Science grab bag. Starting with the Gulf Stream. WHAT IF writes:
Something
strange is happening beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, and
scientists are paying close attention. The Gulf Stream, one of the most
important ocean currents on Earth, is showing signs of significant
weakening.
This massive flow of warm water,
which moves heat from the equator toward the North Atlantic, helps
regulate weather patterns across the globe. But recent measurements
suggest it may now be at its weakest point in more than 1,600 years.
The
concern is not just academic. If the Gulf Stream continues to weaken,
or worse, collapses entirely, the consequences could reshape climates
across continents and disrupt weather systems that billions of people
depend on.
At its core, the Gulf Stream is part of a
larger system of ocean circulation driven by differences in temperature
and salinity. Warm water from tropical regions travels northward across
the Atlantic. As it moves, it releases heat into the atmosphere, helping
to keep regions like Western Europe much warmer than they would
otherwise be at their latitude.
Once
the water cools, it becomes denser and sinks deep into the ocean,
forming a return current that flows back toward the south.
This
continuous cycle depends on a delicate balance of temperature and salt
content. Saltier water is denser, which allows it to sink and keep the
system moving. But that balance is now being disrupted.
One
of the primary drivers of this change is the influx of fresh water from
melting ice sheets and glaciers, particularly in Greenland. As global
temperatures rise, large volumes of ice melt into the North Atlantic,
adding freshwater into the ocean system. This may sound harmless, but it
has a powerful effect on ocean circulation.
The
Great Salt Lake is widely considered one of the most endangered lakes
in North America. It has lost roughly 73 percent of its water and 60
percent of its surface area since 1850, largely due to water diversion
and climate-driven drought. Because it is a terminal lake with no
outflow, water loss leads to rising salinity levels, threatening the
brine shrimp and microorganisms that sustain millions of migratory
birds.
As the lake shrinks, the exposed lakebed
has created an additional public health risk: toxic dust containing
heavy metals that can be blown into nearby population centers. The
lake's proximity to nearly 2.8 million Utahns has raised unique concerns
for how ecological collapse can generate far-reaching financial
liabilities across economic sectors. The lake's 20-year decline has
stabilized of late after a recent year of record snow replenished
mountain streams and reservoirs, but it currently sits 5 feet higher
than its all-time low and will need to rise another 5 feet to reach a
minimum healthy elevation.
Lake
Tahoe is known for its crystal clear waters and beautiful mountain
scenery. Located in the Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe lies at the border
between California and Nevada. The lake is one of the world's purest
bodies of water; objects may be visible in some locations at depths of
more than 70 feet. At 6,225 feet above sea level and stretching 191.6
square miles, Lake Tahoe is also the largest alpine lake in North
America, only surpassed by the five Great Lakes in terms of volume.
Lake
Tahoe's beauty and variety of outdoor recreation renders it as one of
the most popular vacation destinations year-round. In the summer,
hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, boating, and relaxing on the beaches
are popular, while skiing and snowboarding in the Sierra Nevada
Mountains attract winter sport enthusiasts. According to the Tahoe Fund, about 15 million people visit Lake Tahoe each year.
While
Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the
United States, it is also one of the country's most snake-infested
lakes, similar to Lake Mead, the deadliest U.S. national park that is home to four dangerous rattlesnake species.
Nearly a dozen snake species slither about Lake Tahoe, and while most
are non-venomous and pose little to no threat to humans, one species of
rattlesnake has migrated into the area.
Multiple snake
species of varying genera inhabit Lake Tahoe. Venomousness and swimming
ability differ between species, with most being non-venomous swimmers.
Only the western rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) and one of its
subspecies, the great basin rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus lutosus), are
venomous. Garter snakes (Thamnophis) are mildly venomous, but their
venom is not potent enough to harm humans, nor are their fangs large
enough to deliver it. Other nonvenomous snake species in Lake Tahoe are
not inherently dangerous and aim to avoid humans, although they can
become aggressive when disturbed and deliver painful bites.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026. Chump and Hegseth appear to be fudging the facts
on the Iran War, Chump's slush fund may be dead, Hegseth and Chump's
attacks on transgender service members takes a beating in the court
system, and much more.
Pete Hegseth regularly gets called out by senators on
both sides of the aisle these days when he appears before them. The
reason being? He gives them a rosy and unrealistic fantasy about the
Iran War. There are some who accuse him of doing the same with Chump.
He may lie to Chump but, if he does, Chump wants to be lied to about the
war and about himself -- especially about himself. Will Neal (DAILY BEAST) reports of the war:
Iranian
strikes have caused greater damage to U.S. military assets in the
Middle East than the Trump administration is willing to admit.
Analysis by the BBC, published Monday,
reveals that attacks by the Islamic Republic have cost millions of
dollars in damage to at least 20, and possibly as many as 28, American
military sites across eight countries in the region since Donald Trump
launched his war on Iran at the end of February.
Trump
has repeatedly claimed that U.S. forces have “destroyed,” “obliterated,”
and “shattered” the regime’s military capabilities. The Pentagon has
meanwhile tried to limit assessments of the impact on U.S. assets by
pressuring Planet, a major satellite-imaging provider, to restrict
public access to new images of the region.
[. . .]
The
BBC notes that the Pentagon has, at latest count, put the cost of
Operation Epic Fury, as Trump has dubbed his war with Iran, at $29
billion. Democratic lawmakers have slammed those figures as an
underestimate.
