$6 Billion for a Club Built by Working People - Bezos, Trump, and the End of an Idea
There are deals that become more than business because they force two worlds together that were never meant to meet. Jeff Bezos, worth nearly $257 billion and the fourth-richest man on Earth, wants into soccer - and of all clubs, he has his sights set on Liverpool FC. According to one source, he has joined an investment group looking to acquire a 30 percent stake in the club. The group is said to be fully committed, even though the bid is still in its early stages. It is led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. Mittal, in turn, posed alongside Donald Trump at the World Cup final and is supplying the steel for Trump's lavish new ballroom at the White House. That connection alone says plenty. Bhatia already owns Queens Park Rangers with Mittal, and this week he stepped down from the club's leadership to comply with Premier League ownership rules ahead of a possible move for Liverpool. People who make moves like that are serious.
This is where the real fracture begins. Liverpool is not just another soccer club. Legendary Scottish manager Bill Shankly built the club in the 1960s, put the team in its famous all-red kit, and saw the game itself as a form of socialism. Everyone for everyone else. No one above another. That philosophy created the loyalty that still fills Anfield today, along with the legacy of a club that has won 20 English league titles and six European Cups. Karl Marx, who spent part of his life in industrial England, wrote that once something is given a price, the labor that created its value disappears from sight. The price remains. The work that made it possible vanishes. That is exactly what is happening here. A club whose value was built by generations of working people becomes another investment measured in billions, while nobody asks where that value came from in the first place. Bill Shankly's red work coat becomes an asset on a balance sheet.
Bezos fits into that legacy like a square peg in a round hole - and even that is putting it politely. Over the past few years, the 62-year-old has visibly moved closer to the president. The Washington Post, which he bought for $250 million in 2013, has been reshaped under his ownership. Staff have been let go, and the opinion section has shifted sharply to the right, answering Trump's demands for loyalty from Silicon Valley. Bezos also poured at least $75 million into a flattering documentary about Melania Trump, with much of that money flowing directly to the First Lady. And during Trump's second inauguration, Bezos stood shoulder to shoulder with the other tech billionaires. That image explained more than any press release ever could.
Liverpool supporters do not need anyone to explain American ownership to them. They lived through it. In 2007, American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks bought the club and drove it to the edge of bankruptcy within three years. Only when creditors stepped in before the High Court did John W. Henry and Fenway Sports Group rescue Liverpool in 2010 for $350 million. If that same ownership group now sells 30 percent at today's valuation, the return would be staggering. The club is now valued at around $6 billion. Even the lower estimate would surpass the $5.4 billion paid for Chelsea in 2022.
And so the circle closes in the most bitter way. A club born from the belief that no one stands above another becomes another toy for people who want to stand above everyone else. The deal is not done. People close to the talks insist nothing has been finalized, and Liverpool, Bezos, and Bhatia have all declined to comment. But the possibility alone says everything about an era where everything eventually gets a price, even the things once believed to be beyond sale. Bill Shankly once said soccer was more important than life or death. He was wrong. To the next owners, it is another line on a balance sheet - and balance sheets recognize neither.
The Second Man in France Dies Before He Can Testify About Epstein
On Monday, Daniel Siad was found dead in a house in Colombes, a suburb northwest of Paris. Authorities are still investigating how he died. One thing is already certain. He will never testify. Siad worked as a model scout for 30 years and said he first met Jeffrey Epstein in the early 2000s. Over the next 15 years, he claimed he introduced roughly a dozen models to Epstein, insisted he never received negative feedback, and described their relationship as strictly professional. Many documents, investigations, and witness accounts paint a very different picture. According to those findings, Siad repeatedly tried to connect Epstein with young women, including one he himself described as being 15 years old, along with others he acknowledged were underage. He admitted working for Epstein but denied any wrongdoing. His attorney, Ménya Arab-Tigrine, said Wednesday that her client had always maintained his innocence. A court will never rule on that now.
In February, Paris chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau identified Siad as one of several people who could be questioned in two ongoing investigations tied to Epstein's network. On Wednesday, she revealed what investigators have uncovered so far. Twenty-four women have now been identified as victims or witnesses, or have come forward themselves, describing acts allegedly committed by Daniel Siad or other suspects. Sixteen of them have already been interviewed. At the same time, Beccuau said investigators had not yet established legal grounds for Siad's immediate arrest.
