SUMMARY:
HoosLeft This Week opens with late-breaking news from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting before turning to a packed week in national and international news: the Iran war enters its third month with twin blockades strangling global oil markets, Trump fires another cabinet secretary and the Kash Patel drinking story drops, the Roberts Court’s shadow docket origins are exposed, Congress loses more members to scandal and death, and the Epstein pardon question heats up. In the second hour, Nick Marshall joins to cover Indiana: data center regulation battles in Marion County and Clark/Floyd Counties, ICE’s expanding footprint in Indianapolis, the Kleinhelter sheriff scandal and a DCS patronage deal in Dubois County, a Medicaid provider clawback fight, the Indiana Supreme Court taking up the RFRA challenge to the abortion ban, Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith’s war on a high school percussion ensemble, the Diego Morales Secretary of State fiasco, and the Seventh Circuit’s last-minute reinstatement of Indiana’s student ID voting ban.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00:34 Welcome
00:02:45 Guest Introductions
00:04:00 WHCD Shooting
00:05:08 Iran: War Update and Strait of Hormuz
00:12:49 Iran: Economic Fallout
00:18:28 Latin America Operations
00:23:42 Cabinet Turnover, Kash Patel, and SPLC Indictment
00:29:02 Drug Policy
00:32:37 Supreme Court Ethics
00:37:25 Congressional Misconduct and Turnover
00:43:25 Epstein Files and Maxwell Pardon
00:47:21 Virginia Redistricting
00:52:13 Palantir and Technofascism
00:57:13 Destiny Wells Sign-Off
00:59:54 The Crossroads: Data Centers
01:14:33 ICE Expansion in Indiana
01:23:02 Corruption: Kleinhelter and DCS/Krupp
01:32:49 Healthcare: Medicaid Clawbacks and Abortion
01:41:47 Beckwith
01:49:20 Elections: Morales, Student IDs, and Secretary of State Race
01:54:50 Closer: Melania’s Beehive
01:55:33 Guest Promos and Outro
01:58:42 Sign-Off
IN DEPTH:
War in the Middle East
Trump threatens to knock out ‘every single power plant’ and ‘every single bridge’ in Iran (Yahoo! News)
Trump declared “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Sunday before threatening to destroy every power plant and bridge in Iran if Tehran walks away from a nuclear deal
Witkoff and Kushner were due to head to Islamabad Monday for a second round of talks, but Iran’s lead negotiator says a deal is “far from final” and any agreement must move “step-by-step” with reciprocal actions — a direct rejection of Trump’s ultimatum approach.
The ceasefire is already fraying: Iranian gunboats fired on tankers in the strait over the weekend, Iran closed the waterway again, and U.S. Marines seized an Iranian cargo ship — all while Trump was claiming a deal was imminent.
The economic stakes are staggering: 20% of the world’s oil normally flows through the strait, an estimated 10% of global supply has been knocked out, over 80 energy facilities are damaged, and Iran is losing an estimated $435-500 million per day from the blockade.
As tensions escalate in the Strait of Hormuz, US and Iran both fire at ships (ABC)
The Strait of Hormuz is locked down Monday after a weekend of escalating violence: Iran fired on two Indian-flagged tankers that had been given clearance to pass, and U.S. Marines seized an Iranian cargo ship after disabling it with fire from a guided-missile destroyer.
Iran has pulled out of the next round of peace talks in Pakistan and the ceasefire expires Wednesday — with Trump warning Sunday that if no deal is reached, “the whole country is going to get blown up.”
20,000 seafarers are stranded in the Persian Gulf, rationing food and water, unable to leave through the only exit — one crew member told ABC News “we feel like we are in a prison.”
The gap between diplomacy and reality has rarely been wider: Trump was claiming a deal was “a day or two away” as Iranian forces were firing on ships they had just cleared to pass.
