In a plot twist worthy of 2024, mysterious drones have been swarming the skies over several East Coast states, baffling residents and officials alike.

The drone saga started in mid-November, with sightings near significant military installations in New Jersey: Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle.

Since then, alleged sightings of the aerial enigma have spread to at least half a dozen states, including New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland (where Paradigm Press is headquartered).

Adding fuel to speculation about drones, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an alert on December 5th about a “lost in transit” piece of medical equipment used for cancer scans which housed trace amounts of the radioactive isotope Germanium-68.

“The shipping container in question departed from the Nazha Cancer Center in Newfield, New Jersey,” ABC News reports. But it arrived at its destination “damaged and empty,” according to the Nuclear Commission’s original alert.

Social media Sherlocks surmised the drones were on a retrieval mission to “sniff” out the missing radioactive material. But officials now confirm the missing equipment has been found and properly disposed of.

Mystery solved? Hardly.

Your Rundown for Wednesday, December 18, 2024...

Trump Cancels Trip Amid Drone Swarms

Federal law enforcement agencies — which have received about 5,000 reports of drone sightings — have offered no concrete explanations, but have discouraged unsettled residents from shooting at the UFOs or using laser pointers.

Meanwhile, the Executive response to the drone swarm has been positively apathetic…

Yesterday, President Biden reassured the public, stating there is “no sense of danger” associated with the drone sightings.

“We’re following this closely,” Biden added. “Nothing nefarious apparently, but they’re checking it all out.” He emphasized that most drones are likely commercial or recreational.

Right…Nothing to see here.

Yet, according to Newsweek: “The CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense met with members of the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday night for a classified briefing about unidentified aircrafts that have been reported in multiple states.”

Afterward, Congressman Scott Perry (PA-R) said: “I was not satisfied with the information we received. In some cases we had more information than they did, that's concerning.”

On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump called for transparency regarding the recent East Coast drone sightings.

He asserts that the government and military are aware of the situation but are keeping the American public in “suspense.”

“I think they'd be better off saying what it is our military knows and our president knows,” Trump said. At the same time, he expressed doubt that the drones were linked to hostile forces.

“I can't imagine it's the enemy,” he said… Because, in that case, the military might scramble a couple jets, right?

Trump elaborated further, telling reporters that he cancelled a trip to his Bedminster, New Jersey estate.

Can’t say I blame him.

Market Rundown for Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024

S&P 500 futures are up 0.25% to 6,140.

Oil is up 1% to $70.80 for a barrel of WTI.

Gold is down slightly to $2,660 per ounce.

And Bitcoin’s pulled back 1.75% to $104,835.