In a unanimous blow to gun control advocacy groups, the Supreme Court shut down Mexico’s $10 billion claim targeting U.S. gun makers in a cross-border lawsuit.
Mexico originally filed the suit in 2021, arguing that U.S. gun companies were responsible for the weapons that fueled cartel violence. Mexico received support in its lawsuit from American gun control advocacy groups such as Everytown and March for our Lives Action Fund.
The Supreme Court ruling, written by Justice Elena Kagan, found that the manufacturer’s alleged failure to exercise “reasonable care” does not meet the standard necessary to be found liable for “aiding and abetting” the sale of illegal firearms in Mexico.
Mexico had asked the court for $10 billion in damages and additional court-imposed injunctive relief in the form of restrictions on manufacturers. According to a lawyer who spoke to RCP, siding with Mexico on the injunctive relief “would have likely severely prohibited the distribution of the manufacturer’s products” within the United States.
A federal district court judge initially ruled that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act protected the gun manufacturers from the suit. In 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals revitalized the lawsuit. In response, gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson brought the case to the Supreme Court.
The PLCAA, signed into law in 2005 by President George W. Bush, shields gun manufacturers and dealers from liability when crimes are committed with their products. The law includes exceptions which Mexico’s lawyers sought to invoke.
The original suit by Mexico, which named multiple U.S.-based gun manufacturers as defendants, claimed that Mexicans “have been victimized by a deadly flood of military-style and other particularly lethal guns that flows from the U.S. across the border.” It also argued that U.S. companies were negligent in their sales practices, claiming that the gun companies “are not accidental or unintentional players in this tragedy; they are deliberate and willing participants, reaping profits from the criminal market they knowingly supply.”
In response, lawyers for Smith & Wesson argued in a filing that the lawsuit “faults the defendants for producing common firearms” and for “failing to restrict the purchase of firearms by regular citizens.” They made the case that “aiding and abetting criminal activity must involve something more than making products generally.” Ultimately, the Supreme Court agreed with this reasoning.
In reference to the injunctive relief that Mexico asked the court to grant, lawyers for Smith & Wesson asserted that the lawsuit was “inflicting costly and intrusive discovery at the hands of a foreign sovereign that is trying to bully the industry into adopting a host of gun-control measures that have been repeatedly rejected by American voters.”
According to some estimates, more than 250,000 firearms are smuggled from the United States into Mexico each year. In contrast, Mexico has one gun store and issues fewer than 50 new gun permits each year. The U.S. is the largest firearm exporter in the world, partly due to relaxed gun laws within the country.
The unanimous decision marks the first ruling by the Supreme Court where the PLCAA is cited and could serve as precedent for protecting weapons manufacturers in future cases. The 9-0 ruling suggests strong judicial consensus on the limits of civil liability for gun manufacturers under federal law. It is seen as a win by gun rights activists, with the NRA arguing in their amicus brief on the case that “Mexico has extinguished its constitutional arms right and now seeks to extinguish America’s.”
Justices Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson each issued concurring opinions, with Jackson writing that Mexico’s lawsuit targeted industry-wide practices that Congress has chosen not to prohibit and Thomas arguing that violations of U.S. law must be established in court for the PLCAA exceptions to be valid.
James Eustis is an intern at RealClearPolitics. He studies politics at Washington & Lee University.
Iran Hits Refinery In Latest Salvo As Israel Targets Tehran, Houthi Military Leader In Yemen
Latest updates (1850ET):
An unconfirmed Israeli airstrike has targeted Iran’s defense ministry headquarters, causing minor damage.
The Israeli Air Force reportedly bombed the Shahran oil depot near Tehran, Iranian state media reports.
Two Israeli citizens have been arrested on suspicion of carrying out security offenses under instructions from Iran.
Iran struck a two-story home in Tamra, east of Haifa, killing three.
Jordan has suspended all flight operations in its airspace until further notice
Several missiles were observed streaking above Jerusalem on Saturday night
Israel also carried out airstrikes in Yemen Saturday night, aiming to eliminate Abdul Malik al-Houthi, a senior Houthi military leader
Al Jazeera, citing Iran’s Tasnim news agency, reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the country’s defense ministry headquarters in Tehran on Saturday evening, causing minor damage to one of its buildings
Israeli forces carry out an attack on an administrative building of the Iranian Ministry of Defense in northern Tehran.
“[A]n attack on Tehran this evening by the air force of the Zionist regime, the headquarters of the defence ministry was targeted. One of the headquarters’ buildings was lightly damaged,” the state news agency reports.
The Iranian government did not comment on the reported strike.
Additionally, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed its missiles and drones targeted fighter jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centers in Israel, according to a statement reported by state media. The IRGC warned that its “offensive operations will continue more fiercely and widely” if Israel’s actions persist.
The IDF has not confirmed the attack.
* * *
Several missiles were observed streaking above Jerusalem on Saturday night, a witness told Reuters, as Iran launched another direct assault on Israel.
The IDF confirmed that missiles fired from Iran had been detected, with defense systems actively engaged to intercept them.
“Upon receiving an alert, the public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice,” the IDF said in a statement, Reuters reports. The IDF did not comment on possible injuries or damages.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have arrested two citizens suspected of carrying out security offenses under instructions from Iran, officials told the Jerusalem Post. A gag order has been issued on further details, according to Channel 12’s Amit Segal.
Yesterday, two Israeli citizens were arrested on suspicion of committing security offenses under Iranian direction.
A gag order has been issued on the rest of the details.
Jordan has suspended all flight operations in its airspace until further notice due to escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, the Guardian reported, citing Jordan’s state news agency. Similarly, the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority announced a temporary closure of Syrian airspace to civilian flights, according to SANA.
