As commander in chief, Trump has seemingly merged the political with the profitable. So too have his eldest sons. Just last week, the Pentagon awarded a $24 million defense contract to the robotics startup Foundation Future Industries that’s backed by his son Eric Trump. From gunning for crypto to raking in royalties, the president has used the White House for his own financial interests in many ways.

Cryptocurrency
Of all the various Trump-linked business projects operating concurrently with the president’s administration, “none” pose a conflict of interest that can “compare to those that have emerged since the birth” of cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial, said The New York Times. Trump is now “not only a major crypto dealer” but one of the industry’s “top policymakers,” whose family-owned foray into digital currency is “eviscerating the boundary between private enterprise and government policy.”

Real estate development
You can take the president out of the cutthroat world of elite property deals, but you can’t take the elite property deals out of the president. At least that’s how Trump seems to have operated since taking office, with his geopolitical responsibilities as president often overlapping with international development deals being pursued in his corporate name.

While the eponymous Trump Organization “did zero deals in foreign countries” during the first Trump term, it has done at least eight in his second, “all ostensibly complying with the Trump Organization’s self-imposed rule not to do business directly with foreign governments,” said The Associated Press. 

Tchotchkes and royalties
The first year of Trump’s second term in office was a “lucrative” one when it came to “royalty payments for the various goods that are sold featuring his name and likeness,” said NBC News. Per his 2025 financial disclosure forms, Trump that year earned more than $1 million from sales of his “45 guitar,” which features his “Make America Great Again” phrase “inlaid in ‘authentic pearl’ on the neck of the guitar, as well as the “number ‘45’ on the headstock,” said Fox News, referring to his tenure as the 45th president of the U.S.

There has been an increase in the spread of alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a tick-borne disease that can cause a serious allergy to red meat. As many as 450,000 people may be affected in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And with a particularly strong tick season on the horizon, the illness is likely to become more common.

What are the symptoms of AGS?
Alpha-gal is a molecule “naturally produced in the bodies of most mammals but not in people” and also “found in the saliva (spit) of some ticks,” said the CDC. When someone gets bitten by a tick, the alpha-gal molecule can be transferred to their blood. Then the body’s immune system identifies it as a threat and triggers an allergic reaction when the person eats red meat or is “exposed to other products made from mammals.”

Unlike most allergies, which tend to produce reactions almost immediately, those with alpha-gal “may not experience a reaction to a hamburger for four or six hours,” said The New York Times. Symptoms can manifest differently for everyone, including “hives, angioedema, gastrointestinal distress and life-threatening anaphylaxis,” said an article published in the Journal of Medical Entomology. 

There’s no cure for AGS, and the most common treatment is avoiding “not only red meat and dairy but also vaccines, antivenoms and medications made with components derived from mammals,” said Entomology Today. AGS can be diagnosed through a blood test, but experts advise getting tested only once someone experiences a reaction and not just after being bitten by a tick, as “50% of people who have a positive test have no reactions whatsoever,” said Thomas Platts-Mills, an allergist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, to the Times. 

How common is it?
It will likely be a bad year for ticks, with an “unusually high number of bites already reported across the country,” said The Associated Press. In the U.S., AGS is “primarily associated with the bite of a lone star tick,” said the CDC. There have been at least 12 tick species linked to alpha-gal syndrome globally, and the disease has been found on six continents.

King Charles and Queen Camilla stand alongside Donald and Melania Trump at a ceremony on the White House South Lawn. On this second day of his state visit from the U.K., the king met privately with the president and addressed U.S. lawmakers and tonight will attend a state dinner. 
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images 

Thrill seekers, consider China for your next jaunt. There are lots of spots around the country where you can get your adrenaline pumping. The experiences are not for the faint of heart, but they will surely give you stories to share.

Take the Mount Huashan Plank Walk, Shaanxi province
Whatever you do, don’t unhook your harness and rope. Those tools are what keep you upright on the Mount Huashan Plank Walk and prevent you from plunging 1,000 feet to the bottom of the cliff. 

The 328-foot-long path is described as the World’s Most Dangerous Hiking Trail and consists of wooden boards nailed together and affixed to the side of the mountain. It’s safer now to visit than it once was, as it used to be a free climb. 

Power-paraglide in Yangshuo, Guangxi region
Soaring above picturesque Yangshuo’s towering karsts and verdant valleys is an electrifying way to sightsee. Powered paragliding is gaining popularity in Yangshuo, with pilots taking tourists on guided tours through the sky. When back on solid ground, rent a bike to ride through the countryside, then climb aboard a bamboo raft for a journey down the Yulong River.

Walk across the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, Hunan province
This 1,410-foot-long bridge (pictured above) is suspended 980 feet above the ground, and its transparent glass bottom allows visitors to look at the “dizzying abyss below,” said Escape. The span connects two cliffs at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and offers an exhilarating way to enjoy the “panoramic” views.