State of The Nation

Private Equity's Growth Engine Stalls as Industry Faces Existential Challenges Record fundraising decline and mounting debt concerns signal end of two-decade boom Private equity, once the darling of institutional investors seeking outsized returns, is confronting its most severe challenges in over a decade as the industry grapples with declining fundraising, inflated asset prices, and a complex web of leverage that threatens to unravel. New investments into private equity funds have plunged 35% this year, putting 2025 on track to be the lowest fundraising year since the industry's modern expansion began, according to industry data. The decline marks a dramatic reversal for a sector that has grown from a niche corner of finance to managing trillions in assets over the past two decades. The fundraising drought reflects growing investor skepticism about an industry that has become a victim of its own success. What began as a strategy to improve undervalued small businesses thr...

Healthcare Fraud Takedown: 324 Defendants Charged in $14.6 Billion Scheme Federal and state prosecutors have announced the largest healthcare fraud enforcement action in U.S. history, charging more than 320 individuals in schemes totaling over $14.6 billion June 30, 2025 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday the results of its 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, resulting in criminal charges against 324 defendants across the United States in what officials called the largest coordinated healthcare fraud enforcement action in American history. The operation resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants, including 96 doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and other licensed medical professionals, in 50 federal districts and 12 State Attorneys General's Offices across the United States, for their alleged participation in various health care fraud schemes involving over $14.6 billion in intended loss. The massive enforcement effo...

Questions Persist Over LBJ's Means of Ascent to Power and Fortune Decades After His Death Former President's Estate Worth $20 Million in 1973 Continues to Draw Scrutiny From Researchers Analysis of financial records reveals broadcasting empire built through political influence Fifty years after Lyndon B. Johnson's death, questions persist about how the 36th president accumulated a fortune that would be worth over $100 million today despite earning a government salary for most of his career. Johnson died in 1973 with an estate valued at approximately $15-20 million, equivalent to roughly $100-120 million in today's purchasing power. According to a 1964 Life magazine investigation, the Johnson family fortune was estimated at $14 million, with the bulk tied to Texas Broadcasting Corporation holdings. The wealth accumulation has drawn renewed attention following viral social media content examining the disparity between Johnson's public service salary and ...

Interactive Graphic Decades of strategic missteps, soaring labor costs and risky China bet leave auto giant fighting for relevance DETROIT — General Motors Co., once the undisputed king of American automotive manufacturing, is reaping the consequences of decades of strategic miscalculations, ballooning labor costs and an ill-timed bet on Chinese manufacturing that have left the automaker struggling to compete in its home market. The Detroit-based automaker's U.S. market share has plummeted to approximately 16% from nearly 29% two decades ago, a decline that reflects a series of corporate leadership failures spanning multiple administrations. GM's stock has underperformed the broader market over the past five years, despite—or perhaps because of—billions spent on questionable strategic pivots and overseas expansion at the expense of domestic competitiveness. Chief Executive Mary Barra has positioned the company's electric-vehicle strategy as central to its future, committ...

Senate Parliamentarian Blocks Federal Land Sales from Republican Budget Bill WASHINGTON — A controversial proposal to sell more than 3,200 square miles of federal lands in the West has been ruled out of the Republican budget reconciliation package after the Senate parliamentarian determined it violates chamber rules governing the legislative process. The proposal, championed by Senate Energy Committee Chairman Mike Lee (R-Utah), would have mandated the sale of 2-3 million acres of public lands across 11 Western states to help fund housing development and generate revenue as part of the larger "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." Parliamentarian's Ruling Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled Monday that Lee's land sale provision, along with numerous other Republican proposals, violates the Byrd Rule. This Senate rule requires that provisions in budget reconciliation bills be directly related to fiscal matters rather than broader policy changes. The decision ...

  The Deep Secret: K-129, Project Azorian, and the CIA's Audacious Intelligence Operation Introduction On 8 March 1968, the Soviet ballistic missile submarine K-129 vanished beneath the waves of the North Pacific, taking with her 98 souls and sparking one of the most ambitious intelligence operations in naval history. The subsequent CIA-led Project Azorian represented not merely a salvage operation, but a technological marvel that pushed the boundaries of ocean engineering while operating under conditions of absolute secrecy. This examination explores the loss of K-129, the extraordinary recovery effort, and the enduring mysteries that continue to shape our understanding of Cold War submarine operations. The Submarine and Her Final Mission SIDEBAR: K-129 SUBMARINE CHARACTERISTICS Class : Project 629A (NATO: Golf II-class) Type : Diesel-electric ballistic missile submarine Displacement : 2,794 tons surfaced / 3,553 tons submerged Length : 99.7 meters (327 feet) B...