* * *
The Israeli Air Force reportedly bombed the Shahran oil depot near Tehran, Iranian state media reports. The IDF said not officially commented on the alleged strike. The purported attack comes after Iranian media said Israel struck on the South Pars field in the southern Bushehr province.
#BREAKING Electricity has been cut in Tehran’s Shahran neighborhood after Israeli airstrikes targeted gasoline and oil depots in the western part of the city. pic.twitter.com/5PSaxzGKe7
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) June 14, 2025
Initial reports of an Israeli airstrike at Shahran oil depot in western Tehran. pic.twitter.com/NnWM9uuCjz
The strikes have disrupted electricity supply in the area, though the full extent of the damage remains unclear. The Israel Defense Forces have not yet commented on the operation.
* * *
Iran confirmed an Israeli airstrike struck the Shahran oil depot but said the situation was “fully under control,” according to SHANA, the news agency of Iran’s oil ministry, Reuters reports. The state media outlet reported that the targeted tank contained a limited fuel volume. No further details on damage or casualties were disclosed.
* * *
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X, “Tehran is ablaze” amid reports of the strike on the oil depot.
* * *
Update (1713ET): ‘Hundreds’ of Iranian missiles were launched at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa – which Iran described as ‘cluster missiles’ in what was the fifth salvo today.
Iran launched shortly after Israeli Air Forces completed “a wave of strikes against military and strategic assets, nuclear program sites and high-ranking figures” according to a Saturday evening statement by the IDF. The latest Iranian launch came after Iranian state TV said ‘heavy and destructive’ attacks against Israel were expected within hours.
Air raid sirens could be heard in Haifa and northern Israel.
It appears that Israel intercepted most of the rockets, though some got through – as footage has been posted on social media of a refinery on fire in Haifa.
Iranian new attack managed to direct hit some of the very crucial strategic assets of Israel after Israel started unprovoked attacks against Iran pic.twitter.com/GuaWxEMw6G
“At this hour, Israeli Air Force pilots continue to conduct widespread strikes across various regions in Iran — an ongoing operation lasting nearly 40 hours and targeting over 150 objectives,” said IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, who added that protective measures will remain in effect.
CCTV footage captures the impacts of Iranian missiles on Haifa
The death toll from the Iranian ballistic missile strike on a two-story home in Tamra, east of Haifa, has climbed to three, first responders told the Times of Israel. A 20-year-old woman was killed when missile directly struck her home, according to authorities. Firefighters extracted four individuals from a four-story building in the area, but two were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Magen David Adom (MDA) reports that a two-story home was struck by an Iranian ballistic missile in the Arab city of Tamra to the east of Haifa, resulting in 14 injuries, one of which is critical. pic.twitter.com/G3bkU1xbZv
Israel also carried out airstrikes in Yemen Saturday night, Israel’s military carried out airstrikes in Yemen on Saturday night, aiming to eliminate Abdul Malik al-Houthi, a senior Houthi military leader, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sources cited by the Jerusalem Post.
The operation’s outcome remains uncertain, with one Israeli official tell the Israeli publication, “We will soon know if it succeeded.”
The target of an assassination strike by the Israeli Air Force earlier in Houthi-controlled Yemen is reported to be Houthi Chief-of-Staff Muhammad Abd Al-Karim Al-Ghamari. pic.twitter.com/gekkXl5SSh
The IDF has not issued an official statement on the airstrike.
The airstrike in Yemen comes as the IDF continues conducting strikes on targets in Tehran while intercepting a barrage of ballistic missiles launched from Iran, the IDF said.
Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Saturday that there was “no damage seen” at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant or at the Khondab heavy water reactor under construction in Iran. There has also been no further damage at the Natanz nuclear plant since Friday.
* * *
Update(1300ET): Israel’s military on Saturday has been busy touting that its warplanes have total air superiority over Western Iran and the capital area, as the Islamic Republic’s defenses have been largely degraded and destroyed. A senior IDF military official has been cited in local media as saying very significant damage has been inflicted on key nuclear sites and that the IDF will “continue”.
“Since the beginning of the operation, Iran’s nuclear project has suffered heavy blows in two main areas: Damage to the production of the weapon core through strikes on uranium enrichment and conversion sites in Natanz and Isfahan [and] damage to the regime’s weaponization group through the elimination of nine nuclear scientists with unique knowledge and experience in developing the nuclear detonation device,” the official said. And further that “all the scientists eliminated in the opening strike had, over the years, been involved in developing the nuclear detonation device.”
The CIA at this moment still assesses that Iran does not produce a bomb, and was likely not actively seeking it. Iran’s latest response is as follows:
“This aggression pushes the region into a dangerous cycle of violence,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says during a call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, according to a statement from his ministry. “Iran has responded and will respond in a firm manner to the barbaric actions of the Zionist regime.”
Netanyahu is meanwhile maintaining that the has the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump, in a new televised address:
In an English video statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iranian leaders are “packing their bags” amid Israel’s airstrikes.
“I’ll tell you what would have come if we hadn’t acted. We had information that this unscrupulous regime was planning to give the nuclear weapons that they would develop to their terrorist proxies. That’s nuclear terrorism on steroids. That would threaten the entire world,” he says.
He adds that the operation has the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump.
“Our enemy is your enemy… We’re dealing with something that will threaten all of us sooner or later. Our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu says, wishing the US leader a happy birthday.
“This is what Israel is doing with the support, the clear support of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the American people and many others in the world.”
Below are sites the IDF has claimed to have hit:
From nuclear sites to air defense systems, we’ve dismantled some of Iran’s most dangerous military assets.
At least 80 people – including 20 children – have been killed in Iran and four in Israel, with hundreds wounded on both sides in the ongoing tit-for-tat attacks.
US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel’s premeditated assault and warned of much worse to come unless Iran quickly accepts the sharp downgrading of its nuclear programme.
