In 2011, Peter Thiel paid $27 million for a home in Maui. In 2022, the billionaire entrepreneur and investor is on track to get a US Senate seat for his friend and former employee, J.D. Vance, for roughly half that. It might be the best deal he’s gotten since acquiring a sizable chunk of Facebook for $500,000 in 2004.

Vance is now the favorite to become Ohio’s next senator after winning Tuesday’s competitive Republican primary. He’d been trailing in the polls but shot to the top after a late endorsement from Donald Trump. Thiel was with him every step of the way.

The PayPal co-founder announced that he was putting $10 million into a super-PAC backing Vance’s Ohio Senate bid before Vance even got into the race. He went on to give another $5 million to the super-PAC. The group functioned as a shadow campaign for Vance by conducting polling, funneling people to his events, and hiring staff that later joined Vance’s official campaign, the New York Times reported.

But money was not Thiel’s most important contribution to Vance’s campaign. He was instrumental in getting Trump to forgive Vance’s vocal Never Trumpism during the 2016 election. Last year, Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. joined Vance for a meeting with the former president at Mar-a-Lago, Politico reported. With Thiel’s help, Vance was able to convince Trump that he’d be one of the Senate’s strongest supporters of the MAGA agenda.

Like any good venture capitalist, Thiel has pull with Trump not because he spent big but because he invested early.

Like any good venture capitalist, Thiel has pull with Trump not because he spent big but because he invested early. During the 2016 campaign, he was Trump’s biggest backer in Silicon Valley and spoke in a key slot at the Republican National Convention. He went on to donate $1.25 million to support Trump while others were fleeing in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape.

This article is a collaboration between Mother Jones and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, which is a nonprofit investigative newsroom. Sign up to get their investigations emailed to you directly.

For two decades, Kelly Flynn barely noticed the protesters who gathered almost daily along University Boulevard, the main public drag to the office park that houses her clinic, A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville. The signs, the chants, the occasional blocked sidewalk—they all went with the territory of running an abortion clinic in Florida, one of the last states in the South where abortion remains widely accessible. Most mornings, Flynn would take a back route to avoid them. As soon as she turned left onto University Center Drive, the quiet road fronting the clinic’s two buildings, she almost forgot the protesters existed. The only people permitted to use the private road and parking lots were the medical staff who worked in the surrounding offices, their patients, and approved visitors. Anyone else was trespassing.

All that changed on the morning of Dec. 1, 2020. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office logged a call from the clinic shortly after 9 a.m.: Three protesters had infiltrated the clinic’s defenses, staking out a spot on the private road. They parked in the lot next door, anti-abortion banners hanging from their cars. According to a sheriff’s report, when officers arrived to remove them, “THEY PRETEND TO BE RENTERS.” An hour later, the officers appended a correction: “PEOPLE HAVE AUTORIZATION (sic) BY PROPERTY OWNER TO BE ON PROPERTY.” The police drove away; the protesters stayed.

That’s when Flynn discovered she had a new neighbor: Gertrude Perez-Poveda, a former accountant in her early 70s who is a leader of Family for LIFE, a local anti-abortion group. Trudy, as everyone calls her, was known for picketing the nearby Planned Parenthood. Now she’d moved into a drab one-story building a couple of hundred feet from Flynn’s clinic that had sat vacant while its owner, a doctor, faced prosecution for allegedly exposing himself to a patient. (He was convicted last year.) For $1,000 a month, Perez-Poveda suddenly had 24/7 access to a room, a bathroom, and—most importantly—the private road. 

Kelly Flynn stands outside her clinic, A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville, Fla.

In the little more than two months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States has committed $14 billion in money and weapons to the Ukrainians. That’s an extraordinary sum, more than three times the amount of US aid Ukraine has received since 2014, the year Russia annexed Crimea. 

But last week President Joe Biden blew past that figure. He asked lawmakers for $33 billion of aid, consisting of defensive weapons and economic assistance. If Congress approves Biden’s request, the US government will have sent Ukraine $47 billion in less than a year, more money than all but a handful of countries have ever received, in total, from the United States. 

“It is almost unprecedented to shovel that much aid to one country in such a short amount of time,” William Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told me. Only four countries have received more than $30 billion in lifetime aid from the United States, and two of them—Iraq and Afghanistan—were the site of lengthy US conflicts. 

Biden is requesting $33 billion in aid to Ukraine, which is more money than the US has sent all but four countries *in total* since 1946 https://t.co/ALx5dlIqyd

— Dan Spinelli (@danspinelli902) April 28, 2022

Arsenal have been linked with a move to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin from Everton this summer, but Kevin Phillips wants the club to aim higher.

