The SAVE America Act Hits A Milestone, Does It Have Momentum Now?
The SAVE America Act remains in limbo, but it achieved a critical milestone during a late-night vote-a-rama to advance the GOP’s $70 billion immigration enforcement package, when Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) switched her vote. That means the only thing preventing it from becoming law is the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
The legislation, formally titled the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, would require proof of U.S. citizenship at voter registration and a valid photo ID to cast a ballot in federal elections. It cleared the House months ago and has sat in the Senate since, caught between a Republican majority that supports it and a 60-vote cloture threshold that has become its ceiling.
Despite the filibuster standing in its way, reports suggest that meeting the 50-vote threshold to pass has given the legislation new momentum.
The path to 50 came through Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) amendment, which used the bill’s original, unmodified form as passed by the House. An earlier attempt by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to attach a modified version that included additional provisions, such as barring men from competing in women’s sports, fell short when four Republicans defected. Sens. Collins, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) all voted against the Graham version. Collins switched her vote on Lee’s amendment and provided the crucial 50th yes vote.
“51 votes for the SAVE America Act during tonight’s budget reconciliation vote-a-rama,” Lee said in a post on X during the session.
“That means that but for the Zombie Filibuster, the House-passed SAVE America Act would now be on its way to the White House for President Trump’s signature.”
The Zombie Filibuster he references is the modern mutation of a once-demanding procedural tool that required senators to physically hold the floor with hours of continuous speech. Today, any senator can invoke it with a single objection; legislation dies unless it clears 60 votes, and no one has to say a word.
Lee and a bloc of conservatives have pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to force a talking filibuster, requiring Democrats to hold the floor continuously until they run out of steam and the bill advances by a simple majority. However, Thune has so far declined.
Thune’s concern is that a sustained floor fight and a flood of Democratic amendments could fracture the Republican conference or cause collateral damage to other pieces of Trump’s agenda. It is a calculated bet that the bill’s supporters find increasingly difficult to accept.
The filibuster has taken a huge toll on the productivity of the U.S. Senate. Congress is on pace to enact less legislation in this two-year session than at any point since Barack Obama’s presidency. According to GovTrack, just 97 bills became law across the two most recent Republican-controlled Congresses, compared to 274 during the 118th Congress. The last time the number sank this low was the 112th Congress.
Yet, the battle inside the chamber bears almost no relationship to where the country stands on the SAVE America Act. A Harvard-Harris poll from earlier this year found broad public support for the SAVE America Act, with 71% of Americans supporting the legislation, including 69% of independents and even 50% of Democrats. Support for its key provisions is even stronger: 81% favor requiring voter ID, 75% support proof of citizenship to vote, and 80% want states to remove non-citizens from voter rolls. Perhaps most striking, 85% of Americans—including 84% of independents and 82% of Democrats—agree that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in federal elections. Overall, 60% view the bill as a commonsense measure to prevent fraud and safeguard election integrity.
Trump has directed his frustration at Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth Macdonough, who ruled the SAVE America Act ineligible for inclusion in the GOP’s $70 billion immigration enforcement package under the Byrd Rule, which governs what legislation qualifies for budget reconciliation at a 50-vote threshold.
Trump has called on Thune to remove her.
“Just the other night, as an example, she ruled against us on a proposal that would have easily been approved, and should have been, by anyone else,” Trump posted. He followed with a sharper message on Truth Social: “We have every right to change her, and should do so, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote, adding, “As long as she’s there, we will never get our desperately needed, SAVE AMERICA ACT, approved, and put into full force and effect!”
Thune dismissed the pressure as routine.
“That’s not a new request, as you all know,” Thune said of Trump’s demand, “and as is typically the case, the parliamentarian, the rulings break both ways. And, you know, we lose a few, we win a few, but that’s been true when Democrats have been in the majority, too.”
Collins, who provided the decisive 50th vote on Lee’s amendment, has previously stated she will not support eliminating the filibuster, and it’s unlikely she’ll change her mind on that with her facing a tough reelection bid this year. But reaching the 50-vote threshold to pass the upper chamber is a modest victory that could change the debate going forward.
Arizona has enacted a law that increases penalties for people who buy or attempt to buy sex, and directs new funding to services for victims of sex trafficking.
Under the law, paying, agreeing to pay, or offering to pay for sexual conduct is now a felony offense and carries mandatory jail time. Offenders must also pay a $200 assessment, with all proceeds dedicated to programs that assist trafficking survivors.
A first offense can result in up to 15 days in jail, while a second offense carries up to 30 days.
“Arizona is going after the demand that fuels prostitution and sex trafficking,” said state Rep. Selina Bliss, chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, in a June 8 statement.
“This is a victory for families, neighborhoods, and victims who deserve a path out,“ Bliss, who co-sponsored the bill, added. ”The people paying for sex are funding an industry that traffickers exploit, and communities across Arizona are left to deal with the crime, abuse, and damage that follow.
“This law holds offenders accountable, puts money directly toward helping victims recover, and puts every person who pays for sex in Arizona on notice: you can face jail time, a felony record, and the consequences that come with it.”
House Bill 2720 also expands protections for trafficking victims. Courts must seal records tied to prostitution convictions that are later vacated because the individual was a victim of sex trafficking. Supporters say the change will help survivors pursue jobs, housing, and other opportunities without the burden of a criminal record.
Lawmakers said the bill was developed with input from local officials, advocacy organizations, neighborhood groups, schools, and residents seeking stronger action against prostitution and sex trafficking.
Parts of Phoenix, including a three-mile corridor known as “The Blade,” have long been associated with street prostitution. In 2025, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed 437 prostitution-related cases, fueling debate between law enforcement officials and advocates who argue that many people arrested for prostitution are trafficking victims rather than willing participants.
