• A 53-aircraft exercise put US military airpower on display in Japan earlier this week.
• Fighter jets, rescue helicopters, and spy planes taxiied the runway at Kadena Air Base.
• The massive aircraft display "sends a message you can't ignore," a senior enlisted leader said.

Dozens of fighter jets, military helicopters, and Patriot missile defense systems lined the runway at a US Air Force base, which could be the largest "elephant walk" ever in Japan.

The "elephant walk" exercise at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, was part of a broader capability demonstration, showcasing US military airpower as China's growing military presence fuels tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

Here are the various military aircraft and assets featured in the exercise, which drills airmen on readying large numbers of aircraft to take off in rapid succession.

What is an elephant walk?

Dating back to World War II, the term "elephant walk" referred to the taxiing of military aircraft en masse before taking off in single-file formations like a herd of elephants walking trunk-to-tail.

Elephant walks not only demonstrate operational airpower and readiness but also train military pilots in wartime operations that involve launching a large number of sorties in a short period of time.

Third-largest elephant walk in Air Force history

Elephant walks typically involve a large number of aircraft, and the Kadena Air Base event on Okinawa was no exception — 53 Air Force and Navy aircraft, as well as two Army Patriot air defense batteries, participated in the runway display.

The elephant walk could be the largest to ever take place in Japan, nearly twice the size of last year's 33-aircraft display at the base, which featured F-22 Raptors and F-16 Fighting Falcons.

The Kadena elephant walk is among the largest ever by the US Air Force, outnumbering an elephant walk in 2020 at Hill Air Force Base in Utah that only featured F-35A Lightning II aircraft.

In April 2023, 80 aircraft were displayed in an elephant walk at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.

At Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, a 70-aircraft demonstration consisted of only F-15E Strike Eagles, making it the largest single-type elephant walk.

Rescue helicopters, drones, and fighter jets

Fighter jets made up more than half of the elephant walk, with 24 F-35As, eight F-15Es, and two Navy EA-18 Growlers.

Six HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters led the herd, along with two MQ-9 Reaper drones, which are used for surveillance and precision strikes.

Cargo planes, tankers, and spy planes

Two MC-130J Commando II special operations cargo planes and six KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft brought up the rear of the formation.

Three spy planes also made an appearance in the elephant walk — one E-3G Sentry radar surveillance aircraft, one RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft, and one P-8 Poseidon operated by the Navy for maritime patrol and reconnaissance.

The formation was flanked by two US Army MIM-104 Patriot missile interceptors, which have proven to be vital assets in the US' air defense strategy against Chinese missile threats.

Exercise Beverly Herd

The airpower demonstration on Okinawa was an iteration of Exercise Beverly Herd, an annual military exercise that prepares US and allied forces for combat in the Pacific.

Aside from the elephant walk, rescue and maintenance squadrons stationed at Kadena also practiced surveilling damage on an airfield, and Air Force civil engineers worked with Navy specialists to remove simulated unexploded ordnance from the runway.

At Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, about 11 miles from Kadena, F-35 fighter squadrons from Eielson Air Force Base are also training in warfighting concepts and maneuvers focused on Agile Combat Employment, which is designed to increase lethality and survivability in combat.

'A message you can't ignore'

The military exercises come as China escalates its military presence in the Pacific over Taiwan, the self-governing island which Beijing claims as its own.

"An elephant walk like this sends a message you can't ignore," Chief Master Sgt. Brandon Wolfgang, 18th Wing command chief master sergeant, said in a statement. "It shows our Airmen, allies, and adversaries that we're united, capable, and ready."

China's rapid military build-up has been fueling tension with other US allies on the First Island Chain, which includes Japan and the Philippines. The latter nation also has ongoing territorial disputes with China, primarily in the South China Sea.

Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific

The Beverly Herd exercises were among a series of military drills the US and its allies are hosting in the Indo-Pacific theater to counter growing Chinese aggression in the region.

Earlier this month, the US and the Philippines held a joint exercise, Balikatan, at a strategic chokepoint south of Taiwan. China criticized the military drills, accusing the US and the Philippines of using Taiwan as an excuse to "provoke tension and confrontation."

"This kind of teamwork and presence is exactly how we maintain deterrence in the Indo-Pacific," Wolfgang said of the Kadena elephant walk.

• Kendrick Lamar and SZA performed at MetLife Stadium on Thursday for their Grand National Tour.
• Lamar performed "Euphoria" and "Not Like Us," keeping his beef with Drake at the forefront.
• Video interludes show Lamar in a faux deposition, seemingly poking fun at Drake's lawsuit.

When Kendrick Lamar and SZA took the stage at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on the latest stop on their Grand National Tour, the duo's combined star power was a thing to behold (not to mention a major selling point for the ever-swelling cost of a concert ticket).

But there's another superstar whose name doesn't appear on the poster whose presence is felt throughout the show. And if you've been paying any attention to pop culture over the past year, you already know who I'm referring to.

