Two-Dollar Democracy

The U.S. began striking Iran overnight in retaliation for what President Trump said was a downed helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM says that it is done now, as if it were a movie premiere that came and went. In response, Iran reportedly launched attacks on the U.S. Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, U.S. assets in Jordan, Kuwait, and possibly Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The extent of the damage on either side has yet to be assessed as of this writing. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the U.S. should cease escalating with Iran because its military “will leave no attack or threat unanswered. Leave our region if you want to be safe.” All of this started over an empty helicopter? The story is fishy. President Trump said that there were only two pilots on board but “both are safe and uninjured.” There are many unconfirmed reports that there were seven people aboard, not

NBC News reports that Israel may be spying on top U.S. officials. Duh! Why is this being presented as a shocking development? U.S. intelligence officials, whistleblowers, and journalists have been discussing Israeli espionage against the United States for decades. In 2019, Politico reported that U.S. officials believed Israel was behind Stingray surveillance devices found near the White House during Trump’s first term. According to that report, there were no meaningful consequences. So what exactly has changed? NBC’s reporting suggests that Israel is seeking insight into internal Trump administration deliberations on Iran and the broader Middle East. But if Israel already enjoys extensive access to Washington’s political and military establishment, does this indicate that certain channels have been cut off? Or is this simply another attempt to create the appearance of daylight between Washington and Tel Aviv? Either way, the real story may not be that Israel is spying.

Electric shock devices are being used on children and adults with autism and other disabilities, and no one is putting a stop to it, not even the FDA, the agency responsible for regulating medical devices, which just missed its own end-of-May deadline to finalize a proposed ban. The devices are exactly what they sound like. Electrodes are often taped to a person’s body and deliver painful electric shocks as punishment when certain behaviors occur. According to advocates, people have been shocked for things such as slouching, wetting the bed, getting out of their seats, or failure to remove a coat when asked. Critics, such as the UN, have compared the practice to torture, and some say it’s similar to tactics used during interrogations. How can this be happening in America in 2026 when even electric shock collars for dogs have been banned in many parts

Israel has once again cut off humanitarian aid to Gaza, this time in response to Iranian missile strikes that followed Israel’s bombing of Beirut. The missiles weren’t fired from Gaza, so why is Gaza the one being deprived of aid? Israeli authorities announced the closure of the main border crossings used to bring food, medicine, and other humanitarian supplies into the territory. COGAT released a statement claiming that “the closure of the crossings will not affect the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The substantial quantities of food that have entered the Strip since the beginning of the ceasefire significantly exceed the nutritional needs of the population.” That claim doesn’t square with what international agencies have been reporting. According to the World Food Programme, at least 1.6 million people, about 77 percent of the population in Gaza, are facing acute food insecurity. Aid groups have warned that the amount of assistance

Iran launched a series of missile attacks on Israeli military bases in what is called Operation True Promise 5. Iranian embassy channels say that this was “a warning shot.” They said that it was to “reiterate [that] the condition for a ceasefire has always been the total halting of conflicts across the entire region.” This means Lebanon. They insist that Israel cease its attacks on Lebanon, which ramped up over the weekend, killing at least two people and injuring more than a dozen. President Trump has reportedly asked Israel not to respond to the Iranian attacks and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has reportedly agreed. But then they responded anyway by striking “military targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime in western and central Iran.” Meanwhile, Israel will take it out on the people of Gaza. Israel has closed down crossings into the Gaza Strip, which will hamper the inflow of aid. But don’t worry

The world’s first AI Covid DNA vaccine was tested on humans and researchers found it to be “safe and well tolerated.” Those aren’t exactly the most reassuring words in medicine. “Safe and well tolerated” does not mean risk-free. It means the researchers did not identify safety problems serious enough to stop the trial. What is an AI vaccine? It means that researchers used artificial intelligence and computer modeling to design a vaccine intended to protect against multiple members of the sarbecovirus family, including SARS-CoV-2, SARS, and related bat coronaviruses that scientists believe could potentially infect humans in the future. Obvious question: why are scientists developing vaccines for hypothetical future spillover events? Did the AI identify a specific threat, or are researchers simply trying to build a broad-spectrum animal scenario vaccine before the next outbreak occurs? The vaccine was tested on 39 people who had previously been