A 2015–2016 study by Arizona State University found evidence that sex trafficking in Arizona had grown substantially over the previous 15 years.
Researchers noted, however, that the increase could have reflected both a rise in victimization and greater public awareness and enforcement efforts.
In Arizona, prostitution is classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail, a $2,500 fine, and as much as three years of probation, according to AZDefenders.com.
Related offenses include solicitation, pandering, facilitating prostitution, and child prostitution.
Escort services remain legal under Arizona law, provided no sexual acts are offered or exchanged for compensation.
Arizona is home to two federally funded human trafficking task forces—the Southern Arizona Anti-Trafficking Unified Response Network and the Central Arizona United to Stop Exploitation Task Force—as well as the City of Phoenix Human Trafficking Task Force and the Governor’s Human Trafficking Council. Together, they work to raise awareness, identify victims, and expand support services for survivors.
SoftBank Attempt To Get Downsized $6 Billion OpenAi Margin Loan Stalls
One month ago, Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group, was forced to downsize plans for a $10 billion margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake after facing hesitation from some creditors. Today, it couldn’t even get that done after talks with potential creditors to raise the downsized $6 billion stalled amid rising concerns about the collateral value, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
As a result, the company is now considering various different fundraising options, although it could still move forward with the margin loan at a later stage, they added.
It’s unclear why the margin loan discussions stalled. SoftBank had allegedly secured some $5 billion for the loan before the development, although it was unclear if those were verbal or written commitments. Judging by the outcome, the commitments were tenuous at bet.
According to the report, the current inaction on the margin loan comes even after some of the potential lenders who had been pitched on it – and who did not view it in an all too favorable light to start – said that they’d started to consider it in a more favorable light, after news last month that the ChatGPT creator was preparing to file for an initial public offering.
Previously some of the potential creditors pitched on the margin loan had expressed concerns about the difficulty of reaching a valuation for an unlisted company like OpenAI. As noted above, SoftBank downsized the loan’s initial target size by 40% after facing pushback from some of the potential lenders.
“The margin loan is just one piece of a much larger puzzle, and unless we see a clear deterioration in their ability to raise funds this way, we don’t view it as a standalone red flag,” said Hua Cheng, head of Asia credit research at AllianceBernstein. “The best‑case scenario is an OpenAI IPO this year, with SoftBank offloading part of its stake to pay down debt. That would be consistent with what credit investors want.”
OpenAI filed confidentially for an IPO in the US, joining artificial intelligence rivals in tapping public markets to fund ambitious growth plans. The firm is working with Goldman and Morgan Stanley on a potential listing as soon as in the fall.
Loan aside, markets have witnessed a broader debate in recent months about SoftBank’s commitments of more than $60 billion to OpenAI at a time when recent breakthroughs by resurgent rival Anthropic PBC have raised doubts for some investors about the business. Within SoftBank itself, some officials had grown anxious about that commitment, according to Bloomberg.
Never one to back down, Masa Son – who nearly went broke after the dot com bubble burst – has been ramping up its broader AI plans. Late last month, it said that SoftBank plans to invest as much as €75 billion – which it does not have – to build artificial intelligence data center capacity in France, saying the country is poised to become a top European hub for AI infrastructure (narrator: it’s not).
But storm clouds are gathering again for Masa: looming in the background is a $40 billion bridge financing that supported the conglomerate’s investments in OpenAI, and which SoftBank must repay in March 2027. SoftBank has said that borrowing would likely be repaid “through the utilization of existing assets and other financing measures.”
While SoftBank has a number of potential fundraising options, it’s unclear if it would opt to use any of them. Those include potential issuance of more bonds, or possibly borrowing against other listed holdings in its portfolio, although if it can’t get a margin loan against its portfolio crown jewel, one wonders what terms its other assets would garner. Its stakes include ones in Arm Holdings and Intel, whose shares have jumped 197% and 192%, respectively, so far this year amid the AI boom.
Following the news, Softbank shares tumbled as much as 9.7% Wednesday. Even after declines, SoftBank’s stock was still up about 45% for the period, extending gains in recent weeks after the company reported a jump in quarterly profit due largely to valuation gains on its OpenAI investment. On June 1, SoftBank overtook Toyota Motor Corp. as Japan’s most valuable company by market capitalization.
JPM Says US Defense Base Faces ‘Evolve Or Die’ Moment As Warfare Forever Changes
For several quarters, we have described the Trump administration’s massive push to reshape the military-industrial complex, from DOGE-driven efforts inside the Department of War to reset the procurement process, to a broader pivot toward fast-moving “war unicorns,” like Anduril, rather than bloated legacy defense primes.
The urgency of that transition is now capturing Wall Street’s attention. JPMorgan analysts frame it as a major inflection point: America’s defense industrial base must shift away from slow-moving, costly production and toward one built around speed, scale, technology, low-cost, attritable systems, and rapid battlefield iteration to preserve America’s status as the world’s dominant military power.
Analyst Jahangir Aziz pointed out:
The U.S. defense-industrial enterprise now stands at a decisive inflection point.
Success in the era ahead will be determined by its ability to deliver on three tightly interlocking imperatives: integrating the defense and commercial industrial bases, unlocking genuine mass-scale production, and unleashing innovation across the entire ecosystem.
Together, these are the enabling conditions for a force capable of meeting the relentless operational and technological pressures revealed in Ukraine, exposed by China’s fusion model, and only latently present in the U.S. system today.
Aziz wrote that the post-Cold War model, centered on highly capable systems such as the F-35 stealth fighters, aircraft carriers, and advanced missile platforms, has been rendered obsolete in a world defined by China’s anti-access strategy, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Iran conflict, suicide drones, cyber warfare, electronic warfare, and other low-cost precision weapons.