Chump and company lie. They've been a little hopeful in their progress reports. A little optimistic. Not really accurate. Sarah K. Burris adds, "The
report also found that 'at least 42 aircraft - including F-15 and F-35
fighter jets, 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones and an A-10 attack plane - have been
destroyed or damaged since February'." It gets more and more difficult
to believe the lies from Chump's mouth. Jack Buckby (NATIONAL SECURITY JOURNAL) notes:
Last
week, the Trump administration was publicly signaling that a deal with
Iran was coming soon - but the prospect of a permanent peace between the
two sides now appears far more remote after Iran announced that it had
suspended all indirect negotiations with Washington through mediators.
On Monday, Iran accused the United States of failing to restrain Israeli
attacks and claimed that continued military operations in Lebanon constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The news is perhaps the most serious challenge to the ceasefire yet, which came into effect on April 8, and it suggests that a lasting deal may not be as close as the White House hopes.
Fresh
satellite imagery from Iran has contradicted President Donald Trump's
assertions that Iran no longer possesses nuclear capabilities.
The
latest images reveal that four out of five entrances to the missile
facility in Dezful, Iran, have been reopened since last month, with just
one remaining blocked. CNN reported that Iran had cleared 50 of 69
tunnel entrances that were struck by U.S. and Israeli forces across 18 underground missile installations.
President
Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a record low with Big Data
Poll, a survey that has historically given him some of his strongest
numbers, as voters express growing dissatisfaction with the economy, the
cost of living and the administration’s handling of foreign policy.
In
its most recent survey, conducted between May 24 and 27 among 3,121
registered voters, 39.4 percent of respondents said they approved of the
job Trump was doing as president—including 19.9 percent who said they
strongly approved. Big Data Poll called this a “new low for the
president during his second term and the first time he has dipped into
the critical 30s.”
While
polls have been known to underestimate Trump’s popularity, with the
president outperforming preelection expectations in three presidential
campaigns, Big Data Poll has previously showed some of Trump’s highest
approval ratings—so the record low approval raises questions about
whether dissatisfaction with the administration is beginning to extend
beyond traditional critics.
Yes, the dissatisfaction with the administration has extended beyond traditional critics.
Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday said his party "will
launch a coordinated effort to kill" President Donald Trump's
"Anti-Weaponization Fund," adding that Democrats will force Republicans
to vote on the fund.
"Trump’s nearly $2 billion
MAGA slush fund is his most brazen act of self-dealing yet and one of
the most corrupt schemes ever launched by a president. Senate Democrats
will not let it stand," Schumer wrote in a Dear Colleague letter. "This
week, Senate Democrats will launch a coordinated effort to kill the
slush fund before one cent goes out the door. And no matter what
Republicans do, we will force them to vote."
Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) explains, "Democrats
are unlikely to have the votes to kill the fund outright, but the
campaign is widely seen as a political maneuver designed to put
Republicans on the record ahead of the 2026 midterms, when control of
both chambers could hinge on a small number of competitive seats." Nikole Killion (CBS NEWS) points out, "Last week, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Justice Department from moving forward with work on the new fund." And Alexander Willis (RAW STORY) provides this context, "Trump’s
nearly $1.8 billion fund has proven wildly unpopular even among GOP
lawmakers, triggering a revolt of sorts within the Republican Party. The
fund is even less popular with voters, with recent internal GOP polling
sparking alarm among party insiders."
President Trump is backing off his plan
to establish a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who claimed they
were victims of unfair prosecution by the government, two people
familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The
people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the president’s
thinking, said he had been leaning for days toward scrapping the fund,
which critics have characterized as a scheme to reward Mr. Trump’s
political allies with public benefits.
The
administration signaled a retreat on Monday, when the Justice
Department said in a statement that it would abide by a federal judge’s
temporary order not to proceed with any steps to activate the fund until
at least June 12, when a hearing on the fund is scheduled. The
department said the administration disagreed with the decision but did
not make clear whether it intended to fight the issue further in court.
It
was unclear whether getting rid of the fund would affect another part
of the legal settlement in the case, which provides Mr. Trump, his
family and his businesses with significant immunity from audits.
"Dead for now," Lawrence O'Donnell pronounced the slush fund last night on MS NOW.
The
Trump administration has been dealt another legal blow, with a federal
court ruling that the president illegally banned transgender troops from
military service.
A divided panel of appeals
court judges ruled on Monday that Donald Trump’s executive order to
exclude transgender troops from military service likely violated their
constitutional rights, and was driven by a “non-legitimate state
interest” to harm transgender people.
“The
government’s stated reason for issuing the Hegseth Policy as based
solely upon gender dysphoria was pretextual, and that instead, the
Hegseth Policy was premised, at least in part, on a non-legitimate state
interest to harm the politically unpopular group of transgender
persons,” Wilkins wrote in an opinion, adding that Trump “declared
transgender people as categorically unfit for military service
explicitly because of their gender identity.”
The move is the latest humiliating setback Trump has faced in the courts within days.
Remember,
the Supreme Court did not rule on the issue. The Crooked Court just
permitted Chump to do it and to allow it to work its way through the
courts instead. Well the appeals court has ruled.
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., said Monday that the Trump administration’stransgendermilitary
policy appears motivated by "the bare desire to harm a politically
unpopular group," delivering some of the strongest appellate criticism
yet of a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s campaign against transgender rights.