Trump says the US will extend its ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request (AP)
Trump announced an indefinite ceasefire extension with Iran Tuesday — a day before it was set to expire — though the U.S. naval blockade continues and Iran has not confirmed it will return to the negotiating table.
Iran’s condition for rejoining talks is the same it’s been: end the blockade; Tehran’s UN ambassador said Iran has “received some sign” the U.S. might be ready to do so, but nothing is confirmed.
Both sides remain dug in: Trump warned of “lots of bombs” without a deal, while an IRGC general threatened to destroy the entire Middle East oil industry if war resumes — and Iran’s chief negotiator said Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” not yet played.
Even has Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire, he continued issuing combative, blustering statements on Truth Social.
Exclusive: US intercepts three Iranian oil tankers in Asian waters, sources say (Reuters)
The U.S. has intercepted at least three Iranian supertankers in Asian waters — off the coasts of Malaysia, India, and Sri Lanka — redirecting them as part of the naval blockade, which has now turned back or redirected 29 vessels total.
The scale of oil being blocked is significant: the three named tankers alone were carrying roughly 4.65 million barrels of crude, including the fully loaded Dorena now under U.S. Navy destroyer escort in the Indian Ocean.
Iran responded Wednesday with its first ship seizures since the war began, capturing two container ships attempting to exit the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz after firing on them and a third vessel.
The Strait remains at a near standstill nearly two months into the war, with the U.S. deliberately targeting Iranian ships in open ocean rather than the strait itself to avoid floating mines during interception operations.
Trump claims US has total control over strait of Hormuz after Iran seizes two container ships (Guardian)
Trump claimed Thursday he has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz — the same day Iran seized two container ships by commando boarding and the Pentagon privately warned Congress it could take up to six months to clear mines from the strait.
The mines are the buried lede: approximately 20 are believed planted, some remotely maneuvered making them harder to locate, meaning the economic damage could outlast any peace deal by half a year.
Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei — who replaced his father, killed in the February 28 opening strike — has had three leg surgeries, hand surgery, and severe facial burns that make it difficult to speak, while the IRGC has filled the resulting power vacuum with a more hawkish collective leadership.
Trump said he’s in no rush for a deal and wants one that’s “everlasting” — while oil sits at $100 a barrel, Iran refuses to return to talks, and the IEA chief called this “the biggest energy security threat in history.”
Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended by three weeks, Trump says (Axios)
At an Oval Office meeting with both ambassadors — a meeting that started as a State Department session with Rubio and was upgraded to a White House summit three hours before it began.
The extension serves two purposes: advancing direct Israel-Lebanon peace talks and preventing renewed Lebanese fighting from blowing up the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire, which Iran claims Israeli strikes in Lebanon are already violating.
The gap between Trump’s optimism and Lebanese reality is wide: Lebanese officials say a trilateral Netanyahu-Aoun-Trump summit is unlikely while Israel occupies 6% of Lebanese territory and continues strikes — and Trump appeared genuinely surprised to learn Lebanese law bars contact with Israel, then asked Rubio to get it cancelled.
Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli villages shortly before the meeting began, the IDF struck back, and Trump told reporters Israel can defend itself during the ceasefire as long as it does so “carefully” — a formulation that leaves the ceasefire’s durability entirely to interpretation.
Kushner, Witkoff — not Vance — heading to Pakistan for ‘direct talks’ with Iran, White House says (CNBC)
Witkoff and Kushner head to Islamabad Saturday after Iran reached out requesting direct talks — a diplomatic restart after negotiations appeared dead earlier this week when Iran refused to show up for a planned second round.
The White House is downgrading the delegation’s profile from Vance to Kushner and Witkoff, framing it as a preliminary listening session — “go hear what they have to say” — before deciding whether to send heavier hitters.
Pete Hegseth declared “Operation Epic Fury” a decisive success Friday, conveniently omitting that the administration originally promised the war would conclude in four to six weeks and has since quietly abandoned that timeline.