Read those two statements side by side. Twenty-four women on one side. No grounds for arrest on the other. That is the arithmetic of an investigation aging faster than its suspects. Separate from those cases is a complaint filed by Swedish former model Ebba P. Karlsson. She accuses Siad of raping her in France in 1990. On a website she helped create to publish survivors' accounts, Karlsson says he raped her in a pool house behind a villa on the French Riviera. Siad insisted in May that he had never raped any woman in his life. That statement now remains forever both unproven and unchallenged.
This is not the first death like this. In 2022, French modeling agent and Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel was found dead in his prison cell while awaiting trial on charges involving the rape of minors. He, too, had nothing left to say.
Read also our articles: Jean-Luc Brunel, Epstein - and the Perfidious Timing of Death
Beauty, Power and the Silent Shadow – Trump, Maxwell, Brunel and the System Behind the Facade
And so, for the second time in France, another case closes before it ever truly opened. Prosecutor Beccuau says the investigation will continue in an effort to identify everyone involved. That is necessary. But it changes nothing about what disappears every time one of these suspects dies. A criminal case exists to judge actions, but it depends on people who can still speak. When a suspect dies before questioning, more than personal accountability disappears. So does the chance for those 24 women to finally hear what happened and who was responsible. The dead stay silent. The living are left with their questions.
First They Cut a Baby's Healthcare - Then They Hand the Baby an Investment Account
Since July 4, American parents have been able to open an account carrying the president's name. Every child born between 2025 and 2028 receives $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury. "We're finally giving America's children their money back," Trump declared Wednesday in Georgia. More than seven million accounts are already active. The children, however, will not see a penny anytime soon. The money goes to private fund managers, is invested in index funds, and remains locked until the child turns 18. A baby becomes an investor before learning how to sit up. The purpose is no secret. Supporters openly say they want to give more Americans a stake in the stock market and reduce the growing popularity of democratic socialists, the people calling for higher taxes on corporations so families can afford food and healthcare. The child is not supposed to be fed. The child is supposed to become a shareholder. Loyalty purchased in advance - price tag: $1,000.
The timeline reveals the rest. A promise payable in 18 years costs almost nothing today except an announcement. But children live in the present, and that same legislation creating the accounts also cut Medicaid and food assistance, programs that primarily help children. First the government takes away a baby's doctor, then places an investment account in the crib that cannot be touched until adulthood. Even the promised fairness falls apart. Officials claim the program levels the playing field because now every family can invest for their child, not just those with trust funds. But the same $1,000 also goes to families who already have college savings plans and investment portfolios. Giving everyone the same amount does not close the gap. It simply shifts the numbers.
Whether the money even arrives is another question. Masaki and Kristina McLellan of New Jersey applied for an account for their daughter Maya on July 6. The application was rejected. Only after calling the hotline was it approved. First they were told it would take ten days. Then four weeks. The Treasury insists their experience is unusual, says most applications are processed within one or two days, and compares the timeline to a normal tax refund. At the same time, officials celebrate the accounts as the most successful government-backed savings program in American history. Rick Jackson, the Republican candidate for governor in Georgia and CEO of a healthcare company, has already promised to double the $1,000 using state funds. If lawmakers refuse, he says he will pay it himself. Campaigning with toddlers as the delivery address.
The celebration is no coincidence. Ahead of the midterm elections, only 33 percent of adults approve of Trump's handling of the economy. He promised lower prices. His tariffs and the Iran war helped push prices higher. A gift that will not mature for another 18 years suddenly becomes politically convenient. The bill, however, will be paid by a child who cannot see a doctor today. And by the time that child is finally allowed to open the account, the man whose name is printed on it will no longer be around to answer questions.