Writing
for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,
Judge Robert Wilkins concluded that key portions of Defense Secretary
Pete Hegseth's policy likely violate the Constitution's guarantee of
equal protection because they appear rooted in hostility toward
transgender people rather than legitimate military concerns.
"The sharp contrast to the Mattis Policy ... appears to be driven by the
bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group: persons who identify
as transgender," wrote Wilkins, an appointee of former President Barack Obama.
"As such, at this preliminary stage, I conclude that the Hegseth Policy is both arbitrary and based upon animus."
The remarks came in a fractured ruling that partially upheld and
partially narrowed an injunction against the policy. The court preserved
protections for the named transgender plaintiffs currently serving in
the military while allowing enforcement of portions of the policy
affecting prospective recruits.
But the most striking aspect of the 107-page opinion
was Wilkins' repeated focus on what he described as evidence that the
administration's policy targets transgender identity itself.
The case, Talbott v. United States,
now heads back to the district court. A class action motion that would
extend protections to all affected servicemembers is scheduled for
hearing on June 30.
In related news, Hegseth continues embracing discrimination and hate as he refuses to allow promotions to take place. Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) reports:
Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked the promotions of at least seven Navy
officers hand-picked by a board of senior admirals, removing all women
and most minority candidates from the list of nominees for promotions.
The
intervention left a slate of 22 one-star admiral nominees that includes
no women, despite females making up roughly 21 percent of the
active-duty Navy, and only two nonwhite officers, despite racial
minorities accounting for approximately 38 percent of the force, reported the New York Times.
At least two of the removed officers are women, two are Black men, and three are white men.
Four
current and former defense officials, speaking anonymously to discuss
sensitive personnel matters, said Hegseth's actions are highly unusual
and appear to breach Pentagon rules, which permit the defense secretary
to remove officers from promotion lists only when new information raises
specific questions about their fitness to serve — not on ideological
grounds.
Friday, Chump got told to take his damn, dirty name off The Kennedy Center. Liz Dye (ABOVE THE LAW) covers that and notes:
On Friday, a federal judge in DC ordered Donald Trump to take John F. Kennedy’s name out of his filthy mouth. More or less.
In a meticulous, 94-page order,
Judge Christopher Cooper found that the toadies Trump installed on the
Kennedy Center Board might have the legal right to rubber stamp a plan
to shut down the storied arts center for two years and convert into a
Vegas-style emporium, but they didn’t have the smarts to do it properly.
And they certainly never had the power to rename the place after Trump
himself.
Along the way, the court ruled that the president lied about the proposed renovation, as did his cronies.
Naturally
Trump has responded with his normal gravitas, dramatically washing his
hands of the entire project and personally attacking Judge Cooper and
his wife — all of which will be Exhibit A should the government make
good on its threat to appeal.
In
1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Cultural Center Act to
create a center for the arts in the nation’s capital. At first,
fundraising was sluggish. But after President Kennedy’s assassination,
Congress re-designated the project in 1964 as the John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts. The “living memorial” to the slain president
drew private donations and public funds, and in 1971 it opened with a
performance of the Mass by Leonard Bernstein, the quintessentially
American composer.
Trump, who prefers “Cats” to
Callas, has a testy relationship with the performing arts. And vice
versa! During his campaigns, popular musicians routinely sued to block
him playing their songs at his MAGA rallies. But during his first term,
Trump largely left the nation’s important cultural institutions alone.
This time around, the culture warriors at Project 2025 and the America
First Policy Institute were ready to wreak havoc on these “liberal”
bastions on day one.
Echoing
Nazi claims about degenerate art, Trump announced that he was firing
the board of the Kennedy Center and appointing “an amazing Chairman,
DONALD J. TRUMP!”
The
new board included Pam Bondi, Florida lobbyist Bryan Ballard, Lee
Greenwood, Laura Ingraham, and Dan Scavino, the guy who writes Trump’s
tweets. Ric Grenell, a figure from the first Trump administration who
was too toxic to be let back into the White House(!), was installed as
executive director.
The fallout from this MAGA-fication was immediate.
Everyone from Renée Fleming to Issa Rae canceled scheduled performances.
“You
just made it political and caved to the woke mob who wants you to
perform for only Lefties,” Grenell sneered at banjo player Béla Fleck.
This
charm offensive failed to staunch the bleeding, although Grenell put on
a game face. In September of 2025, he bragged about sellout crowds and
high demand for Kennedy Center Honors tickets, promising that
America250, the nation’s 250th birthday celebration, would be a show
like none other. (Wait for it …)
Then in
December, the board voted to rename the institution the “Trump Kennedy
Center.” Signage went up the very next day, suggesting that the outcome
was essentially a foregone conclusion.
After
which the bottom fell out. Ticket sales collapsed, immediately dropping
70 percent as compared to the prior three years, according to the Wall
Street Journal. The Washington National Opera, the Center’s resident
company since 1971, announced it was severing the relationship. In fact,
so many artists canceled that there was functionally no 2026 season
left.
I could excerpt
the entire piece, it's so well written and it captures all the cheap
tactics Chump pulled to try to get his way. But he lost. Yes, he did.
And he's losing so much these days as the American people catch on to him. Svante Myrick (THE HILL) reflects on his avarice, greed and corruption:
“Welcome to the Golden Age!” says a banner on the White House website.
Maybe
it’s golden for Trump and his family, who’ve made billions by cashing
in on the presidency, and for their ultrarich friends whose political
influence rises along with their wealth.
