POPULARITY
Categories
Popok reports on a new blockbuster investigation conducted by the Senate Democrats led by Senator Blumenthal releasing a report today that ties Iran to the use of a US based cryptocurrency company called Tether that has close financial ties to Trump's Commerce Sec Howard Lutnick and his family business Cantor Fitzgerald. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@LegalAFMTN?sub_confirmation=1 Become a member of Legal AF YouTube community: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgZJZZbnLFPr5GJdCuIwpA/join Become a member of the Legal AF Substack: https://michaelpopok.substack.com/20off Follow Legal AF on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/legalafmtn.bsky.social Follow Michael Popok on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mspopok.bsky.social Subscribe to the Legal AF podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legal-af-by-meidastouch/id1580828595 Subscribe to the Intersection with Michael Popok podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-intersection-with-michael-popok/id1818863274 Subscribe to Unprecedented with Michael Popok and Dina Doll podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unprecedented-by-legal-af/id1867023089 Subscribe to Court of History with Sidney Blumenthal and Sean Wilentz podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-court-of-history/id1867022920 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Gary Blumenthal is the brother of Steve Blumenthal, a senior adult with profound autism, and dementia, now receiving hospice services in his HCBS group home in Lawrence, KS. He is a former high school Civics teacher, former six-term member of the Kansas House of Representatives, and former disability official in the Clinton and Obama administrations, and is currently serving as a Senior Political Advisor for The National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals.Timeline of the conversation: 1: 00 Backstory of Gary and Steve Blumenthal 3:25 Transition from institutional living of "3 hots and a cot" to home and community-based services (HCBS)5:41 Civic engagement and voting6:30 Education and communicating with Legislators.8:50 Be educated and to educate9:32 Paid Family Caregiving12:00 Get out the Vote (GOTV)15:38 Why do States have waiting lists for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)16:33 Funding Priorities and Policies to determine funding of services and advocates making their voice known in an environment of lobbyists and money in politics. 17:00 Advocacy and Activism 18: Call to Action: Get Out The Vote (#GOTV)Please read Gary's recent opinion in the Kansas City Star: 60 years of disability progress helped my brother. I fear we're reversing itRead more at:
Max Blumenthal has been reporting critically on Israel for twenty years, in the face of censorship and death threats. Now he's been detained by the Trump administration. (00:00) Blumenthal's Trip to Iran and Getting Detained (25:05) The Paid Propagandists (1:00:43) Leaked AIPAC Audio (1:05:53) What Is Israel's Big Picture Goal? (1:43:17) What Happened to TPUSA? Max Blumenthal is the founder and editor of The Grayzone, an independent American investigative journalism outlet. He is the author of several books and producer of numerous documentary films on US and international politics. TheGrayzone.com Paid partnerships with: American Financing: NMLS 182334, nmlsconsumeraccess.org. APR for rates in the 5s start at 6.327% for well qualified borrowers. Call 800-685-5696 for details about credit costs and terms. Visit http://www.AmericanFinancing.net/Tucker. Brooklyn Bedding: Get 30% off sitewide with promo code TUCKER at https://brooklynbedding.comRedmond Salt: Use code TUCKER for 15% off your first order at https://redmond.com/tucker Joi + Blokes: Use code TUCKER for 65% off your labs and 20% off all peptides and supplements at https://joiandblokes.com/tucker Battalion Metals: Shop fair-priced gold and silver at https://battalionmetals.com/tucker Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 365 Days of Astronomy, the daily podcast of the International Year of Astronomy 2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6lOpIWbly4 From July 23, 2026. Hosted by Mike Simmons. Episode 19. https://astro4equity.org - Visit our website! Dr. Kelly Blumenthal is an astrophysicist and science communicator who has lived in and worked with many communities across the United States and worldwide. These experiences have shaped Kelly's perspectives on the importance of astronomy communication in building STEM opportunities for under-resourced people worldwide and its role in science generally. Kelly is now the director of the International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO), hosted by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan in Tokyo. The Office is represented by its network of National Outreach Coordinators in more than 100 countries. In this episode, Kelly shared her experience working as an astrophysicist and how she became the OAO's Director, the importance of science communication, dark skies, and the development of AstroACCEL. The Role of Astronomy in Science Communication: 0:00 Engaging Communities Through Astronomy Outreach: 5:44 Professional Development in Astronomy Communication: 9:02 The Importance of Conferences in Astronomy Outreach: 11:18 Case Studies in Astronomy Education: 13:20 Astronomy as a Gateway to STEM: 18:10 Highlighting Women in Astronomy: 23:40 Protecting Our Dark Skies: 27:49 Engaging Youth in Astronomy Education: 32:20 Bridging Gaps in Astronomy Communication: 34:32 Personal Journeys in Astronomy: 41:22 Navigating Challenges in Astronomy Careers: 53:10 We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.
You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for September 4, 2026. We open by digging into the August jobs report, weighing the surprise addition of 162,000 payroll jobs and steady 4.1% unemployment against the doom-and-gloom predictions that dominated headlines for months. We talk through the manufacturing and construction gains, wage growth versus inflation, and what it all means heading into the fall. From there we hit our Top 3 things you need to know: the jobs numbers rebound, Missouri's Supreme Court throwing the state's new congressional map into chaos just weeks before the election, and a bombshell inspector general report on former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer's conduct while in office. We also cover a GAO report revealing the Secret Service repeatedly ignored civilian drone incidents near the president going back to the Obama years, right up through Butler, Pennsylvania. Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson, join us to tackle a listener question about whether women choosing to go childless will one day regret it, sparked by a viral post from a 36-year-old asking the internet that very thing. We follow that with a First Amendment conversation about the right to organize, even for ideas like socialism, and take a look at the growing wave of socialist conferences happening around the country. We Dig Deep into a troubling story out of Virginia, where a pregnant mother studying for the bar was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor after letting her five-year-old walk two blocks to a pond in their gated community. We also break down a Wall Street Journal report on Senator John Fetterman being blasted by his own party in Pennsylvania. It's Fake News Friday, where we run through headlines on Lake America, the Montreal Canadiens, the Strait of Hormuz, Senator Blumenthal's near-miss with a train, and more, letting listeners test their own real-news-versus-fake-news instincts. We close things out with a Moment of Whoa involving a duct-taped unruly airline passenger, and a heartwarming story about a liver transplant recipient marrying the brother of her donor two decades later. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On Monday the Supreme Court let the President keep building a 400 million dollar ballroom on the White House grounds. It did not rule that the ballroom is legal. It ruled that the people who sued could not prove they were injured enough to be allowed through the door, and Chief Justice John Roberts dissented and called the project likely unlawful. Nobody has ruled on that question. Nobody may ever rule on it. That is the thread running through this entire episode. The check still exists on paper. The question is whether anybody can actually reach it. In Trump Corruption Watch, newly renamed because this beat covers a lot more than money: the Venezuela oil concession, where Trump announced majority US control of more than 65 billion barrels at what he called no cost to the American taxpayer. I break down the actual structure, a 100 year concession granted by an interim government the United States installed by force in January, with the US holding 55 percent of a joint venture whose private partner still has not been publicly named. Then the ballroom ruling and what standing doctrine actually means for every citizen lawsuit against the federal government. Then the final USPS mail ballot rule, the 24 state lawsuit, and a whistleblower disclosure released by Senator Blumenthal alleging the agency raced an untested ballot portal toward launch six weeks before the midterms. Then Pete Hegseth pulling at least 45 officers off Army promotion lists this year, more than half of them women or Black officers, and the Republican congressman who defended it by saying we serve at the goodwill of the President. I also open with a correction from the August 26 show, because I got ahead of the evidence on the airport trademark story and that is on me. In Nuanced News: the strike on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz and why Congress reached the war powers check twice, with Republicans crossing both times, and picked a vehicle that could not bind anything. The 50 percent Canada tariffs running on a 96 year old law no court has ever tested, because nobody can afford to sue. And a Seventh Circuit ruling almost every outlet flattened, where a federal judge told the Supreme Court he can see the problem and is not free to fix it. Plus Research on a Dime on the Senate math and Ed Markey beating Seth Moulton while badly outspent, a listener question from Iowa's 2nd District about four candidates on the ballot and only two on the debate stage, and Good News including the first FDA approved drug targeting the mutation behind most pancreatic cancers. CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold open 01:46 Welcome and the thread running through tonight 03:38 Clip: the AI generated fake political commentator networks 07:41 Trump Corruption Watch, and why the segment got renamed 09:05 Correction from the August 26 show 10:35 The Venezuela oil concession and the partner nobody will name 19:53 The White House ballroom and the 5 to 4 ruling 26:07 The USPS mail ballot rule and the whistleblower disclosure 37:08 Hegseth and the Army promotion boards 44:03 Iran, Larak Island, and the war powers vote that could not bind 52:50 The Canada tariffs nobody is suing over 58:26 The Seventh Circuit ruling almost everyone flattened 1:05:08 Quick hits: Ukraine, data centers, Meta, Flock, hush money 1:09:43 Research on a Dime: the Senate arithmetic 1:10:49 Massachusetts: Markey beats Moulton 1:12:30 Breakdown in the Public: Iowa's 2nd District debate access 1:18:45 ALIVE Podcast Network 1:19:28 Good News the media does not talk about 1:23:18 Close Got a story you want covered? Email thetrendgoldandfaith@gmail.com Share your own political solutions: https://www.reddit.com/r/policysolutions/ RESOURCES Podcast website: https://www.purplepoliticalbreakdown.com ALIVE Podcast Network: Catch a lot of great podcasts like my own, led by amazing Black voices. https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/ Living Room Conversations: Building bridges through meaningful dialogue across political divides. https://livingroomconversations.org/ Us United: A movement for unity that challenges Americans to step out of their bubbles and connect across differences. https://www.us-united.org/ OtherWeb: An AI based platform that filters news without paywalls, clickbait, or junk. https://otherweb.com/ Equal Vote Coalition and STAR Voting: Voting methods that ensure every vote counts equally. https://www.equal.vote/star Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/purplepoliticalbreakdown All links: https://linktr.ee/purplepoliticalbreakdown Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/ptPAsZtHC9 Political solutions without political bias.