He said that modern warfare is increasingly defined by the ability to “sense, make sense, and act,” relying on the processing of vast amounts of data and translating it into timely decisions. Such as AI ‘kill chains’…
The four major vulnerabilities in the U.S. defense industrial base that he outlined include shallow supplier depth, slow acquisition timelines, prime-contractor concentration, and fragile global supply chains, including exposure to China-linked inputs.
U.S. Defense Base Supply Chain
He warned that major defense programs can take years to field, while critical electronics may be obsolete before they ever reach the modern battlefield.
U.S. Military’s procurement process timeline
Capacity constraints notable among the primes
That lag has become a major problem as modern warfare quickly evolves across Eurasia and the Middle East, from Ukraine to the Gulf, where drones, robotics, electronic warfare, and AI-enabled kill chains are transforming how conflicts are fought. The battlefield of the 2030s will be defined less by slow-cycle platforms and more by high-speed, low-cost, increasingly automated weapons.
For the U.S. military to remain dominant on the global stage, the analyst laid out a clear framework for how that advantage must be secured:
Our broader take, however, is that the direction of travel is likely to be shaped by the following factors. First, as mentioned, the nature of war has changed and communication and control capabilities will be fundamental in the digital age. Second, that successful defense industrial bases elsewhere, each in their own way, have largely based their success on the integration of their defense and commercial industrial bases. Third, and related to the two above, the U.S. possesses a technological edge in the digital space that is largely in the commercial sector, and integrating it into the defense ecosystem is crucial for the U.S. to maintain its military dominance.
To maintain military dominance, the U.S. defense base must secure enduring advantages by:
Integration: Forge deeper links between defense and commercial sectors, leveraging shared platforms, open standards, and continuous feedback.
Scale: Build modular, manufacturable systems for rapid mass production, lower barriers for new entrants, and foster a networked industrial base.
Innovation: Drive software-led transformation, iterative hardware development, and commercial digital integration. Emerging tech leaders are reshaping autonomy, hypersonics, advanced manufacturing, satellite communications, and mission resilience.
Policy reforms like NDAA and Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) are promising, but must overcome entrenched acquisition processes, PPBE constraints, and persistent friction over intellectual property and data rights—barriers that can either enable competition and modularity or reinforce vendor lock-in and exclude new entrants.
America’s defense industrial base stands at a crossroads. Adapting to persistent competition, rapid technological change, and mass-scale attrition warfare is not optional; it’s essential. Enduring advantage will depend on integrating commercial and defense sectors, scaling production, and accelerating innovation, while dismantling deep-seated institutional and structural barriers. Failure to act risks eroding deterrence and long-term military effectiveness, with consequences for national security and global leadership.
None of this should surprise readers. We have repeatedly highlighted the rise of “war unicorns” such as Anduril and other defense-tech startups that are building affordable, scalable, and software-defined weapons systems for the modern battlefield.
Beyond Anduril in the war unicorn sphere, there’s DZYNE Technologies developing autonomous defense systems…
BLITZ (Attritable System)
🇺🇸 DZYNE Technologies unveiled BLITZ, a low-cost and fully autonomous Group | UAS platform. A modular system light enough for hand launch, rail launch or containerized launch such as BlitzBox.
— Counter Unmanned Systems (@CUAS_NEWS) May 15, 2026
Anduril’s rapid ascent has already captured Wall Street’s attention. Goldman analysts recently sat down with company executives to better understand the story, the business model, and the role Anduril could play in the next phase of rebuilding America’s next-generation defense-industrial base. The takeaway is increasingly clear: the future of U.S. military power will not be defined by legacy primes alone, but by war unicorns.
The U.S. southern border wall will be completed by the end of next year, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott at an event on Tuesday.
Scott told an audience in Washington that the “primary border wall … will be done by the end of 2027,” adding that there are a “couple of gaps.” The wall will stretch from San Diego to Texas near the Gulf of Mexico.
“The only places we’re not building a border wall is places where we’ve made a conscious decision that we don’t need it,” Scott said at the Center for Immigration Studies conference, adding that Big Bend National Park is an example of a “super remote area” with “some very, very high cliffs” that preclude construction of the wall.
Other parts of the border wall, including a secondary wall and a barrier in the Rio Grande, will be complete by July or August 2028, Scott said. The barrier will also be backed by electronic surveillance and other systems, he added.
The border wall, which was a campaign promise made by President Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, is designed to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States.
But Scott said the wall isn’t enough to completely stop either one. Drug traffickers and human smugglers are using tunnels to find workarounds, he said.
“That is their business model, and drones definitely make it easier,” he said, adding, “They’re also smuggling narcotics across with drones.”
On the first day of his second term in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of War and Department of Homeland Security secretaries to “take all appropriate action to deploy and construct temporary and permanent physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border.” The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, approved by Congress in July 2025, included $46.5 billion for border wall construction.
Apprehensions of people crossing the border illegally in the Big Bend Sector fell 74 percent in fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2023, according to the CBP. Autonomous surveillance towers have also significantly reduced traffic, according to the agency.
Last month, the CBP released data marking a year of zero releases at the southern border, and apprehensions of illegal immigrants have dropped to their lowest levels in more than three decades.
The agency said that the Border Patrol recorded 8,943 apprehensions along the southwest border in April, a 94 percent decline from the monthly average under the Biden administration and 96 percent below the peak in December 2023.
Rodney Scott, commissioner for Customs and Border Protection, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 16, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
“The U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into our country again this month, unlike April 2024, when more than 68,000 were released under President [Joe] Biden,” Scott said in a statement in May.