But it’s not so golden for Americans paying higher prices for food and gas prices due to economic uncertainty caused by Trump’s chaotic tariff policies. They’re also paying high energy prices and facing fertilizer shortages
resulting from his war against Iran, amid massive cuts to social safety
net programs and threats of unregulated artificial intelligence.
At a time when millions of families cannot meet their basic needs,
and millions more live with anxiety and economic insecurity, Trump is
focused on self-aggrandizement. His ridiculous gold-plated Louis XIV ballroom. A massive arch we don’t need and nobody else wants.
And,
untethered to the actual lived experiences of the American people, he
waves away questions about American families experiencing hardship due
to his policies, saying he doesn’t give them a thought.
Political
authoritarianism and economic corruption go hand in hand. They’re bad
for democracy, the economy, freedom and families. When political leaders
don’t think they have to follow the laws that apply to other people,
they have an incentive to abuse their power and manipulate the system to
enrich themselves and their friends.
To
achieve their ends, they undermine the rule of law, disadvantage honest
economic players and corrupt both public and private institutions.
Meanwhile,
in New Mexico yesterday. the state's Truth Commission set up to
investigate the actions of the late Jeffrey Epstein held their first
meeting.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
ICYMI: In Letter, Murray, Klobuchar Raise Concerns about Food and Nutrition Service Reorganization
ICYMI: Murray, Klobuchar Raise Concerns about the USDA Research, Education, and Economics Mission Area Reorganization
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA),
Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined Senator Amy
Klobuchar (D-MN) Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry, and 18 of their colleagues in sending a letter
to Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Valden raising strong
concerns about the plan to reorganize the Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“We write with serious concern regarding the announced
reorganization of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS),” wrote
the Senators. “Rather
than strengthening the agency’s effectiveness, this reorganization
poses a risk to FSIS’s core mission of protecting public health and
ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply.”
“Losses in staff and institutional expertise as a result of
this relocation could delay the identification and containment of
outbreaks involving pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, or Listeria,
allowing contaminated products to remain in commerce longer and
increasing illnesses nationwide,” the Senators continued.
“Reduced coordination amongst FSIS and other food safety and public
health agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, and state
partners could also slow traceback investigations and public
communication during multistate outbreaks, when rapid response is
critical to prevent additional illnesses. Instead of moving its
employees across the country, FSIS should be focused on maintaining food
safety. Overall, this reorganization threatens to undermine FSIS’s
effectiveness and weakens an agency that American consumers rely on
every day.”
Along with Murray and Klobuchar, the letter was signed by Senators
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ),
Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY),
Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex
Padilla (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen
(D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
We write with serious concern regarding the announced reorganization
of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Rather than
strengthening the agency’s effectiveness, this reorganization poses a
risk to FSIS’s core mission of protecting public health and ensuring the
safety of our nation’s food supply.
FSIS plays a key role in safeguarding American consumers. Not only
does FSIS provide critical frontline inspection of meat, poultry, egg,
and some fish products, but the agency also plays an important role in
informing the public through outreach and education and coordinating
with the many international, federal, state, and local agencies that
play a part in food safety. When outbreaks inevitably happen, FSIS
provides a rapid response to contain illness before it spreads widely.
The Deferred Resignation Program implemented last year has already
resulted in a loss of more than 500 FSIS employees, straining a key
agency that operates under significant pressure. Now the Administration
is asking two-thirds of the FSIS staff in the Washington, D.C. area to
relocate to Iowa, Georgia, or Colorado within months, which could weaken
interagency coordination and rapid response efforts during foodborne
illness outbreaks, creating a greater risk to consumers and our food
supply. Since FSIS was not explicitly included in the July 2025
Secretarial Memorandum on USDA’s proposed reorganization, FSIS
stakeholders, employees, consumer advocates, and industry partners have
not been able to provide meaningful comments on changes that could have
significant implications for the nation’s food safety system.
Losses in staff and institutional expertise as a result of this
relocation could delay the identification and containment of outbreaks
involving pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, or Listeria, allowing
contaminated products to remain in commerce longer and increasing
illnesses nationwide. Reduced coordination amongst FSIS and other food
safety and public health agencies like the Food and Drug Administration,
and state partners could also slow traceback investigations and public
communication during multistate outbreaks, when rapid response is
critical to prevent additional illnesses. Instead of moving its
employees across the country, FSIS should be focused on maintaining food
safety. Overall, this reorganization threatens to undermine FSIS’s
effectiveness and weakens an agency that American consumers rely on
every day.
We ask that you provide a detailed description of how you will ensure
that FSIS will maintain full operational capacity during and after this
transition. Specifically, we ask that you provide further details on
what communication USDA has had with impacted FSIS employees, how the
USDA will mitigate anticipated workforce losses, preserve critical
expertise, and ensure that outbreak response, interagency coordination,
and rulemaking activities are not compromised.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and we look forward to receiving your response within 30 days.
Another
scandal for The Crooked Court. There are three judges you can trust:
Brown Jackson, Sotomayor and Kagan. And then you have the crooks. Like
Alito! Phillip Kolb (2 PARAGRAPHS) notes:
U.S.
Representative Mike Levin (D-CA) is criticizing conservative Supreme
Court Justice Samuel Alito for not recusing himself from cases involving
President Trump’s Treasury Department, where it was recently revealed
Alito’s son, Philip Alito, has been working as “a political appointee
and attorney.”
Levin wrote: “There is no world in which this is okay.”
