ago so bold that nations are still trying to copy it. We turned a stretch of wilderness into the largest economy on Earth, and then spent the next century inviting everyone else to come build it with us.

And then there's the other stuff. The gloriously, unmistakably American stuff. We invented the drive-thru because walking inside was too much commitment. We put cheese inside the crust and called it innovation. We have a national chain devoted to beef jerky and spotless bathrooms, and the entire World Cup just found out about it. We deep-fry food at the state fair that has no business being fried, refill a 44-ounce soda like it's a constitutional right, and somehow made a holiday out of blowing things up in the backyard. Only in America.

Now, are we perfect? Not even a little. A house should not cost a kidney and a half, and far too many working families are doing everything right and still falling behind. We could stand to learn a thing or two from Europe about actually taking a day off now and then, before we collapse at our desks. Our politicians spend like the bill never comes due, our institutions have spent years torching the public's trust, and somewhere along the way common sense became a rare commodity.

But here's the thing about America. We don't bury our problems. We argue about them loudly, in public, in the open, the way free people are supposed to. Every great chapter of this country started with somebody refusing to accept that good enough was good enough. That's not weakness. That's the whole machine working as designed.

Because for all the chaos, this is still the only place on Earth where you can show up with nothing, build something, and watch your kids do better than you did. Where the guy who fixes engines and the woman who runs the company stand in the same line, salute the same flag, and pull for the same team. We fight like a family at the dinner table, and then we close ranks the second it counts.

Two hundred and fifty years in, and the doubters are still wrong. America isn't finished. We're not coasting on past glory or limping toward the exit. We're a young country wearing an old number, still building, still arguing, still dreaming bigger than anyone has a right to.

So here's to 250 years, and to the next 250. The flag still flies. The experiment still runs. And the best chapter hasn't been written yet.

What makes you proud to be an American? What still needs fixing? And where do you think this country's headed over the next 250 years? Hit reply and let us know. We read every response, and the best ones might just make next week's edition.