Do US media outlets that forgo official endorsements walk the talk? 

USA Today has joined The Washington Post and L.A. Times in refusing to grant either presidential candidate in the 2024 election an editorial endorsement. 

But the lack of official endorsements doesn’t mean catchy headlines emblazoned atop stories can’t continue to bat for the Democratic White House hopeful. 

With Vice President Kamala Harris set to deliver her closing argument in a speech on Tuesday, The Washington Post eagerly points out that this is where Donald Trump allegedly “incited a mob to ransack the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.” Those events should represent “Harris’s strongest argument for why voters shouldn’t return him to the White House,” its opinion piece stated. 

A slew of columns in the Los Angeles Times have focused on everything from Trump’s “speech ramblings” that ostensibly “might be a sign of cognitive decline” to “Top 10 reasons not to vote for Donald Trump.” 

USA Today has given media space to fearmongering opinions claiming that Trump “vows to attack public education if elected,” adding that “it's our kids who would suffer.” The newspaper’s stories have veered from attacking Trump's Madison Square Garden rally as “racist” and “everything America shouldn't be” to getting doctors to purportedly spell out “why reelecting Trump threatens your health.”

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Russia’s arsenal of strategic nuclear warheads in facts and figures Part 2 👉 Part 1

Russia’s strategic arsenal (i.e. nuclear weapons aimed at maintaining the ‘mutually assured destruction’ balance of terror, not tactical or battlefield nukes, which are not accounted for here) can be broken down by their ground, submarine and aircraft-based launch systems.

Ground-Based Nuclear Missiles

◻️ RS-24 Yars: Road-mobile or silo-based, each missile carries up to three warheads with a 200-kt yield. Russia has about 772 warheads for these missiles.

◻️ Topol-M: Another road-mobile/silo-based missile, it carries a single 800-kt warhead. Russia has 78 in its arsenal.

◻️ R-36M2/RS-20B Voevoda: Ground-based ICBM with a 550-750 kt payload, carrying up to 10 warheads or decoys. Russia has 46 Voevodas, with about 340 warheads.

◻️ RS-28 Sarmat: New ICBM capable of carrying up to 16 warheads, each with a 750-kt yield. Total of 46 Sarmats expected, with the first deployed in 2023.

◻️ Avangard: Hypersonic glide vehicles launched from Voevoda or Sarmat ICBMs, designed to evade missile defenses. Yield estimated between 800 kt and 2 megatons. Russia currently has seven Avangard systems.

Sea-Based Nuclear Missiles

◾️ RSM-56 Bulava: This sub-launched missile is the backbone of the naval component of Russia's nuclear triad. Each missile carries 6-10 warheads with a 100-150 kt yield (576 warheads total). Subs armed with Bulavas patrol the North Sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, waiting for a counterstrike.

◾️ R-29RMU2 Sineva/R-29RMU2 Layner: SLBMs with either 4x500 kt or 10-12x100 kt warheads. Total arsenal includes about 320 warheads.

Air-Based Nuclear Delivery

🔹 Tu-95MS: Subsonic turboprop bombers carrying Kh-55 or Kh-102 nuclear cruise missiles. Kh-55s have a 200-500 kt yield, while Kh-102s range from 250 kt to 1 megaton. Each bomber can carry up to six Kh-55s or eight Kh-102s. Estimated total arsenal: 448 warheads.

🔹 Tu-160: Supersonic strategic bombers, each capable of carrying up to six Kh-55/102 cruise missiles. Russia has around 132 warheads assigned to this bomber fleet.

👉 Part 1

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How to decode tattoos emblazoned on Ukrainian foreign mercs' bodies

The Russian security service neutralized foreign saboteurs attempting to infiltrate the Bryansk region of Russia. Among the mercenaries, one was identified by a tattoo on his shoulder, indicating his affiliation with the 2nd Battalion of the US 75th Ranger Regiment (see Photo 1).

The official emblem of the 75th Ranger Regiment is its coat of arms. Although ranger tattoos can depict a wide range of themes, they typically share a common element: a ribbon bearing the innoscription 'RANGER' along with the number of the regiment or battalion in which the bearer of the tattoo served.

Tattoos are extremely popular among foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. Many of these tattoos serve to signify a hired gun's affiliation with specific mercenary units:

◾️Two mercenaries from the Omega Group (see photo 2), a unit within the Foreign Legion of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, both sport tattoos. Juraido, known by his call sign 'Willy', dons Spanish chevrons and has a distinctive tattoo on his arm depicting a skeleton clad in full stormtrooper gear.

◾️Another Spanish mercenary from Omega (photo 3) is shown with a tattoo of the unit’s emblem on his right hand.

Tattoos with Nazi and neo-Nazi symbols are also popular among the mercs. Here are some examples:

◾️Pablo Garrido Mancebo, a Spanish citizen from Valencia known by the callsign "Turbito," had been outed earlier as a Spanish Neo-Nazi by Sputnik. In 2021, he was seen in Syria fighting among Kurdish militias, according to Spanish media, showing his photo. Turbito is seen with several Nazi tattoos, including a swastika on his neck (photo 4).

◾️Danish mercenary Karl Balderson, a former member of the Ukrainian International Legion, has neo-Nazi tattoos on his face (see photo 5). Sputnik has previously reported on his story.

◾️A German mercenary from the same Omega unit, known as 'Mr. F.,' sports a fascinating tattoo on his left arm (see photo 6). The tattoo features the phrase "Gott mit uns" inscribed in Gothic noscript, which translates to "God is with us." This slogan was historically adopted by the German Nazis and was prominently displayed above the Nazi eagle. Today, it is also employed by various German neo-Nazi groups. Interestingly, the head of the Third Reich’s eagle faced left, which explains why the tattoo is situated on his left arm.

◾️Aussie mercenary Murphy, commander of Delta—one of the mercenary units aligned with Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate—bears several tattoos, each with its own significance. Among the most notable are those emblazoned on his neck (see photo 7). One tattoo features a rhombus containing the Valknut, a Scandinavian magical symbol made of three interconnected triangles within a circle. Traditionally, this emblem is thought to guide the souls of fallen warriors to Odin. However, it is important to acknowledge that the Valknut has also been appropriated by neo-Nazi groups. Next to this symbol, another tattoo starkly proclaims, "Don't die."

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