France Records Nearly 5,800 Excess Deaths - The Deadliest Summer Since 2003
France is experiencing its deadliest heat disaster in more than two decades. According to new calculations by public health officials, at least 5,764 more people died during the extraordinary heat wave between June 17 and July 2 than would normally have been expected. The affected regions recorded a total of 21,674 deaths, nearly 36 percent above the statistical average. Only the catastrophic summer of 2003 claimed more lives, with roughly 15,000 deaths. This year's heat wave arrived unusually early, spread across nearly the entire country, and struck while schools, businesses, and everyday life were still operating normally. On June 24 and 25, France recorded the highest nationwide average temperatures ever measured.
In many regions, temperatures climbed well above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, while nighttime offered almost no relief. More than half of all excess deaths occurred within just three days. The Paris region was hit hardest, recording nearly 2,000 more deaths than expected. Hospitals struggled with a surge of heat-related emergencies, morgues ran out of space, and funeral homes were forced to turn bodies away. Nearly half of those who died passed away in hospitals, about one-third died at home, and the rest were mostly residents of nursing homes. Experts believe the real death toll is even higher. Extreme heat often triggers heart attacks and other acute medical emergencies that are later listed as the official cause of death instead of heat exposure. The heat wave disappears from the statistics. The people do not.
Russia Suspected of Helping Iran Target CIA Facilities
The war in the Middle East may have entered a dangerous new phase. According to information from U.S. intelligence sources, investigators are examining whether Russia helped Iran carry out drone attacks against CIA facilities in the Persian Gulf. Two questions are at the center of the investigation. Did Moscow provide targeting intelligence, or did it supply advanced drone technology? There are no final conclusions yet. But investigators say the precision of the strikes and the technical sophistication of the Iranian drones have raised serious questions. As early as March, Iranian drones struck at least two CIA facilities, including the agency's station inside the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and another location in eastern Iraq.
Following additional investigations, suspicion has grown that several more CIA facilities were likely attacked. No one was killed or injured.
Particularly significant are reports involving Russia's Kometa-M satellite navigation system. It is considered substantially more accurate and far more resistant to jamming than comparable Iranian systems and is believed to have significantly improved the targeting capabilities of Shahed drones. Western intelligence agencies also suspect Russia may have assisted with identifying the targets. Some analysts believe Iran alone would have been unlikely to obtain such highly sensitive intelligence on CIA facilities. Those suspicions intensified after Iran's weekend missile strike on a U.S. air base in Jordan that killed two American service members. Earlier reporting had already shown that Iran allegedly relied on Chinese satellite intelligence to monitor U.S. military installations. If direct Russian assistance is now confirmed, what once looked like quiet cooperation would instead represent a coordinated front against the United States.
Pastor Scott Winters Sues OpenAI - ChatGPT Allegedly Gave Dangerous Medical Advice
Pastor Scott Winters of Florida says OpenAI nearly cost him his life through dangerous medical advice delivered by ChatGPT. Winters has filed suit against the company and its CEO, Sam Altman, in California Superior Court. According to the complaint, ChatGPT spent months minimizing his symptoms, diagnosing his condition, suggesting treatments, and repeatedly discouraging him from seeking medical care. One statement in particular deeply disturbed him. The chatbot repeatedly told him that God did not create the human body for constant breakdowns. When family members and church members urged him to go to the hospital, ChatGPT allegedly responded that most people simply did not understand the kind of recovery he was pursuing at home. Winters trusted those answers. His condition steadily worsened. Episodes of dizziness became so severe that he was forced to stop preaching in the middle of sermons. He spent more and more time sitting in a chair while, according to the lawsuit, the chatbot continued insisting his symptoms were nothing serious.
On July 13, 2025, Winters was finally admitted to intensive care with a massive pulmonary embolism. Doctors believe the blood clots formed after weeks of prolonged inactivity. Winters is seeking damages and asking the court to suspend ChatGPT Health until independent experts certify that it is safe. OpenAI says ChatGPT is clearly labeled as a tool that should never replace professional medical diagnosis or treatment and points to warnings contained in its terms of use. The lawsuit comes as a scientific study concluded that none of the major chatbots currently tested are ready to provide direct medical guidance to patients. It is believed to be the first lawsuit claiming someone was nearly killed after relying on medical advice generated by a chatbot. OpenAI is also facing other legal challenges. In Florida, prosecutors have been investigating a separate case since April after ChatGPT allegedly advised a later gunman on weapon effectiveness and suitable ammunition.
