Source: Persuasion
by Sally Satel & Stephen Morse
“School districts and states will argue that they have had to bear the costs of treating a generation of adolescents suffering from the effects of addictive social media use. But there’s a problem: there are real questions about whether social media addiction actually ‘exists’ in a legal sense, and if it does, whether it is the cause of psychological problems or the consequence of them.” (07/08/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-law-shouldnt-recognize-social
Source: SFGate
“Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk are expected to keep questioning the reliability of DNA testing that prosecutors said links the defendant to the suspected murder weapon when a weeklong hearing continues Wednesday. A member of Tyler Robinson’s defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI on Tuesday about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to a rifle found wrapped inside a towel at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot in September while speaking to a crowd. Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions — a theme that’s likely to come up again during the five-day preliminary hearing. ‘She can’t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,’ Burt concluded. Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride countered that the reliability of the DNA testing could be examined if the case goes to trial.” (07/08/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/dna-evidence-from-charlie-kirk-assassination-22336853.php
Source: Independent Institute
by Ella Reed
“Congress recently allowed Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to lapse, now giving them until March 2027 before surveillance authority ends to extend, reform, or completely eliminate the program. If 702 is to be continued, Congress needs to use this eight-month window to revise 702 to meet constitutional standards that protect Americans’ privacy, a standard that each reform attempt thus far has consistently fallen short of.” (07/07/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/07/07/section-702s-lapse-opportunity/
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Artificial intelligence firms initially justified their extreme capital investment (the four largest tech companies expect to spend more than $750 billion for AI infrastructure just this year) by saying that the technology would replace all human workers. They’ve since recognized what an unbelievably bad PR pitch that was, and have pivoted to promote a sunnier scenario where ‘we’re going to be able to keep people at the center of everything’, as OpenAI’s Sam Altman said in May. But there’s a sobering reality underneath the rhetorical shift: AI is turning out to be more expensive for businesses than paying their workers. And that could be one of the many triggers that collapses the fragile economic edifice that the dreams of AI are propping up. The news has mostly been relegated to the business pages, but AI firms repriced their product for business customers in recent months.” (07/08/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/07/08/great-ai-repricing-isnt-going-well/
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“Thousands thronged the streets of Najaf on Wednesday as the coffin of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, moved through the holy city in a procession devoted to Iraq, home to Shia Islam’s most sacred shrines. … After a massive procession in Iran’s holy city of Qom, Iraqi officials and senior politicians received Khamenei’s remains on Tuesday night at Najaf International Airport, in the presence of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and one of the late leader’s sons. … Khamenei’s final burial will take place on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in northeast Iran.” (07/08/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/iraqs-holy-cities-host-funeral-processions-irans-khamenei
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Ukraine: The Dark Specter Haunting The NATO Summit.” (07/07/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1RKjppqLQvNJw
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t extraordinarily arrogant by disposition. Even when I was five years old, I felt like my mom was making glaring mistakes and should take orders from me. And I bluntly told her so! When I started collecting minor accomplishments, my inner sense of self-satisfaction grew stronger and stronger. Now it’s sky high.” (07/07/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/sixteen-fun-facts-about-me
Source: CNN
“President Donald Trump said he believes the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran ‘is over,’ after the US and Iran exchanged strikes across the Middle East. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched strikes on US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait in response to a wave of US strikes. And Iran’s military said it targeted an air base in Bahrain that hosts US forces. The US had launched strikes and reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales as ‘punishment’ for attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, according to an American official.” [editor’s note: Not only has there been no declaration of war, there has been a concurrent “war powers resolution” ordering Trump to end the war. If Congress had a spine, he’d have been impeached and removed by now – TLK] (07/08/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/08/world/live-news/iran-war-nato-summit-ukraine-trump
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“[P]erhaps the most destructive ‘own-goal’ of the US attack is the Iranian decision to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz. Even in the US/Israeli attacks of last June, the Strait was kept open by Iran. It is a vital trade route and in everyone’s best interest to keep open for business. The February attack and Iran’s strong regional response led the country to embrace what some have called a de facto nuclear weapon: control of the Strait. … It is in the best interest of the United States to abandon claims on Hormuz – which is thousands of miles away – and live with the consequences of Trump’s mistake.” (07/07/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2026/07/06/lets-leave-the-strait-of-hormuz-alone
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Does Tucker Carlson Understand the Rigged Two Party System?” (07/07/26)
https://rumble.com/v7ccd2q-does-tucker-carlson-understand-the-rigged-two-party-system-gracearchy-with-.html