In a conversation on YouTube, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sat down with Senior Editors Molly Roberts and Roger Parloff to discuss the Supreme Court granting a stay of the district court's preliminary injunction, allowing President Trump to continue to build the White House ballroom while litigation is ongoing, and the information about the U.S. Postal Service's system for handling mail ballots released by a whistleblower to Senator Blumenthal.You can find information on legal challenges to Trump administration actions here. And check out Lawfare's homepage on the litigation, Bluesky account, and WITOAD merch.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For the Good of the Public brings you news and weekly conversations at the intersection of faith and civic life. Monday through Thursday, The Morning Five starts your day off with scripture and prayer, as we also catch up on the news together. Throughout the year, we air limited series on Fridays to dive deeper into conversations with civic leaders, thinkers, and public servants reimagining public life for the good of the public. Today's host was Michael Wear. Thanks for listening to The Morning Five! Please subscribe to and rate The Morning Five on your favorite podcast platform. Learn more about the work of the Center for Christianity and Public Life at www.ccpubliclife.org. Today's scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV) News sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/us/politics/whistle-blower-voting-by-mail.html https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/two-tankers-attacked-on-midnight-run-through-hormuz-9957caaf?mod=hp_lead_pos2 https://apnews.com/article/new-york-climate-change-donald-trump-coal-epa-kathy-hochul-9fed7c732b27435528342eb37c093c23 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/01/wake-up-call-for-congress-lawmakers-get-a-big-brother-warning-on-ai-01054087 Join the conversation and follow us at: Instagram: @michaelwear, @ccpubliclife Twitter: @MichaelRWear, @ccpubliclife and check out @tsfnetwork Music by: King Sis #politics #faith #prayer #scripture #news #USPS #midterms #elections #Iran #SaudiArabia #climatechange #energypolicy #NewYork #AI #privacy #Congress Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani are urging the Trump Administration to give 40% of New York's counterterrorism funding back to the state. WFUV's Anne Jackson has more. Social Media platform, TikTok, has been accused of withholding safety features from a portion of its young users. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn are demanding answers from the platform. WFUV's Tahlia Pearson spoke with experts about the situation. WFUV's Sonia Weliwitigoda spoke with Brian Saville, a Fordham University PhD student researching bees at public gardens in Manhattan and the Bronx. Host/Producer: Nathan Ray Editor: Nathan Ray Reporter: Anne Jackson Reporter: Tahlia Pearson Reporter: Sonia Weliwitigoda Theme Music: Joe Bergsieker
Ralph welcomes Dr. Mimi Syed to discuss the recent report from Brown University's Costs of War Project: “Lethal Precision Without Accountability: Israeli Government ‘Quadcopter' Use in Gaza.” Then, Ralph speaks to Joel McCleary (former Deputy Assistant to President Jimmy Carter and international consultant) about his “Dancing in the Dark” essay series on the strategies that Trump is using to hold onto power at almost any cost.Dr. Mimi Syed is an emergency medicine physician and assistant clinical professor at University of Washington and Washington State University, and a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Syed served in Gaza at both al-Aqsa Hospital and Nasser Hospital, where she documented severe injuries from drone strikes and she has firsthand experience treating civilians targeted by the IDF. She is co-author of the Costs of War Project's new report: Lethal Precision Without Accountability: Israeli Government “Quadcopter” Use in Gaza.A lot of the attention has essentially fallen off from Gaza because of this so-called ceasefire…And the media (Western media) unfortunately is complicit in this—has no interest in covering Gaza, has no interest in covering the ongoing slaughter that's happening in Gaza.Dr. Mimi SyedThe irony of all of this is that the drones and the capabilities that these drones have to shoot and to distinguish between a civilian and a combatant—the whole purpose of this is to mitigate civilian harm. And instead, perversely, they're being used for the opposite. They're being used to target civilians and children. And in the U.N. report, they specifically talk about a soldier describing the experience, saying that it's like a video game. He can be sitting somewhere far away, away from the dangers of a military zone, away from the dangers of combatants, and essentially target whoever he wants, and shoot. And these drones have the capability of distinguishing between a child, an adult, a combatant. And most of these cases that I documented, the child was by themselves. There was no other adult harmed.Dr. Mimi SyedJoel McCleary served as Deputy Assistant to the President during the Carter Administration. As president of the Sawyer-Miller Group he oversaw international strategic advisory work for fourteen prime ministers and presidents. Currently, he is Managing Partner of Four Seasons Ventures, which has conducted in-depth studies for the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security on biodefense. These studies reviewed the emergency powers of the President in the event of a pandemic or major biological weapons attack. He is co-founder of the nonpartisan nonprofit Keep Our Republic.November 3rd is just the prelude to January 3rd—the game (so to speak) is who controls the Speakership. And that is determined by the certified members who are certified by the current House—they will determine who meets on January 3rd. So obviously what Trump does not want (or any President does not want) is there to be an opposing party's Speaker.Joel McClearyWe're not saying that anything is inevitable. We're just saying what is possible if you look at what they're saying and if you look at where they might go if they feel compelled to do so. So NSPM-7 is probably the most frightening aspect of this whole thing. And what's most frightening is how few people have focused on it. All of us need to read these documents at the ACLU (the Brennan Center has done fantastic work). And Mark Medish and I just are appalled that still, in Democratic circles or other circles, we are not yet comprehending the meaning of NSPM-7 and how it threatens each one of us in reality.Joel McClearyNews 8/21/26* This week, another round of primaries were held, most notably in Florida. For progressives, the biggest victory is that of Angie Nixon, a DSA-backed member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing Jacksonville. Nixon trounced her opponent – Alex Vindman, who testified against Trump during the 2019 impeachment effort – winning 56% of the vote to his 44% despite being outspent by a margin of 16 to 1. Forbes reports that in her victory speech, Nixon said “We have proved that everyday people are more powerful than corporations and billionaires…We went up against the political establishment, against millions of dollars of outside spending…and we won. This win was for the little guys and girls…We, the hardworking everyday people of Florida, sent a shock wave to the Washington, D.C., establishment.” Unfortunately, Nixon's candidacy, like that of any statewide Democratic campaign in the Sunshine State, remains a long shot. The last Democrat to win a U.S. Senate seat in Florida was former astronaut Bill Nelson in 2012.* More disappointing were the down-ballot results in these primaries. In the 20th congressional district, a majority-minority district centered on Broward County, Debbie Wasserman Schultz won with 45% of the vote, according to NBC. She defeated four Black candidates, including young progressive Elijah Manley. Wasserman Schultz previously represented the 25th district, but following the Republican-led mid-decade redistricting program carried out in Florida, she opted to seek reelection in this heavily Democratic seat. The Black candidates had tried and failed to consolidate behind a single choice.* And in Florida's 25th congressional district, ultra-zionist incumbent Congressman Jared Moskowitz “warded off” a challenge from his left in the form of Oliver Larkin, a DSA-backed union organizer. Larkin drew substantial media attention, first when he appeared on Fox and, asked about immigration and crime, he demanded accountability for “this pedophile president Donald Trump” and others implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and again during an interview with WPLG Local 10 when Larkin was “faced with genocide denial.” According to the Middle East Eye, Larkin “raised the topic of Israel's genocide in Gaza, pointing to statements and findings from institutions such as the United Nations, Amnesty International and Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem,” which the interviewer, Glenna Milberg incorrectly dismissed as “factually incorrect.” Larkin “outlined Israel's deliberate targeting of civilians, restrictions on humanitarian aid and attacks on churches, schools and other places of worship,” and Milberg again “interrupted and said his account was ‘factually not correct.'” The Middle East Eye writes that the exchange was then “cut short when Milberg said she was being told they had to wrap up the interview.”