Los Lobos - Will the Wolf Survive? (1984)
www.youtube.com

Biggest US Grid May Be Too Large to Function, Regulator Says
www.bloomberg.com

... The chairman of the top US energy regulator has put America's biggest power grid on notice, warning that its operator may be too big to function adequately amid the AI data center boom.

Laura Swett, who oversees the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said Tuesday she fears that PJM Interconnection LLC's struggle to address the voracious power needs from data centers threatens the country's artificial intelligence ambitions. ...

Mexico's Sheinbaum denies reports of CIA operations there while CNN stands by report
apnews.com

... Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday denied a CNN report that the CIA was carrying out deadly operations in Mexican territory, accusing the U.S.-based news organization of attempting to "hurt the government and the people of Mexico."

CNN reported Tuesday that the CIA facilitated a targeted assassination of a member of the Sinaloa cartel on a highway outside Mexico City, fueling a firestorm in Mexico. The New York Times later reported that Mexican forces carried out the attack and the CIA provided planning and support.

Sheinbaum called the CNN report a "lie." Asked about the New York Times report during her morning press briefing, she called it "a fiction the size of the universe."

Liz Lyons, a spokesperson for the CIA, also lambasted the CNN report, posting on X that "this is false and salacious reporting that serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk."

A CNN spokesperson said the CIA had been presented with details of the report prior to publication and had declined to comment. While the network did not directly address Sheinbaum's statements, it said it stands by its reporting. ...

Trump promised lower grocery prices on Day One.' (2025)
thehill.com

... Campaigning for office a year ago, standing in front of a table loaded up with bags of flour, cartons of eggs and gallons of milk, President Donald Trump told voters, "When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One." ...

What is the Thucydides Trap'?
www.nbcnews.com

... In his remarks earlier today Xi referenced the Thucydides Trap, a theory popularized by Harvard scholar Graham Allison that suggests a high risk of war between an emerging and an established power.

"The world has come to a new crossroads," Xi said in opening remarks ahead of bilateral U.S.-China talks. "Can China and the United States overcome the so-called Thucydides Trap and create a new model of relations between major countries?"

Xi has discussed the concept, which refers to the ancient Greek war between Sparta and Athens, at several key moments in U.S.-China relations, including during a 2014 interview, his 2015 state visit to the U.S., and his meeting with former President Joe Biden in Peru in 2024.

"These are questions of history, questions of the world, and questions of the people," Xi said today. "They are also the answers that you and I, as leaders of major countries, must write for our times." ...

At least 12 US, allied radar systems hit by Iran since start of war (March 2026)
www.aa.com.tr

... Iran has hit 12 US and allied radar and SATCOM terminals since the start of the war, according to data compiled by Anadolu.

Kuwait International Airport's newest radar system was among those targeted, as three "hostile drones" damaged it on Sunday, according to Kuwaiti authorities. The full extent of the damage remains unknown.

A day earlier, an Iranian drone struck a US Saab Giraffe 1X radar system at the US Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq. The radar provided Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) and Counter Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) in a 75-kilometer radius and is estimated to be worth $2 million.

While the extent of the damage is unclear, satellite imagery analyzed by multiple outlets confirms that four AN/TPY-2 radars have been hit in Al Sader and Al Ruwais in the United Arab Emirates, Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan, and Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia. AN/TPY-2 radar components belonging to THAAD missile defense systems are valued at an estimated $2 billion.

A US AN/FPS-132 early warning radar at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, valued at $1.1 billion, was struck by an Iranian missile when retaliatory attacks began on Feb. 28. Qatari authorities confirmed that the radar was damaged.

Iran also struck the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, destroying two satellite communications terminals and several large buildings.

Open-source intelligence reports have identified the targeted communication terminals as AN/GSC-52Bs, with an estimated cost of $20 million, factoring in deployment and installation.

In addition to the terminals lost in Bahrain, satellite imagery analyzed by The New York Times of Camp Arifjan in Kuwait showed three destroyed radomes, adding roughly $30 million in damage.

In total, 12 radar systems or SATCOM terminals, valued at an estimated $3.152 billion, have been hit by Iranian strikes. ...

Shriekback - This Big Hush (1985)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

https://genius.com/Shriekback-this-big-hush-lyrics

...
[Verse]
Is there a fire in the sky?
Is there a moon up there?
Is there anything alive now?
This darkness is what I hear
This is a breathless silence
A moment out of time
...

FDA chief resigns after Trump admin forced approval of fruity e-cigs
arstechnica.com

... Marty Makary on Tuesday resigned from his role as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, days after news broke on Friday that the White House had signed off on plans to fire him.

Trump confirmed Makary's resignation on social media, posting an image that appears to show that Makary resigned from his role over a text message. The text message begins "Dr. President Trump[sic], Please accept my resignation, effective today."

Trump wrote in another social media post that Makary had "done a great job at the FDA," and that he was "a hard worker, who was respected by all, and will go on to have an outstanding career in Medicine."

Trump ended by announcing that Kyle Diamantas, the top food regulator at the FDA, will serve as acting commissioner for now.

Trump's positive review of Makary stands in contrast to the news last week. As administration insiders were widely broadcasting plans for Makary's ouster on Friday, they offered a long list of issues and instances in which Makary was at odds with the White House. And, according to those close to Makary who spoke with The New York Times today, the now-former commissioner had his own reasons for departing.

Complaints

Makary's insiders said the former Johns Hopkins University cancer surgeon resigned after Trump forced his hand on authorizing fruit-flavored e-cigarettes.

Makary had reportedly been resisting the sign-offs out of concern that the kid-friendly flavors could again entice youth use and addiction -- something public health officials and experts have for years worked to combat.

But Makary's stance was in conflict with Trump's "save vaping" campaign promise -- and with the tobacco industry's interests. ...

AP FACT CHECK: Trump on discrimination in his business (2016)
apnews.com

... A claim from the presidential debate and how it stacks up with the facts:

TRUMP: Donald Trump said that a 1970s racial discrimination case against his real estate business was settled "without any admission of guilt" and that the case was brought against "many real estate firms."

THE FACTS: The first claim is technically correct; the second is flatly false.

Trump and his father fiercely fought a 1973 discrimination lawsuit brought by the Justice Department for their alleged refusal to rent apartments in predominantly white buildings to black tenants.

Testimony showed that the applications filed by black apartment seekers were marked with a "C'' for "colored."

A settlement that ended the lawsuit did not require the Trumps to explicitly acknowledge that discrimination had occurred -- but the government's description of the settlement said Trump and his father had "failed and neglected" to comply with the Fair Housing Act.

Trump is also wrong to say that the suit was brought against many real estate developers -- it was specific to buildings rented by him and his father. ...

U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down North Carolina's Voter ID Law (2016)
www.npr.org

...The appeals court noted that the North Carolina Legislature "requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices" -- then, data in hand, "enacted legislation that restricted voting and registration in five different ways, all of which disproportionately affected African Americans."

The changes to the voting process "target African Americans with almost surgical precision," the circuit court wrote, and "impose cures for problems that did not exist."

The appeals court suggested that the motivation was fundamentally political -- a Republican legislature attempting to secure its power by blocking votes from a population likely to vote for Democrats....