Drake hangs like a wraith over the Grand National Tour, his business on Earth very much unfinished. Lamar makes sure of that: Instead of letting their rap beef grow stale, he performs two of his explosive Drake diss tracks in full ("Euphoria" and "Not Like Us") in addition to his hit collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin, "Like That," which was responsible for reigniting the feud in the first place. (For her part, SZA sings "Rich Baby Daddy," a collab with Drake from 2023, but erases Drake's contributions from her performance. The shade!)

These musical war cries are punctuated by fireworks, showers of sparks, and plumes of fire that burst from the stage with a vengeance. Lamar's production choices assume that his audience will rally behind him as the music industry's self-described "biggest hater," and on Thursday, that assumption paid off generously: The crowd of over 50,000 people was all too eager to sing along and revel in the bloodshed.

Some of the evening's loudest lines in the crowd were Drake-specific insults, including Lamar's incredulous, "What is it, the braids?" from "Euphoria" and, of course, the notorious "Not Like Us" rallying cry: "Tryna strike a chord, and it's probably A-minor."

The latter was the final solo track that Lamar performed — an emphatic, hard-earned finale. During Lamar's third verse, a mini history lesson that dubs Drake a "colonizer," my friend turned to me and deadpanned, "That man is so done."

While "Not Like Us" can still be enjoyed as a banger in its own right (shoutout to Lamar's producer, Mustard, for that indelible instrumental), by making his diss tracks a cornerstone of his set list, Lamar ensures that his triumph over Drake stays top of mind.

A full year after Drake's final diss track was released and Lamar was crowned victor by fans and critics, Lamar has baked this beef into his mythology as an artist. It wasn't enough just to win — he wants to be known forever as the winner.

Even in the face of legal threats, Lamar hasn't backed down. In fact, the lawsuit Drake filed against their shared record label, which Universal Music Group recently moved to dismiss, has arguably only emboldened Lamar's taunts.

The Grand National Tour is threaded with video interludes, many of which depict Lamar in a mock deposition. He chuckles when the off-camera interviewer accuses him of being "addicted to attention" and asks if his harshest lyrics should be taken as threats. "Whatever you wanna take it," Lamar replies.

In another clip, Lamar is asked to account for where he was on May 4, 2024, the day he unleashed "Not Like Us." Lamar shakes his head, protesting that he has too much going on to remember specific dates, driving his point home even further — that his dominance has no plottable beginning or foreseeable end.

"Not Like Us" was celebrated by fans as a musical kill shot, but even if Lamar's enemies are metaphorically dead, he'll labor to keep their memory alive. There's no rest for the wicked.

President Trump is half-heartedly floating the idea of raising taxes on rich people, creating a new tax bracket for those individuals earning more than $2.5. million.

Why it matters: This isn't as meaningful as it looks — the few high-income people it affects won't likely feel too much pain from the proposal, and other tax cuts under consideration would help offset any increase for them.

• But it's still surprising and extraordinary that the GOP, which has been cutting income taxes on rich people since the 1980s, is proposing anything like this at all.

The big picture: Republicans have been actively working to be seen as a working class party, not the party of the super rich.

• "This is to pay for working- and middle-class tax cuts that were promised, and protect Medicaid," an administration official told Axios' Hans Nichols.

How it works: Under the Trump idea, the tax rate on ordinary income past $2.5 million for an individual, or $5 million for a married couple, would rise 2.6 percentage points.

• That would create a new top tax bracket of 39.6% — exactly what the top tax bracket was back in 2017, before Congress passed Trump's first tax bill.

Yes, but: Back then the top tax bracket covered individuals earning more than $418,400 — this year the top bracket starts at $626,350 for an individual or $751,600 for a married couple.

• With this new proposal, all income between $626,350 and $2.5 million would still be taxed at 37%, a lower rate than the top tax rate in 2017 before Trump's first tax bill passed.
• The tax hike would only apply to ordinary income — but the incomes of the rich disproportionately come from capital gains. Those tax rates wouldn't change.

By the numbers: The proposal would impact about 0.1% to 0.2% of all taxpayers, estimates chief economist Josh Bivens of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, who a few years back floated the idea of levying a 10% surtax on those with incomes above $2 million — a far more painful measure.

• Those folks bringing home these jumbo paychecks likely include a lot of high-paid doctors, some professional athletes and executives.

For the record: "The President has said he himself, personally, would not mind paying a little bit more to help the poor in the middle class and the working class in this country," White House press secretary Karoline Karoline Leavitt said on Friday.

• But, she added "these negotiations are ongoing on Capitol Hill."

The bottom line: The Trump idea would likely raise under $30 billion a year, Bivens estimates. That's $300 billion for ten years — compared to $5 trillion cost of the tax cut extension.

• The Tax Policy Center at Brookings estimates that about 80,000 households would be impacted if there's a new bracket that starts at $2.5 million for individuals — that would raise $8.2 billion in 2025.
• "This proposal is better than nothing, but it's really weak tea," says Bivens.

• TV shows like "Poker Face" and "NASCAR: Full Speed" are back for new seasons this week.
• The dramedy "Nonnas" and the teen comedy "Summer of '69" are among the movies debuting on streamers.
• Netflix's new series "Forever" puts a fresh spin on Judy Blume's novel of the same name.