He
added of Alito: “His son’s employment was hidden so thoroughly that his
name appears nowhere on the Treasury Department website, he has no
public resume, and his bar listings are outdated.”
Levin
added: “If Alito had recused himself, the secret would have come out.
He didn't recuse himself. This is a clear conflict of interest, and the
American people deserved to know about it. The federal recusal standard
is clear: a justice must step aside in any case where there is a
reasonable basis to question whether he or she can be impartial. A
justice ruling on cases involving the department where his son works
fails that test. The Treasury Department sits at the center of some of
the biggest legal fights of this administration, and challenges to
Trump's $1.776 billion January 6 slush fund could be headed to the Court
next.”
Levin
also suggested a way for Congress to assert control, writing: “The
Supreme Court is the only court in America with no binding code of
conduct. That is completely unacceptable, and it has to change NOW.
Congress controls the Power of the Purse, and therefore the Court's
funding. If the Court will not adopt a binding code of conduct with real
recusal review on their own, I support withholding their funding until
they do.”
Some comments on the article:
M. Gallagher
6 hours ago
The
worse type of corruption is the corruption that is justified for
political or financial purposes. Since Justice Alito has already shown
he is more than willing to take gifts from wealthy people, why would,
political corruption be out of this Justices range.
DelightG
4 hours ago
This
Administration, as much as I dislike it, is showing us all of the
corruption and loopholes that will have to be corrected in the future.
Billy Lawrence
1 hour ago
The
Constitution does not give them the seat for life. They only have it
for as long as they are in good standing. Impeachment of a judge is not
as high a bar as it is for POTUS. They just have to show a reasonable
lack of good standing; there is no requirement to prove high crimes or
misdemeanors. For example, Thomas can be easily impeached for lying on
his financial filings since lying is an example of damage to good
standing. Contrary to what they say, they have no power to rewrite or
ignore this limitation. Only Congrss and the States can change anything
in the Constitution.
What
the court has final say on is not unlimited. They cannot declare
themselves immune from law. Only Congress can write laws, so even if
they wrote their own code, it could not be binding. There are no
provisions in the Constitution to be immune from those laws, even for
SCOTUS so that would make it binding. Create a legally binding code of
ethics and impeach any judge who violates it. There is no provision for
SCOTUS to overrule an impeachment so conflict would exist.
Monday, June 1, 2026. The Iran War continues, Chump's war on the
economy continues, Pam Bondi fingered Todd Blanche in her remarks before
the House Oversight Committee, the courts aren't crazy about Chump's
slush fund, he's been ordered to take his filthy name off The Kennedy
Center, and much more.
Ben reviews the latest on the Iran War for MEIDASTOUCH NEWS.
Americans have splashed out $59 billion more on fuel since President Donald Trump started his war against Iran — and the extra costs have already eaten up the boost in this year's average tax refund, according to a report Friday.
Moody's
chief economist Mark Zandi estimated that the increased spending
amounted to about $450 per U.S. household, "made up mostly of gasoline,
then there's a diesel cost and an implied jet fuel cost in those higher airline fees,” CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Liesman said on the cable network's Squawk Box show.
The
added costs were initially offset by this year's increase in the size
of many federal income tax refunds, which averaged around $380 more per
household, but by mid-May, "the extra fuel cost outstrips the refunds,"
and "now it's higher," Liesman said, according to a transcript posted on
the Mediaite website.
Zandi
also predicted, "Unless the war ends soon, financially pressed
consumers will have no option but to turn more cautious in their
spending, threatening the already soft economy," Liesman said.
Two
Northwest Jacksonville business owners closed their doors, saying a
challenging economy, changing consumer spending habits, and financial
pressures have made it difficult to continue operating.
For
years, both businesses served as gathering places for the community —
one through photography and content creation, the other through food and
fellowship. Now, their owners are saying goodbye.
Carissa
Glanton recently closed The Selfie Showroom, a photography and content
creation space that operated in Jacksonville for four years.
“A
lot of people came here to celebrate birthdays, take pictures, and have
a unique experience,” Glanton said. “It was something different that I
really wanted to bring to Jacksonville.”
But by the middle of last year, she said business began slowing down.
“That’s when things started to trickle down for us, and it was just hard to keep the operations going,” Glanton explained.
[. . .]
Just a few minutes away at Trout River Food Truck Park, another owner is facing a similar reality.
Chef Love, owner of Chef Love Sol Cuisine, announced she is also closing after five years in business.
Business, she said, has become increasingly difficult.
“Challenging. Uncertain. Confusing. Doubtful,” Chef Love said when asked how business has been lately.
Despite strong community support, Chef Love said economic uncertainty has taken a toll on sales.
“We’ve
seen a big decrease because of the economy,” she said. “People are
unsure right now. Going out to eat is a luxury for many families. Even
though I feel my food is affordable, it still comes out of their
income.”
For years, American consumers have defied predictions and kept the
economy moving forward with their spending even amid a raft of financial
pressures. Yet signs of financial strain are emerging as households
grapple with the highest inflation rate in nearly three years.
Consumer
spending drives about 70% of U.S. economic activity, raising concerns
about a slowdown if Americans pull back amid an ongoing spike in energy
prices.
"If gas prices stay elevated, middle-income families will
likely face more tradeoffs. For most households, gas isn't optional —
it's how they get to work, take care of their families and manage daily
life," said Glenn Williams, CEO of Primerica, a provider of financial
products.
