Ironweeds

Update on the war in Iran and the state of Navy rations. Fires reflect working class frustrations. AI misinformation and “work slop” runs rampant. And data centers are running behind projections for 2026, and its likely to get worse. 

https://www.middleeasteye.net/live/iran-war-live-israel-says-it-will-control-bridges-and-area-south-lebanons-litani-river 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/08/kimberly-clark-california-warehouse-fire-arson/89524550007/

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/google-ai-overviews-misinformation 

https://www.wired.com/story/maga-is-increasingly-convinced-the-trump-assassination-attempt-was-staged/ 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/16/iran-war-mail-packages-middle-east/89609308007/ 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/nearly-half-of-us-data-centers-planned-for-2026-canceled-or-delayed-and-it-s-expected-to-get-worse/ar-AA20sl2J

https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6393014699112

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-workslop-gridlock 

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/15/allbirds-bird-stock-shoes-ai.html 

We have A.M. Gittlitz on to discuss his book Metropolitans: New York Baseball, Class Struggle, and the People's Team. Also, Good Cause Eviction passes in Troy!

https://www.troyrecord.com/2026/04/10/troy-city-council-overrides-mantello-veto-on-good-cause-eviction-legislation/ 

A brief Trumpdate. Pam Bondi fired. Bryon Noem’s love of bimbos. A sex positive border patrol chief. A snag in the Tyler Robinson case. Kegseth trying to get richer on the Iran war. And good news for Hudson River fisherfolk. 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116351998782539414 

https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/0fbf2732-3b57-4825-b60a-1fa4c7c59d54 

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5807115-donald-trump-military-complex-white-house-ballroom/ 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15692625/Tyler-Robinson-bullet-rifle-match-Charlie-Kirk.html 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15685877/kristi-noem-husband-bryon-crossdressing-pictures-south-dakota.html 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/4509505/border-patrol-chief-michael-banks-prostitution-allegations-by-agents/ 

https://x.com/rt_com/status/2040146413615538247?s=46 

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/04/politics/how-pam-bondi-lost-her-job?cid=ios_app

https://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2026/2026-04-01_advice_for_eating_fish.htm 

Updates on the war against Iran abroad and immigrants at home. Open AI makes some big announcements. Slop YouTube videos are teaching kids to play in traffic. Two wildflowers, because you deserve it!

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/flock-safety-s-national-search-tool-disabled-troy-22090293.php 

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/24/tech/meta-new-mexico-trial-jury-deliberation?cid=ios_app

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/us/florida-immigration-desantis-republicans.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share 

https://apnews.com/article/lion-king-circle-of-life-lawsuit-2b653d3ae9337f231e6a74201f4011e8

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-cancels-spicy-chatbot

https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/california-condors-nesting-in-pacific-northwest-for-first-time-in-a-century-on-yurok-territory/amp/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/29/cpac-maga-anxiety-iran-war

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-approval-hits-new-36-low-fuel-prices-surge-amid-iran-war-reutersipsos-2026-03-24/

https://www.dexerto.com/youtube/educational-ai-youtube-videos-accused-of-teaching-kids-to-play-in-traffic-eat-toxic-food-3340769/

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/27/trump-strait-of-hormuz-iran-war.html

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/26/us/trump-news?unlocked_article_code=1.WFA.7mEw.ubKoY6aNTxWh&smid=nytcore-ios-share

An AI Army girl. War with Iran. The oil crisis. Afroman wins his day in court. 

https://www.euronews.com/culture/2026/03/17/meet-jessica-foster-the-viral-onlyfans-ai-fooling-millions-of-maga-fans

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/19/nx-s1-5753563/afroman-lemon-pound-cake-trial 

https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/9248ebd9-a96d-450e-96b8-2a3ef740b150 

https://archive.ph/RLDUv 

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-20-26?post-id=cmmzikyj50000356tysjbi7o4

https://www.jpost.com/international/article-890725

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/16/man-charged-planting-bombs-capitol-trump-pardon-00831086

https://aje.news/9wi9du 

The Pentagon spends billions on luxury goods. We’ve blown our load in munitions a little too early. Facial recognition software throws an innocent grandma in jail for five months. Cops decide an anxiety attack is more important than a bullet in the back. Police brutality in South Burlington. Doge Bros tell all.

https://newrepublic.com/post/207693/palantir-ceo-karp-disrupting-democratic-power

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/11/data-center-moratorium-gains-traction-among-hill-progressives-00814163