* Turning to Texas, NOTUS reports Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico – capitalizing on the acrimonious primary battle between sitting Republican Senator John Cornyn and his victorious primary opponent Texas AG Ken Paxton – has taken the extraordinary step of bringing a Cornyn aide onto his campaign. According to this piece, “Jacob Smith, who worked for Cornyn for five years as a deputy legislative director and policy adviser, is taking on the role of deputy policy director for Talarico's campaign.” In a statement, Smith said that he is “proud” to join Talarico's campaign and that “Instead of playing partisan politics, Talarico speaks to the needs of everyday people who day in and day out work too hard for too little.” Smith also laid into Paxton, calling him “the most corrupt, self-dealing politician in Texas who would sell their futures to the highest contributor just to hold onto power,” and urging “fellow Republicans who know Ken Paxton is unfit to serve in the Senate to finally hold him accountable at the ballot box.” This piece quotes an anonymous “Republican operative” who characterized this kind of “cross-party hire” as “unheard of.” He added that Talarico has a “better chance than any Democrat has had in the state in a very long time.”* In more primary news, last week we discussed the victory of former Hartford, Connecticut Mayor Luke Bronin over 14-term incumbent Congressman John Larson. That same day, the Lever published an exposé of Stephen Mandel, a Connecticut-based billionaire hedge fund manager and Democratic mega-donor who is the “largest bankroller of a nascent political machine promising to ‘redefine' the Democratic Party.” Via two organizations – Majority Democrats and the Bench – Mandel and his wife have funneled tens of millions of dollars to candidates of their choosing in an attempt to form a “new [political] center.” According to this report, Bronin amassed a “sizable war chest,” during his primary challenge against Larson, much of which traces back to Mandel. Not only that, apparently, Bronin “used to be on the payroll of a nonprofit funded by the billionaire,” and his campaign's policy stances reflect the network's preferences and priorities. The Lever notes that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Mandels did not return their requests for comment.* In more Connecticut news, in the wake of Larson's defeat, local media is beginning to question whether Senator Richard Blumenthal should run for another term in 2028, with WTNH noting that he will be 82 at the end of his current term. While Blumenthal has not formally announced that he will run for a fourth senate term, he did confirm that he has a campaign committee and it is raising money. This piece notes that Blumenthal is the second oldest member of Connecticut's congressional delegation, behind only Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, 83, who represents the state's third congressional district. With the increased scrutiny on aging Democrats, and donors like Stephen Mandel bankrolling primary challenges by younger candidates, Blumenthal's decision of whether or not to run or anoint a successor could prove critical. For his part, Blumenthal is quoted saying “Age is a state of mind…and I am very, very happy doing my job right now, as energetically as I feel is appropriate.”* Senator Blumenthal features prominently in another story this week from a different part of Washington. NOTUS reports that on K Street, lobbyists for the defense industry – literally the military industrial complex – are “girding for aggressive investigations of President Donald Trump's Pentagon and the companies that do business with it,” if the Democrats retake one or both houses of Congress in the midterm elections. This piece emphasizes that Democrats have “spent two years seething that the Trump administration shut Congress out of decisions about the Pentagon, from the Iran war to politically connected contractors and a defense budget that's ballooned to $1.5 trillion.” Lobbyists are reported to be particularly wary of their clients being caught between outraged congressional Democrats and an uncooperative White House for the next two years. Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Investigations Subcommittee, is already zeroing in on 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is an investor, and American Ventures, where Eric Trump is an investor, both of which received billions of dollars in government awards. He is quoted saying “We need to look into whether Trump's sons are profiting from investments in defense contractors that involve insider information or contracts awarded in ways that compromise defense interests.” Other investigations he signaled they might pursue include a probe of “the administration's growing reliance on single-source contracts and whether the administration has given preferential treatment to companies with political ties, particularly those that donated to Trump's White House ballroom project.” In the House, Democrats on the Armed Services Committee will likely focus on “military strategy, acquisition decisions and the Pentagon's rapidly growing budget,” while the Oversight Committee, is more focused on “corruption, conflicts of interest, companies connected to Trump allies such as SpaceX and other ethics issues.” When Republicans won control of the House, Senate, and presidency in 2024, many lobbying firms axed their Democratic staff. It seems they are beginning to regret that decision.* Our next two stories have to do with the AI boom. First, in Wisconsin, the politics of AI data centers have come to in large part define the ongoing race to succeed Democrat Tony Evers as Governor. DSA-backed candidate Francesca Hong rode her vow of a moratorium on new data center construction to front-runner status in the primary, only to lose by a hair to Evers' last minute chosen successor, David Crowley. Since becoming the nominee, Crowley has refused to adopt Hong's signature issue and his opponent, Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany is taking full advantage. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Tiffany's campaign has released a new TV ad labeling his opponent “data center David Crowley.” In the ad, Crowley is “seen saying Wisconsin has the opportunity to be ‘an AI and a data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe.'” Ironically, Tiffany himself has cast “pro-data center votes in Congress” and Crowley's campaign argues that Tiffany “wouldn't be as hard on developers as his campaign claims,” though he is now campaigning on “ending state subsidies for data centers and creating additional protections for ratepayers and the state's farmland and water.”* Next, a stunning feat of reporting by 404 Media exposed how “Amazon is buying massive quantities of books, scanning them for AI training data, and destroying them in the process.“ To investigate this, the outlet placed a tracking device in a rare book that they suspected would be acquired by an AI company for training data. Then, when indeed it was, they followed the book around the country to its final destination – an Amazon warehouse in Las Vegas, Nevada – where employees say that “all [they] do is scan books..Some are assigned to cut books, and others go to receive where they get books and scan the bar codes.” The printed book is destroyed in the process. The logo of the Amazon team that works at this warehouse, called VGT3, is a dinosaur, brandishing its teeth and with a book in its hands. The piece notes that the AI company Anthropic has previously been sued for engaging in the practice of destroying rare books in order to feed them into their large language models, or LLMs, on copyright grounds, but the “judge in the lawsuit ruled it was fair use and not a copyright violation for Anthropic to scan a book for training data in part because it destroyed the original, printed copy.” The author of this piece notes that these rare books are not necessarily monetarily valuable – they could be rare because “not many copies of them were ever printed,” or “they are in a foreign language not many people speak.” Still, as one bookseller said “There are different types of value…[besides monetary value] There's historical value, intellectual value, sentimental value. All sorts of things, and all of those the AI companies don't care about. They just want the content as a bunch of words strung together.”* Finally, we turn to the Vatican, where, Drop Site reports, Pope Leo XIV is using his pulpit to call for the opening of humanitarian corridors for civilians in Sudan. In his weekly Angelus address, the first American Pope highlighted “the plight of civilians in the besieged city of el-Obeid.” In addition to his call for humanitarian corridors, the pontiff called for both sides to “cease attacks on civilian targets.” Drop Site explains that El-Obeid, the largest city in Kordofan – the region comprising central Sudan – has faced intense drone attacks as the rebels of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battle the Sudanese army for supremacy in the region. An RSF siege has “left over 500,000 people in famine conditions for months and without supplies.” The United Nations warns that if El-Obeid falls, it could follow in the mold of el-Fasher, which fell to the RSF last year and resulted in “mass ethnic cleansing massacres by the RSF that killed an estimated 60,000 people.” We can only hope that the world will heed the Pope's plea for peace and humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Sudan.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe
State leaders are taking aim at FEMA staffing cuts. Senator Richard Blumenthal is calling on the new FEMA Administrator to address staffing shortages they say could hinder the agency's ability to respond to disasters. We spoke with Senator Blumenthal to learn more.