The England international may be in want of a move to a bigger club, but given his struggles throughout the current term, it is difficult to argue his cause.

Phillips claims he can see why we are supposedly interest in his signing, but as an Arsenal fan he simply doesn’t want to see us invest a substantial sum in bringing him to north London.

“It’s a strange one,” he told the Football Insider.

“I think when he’s fully fit and firing, I can see it. But putting my Arsenal cap on, as an Arsenal fan – would it really excite me?

Kevin Campbell has heaped praise on Arsenal loanee Dinos Mavropanos with West Ham claimed to be eyeing his potential signing.

The Greek international is currently on loan with Bundesliga side Stuttgart where he has been enjoying a fine season, but with the club currently under the threat of relegation, they are unlikely to be able to keep hold of him beyond the season.

Stuttgart do have an option to buy the defender, one which you would expect them to take up, even if the decision was then to sell him on for a profit should they succumb to relegation.

West Ham are now being linked with his potential signing this summer as they look to continue to bolster their squad, and former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell has praised the defender amidst links with such a move.

“From what I’ve heard, he’s done really well in Germany,” Campbell told the FootballInsider.

David Moyes has claimed that it’s ‘quite difficult’ to understand Arsenal’s set pattern ahead of his West Ham side’s clash with Arsenal.

The Gunners are hoping to make it three wins in a row as they look to close in on a top-four finish, having a two-point lead over Tottenham in the table at present.

After recent wins over both Chelsea and Manchester United, we now have the tough challenge of going away to London rivals West Ham, and their manager has praised the job being done by Mikel Arteta, before admitting that it is difficult to understand our patterns of play.

“I think he’s done a really good job,” Moyes told reporters during his pre-match conference (via the club’s official website.

“They were in the semi-finals of the Europa League last year and it shows how well they have come on from what they have done last year, so I am sure Mikel wants his teams to be in Europe (again).

Despite many Arsenal fans not giving any credit to Mikel Arteta, despite bringing in half a team of unnkown younsters last summer, and somehow guiding them into the fight for the Top Four spot, the fact is that him and his half-baked team have worked wonders this season.

If we can win again tomorrow against our local rivals West Ham, we are most definitely in the driving seat again, unless Tottenham can pull off another miracle by beating Liverpool at Anfield next week.

Arteta himself is very happy with the way the team has developed, and cannot help but praise them and fully expects the youngsters to improve even further next season, with a few new additions in the coming transfer window.

The boss made it clear at the end of last summer that we were only half-way through our rebuilding project, and we should see a lot more progress ahead of the next campaign. “I think the team has made a great leap at the level of identity, game, style, clarity… And obviously, the ability that has given us to be able to repeat line-ups, the power to repeat the system and the power to repeat movements, dynamics, structures that we want, has made it easier for us, it has given us a lot of fluidity and security”, explains the Spanish coach on DAZN’s podcast (translated by Google).

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 23: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal gives their team instructions during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on April 23, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

“They have shown that they have the ability to win games and be decisive, and they have done so in a very consistent way for many games, ”

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that reported Arsenal target Darwin Nunez ‘will leave’ Benfica this summer, but adds that he will not be moving on cheaply.

The Gunners are unlikely to be alone in their pursuit of Nunez, who has scored 33 goals in all competitions this season, although we are believed to be eyeing alternatives also.

It is unclear where his future lies at present, but Fabrizio Romano insists that he will be on the move in the coming window, and that they have already opened talks over his replacement.

“Darwin Nunez will leave the club, and €75m now could not be enough,” Romano apparently wrote on his social media (via Football.London). “Talks opened for David Neres as target, confirmed as reported by @ojogo – but nothing agreed yet.”

Our chances of signing have to be boosted with his club seemingly having accepted his departure, but whether we are ready and willing to splash out in excess of €75 Million (£63 Million) to land him remains to be seen.

When Arsenal bought Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid in 2020, the Ghanain came with an impeccable reputation and an injury-free record, and was fully expected to come straight in and boss our midfield straight from the off.

But after leaving Madrid, due to the Covid problems he went straight off to internationals and then straight back into the Premier league. It is little surprise he came down with injury problems which have never really left him. Last season, he only managed 24 appearances for the Gunners, and he had just reached that total again before succumbing to yet another season-ending injury.

Thomas he has been one of our best players since Christmas and Mikel Arteta has been speaking about how much he has to change his tactical setup without his midfield general, and how important Partey is to the team as a whole. ‘The stats are there and they are unquestionable,’ Arteta told the Daily Mail.

‘The win rate when Thomas is there is higher. It is something that is not good for us because in the last two seasons he has not been there as much as we want.’

‘We need him to play in that role on his own, with the quality he brings and the experience that he brings. And the fact he brings things that are unique that we want.