The Trump administration has also prioritized deporting illegal immigrants.
The White House’s border czar, Tom Homan, said in an interview in May that the administration is moving to increase deportations and that around 800,000 illegal aliens have been removed from the country since Trump took office again.
Goldman Flags Tightening Power Grid In Texas Amid Rapid Data Center Growth
Goldman shared some of their thoughts on the tightening of power markets as the decade comes to a close. ERCOT’s own Preliminary Long-Term Load Forecast now sees baseline peak-summer demand (excluding most medium and large loads) growing at a 5.2% average annual rate from 2026 through 2030. This is already well above the 3.4% realized average of 2022-2025.
Layer in the medium- and large-scale additions, overwhelmingly data centers plus crypto and industrial electrification, and the forecast explodes to 31% average annual peak-summer growth.
Put that in national context and Texas alone would account for 39% of total U.S. peak-summer power demand by 2030, up from just 11% last year, assuming the rest of the country continues its slower recent trajectory.
Goldman analysts flag a 200 GW queue of large-load applications sitting with the grid operator. Even if only 10% of that queue ultimately energizes, it would still lift the region’s demand growth rate above 9% against an expected 6% annual increase in effective generation capacity over the same window. That math points to a high probability of a critically tight market unless supply-side responses accelerate sharply in the next few years.
A quick look at Goldman’s recent nuclear report for last month shows the large grid-scale reactor industry is still sleeping in the US…
Earlier we highlighted ERCOT’s disclosure that multiple clusters of proposed hyperscale loads and crypto facilities failed voltage ride-through testing. Four of those groups alone could shed more than 5,000 MW (Boston-sized chunks of demand) during routine transmission disturbances. That is the demand-side mirror of the Spain blackout dynamics we referenced, where rapid disconnections and inadequate reactive power support turned a manageable event into a cascading failure.
ERCOT is not alone in upgrading its outlook. PJM lifted its 10-year average annual peak-summer demand growth forecast from 3.1% to 3.6% earlier this year. MISO raised its 20-year view from 1.6% to 2% in April, more than doubling its realized 2022-2025 average of 0.8%.
These changes reflect the same AI-driven commercial load surge now visible in the data. Goldman shows the U.S. commercial sector posting the strongest year-over-year power demand growth in January-February at +1.8%, while industrial and residential lagged. Nationally, data-center capacity additions are accelerating, with Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, Indiana, and Georgia leading the way on a year-over-year basis.
On the generation side, the picture is mixed. Solar continues its seasonal ramp with solid year-over-year capacity additions.
Natural gas-fired output has been responsive. But nuclear has been weaker due to maintenance outages, hydro is suffering from drought across more than half the country, and coal remains under pressure.
Construction employment tied to data-center and utility work is rising sharply, which is welcome, but employment is not the same as energized megawatts and reinforced lines.
We noted flags starting to pop up regarding the lack of construction industry manpower back in October…
And we also noted other analysts starting to recognize the same body count issue – the lack of engineers and other skilled laborers to build the energy generating side of the grid.
The only completely predictable result of an election in a Western democracy is election fraud.
Fraud is so fundamental to Western democracies that it is fair to say that democracies exist in name only. In fact, elections have become so essential to illegitimate power that they are almost the surest path to subvert the will of the people. Potemkin elections are essential ways for the ruling class to mask that they are truly in control. The notion of the divine right, or right of the aristocracy to rule, died a relatively quick death after the Renaissance. And the 14th-century political Renaissance led by figures such as Leonardo Bruni, the brilliant Renaissance historian who later became chancellor of Florence, brought back the notion of the Roman Republic to the modern era. Florence reinvented free elections of the citizenry; however, the notion of citizenry was limited compared to today.
Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall of Florence, which sits on the Piazza della Signoria.
Uniquely, Florence had no king, duke, or hereditary monarch during much of the Renaissance. Power was vested in the city’s executive governing council, or the signoria. The Council was led by a chief magistrate, known as the Gonfaloniere di Giustizia or justice. There were various legislative and advisory councils, as well as guilds that represented merchants, banks, craftsmen, and professionals.
In order to avoid “corruption,” the Florentines used the lottery system. When a government position opened, names were drawn from bags. As a further precaution, terms were short, only two months, and rotations were constant.
Cosimo the Elder or “Father of the Fatherland.” Posthumous portrait attributed to unknown 16th-century Florentine workshop artists.
Enter the Medici. It was Cosimo de’ Medici who transformed the system into the dynasty that is famous in history. The Medici controlled the largest banking network in Europe and, consequently, extended credit to many of the continent’s most powerful families. The success of a merchant’s business relied upon loans or assistance from the Medici. As a result, patronage opportunities were abundant, and the Medici had a ready-made army of supporters. They also had the support of the intelligentsia through their patronage of literature and the arts. There was no need for Cosimo to be elected to office or even to be seen all that much.
This, however, did not prevent the Medici from influencing electoral outcomes in their favor. Although appointments were decided by lot, there was an art to ensuring that the correct names got dropped into the lottery in the first place. Committees controlled by the Medici determined which citizens were eligible to be elected to posts. So, although a genuine lottery was held, the candidate pool was not so genuine. Florence, on the surface, held free elections and had councils, debates, and all the symbolism of republicanism. But it was controlled by the family who controlled the money supply.
If this sounds familiar, this is because the Medici’s influence extended well beyond their patronage of literature and the arts. During the reign of Louis XIII in France, Cardinal Richelieu never wore a crown. Nevertheless, he controlled foreign policy, court appointments, political alliances, and intelligence networks.