In dieser Folge von „smart investieren" spreche ich mit Karsten von Blumenthal, einem der profiliertesten Analysten für Unternehmen im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien. Karsten beschreibt seine ersten Schritte als Analyst, wie er die Branche der erneuerbaren Energien aktuell einschätzt und welche Quellen er für seine Analysen einsetzt. Als Unternehmen stellt er SFC Energy vor und beschreibt die aktuellen Chancen des Unternehmens. Wir wünschen Ihnen viel Freude beim Zuhören und freuen uns auf Ihr Feedback! Hinweis: Auf der LYNX-Podcast-Seite https://www.lynxbroker.de/boerse/podcast/smart-investieren/sfc-energy-aktienanalyst-bewertet-erneuerbare-energien/ finden Sie alle relevanten Informationen zu dieser Episode. Wichtige Information Dieser Podcast ist eine Marketingmitteilung. Er entspricht daher nicht den gesetzlichen Anforderungen zur Förderung der Unabhängigkeit von Finanzanalysen und unterliegt keinem Verbot des Handels vor der Veröffentlichung. Die in diesem Podcast enthaltenen Informationen und Meinungen dienen ausschließlich allgemeinen Informationszwecken und stellen weder eine Anlageberatung noch ein Angebot oder eine Aufforderung zur Tätigung bestimmter Anlagen dar. Die verwendeten Quellen sind in den Shownotes aufgeführt. Ihre persönliche finanzielle Situation, Ihre Kenntnisse, Erfahrungen, Anlageziele oder Risikobereitschaft werden nicht berücksichtigt. Bitte führen Sie vor einer Anlage Ihre eigenen Recherchen durch oder lassen Sie sich unabhängig und professionell beraten. Aus dem Inhalt dieses Podcast können keine Rechte abgeleitet werden, und LYNX übernimmt keine Haftung. Anlegen ist riskant. Ihr Verlust kann Ihre Einlage übersteigen. Der Wert von Investitionen kann schwanken. Die Wertentwicklung in der Vergangenheit ist kein verlässlicher Indikator für zukünftige Ergebnisse. Die genannten Wertentwicklungszahlen berücksichtigen keine Transaktionskosten, Steuern oder sonstigen Gebühren. Die Inhalte werden nach der Veröffentlichung nicht aktualisiert. Die Referenten können eine direkte Position oder eine indirekte Position in den genannten Instrumenten halten, beispielsweise über ETFs, Investmentfonds oder vergleichbare Anlageinstrumente, auf deren Anlagestrategie sie keinen Einfluss haben. LYNX BV ist eine niederländische Wertpapierfirma, die von der niederländischen Finanzmarktaufsichtsbehörde (AFM) und in Deutschland von der Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht beaufsichtigt wird.
Senator Blumenthal calls for stronger federal oversight on energy companies. Crime victim advocates sound the alarm on cuts in the New York State budget. Cuts to service on the New Haven Metro North line are coming soon. Plus, Milford will take a short break on adding more license plate cameras.
A website created by President Donald Trump's DOGE to tally its purported cost savings contained myriad data quality issues and inaccuracies, a congressional watchdog reported Thursday. In a review of the Department of Government Efficiency's “Wall of Receipts” website, the Government Accountability Office found the group didn't use transparent methods to produce its figures, included lease terminations that predated DOGE's creation, and listed savings with unknown origins. The findings again call into question the roughly $215 billion DOGE claimed to have saved the government and adds to reporting on the deficiencies of the website's accounting. The New York Times, for example, has previously documented errors and deletions on that page. FedScoop has reported inconsistencies between officials' publicly stated savings claims and the figures included on the website. GAO concluded its report by recommending that the website prominently display the existence of the data-quality issues and limitations. “Prominently displaying data limitations would enhance the value of the Wall of Receipts by providing users with the information that they need to interpret and use the data appropriately,” the report said. According to a letter included within the report, the audit was ordered by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Peters is the ranking member on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Blumenthal is ranking member of its subcommittee on investigations. The report came a day after GAO released another report that revealed little available documentation of financial disclosures and completion of ethics and records management training by DOGE personnel. A House-passed bill to scrap educational requirements in federal contracting jobs cleared a key Senate panel Thursday, putting it on track for a vote before the full chamber. The Skills-Based Federal Contracting Act (H.R. 5235) advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by a 10-0 vote. No senators commented on the legislation during the business meeting. The bill, led by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., would block federal solicitations from including any minimum education standards, unless the contracting officer provides a written justification on why the agency needs an exemption. “Washington created the paper ceiling. This bill tears it down,” Mace said in a statement. “A four-year degree should not be a government-mandated checkbox when hardworking Americans have already proven they can do the job. Demonstrated ability should open doors in this country.” The legislation passed the House in February and has been a pet project of Mace's for years. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.
In episode 2103, Miles and guest co-host Blake Wexler are joined by writer, podcaster, and creator of JennaWorld, Molly Lambert, to discuss… Janine Pirro vs REALITY, David Ellison’s Paramount-Warner Merger Has Full Support Of David Ellison, MAGA’s Laziest Propaganda Yet? Taylor Farms’ Explosive Diarrhea Scandal Now Includes “Forced Labor” And “Death” and more! Trump: "We have photographs or tapes -- like moving cameras, right? -- where people are on the side cutting it with a box knife." Side by side video of Trump contradicting himself on reflecting pool Paramount and Warner Bros pause $110bn merger amid legal challenge David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal The fight for Warner Bros. gets hostile. Consumers have a lot to lose. AMC-coded MAGA AI Slop Commercial First two people die in US from explosive diarrhea cyclosporiasis outbreak Sen. Blumenthal calls for Taylor Farms investigation amid deadly cyclospora outbreak Former Taylor Farms Tenn. President accused of stealing $32M in fraud case The Diarrhea Lettuce Company Has Been Linked to Forced Labor Captive Labor Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands Cheap Jail and Prison Food Is Making People Sick. It Doesn’t Have To. Billion-dollar California salad company exploits undocumented migrants, say workers and Teamsters Taylor Farms, Big Food Supplier, Grapples With Frequent Recalls The Real Trump Scandal in the Explosive Diarrhea Outbreak Story LISTEN: Tree's Root by S!RENESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Handbags have evolved from everyday essentials into expressions of personal identity—and that shift is transforming the way retailers buy, merchandise, and discover brands. In this episode, Dorothy Belshaw, CEO and co-owner of NY NOW, shares how the wholesale landscape has changed, why trade shows remain essential in a digital world, and how independent designers can stand out with buyers. From the impact of the 2008 recession to post-pandemic consumer behavior, Dorothy explains why human connection, curated experiences, and genuine product innovation continue to drive retail success.Key Takeaways:• Wholesale is evolving, not disappearing — Trade shows and in-person relationships still drive discovery and lasting retail partnerships.• Handbags have become lifestyle purchases — Today's consumers buy bags as personal expressions, creating new opportunities in the gift and specialty retail markets.• Curation wins attention — Focused concepts and fresh merchandising help independent brands stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Pippa Hudson speaks to Dr Ryan Blumenthal, a forensic pathologist and professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Pretoria, about his new book called Trace – Case Studies of a Forensic Pathologist in Africa. Lunch with Pippa Hudson is CapeTalk’s mid-afternoon show. This 2-hour respite from hard news encourages the audience to take the time to explore, taste, read and reflect. The show - presented by former journalist, baker and water sports enthusiast Pippa Hudson - is unashamedly lifestyle-driven. Popular features include a daily profile interview #OnTheCouch at 1:10 pm. Consumer issues are in the spotlight every Wednesday while the team also unpacks all things related to health, wealth & the environment. Thank you for listening to a podcast from Lunch with Pippa Hudson Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays between 13:00 and 15:00 (SA Time) to Lunch with Pippa Hudson broadcast on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/MdSlWEs or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/fDJWe69 Subscribe to the CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/sbvVZD5 Follow us on social media: CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What happens when a handbag is designed as a work of art instead of just an accessory? In this episode, Elif Akaydin, founder of Patent of Heart, shares how her journey from Istanbul to New York shaped a brand rooted in craftsmanship, storytelling, and purpose. She explains how hand embroidery, chain stitch techniques, and upcycled leather create bags that feel personal, while balancing one-of-a-kind artistry with the realities of production, pricing, and growth. Alifa also shares why pop-ups and boutiques have been key to building her business, and how producing in Istanbul supports women artisans while giving back to women's education.Key Takeaways:Art creates connection — Handcrafted details transform handbags into meaningful, collectible pieces.Creativity needs structure — Production, pricing, and scalable design are just as important as inspiration.Purpose builds loyalty — Ethical manufacturing and giving back can strengthen a brand when they're woven into the business.
Does "Made in Italy" always mean better quality? In this episode, designer and product development expert Karicca pulls back the curtain on luxury handbag manufacturing, revealing what really determines quality beyond the label. Drawing on years of experience developing handbags and footwear, she explains how global supply chains work, why finishing laws can be misleading, and what designers should look for in materials, construction, and factory partnerships. Karicca also shares her journey of launching her own brand while balancing a full-time career, along with practical lessons on pricing, marketing, and finding the right customer in today's crowded marketplace.Key Takeaways:Quality goes beyond the label — Materials, craftsmanship, and construction matter more than country of origin.Know your customer — Strong pricing and marketing begin with understanding who you're designing for.Build with transparency — Great brands earn trust through honest manufacturing and thoughtful product development.
Harwinton was one of the hardest hit towns in the state following the wicked July Fourth storm. Despite a tour with the governor, Congresswoman Hayes and Senator Blumenthal, there is still NO declaration for a state of emergency. We spoke with First Selectman Michael Criss about the devastation and frustration in the aftermath.
