Extra, Extra
+ God Help Us: “Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation … Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.” At Pentagon Christian service, Hegseth prays for violence ‘against those who deserve no mercy.’ (This guy is like Robert McNamara speaking in tongues.) Hegseth’s prayers have been answered, over and over, in the Caribbean. U.S. Military Kills 4 People in Boat Strike.
+ A Peace of Work: “I read a story today that I’m desperate to make a deal. I’m the opposite of desperate. I don’t care.” And with that, here’s the latest on the Iran war and what may or may not be peace talks that may or may not be happening. Trump may not care, but you can bet Zelensky does. Pentagon considers diverting Ukraine military aid to the Middle East. This would be more good news for Putin. Meanwhile … Russia sends drones to Iran according to Western intelligence.
+ Error Port: “While a traveler’s struggle to stay sane in a crowded airport is not for the weak-willed, it doesn’t compare to the hardships facing agents trying to pay bills and feed a family without a regular paycheck for six weeks and counting. Some have been sleeping in their cars at the airport to save on gas. Others have lost child care. Some face eviction.” And in a uniquely 2026 irony, the suffering TSA agents are being replaced by ICE (the organization at the heart of the Congressional TSA funding standoff). WaPo (Gift Article): A new nightmare awaits Americans at the airport. “Immigration agents with little public trust and training add to stress of flying for Americans.” Meanwhile, travelers flock to Clear security app to bypass TSA lines amid US airport chaos.
+ Crime Pays: “The Justice Department has settled for roughly $1.2 million a lawsuit from Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump who pleaded guilty during the Republican’s first term to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a top Russian diplomat and was later pardoned.”
+ Fitness Test: “The International Olympic Committee has barred transgender athletes from competing in the women’s category of the Olympics and said that all participants in those events must undergo genetic testing.”
+ A Sure Thing Bet: “Indeed, why not let people gamble on whether there will be a famine in Gaza? The market logic is cold and simple: More bets means more information, and more informational volume is more efficiency in the marketplace of all future happenings. But from another perspective—let’s call it, baseline morality?—the transformation of a famine into a windfall event for prescient bettors seems so grotesque as to require no elaboration.” Derek Thompson: We Haven’t Seen the Worst of What Gambling and Prediction Markets Will Do to America.
+ Let’s Chill For a Second: “Carlos Osorio, a photojournalist with Reuters, recently traveled to Canada’s northern reaches to document military exercises, daily life, robotic testing, wildlife, and more.” Scenes From the Canadian Arctic.