Continuing Iran-US nuclear talks is unjustifiable while “barbarous” Israeli attacks persist on the country, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says.
The Israeli military says its air strikes on Iran killed more than 20 Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards commanders.
Israel’s latest attacks on an Iranian gas field takes tensions to a different level
* * *
Overnight has seen the continual trading of tit-for-tat missile salvos between Israel and Iran, with Israeli fighter jets busy over western Iran, where they’ve claimed to have achieved complete domination of the skies after taking out anti-aircraft missile batteries.
Images of large-scale destruction have emerged from both capitals, with Israeli authorities saying at least four citizens have been killed – though casualty figures could be much higher amid an ongoing emergency response – and Iran says Israeli attacks have killed at least 78, including women and children, and wounded over 320 others.
Israel has shared footage of successful aerial attacks on Iran’s ballistic missile launchers in some cases, while the IDF has announced that 70 Israeli Air Force fighter jets participated in the overnight operation in Tehran to establish “aerial freedom of action” over the Iranian capital.
Some 40 sites were targeted, including air defense systems, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin has said. Israeli jets were able to fly over and around the capital for some two-and-half hours.
“The dozens of aircraft are flying freely over Tehran, thanks to the opening blow that removed the threat of Iranian air defense systems,” he declared. Characterizing this as the deepest operation the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has ever been involved in over Iran, he announced:
“Tehran is no longer immune; the capital is exposed to Israeli strikes.”
The IDF releases new footage showing Iranian ballistic missile launchers being struck in Israeli airstrikes. pic.twitter.com/dCcliwun7V
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 14, 2025
Israeli jets have yet to strike all of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has warned that this could continue for several days more. There is serious damage reported at Natanz nuclear site. There have been conflicting reports over whether there is any radiation or chemical contamination at the site.
Some sections of the Isfahan site have been damaged, the IDF has said, while the other key site of Fordo has yet to be targeted.
Important, Israel says that nine nuclear scientists have been killed as a result of Friday aerial operations. Clearly Israel is going for leadership decapitation of military and nuclear programs.
Impact scene from Tel Aviv:
⚡️#BREAKING First video from the site of the Iranian missile impact that took place in southern Tel Aviv moments ago pic.twitter.com/Y5FckSCIf5
Still, even with Iran’s military capabilities now being steadily degraded, the Islamic Republic has to some degree shown it can regroup and hit back. Israeli media has described a state of panic on the streets, and in some cases residential areas have been demolished:
Israelis on Saturday described the fear, chaos and confusion as several Iranian missiles slammed into houses and apartments in central Israel overnight, causing widespread destruction, killing three people and wounding dozens.
Warning sirens sent millions of people rushing for safe rooms and bomb shelters as Iran fired several waves of missiles in response to Israeli strikes on its military leadership and nuclear program. While the IDF said most were intercepted, several missiles — apparently armed with large explosive warheads — slammed into homes in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Rishon Lezion.
“We shut the door, started watching the news through the computer, and suddenly there was a boom so loud that the whole building teetered,” Tali Horesh, resident of a Tel Aviv high-rise that was hit Friday night, told the Ynet news site.
⚠️RAW FOOTAGE: Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles toward Israel in the past hours.
Meanwhile President Trump has been nowhere to be seen, and certainly hasn’t faced reporters’ questions on where the United States stands in all this.
Is Israel committed to full war for regime change in Iran at this point?
Israel has decided to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to try to cause total state collapse. Unless Iran establishes deterrence in the very short term by striking both Israeli and US assets in the region and eliminating top figures in the Israeli regime, they will…
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell shot down suggestions from a Democratic politician that police officers alert residents to federal immigration operations around the area, calling it “obstruction of justice.”
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Imelda Padilla made the puzzling recommendation at a Thursday City Council hearing where McDonnell was testifying. Padilla’s proposal comes as President Donald Trump ramps up deportation efforts in California.
“Can we use technology, like AI technology, to create a situation where your department can identify: ‘Hey, there are agents, non–City of L.A., in the neighboring town. Everyone go on alert’?” she asked.
LA City Council member blatantly asks LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell to give the immigrant community a heads up re ICE enforcement.
“No we can’t do that. That would be obstruction of justice. You might want to talk to the city attorney about that.”
McDonnell appeared baffled by the question, prompting Padilla to paraphrase.
“I’m asking a creative, creativity question here,” she said. “What can your department do to warn us, to warn our community … you can warn us so we can warn our folks in the spirit of your loyalty to the City of Los Angeles?”
McDonnell stepped in, asking, “So, you’re asking me to warn you about an enforcement action being taken by another agency before it happens?” Padilla replied, “Yeah.”
This is when McDonnell gave Padilla a quick lesson on the law.
“Yeah, we can’t do that,” he said.
“Why not?” she asked.
“That would be obstruction of justice. You may want to talk to the city attorney about that,” McDonnell replied.
As the exchange continued, Padilla remained unfazed. She pressed again, asking how lawmakers could be notified.
“We don’t do that,” McDonnell responded. “We’re not going to broadcast, like the FBI is looking for a terrorist suspect, right? Are we going to tell them, ‘Hey, the FBI is coming looking for you’ … That would be completely inappropriate and illegal.”
When Joe Rogan sat down with country artist Oliver Anthony, what started as a conversation about music and culture quickly turned into a deeper look at the chaos unfolding in Los Angeles.
Rogan wasn’t vague about what he believes is happening.
He dropped a bombshell.
In his view, the riots aren’t organic—they’re astroturfed.
“We are better off today than anybody else in human history and this is a struggle and it is a battle,” Rogan said.
“But I think we come out of this on the other side if we can all realize that we’re being played against each other.”
Rogan described what he sees as the machinery behind the unrest: protests that aren’t spontaneous but funded, coordinated, and staged for political impact.