Inflation tends to hit low- and middle-income
households hardest because they spend a greater share of their income on
basics such as gas and food.
But
Chump doesn't worry about the American people. He infamously said, "I
don't think about Americans' financial situation." And before he said,
he'd already made that clear with his actions. He has destroyed the US
economy.
Friday, former Attorney General Pam
da Bimbo Bondi appeared before the US House Oversight Committee in a
closed door interview. PBS NEWSHOUR notes.
Geoff Bennett:
So what did Bondi say?
Ali Rogin:
Not much, according to Democrats in the room. She
answered many questions by saying she did not know or did not recall.
She deferred many questions to Todd Blanche, saying that he handled the
documents, including all the mistakes of failing to redact some of the
survivors' names and images.
In her opening statement, she said
she -- quote -- "delegated oversight over this process" to Blanche. She
also refused to comment on her conversations with President Trump.
Geoff Bennett:
And Blanche, now the acting attorney general, who used to be President Trump's personal attorney.
Ali Rogin:
That's right, Geoff. And he's been very involved in this
investigation. He met with co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in 2025,
after which she was transferred to a minimum security prison.
Bondi
said she was unaware that that meeting was happening. And as acting
attorney general, Blanche has said that he said the Epstein files --
quote -- "should not be a part of anything going forward at the DOJ."
Whatever
his role was, Blanche is now the head of the department and Democrats
said they will subpoena him to testify. For their part, survivors say
that the most important thing for them is that the DOJ follow through on
some of the investigative leads that are revealed and some of the names
that have been released in the Epstein files.
Geoff Bennett:
And, as we have reported on this program, President
Trump's own relationship with Epstein has come under scrutiny. The
president has gone after media outlets, news organizations that have
chosen to report on it. So what's the latest on that front?
Ali Rogin:
Yes.
So, earlier this week, President Trump refiled
a defamation lawsuit that he had filed against The Wall Street Journal
over a report that he had written a letter to Epstein for his birthday
in 2003 which featured an illustration of a naked woman silhouette.
Trump denied he wrote the letter or drew the picture. And he sued The
Journal for defamation.
The judge threw out the case, saying he
had not proved that the reporters deliberately reported false
information. He said Trump could file a new complaint. We have seen that
today. He -- there's not very much new in this new complaint, except
there's an anecdote that he spoke with Rupert Murdoch, the chairman,
before this article was released.
Murdoch said he would handle it.
We don't know how this judge is going to respond to this, and The Wall
Street Journal stands by its reporting, Geoff.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee issued the following statement last week:
Washington, D.C. — Today, Oversight Democrats
released the following statement following the Department of Justice’s
(DOJ) confirmation that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi’s transcribed
interview will not be videotaped for the American people.
“Pam Bondi was at the heart of a White House cover-up and Oversight
Chairman James Comer is working to hide her testimony from the American
people. The survivors and the American people deserve to see her respond
to real questions about her mismanagement and cover-up of the Epstein
files,” said Sara Guerrero, spokesperson for Oversight Democrats.
In March, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted with
bipartisan support on a motion by Rep. Nancy Mace to subpoena
then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. On April 14, 2026, Pam Bondi refused to
appear for her deposition before the Oversight Committee, despite the
lawful bipartisan subpoena the Committee issued. The subpoena followed
the Department of Justice’s botched release of the Epstein files and the
continued White House cover-up.
Pam
Bondi, fired as attorney general by President Donald Trump in April,
insisted Friday that she had little real authority in overseeing the
release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, putting responsibility squarely on
her former deputy and successor, Todd Blanche.
Her
remarks, delivered during a closed-door interview before the House
Oversight Committee, were a bracingly candid admission of her own
powerlessness that belied her nominal role as one of the most powerful
figures in government. It was a noticeable shift from her past
appearances on Capitol Hill, when she resorted to maximum-volume attacks
on Democrats who raised questions about her performance or challenged
her authority.
Bondi told
committee members that Blanche was managing “the entire investigation,”
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee,
said after emerging from a tense session that Bondi had long sought to
delay or dodge.
She
added in the hearing that Blanche was responsible for determining which
documents would be released, another person present for her testimony
said, describing how she also repeatedly punted to FBI Director Kash
Patel.
Former
US Attorney General Pam Bondi, during her long-awaited interview with
US House lawmakers, reportedly said that Jeffrey Epstein accomplice
Ghislaine Maxwell should die in prison and should not receive a pardon.
Maxwell
was a longtime associate of Epstein, the US financier and convicted sex
offender, who died by suicide in jail in 2019. She was convicted in
2021 of sex trafficking and conspiracy involving underage girls. She is
currently serving a 20-year sentence and remains in a Texas prison
facility.
And
how did Maxwell get there? How did she go from a low security Florida
prison to a minimum security prison in Bryan, Texas? Bondi said they
needed to ask Blanche about that.
Bondi
said that “Acting attorney general Blanche was managing the entire
investigation,” Rep. Robert Garcia (California), the top Democrat on
the committee, told reporters during a mid-interview break.
[. . .]
Garcia told reporters: “I also personally asked the former AG five times
and five different questions about her conversations with President
Trump, whether he directed her at any given time on the Epstein files,
what he knew, what he asked her to redact or not, and she refused to
answer any questions about President Trump. In fact, she said that she
would not speak or respond to any questions that [have] anything to do
with President Trump.”
It must be something to dictate to Congress what you will and will not answer questions about. Australia's ABC reports on the survivors who were outside the hearing:
Survivors of Epstein's abuse were in the building and criticised Ms Bondi's handling of the material.