William “Boss Tweed” (1823–78)
In America in the 19th and 20th centuries, the New York machine at Tammany Hall ran the show. The outward constitutional order remained in place, while the political bosses determined the candidates who could run, who received the patronage jobs, and who was awarded the political contracts. While Boss Tweed was an important part of the machine while he was alive, the machine outlived him, and the candidates became fungible.
The same type of arrangement was in place in Chicago from the time of Mike McDonald in the late 19th century all the way to the Daleys in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. McDonald and his political machine financed businesses and candidates, controlled networks, and made or broke political careers. McDonald was succeeded by the duo of Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna and John Coughlin, an unlikely pair of Irish mobsters who ran the gambling houses and brothels, owned the police, and made sure that their business interests were fully accommodated by the mayors they owned. While neither Boss Tweed nor Mike McDonald were above stuffing ballot boxes or breaking a few legs to ensure the appropriate result, those were matters that only needed to be resorted to in dire emergencies.
The Old Federal Building, where Washington took the First Presidential Oath of Office in 1789.
The modern-day Rothschilds are perhaps less interesting as a secret cabal than as the outrageously wealthy banking family that can make or break global banks and governments. In the late 18th century, Mayer Amschel Rothschild placed his five sons in the European financial centers of London, Frankfurt, Paris, Vienna, and Naples. From there they went on to finance governments, underwrite sovereign debt, fund railroads and infrastructure, and move money across borders as fast as their clients needed it. And it is indisputable that the Rothschilds were fundamental in creating the modern state of Israel—from funding settlements to funding the Israeli parliament building.
It is not simply that the wealthy classes needed additional help to grab political power, but they sure received it in the Citizens United case in 2010. A majority of conservative justices held that political speech is protected by the First Amendment and that the identity of the speaker, whether it is a corporation, union, or nonprofit, does not eliminate that protection. While that was all very noble, the Supreme Court further held that independent expenditures are different from direct campaign contributions and that the states could not limit such spending. Needless to say, political spending exploded, and Super PACs, industry associations, labor-backed organizations, and ideological advocacy groups began buying up politicians and votes like a Blue Light Special at K-Mart.
Politicians selling themselves like hookers on South Figueroa Street in L.A. is not enough these days. Donors need insurance policies for the peace of mind that their investments do not go to waste. And so, they are not above good old-fashioned voter fraud. The alleged appearance of 24,000 votes from nowhere in the Los Angeles Mayoral primary election this week is a testament to the new era of “mail-in balloting,” which is about as legitimate as a Florida time-share. It was the midnight deliveries of mail-in ballots in swing districts during the 2020 election that led to the Capitol protests on January 6, 2021—and the perception by nearly half of Americans that the election was outright stolen.
The utter ignorance of the history of election fraud in the United States is perhaps the major reason that anyone would believe that our federal elections are trustworthy. Apart from the outright purchase of votes in Congress, American history has consistently had patterns of repeat voting, padded rolls, absentee-ballot abuses, vote buying, dead voters, false or corrupted registrations, not to mention election-official complicity, patronage pressure, counting manipulation, control of election officials, and downright intimidation. Election fraud is not prosecuted as often as it should be, but it is prosecuted with regular frequency. The 1982 Illinois Election Fraud cases, combined with the Greylord investigations and indictments of federal and local judges, have clearly demonstrated the infiltration of organized crime into the courtroom. And allegations of organized crime connections between presidents such as Kennedy and Nixon have swirled for decades.
This does not account for the recent charges and countercharges regarding gerrymandering, the reluctance to impose voter ID requirements, allegations regarding dark-money pools, and “legal” lobbying, which is considered outright bribery in other countries. Chicago’s corruption runs so deep that the residents of the city just assume that’s the way it’s all supposed to work. In fact, I hear Chicagoans complain that the system ran better when there was more of a sticker price on what it cost to fix a traffic ticket, reduce a murder charge, or buy an alderman’s vote on a zoning permit.
The demands of a democratic society have equally necessitated workarounds for unsavory results that stem from the will of the people. It was not the will of the people that brought us into either of the World Wars in the 20th century—certain workarounds had to be put into place. Although the cost of life, around 27,000 Americans, was regrettable during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive during World War I, the conveniently placed Zimmerman telegram alleging a German–Mexican alliance was necessary to bring us into the war in the first place.
American Doughboys in the final year of the Great War, likely captured at the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
Pearl Harbor was regrettable, but apparently our leaders determined that the loss of life was necessary in order to make a highly unpopular war seem necessary. Americans did not vote to intern Japanese citizens, nor did they vote to infect black soldiers with syphilis. But our politicians knew better. In the last two wars, the threat of weapons of mass destruction has led to wars that politicians wanted to fight against Iraq and Iran. And so democratic government does not just necessitate vote buying and election tampering, but also an occasional well-placed lie in order to meet the demands of governing in accordance with the desires of the moneyed interests.
A cynical interpretation might hold that extending suffrage to women and the poor was less about social justice than about creating larger, more easily mobilized voting blocs. Vast voter pools, especially ones that can be purchased through government programs, motivated by single issues or through perceived grievances brought on by other groups, are terrific tools to stay in power.
When these issues become supercharged with emotion, usually through manipulation of media sources or outright lies, they usher forth passionate armies that stand for a candidate or a political party. A much more economical way to hold a voter base together is to convince them that Neil, who coaches your son’s little league team, is a fascist because he’s a Republican, or that Ahmed, who runs the 7-11 next to the dry cleaner, is an existential threat.
One could be cynical and believe that our political class has nothing but disdain for their voters and that they are capable of literally any act to stay in power. One could even believe that because they have seemingly lied to us about everything from the reasons to go to war, the origin of a global pandemic financed by our own government, or the extent of government surveillance by the NSA, they would be capable of anything.
