Your nails could be a sign of whether a recession is coming or not ZME Science
Shadow of a Doubt Harper’s. “How OCD came to haunt American life.”
To fight screwworm, the U.S. is opening a South Texas facility to disperse sterile flies Texas Tribune
CVS Throws a Temper Tantrum Boondoggle
BREAKING: SpaceX Starship explodes during static fire test pic.twitter.com/ChTSKp3KIO
— BNO News (@BNONews) June 19, 2025
Climate/Environment
‘Cancer is just everywhere’: could farming be behind Iowa’s unfolding health crisis? The Guardian
The best 360 @insta360 reframe Timelapse known to man. Captures the full lifecycle of the Wallace/Wallfleet Nebraska tornado. 77 minutes of mind blowing footage condensed down to 1 minute. Streamed LIVE on the @RadarOmega app. pic.twitter.com/QBt07Tu8Nk
— Aaron Jayjack (@aaronjayjack) June 17, 2025
Huaiji, Guangdong suffered the largest flood in history, with the water level reaching 55.22 meters, 0.43 meters higher than the highest water level in history, and almost the entire county was flooded pic.twitter.com/vOM0WO0tju
— Jim (@yangyubin1998) June 18, 2025
Pandemics
Getting warmer. The actuarial data do not suggest Covid excess deaths will magically improve in 2034.
The estimates only go through 2033 and remain on a troubling trajectory. The estimates were derived prior to the U.S. anti-vaccination policies, so likely underestimates. https://t.co/mEhLUSF8xX
— Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA (@michael_hoerger) June 18, 2025
China?
Now it’s AI: Magnificent 7 companies can’t build AI data centers without Chinese bismuth Inside China / Business
China’s COSCO in Talks to Join $19B CK Hutchison Port Sale Amid U.S.-China Tensions Bloomberg
China’s central bank chief expects new currency order to challenge dollar FT
Does China have an Internationalist Foreign Policy? ZZ’s Blog
India
India’s Great-Power Delusions Foreign Affairs
India’s next 10-minute delivery? Domestic workers on demand Mint
Africa
US Africa Command Launches Airstrike in Somalia Targeting al-Shabaab Antiwar
Old Blighty
War With Iran: Made in Britain? Kit Klarenberg
European Disunion
Military-tech upstart Anduril pushes further into NATO with German arms maker deal The Register
Syraqistan
Israel Kills Over 70, Wounds Hundreds as Tanks Open Fire on Aid Seekers in Gaza Truthout
***
Trump Privately Approved of Attack Plans for Iran but Has Withheld Final Order WSJ
Exclusive: Iran delivers response to new US proposal Amwaj
There Is No Such Thing as a Quick U.S. War on Iran Drop Site
Iran warns US intervention in conflict with Israel risks ‘all out war’ Al Jazeera
Iran Launches First Strike on Israel Using Mach 13+ Fattah Hypersonic Missile: Can it Turn the Tide of the War? Military Watch
Israel Is Running Low on Defensive Interceptors, Official Says WSJ
EXPLAINER – Israel’s strikes on Iran: Major sites and fears of ‘regional nuclear emergency’ Anadolu Agency
IAEA chief confirms agency has ‘no proof’ Iran building nuclear bombThe Cradle
Scoop: Gabbard’s Senate Intel briefing postponed amid Iran tensions Axios
‘Israel’ may stage false flag to force US into Iran war, experts warn Al Mayadeen
***
Although damage is seen in videos, Iran’s IRGC claims it didn’t target Soroka hospital, but rather Israeli army’s “C41 Directorate” military facility. @Jerusalem_Post article from March confirms their “walking distance” proximity https://t.co/tbfkVrBAO4 https://t.co/sKt0ImrkJe pic.twitter.com/l5nJdpWx0w
— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) June 19, 2025
BBC Verify Live: How we’re authenticating footage after Israel hospital is hit BBC
The large amount of footage coming out is VERY suspicious, given Israel’s recent crackdown on media.
This may be a concerted effort to garner Western sympathy in preparation for a large-scale attack on Iran—possibly with U.S. involvement.— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) June 19, 2025
***
Bombs, Blackouts, and Solidarity: Six Days That Shattered Lives in Iran Femena
I lived and traveled in Iran for months. In Tehran I lived with the family of a retired bank worker who saw me looking for housing. I roomed with his son for months, ate all my meals with them, and they never accepted any money. Once I was sick and throwing up and they all came… https://t.co/KU7oOuhi5o
— Jonathan AC Brown (@JonathanACBrown) June 18, 2025
***
Trump must help Israel finish the job to dismantle Khamenei’s regime – editorial Jerusalem Post. Provides a blueprint for regime change, in case there were any doubts, including:
Forge a Middle East coalition for Iran’s partition. Encourage long-term plans for a federalized or partitioned Iran, recognizing that Khamenei’s theocratic regime cannot be reformed. Offer security guarantees to Sunni, Kurdish, and Balochi minority regions willing to break away.