They
held posters that had documents from the Epstein files that feature Mr
Trump's name, among others, and they made their presence known to Ms
Bondi as she entered the room.
Several survivors said they were shoved aside by police officers.
"It
boggles my mind that the Department of Justice released nude photos …
the Department of Justice released pornography. That is unacceptable,"
survivor Sharlene Rochard told reporters outside the committee hearing
room.
"I just hope that she
does have a moment where she remembers her own humanity and our humanity
and finds her compassion and remembers that this is a bigger story than
political rhetoric," said Danielle Bensky, another survivor.
The
survivors also implored lawmakers to hold Ms Bondi accountable for the
handling of the Epstein case files' release, which included the personal
information of potential victims.
Meanwhile, there will be a public meeting on Epstein's actions taking place this afternoon in New Mexico. Chris Edwards reports:
As New Mexico’s bipartisan Epstein Truth Commission will hold its
first public meeting this week at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, many Otero
County political leaders — have remained notably quiet on the matter.
Local state leaders voted affirmative for the resolution creating the
special commission but for the most part have been silent on the demand
for transparency and release of all documents in DC and for state level
prosecution in New Mexico if appropriate.
The commission is examining allegations of sex trafficking, abuse of
minors, and potential state and local oversights tied to Jeffrey
Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch. With subpoena power and a $2 million
budget, the panel is seeking survivor testimony and reviewing how such
activities could occur in New Mexico with little apparent intervention
for years.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled
Friday that the name of the performing arts center can’t be changed
without an act of Congress, and ordered the Trump administration to take
down every sign with Trump’s name and get rid of all references to
“Trump Kennedy Center” within 14 days. He also overturned the board’s
March decision to close the theater for a yearslong renovation.
President
Donald Trump on Saturday branded the federal judge who blocked his
renovation of the Kennedy Center as “an anti Trump Hater” and predicted
that the nation’s premier performing arts center he wanted to shutter
for a two-year overhaul will “soon be closed, probably never to open
again.”
Chump is just an anti JFK
Hater. And that blinds him to the reality that The Kennedy Center will
be restored fully by the next president. This is a monument created by
Congress to JFK following his assassination. There have been eleven
presidents since JFK died and JFK remains remembered and loved.
That's
why Convicted Felon Donald Chump has tried to hijack The Kennedy Center
by illegally tacking his own name onto it -- because then Chump might
be remembered if only due to association.
Because
there's nothing honorable about Chump. He's corrupt. He's unethical.
He's a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, an anti-Islamist, an all around
hater. And his pettiness comes out because he has nothing he can rise
to, no better nature. He is garbage.
A former Fox host and current political analyst believes a recent
Donald Trump action may have finally spurred a real rebellion among
Republicans.
“It’s a revolt,” wrote Howard Kurtz for Fox News. “Practically a revolution.” He said the backlash “seems to be breaking, or at least loosening, Trump’s iron grip on power.”
At issue is Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion slush fund to compensate alleged victims targeted by “political weaponization” from former-President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice.
These so-called “victims” would include rioters arrested for storming
the Capitol building during the attempted January 6, 2021 insurrection.
The rioters attempted to disrupt the Senate’s certification of the 2020
election results.
Kurtz said for many Republicans, the concept of this massive
taxpayer-funded compensation for people who have been convicted of
crimes “was a bridge too far.”
“Some of these people had attacked and injured police officers,
seized members’ offices and chanted for Mike Pence’s hanging,” Kurtz
said.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Florida on Friday ordered Trump's lawyers to respond to the motion filed by 35 former federal judges
who argued that Trump is in a sense both the plaintiff and the
defendant in the case, having filed it as president and also the leader
of the executive branch overseeing the IRS. Thus, the judges wrote, the
lawsuit "is itself a fraud on the court."
The former judges,
appointed by both Democrat and Republican presidents, wrote that the
lawsuit was used as a justification for the "looting" of American
taxpayers. They described the case as a type of "collusion" between the
president's lawyers and the federal government and asked the judge to
re-open the case to determine if the settlement was reached only after
the court was "deceived."
Williams, appointed by former President Barack Obama, had initially granted
a dismissal of Trump's lawsuit following the settlement, but, in light
of the former judges' motion, she said the court is "empowered to
investigate serious misconduct."
It follows another judge in
Virginia temporarily freezing the fund, which Trump officials have
described as an effort to compensate Trump allies, Jan. 6 rioters and
others the president says have been unjustly targeted.
That
judge, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia, ordered on
Friday that Trump officials stop setting up the pool of money to "ensure
that no funds are irreversibly disbursed."
Brinkema, an
appointee of former President Bill Clinton, set a June 12 hearing for
arguments over whether the order should be extended.
When the details of the agreement were
first revealed two weeks ago, Democrats and former government officials
lodged accusations of corruption and self-dealing, and even some
Republicans reacted with scornful disbelief. Some G.O.P. senators were
so angry they abandoned plans to approve a measure to finance the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Within
days of the agreement becoming public, and before the judge raised
questions about it, senior administration officials began preparing to
get rid of the fund amid the intense blowback. Those discussions were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
But
while the agreement appeared to have emerged abruptly, it fused two
ideas that had been kicking around in Mr. Trump’s circle for years: a
desire by him and his family to avoid extensive tax audits, and a
longing by his allies to obtain financial restitution for legal wrongs
they claimed to have suffered during the Biden administration.