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/03/12/gen-z-men-poll-wife-obey-husband/89087781007/

https://newrepublic.com/post/207555/pete-hegseth-billions-dollars-fruit-basket-stands-chairs-crab 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/10/trump-florsheim-shoes // https://x.com/epsilontheory/status/2031717210746446029?s=46 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/world/middleeast/stryker-iran-cyberattack.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/9962d453-418d-458f-9707-d29068ac18e8 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/03/11/trump-endorses-jake-paul-political-office/89108352007/

https://www.reddit.com/r/vermont/s/hXQ47QXmH9

https://vtdigger.org/2026/03/12/ice-agents-took-into-custody-a-person-they-were-not-seeking-after-vermont-standoff/

https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/north-dakota/ai-error-jails-innocent-grandmother-for-months-in-north-dakota-fraud-case

https://apnews.com/article/police-shooting-connecticut-892f366b847d9443a2bc3e3569a092dc // https://connecticut.news12.com/attorney-dyshan-best-had-vape-pen-but-no-gun-when-police-fatally-shot-him

https://apnews.com/article/uk-house-of-lords-hereditary-peers-expelled-535df8781dd01e8970acda1dca99d3d4

https://www.404media.co/i-watched-6-hours-of-doge-bro-testimony-heres-what-they-had-to-say-for-themselves/

We’ve started a war in Iran. To what end? We discuss. Also, AI. 

https://www.theverge.com/policy/887678/supreme-court-ai-art-copyright

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5750716-pentagon-pizza-report-hegseth/ 

https://www.politico.eu/article/isis-teaching-recruits-how-to-use-ai-responsibly/ 

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/24/hegseth-sets-friday-deadline-for-anthropic-to-drop-its-ai-red-lines-00795641

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/brockman-openai-top-trump-donor-21273419.php

https://xcancel.com/sama/status/2027578652477821175

https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/us-troops-were-told-iran-war-is-for

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-says-kristi-noem-stepping-homeland-security-secretary-rcna248719

https://x.com/adamjohnsonchi/status/2029984467096359352?s=46 

https://aje.news/gzweqa 

https://aje.news/4f7kkx 

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/threats-water-supply-and-food-inflation-stalk-gulf-states 

https://www.csis.org/analysis/37-billion-estimated-cost-epic-furys-first-100-hours

Troubling mobilization around Iran. The NRA and other pro-gun groups criticize administration officials on public statements about Alex Pretti murder. DHS lies about detainees. And the Yangtze River is rebounding after a fishing ban.

https://www.them.us/story/story/work-stress-gay-says-malaysian-official 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/politics/us-military-iran.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/us/politics/trump-iran-military-strikes.html

https://apnews.com/article/andrew-mountbatten-windsor-arrest-king-charles-61ea3c437680b8341e623e4d9efa47b8

https://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/2026/02/kid-rocks-song-about-loving-underage-girls-resurfaces-ahead-of-tpusa-super-bowl-show.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/19/trump-administration-memo-ice-dhs-refugees-screening

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/25/alex-pretti-killing-nra-pro-gun-groups

https://www.reuters.com/world/irs-improperly-disclosed-confidential-immigrant-tax-data-dhs-washington-post-2026-02-11/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2026/02/18/robert-f-kennedy-jr-kid-rock-ice-bath/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/09/irish-man-seamus-culleton-ice-detention

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/12/china-yangtze-river-recovery-after-fishing-ban

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-chicago-shooting-crackdown-border-f05c446c37bf0cd7e7e2ad1dcfa104b1

AI developments. A new military contract has some disturbing line items. A man shoots his daughter in Texas and faces no charges. CBP gets El Paso airport shut down over balloons. And cats find refuge in a Beirut university campus.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/military-contract-concentration-camps 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article314631578.html 

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/10/g-s1-109346/beirut-lebanon-cats-university

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/woman-shot-dad-arguing-donald-151336338.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gjmye7xkwo

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/flights-el-paso-airport-texas-halted-10-days-security-reasons-faa-rcna258497

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5733236-gallup-stops-presidential-approval-ratings-polls/ 

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/free-store-troy-expansion-rite-aid-location-21343564.php

https://fortune.com/2026/02/11/something-big-is-happening-ai-february-2020-moment-matt-shumer/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/us/trump-administration-el-paso-airspace-closure-questions.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/why-are-senate-democrats-still-voting-to-confirm-trumps-judicial-nominees 

https://hellgatenyc.com/propublica-strike-workers-union-contract-ai/ donation: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-propublica-workers-for-fair-contracts 

https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/pam-bondi-stole-dog-21352565.php 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Albany/s/8rzQ2QzIMG 

A couple of news stories followed by a discussion of the film Bugonia. Thanks for listening!

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/technology/bitcoin-price-drop-crypto-market.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/06/an-ai-startup-founder-says-hes-planning-a-march-for-billionaires-in-protest-of-californias-wealth-tax/