“You know, when you’re paying people to protest, you’re leaving pallets of bricks around and you’re organizing the whole thing and you’re shipping people in on busses and you’re making sure that all the people show up at a certain amount of time and they’re all compensated and you give them water and snacks…”
He paused, then added, “Like, we got to realize what’s going on here. This is not for you.”
To Rogan, the strategy is clear: create disorder, spark outrage, and damage public trust—while offering no real solutions.
“When you light your city on fire and you burn cop cars—it’s never good,” he said.
“It’s not good for you, it’s not good for the cause. They’re not going to change the laws.”
When Joe Rogan sat down with country artist Oliver Anthony, what started as a conversation about music and culture quickly turned into a deeper look at the chaos unfolding in Los Angeles.
Rogan wasn’t vague about what he believes is happening.
That theme carried forward when Anthony opened up about his own history with protests.
Long before his viral fame, he had been one of the young people marching in D.C.—but for very different reasons.
“Like when I was younger, I would go to some of these protests in D.C. and stuff, and I would always stay at George Washington University with these kids,” he recalled.
“We were all in our early 20s probably and at that point there wasn’t any like real political identity to it.”
The mood was exploratory, not radical. But over time, something changed.
“I don’t think those people would have called themselves Left back then, but you better believe most of them ended up going to all of the Black Bloc and the Antifa and the Black Lives Matter and every other protest there was just because they wanted to go protest.”
There wasn’t always a cause—just a craving to revolt against something. Anything.
“It’s a thing of like rebelling against the system—it doesn’t really matter what part of the system it is or if it really makes any sense.”
And that’s where the conversation shifted from the riots themselves to the mindset driving them.
That theme carried forward when Anthony opened up about his own history with protests.
Long before his viral fame, he had been one of the young people marching in D.C.—but for very different reasons.
That mindset—disconnected from facts, driven by emotion—was something Rogan had been watching for years.
He explained how protests, particularly among young people, often function as a shortcut to purpose in a world where genuine meaning is harder and harder to find.
“They feel like they’re fighting against something bad,” Rogan said.
“If they’re uninformed, and who the f*ck who’s 21 is informed?”
He wasn’t trying to insult anyone—just pointing out how easy it is to be swept up in groupthink.
Especially on college campuses, where social credibility is earned through outrage, and nuance is the first casualty.
“Most people who are young, especially if you’re going to college, you’re around a bunch of like minded people in an echo chamber and you’re all trying to like, get social credit by being the most woke and the most activisty’,” he said.
“And you feel like you’ve got a sense of purpose.”
But that so called purpose is being redirected.
Not toward building something better, but toward tearing down whatever’s convenient.
That mindset—disconnected from facts, driven by emotion—was something Rogan had been watching for years.
He explained how protests, particularly among young people, often function as a shortcut to purpose in a world where genuine meaning is harder and harder to find.
In the final stretch of the conversation, Rogan tied it all together with a warning.
The right to protest—one of the most sacred rights in a free society—has been TOTALLY hijacked.
“But there’s a big difference between protests and organized protests where you’re paying people and then you’re leaving bricks around!”
He called it what it was with one word that hit the nail on the head.
“This is—it’s like—it’s a bastardization. They’ve taken over the thing, the virtue of this thing, like this part of the First Amendment, your right to express yourself. The right for the people to get together and say, hey this is not cool.”
That right, Rogan said, has been distorted. Not just by money, but by those who see chaos as a tool.
“And they’ve distorted it with money, like everything else… and they’ve used it as a political tool.”
Anthony agreed—and suggested this kind of manipulation might not be a new problem, just one that’s harder to ignore now.
“I would think maybe that that’s happened a lot though, even in the past with like Civil Rights and everything else,” he said.
“A lot of that was much more organized. Every thing in history has this whole backstory to it that we don’t really know much about.”
Rogan nodded, and offered one last thought—perhaps the most unsettling of all.
“Most things have been manipulated if they can be manipulated,” he said.
“Once they realize they can manipulate people, they started. And they probably started that a LONG time ago.”
Rogan made it clear: the real story isn’t just about protests or riots.
It’s about how easily people searching for meaning can be turned into pawns in someone else’s game—and how often, they never even realize it.
In the final stretch of the conversation, Rogan tied it all together with a warning.
The right to protest—one of the most sacred rights in a free society—has been TOTALLY hijacked.
“But there’s a big difference between protests and organized protests where you’re paying people… pic.twitter.com/zbR4ixa7UG
Green New Steal Meets Drill Baby Drill: Farmland Caught In Crosshairs
Welcome to the latest cesspool of crony capitalism. The stench wafting out of Iowa is thicker than a Bakken oil slick, thanks to Governor Kim Reynolds’ recent veto of House File 639.
This legislative effort aimed to slap handcuffs on the egregious use of eminent domain for Summit Carbon Solutions’ $9 billion CO2 pipeline—a project reeking of Big Oil influence and backroom deals. Let’s dive into the muck.
The Setup:
Summit Carbon Solutions, the brainchild of agribusiness mogul Bruce Rastetter, got the green light from the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) on June 25, 2024, to ram a 688-mile hazardous carbon capture pipeline through 29 counties.
The pitch? Capture 18 million tons of CO2 annually from 57 ethanol plants and stash it underground in North Dakota’s Stark County, just 5-15 miles from Bakken oil leases.
Cue the 45Q tax credits and a fat USDA loan guarantee—$600 million of your tax dollars, dear reader. But here’s the kicker: under the feel-good pretext of “saving the planet,” Big Oil is now getting the very thing it needs to extract more oil, and you’re paying for it thanks to Biden.
The proximity of Summit’s approved underground CO2 storage, about 5-15 miles from North Dakota’s oil fields, screams Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Big Oil, like Hess or ExxonMobil, will get a taxpayer-funded pipeline – plowing through homes, schools, farms, and America’s Heartland – carrying CO2 directly into dried oil wells, squeezing out more black gold. Convenient, right?
