BREAKING: Executives at an Alaska gas venture tied to a Trump family friend have left after raising concerns about hidden Russian financing, per The New York Times and Financial Times. The company, Polar LNG, has sought US approval to buy equipment from a sanctioned Russian gas project owned largely by Novatek. One of its investors is Gentry Beach, a friend of Donald Trump Jr. Beach also said he separately signed a deal with Novatek last fall to develop gas in Alaska. According to the reports, Novatek allegedly concealed its financial involvement through a UAE-linked intermediary. CEO Joel Riddle, who raised concerns about the financing and possible sanctions violations, left in September, followed by other executives, who urged the administration to investigate. Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed Alaska energy cooperation with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during Russia–Ukraine talks. The White House says the project came up only briefly, and there’s no evidence Witkoff or Kushner knew of the alleged financing. Polar LNG denies wrongdoing.

BREAKING: Trump turned his golf empire into a billion-dollar tax shelter. Trump made about $1.4 billion from crypto in 2025, plus more than $200 million from real estate, leaving him facing a projected tax bill of over $500 million, per Forbes calculations. In December 2025, his company donated the development rights to his golf club in Jupiter, Florida, to a land trust, arguing the course was a natural habitat worth protecting. He kept owning and running the club. Forbes estimates the write-off could reach around $825 million. It’s a strategy Trump has used at least five times since 2005: Bedminster, NJ (2005): Claimed a $39 million deduction on a property he bought for $8 million. The IRS initially valued the write-off at zero before the two sides settled. Doral, FL: Claimed a deduction of up to $323 million, more than twice what he paid for the entire resort. New York and California (2014–2015): The New York attorney general alleged the Trump Organization misled appraisers to inflate both donations. A month after the Jupiter deal, Trump sued the IRS over the leak of his tax information. His own Justice Department’s settlement bars claims against him over matters that are pending or “could be pending.” Forbes argues that language could cover his 2025 taxes; Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress it doesn’t. A federal judge ruled in July that the lawsuit was brought to manipulate the judicial process. Trump is appealing. Among the homeowners whose properties back onto the Jupiter fairways: Eric Trump, and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano, who took the job as the deal was being put together.