U.S.-based startup Vulcan Elements has raised $65 million in 2025 to boost its production of rare earth magnets, which are essential for electric vehicles, defense technologies and renewable energy.

Specifically, the company’s focus is on producing Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) magnets domestically.

Vulcan Elements CEO John Maslin, a former U.S. Navy officer, emphasizes the strategic importance of securing a U.S. supply chain that reduces dependence on China, which currently produces over 90% of the world’s rare earth magnets.

Further supported by a $1.2 million award from the Department of Defense, Vulcan Elements is working closely with the Air Force Research Laboratory to scale lab innovations up to commercial production.

Vulcan Elements also operates a pilot manufacturing and R&D facility in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, using proprietary technology developed in partnership with U.S. manufacturers like Consarc Corporation.

These investments and partnerships coincide with Jim Rickards’ “American Birthright” premise: the idea that America has the resources and ability to restore its own mineral independence by tapping domestic reserves.

By expanding domestic production, companies like Vulcan Elements — and MP Materials — are actively reclaiming the nation’s industrial birthright, showing with the right support, America can control its own technological future.

While strides in America’s industrial independence signal a renewed confidence in domestic innovation, the nation faces pivotal questions about its political future and leadership direction heading into 2028.

Your Rundown for Monday, August 11, 2025...

The Trump-RUBIO-Vance Triangle

Who will inherit President Donald Trump’s mantle — and the MAGA movement — when 2028 rolls around?

For months, speculation in GOP circles has centered on Vice President JD Vance. Trump, however, has been coy:hinting at favorites, floating wild cards like Elon Musk (before their public “breakup”) and steadfastly refusing to anoint any one heir.

That ambiguity changed this month when Trump told reporters: “I think most likely, in all fairness, it’s the vice president” — marking the president’s strongest endorsement of Vance as his potential successor.

Vance, just 41, has proven himself to be an energetic and influential No. 2, advancing the Trump agenda at home and navigating treacherous waters abroad.

Yet, ever the showman, Trump has not closed the door on others, likewise suggesting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio might “get together with JD [Vance] in some form” on a future ticket.

Rubio has shed the “Little Marco” persona the president mocked in 2016 to emerge a statesman wielding rare influence…

He now holds both Secretary of State and National Security Adviser titles, the first since Henry Kissinger to do so.

Rubio's dual role is a major organizational shift within the Trump administration’s foreign policy team and a testament to Trump’s confidence in Rubio.

For his part, Rubio has mastered the art of bending without breaking — adjusting many of his pet policies while backing Trump and managing foreign policy shocks.

While some MAGA loyalists still eye outsiders, including a Trump family member, the 2028 GOP field increasingly looks like a stage set for a high-drama Vance-Rubio showdown or alliance.

For now, Trump is keeping everyone guessing, with his kingmaker role intact. And the next chapter of GOP leadership is still wide open.

Market Rundown for Monday, August 11, 2025

S&P 500 futures are up 0.15% to 6,420.

Oil is up 0.50% to $65.20 for a barrel of WTI.

Gold is down 2.25% to $3,411.60 per ounce.

And Bitcoin is up 1.30%, above $120K.