Source: CBS News
“The U.S. military said it [murdered] two people in a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, bringing the death toll to at least 170 since strikes began last September. U.S. Southern Command, which is responsible for Washington’s forces in the region, said in a post on X that ‘the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.’ … The latest strike comes two days after U.S. military strikes [murdered] five people in two boats, also in the eastern Pacific.” (04/13/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-military-alleged-drug-boat-strike-eastern-pacific/
Source: AI Summer
“Sayash Kapoor on Claude Mythos as normal technology.” (04/13/26)
https://www.aisummer.org/p/sayash-kapoor-on-claude-mythos-as
Source: The Hill
by Austin Sarat
“In 2017, journalist Priscilla Villarreal did what good journalists ordinarily do. She was working on two stories — one about the suicide of a border agent and the other about a serious car accident. To confirm the names of the people involved in those incidents, Villarreal texted a member of the Laredo Police Department. The officer responded and provided the information she was looking for. … But then someone in the police department got wind of what Villarreal was up to. Soon afterward, she was charged with violating an obscure, Orwellian provision of the Texas Penal Code, the Misuse of Official Information Act. … the Misuse of Official Information Act cannot be reconciled with the First Amendment’s protection of press freedom. But on March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court let it stand by declining to hear the case.” (04/13/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/5826184-texas-law-muzzles-journalists/
Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman
“It’s far from unheard of in world history for leaders, faced with losing an election, to cancel said election, or falsify the results, or in other ways more or less openly admit that they are ruling without popular consent. So it’s good to know that Hungary has not become one of these. But there are two other possible lessons to draw from the Hungarian election that should be more sobering for opponents of the right-wing populist turn in politics, here in America and elsewhere in the world.” (04/13/26)
https://gideons.substack.com/p/can-you-beat-em-if-you-dont-join
Source: SFGate
“More than 17,000 American and Filipino military personnel will participate in one of their largest annual combat exercises in the Philippines that underscore the United States’ staunch commitment to Asia despite its preoccupation with the Middle East, a U.S. military official said Tuesday. During the April 20-May 8 maneuvers, called the Balikatan, Japanese forces will fire a missile in a ship-sinking exercise in northwestern Philippine waters facing the disputed South China Sea. Japan’s defense chief has been invited to witness the live-fire drill, Philippine military officials said. The large-scale combat drills between the U.S. and Philippines, which are longtime treaty allies, will expand this year to include other friendly forces, including those from Japan, France and Canada, which have signed visiting forces agreements with Manila, the Philippine military said.” (04/14/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/us-forces-to-join-combat-drills-in-philippines-to-22205418.php
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“The idea of the ‘property ladder,’ buying a starter home, then trading up over time to larger ones, was a huge part of UK culture from the late 20th century through the early 2000s. It has not disappeared entirely, but for many people it barely functions in the way that it once did. The average property now costs nearly eight times the average income, making it one of the toughest financial challenges of our time. According to the Resolution Foundation, it now takes the average first-time buyer about nine years to save for a deposit, and more than half of all first-time buyers under 35 rely on family help, the so-called ‘Bank of mum and dad,’ to enter the property market. Barclays research from 2025 found that many first-time buyers are no longer perceiving their first home as the start of a journey, but as the final destination.” (04/13/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/goodbye-to-the-property-ladder
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen, Emma Janssen & Whitney Curry Wimbish
“It may seem strange to focus on consequences while the war is still occurring, but the truth is that the die has already been cast when the Strait of Hormuz became a choke point rather than a natural waterway. This will have deep implications on economic security, technology, energy, and geopolitics, which we can now begin to chronicle, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the fighting between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.” (04/14/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/04/14/aftermath-plastics-clogged-in-persian-gulf/
Source: CNBC
“China has called the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz a ‘dangerous and irresponsible act’ that will further enflame tensions in the region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that the targeted blockade of the vital shipping channel, which began at 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, coupled with an increase in U.S. military deployment, risks undermining an ‘already fragile ceasefire situation.’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference that only a full ceasefire can help ease the situation, adding that Beijing would make efforts to help restore peace and stability in the Middle East.” (04/14/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/14/china-us-strait-of-hormuz-war-donald-trump-oil-energy-crisis-conflict-middle-east-iran.html
Source: Antiwar.com
“Netanyahu Says the Trump Admin Briefs Him Every Day, Pope Leo Responds to Trump Attack, and More.” (04/13/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNXvOyECmFU
Source: USA Today
by Paul Bledsoe
“The energy affordability crisis caused by the Iran war and electricity-hungry data centers has now risen, like prices, to near the top of Americans’ political concerns. … The good news is we no longer face the false choice between cutting emissions and cutting prices. We can do both. … Advanced technologies lower emissions while cutting prices. Adding electric car batteries in tens of millions of homes and workplaces along with other cheaper power storage units, which could provide a quarter of new U.S. power this year, might greatly reduce the need for expensive and polluting backup power plants on the grid.” (04/13/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2026/04/14/iran-war-ev-democrats-renewable-energy-policy/89518724007/