We could say that. But that would be undemocratic.
Bank Of Japan Governor Ueda Hospitalized, Will Miss June Meeting
Bank of Japan’s 74-year-old Governor Kazuo Ueda has been hospitalized for medical treatment and will miss the June 15 to 16 policy meeting, the central bank said on Wednesday. It is the first time for the governor, who chairs the BOJ’s policy discussions, to miss a scheduled meeting since the central bank began deciding policy under the current arrangement in 1998.
The governor will submit a written statement on his view on policy but will not participate in next week’s vote, the BOJ said in a statement. Ueda is expected to remain in hospital for about two weeks getting treatment for an infected liver cyst, work remotely and attend the next July 30 to 31 policy meeting, the central bank said.
The central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates next week to levels unseen in three decades to counter the plunging yen, crashing bond prices and reverse soaring inflationary pressures from the Iran war.
Ueda’s hospitalization is unlikely to affect next week’s decision, with a rate hike highly anticipated, but it will complicate the BOJ’s communication about what may come next, said Mari Iwashita, executive rates strategist at Nomura Securities.
“With Ueda’s absence, the BOJ may decide not to send clear signals on the future rate path. Given uncertainty on how long it may take for the governor to fully recover, it’s also become more unclear on whether the BOJ would hike again this year.”
The BOJ said that Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino will preside over the rate review in place of Ueda, while the other deputy governor, Shinichi Uchida, is set to host the post-meeting press conference.
The announcement follows one the BOJ made in late May that its Deputy Governor Uchida had been discharged from hospital after recovering from leukaemia treatment.
The yen was roughly steady on the day against the dollar, which traded at 160.5, a level traders watch closely as it has triggered official intervention in the past.
Since taking control of the BOJ in 2023, Ueda has spent the first half of his tenure dismantling the remnants of his predecessor’s massive stimulus as rising commodity and energy costs and intensifying labor shortages propelled inflation above the BOJ’s 2% target.
The BOJ is now at a critical juncture as it moves away from withdrawing stimulus in baby steps towards fighting inflation – something it has not done for decades.
Ueda’s hawkish speech earlier this month underscored the BOJ’s changed narrative that led markets to near fully price in the chance of a June rate hike, yet which saw no upside for the yen. At the previous meeting in April, three of the BOJ’s nine board members already voted in favor of hiking its short-term policy rate to 1% from 0.75%, and since then two more, Junko Koeda and Kazuyuki Masu, called for a near-term rate hike.
However, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, known as an advocate of loose fiscal and monetary policy, has voiced reservations over the BOJ’s rate-hike plans (because like every other politicians, she is focused on the “wealth effect” first and foremost, even if it means galloping inflation).
Some analysts said Ueda’s health issue may offer Takaichi an opportunity to influence the BOJ policy including by selecting his successor if the governor were to step down. Yet according to Norihiro Yamaguchi, senior economist at Oxford Economics in Tokyo, such a scenario now appeared unlikely.
“That said, it is also true that Takaichi is likely to appoint a more dovish person if she were to appoint a new governor,” he said.
US Begins “Self-Defense” Strikes Against Multiple Targets In Iran
Summary
US begins strikes on Iran for second straight night: according to Centrom, “US forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
Explosions had been heard in the Iranian towns of Sirik, Manab, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr,
Hegseth confirms imminent attacks on key Iranian facilities
Trump says “Will be attacking Iran hard again today”
Trump says “secret mission” has reopened the Strait
Trump tells Fox he “may keep going” with strikes.
Trump says Iran took too long to negotiate, and now “will have to pay the price”.
Tehran claims prior night attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan as fulfilment of its previously vowed ‘retaliation’ – targeted the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, footage shows.
Iran again signals it could cut off all indirect talks & any negotiations, says it is ‘reviewing’ US talks after latest exchange of missiles.
After multiple previews of the main event, US Central Command said that its forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. “The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.
Local Iran media reported that explosions had been heard in the Iranian towns of Sirik, Manab, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr, while Al Hadath reported than an explosion was heard in the Al-Saban military camp in Aden, Yemen.
Additionally, there are unconfirmed reports that retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile launches are already underway, amidst what appears to be the resumption of a new round of U.S. strikes on Iran.
Early reports now indicate that retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile launches are already underway, amidst what appears to be the resumption of a new round of U.S. strikes on Iran.
Echoing President trump’s earlier comments, Sectary of War Pet Hegseth just announced that: “CENTCOM will be busy tonight, we will be hitting Iran hard, we will bomb key facilities in Iran.”
🚨🇺🇸 BREAKING: Hegseth announces major strikes on Iran tonight:
“CENTCOM will be busy tonight, we will be hitting Iran hard, we will bomb key facilities in Iran.”
Announcing the strikes before they happen is itself the strategy.
You don’t telegraph a bombing campaign hours in advance unless the message matters more than the surprise.
This is the final-pressure play in its purest form: the bombs are loaded, the targets are picked, and the paper is still on the table waiting for a signature.
An Iranian military source told Tasnim news that:
“The Iranian armed forces are fully prepared tonight. If the Americans take any aggressive action, they will once again face heavy responses.
The Americans’ idea of ‘controlled escalation’ is foolish, and Iran will not hesitate to dictate new calculations to the Americans.”
Oil prices are up at the highs of the day on the news…
Trump says “Secret Mission” has Allowed 200 Ships, 100 Million Barrels of Oil Through Strait
In any case, Trump added that “this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market. More than 200 Commercial Ships have safely traveled through the Strait,” which would explain why oil prices have remained low and confirms what Goldman’s Delta One head, Rich Privorotsky, wrote this morning, namely that “a lot has been thrown at the oil market and it’s simply not going up, which is remarkable given the level of escalation. The only conclusion that really fits the price action is that barrels are still getting through the Strait of Hormuz, visibly or otherwise. There doesn’t seem to be a more rational explanation.”