The Veto That Stinks
HF 639 was the landowners’ last stand. It would’ve restricted eminent domain to “common carriers” withproven public use, demanded insurance for pipeline eruptions, and capped pipeline lifespans at 25 years. A solid shield against corporate land grabs.
But Reynolds, with her $175,000 war chest from Summit, axed it. Her excuse? The bill “threatens Iowa’s economy.”
Translation: it threatens Summit’s bottom line—and, by extension, Big Oil’s EOR dreams. The veto sparked a revolt from Republican senators who backed the bill—siding with 78% of Iowans, according to a Des Moines Register poll.
Yet, the fix was in.
Rastetter, a self-made ethanol kingpin, has deep ties to the oil game. His ethanol plants have supplied blendstock to Phillips 66 and Valero for decades, generating $50-100 million annually. Now, with Summit, he’s positioned to supply CO2 for EOR, aligning with oil majors’ carbon capture playbooks. A 2022 Reuters probe flagged him as the top donor to Gov. Reynolds, with emails showing private meetings between the two.
The Constitutional Sham
Iowa’s Constitution (Article I, Section 18) states that eminent domain can only be used for a “public use” project. In 2019, the Iowa Supreme Court rejected a broader “economic development” rationale from the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v. City of New London (2005) ruling. In that case, involving the Dakota Access pipeline, the court emphasized that “trickle-down benefits of economic development are not enough to constitute a public use” under the Iowa Constitution. Yet, the Iowa Utilities Board approved Summit’s pipeline application based on this same flimsy logic.
While HF 639 would have helped to bridge the divide between constitutional law and regulatory ambiguities, ultimately protecting private property rights, the veto provides a timely win for Summit and Rastetter. Last year, North Dakota’s Governor Doug Bergum – now Trump’s Secretary of Interior – approved Summit’s storage site, eyeing EOR profits.
Now, with approvals on both sides of South Dakota – which banned eminent domain for CO2 pipelines in 2024 – Summit is placing immense financial and political pressure on South Dakota’s most conservative lawmakers ahead of the 2026 primaries.
But make no mistake, Big Oil’s fingerprints are all over this. Between API’s carbon capture push, BlackRock’s deep pockets, and the EPA’s mandatory ethanol blends, this scheme is the epitome of corporate capture and the uniparty cronyism that MAGA voted to end.
It’s a rigged game: taxpayers fund the infrastructure, corporations reap the rewards, and farmers get the shaft.
Landowners cry foul, and lawsuits loom, but the fix is already in the ground—literally, with pipeline construction creeping forward.
Carbon capture is a Green Trojan horse for Big Oil, and America’s heartland is now the battlefield. While legal challenges and public outrage might yet derail this corporate heist, don’t hold your breath. This swamp runs deep.
While sleeping in darkness may seem obvious, research shows that even small amounts of light, like the glow from your phone screen or a nightlight, can disrupt the body’s internal clock, suppress melatonin, and interfere with deep sleep. Over time, this may increase the risk of developing chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular disease.
Sleep is not merely a passive act of unconsciousness; it is an active process of repair and recalibration.
“The body’s systems only achieve euphoric homeostasis—true well-being—when the demands of the day are met with enough depth, timing, and continuity of sleep. Light at night interrupts this, even if subtly, and especially for those already vulnerable,” said Dr. Roger Washington, a family medicine physician focused on sleep wellness and the medical director of the Sleep to Live Well Foundation, in an interview with The Epoch Times.
“When light combines with the will to stay alert—scrolling a phone, watching TV—it locks the brain in an acquisition mode, which postpones the entry into reparative sleep cycles.”
Blue light from screens has been linked to reduced sleep quality and shorter sleep duration. On the other hand, research suggests that sleeping in a dark, cool environment supports melatonin production and promotes better physical and mental well-being.
Promotes Melatonin Balance
Even low levels of light at night can disrupt your circadian rhythm—the body’s internal sleep-wake clock—leading to poor sleep quality.
While daylight exposure helps regulate your internal clock, which supports melatonin production at night, exposure to bright light at night can lower melatonin levels and interfere with sleep.
“Light at night delays circadian rhythm and promotes sympathetic nervous system activation,” said Washington.
“Sleeping in darkness allows the body’s master timekeeper, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, to align internal rhythms with the natural sleep-wake cycle.”
The suprachiasmatic nucleus is a small area in the hypothalamus that acts as the body’s internal clock, controlling sleep-wake cycles by responding to light signals from the eyes.
Melatonin not only helps you fall and stay asleep but also acts as a powerful antioxidant. Avoiding artificial light exposure at night can help maintain better melatonin levels and improve sleep quality.
Boosts Heart Health
Older adults who are exposed to light at night are more likely to have common heart and metabolic health problems. A 2023 study involving more than 550 adults aged 63 to 84 years in the United States found that even small amounts of light during the night can disrupt sleep and daily rhythms, which may raise the risk of issues like obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure—but not high cholesterol.
The authors of the study note that light at night may increase the risk of obesity and diabetes by disrupting the body’s natural metabolic rhythms and causing people to eat at times that don’t match their internal clock. Nighttime light exposure can interfere with the body’s ability to control heart rate and breathing during sleep, creating stress-like effects. Washington noted that just one night of exposure to moderate light levels—around 100 lux—can raise heart rate, lower parasympathetic activity, and impair glucose tolerance.
Results from another 2021 cohort study published in the European Heart Journal suggest that long-term exposure to outdoor light at night may increase the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Over 11 years of follow-up, researchers identified 3,772 new CHD hospitalizations and 1,695 CHD-related deaths in a group of older adults. Researchers demonstrated that higher levels of nighttime outdoor light around people’s homes were linked to a higher risk of hospitalizations and deaths. However, more research is needed to fully understand how light exposure at night affects heart health.