Trump told Reuters Iran will be “making an offer” but said he doesn’t know what it is yet — a statement that suggests the U.S. is going into Saturday’s talks without knowing Iran’s bottom line, nearly two months into a war that has shaken global energy markets.
Iran says no meeting with U.S. negotiators planned in Pakistan (CNBC)
Iran stood up Witkoff and Kushner — the White House announced Friday that Iran had reached out requesting direct talks in Islamabad, dispatched the delegation Saturday morning, and Iran then said no meeting was planned and flew its delegation out of the country.
The economic pressure is escalating in parallel: Treasury Secretary Bessent said the Russian oil waiver won’t be renewed, Iran’s oil waiver at sea is dead, and the U.S. sanctioned a major Chinese “teapot” refinery for buying billions in Iranian crude — squeezing Tehran’s remaining revenue streams.
Bessent warned Iran may have to start “shuttering production” within two to three days as the blockade tightens — damage to oil wells from forced shutdown could be long-term and irreversible, adding a new dimension of economic devastation beyond the immediate crisis.
The administration that promised a four-to-six week operation is now rebranding a two-month war with no deal in sight as “decisive” — while Iran won’t show up to talks and the ceasefire holds only because Trump keeps unilaterally extending it.
Bailouts
U.A.E. Asks U.S. About a Wartime Financial Lifeline (WSJ)
The UAE is quietly asking Washington for a currency swap line — a financial lifeline — as the Iran war drains its dollar reserves, shuts off its oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, and spooks investors who once viewed it as a stable haven.
The Emiratis delivered an implicit threat: if they run short of dollars, they may be forced to conduct oil sales in Chinese yuan — a direct shot at the dollar’s global reserve currency status that Trump’s war has now put at risk.
The UAE has $270 billion in foreign reserves and its dirham is pegged to the dollar, but Iran fired over 2,800 drones and missiles at the country before the ceasefire — and Saudi Arabia’s finance minister warned that even a full end to hostilities won’t produce a quick recovery, with tanker logistics alone potentially taking until end of June to normalize.
The bottom line: Trump’s war is now threatening to accelerate the very de-dollarization of global oil markets that U.S. foreign policy has spent decades trying to prevent.
White House mulls using Defense Production Act in Spirit Airlines takeover (CBS)
The Trump administration is exploring using the Defense Production Act to bail out Spirit Airlines, which missed an interest payment this week and may have only days left to operate — the airline’s attorney warned it could collapse imminently unless it gains access to $250 million in cash currently frozen by creditors.
The proposed deal would have the federal government lend Spirit $500 million, become its senior creditor, use the airline’s excess capacity for military transport, and ultimately own 90% of the company before selling it to another carrier.
The bailout is creating a cabinet rift: Commerce Secretary Lutnick is pushing for it, while Transportation Secretary Duffy argues it would only delay an inevitable collapse and create a political headache.
The Iran war’s jet fuel crisis is the proximate cause of Spirit’s final spiral — a low-cost carrier with razor-thin margins and no cushion for a 30%-plus spike in fuel costs is exactly the kind of company that doesn’t survive an energy shock of this magnitude.
Indiana governor ‘likely’ to extend gas tax break (ICC)
Gov. Braun says he’ll likely extend Indiana’s 30-day gas sales tax suspension for another 30 days, citing the unresolved Iran war — though gas prices have already fallen from $4.14 to $3.69 since the suspension began.
If he doesn’t extend, the sales tax rate jumps from 17.2 cents to 23.3 cents per gallon in May — and after a second extension, Braun would need legislative approval to go further, which he says would likely require a special session he doubts will happen.
Latin America
U.S. soldier who won $400K betting on Maduro’s capture charged with using classified information (Yahoo! News)
A U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant who participated in the January 3 capture of Nicolas Maduro has been charged with betting $33,000 on Polymarket using classified knowledge of the operation — and walking away with $409,881 in profit.
