Senior officials at the White House have been pressed the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing to design a $250 bill featuring the portrait of President Donald J. Trump, in what would be the first appearance of a living person on the U.S. Dollar since the Superintendent of the National Currency Bureau Spencer M. Clark placed his own face on a bill in 1866, four current and former employees have told The Washington Post.

Starting last year, two political appointees at the Treasury Department - U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach and his senior adviser, Mike Brown - repeatedly urged staff at the agency to prepare prototypes of the note, with Beach in August and September provided bureau staff with mock-up designs for the note, including one that shows President Trump’s face in the center of the $250 bill next to the signature of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The Director of the Printing Bureau, Patricia “Patty” Solimene, and other staff repeatedly explained to Beach and Brown that there were legal and procedural obstacles to producing the note and it would take years, requiring laws to be changed by Congress. Though the two political appointees were dismissive in response, and Solimene was abruptly reassigned from her post by Treasury management on April 27, 2026.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio celebrates his birthday today.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has confirmed reports today by the Washington Post that work has begun to design a $250 bill featuring the portrait of President Donald J. Trump. Bessent told Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy that the Treasury “prepares things in advance,” and that legislation is in front of the House and Senate to change the requirement that living individuals not be allowed on U.S. Currency.

Following yesterday’s threat by President Trump to “blow up” Oman if they did not behave regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that he spoke today with the Omani Ambassador who said that Oman has no plan to impose tolls on the Hormuz Strait.

Reports of explosions and possible missile launches towards the Strait of Hormuz from the Bushehr Province of Southern Iran.

The Iranian Navy fired warning shots at four vessels earlier that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s state-run Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA).

U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F "Super Hornets", E/A-18G "Growlers" and U.S. Marine Corps F-35C "Lightning IIs" are shown conducting flight operations from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Arabian Sea in a new video release from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

Iran’s state-run Tasnim News Agency reports that a “hostile aircraft” was intercepted earlier over the Bushehr Province of Southern Iran, with claims by other outlets that an American MQ-9 Reaper was downed over the Iranian coastal city of Jam.

As media outlets in both Iran and the United States go back-and-forth over the actual status of peace negotiations to end the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, traders on Polymarket are becoming more and more skeptical that a deal will be agreed upon anytime soon, with a 57% chance of a U.S. x Iran permanent peace deal by July 31, 2026.

Now former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) senior executive employee David Rush was arrested last week after the agency requested assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) following the discovery of potential violations of law. The FBI served a search warrant on Rush's home two days before he was arrested. During the search, the FBI discovered 300 gold bars worth more than $40 million, over $2 million in U.S. currency, and 35 luxury watches. During the period of November 2025 to March 2026, Rush requested tens of millions of dollars in foreign currency and gold bars for "work-related expenses." During the investigation, investigators learned that much of Rush's resume and experience was false. Records from the U.S. Navy confirm that Rush separated as a lieutenant and worked in information systems. When he applied to the CIA, he claimed he was a Navy pilot, director of a joint Navy/Army test center, and had advanced educational degrees.

Just earlier, the White House posted a video showing “loading” mowed into crops in the same style as crop circles that are surrounded by discussions of alien involvement. Amidst recent releases by the Trump administration of files pertaining to unidentified anomalous phenomena, it’s possible that such releases are forthcoming.