Washington said that persistent light exposure sends an ongoing “wake signal” to the body, keeping cortisol, insulin, and blood pressure elevated. This simulated stress response can interfere with essential repair processes and increase the risk of disease, he added.
Supports Mental Health
Light at night can affect your mental well-being by disrupting sleep quality. Poor sleep has been associated with mental illness, and in turn, mental health can also affect how well you sleep.
A cross-sectional study published in January in Building and Environment looked at how common bedtime habits affect sleep and mental health in more than 13,000 Chinese college students. The study found that behaviors like using screens in dim light, keeping lights on during sleep, and mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety increased sleep problems.
“Light at night, especially artificial light, confuses your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. This delays melatonin release, throws off your circadian rhythm, and fragments sleep,” said Leah Kaylor, a licensed psychologist specializing in sleep.
“Chronic light exposure at night essentially keeps your nervous system in a low-grade state of alert, which can wear down your mental resilience. Over time, disrupted sleep-wake cycles are linked to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and mood instability,” Kaylor told The Epoch Times.
She noted that children and teens who develop good sleep hygiene are better equipped to manage mood swings, stress, and cognitive demands in adulthood.
Research also shows that consistent exposure to a healthy sleep environment—cool, dark, and quiet—helps set strong circadian rhythms early in life. These rhythms influence everything from stress tolerance to emotional regulation.
Kaylor said that the brain needs extended time in slow-wave and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep to regulate emotions, remove toxins, and carry out overnight repair—and darkness plays a key role in initiating that process.
REM sleep is a sleep stage where dreaming occurs and the brain processes emotions, memories, and learning.
Lowers Obesity and Diabetes
“Even dim light (as low as 5 to 10 lux) can disrupt sleep architecture and impair next-day alertness and glucose regulation,” said Washington. “This is not merely a hormonal response—it’s a full-system recalibration.”
This disruption caused by nighttime light exposure shows up in real-world outcomes, too. In a cohort study of 678 older adults, those exposed to light levels of 5 lux or more at night were three to four times more likely to develop diabetes over a 3.5-year period. The findings suggest that nighttime light exposure may significantly raise the risk of diabetes in older adults.
While a single night of light exposure is unlikely to cause significant harm, consistent low-level exposure over time can gradually interfere with the body’s functioning, he added.
Avoiding bright light at night might also help lower your risk of diabetes, even if you’re already at genetic risk. A population-based study published in The Lancet involving nearly 85,000 adults in the UK found that people who were exposed to more light at night had a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Participants wore light sensors for a week to track their exposure during the day and night. Researchers observed that the brighter the light at night, the higher the risk of diabetes—even after accounting for other risk factors like age, lifestyle, and genetics. People with disrupted circadian rhythms or irregular light patterns were also at higher risk.
May Lower the Risk of Certain Cancers
Artificial light at night and disruption of the body’s natural rhythm may increase the risk of certain cancers. People living in areas with the most artificial light at night had a 27 percent higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared with those in the least-lit areas, according to the results of a large population-based study.
The researchers followed participants for up to 16 years and reported that this elevated risk was consistently associated with nighttime light exposure. This link was similar in both men and women, and stronger in people with normal weight or who were overweight, compared with those who were obese. Since obesity itself is already a strong risk factor for pancreatic cancer, the added effect of light at night might be more noticeable in people without obesity.
Other research supports these findings. A meta-analysis of 17 studies revealed that women with the highest exposure to light at night had an 11 percent higher risk of breast cancer compared with those with the lowest exposure. The risk was slightly greater for premenopausal women and those with estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) breast cancer.
ER-positive cancer is a type of breast cancer in which the cancer cells have estrogen receptors, meaning they grow in response to the hormone estrogen.
Earlier research suggests that people who work night shifts or are regularly exposed to light at night may face a higher risk of developing cancer. While the exact reasons aren’t fully understood, one possible explanation is that light at night disrupts melatonin production and causes chronic sleep deprivation. This may interfere with how cells grow and repair themselves, potentially making them more prone to becoming cancerous.
How Dark Should a Room Be?
Washington notes that your sleep environment should be under 1 lux, or “pitch black” to the naked eye—“you shouldn’t be able to see your hand when you extend your arm in front of you.”
Use a red-spectrum nightlight if you need to move around at night, as red light is least likely to interfere with melatonin.
“The darker, the better,” said Kaylor. “If total darkness isn’t possible, reduce exposure as much as you can—eliminate overhead lights, avoid night scrolling, and use low, indirect lighting in the hour before bed.”
Good sleep matters because it’s when your brain files memories, strengthens learning, and refreshes your attention for the next day. Here are a few tips to reduce light exposure at night:
Use blackout curtains to block out streetlights or early morning sunlight.
Power down electronics or cover glowing lights with blackout stickers.
Replace bright bulbs with dim, warm lighting in the evening.
Wear a contoured sleep mask if you can’t control your surroundings.
“A dark sleep environment helps you reach deeper, uninterrupted stages of sleep, which are essential for sharp thinking, creativity, emotional control, and even decision-making,” said Kaylor.
“If you want to be mentally sharper tomorrow, it starts with a pitch-black bedroom tonight.”
* * *
Want to buy a ZH sleep mask? TOO BAD. Tape up some blackout curtains like a man and sleep with a knife under the pillow for extra peace of mind.
‘No Kings’ Terror? Fake Cop Assassinates Minnesota Democrat Who Blocked Health Care for Illegals
A man posing as a police officer carried out a politically motivated attack in Minnesota, fatally shooting Democratic state representative Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in what Gov. Tim Walz called “an act of targeted political violence.” The gunman also wounded another Democratic lawmaker and that lawmaker’s wife.
“Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends. Speaker Hortman was someone who served the state of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor, and a sense of service,” Gov. Walz told reporters at an early morning news conference, adding, “She was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place. She is irreplaceable and will be missed by so many.”
Tim Walz delivers a statement on the recent attack against two Minnesota lawmakers.
He hypocritically speaks out against violent rhetoric after he’s been promoting violence for years as governor.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 14, 2025
The second politically motivated attack targeted State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, both of whom were shot multiple times and required surgery, according to Walz.
According to law enforcement officials, the gunman attempted to assassinate Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, roughly 90 minutes after killing Hortman and her husband.
“The unidentified suspect, who had a list of other targets, fled on foot after engaging in a firefight with officers outside Hortman’s home,” ABC News reported.
Dan Bongino, the FBI deputy director, wrote on X that the federal agency “is fully engaged on the ground in Minnesota and is working in collaboration with our local and state partners.”
The FBI is fully engaged on the ground in Minnesota and is working in collaboration with our local and state partners.
President Donald Trump issued a statement condemning the violence: “Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place.”
The plot thickened after the Minnesota State Patrol disclosed on X that law enforcement found ‘No Kings’ flyers inside the suspect’s vehicle.
“The photo is of flyers inside the vehicle of the suspect in today’s shootings,” the Minnesota State Patrol said.
Given the targeted shootings of state lawmakers overnight, we are asking the public to not attend today’s planned demonstrations across Minnesota out of an abundance of caution. pic.twitter.com/7hFccnrQUT
🚨 #BREAKING: The suspect who kiIIed Rep. Melissa Hortman this morning has been identified as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, law enforcement tells @Julio_Rosas11
Boelter was a TIM WALZ appointee to one of the governor’s boards
The politically charged attacks unfolded on the same day Democrats launched their ‘No Kings’ color revolution against the sitting president of the U.S.
“FCC Complaint Filed”: X Users Slam CBS For Acting As PR Megaphone For ‘No Kings’ Color Revolution
Leftist propaganda outlet CBS is now playing PR agent for the dark money-funded ‘No Kings’ color revolution, disguising its promotion as a report on protest ‘merchandise’—which, it notes, is conveniently cropping up for sale on Amazon, Temu, and other online retailers.
CBS reports:
Hundreds of t-shirts, hats, signs and posters are for sale across the internet alluding to the demonstrations. On China-based Temu.com, a seller shipping goods from a U.S.-based warehouse offers a t-shirt reading “No Kings in America” and featuring the statue of liberty and American flag for $5.20.
On Amazon, a search for No Kings yielded 1,000 results. Much of the merchandise available on the e-commerce giant’s site is printed on demand, meaning not in stock. Sellers print t-shirts or make the goods as soon as they are ordered to avoid sitting on unwanted inventory.
By the end of the report, the leftist propaganda outlet informs readers about today’s nationwide protests and directs them to the ‘No Kings’ website.
On Friday, Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer published a report linking the rogue NGOs behind the ‘No Kings’ front operation—directing the broader color revolution effort—as receiving a “$114.8 million from the Arabella dark money network and how these professional protest organizations use tax dollars as a force multiplier.
Dark-Money Network Funneled Millions Into ‘No Kings’ Nationwide Color Revolution Operation | ZeroHedge https://t.co/gaRzUwdeG5
Also on Friday, U.S. Congressional Republicans, led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), launched a formal investigation into dark money NGO networks tied to a China-based billionaire that is suspected of funding far-left color revolutions in the U.S. with alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
CBS’ X post was heavily ratioed, with many users disgusted by the media outlet’s promotion of “radical left destabilization campaigns.”
Paging FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr… What’s your take on this?
Israel Attack Targets Refinery At Iran’s Giant South Pars Gas Field
A fire broke out at Kangan Port in Iran’s Bushehr province following an Israeli drone strike targeting on onshore refinery at Phase 14 of the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf on Saturday. It was the first attack by Israel specifically targeting Iran’s critical energy sector.
“Phase 14 of the South Pars gas field was targeted by a strike from the Zionist regime,” Fars news agency reported.
As a result, “parts of this phase caught fire, and fire trucks are currently working to extinguish the blaze,” the agency said.
The news agency, citing local sources and witnesses, said the attack was carried out using a small drone resembling a UAV.
The fire at the refinery at Phase 14 has halted production from one of its offshore platforms, amounting to 12 million cubic meters per day, Tasnim reported adding that firefighters have prevented the blaze from spreading to other units.
The strike caused a powerful explosion and fire, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, adding that a separate fire also broke out at the Fajr Jam gas refinery, which processes gas from South Pars as well as the Nar and Kangan fields and is one of Iran’s largest refineries.
🛑Tasnim news reports an explosion and fire at Iran’s Fajr Jam Gas Refinery. The facility processes up to 125 million cubic meters of gas per day.
Iran shares South Pars with Qatar, where it’s known as North Field. It’s the world’s largest gas field and provides roughly two-thirds of Iran’s natural gas.
On Friday, Iranian authorities said the country’s oil refineries and storage tanks were unharmed, with fuel supplies stable nationwide.
South Pars is Iran’s half of the world’s largest natural gas field. It is located in the very middle of the gulf. The other half is owned by Qatar, which they call the North Dome. South Pars Phase 14 is divided into an offshore (gas field) and an onshore (processing plant) component, which is fed by pipeline. Iran doesn’t export natural gas to the extent Qatar does because Iran doesn’t yet have any LNG terminals in operation.
Israel launched a series of strikes against Iranian territory, targeting nuclear and missile facilities early Friday, killing senior military figures and scientists. The wave of attacks has continued and resulted in the deaths of at least 78 people with 320 others injured, according to figures earlier announced by Iran’s UN envoy. The unofficial death toll, however, could be much higher.