Can a backpack made from ocean-bound plastic become a global accessories brand? In this episode, Kathrin Melchior of Got Bag shares how thoughtful product development, customer insights, and sustainable innovation transformed a crowdfunding idea into one of the most recognizable bag brands on the street. From designing inside a fast-moving global retailer to helping scale a purpose-driven startup, Katrine explains why great products come from constant testing—not just great taste. She also reveals how one surprising customer insight led Got Bag from backpacks into handbags, and why understanding who actually buys your product is often the biggest breakthrough.Key Takeaways:Design with data — Customer feedback beats assumptions every time.Stay open to surprises — Your real customer may not be who you expected.Purpose needs a great product — Sustainability succeeds when design and function come first.
July 3, 2026 - 7am: Sen. Blumenthal talks Trump wealth and his letter to the DOJ about a controversial Trump clemency Catholic Nun detailed by ICE while walking to mass in Texas is released after members of Congress intervened in the case Progressive Democratic candidate for Senate for Michigan Dr. Abdul El-Sayed joins Morning Joe ahead of Michigan's primary in August to discuss a wide range of topics President of Salt Lick Incubator Liza Levy discusses their new performance and conversation series 'Songs of U.S.,' where musicians examine how America's musical identity is evolving ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary. To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What separates brands that grow from those that stall? In this episode, growth marketing consultant Alex Greifeld shares why defining your ideal customer is the foundation of every successful fashion brand. Drawing on experience at FIT, Jones New York, Tibi, and Tapestry, Alex explains how leading brands balance creative instinct with real market data. From building a clear unique selling proposition to understanding customer acquisition costs, unit economics, and digital marketing, she offers a practical roadmap for founders looking to grow smarter. Alex also shares her approach to content creation, short-form video, and what unconventional brands like Brandy Melville can teach designers about standing out in a crowded market.Key Takeaways:• Know exactly who you're selling to — Clear customer definition drives every successful marketing decision. • Growth starts with the numbers — CAC, unit economics, and positioning matter as much as great design. • Content builds trust — Consistent, authentic storytelling is one of today's most powerful growth tools.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has pushed to cap medicare costs for seniors. She introduced legislation to create a $5,000 cap on out of pocket costs for medicare users. She said this legislation will protect low income users and shield seniors from rising costs. New York City expanded its free swim program. It teaches kids water safety, and is now almost doubled in size, going from 10 pools to 18. Giuliana Guarracino's WFUV went to one of the city's pools to learn more. Senator Richard Blumenthal is going after the energy provider, Eversource. Blumenthal said the company wants to increase rates for customers. This bill would cap executive employee bonuses in years where utility rates increased faster than rate of inflation. WFUV's Mia Barth sat down with Bernie Wagenblast, the voice of the New York Subway, to talk about her career and story. Host/Producer: Mia Barth Editor: Lainey Nguyen Reporter: Giuliana Guarracino Reporter: Tahlia Pearson Reporter: Mia Barth Theme Music: Joe Bergsieker
Todd Blanche lacks the impartiality and integrity to be US Attorney General.In this episode, Senators Whitehouse and Blumenthal discuss the nomination of Todd Blanche to the role of our nation's top prosecutor. From his botched handling of the Epstein files, to his weaponization of the Justice Department as Acting AG, Blanche has a pattern of placing his loyalty to President Trump above his duty to our country. As two former state Attorneys General and U.S. Attorneys, the Senators discuss the principles and morals that should define this role, the importance of an independent Judiciary, and more.Follow Senator Whitehouse on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook for all the latest updates on Making the Case.
What happens when a designer steps inside the Italian luxury manufacturing system and sees how much material never makes it into the final product? In this episode, Cassandra Kane shares how a move to Florence transformed her understanding of craftsmanship, sustainability, and the hidden costs of luxury production. After years designing for major fashion brands, she discovered the staggering amount of leather waste generated during manufacturing and set out to create a different model. The result was Sieme, an upcycled handbag brand that transforms leather offcuts and overstock into modern, luxury-quality accessories. Cassandra also discusses the challenges of building a circular supply chain in Italy, the creation of Zero Lab, and why transparency, education, and thoughtful design are essential to making sustainability more than just a marketing claim.Key Takeaways:• Waste is built into luxury production — Understanding the manufacturing process reveals opportunities for innovation. • Sustainability requires infrastructure — Great intentions aren't enough without systems that support circularity. • Storytelling builds trust — Transparency, education, and product longevity help customers connect with purpose-driven brands.
Charlotte gets a new interim mayor tonight; Blumenthal's role in Charlotte's LGBTQ+ community
In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern trainiert ein Aussteiger aus der rechtsextremen Szene eine Hobby-Fußballmannschaft von Geflüchteten. Für die Doku „Im Osten was Neues“ begleitete Loraine Blumenthal das Team - und erzählt von Pespektivlosigkeit und Hoffnung. Blumenthal, Loraine www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Plus Eins
What drives a generation to skip credit card debt yet confidently spend on a vintage Balenciaga or a Fendi Baguette? In this episode, Hitha Herzog, Chief Research Officer at H Squared Research, breaks down the economic and cultural forces shaping how Gen Z shops today. From the rise of resale and the circular economy to the growing popularity of buy-now-pay-later services, Hitha explains how younger consumers balance aspiration with caution. She also unpacks the concept of the K-shaped economy, revealing why two shoppers can experience the same market in completely different ways—and how that impacts luxury, fashion, and consumer behavior.Key Takeaways:• Gen Z defines luxury differently — Resale, vintage, and experiences often matter more than traditional status symbols. • Economics shape behavior — The K-shaped economy creates vastly different spending realities among consumers. • The experience is part of the product — Packaging, unboxing, and storytelling influence purchasing decisions as much as the item itself.
Show Notes - https://forum.closednetwork.io/t/episode-58-the-price-of-being-watched/198Website / Donations / Support - https://closednetwork.io/support/BTC Lightning Donations - closednetwork@getalby.com / simon@primal.netThank You Patreons & Direct Supporters! - https://www.patreon.com/closednetworkhttps://xmrchat.com/closednetworkDirect Support - https://closednetwork.ioSubscribe Without Patreon - https://closednetwork.io/#/portal/signupMichael Bates - Privacy Bad AssDavid - Privacy Bad AssTK - Privacy Bad AssTrying - Privacy Bad AssVO - Privacy Bad AssMrMilkMustache - Privacy SupporterHutch - Privacy AdvocateInferno_Potato Privacy SupporterDolores Y - Privacy SupporterDirect Support - Craig D Thank You Producers! You Produce This Show!TOP LIGHTNING BOOSTERS !!!! THANK YOU !!!@bon thousands and thousands and thousands of SATs sats!!@fireflygow - 5,000 sats!!frigolay - 34,540 SATs.. HOLY SHITEwardemoff - 5,000 SATsSilas ThornbrookThank You To Our Moderators:Unintelligentseven - Follow on NOSTR primal.net/p/npub15rp9gyw346fmcxgdlgp2y9a2xua9ujdk9nzumflshkwjsc7wepwqnh354dMaddestMax - Follow on NOSTR primal.net/p/npub133yzwsqfgvsuxd4clvkgupshzhjn52v837dlud6gjk4tu2c7grqq3sxavtJoin Our CommunityClosed Network Forum - https://forum.closednetwork.ioJoin Our Matrix Channels!Main - https://matrix.to/#/#closedntwrk:matrix.orgOff Topic - https://matrix.to/#/#closednetworkofftopic:matrix.orgSimpleX Group Chat - https://smp9.simplex.im/g#SRBJK7JhuMWa1jgxfmnOfHz7Bl5KjnKUFL5zy-Jn-j0Join Our Mastodon server!https://closednetwork.socialFollow Simon On The SocialsMastodon - https://closednetwork.social/@simonNOSTR - Public Address - npub186l3994gark0fhknh9zp27q38wv3uy042appcpx93cack5q2n03qte2lu2 - primal.net/simonTwitter / X - @ClosedNtwrkInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/closednetworkpodcast/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@closednetworkEmail - simon@closednetwork.ioSpecial Thanks to - EloquentWinter for creating - A Linux guide on MAC address randomizationhttps://forum.closednetwork.io/t/a-linux-guide-on-mac-address-randomization/189TOPICSEncourage curiosity - This week ties together a single thread: someone else holds your data, and therefore holds the power. From algorithmic pricing to supply-chain malware to government scanning to cloud-AI assistants — and the hopeful counter-move, taking your data back. The episode theme is curiosity: in every story, one extra question would have changed the outcome.Segment 1 — Surveillance PricingInspired by More Perfect Union, "We Found the Radical Solution to Surveillance Pricing"Surveillance pricing (a.k.a. personalized / surveillance-based pricing) = charging you an individual