Several outlets warned that “Iran” now says it has no choice but to build a nuclear bomb. Not true.
Iranian media published an opinion piece making that argument. That is not the same thing as an official Iranian government position, an IRGC directive, or a policy announcement from Tehran.
The piece argued that Iran needs nuclear deterrence to force the U.S. and Israel to negotiate from a position of equality. That is a domestic strategic argument, not a declaration that Iran is building a bomb.
Iran’s official position remains that nuclear weapons are forbidden under Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa, first publicly reported in 2003 and later cited by Iran at the IAEA.
So no, “Iran” did not announce that it is building a nuclear bomb. A writer in Iranian media argued that it should.
That distinction matters. But apparently it matters less when the panic headline is already written.
Let Them Bake
Photo credit: AI-generated image (ChatGPT/OpenAI)
It’s hard to imagine worse optics.
As much of Europe baked under a heat wave, the European Commission reportedly shut off air conditioning on the lower floors of its Brussels headquarters on Friday while keeping it running on the upper floors. Temperatures climbed above 97 degrees Fahrenheit.
Guess where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her senior staff have their offices.
The top floors.
For years, Brussels has lectured Europeans that they must consume less energy, lower their expectations, and make personal sacrifices in the name of climate policy. But when the building got too hot, the sacrifice apparently wasn’t meant to be shared equally.
The message couldn’t be clearer: austerity for the staff downstairs, comfort for the ruling class upstairs.
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Did you catch this Redacted report over the weekend? It’s about one of the most consequential lawsuits you’ve probably never heard of.
The lawsuit accuses Palantir, founder Peter Thiel, and CEO Alex Karp of turning military-grade AI surveillance inward on the American public. Plaintiffs allege the company is harvesting biometric data, monitoring citizens, censoring speech, and developing “synthetic intelligence” capable of predicting human behavior in what they describe as a pre-crime system that violates Americans’ constitutional rights and even their “cognitive liberty.”
If these allegations prove true, this case could become one of the biggest civil liberties battles of the AI era.
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News by the Numbers
12. That is how many new Buc-ee’s mega gas stations will open in the U.S. through 2028. The first Arizona location is set to open this week. Prepare yourself, Arizona! The brisket sandwich is unforgettable!
3.6 million. That is how many Social Security recipients will begin to receive their monthly payments via a prepaid Mastercard this week. The new cards were designed to provide an alternative for those without a traditional bank account.
20 million. That is how many ticket requests FIFA received for the Portugal vs Colombia game in Miami on Saturday, surging ticket prices above $3,000 each. Only 64,478 lucky fans got to actually attend, however, including Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and FBI Director Kash Patel.
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