The president told the nation the war is almost over. The Pentagon is asking for $200 billion. The money goes to companies owned by the Deputy Defense Secretary’s old firm. And the FBI got hacked three times by the country we are bombing - after the director fired the team that was supposed to be watching them.
Today’s episode follows the money from Trump’s Wednesday address to the defense contractors to the Deputy Secretary’s office and asks the question nobody on cable news bothered to ask: who profits from the $200 billion?
Today’s episode is up now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
In other news:
The FBI director fired the team that tracks Iran – then got hacked by Iran. Ohio passed a drag ban co-sponsored by a man accused of climbing into bed with a minor. And the CDC stopped testing for rabies because there’s barely anyone left who knows how. Three stories about what happens when the people in charge care more about the performance than the job.
Kash Patel Got Hacked by Iran After Firing the Team That Tracks Iran
Three FBI breaches in one month. Kash Patel fired the Iran counterintelligence team days before Iran-linked hackers breached his personal email. A separate breach hit the bureau’s classified network in March. A third compromised FBI devices at Mar-a-Lago. The FBI director who gutted internal security is now the FBI director with the worst security record in bureau history.
Read the full story ->
Ohio’s “Protect the Children” Drag Bill Was Co-Sponsored by a Man Accused of Climbing Into Bed with a Minor
Ohio’s HB 249 bans drag performances anywhere a minor could be present. Co-sponsor Rodney Creech was accused by a 15-year-old of climbing into bed with her and touching her while she slept. The bill’s author, Josh Williams, rallied alongside neo-Nazis at a Proud Boys event. The law passed anyway.
Read the full story ->
Trump Gutted the CDC and Now There’s One Person Left to Handle a Rabies Crisis
The CDC pulled rabies and poxvirus testing from its lab directory after Trump-era cuts gutted staffing by 20 to 25 percent. The rabies team will be down to one person by July. The pox team will have nobody. The acting director runs the CDC and NIH simultaneously from hundreds of miles apart. The proposed budget cuts CDC funding by 42 percent. The World Cup starts this summer.
Read the full story ->
That’s the grift. Three institutions – the FBI, a state legislature, a federal health agency – all hollowed out by people who wanted the title but not the responsibility. More at rachelandthecity.com.
Trump and Every President Before Him Has Been Selling You Fear on Purpose
A graphic design grad reverse-engineers the White House war propaganda – the Call of Duty edits, the Mortal Kombat audio over real missile strikes, the Braveheart clips – and finds the same playbook every president has used. Make you afraid of the right things so you stop asking questions. The monster changes. The business model doesn’t.
Read the full story ->
// Go Deeper on rachelandthecity
Latest Posts
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PODCAST SOURCES
Trump Address to the Nation on Iran - NPR
Iran War May Give Defense Contractors $200 Billion Windfall - TIME
Cracks Emerge in GOP Over Iran War Cost - CNN
Trump’s War on Iran Could Cost Trillions - The Intercept
The Trump Administration’s Reckless War in Iran Has Already Cost More Than $5 Billion - Center for American Progress
Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate - ProPublica
How DOGE Government Spending Cuts Are Hampering the US Government Amid War with Iran - CNN
By the End of the Week the Iran War Will Likely Have Cost $25 Billion - Center for American Progress
Hegseth Says Potential $200 Billion Iran War Spending Request Could Shift - CNBC
Iran’s Ex-Foreign Minister Kharazi Gravely Wounded in Attack on His Home - Al Jazeera
Surprise: Iranian Ex-Official Involved in Peace Talks Was Just Bombed - The New Republic
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