“Deutsche Bank AG failed to promptly report to US authorities more than $250 million in suspicious transactions tied to Jeffrey Epstein, including funds used to pay women in Russia and other Eastern European countries, according to a new report prepared by a Democratic US senator.”

Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says

Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...

bloomberg.com

“Construction crews building a border wall in New Mexico were ordered to stop drilling new wells after ranchers said that pumping groundwater to produce concrete could threaten their livestock amid a severe drought.”

Crews building Trump border wall in drought-hit New Mexico ordered to stop drilling wells

Residents and farmers say contractors have tapped border aquifers that threaten water supply for those nearby

theguardian.com

When it peaked in June, Musk’s net worth was valued at more than $1.3 trillion. Musk marked the occasion by taking several victory laps on X. But that was then. Over the last 7 weeks, Musk’s fortune shrank by more than $550 billion following dramatic market losses suffered by Tesla and SpaceX.

How SpaceX crashed to earth

When it peaked in mid-June, Elon Musk’s net worth was valued at more than $1.3 trillion, making his individual wealth greater than the combined fortunes of Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Ser...

oligarchwatch.substack.com

An opaque nonprofit affiliated with Senate Republicans, One Nation, has blanketed Georgia with a new ad attacking Senator Jon Ossoff. The group has spent $1.7 million in less than a week, delivering 78 million impressions of the ad across the state. Almost nothing in the ad is true.

Is this the most dishonest ad of 2026?

An opaque nonprofit affiliated with Senate Republicans, One Nation, has blanketed Georgia over the last five days with a new ad attacking Senator Jon Ossoff (D).

popular.info

“The proposed changes would remove most of Head Start’s 133 pages of requirements for math and literacy curriculums, class sizes, medical screenings, home visits and even a requirement that children brush their teeth after meals.”

Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It

The White House tried but failed to block funding for preschool for poor children. Instead, it will seek to strip away standards on health, literacy — and brushing teeth.

nytimes.com

“The family of a Haitian immigrant who froze to death in early March at a bus shelter in Pittsburgh after she was dropped off in the city by [ICE] is poised to file a lawsuit this month against the United States and ‘multiple other governmental and non-governmental entities’.”

Family to sue after woman released from ICE custody froze to death

Exclusive: Daphy Michel, from Haiti, was dropped off in Pittsburgh in 20F temperatures wearing summer clothes

theguardian.com

“An estimated 26,000 children who entered the U.S. without parents or guardians are expected to be left without independent legal representation as soon as Monday, according to lawyers who help represent them.”

More than 25,000 children lose previous legal protections, as federal contract ends

Thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children are set to lose legal representation. The federal contract that pays for legal access expired Friday.

npr.org

Media outlets pushed a false narrative about the number of family members of 9/11 victims who signed a petition targeting Mamdani — and then tried to cover their tracks.

UPDATE: After the Mamdani 9/11 smear, a cover-up

Media outlets pushed a false narrative about the number of family members of 9/11 victims who signed a petition targeting Mamdani — and then covered their tracks.

popular.info

"The Trump administration has begun arresting foreign citizens with expired U.S. visas as they travel through airports, including spouses of Americans... a tactic that opens up a vast new pool of people for deportation."

ICE Arrests Surge at Airports, Opening New Front in Deportation Drive

Federal agents are arresting spouses of Americans, tech workers and others whose visas have expired, including many who have active applications to stay in the country.

nytimes.com

“Buying food to eat at home has gotten 33% more expensive in U.S. cities since the beginning of 2019, according to government figures. In the 7 1/2 years before that, prices rose 6.4%.”

Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years

Living through the biggest jump in grocery prices in a half-century has many Americans changing their eating and food shopping habits.

apnews.com

“Flock Safety cameras have been pilloried for facilitating the AI-powered surveillance of private citizens and for targeting immigrants for years. But now safety advocates are also claiming that their physical location can pose potential roadside hazards.”

Flock surveillance cameras can pose a crash risk for drivers, US experts say

Roadside safety advocates say some automated license plate readers may not meet highway safety standards

theguardian.com

This week, Newsmax announced it had struck a deal with Meta. Under the agreement, Meta will “draw upon Newsmax’s significant current reporting as well as archived content across its platforms to support AI queries across Meta’s apps and devices.”

Meta will train its AI on far-right media outlet

This week, Newsmax — a far-right news organization with a strong allegiance to President Trump and a history of pushing wild conspiracy theories — announced it had struck a deal with Meta.

popular.info

"AI is pushing inflation higher and further compounding longstanding affordability concerns in the process. Plus, these price pressures aren’t expected to go away anytime soon, and they very well could broaden.”

AI is making your life more expensive. Here’s how | CNN Business

AI is raising prices for Americans – and not just electricity bills.

cnn.com

“Missouri Republican officials threatened Tuesday to cut state funding for Columbia’s public library after staff held a reading of LGBTQ+ children’s books last week.”

Missouri Republicans threaten library funding over ‘rainbow story time’ • Missouri Independent

After a library held a LGBTQ+ themed story time, Missouri Republican officials vowed to defund the library and set stricter laws.

missouriindependent.com

“Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told CBS News the Trump administration's plan to ramp up arrests and deportations of Haitian migrants is a ‘mistake,’ arguing the move could bruise the state's economy and risk putting Haitians in danger in their home country.”

Ohio's GOP governor calls Trump's plans to deport Haitians a "mistake": "You'd be sending people … back to hell"

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told CBS News the Trump administration's plan to ramp up deportations of Haitian migrants is a "mistake," arguing the move could bruise Ohio's economy.

cbsnews.com

On Friday, Trump released an executive order directing officials to install signs outside the National Museum of American History informing visitors that the museum presents history inaccurately. The order is the latest attack in a campaign by the Trump administration to discredit the Smithsonian.

