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Welcome back, Wake Up Right fam! Pardon me in advance if today’s tone seems a bit… cranky. It’s my first day back at work after a week off… 😩
But to set us up right this week, let’s start with some good news:
A retired Army veteran from Virginia just made history on The Price Is Right’s Mother’s Day special, taking home more than $240,000 in cash and prizes – the biggest single pricing game win in the show’s 54-year history.
She’s definitely waking up right this morning.
🗓 Coming up: Trump and Xi meet on Thursday
💬 Putin: Ukraine war 'is coming to an end’
💐 Mother's Day spending in US this year hit $38B
👋 80K+ illegals gave up immigration cases & left since Jan
📊 40% approve SCOTUS ban on racial gerrymandering, 43% disapprove
Sources: NY Times, Fox News, Statista, Washington Post, Rasmussen
Trump’s Intel bet pays big
President Donald Trump bet $8.9 billion of taxpayer money on struggling chipmaker Intel eight months ago. That stake is now worth $56.5 billion — a 5X+ return that's validating his unorthodox economic playbook.
The details: Last August, the Trump administration redirected CHIPS Act grants, along with Defense Department funding that was already promised to Intel, and turned it into stock instead.
The U.S. Treasury got 433.3 million shares at about $20.47 each – roughly 10% of the company.
On Friday, Intel announced its first-ever deal to manufacture chips for Apple, sending the stock to a record $129.
Profit [unrealized]: $47.6 billion in 8 months
Has this been done before? Yes – but only in emergencies, and never quite like this:
🚗 GM (2009): A 60.8% majority stake during bankruptcy. Sold by 2013 at an $11.2B loss.
🏦 AIG (2008): Up to 92% of the insurer. Sold in 2012 with a modest profit.
🚙 Chrysler (2009): A 9.9% stake – nearly identical to the Intel position. Sold at a $1.3 billion loss in 2013.
The difference: Every past case was a rescue mission. Intel wasn't on its deathbed. Trump took equity on the way up, not the way down.
Why the stock exploded: Intel spent over a year hunting for a major customer to revive its struggling chip-manufacturing business. Microsoft signed on in early 2026. Now Apple – which has always used Taiwan for its chips – is on board too.
Where the money goes: If the U.S. sells, proceeds flow into the General Fund – the government's main checkbook that finances day-to-day operations. Translation: it offsets the deficit.
Real talk from G: Trump just made taxpayers tens of billions on a move traditional conservatives would've called socialism ten years ago. The government owning a piece of a major American company isn't how the free market is supposed to work – but it's working.
[Source: Yahoo]
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Virginia Supreme Court slams gavel on Democrats’ effort to gerrymander
Virginia Democrats tried to ram a last-second redistricting referendum through the back door — and the state Supreme Court just blew the whole thing up.
The details: In a 4-3 ruling Friday, the Supreme Court of Virginia struck down the Democrat-backed amendment that would have authorized partisan gerrymandering of the state's congressional map.
Final word: The court declared the entire referendum "null and void" – meaning the existing 2021 court-drawn map governs the 2026 election.
Why the court killed it: Virginia's constitution requires amendments to pass two legislatures with an election in between – so voters can weigh in. Democrats jammed the referendum through just 4 days before Election Day, after 1.3 million ballots were cast. The court called it "wholly unprecedented" and tossed it.
Why this matters: If Democrats had their way, their new map would have transformed Virginia’s current delegation from its current 6–5 edge into a 10–1 advantage for the left.
Redistricting wars: The GOP is stacking redistricting wins. The Supreme Court recently upheld Texas's new map. And in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Florida, redistricting has all gone Republicans' way.
The big quote: HBO host Bill Maher, who declared over the weekend: "Republicans are winning the gerrymander war!"
The numbers: According to 270towin, Republicans are forecasted to keep 209 House seats compared to 207 for Democrats. 19 seats are considered a toss-up. Those seats will decide the fate of who controls the House.
[Source: Just the News, The Federalist]
📈 The U.S. job market exceeded expectations in April, with the economy adding 115,000 jobs – more than double the 55,000 projected by economists. Read more.
✅ Hundreds of child sexual abuse victims were located, and over 350 child sex abuse offenders were arrested in April as a result of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Operation Iron Pursuit. Read more.
👎 Border Czar Tom Homan suggested some Cabinet members are having “discussions” with President Trump about granting “legal status” to some illegal immigrants, sparking concern among his base. Read more.
⏸ President Trump said Putin and Zelensky agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners, adding it could be the “beginning of the end” of the long war between Ukraine and Russia. Read more.
🦠 A passenger returning to the U.S. from a cruise ship where a hantavirus outbreak occurred has tested positive for the virus, while a second is showing mild symptoms. Read more.
🚇 Subway-related homicides and robberies have increased in New York City under Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Read more.
🥛 The USDA added whole milk and 2% milk back to school cafeterias and child nutrition programs under Trump's Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, after the Obama administration removed them in 2010. Read more.
🔒 Israeli authorities have indicted a Jewish man for an unprovoked, violent assault on a nun in Jerusalem. Read more.
📸 Cameras – both photo and video – will be allowed in the courtroom during hearings for Charlie Kirk's assassin, Tyler Robinson, despite his attempts to prevent it. Read more.
🔫 Handguns could soon be shipped through USPS for the first time in nearly a century. The Trump administration is moving to scrap a 1927 ban, with the DOJ calling it unconstitutional. Two dozen Democratic AGs are pushing back. Read more.
💬 White House Chief of Staff hinted "we're going to find out" that Trump "actually did win" many swing states that went to Joe Biden in 2020, as federal investigations are underway in Georgia and Arizona. Read more.
🎥 These are the wildest videos released as part of the government’s UFO files. Watch.
🎥 Dana White BODIES effeminate hip-hop radio host Charlamagne. Watch.
🎥 Spencer Pratt goes after LA Mayor Karen “BASURA.” Watch. He’s got good instincts.
🎥 Wacko leftist woman SCREAMS outside the Virginia Supreme Court. Watch.
🎥 Trump weighs in on the NFL forcing Americans to pay for multiple streaming subscriptions to access games. Watch.
🎥 Liberal Bill Maher admits Republicans are WINNING the redistricting war. Watch.
🎥 Conservative on CNN respectfully makes her argument, while the leftist gets triggered and shouts over her. Watch.
🎥 US citizens disembark the hantavirus cruise ship. Watch.
🎥 There's a whole crop of incel assassins who idolize Luigi Mangione. Watch.