Master Sgt. Gannon Van Dyke then tried to cover his tracks by asking Polymarket to delete his account, changing his crypto exchange email to an unregistered address, and routing proceeds through a foreign cryptocurrency vault — before a photo surfaced of him on what appears to be the deck of a ship in military fatigues on the day of the raid.
Trump compared Van Dyke to Pete Rose betting on his own team — “that’s not so bad” — before lamenting prediction markets generally, a remarkable stance given that Trump’s own Truth Social has a prediction market partnership and Donald Trump Jr. holds a financial stake in Polymarket and advises Kalshi.
The case is part of a broader prediction market reckoning: the White House has already warned staffers against betting on the Iran war with insider knowledge, and congressional candidates were fined this week for wagering on their own elections.
In visit to Havana, State Department warned Cuba it ‘has a small window to make a deal’ (Miami Herald)
Senior State Department officials made the first U.S. visit to Havana since the Obama administration on April 10, delivering a blunt message: release political prisoners, implement economic reforms, and do it fast — “they have a small window.”
The U.S. offer included free Starlink internet access and compensation discussions for the $9 billion in properties confiscated after Castro took power — carrots alongside the stick.
Cuba’s priority was the opposite: ending what it called the U.S. “energy blockade” that cut off Venezuelan and Mexican oil supplies, leaving the island in an accelerating economic crisis.
The diplomatic talks are happening under a surveillance drone and Trump’s threat that he could “take Cuba” at any moment — Cuba’s government responded Friday that it “will never be a trophy, nor another star in the American constellation.”
US military kills two more people in strike on alleged drug boat in Pacific (Guardian)
The U.S. military killed two more people Friday in a strike on a small boat in the eastern Pacific, part of a campaign that has now killed at least 178 people since last September — with the military posting videos of the explosions to social media while providing no detailed evidence the targeted vessels were actually involved in drug trafficking.
Legal experts, the ACLU, and UN officials say the strikes violate both domestic and international law; families of two men from Trinidad killed in a strike have sued the government, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has been asked to investigate — while Trump has called the campaign “an act of kindness.”
Sheinbaum Warns of Sanctions After 2 U.S. Officials Die in Chihuahua, Says “There Is No Permission” for U.S. Operations (IB Times)
Two U.S. Embassy officials and two Mexican state officials were killed in a crash following an anti-cartel operation targeting drug labs in Chihuahua — and Mexican President Sheinbaum says she had no knowledge U.S. personnel were involved.
Sheinbaum drew a hard line: “There is no permission for foreign agents to participate in operations in our country,” and has opened a formal investigation into whether Mexican sovereignty was violated.
The deeper threat to Sheinbaum isn’t the crash — it’s the implication that Chihuahua state authorities may have been running a parallel security channel with U.S. agencies, bypassing federal oversight entirely.
The incident lands at the worst possible moment: Trump has been pushing for expanded U.S. operational involvement against cartels in Mexico, and this episode hands him both a precedent and a pressure point.
Trump’s Crash-out Cabinet
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving Trump’s Cabinet after abuse of power allegations (AP)
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out, becoming the third Trump Cabinet member fired in weeks — following Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi — amid allegations of an affair with a subordinate, drinking on the job, and using staff to run personal errands for her family.
At least four Labor Department officials were already forced out as the investigation progressed, including her chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, and the security detail member she allegedly had the affair with.
Chavez-DeRemer had been the rare Republican with genuine union support — the Teamsters backed her — but during her tenure the department rolled back over 60 workplace regulations, including minimum wage protections for home health care workers, mine safety rules, construction site lighting requirements, and seat belt requirements for farm workers.
The administration also canceled millions in grants that had helped reduce the number of child laborers worldwide by 78 million over two decades — all while Chavez-DeRemer’s farewell statement claimed she never stopped fighting for American workers.
Trump’s navy secretary ousted over dispute about shipbuilding (Guardian)
Trump fired Navy Secretary John Phelan Wednesday — not over the Iran war, but over slow shipbuilding reforms, a deteriorating relationship with Hegseth and deputy defense secretary Steve Feinberg, and an ongoing ethics investigation into his office.