West Ham are claimed in the DailyMail to be showing interest in a deal to sign Nicolas Pepe from Arsenal, but should we be weary of deals with our London rivals?

I think there is little doubt that under the right conditions Pepe will thrive and he could potentially land at a top side again later in his career, but for a number of reasons, it just isn’t working out for him in north London at present.

While Mikel Arteta has shown a strong preference in having Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe ahead of him in the pecking order, and it is hard to argue against that decision with all of that trio thriving down the wings, and it now seems inevitable that the former Lille man will be leaving the club in the coming window.

While we will likely sell to the highest bidder, I feel like we should be weary of West Ham, who have shown that they could well be challenging for the European places on a consistent basis, and allowing Pepe to join them could well come back to bite us in the coming years.

Newcastle are an obvious threat to our future hopes given their new mega-rich owners, but they will time to build the squad that can propel them up the table on a consistent basis, while the threat of David Moyes side is right in our face at present.

Paul Merson has claimed that Gabriel Jesus should not leave Manchester City for Arsenal, claiming that ‘Pep Guardiola trusts him’.

The Gunners are expected to add at least one new forward to their attack this summer, with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah into the final months of their current contracts.

While our interest in City’s Jesus was seemingly confirmed last weekend, Paul Merson doesn’t believe he should make the move to the Emirates, and should stay with his current side.

‘Gabriel Jesus should stay at Manchester City. There’s speculation about his future and people think he’s unhappy he doesn’t play enough – but he’s started 17 Premier League games this season,’ Merson wrote for his column in the Daily Star.

‘I think that’s a lot. He’s played 36 times for City this season. And started a lot of big, big games. Where is he going to go where he can do any better than that?

Arsenal are claimed to have enquired with Bologna about the availability of Aaron Hickey, which could mean an end to Nuno Tavares’s role as Kieran Tierney’s backup.

The Portuguese has proved to be a raw talent this term, and while he has impressed on occasions, he has proved costly in others.

His name on the teamsheet does worry me unfortunately, and reports by ViolaNews who cite Radio Kiss that we are interested in a deal to sign Aaron Hickey is one that I hope comes through. The 19 year-old made the brave move to leave Scotland for Italy shortly after his 18th birthday, and while his debut season may not have been as fruitful as he would have liked, he has really found form this term.

While I would love to see him come in as backup to Tierney, I feel like he would turn down a move to any club that couldn’t guarantee him regular playing time. He supposedly snubbed Bayern Munich for Bologna due to guarantees on his playing time, and it would seem like a backwards move in that context knowing that his fellow Scotsman will take some budging from his role as first choice.

Does our efforts to sign Hickey mean that Tavares will be moved on in the summer? Do you think Hickey could challenge Tierney for his role at LB next term?

If Burnley win at Watford on Saturday it means Everton have to face Chelsea on Sunday 5 points from safety.

Suddenly the idea of the Toffees getting relegated, so often deemed ‘too good to go down’, becomes very real.

One of 6 clubs never to drop out of the Premiership, the Evertonians have been in the topflight since 1954, second only to Arsenal in the longest sequence of being In the English top division.

If Frank Lampard can’t sort things out, you can argue Everton would be the biggest name to finish in the bottom three in the Premier League era.

Before that time, even the likes of Man United and Liverpool found themselves in the second tier.

Some midweek continental capers were rounded off with the Europa & Conference Leagues last night, with British sides struggling across the board. At least we saw the opening night of the John Mossy Moss Farewell Tour up at the King Power.

Marcus, Andy and Jim also look ahead to the weekend's Barclays banter, as Eddie Howe's inspiring man-management might halt Liverpool's title tilt and Norwich could be relegated if Burnley's surge continues. All on today's Preview Show, sponsored by Betway!

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We've just about recovered from Villarreal's disgraceful showing to get in for another Euro Ramble round-up. Imagine coming to Anfield and trying to keep it tight! PATHETIC.

Kate, Andy and Luke also look into Antonio Rudiger's confirmed departure from Chelsea, while Roy Keane casts admiring glances north of the border. There's also the small matter of the biggest game in West Ham's modern history and more Missouri brawls!

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Man City’s clash with Real Madrid had it all: incredible goals, terrible defending, an outrageous panenka and multiple Pep meltdowns. Bring on next week!

Marcus, Jim and Pete relive it all and wonder who will take the spoils in Madrid. Elsewhere last night, Nottingham Forest set up a tasty shootout with Bournemouth in the Championship and Paul Pogba's only gone and left the Manchester United WhatsApp group. Plus, something about Fizzer and Sven before Marcus loses his mind.

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Kate and Vish are joined by a tanned Jim Campbell for a look into the rumoured departure of comfort’s number one enemy, Antonio Conte. Punch glass for Poch!

