Happy Friday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,144 words…4.3 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: King Charles III Marks His 77th Birthday, Poland’s “Nazi Gold Train”, Jersey Mob's $2M Sports Betting Ring, Switzerland Drops $200B on America, Germany Edges Toward Conscription, Blue Origin Launches Mars Mission … & much more!
🚨 Watch For:
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to visit the White House: Nov 18th
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Centre: The King’s new portrait; Left: With his mother, HM Late Queen Elizabeth II; Right: With his grandfather HM Late King George VI
🎂 King Charles III Marks His 77th Birthday With Tradition, History & a Spotlight on Community
🎈 King Charles III celebrated his 77th birthday today with a deliberately low-key but meaningful day of engagements in Wales.
He and Queen Camilla visited Cyfarthfa Castle near Merthyr Tydfil, joining locals in marking the castle’s 200th anniversary.
The King cut a castle-shaped birthday cake.
And met community figures including actress Ruth Jones and TikTok creator Lewis Leigh — a nod to the region’s cultural and social voices.
👑 Across the UK, tradition carried the moment: A 41-gun salute at London’s Green Park, another at Edinburgh Castle, and additional salutes across the country and Commonwealth realms honoring the milestone.
📸 Buckingham Palace released a new official portrait taken by Millie Pilkington at Sandringham, which quickly spread across royal channels and social media alongside birthday wishes for the monarch.
The Royal Collection Trust also shared archival black-and-white photos of Charles as a baby with Queen Elizabeth II and as a toddler with King George VI, paired with the original 1948 announcement of his birth — a rare historical touchpoint.
💡Despite ongoing treatment for cancer diagnosed in early 2024, the Palace confirmed the King was in good health to take part in the day’s events, underscoring his continued commitment to duty, public engagement, and the wider Commonwealth.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
Merkers salt mine, where 3rd U.S. Army troops discovered an estimated 100 tons of gold bullion in 1945
🚂 Poland’s “Nazi Gold Train” Legend Roars Back to Life
A group calling itself Gold Train 2025 claims it’s located three buried box cars from a Third Reich train in a sealed tunnel.
Where: In the Świdnica Forest District near Wałbrzych — the heart of Silesia’s long-rumored “Nazi gold train” mystery.
The site links to the secret WWII Riese project under Książ Castle, where the Germans allegedly hid gold, jewels, weapons, and stolen art.
Sources say there could be as much as 300 tonnes of gold there.
💡Bottom line: Officials have been notified and limited surface searches approved, but after failed digs in 2015, Poland’s keeping its skepticism handy.
🇨🇭 🇺🇸 Switzerland Drops $200B on America — and Gets a Tariff Makeover
Switzerland and the U.S. just inked a heavyweight trade deal: Bern will invest at least $200B in the U.S. through 2028, pouring cash into manufacturing, R&D, and thousands of American jobs.
In return, Washington slashes tariffs on Swiss goods from 39% to 15%, matching EU rates.
Swiss pharma, gold smelters, and railway firms will shift production stateside, while both sides open reciprocal meat quotas and tighten cooperation on export controls and investment screening.
💡Bottom line: Final signatures land in early 2026 — locking in a rare win-win.
🪖 Germany Edges Toward Conscription 2.0
Berlin is rolling out a plan requiring all 18-year-old men to undergo a mandatory medical exam — the first step toward a potential return to military conscription.
Women can participate voluntarily. Every teen will also receive a questionnaire on interest in service; for men, answering is mandatory.
If volunteer numbers fall short, Germany may activate a lottery draft, with a six-month service term and incentives up to €2,600/month for volunteers:bulb.
💡The goal: Help the Bundeswehr identify fit recruits as Europe reassesses national defense.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
🎰 Jersey Mob's $2M Sports Betting Ring: When Your Bookie is Also Your Cousin
Feds arrested 14 people—including a Lucchese crime family soldier, his kids, his ex-wife, and his current wife—for running an illegal sportsbook out of Essex County.
Allegedly handled around $2M in illegal bets, mostly on college sports
The irony? Sports betting is literally legal in New Jersey. They just wanted the untaxed mob version.
Peak New Jersey details:
Soldier named "Little Joe" (because, of course)
Rutgers athletes placing bets
Operations tied to Port Newark - historic mob territory
They are being charged with racketeering, conspiracy, gambling offenses, and money laundering, carrying 10–20 year sentences.
⚡You can take the gambling out of the mob, but you can't take the mob out of gambling.
📧 Epstein Emails Spark Bipartisan Crossfire — and New Calls for Clarity
House Democrats released 23,000 emails from the Epstein estate, including a 2011 note where Epstein referred to Donald Trump as “the dog that hasn’t barked”.
Democrats say the emails raise questions about what Trump knew, while stressing the documents merit further scrutiny.
Republicans accuse Democrats of selective leaking, distorting context; pointing to a redaction of “Virginia” — likely Virginia Giuffre, who publicly said Trump never harmed her.
Trump’s team called the release a “bad-faith effort” and urged the DOJ to probe Epstein’s connections to Clinton, Summers, Reid Hoffman, and JPMorgan, which settled related claims for $290M in 2023.
💡Bottom line: With each side pinning the scandal on the other and more documents reportedly incoming, Washington is bracing for a politically volatile fight over what Epstein’s network really looked like — and who, if anyone, enabled it.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
🚀 Blue Origin Launches Mars Mission, Lands Booster
Blue Origin’s New Glenn soared on its second flight, carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE twin spacecraft to study Mars’ atmosphere and solar wind interactions.
The first stage booster made a full autonomous landing on the droneship Jaclyn — a New Glenn first.
The mission also tested Viasat telemetry services, validating the rocket for future NASA Artemis and U.S. Space Force launches.
⚡CEO Dave Limp called it a “full success” for reusable heavy-lift capability.
🪪 Apple Lets iPhones Hold Your Passport (Kind Of)
Apple rolled out Digital ID, letting U.S. iPhone and Apple Watch users carry a copy of their passport in Wallet for use at TSA checkpoints in 250+ airports.
Setup requires scanning your passport, chip, and a selfie for verification.
The feature works like Apple Pay, letting travelers authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID without handing over their device.
⚡Rollout is beta and limited to select states for now.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
King Charles (then Charles, Prince of Wales) with his grandson Prince Louis
The Ultimate “Leftover” King
Did you know King Charles III is the ultimate royal recycler—at the dinner table?
He despises food waste, insisting leftovers be reheated for the next day's feast or creatively repurposed. Camilla's son Tom Parker-Bowles confirms Charles champions zero-waste meals, even packing doggie bags for later. Royalty, reimagined!