Don Jr.'s Russian sugar daddy; Ed Sheeran faceplants; Cheer up, we're buying bombs for Israel ...

Earlier this week, I wrote about Macklemore getting dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour for saying "Free Palestine" on stage. The fallout for Sheeran has been brutal, as every other artist involved has backed out of the 10 remaining U.S. stadium dates, including Sheeran's own touring band.

It was known that Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a devout Zionist who donates to the IDF and runs a genuinely weird surveillance state within Gillette Stadium, had rallied other owners (including the Glazer family, who own the Tampa Bay Bucs and also donate to the IDF) to ban the "Thrift Shop" artist from their venues.

What wasn't known was that Kraft once paid Sheeran handsomely to perform at his wedding. Sheeran said he "doesn't take sides." Actually, you took a side, Ed—the wrong one. History will not forget.

Bombs for Israel

This week, we also learned that the Trump administration plans to send 40,000 bombs to the government of Israel, each weighing some 2,000 pounds. That's right, 40,000 tons of bombs! For perspective, the largest U.S. bombing campaign during WWII deployed around 3,000 tons of bombs.

And guess what, despite being reported in WAPO, the New York Times, the AP, and other outlets as a "sale," U.S. taxpayers will foot the bill. Just look at how the Washington Post phrased its reporting:

"The Trump administration is preparing a multibillion-dollar sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in the largest single sale of the controversial munition in recent years, a U.S. official told The Washington Post.

"The $2.8 billion package, which would be purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars, includes 40,000 bombs that weigh 2,000 pounds each, including 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, said the official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military matters. The sale also includes 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads."

This, despite the fact that our own military leaders have said that the Israeli-led war in Iran has caused U.S. military stockpiles to dwindle to the point of preventing our forces from being capable of defending other theaters should we be attacked. 

Don Jr. and the Russian Oligarch

Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin, apparently paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the after-party celebrations of Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson's May 2026 wedding in the Bahamas.

A ProPublica investigation revealed that Kremlev covered major expenses, including the rental of a private island (approx. $100,000 per night) and a fireworks show (approx. $70,000), with payments made through a Dubai-based entity affiliated with the IBA.

The couple confirmed the payments in a joint Instagram statement, describing Kremlev as a "dear friend" and characterizing the funding as an "extraordinarily generous wedding gift." President Trump stated he had "no idea" who Kremlev was and dismissed the incident as "not a big deal."

Yeah, but ... Hunter Biden! (cue eye roll).

Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. Mitch's new novel, Fish Kill, is now available here. He can be reached at editor@thebradentontimes.com.