Elsewhere, Leeds snagged a much-needed point last night ahead of a tricky few weeks, especially since Everton now have access to the Big Man upstairs, and Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review gets a definitely legitimate endorsement from the UK government.

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Jules, Luke and Pete are here to survey the respective car-crashes that were Man United’s trip to the Emirates and Jules’ Saturday night appearance on Pointless!

We kick off with the Merseyside derby as Everton sink deeper into the quagmire while Burnley and Mike Jackson moonwalk all over it. Elsewhere, Paul Scholes lands Jesse Lingard in bother, Jorginho takes one of the worst penalties in Premier League history, and things take a turn on Planet Mark McGhee!

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Nearly two years after George Floyd’s murder sparked nationwide protests, Democratic mayors who once seemed sympathetic to reducing police brutality are now, more and more, pointing to law enforcement as a solution to the rising community gun violence around the country. New York’s Eric Adams, San Francisco’s London Breed, and Chicago’s Lori Lightfoot are among those who increasingly seem to be leaning on cops to stop shootings. “It’s time that the reign of criminals who are destroying our city…come to an end,” Breed said in a news conference in December, vowing more aggressive policing.

But a major new study—highlighted this weekend by the Chicago Sun-Times—provides some of the best evidence yet that these mayors should not turn their backs on other, non-policing solutions to gun violence. University of Chicago researchers looked at a mentoring program that serves men with extensive rap sheets who are at a high risk of shooting someone or being shot. During the 18-month READI Chicago program, the men, many of whom have been shot in the past, are paid $15 an hour to join daily job training and counseling sessions, activities that can get them off the streets and help them support their families without throwing them in jail.

Men who went through the program were two-thirds less likely to be arrested for a shooting.

The results have been impressive. The researchers followed 2,500 men who participated in the intensive program. This group was two-thirds less likely to be arrested for a shooting or homicide than a similar group of men who didn’t participate. The results were even more astonishing for guys who’d been recruited to the program by outreach workers: Their arrests dropped nearly 80 percent. And they were half as likely to be shot and killed themselves. That’s a lot of impact for a program that costs about 1 percent of what the city of Chicago typically spends on policing.

The study is particularly exciting because of the rigor with which it was conducted. It was a randomized trial, which means it was the first one of its kind to examine a large group of men from an anti-violence program with the same degree of statistical precision that you’d see in a study to evaluate medical treatments. “These are significant results,” Roseanna Ander, executive director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, which conducted the study and helped develop the READI curriculum, told the Sun-Times. And perhaps the Biden administration is paying attention: It recently invited Eddie Bocanegra, who helps lead READI, to serve as a special advisor on gun violence.

When I saw the Chicago study, I couldn’t help but think of a similar mentoring program in Oakland, California, that I examined in 2020. I followed Andre Reed, a thirtysomething man with a lengthy criminal record who had been referred to the Community & Youth Outreach program after he was shot eight times. The program paired him up with a life coach, Leonard Haywood, who helped him turn his life around and became a close friend.

Are you at an interregnum point in your high-profile career? Did you recently come out of a very stressful situation? And are you trying to stay relevant but semi-retired and/or just have your hands in a lot of different things but still want to do a little more? 

Might I suggest that you consider becoming a disinformation guy? Since 2017, it’s been the move for at least a few people who maybe don’t have a lot going on, but soon will, or have a bit going on and want to add a bit more to it. After dipping his toes into it for the past year, President Barack Obama notably became the latest and most prominent disinformation guy in a speech yesterday on the subject at Stanford, but he is not the first.

The former Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign manager Robby Mook and former Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign manager Matt Rhoades were the earliest examples of disinformation guys I personally came across. In 2017, Harvard’s Belfer Center launched the D3P, which stands not for the next exceptionally talented dual-threat quarterback or the latest hot new point guard, but for Defending Digital Democracy. Shortly after its inception, it announced that Mook and Rhoades would be brought on as “co-leaders of the initiative.” The project said its mission was to “identify and recommend strategies, tools, and technology to protect democratic processes and systems from cyber and information attacks.” 

Saying that you’re fighting disinformation makes it look like you have coveted access to absolute epistemic truths.

More recently, after his very public break with the British monarchy, Prince Harry (now just Harry?) came out swinging hard as a disinformation guy. Last March, he was appointed to the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder to help with a six-month study on American misinformation and disinformation. At the end of the sixth months, he found that things were not good, calling misinformation a “global humanitarian crisis.”

And of course, by the very nature of being the most clouted human being alive, after his speech at Stanford yesterday and accompanying preview of it in the paper of record, Obama is now the preeminent disinformation guy.