price based on sensitive data about you — purchase history, browsing, geolocation, social activity, even biometric and financial signals. The economic endgame is "perfect price discrimination": charging each person their exact maximum.DoorDash holds a patent describing promotions based on a user's stress level.Delta Air Lines (with AI firm Fetcherr) has talked about expanding generative-AI pricing to ~20% of domestic fares, with ambitions to go further. Senators (Gallego, Blumenthal, Warner) and House members demanded answers.A Groundwork Collaborative / Consumer Reports / More Perfect Union study found different shoppers charged different prices for identical Instacart items. Former FTC chair Lina Khan has voiced concern.The "radical" fix is a law: New York's proposed One Fair Price Act would ban surveillance pricing outright — one posted price for everyone.Defensive moves (partial): private/container browsing, block cookies, disable ad personalization, use a VPN, compare logged-out vs. logged-in prices. Honest caveat: this is a structural problem — regulation, not browser tricks, is the real fix.Curious question: Is this price the market — or is it me being read?Segment 2 — "Arch malware btw": the AUR supply-chain attackInspired by Michael Tunnell and Switched to Linux — developing story, June 2026.The Arch User Repository (AUR) is community-maintained, unvetted package build scripts (PKGBUILDs). In a ~24-hour window, a coordinated attack poisoned a large number of packages — reports cite 1,500+ touched, with community trackers confirming ~400–500 malicious package names and rising.How: Attackers adopted orphaned packages (abandoned by maintainers — anyone can claim them) and edited the PKGBUILD to add a pre/post-install hook that pulls a malicious npm package, atomic-lockfile (Sonatype tracked one strand as the "Atomic Arch" campaign).Payload: A Linux infostealer + optional root-only eBPF rootkit. Targets developer secrets — browser creds/cookies, SSH keys, GitHub creds, Vault/npm tokens, Docker/Podman, VPN configs, shell history, Slack/Teams/Discord/Telegram, crypto wallets. eBPF lets it run in-kernel and hide processes/files/connections.If you were hit and the rootkit deployed: rotate every credential (from a clean machine) and reinstall from scratch. A normal uninstall is not enough.Status: Maintainers are removing malicious commits and banning accounts; the official repos of Arch-based distros (CachyOS, Garuda, Chaotic-AUR) were not infected — only users who installed/upgraded a compromised AUR package during the window. Community checker script + affected-package list were published within hours.Action checklist (Arch users):pacman -Qm → list your foreign (AUR) packages.Compare against the community list / run the checker script (CachyOS advisory).If matched → rotate credentials from a clean machine, then clean-reinstall.Curious habit: Before installing, ask who maintains this, when did it last legitimately update, and did ownership recently change? On the AUR, read the PKGBUILD — the malicious line was visible to anyone who looked.Segment 3 — UK Device Scanning: 90 Days to ComplyInspired by "Signal's Warning: The UK's Phone Scanning Plan Just Got Real"The UK government signaled that phone makers (Apple, Google) will get ~90 days to start scanning photos on young people's devices for nude images. Running alongside: Online Safety Act powers for Ofcom aimed at encrypted messaging (key report expected ~April). The mechanism: client-side scanning — every message/image checked on your device, before encryption.Why it matters: Client-side scanning doesn't break encryption directly — it inspects content before the lock clicks shut. The "end-to-end encrypted" label survives, but the privacy guarantee (nobody is looking) is gone.Signal's position: scanning won't protect children and builds surveillance infrastructure that "endangers us all."Security: once scanning exists on every device, the match-database can be expanded — swap it and you're scanning for slogans, documents, faces. Signal would withdraw from the UK rather than build a backdoor. Mullvad raised parallel alarms.Misdiagnosis: real child safety = better-funded education, social services, AI-platform guardrails — not default scanning. Rallying phrase: "Surveillance is not safety."Bigger picture: This is a template (cf. the EU's "Chat Control"). Sympathetic justification + a mechanism that, once built, can point anywhere.Curious question: Not is the goal good? (it usually is) but what else can this machine do once built, and who decides what it points at next?Segment 4 — iOS 27 at WWDC: the Privacy Fine PrintApple WWDC 2026 keynote coverage.Genuine wins: New Siri AI (next-gen Apple Intelligence) uses a tiered architecture — simple requests on-device, moderate ones via Private Cloud Compute (inspectable, hardened). Plus stronger family safety: child-account setup, parental controls, redesigned Screen Time, new Safari safeguards.The fine print (two concerns):Total context access. Siri AI indexes across your messages, emails, photos, and apps — a unified, queryable view of your whole digital life. Conversation history syncs via iCloud ("with privacy protections"), but strength depends on whether you've enabled Advanced Data Protection (Apple's E2EE for iCloud — not on by default).New Google dependency. Apple made official a Gemini partnership — the heaviest reasoning routes to Google Cloud. Apple says queries are anonymized and tokenized so neither Apple nor Google can link them to you (Federighi: "privacy in AI is non-negotiable"). Critics counter that PCC/anonymization is "only as private as the weakest link" — if Google retains any path to usage data for training/debugging, the guarantee weakens.Takeaway: Apple's defaults are still among the best of the mainstream — but don't let "privacy" in a keynote switch off your curiosity. On update: review Siri AI indexing settings, turn on Advanced Data Protection, and understand where your hardest queries travel.Curious question: A magical assistant that knows everything about you is, by definition, a system granted everything about you. Did you make that trade on purpose?Segment 5 — Self-Hosting 101: What to Migrate FirstOriginal recurring segment — Part 1 (scope). Part 2 next week: hands-on photos build.Self-hosting = run the services yourself, on hardware you own, instead of renting space on a company's servers. It's the deliberate counter-move to every other story this week. Honest caveat: you become your own IT department (backups, updates, downtime). Don't eat the elephant at once — scope first.The five candidates (ranked by impact-to-effort):Photos — highest emotional and surveillance value (faces, locations, timestamps). Self-host with Immich (Google-Photos-like: app, auto camera-roll backup, face/object search). Difficulty: moderate; biggest single win.Calendar — a forward-looking map of your life. CalDAV via Radicale or Nextcloud; syncs to your existing calendar app. Easy–moderate; great first project.Contacts — your social graph (everyone else's data too). CardDAV on the same Radicale/Nextcloud server — bundle it with calendar. Easy.File backups — documents and digital paperwork. Often Nextcloud.
Family stories are often built on cherished memories, treasured photographs, and carefully preserved traditions. But sometimes, buried beneath those stories are secrets, tragedies, and wounds that ripple across generations. In this episode, I'm joined by Phyllis Karas, New York Times bestselling author, professor of journalism at Boston University, and longtime journalist, to discuss her powerful book Curse of the Blumenthals. Part true crime investigation, part family memoir, and part exploration of generational trauma, the book traces the extraordinary saga of the Blumenthal family—from immigration and Prohibition-era bootlegging to devastating tragedy, murder, family estrangement, and ultimately the search for healing. This is a conversation about family secrets, memory, resilience, journalism, and how understanding the past can help us break cycles that span generations.
What happens when a sentimental handbag inspires an entirely new business? In this episode, Penny Crook, founder of Denault Handbags, shares how a purse gifted by her late father sparked the idea for a patented reversible handbag designed to simplify wardrobes and deliver two looks in one. Leaving behind a career in financial advising, Penny entered the world of product development, manufacturing, and patents to create a bag that blends functionality, versatility, and quality. She opens up about costly manufacturing mistakes, the importance of vetting factories, and the lessons she learned rebuilding her business with stronger processes and partners. From tech packs and sampling costs to Amazon, boutiques, trade shows, and influencer marketing, Penny offers a practical roadmap for turning an idea into a marketable product.Key Takeaways:• Do your homework on manufacturers — Research, references, and factory vetting can save years of costly mistakes. • Patience protects your brand — Slowing down during development often prevents expensive problems later. • Innovation needs education — Unique products sell faster when customers can clearly see and understand the value.
James and Jimmy sit down with one of the owners and founder of Tradecraft Cigars, Rob Blumenthal. Rob talks about his family's five generation in the tobacco business, something that started during the Civil War era with his family selling tobacco and cigars. The trio discuss what Rob has learned from owning a cigar company, how he approaches events, choosing to grow organically, and much more. Rob's family also owns the Tinder Box, which gives Rob a unique perspective on the cigar industry. We found the conversation fascinating, and we hope you do too!
