Author: Michael

Welcome to Mid-Afternoon Map, our exclusive members-only newsletter that provides a cartographic perspective on current events, geopolitics, and history from the Caucasus to the Carolinas. Subscribers can look forward to interesting takes on good maps and bad maps, beautiful maps and ugly ones — and bizarre maps whenever possible. *** The recent release of “Gladiator II” was accompanied by a deluge of articles finding fault with its historical accuracy. As a number of historians noted, there really were naval battles in the Colosseum, but there is no evidence of sharks.

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A Texas man who pretended to be a former member of an Army Delta Force unit and offered to protect families from Mexican drug cartels was sentenced to 40 years in prison, Department of Justice officials announced.
Saint Jovite Youngblood, also known as Kota Youngblood, 52, defrauded 32 people out of $12 million by offering his protection to families that he convinced were under threat by drug cartels and claiming that “investors” would repay their money with significant returns. Instead, he used a majority of the money to gamble in Las Vegas casinos, federal officials said in a release.

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Austin is concerned about Trump’s willingness to use the military to enforce the U.S. border. The Constitution requires the military to do precisely that.

Secretary of Defense Austin admonished cadets to defend the Constitution in a recent West Point, NY speech. His statement comes at a time when Biden administration officials display increasing concerns over Trump using the military to help secure the Southern Border of the United States.

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Welcome back to The Pentagon Rundown! Pete Hegseth’s nomination to become the next defense secretary may be in jeopardy following allegations of mismanagement when he was CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and reports that his colleagues at Fox News are concerned about his drinking — all of which Hegseth has denied.
President-elect Donald Trump is considering replacing Hegseth with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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