Pashinyan to pay historic visit to Turkey at Erdoğan’s invitation CivilNet. Azerbaijan president possibly there too. Potential headache along Iran’s northern borders. See NC here.
REPORTAGE: Maryam Rajavi at the European Parliament — “The Fundamental Issue in Iran Is Regime Change” Iran News Update
This woman is a cult leader https://t.co/WghevsIWsT pic.twitter.com/Ea4qrRHECb
— Lily Lynch (@lilyslynch) June 18, 2025
Speaking of cults:
Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz on Israel and theology. pic.twitter.com/w9JdKOC22W
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 18, 2025
***
America’s war on the world Julian MacFarlane
Iran Has Not Asked Russia For Military Help: Putin AFP
Ukraine and Iran: two fronts of a piecemeal world war Thomas Fazi
New Not-So-Cold War
Russia sanctions on pause as Iran conflict heats up Semafor
EU chief says pressure off for lower Russia oil price cap France24
The Territorial Defense Corps revealed Military Land
April Showers Bring Nazi Startups Azov Lobby Blog
The Minister for the Return of Ukrainians has decided… not to return to Ukraine 🤡
Oleksii Chernyshov — Vice Prime Minister and Minister for National Unity — was tasked with bringing Ukrainians back to the motherland. Instead, he left the country on a “business trip” and has… pic.twitter.com/Jcpz8jqaUl
— Marta Havryshko (@HavryshkoMarta) June 18, 2025
Trump 2.0
Mulvaney warns of safety concerns over White House’s new flagpoles The Hill
MAHA
Exclusive: US to drop guidance to limit alcohol to one or two drinks per day, sources say Reuters
Democrats en déshabillé
AIPAC Demands Democrats “Stand With Israel” on Iran Drop Site
House Democrat Under Fire for ‘Reckless and Repugnant’ Resolution Backing War on Iran Common Dreams
Obama Legacy
Obama warns America is ‘dangerously close’ to moving away from democracy The Independent
Citigroup chose Obama’s 2008 cabinet, WikiLeaks document reveals WSWS. From 2016, still germane.
Immigration
Migrant deported to El Salvador after DPS labeled him a member of Tren de Aragua without evidence, lawyer says Texas Tribune. The deck: “Lawyers for Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo deny he is a gang member and say the DPS accusation hinges on a photo they found of him standing next to a man with tattoos.”
Judge finds Florida attorney general in contempt of court for flouting immigration order Miami Herald
With only 8% built, Texas quietly defunds state border wall program Texas Tribune
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
40,000 Cameras, From Bird Feeders to Baby Monitors, Exposed to the Internet 404 Media
Police State Watch
US resumes student visas, demands social media access DW
‘We’re going to be covering the entire city with drones:’ SFPD accepts billionaire’s $9.4M gift Mission Local
Sports Desk
The Definitive, Insane, Swimsuit-Bursting Story of the Steroid Olympics Wired. The deck: “At first it was dismissed as a crazy joke. Making the Enhanced Games a reality needed a Peter Thiel posse, a couple of retired swimmers, some MAGA money, and a whole lot of drugs.”
Our Famously Free Press
Working Hard to Justify Israel’s Unprovoked Attack on Iran FAIR
Imperial Collapse Watch
Iran and the Permanent War Machine: The Modern State as Organized Crime Landmarks
Air India / Boeing
Boeing 787’s Emergency-Power System Likely Active Before Air India Crash WSJ
AI
Bill Gates and Sam Altman’s nuclear groups raise $1bn as investors bet on AI FT
xAI is facing a lawsuit for operating over 400 MW of gas turbines without permits TechCrunch
This is the gentle singularity? Blood in the Machine
Antitrust
Why Is Google Still in One Piece? The Terminating a Monopoly Problem. BIG by Matt Stoller
Guillotine Watch
Report Names ‘Corporate Oligarchs’ Who Are Cashing In as Trump-GOP Austerity Assails Workers Common Dreams
‘We don’t need Bezos’: Venice activists prepare to protest against tech billionaire’s wedding Euronews
The Bezzle
Senate Passes Stablecoin Bill as Crypto Eyes a Bigger Prize Barron’s
DOJ announces largest-ever crypto seizure related to ‘pig butchering’ scams The Hill
Class Warfare
UAW Prez Threatened to “Slit the Throats” of Critics as He Pushed No-Bid Contracts with DC Firms Payday Report
A Neighborhood Market, A Call to Action Working Class Storytelling
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