Most of us instinctively understand that we feel better when we spend time in nature. But our relationship to the natural world is perhaps even more powerful than we appreciate. On today's episode, host Rachel is joined by Emily Long—licensed clinical social worker, certified nature-informed therapist, and yoga teacher. Emily shares research on the therapeutic benefits of building a more mindful relationship with nature, whether that means spending time outdoors, inviting natural elements indoors, even simply viewing nature through a window. Emily also reminds us how nature is deeply embedded in the yoga tradition. From stress reduction and improved cognitive function to increased resilience and emotional regulation, this conversation highlights the many ways reconnecting with nature can support our well-being, and how our practice could be the perfect time and place to do so. "What we care for cares for us." — Emily Long. — What You'll Learn: • How yoga already reflects our connection to nature [3:08] • Stereotypes can discourage people from developing a relationship with nature [9:19] • Research: nature and our health [12:56] • "Softly fascinating stimuli" and the nervous system [16:12] • Reaping the benefits whether we enjoy nature or not [20:40] • Nature encourages social and community connection [23:44] • Practical ways to invite nature into indoor spaces [26:35] • Taking opportunities to go outside [29:02] • Natural imagery, honoring seasonal rhythms [30:59] • Ahimsa, reciprocity, and caring for the environment [37:33] — Links Mentioned: Watch this episode on YouTube Relevant research: Soga, M., & Gaston, K. J. (2025). Health benefits of viewing nature through windows: A meta-analysis. Bioscience, 75(8), 628–636. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf089 Stevenson, M. P., Schilhab, T., & Bentsen, P. (2018). Attention Restoration Theory II: a systematic review to clarify attention processes affected by exposure to natural environments. Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews, 21(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/10937404.2018.1505571 Bettmann, J. E., Speelman, E., Blumenthal, E., Couch, S., & McArthur, T. (2024). How Does Nature Exposure Affect Adults With Symptoms of Mental Illness? A Meta-Analysis. International journal of mental health nursing, 33(6), 1889–1907. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13400 Ulrich R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science (New York, N.Y.), 224(4647), 420–421. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402 Connect with Emily Long: Instagram | Yoga With Emily | Emily Long LCSW — Learn More: Find the full show notes at YogaMedicine.com/podcast-168. Learn more about insider tips, online classes or information on our teacher trainings at YogaMedicine.com. To support our work, please leave us a 5 star review with your feedback on iTunes/Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Harrison Berger speaks to Max Blumenthal, the founder and editor of The Grayzone, about his outlet's groundbreaking reporting on the Iran War and Israeli occupation of Lebanon. Blumenthal reveals the forces and influences that pushed President Donald Trump to start the conflict, now in its fourth month, and explains why he believes Trump is trapped in a war he cannot win — but cannot leave either due to Israeli pressure. Recorded May 28, 2026.
What does it take to turn an environmental mission into a scalable accessories business? In this episode, Beth Greenlaw of Seabags Maine shares how she left a corporate career to help build one of the most recognizable upcycled handbag brands in America. By transforming retired sailcloth into one-of-a-kind bags made on Maine's working waterfront, Seabags created a business rooted in sustainability, local manufacturing, and authentic storytelling. Beth discusses the realities behind "Made in USA" production, building a brand around strong values, navigating founder partnerships, and creating an exit strategy that protects both the business and the people behind it. She also breaks down the practical side of growth—from wholesale and trade shows to pricing handmade products and discovering that your best customer may not be the one you originally imagined.Key Takeaways:• Values can drive growth — Sustainability works best when it's embedded in the product, not just the marketing. • Partnerships need structure — Clear roles, legal agreements, and exit plans protect both relationships and brands. • Let customers guide strategy — The market often reveals opportunities founders never expected.
Send us Fan Mail In this Duda webinar, Darren Shaw and Mike Blumenthal explore the paradigm shift occurring in local search as Google increasingly incorporates generative AI into Google Business Profiles and Google Maps. Through new features like "Know Before You Go" and the conversational "Ask Maps," local discovery is transitioning from a deterministic ranking model to a highly personalized, context-aware ecosystem. Blumenthal demonstrates how to leverage Ask Maps for deep competitive analysis to pinpoint market weaknesses and operational gaps. The speakers emphasize that while traditional SEO remains foundational "table stakes," long-term visibility in the AI era requires businesses to cultivate a deeply revered brand through comprehensive website data, widespread consumer sentiment, community engagement, and niche specialization. Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/
The Blumenthals are one of millions of Eastern European Jewish families who immigrated to the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. Settling in Providence, Rhode Island, they grow and prosper. During Prohibition, the Blumenthals become bootleggers—starting their fraught history with alcohol and crime. Once Prohibition is repealed, Barney Blumenthal opens a liquor store in Boston. Life is good—until fate intervenes.In May 1935, a drunk driver took the lives of six Blumenthals, including three children. Horrific photos run in newspapers across the country. Six months later, Ronnie Blumenthal is born: a phoenix rising from the ashes of devastation, a golden child upon whose blond head the family's hopes and dreams are placed. He grows into a handsome and spoiled teenager, driving a fast convertible and surrounded by beautiful girls. The Blumenthal legacy is resurrected—until one July night in 1954, when he is arrested for murder.The victim is his mother's seamstress, who was allegedly having an affair with his father. Newspaper and TV coverage is relentless. Ronnie pleads guilty, yet dark questions remain unanswered. Upon Ronnie's release from prison, his drunken behavior causes the family—who faithfully visited him behind bars—to finally wash their hands of him. At the end of his life, not one family member will contribute to his funeral. The once golden child is buried in a pauper's grave, etching the Blumenthal curse in stone.A decade later, New York Times bestselling author Phyllis Karas, a Blumenthal cousin, uses her well-honed instincts as a journalist to peel back layers of long-hidden family secrets. Karas sensitively chronicles the generational trauma affecting Phillip and Rose Blumenthal's six children and their children—the fifteen Blumenthal cousins—who were left to build their lives in the fallout. The Blumenthals' story proves that, by learning from the past with care and love, curses can be broken.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.
True Crime Tuesday Presents: Curse of the Blumenthals with Professor of Journalism/Researcher/Author, Phyllis Karas!The Blumenthals are one of millions of Eastern European Jewish families who immigrated to the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. Settling in Providence, Rhode Island, they grow and prosper. During Prohibition, the Blumenthals became bootleggers—starting their fraught history with alcohol and crime. Once Prohibition is repealed, Barney Blumenthal opens a liquor store in Boston. Life is good—until fate intervenes.In May 1935, a drunk driver took the lives of six Blumenthals, including three children. Horrific photos run in newspapers across the country. Six months later, Ronnie Blumenthal is born: a phoenix rising from the ashes of devastation, a golden child upon whose blond head the family's hopes and dreams are placed. He grows into a handsome and spoiled teenager, driving a fast convertible and surrounded by beautiful girls. The Blumenthal legacy is resurrected—until one July night in 1954, when he is arrested for murder.The victim is his mother's seamstress, who was allegedly having an affair with his father. Newspaper and TV coverage is relentless. Ronnie pleads guilty, yet dark questions remain unanswered. Upon Ronnie's release from prison, his drunken behavior causes the family—who faithfully visited him behind bars—to finally wash their hands of him. At the end of his life, not one family member will contribute to his funeral. The once golden child is buried in a pauper's grave, etching the Blumenthal curse in stone.A decade later, New York Times bestselling author Phyllis Karas, a Blumenthal cousin, uses her well-honed instincts as a journalist to peel back layers of long-hidden family secrets. Karas sensitively chronicles the generational trauma affecting Phillip and Rose Blumenthal's six children and their children—the fifteen Blumenthal cousins—who were left to build their lives in the fallout. The Blumenthals' story proves that, by learning from the past with care and love, curses can be broken.On today's TCT, we talk to Phyllis about everything from the drunk driving accident that took the lives of six of her family in 1935 to the incredibly light sentence the driver of the other car received. We also talk about the legacy of Ronnie, where everything went wrong, how he managed to maintain not one, but two romantic relationships from jail, and yet couldn't maintain a relationship with his only son, and a very important question.... Is there a conspiracy behind the murder of Ora, and did Phyllis solve it? Get your copy of "Curse of the Blumenthals" here: https://bit.ly/4dhdseSPLUS: AN ALL-NEW DUMB CRIMES/STUPID CRIMINALS WITH JESSICA FREEBURG!!Check out Jessica Freeburg's website and get tickets to her events here: https://jessicafreeburg.com/upcoming-events/and check out Jess on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicafreeburgwritesFor the first time, get ALL NEW TRUE CRIME TUESDAY GEAR! Represent your favorite true crime podcast in style! There are new and different (and really cool) items all the time in the Darkness Radio Online store at our website! Check out the Darkness Radio Store! https://www.darknessradioshow.com/store/Make sure you update your Darkness Radio Apple Apps!and subscribe to the Darkness Radio YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@DRTimDennis#crime #truecrime #truecrimepodcasts #truecrimetuesday #phylliskaras #curseoftheblumenthals #afamilytragedy #familycurse #drunkdriving #rhodeisland #blumenthal #barneyblumenthal #ronnieblumenthal #brookline #oraschnonarth #deathpenaltycases #criminalpsychology #narcissism #murder #strangulation #dumbcrimesstupidcriminals #TimDennis #jessicafreeburg #paranormalauthor #ghostsatoriesink #floridaman #drugcrimes #foodcrimes #stupidcrimes #funnycrimes #sexcrimes #dumbcrimes
On Prime Time Episode 374, we welcome Tradecraft Cigars to our show with our guests Rob Blumenthal and Wiber Ventura as our guests. The Blumenthal and Ventura families have a long history in the cigar industry, and now the two have come together for Tradecraft Cigars. We will dive into their story and brand. Plus, we will have our FSG Beef Question of the Night, Tabacalera USA Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, Espinosa Today in Sports History, and the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation segments.
