Not the âOrgy Domeâ! A massive windstorm flattened the iconic Burning Man structure just as the festival kicks off this weekend. Looks like the forces of nature donât want you doing that in the desert.
Photo credit: Instagram / Orgy Dome
In Case You Missed It
âď¸ A federal judge has dismissed the Trump administrationâs unprecedented lawsuit against Marylandâs entire federal judiciaryâciting judicial immunity and the courtâs lack of authority to block deportationsâwhich the administration had pursued instead of appealing for challenging habeas-related orders.
đĽ HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says that the department will disclose what it knows about the causes of autism by September.
đŤ Democrats voted not to put an arms embargo on Israel and then congratulated themselves for doing that. This was not a binding vote, it was a vote on their official party stance at an annual meeting.
đ¤ U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff says Washington hopes to broker a Ukraine peace deal by yearâs end amid âongoing meetingsâ and a Russian âpeace proposal on the table.â The end of the year!?
đŚ Burkina Faso has suspended the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Target Malaria project, halting activities, sealing facilities, and ordering the destruction of genetically modified mosquitoes over ethical and sovereignty concerns.
đ SpaceXâs Starship megarocket achieved a major breakthrough in its 10th test flightâlaunching from Starbase, deploying eight dummy Starlink satellites into orbit, and surviving re-entryâwhich underscores renewed confidence in its reusable rocket design.
đŚ Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will file a lawsuit to block her removal by President Trumpâwho earlier indicated he might replace herâsetting the stage for a protracted legal showdown over Federal Reserve independence.
Meanwhile, Israel says its double-tap strike in Gaza that killed dozens of civilians, including journalists and medics, was aimed at a camera âbeing used to observe the activity of IDF troops.â The second hit on the same location ensured mass casualties.
Israel also claims many of the dead were Hamas fighters, though the timing of those deaths is disputed.
This echoes 2010 when WikiLeaks published Collateral Murder, classified military footage showing an Apache helicopter attack in Iraq. The video captured the deaths of civiliansâincluding two Reuters journalistsâand displayed the pilots reacting in a disturbingly casual manner toward the killings. They mistook the journalists’ cameras for weapons.
Israel is using that same tactic and it’s brilliant because no one was ever punished for Collateral Murder except Bradley Manning who leaked it and Julian Assange who published it. No one from Israel or their supporters will be punished this time either.
The Trump administration is considering taking majority stakes in weapons manufacturers in addition to chip-maker Intel. That sounds both socialist and war-hungry, doesnât it?
âOh, thereâs a monstrous discussion about defense… Lockheed Martin makes 97% of their revenue from the US government. They are basically an arm of the US government. They make exquisite munitions, amazing things that can knock a missile out of the air when itâs coming towards you…. Whatâs the economics of that? Iâm going to leave that to my secretary of defense and the deputy secretary of defense; these guys are on it and are thinking about it.”
Lockheed Martin is already notorious for inflating costs on everything down to screws and nails. Would government ownership change that? Of course not. If anything, it could make production even less efficient. After all, government-run projects rarely deliver quality or efficiencyâthereâs a reason public housing became synonymous with âThe Projects,â a social experiment that collapsed into social decay.
Which raises the obvious question: why isnât the Trump administration winding down weapons spending, as he promised on the campaign trail? And more broadly, why is the government under Trump expanding and enriching itself just like it did under President Biden and Obama before him?
Ditch the Roller CoasterâEarn Fixed Monthly Income
Tired of guessing what the market will do by lunch? Connect Invest offers real-estateâbacked Short Notes with fixed monthly payouts up to 9% annualizedâso your money works on a schedule, not on headlines.
Why investors are switching
Predictable: fixed returns, paid monthly
Backed by real estate: no tenants, no maintenance, no drama
Low barrier: start with $500 in minutes
Hands-off: set it, track it, get paid
Stop letting inflation eat idle cash or volatility whipsaw your portfolio. Join thousands earning steady income without trading screens or surprises.
Get started:Redacted.inc/Invest Bonus: New investors get a $50 boost when you sign up and fund your account.
Theyâre calling it a âno buildâ and âtransit firstâ plan. Translation: no new venues for athletes, and fans are supposed to get around with a âfirst/last mileâ public transit program.
Public transit? In Los Angeles? Haha.
And the âno buildâ approach? Olympic facilities are supposed to be a legacyâspaces that serve communities for decades if done right. Instead, LA seems to be shrugging off the responsibility of investment under the banner of âsustainability.â
Letâs be honest: Los Angeles is no longer the beautiful cultural beacon it once was. Why not polish it up for residents and visitors alike? Are city leaders actually committed to sustainability, or are they just using it as cover for cutting corners?
If the Paris games are any indication of what happens when leaders go the “sustainability” route, athletes might want to pack their own food and bedding.
News By The Numbers
Photo Credit: Jake Rosenberg/Netflix
2 out of 5 stars. That is what The Telegraph gave to the second season of the Meghan Markle lifestyle show on Netflix. They call her a “Montecito Marie Antoinette” and that gave me a good chuckle.
11,000. That is how many people reported a Netflix outage on Tuesday.
1,000. That is how many corporate employees are being laid off at Kroger.
What’s Trending?
Photo Credit:Â Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is trending and surely by now you know why. The news of her engagement spread like wildfire throughout the world – even in my daughter’s elementary school!
Haboob is trending because that is the name of a major dust storm that hit Arizona on Tuesday.
“Cracker Barrel near me” is trending because I guess people want to go there now that they’ve nixed their new branding strategy.
You Canât Rebrand Nostalgia
Uncle Hershel survives! Cracker Barrel backed down after backlash and says heâs staying put on the logo. The âmodernâ snooze-fest version on the right? Straight into the trash.
Cracker Barrel has been struggling with declining sales for years, so it threw $700 million at a corporate rebrand. The result? A fiasco that torched $143 million in market value in less than a week. They spent $700 million just to lose $143 million.
Cracker Barrelâs slump reflects a softer economy, with families cutting back on sit-down diningâbut its decline has been amplified by missteps like the costly rebrand and logo fiasco. Dennyâs has faced the same consumer squeeze, though its sales have slid more gradually without the same self-inflicted hits.
Cracker Barrelâs marketers misread the room. They treated nostalgia like a liabilityâwhen the backlash proved itâs their greatest asset.
SUPPORT INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM
Click here to go to our store to grab some of our exclusive merchandise.
Want to support our independent journalism and snag some Redacted gear? Visit our store for hats, mugs, t-shirts, and more.
*Some of the links in this newsletter may come from our affiliates or sponsors, meaning we could earn a commission if you purchase.
At Redacted, we believe in digging deep into every storyâand sometimes that means we invest in (or use) the products and services we cover.
Please remember: weâre not financial advisors. Our content is for educational and informational purposes only. Always perform your own due diligence and consult a qualified professional regarding your personal financial decisions. All investments involve risk.
Thanks for reading Redacted and standing up for independent journalism.