‘Serious Damage’ To Iran’s Nuclear Facilities As Israeli Jets Operate Over Tehran’s Skies
Update(1300ET): Israel’s military on Saturday has been busy touting that its warplanes have total air superiority over Western Iran and the capital area, as the Islamic Republic’s defenses have been largely degraded and destroyed. A senior IDF military official has been cited in local media as saying very significant damage has been inflicted on key nuclear sites and that the IDF will “continue”.
“Since the beginning of the operation, Iran’s nuclear project has suffered heavy blows in two main areas: Damage to the production of the weapon core through strikes on uranium enrichment and conversion sites in Natanz and Isfahan [and] damage to the regime’s weaponization group through the elimination of nine nuclear scientists with unique knowledge and experience in developing the nuclear detonation device,” the official said. And further that “all the scientists eliminated in the opening strike had, over the years, been involved in developing the nuclear detonation device.”
The CIA at this moment still assesses that Iran does not produce a bomb, and was likely not actively seeking it. Iran’s latest response is as follows:
“This aggression pushes the region into a dangerous cycle of violence,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says during a call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, according to a statement from his ministry. “Iran has responded and will respond in a firm manner to the barbaric actions of the Zionist regime.”
Netanyahu is meanwhile maintaining that the has the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump, in a new televised address:
In an English video statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iranian leaders are “packing their bags” amid Israel’s airstrikes.
“I’ll tell you what would have come if we hadn’t acted. We had information that this unscrupulous regime was planning to give the nuclear weapons that they would develop to their terrorist proxies. That’s nuclear terrorism on steroids. That would threaten the entire world,” he says.
He adds that the operation has the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump.
“Our enemy is your enemy… We’re dealing with something that will threaten all of us sooner or later. Our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu says, wishing the US leader a happy birthday.
“This is what Israel is doing with the support, the clear support of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the American people and many others in the world.”
Below are sites the IDF has claimed to have hit:
From nuclear sites to air defense systems, we’ve dismantled some of Iran’s most dangerous military assets.
At least 80 people – including 20 children – have been killed in Iran and four in Israel, with hundreds wounded on both sides in the ongoing tit-for-tat attacks.
US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel’s premeditated assault and warned of much worse to come unless Iran quickly accepts the sharp downgrading of its nuclear programme.
Continuing Iran-US nuclear talks is unjustifiable while “barbarous” Israeli attacks persist on the country, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says.
The Israeli military says its air strikes on Iran killed more than 20 Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards commanders.
Israel’s latest attacks on an Iranian gas field takes tensions to a different level
* * *
Overnight has seen the continual trading of tit-for-tat missile salvos between Israel and Iran, with Israeli fighter jets busy over western Iran, where they’ve claimed to have achieved complete domination of the skies after taking out anti-aircraft missile batteries.
Images of large-scale destruction have emerged from both capitals, with Israeli authorities saying at least four citizens have been killed – though casualty figures could be much higher amid an ongoing emergency response – and Iran says Israeli attacks have killed at least 78, including women and children, and wounded over 320 others.
Israel has shared footage of successful aerial attacks on Iran’s ballistic missile launchers in some cases, while the IDF has announced that 70 Israeli Air Force fighter jets participated in the overnight operation in Tehran to establish “aerial freedom of action” over the Iranian capital.
Some 40 sites were targeted, including air defense systems, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin has said. Israeli jets were able to fly over and around the capital for some two-and-half hours.
“The dozens of aircraft are flying freely over Tehran, thanks to the opening blow that removed the threat of Iranian air defense systems,” he declared. Characterizing this as the deepest operation the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has ever been involved in over Iran, he announced:
“Tehran is no longer immune; the capital is exposed to Israeli strikes.”
The IDF releases new footage showing Iranian ballistic missile launchers being struck in Israeli airstrikes. pic.twitter.com/dCcliwun7V
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 14, 2025
Israeli jets have yet to strike all of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has warned that this could continue for several days more. There is serious damage reported at Natanz nuclear site. There have been conflicting reports over whether there is any radiation or chemical contamination at the site.
Some sections of the Isfahan site have been damaged, the IDF has said, while the other key site of Fordo has yet to be targeted.
Important, Israel says that nine nuclear scientists have been killed as a result of Friday aerial operations. Clearly Israel is going for leadership decapitation of military and nuclear programs.
Impact scene from Tel Aviv:
⚡️#BREAKING First video from the site of the Iranian missile impact that took place in southern Tel Aviv moments ago pic.twitter.com/Y5FckSCIf5
Still, even with Iran’s military capabilities now being steadily degraded, the Islamic Republic has to some degree shown it can regroup and hit back. Israeli media has described a state of panic on the streets, and in some cases residential areas have been demolished:
Israelis on Saturday described the fear, chaos and confusion as several Iranian missiles slammed into houses and apartments in central Israel overnight, causing widespread destruction, killing three people and wounding dozens.
Warning sirens sent millions of people rushing for safe rooms and bomb shelters as Iran fired several waves of missiles in response to Israeli strikes on its military leadership and nuclear program. While the IDF said most were intercepted, several missiles — apparently armed with large explosive warheads — slammed into homes in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Rishon Lezion.
“We shut the door, started watching the news through the computer, and suddenly there was a boom so loud that the whole building teetered,” Tali Horesh, resident of a Tel Aviv high-rise that was hit Friday night, told the Ynet news site.
⚠️RAW FOOTAGE: Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles toward Israel in the past hours.
Meanwhile President Trump has been nowhere to be seen, and certainly hasn’t faced reporters’ questions on where the United States stands in all this.
Is Israel committed to full war for regime change in Iran at this point?
Israel has decided to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to try to cause total state collapse. Unless Iran establishes deterrence in the very short term by striking both Israeli and US assets in the region and eliminating top figures in the Israeli regime, they will…
