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The spy, private equity baron and ghost of a Trump donor: The revolving door behind a Gaza mercenary firm

The spy, private equity baron and ghost of a Trump donor: The revolving door behind a Gaza mercenary firm

Middle East Eye reports: The US mercenary firm overseeing a controversial Gaza aid programme is the creation of a bespectacled Chicago private equity baron and a CIA spy with old ties to a Donald Trump ally who participated in one of the Middle East’s nastiest diplomatic rifts. The story of Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) exemplifies the shadowy revolving door between old spies and Middle Eastern states, one that is increasingly being monetized by American investors flush with cash. The spies…

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‘Put his name on everything’: Social Security Administration disseminates Trump propaganda

‘Put his name on everything’: Social Security Administration disseminates Trump propaganda

Unbelievable. I was a deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Appointed by President Biden. The agency has never issued such a blatant political statement. The fact that Trump and his minion running SSA has done this is unconscionable. pic.twitter.com/6XqYcjRGVg — Jeff Nesbit (@jeffnesbit) July 3, 2025 Rolling Stone reports: Throughout President Donald Trump’s second term, he’s used every means possible to promote himself and prop up his agenda in unprecedented ways — even as he pulls apart the government…

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Judge Luttig: Chief Justice Roberts’ ‘unforgivable reticence,’ failing to speak out directly against Trump

Judge Luttig: Chief Justice Roberts’ ‘unforgivable reticence,’ failing to speak out directly against Trump

  The Court of History’s Sidney Blumenthal and Sean Wilentz are joined by Conservative former judge, John Michael Luttig, who declares his independence from Trump. Judge J Michael Luttig writes: On July 4, 1776, our fellow Americans declared their independence from the British empire and its ruling monarchy. Thus began the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain to secure America’s independence from the tyrannical rule of King George III. On that first Independence Day almost two hundred and fifty years…

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Profiles in congressional cowardice

Profiles in congressional cowardice

The New York Times reports: In the days leading up to House passage of Republicans’ sweeping policy bill carrying President Trump’s agenda, members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus were unsparing in their criticism of the measure. “That’s not fiscal responsibility. It’s not what we agreed to,” lawmakers in the caucus said in a statement after the Senate passed its version earlier this week with several major changes. “Republicans,” they added, “must do better.” Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas…

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The megabill’s war on the poor is built on a decades-old lie

The megabill’s war on the poor is built on a decades-old lie

Symone D. Sanders Townsend writes: There’s a persistent myth in American politics that poverty has a single face and that face is usually Black, often female, and somehow responsible for her own hardship. That myth was not born by accident. It was crafted, polished and weaponized. It was built on decades of policy choices and political messaging that added racial overtones to programs designed to combat poverty among all Americans in an effort to erode public support. Ironically, these programs…

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NYT grants anonymity to a eugenicist in order to smear Mamdani

NYT grants anonymity to a eugenicist in order to smear Mamdani

This story should not have been published. They hint at an accusation (Mamdani said he is black to get into a fancy college) they can’t back up. That this was published tells me that Mamdani’s most important opponent may not be Cuomo or Adams but a paper whose NEWS section will run stuff like this. [image or embed] — Perry Bacon (@perrybaconjr.bsky.social) Jul 3, 2025 at 5:52 PM The NYT granted anonymity to a eugenicist (www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025…) who obtained hacked college…

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Sweeping arrests across Iran in wake of war with Israel

Sweeping arrests across Iran in wake of war with Israel

The Washington Post reports: Iranian authorities have arrested hundreds of people and executed half a dozen in a sweeping security crackdown that analysts say is aimed at exerting control after a brief but punishing war with Israel exposed Iran’s deep infiltration by Israeli intelligence. In the week since a ceasefire was declared, security forces have erected checkpoints in Tehran and other cities and urged citizens to report anything suspicious. The Iranian parliament also announced an emergency bill that includes harsher…

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Nearly half of the universe’s ordinary matter was uncharted, until now

Nearly half of the universe’s ordinary matter was uncharted, until now

Science News reports: Nearly half of the universe’s ordinary matter has been hiding — until now. Bursts of radio waves have illuminated the whereabouts of all ordinary matter, revealing its distribution between, around and within galaxies, researchers report June 16 in Nature Astronomy. And X-rays have uncovered details about a once hidden string of gas linking four galaxy clusters, another team reports in the June Astronomy and Astrophysics. “The two papers are very complementary,” says astrophysicist Jason Hessels of McGill…

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DOJ explores using criminal charges against election officials

DOJ explores using criminal charges against election officials

The New York Times reports: Senior Justice Department officials are exploring whether they can bring criminal charges against state or local election officials if the Trump administration determines they have not sufficiently safeguarded their computer systems, according to people familiar with the discussions. The department’s effort, which is still in its early stages, is not based on new evidence, data or legal authority, according to the people, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Instead, it is…

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America’s new era of secret police and disappearance

America’s new era of secret police and disappearance

Hamilton Nolan writes: In the HBO drama “The Leftovers,” two percent of the world’s population suddenly disappears. This is cast as a fantastical and mysterious occurrence, setting the stage for a surreal tale of science fiction. You should never underestimate American ingenuity, though. We are on the verge of our own age of mass disappearance. It will be all too real. And it will not be fun. Trump’s big budget bill passed the Senate yesterday. It will now go back…

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Federal judge rules against Trump’s attempt to stop asylum claims at border

Federal judge rules against Trump’s attempt to stop asylum claims at border

The New York Times reports: A federal judge in Washington ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration cannot categorically deny asylum claims from people crossing the southern border, striking down a change made on President Trump’s first day in office. The ruling rejected the idea, repeatedly put forth by the president, that such extraordinary powers were justified to curtail what Mr. Trump has called an invasion of the United States by immigrants crossing the southern border. In a hefty 128-page…

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Trump’s finances were increasingly shaky. Then he began to capitalize on his presidency

Trump’s finances were increasingly shaky. Then he began to capitalize on his presidency

The New York Times reports: Last spring, even as Donald J. Trump’s march back toward the White House dominated public attention, his finances, largely out of view, faced serious threats. His office building in Lower Manhattan generated too little cash to cover its mortgage, with the balance coming due. Many of his golf courses regularly lacked enough players to cover costs. The flow of millions of dollars a year from his stint as a television celebrity had mostly dried up….

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Iran suspends cooperation with IAEA

Iran suspends cooperation with IAEA

The New York Times reports: Iran’s president has enacted a law to suspend cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday, in a move that will shut out international inspectors from overseeing the country’s contested nuclear program. The decision will further strain relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which were already at a low point since the start of the 12-day war with Israel and the United States that battered Iran’s nuclear…

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Zuckerberg’s vision of superintelligence isn’t endorsed by his chief AI scientist

Zuckerberg’s vision of superintelligence isn’t endorsed by his chief AI scientist

Quartz reports: Meta’s chief AI scientist says even “cat-level intelligence” is “very far” away. His CEO just bet $14.3 billion on superintelligence. The contradiction crystallized last week when Mark Zuckerberg announced the creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs, a brand new division led by Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang. Zuckerberg promised in a memo that “developing superintelligence is coming into sight” and called it “the beginning of a new era for humanity.” The declaration put Zuckerberg on a collision course with Yann LeCun, Meta’s top AI researcher and…

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