Ready to binge? Well, we've got you.

This weekend, you can tune into the season two premiere of Peacock's mystery-of-the-week show "Poker Face," see how Colombian singer Karol G became a global superstar, and get wanderlust from Conan O'Brien's travel series.

"Nonnas," a new Netflix movie about honoring family members through food, has also arrived just in time for Mother's Day.

Here's a complete rundown of all the best movies, shows, and documentaries to stream this weekend, broken down by what kind of entertainment you're looking for.

Netflix's new documentary "The Seat" shows how Kimi Antonelli became the third-youngest rookie ever in Formula 1 history.

The most recent season of Netflix's popular docuseries "Drive to Survive" featured an abbreviated version of how Formula 1 racing team Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS selected Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton following the seven-time F1 world champion's surprising exit.

"The Seat," a 40-minute documentary sponsored by WhatsApp, gives a more detailed look at the behind-the-scenes conversations that went into giving Hamilton's coveted spot to a teenager who had never driven in F1.

Streaming on: Netflix

NASCAR fans can check out season two of "Full Speed."

The five-episode season follows the 16 NASCAR Cup Series drivers during the high-stakes 2024 playoffs.

Streaming on: Netflix

"Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful" chronicles Grammy winner Karol G's rise to global superstardom.

The documentary gives fans an intimate look into the life of the Colombian singer's obstacles and accomplishments, including being the first Latina to headline venues like the MetLife Stadium and the Gillette Stadium during her Mañana Será Bonito Tour.

Streaming on: Netflix

Food and family are at the heart of the dramedy "Nonnas."

Vince Vaughn plays a grieving son who honors his late mom by opening an Italian restaurant with a group of local grandmothers as the chefs, allowing them to share their traditional dishes with others.

The film is loosely based on the true story of Joe Scaravella, who opened the Staten Island restaurant called Enoteca Maria after his mother's death and employed several grandmothers from different parts of Italy to cook regional food.

Streaming on: Netflix

Conan O'Brien embarks on more globe-trotting adventures in season two of "Conan O'Brien Must Go."

In season two of the Emmy-winning travel series, comedian and former late-night host is joined by familiar faces like Taika Waititi and Javier Bardem as he immerses himself in the cultures of New Zealand, Spain, and Austria.

The three-episode season premiered on Thursday. The remaining two episodes will be released weekly, culminating in the season finale on May 22.

Streaming on: Max

Actor and comedian David Spade's fourth comedy special, "David Spade: Dandelion," has arrived.

Three years after his last stand-up special, Spade is back. This time, he jokes about the evolution of porn, being served Pepsi instead of Coke at a casino, and a near-tussle at a McDonald's in Hollywood that inspired the name of his special.

Streaming on: Prime Video

"Poker Face" returned for season two this week.

The series, created by "Knives Out" writer and director Rian Johnson, is back for another season, starring Natasha Lyonne's casino worker and crime-solver Charlie Cale, who has a knack for detecting lies.

Cynthia Erivo, John Mulaney, John Cho, Katie Holmes, and Giancarlo Esposito are among this season's long list of guest stars.

Streaming on: Peacock

"Summer of '69" follows an awkward high school senior trying to seduce her longtime crush before graduation.

Comedic actor Jillian Bell's feature film debut stars "That '90s Show" actor Sam Morelos as Abby, a high schooler who sets out to reel in her newly single crush named Max (Matt Cornett). Lacking sexual experience, she turns to an exotic dancer named Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman) to be her mentor.

Streaming on: Hulu

"Forever," Judy Blume's best-selling 1975 novel about young love, is reimagined in a new series.

The coming-of-age show is set in Los Angeles in 2018 and follows two Black teens, Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.), who fall in love and navigate relationship milestones together.

Streaming on: Netflix

Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan becomes a leading man in "Love Hurts."

Ke Huy Quan, known for supporting roles in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and season two of Marvel's "Loki," takes center stage in this 2025 action comedy.

The actor stars as Marvin Gable, a top-selling real estate agent whose dark past as a hitman comes back to haunt him when his brother sends assassins to hunt him down.

Streaming on: Peacock

"A Deadly American Marriage" investigates a love story gone wrong.

"A Deadly American Marriage" focuses on the gruesome death of Jason Corbett, who was killed by his wife, Molly Martens Corbett, and her father, Thomas Martens, a former FBI agent, in 2015.

Molly and Thomas, who said they acted in self-defense, were convicted of second-degree murder in 2017 and sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison. The verdict was overturned after an appeal, and the pair were granted a retrial. In 2023, they accepted a plea deal on charges of voluntary manslaughter. Molly and Thomas were released from prison in 2024 after serving four years total.

The true-crime documentary explores the different perspectives on the murder and features interviews with people affected, including Molly, Thomas, and Jason's kids from his first marriage, Jack and Sarah.

Streaming on: Netflix

For a reality TV fix, watch the "Vanderpump Villa" season two reunion special.

Lisa Vanderpump's staff on season two of "Vanderpump Villa" reunite to hash out their drama in the reunion special hosted by VIP guest Stassi Schroeder.

Streaming on: Hulu