“This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran” Trump concluded.
Now the question is whether Iran, whose leverage in the conflict would be viewed as dramatically reduced as a result of this development, will allow stealthy tankers and other ships, with transponders shut, to continue crossing the strait affirming Trump’s implicit claim that the country no longer has control over the strait, or if Tehran will make a public demonstration of how much control it still has.
Trump says “will be attacking Iran hard again today”
Oil surged, jumping by more than a dollar with WTI rising above $91 with Brent touching $94 after President Trump vowed to strike Iran again and slammed the country for delaying talks on an interim peace deal, after renewed attacks overnight put further strain on a fragile two-month truce.
“We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. “We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them hard again today.”
Trump declined to say what targets US forces would hit in Iran. The president renewed earlier criticism that Tehran has taken too long to negotiate an end to the conflict.
“I’ve been working with Iran for a number of months, and they should sign their deal,” he said. “It was just tap, tap, tap, I don’t know what they’re doing.”
BREAKING: President Trump says he is going to continue bombing Iran “very hard” after it shot down a U.S. helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard.”
Trump said he retaliated against the Islamic Republic for shooting down a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has not confirmed shooting down the aircraft and said it was reconsidering whether to persist with negotiations in light of the US attacks.
“The diplomatic process doesn’t happen in a vacuum and to advance any diplomatic process you need a minimum space to be able to move forward,” Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, was cited by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency as saying. “Wherever necessary, our armed forces will respond to the enemy with authority.”
Trump’s comments came after the two sides once again exchanged strikes, underscoring how high tensions are running and the risk that intermittent indirect talks between Iran and the US may be derailed. The overnight clashes followed a direct confrontation between Iran and Israel earlier this week, but halted after Trump called on both sides to stop.
The S&P extended its decline to more than 1% and WTI climbed above $91 a barrel to session highs, after Trump’s comments.
Since almost the start of the conflict, Trump has swung from threats of intensified attacks to touting that a deal is within reach. Even with tensions escalating since last week, he had signaled he wants to contain hostilities and avoid a return to all-out war before the new post.
A White House official said talks are still ongoing and that the US will exert maximum pressure until a deal is reached. Fox News first reported the status of the talks. The semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported that a Qatari delegation arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss the diplomatic process to end the war.
The US military said it had completed an operation that saw fighter jets strike Iranian air defenses, ground control stations and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missiles on four American targets, including shelters housing F-35 fighter jets and a command center for the US military at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan, state-run IRIB News said on Wednesday.
Iran also said it fired drones at the main US naval base in the Middle East, located in Bahrain, and struck Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait. Kuwait’s defense ministry said it had intercepted projectiles early Wednesday, while Jordan said it had intercepted five Iranian missiles.
Tehran said it had exercised its “inherent right to legitimate self defense” and warned regional states not to allow the US and Israel to use their territory as a staging post for strikes on the Islamic Republic.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in any of the attacks.
* * *
Could ‘Keep Going’ With Strikes: Trump to Fox
More strikes coming? Trump is certainly strongly hinting at this, and yet an overall strategic vision still remains murky and ill-defined. Once again he in a short 12-hour period went from hyping a deal being a few days away, to now threatening yet more attack waves on Iran, in wake of last night’s:
President Trump said Wednesday that he’s close to ordering more strikes on Iran after the country’s attacks targeting American bases in Persian Gulf nations, according to Fox News’ Trey Yingst.
Mr. Trump said he “may keep going” with strikes, which he said would target power plants and bridges, because Iranian negotiators are “tapping the United States along,” according to Yingst.
He wrote on Truth Social just before these comments that Iran will have to “pay the price” after taking too long to proceed with negotiations.
Trump: Iran Took Too Long To Negotiation, Now Will ‘Pay’
As part of what the United States is calling its latest ‘defensive strikes’ after Iran shot down an Apache helicopter in the Hormuz region, American forces overnight into the early Wednesday hours targeted “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites” – the Pentagon said. Iran confirmed that there were indeed fresh attacks around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage, or info on other strikes potentially conducted elsewhere across the Islamic Republic.
“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said. Trump is meanwhile again lashing out at Tehran, claiming its military is now a “complete and total mess” – and yet it keeps responding:
Oil reacts, sensing no peaceful off-ramp or de-escalation on the horizon…
Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan Hit Hard by Iranian Overnight Attack
Tehran later claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan as fulfilment of its previously vowed ‘retaliation’ – and given these countries host American forces. This marks merely the second time this week the ceasefire was ignored (or rather, shattered – though the White House is maintaining it’s still on) with major tit-for-tat strikes, as each side asserts that it is acting ‘defensively’.
Iran has been saying it’s going to keep up the pressure on Washington and its Gulf allies through both the ‘battlefield and diplomacy’ – with Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei freshly charging that the US is “undermining” the diplomatic process through “contradictory messages, frequent shifts in its positions and demands, as well as repeated violations of the ceasefire.”
He indicated that at this point there’s not even the “minimum level of conducive conditions” that is “required in order to carry out diplomacy effectively.”
Bahrain and Kuwait got hit hardest in these newest strikes, with reports saying the US Fifth Fleet base came under fire:
BREAKING: Footage shows a ground-level explosion in Manama, Bahrain from an Iranian missile strike in the direction of the US 5th Fleet HQ minutes ago, with up to 20+ separate explosions now reported across the city. pic.twitter.com/LCHlZBGKra
“The Zionist regime is also damaging this process through its repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon,” Baghaei said, adding “any diplomatic process is harmed by the use of force and unlawful actions.”