[. . .]
While the origins of the tax maneuver remain somewhat obscure, the
Justice Department began to assess the proposal about a week before
Judge William’s May 20 deadline, according to people familiar with the
matter. One of the questions raised was whether giving the Trumps
protection against I.R.S. scrutiny would run afoul of a law barring the
tax agency from dropping audits at the direction of the president or his
aides.
Let's note LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:
DOJ’s
attempt to cut a sweetheart deal for the Trump family and MAGA political
allies is a crooked and corrupt abuse of taxpayer money
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a
senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dick Durbin
(D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter
to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche this week demanding that the
MAGA Department of Justice preserve records related to a corrupt
purported settlement agreement in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service,
DOJ’s creation of a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund to reward
the President’s political allies, and the related tax amnesty agreement
for the Trump family and their business associates.
“This sweetheart deal from the Trump IRS and the Trump DOJ attempts
to give President Trump and the Trump family business a magical free
pass on tax violations and set up a slush fund for cop-beaters and MAGA
criminals. It’s the very definition of corruption and merits further
investigation. Acting Attorney General Blanche – himself a former Trump
defense attorney – must preserve all records related to this outrageous
abuse of power and misuse of taxpayer money,” said Whitehouse.
“A MAGA ‘weaponization’ slush fund is so outrageous that Senate
Republicans were forced to send lawmakers home to stay in President
Trump’s good graces. Americans are struggling to afford gas, groceries,
housing… you name it. And President Trump is more interested in cashing
in on the presidency than focusing on the things that matter. This
blatantly corrupt deal deserves further scrutiny, and the Acting
Attorney General must order the preservation of all documents related to
it,” said Durbin.
Earlier this month, the MAGA Department of Justice announced that
President Trump had agreed to drop a $10 billion lawsuit he initiated
against his own Internal Revenue Service after he was inaugurated for
his second term over the leak of the President’s tax information by an
IRS employee in exchange for the creation of an unprecedented $1.776
billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The commission overseeing the fund
would have the authority to dole out the nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer
funds to settle claims brought by anyone who claimed they were harmed
by “weaponization” of the justice system, including participants
convicted of beating police and other crimes related to the January 6
insurrection.
“The Fund would allow those who stormed the Capitol on
January 6, 2021, to apply, including those who assaulted law enforcement
officers during the attack on the Capitol. This would mean nearly 175
January 6 rioters who used a dangerous or deadly weapon to assault law
enforcement officers can seek compensation from the Fund, including a
rioter who drove a stun gun into a law enforcement officer’s neck. The
Fund also lacks basic transparency and accountability measures, granting
President Trump the authority to remove any administrator of the Fund
without cause and allowing only the Attorney General to receive
information about the identity of recipients per the terms of the
‘Settlement Agreement,’” wrote Whitehouse and Durbin in the letter.
One day after the settlement agreement was announced, the Department
of Justice announced an addendum that would purportedly prohibit the IRS
from pursuing audits against Trump, his family, and their business
associates for any previous tax offenses as part of a bizarre side deal
to the Department’s compensation fund agreement.
“This addendum purports to grant President Trump and a wide
swath of associates and related companies immunity from any ongoing tax
audits, including one in which a potential adverse ruling could have
cost President Trump more than $100 million,” added the senators in their letter.
Full text of the letter is below and a PDF is available here.
May 26, 2026
The Honorable Todd Blanche
Acting Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Acting Attorney General Blanche:
We write to request that the Department of Justice preserve all
records related to the proposed $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund”
(the “Fund”) and the purported “Settlement Agreement” in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, No. 1:26-cv-20609 (S.D. Fla.).
On May 18, 2026, DOJ announced the creation of the Fund “to provide a
systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered
weaponization and lawfare.” You testified to Congress on May 19, 2026,
that the Fund would allow those who stormed the Capitol on January 6,
2021, to apply, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers
during the attack on the Capitol. This would mean nearly 175 January 6
rioters who used a dangerous or deadly weapon to assault law
enforcement officers can seek compensation from the Fund, including a
rioter who drove a stun gun into a law enforcement officer’s neck. The
Fund also lacks basic transparency and accountability measures,
granting President Trump the authority to remove any administrator of
the Fund without cause and allowing only the Attorney General to receive
information about the identity of recipients per the terms of the
“Settlement Agreement.”
Additionally, on May 19, 2026, DOJ released an addendum to the
“Settlement Agreement” stating that the U.S. government would be
“forever barred” from pursuing “examinations” of President Trump, his
family, “related or affiliated individuals,” and related trusts and
businesses, for any matter involving previously filed tax returns or
“Lawfare and/or Weaponization.” This addendum purports to grant
President Trump and a wide swath of associates and related companies
immunity from any ongoing tax audits, including one in which a potential
adverse ruling could have cost President Trump more than $100
million.
Please preserve any existing and future records, documents, and
materials related to the Fund and “Settlement Agreement,” including any
materials related to DOJ’s development of and decision to create the
Fund and enter into the “Settlement Agreement.” As you know, federal
law, including the Federal Records Act, imposes an obligation to
preserve federal records on all DOJ employees and makes violations
subject to criminal prosecution. This requirement includes preservation
of electronic messages sent using both official and personal accounts
or devices and records created using text messages, phone-based message
applications, or encryption software.
We look forward to your prompt response and acknowledgment of your compliance with this request.