On Prime Time Episode 374, we welcome Tradecraft Cigars to our show with our guests Rob Blumenthal and Wiber Ventura as our guests. The Blumenthal and Ventura families have a long history in the cigar industry, and now the two have come together for Tradecraft Cigars. We will dive into their story and brand. Plus, we will have our FSG Beef Question of the Night, Tabacalera USA Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, Espinosa Today in Sports History, and the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation segments.
Welcome back to The Majority Report On today's program: After turning his back on every campaign promise and tanking the economy for a meaningless war, Donald Trump's approval rating is nearing historic lows. Nicholas Enrich, former civil servant who worked at USAID under four administrations joins the program to discuss his new book: "Into the Wood Chipper: a Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID" In the Fun Half: Senator Richard Blumenthal asks three different Trump judicial nominees if Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and all three refuse. Meanwhile, as Blumenthal questions the nominees, Senator Chuck Grassley is caught on a hot mic asking why they won't acknowledge Biden's victory. Senator Chris Coons asks a Trump judicial nominee if Trump is ineligible for a third term per the 22nd amendment and the nominee is afraid to acknowledge the law and close the door on a third term. WNBA star Kelsey Plum does not understand how marginal tax rates work. If you have been listening to MR for more than a week than you know that marginal tax rate literacy is his passion project. The Daily Wire has had to layoff 50% of their employees after they failed in their children's content endeavor. All that and more. To connect and organize with your local ICE rapid response team visit ICERRT.com The Congress switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. You can use this number to connect with either the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives. Follow us on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase Check out today's sponsors: COZY EARTH: Go to cozyearth.com/MAJORITYREPORT for an exclusive 20% off. TRUST & WILL: Get 20% off trustandwill.com/MAJORITY AURA FRAMES: Exclusive $25-off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/MAJORITY. Promo Code MAJORITY SUNSET LAKE CBD: Today is the last day to us coupon Code "MayDay26" for $8 off all smokable hemp products and vape carts at SunsetLakeCBD.com Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech On Instagram: @MrBryanVokey Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on YouTube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.
Character vs. Achievement: What really defines "The Who"? Eric Blumenthal and Kevin Scott sit down with Ira Blumenthal to discuss the deliberate process of "future framing" for your family. We explore why character matters more than trophies and why the most important job description a father has is simply "being there". #legacymakers #fatherhood #dadsLegacy Makers: A Conversation for DadsNew episodes every other Monday.
Don sits down with Senator Richard Blumenthal to break down the latest chaos surrounding the Trump administration and the escalating situation in Iran. Blumenthal doesn't mince words. He says the American people are being misled, with the administration's story constantly shifting as new claims are contradicted by officials and even foreign governments. As confusion grows around the goals, strategy, and endgame of this conflict, they discuss what it means for transparency, accountability, and the risks facing the U.S. moving forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Don sits down with Senator Richard Blumenthal to break down the latest chaos surrounding the Trump administration and the escalating situation in Iran. Blumenthal doesn't mince words. He says the American people are being misled, with the administration's story constantly shifting as new claims are contradicted by officials and even foreign governments. As confusion grows around the goals, strategy, and endgame of this conflict, they discuss what it means for transparency, accountability, and the risks facing the U.S. moving forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
John welcomes Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal to discuss the ongoing impasse on Capitol Hill over funding D.H.S. (and the resulting T.S.A-related chaos at America's airports) and reforming ICE, as well as the fierce debates over the SAVE Act and the war in Iran. Regarding the war, Blumenthal argues that “Donald Trump is boxing himself into putting troops on the ground”—and that the only winners in the conflict so far are Russia and Vladimir Putin. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dave makes a version of New Mexico green chile stew for his friend, chef and scientist Chris Young. Chris also walks Dave through how to make the best french fries at home—from the freezer! Dave and Chris talk about their mindsets regarding the intersection of food and science, what they look for in restaurants now that they're older, and taking creative risks. Learn more about Chris Young Cooks: https://chrisyoungcooks.com/ Watch Chris Young's videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisYoungCooks Watch Chris' soufflé video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU5u9UzZnEU&t=394s Learn more about Combustion Inc: https://combustion.inc/ Learn more about Modernist Cuisine: https://modernistcuisine.com/books/modernist-cuisine/ Learn more about The Fat Duck: https://thefatduck.co.uk/ Check out The Fat Duck cookbook: https://amzn.to/40mo19d Check out Harold McGee's book On Food and Cooking: https://amzn.to/4rp2NlS Learn more about Tire Shop Taqueria: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tire-shop-taqueria-los-angeles Learn more about Frontier Restaurant: https://www.frontierrestaurant.com/ Learn more about Sushi Sonagi: https://www.exploretock.com/sushi-sonagi-gardena/ Learn more about Arpège: https://www.alain-passard.com/en/ Check out Heston's Blumenthal's perfect French fry recipe in 'Pursuit of Perfection': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCB9jIpNGzY Learn more about Morton's: https://www.mortons.com/ Learn more about Joe's Stone Crab: https://joesstonecrab.com/ Host: Dave Chang Guest: Chris Young Majordomo Media Producer: David Meyer Spotify Producer: Felipe Guilhermino Additional Crew: Michael Berger, Abby Zidonis, Marcus Yasui, Michael Delgado, Elizabeth Styles Editor: Jake Loskutoff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Da Nang Dick Blumenthal is concerned about the vets, and then it's been revealed how the Old Dominion shooter was stopped. Visit the Howie Carr Radio Network website to access columns, podcasts, and other exclusive content.
-- On the Show -- Senator Mark Warner, Democrat from Virginia, joins us to discuss why he believes the Iran conflict is a war of choice with unclear objectives and poor planning by the Trump administration -- Senator Richard Blumenthal warns after a classified Iran briefing that the United States appears to be moving toward deploying American ground troops -- Reporting shows that Volodymyr Zelensky offered Donald Trump battlefield-tested technology to counter Iranian-style drones but the Trump administration failed to act -- Gasoline prices jump about 32 percent in a matter of months during Donald Trump's presidency, creating a political problem as voters confront higher costs at the pump -- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt struggles to answer reporters' questions about Donald Trump's Iran claims, troop injuries, and other issues -- Democrat Bobbi Boudman defeats Republican Dale Fincher in a New Hampshire special election, marking the tenth straight seat Democrats have flipped during Trump's second term -- Donald Trump posts a series of aggressive and erratic Truth Social messages threatening Iran, boasting about military strikes and attacking fellow Republican Thomas Massie -- On the Bonus Show: A new poll shows Talarico beating Cornyn and Paxton in Texas, lawmakers advance a bill to lower housing prices, federal workers sue after being fired over James O'Keefe stings, and much more...
When Donald Trump launches a war on Iran, hits a whole new country in Ecuador, talks openly about striking Cuba next—and Congress can't even be bothered to interrupt its weekend to hold an emergency session—you know America has a serious problem. In this all–new episode of Independent Americans, host Paul Rieckhoff takes you inside his fiery appearance on MSNBC's Deadline White House with Nicolle Wallace, where he confronts Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal and calls out a weak, failed Congress that is “not even a speed bump” to Trump's most dangerous impulses. Rieckhoff asks the question every American should be asking our so–called leaders right now: What are you going to do about it? He lays out how Trump can effectively do anything he wants with the most powerful military in the world, why the Iran War Powers vote is coming days after the war already started, how six American service members were killed while Congress dithered, and why both parties deserve blame for letting this runaway train barrel toward boots on the ground. From the risks of a wider regional war to the hard truth that “being sad and angry is not a course of action,” this episode is a clear, independent, unapologetically patriotic call for accountability and a real plan B. If you're tired of tweets, cable hits, and empty outrage—and you want straight talk, deeper context, and concrete ways to push your representatives to finally do their jobs—this is your briefing. -WATCH full video of this episode here. -Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here. -Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It's a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255. Connect with Independent Americans: Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms Read more at Substack Support ad-free episodes at Patreon Connect: Instagram • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year. Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. And now part of the BLEAV network! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.