“Diplomacy and the battlefield are not separate matters. Together they serve as instruments for safeguarding Iran’s national interests and security,” he stressed in a familiar refrain of late.
He also indicated the question of negotiations will be “reviewed” in light of last night’s developments, and further emphasized, “Wherever necessary, our armed forces will respond to the enemy with authority.“
Only when you see it with your own eyes you start to appreciate how impressive a salvo of 10 Kheybar-Shekan Aero-Ballistic missiles is…
“Every Side Believes They Can Control the Escalation”
But it’s also clear Tehran feels it must assert strong red lines immediately and without hesitation if it is to survive this now several months-long military confrontation with Washington. On this, longtime regional war correspondent and analyst Elijah Magnier has some insight as to each side’s calculus:
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Magnier said it’s a volatile situation with no “stable political exit” as peace is far from being achieved while Lebanon and Gaza remain outside of any final settlement.
“The most dangerous thing is that every side believes they can control the escalation. However, a repeated incident can erode restraint, and if talks collapse completely, this controlled escalation could widen into a much larger conflict,” he said.
History has shown if “one strike crosses the red line” the attacks can spiral out of control, said Magnier.
Indeed in many ways that’s how we got here in the first place.
Vital water infrastructure reportedly struck in Iran during this new round of intense but brief escalation:
U.S. military strikes reportedly hit drinking water storage tanks in the Bamani district of Sirik county, Hormozgan province, Iran. pic.twitter.com/GMw8Ha9DaH
The White House believed it could control the outcome from day one of Operation Epic Fury, and then perhaps a bit of panic set among US officials in when it was realized the government in Tehran would not so easily fall, and that the military apparatus would become hardened, and its power expanded.
Reports of another US MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down over Iran:
From there it took many weeks to get the naval armada in place, enough to where a blockade could be enacted against Iran’s ports and its crucial oil exports. The White House continues to face several ‘bad’ and ‘worse’ options for dealing with the crisis, as energy prices are set to soar this summer.
More Latest Developments
via Newsquawk…
US President Trump told ABC that the US was responding to Iran and that it is important to respond to Iran downing the helicopter, as well as noted that the response is very strong and powerful.
US VP JD Vance said the US is very close to reaching a deal that would address Iran’s nuclear programme for the long term, which could come next week or months from now, but absolutely before the midterms, according to CBS.
White House senior official said nothing has changed in their position regarding an agreement with Iran and it is still close despite the strikes.
A US official said the US military carried out strikes on almost 20 targets inside of Iran, but noted preliminary assessments indicate most Iranian missiles and drones were successfully intercepted.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said they need to reassess, following the overnight clashes, when questioned on talks with the US, SNN reported.
Iranian Foreign Ministry statement strongly condemns America’s crime in its military aggression against Iran.
An Iranian military source tells IRIB that no offensive military operations have been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours. Warned that if the enemy carries out another hostile action under the pretext of the military helicopter crash, it will face a decisive response.
A massive fire in the centre of Erbil and an explosion has been heard near the US base in the vicinity, Mehr news reported citing sources.
Local sources reported that an explosion was heard in the area of Qeshm city, Mehr News reports. However, this was later denied by the Qeshm governor.
UN Security Council debated reviving the Iran sanctions panel, although Russia and China opposed the revival of the Iran sanctions committee, according to Tasnim.
Israeli air raids hit the Lebanese towns of Touline, Srifa and Kafra. It was separately reported that missiles were spotted from Lebanon that were headed towards Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings, while rockets launched from Lebanon towards Upper Galilee were also detected.
UKMTO has received a report of an incident 20nm Northeast of Oman’s Sohar.
UKMTO reported an incident involving a cargo vessel 88 nautical miles southwest of Balhaf, Yemen.
Solar Tops Coal In US Power Mix For The First Month Ever
Solar power held a record-high 12.8% share of US electricity supply in May, overtaking coal-generated power for the first full month on record, energy think tank Ember said in a report on Wednesday. As OilPrice notes, while the share of solar-generated power jumped to a record high for a full month, the share of coal in the U.S. electricity mix slumped to 12.2% last month, the fourth-lowest monthly share of coal ever.
Solar generated an all-time high total of 45.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) in May, up by 17% from a year earlier and surpassing the previous record set in July last year, according to Ember’s data. In May, solar also became the third-largest source of electricity in the U.S., behind natural gas and nuclear power generation.
At the same time, coal generation hit an all-time monthly low of 39.3 TWh in April 2026. Coal power output rebounded to 43.4 TWh in May, but still remained 11% below May 2025 levels.
“Overtaking coal for the first month on record shows just how far solar has come, from a niche contributor to the third-largest and fastest-growing source of power in the US electricity system,” said Nicolas Fulghum, Senior Data Analyst at Ember.
“From Texas to California, markets across the US are betting on solar to meet rising power needs,” Fulghum added.
Despite the Trump Administration’s assault on renewable energy and support for the coal industry, solar and wind power generation in the United States is booming, including in many red states that President Trump won such as Texas, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Arizona, and Mississippi.
In a separate report also out on Wednesday, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie said that despite changing tax policy and regulatory actions targeting clean energy, solar and energy storage represented 91% of all new capacity installed in the U.S. in the first quarter as utilities, homeowners, and businesses seek energy security amid global gas and gas turbine supply disruptions.
States won by President Trump accounted for 74% of all solar capacity installed in the first quarter, according to SEIA and WoodMac’s U.S. Solar Market Insight 2026 Q2 Report.