The fake historian advising Trump's anti-Smithsonian crusade

Last Friday, President Trump released an executive order directing officials to install signs outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) informing visitors that the museum pr...

popular.info

“Federal immigration agents used racial slurs, including ‘wet’ and ‘tonks,’ to identify people to target while sweeping through Los Angeles last year, according to text messages cited in a new court filing asking a federal judge there to bar agents from racial profiling.”

‘Pretty sure he’s wet:’ Immigration agents used racial slurs during LA sweeps, court records show

Records released as part of a lawsuit challenging racial profiling show that immigration agents used slurs to refer to Latino targets.

calmatters.org

“Within six days of the June 12 initial public offering, at least six House members or their immediate families purchased a total of between roughly $83,000 and $245,000 in SpaceX shares, according to a CNBC tally of the amounts reported in House financial disclosures.”

SpaceX stock-purchasing by Congress members fuels conflict concerns

Five of the Congress members serve on committees whose work touches SpaceX's federal contracts, defense programs, AI, telecommunications or securities markets.

cnbc.com

“Jump ahead to 2026, and Kalshi, the company leading the prediction market craze, is criticizing the law, calling it ‘bananas,’ ‘illegal’ and a type of ‘voter suppression.’”

Kalshi attacks a Wisconsin law banning election bets as 'voter suppression'

The spat between the leading prediction market company and a key battleground state could be a glimpse into the next major fight between states and the fast-growing industry.

npr.org

Meta has since taken down at least two popular accounts belonging to pickup artists. But many similar accounts and hundreds of videos from pickup artists remain active on Instagram, an Oligarch Watch investigation revealed.

The creep economy still thrives on Meta

Meta’s smart glasses armed with discreet cameras, combined with its video sharing platform, have created a powerful toolkit for seedy men to record, disseminate, and monetize videos of themselves hara...

oligarchwatch.substack.com

Meta’s smart glasses armed with discreet cameras, combined with its video sharing platform, have created a powerful toolkit for seedy men to record, disseminate, and monetize videos of themselves harassing women.

The creep economy still thrives on Meta

Meta’s smart glasses armed with discreet cameras, combined with its video sharing platform, have created a powerful toolkit for seedy men to record, disseminate, and monetize videos of themselves hara...

oligarchwatch.substack.com

The New York Post ran a story with the headline: “STAY AWAY: Thousands of 9/11 families demand Mamdani be banned from 25th-Anniversary.” The story is about a petition started by Giovanni Galante. In an interview, he acknowledged that there was no list of family members who had signed the petition.

The truth about the viral 9/11 petition targeting Mamdani

“We don’t have a list”

popular.info

“If you live near a military base, there’s a chance you’ll soon find that a privately owned data center has moved into your area. A year ago, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Defense to lease land to private developers for this purpose."

Trump’s push to build data centers for the US military

Claims about national security are running into widespread backlash.

motherjones.com

“Venezuelan men sent last year to a notorious Salvadorian terrorism prison by the Trump administration are suing the US aviation companies that transported them there.”

Venezuelan men sue aviation firms who flew them to notorious Salvadorian jail

Exclusive: CSI Aviation and GlobalX accused of violating civil rights as part of Trump immigration crackdown

theguardian.com

“A recent string of low-altitude military flyovers is the latest flare-up in a yearslong battle that often ends with federal air safety officials getting steamrolled by the Pentagon.”

How the Pentagon continues to outmaneuver the FAA

Recent flyovers are the latest in an ongoing battle between the agencies.

politico.com

American taxpayers are spending billions every year providing Medicaid benefits to hundreds of thousands of employees of Amazon and Walmart, a new analysis by Popular Information reveals.

Taxpayers spend about $2 billion annually on Medicaid for Amazon and Walmart employees

American taxpayers are spending billions every year providing Medicaid benefits to hundreds of thousands of employees of Amazon and Walmart, a new analysis by Popular Information reveals.

popular.info

“Wholesome eating is a central part of the Trump administration's efforts to Make America Healthy Again. But a landmark nutrition education program for recipients of federal food assistance and other low-income people will cease to exist within weeks after President Trump eliminated it last summer.”

The White House pushes healthy eating. It cut a landmark nutrition education program

Nutrition advocates and public health experts are mystified by the decision to eliminate SNAP-Ed, given the Trump administration's embrace of the Make America Healthy Again agenda.

npr.org

“Tech giants developing AI models... have donated more than $2 million combined to the national Democratic and Republican attorneys general campaign committees since the start of 2025, as AGs in both parties are suing AI companies over harms to children and deceptive safety claims.”

AI Companies Are Funding the AGs Investigating Them

OpenAI, Google, Meta, and others sent a wave of donations to both parties’ attorney general groups as AGs move to regulate the AI industry. Elon Musk's xAI contributed as well.

readsludge.com

“A team of former DOGE employees have raised a major funding round for a startup that aims to use AI ‌to expand U.S. military cyber capabilities, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.”

EXCLUSIVE: DOGE alumni launch military cyber startup with $1.4 billion valuation

A ​team of former DOGE employees have raised a major funding round for a startup that aims to use AI ‌to expand U.S. military cyber capabilities, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuter...

reuters.com

On Wednesday, the Trump administration signed a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. The deal comes after the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund invested $2 billion in Jared Kushner’s private equity fund. Nearly all media coverage of the agreement ignored Kushner’s financial conflicts.

A nuclear deal for the Saudis. A media blackout for Kushner’s corruption.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration signed a 30-year nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that paves the way for the kingdom to enrich its own uranium.

popular.info