Feinberg appears to be the real winner: he moved to strip Phelan of authority over major shipbuilding programs before the firing, and sources say he has now consolidated control over navy acquisition and shipbuilding.
Phelan’s replacement is Hung Cao — a Vietnamese refugee, former Navy officer, and 2024 Virginia Senate candidate who lost to Tim Kaine — who more closely aligned with Hegseth’s cultural agenda and is now acting Navy secretary.
Phelan’s departure is the fifth high-ranking official out since the Iran war began, with GOP senators privately warning Lutnick, Gabbard, and Patel are next; one Republican senator summarized Trump’s mood as “he’s preparing to really let a lot of them go.”
…or at least that’s their story (Irish Star)
According to Fox News, the real reason Hegseth fired Navy Secretary Phelan was that Phelan refused to ignore a federal court order blocking Hegseth’s attempt to demote Senator Mark Kelly — a retired Navy captain whom Hegseth tried to punish for urging service members to refuse illegal orders.
The judge’s ruling found Hegseth had “trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms” and unconstitutionally retaliated against him — meaning Phelan was fired for complying with the Constitution, while Hegseth continues running the Pentagon.
The FBI Director Is MIA (Atlantic)
Kash Patel had a full “freak-out” on April 10, frantically calling aides and members of Congress to announce he’d been fired — because he couldn’t log into a computer system; it was a technical glitch, and he was never fired.
Multiple current and former officials describe Patel’s drinking as a recurring national security concern: security detail members have had difficulty waking him, breaching equipment was requested to get through a locked door, and early-tenure meetings had to be rescheduled around his alcohol-fueled nights.
Days before the U.S. launched its war with Iran, Patel fired members of the FBI’s Iran counterintelligence squad — officials say the timing left the country dangerously shorthanded at the worst possible moment.
Patel has weaponized the bureau against Trump’s enemies while hollowing out its institutional capacity: agents are polygraphed to identify critics of Patel or Trump, experienced staff are being purged or quitting, and the turnover has left the FBI’s counterterrorism muscle memory — one former official’s phrase — dangerously depleted.
The portrait that emerges is of a director who is erratic, frequently absent, and obsessed with loyalty and merchandise aesthetics while the country is at war — “we don’t have a real functioning FBI director,” one official said.
FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for article that alleged excessive drinking (PBS)
Kash Patel sued The Atlantic for $250 million Monday over its reporting on his alleged excessive drinking and erratic management of the FBI — the magazine said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend the “meritless lawsuit.”
Patel is following Trump’s established playbook of using defamation suits as a press suppression tool — a strategy with a mixed record: Trump’s WSJ and NYT suits were both dismissed, though CBS and ABC settled before trial.
The lawsuit’s claim that The Atlantic’s failure to give Patel more response time constitutes “actual malice” is a legal stretch — actual malice requires knowingly publishing falsehoods, not tight deadlines.
The Atlantic’s reporting was sourced from more than two dozen people; Patel’s FBI has been polygraphing employees to identify anyone who speaks critically of him — making the sourcing conditions for this kind of story unusually hostile and the reporters’ work unusually significant.
Southern Poverty Law Center indicted on federal fraud charges (NPR)
The Trump DOJ indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center Tuesday on wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering charges, alleging it secretly paid over $3 million to informants inside white supremacist groups without disclosing the program to donors.
The SPLC says the program — which dated to the 1980s and was shared with law enforcement — saved lives; acting AG Todd Blanche says it “manufactured the extremism it purports to oppose,” a characterization the SPLC vigorously disputes.
The indictment lands in a context that strains credulity: the same DOJ that fired prosecutors for insufficient evidence against Trump’s enemies, installed unlawfully appointed loyalists, and has explicitly targeted left-wing organizations is now prosecuting the country’s most prominent hate group tracker.
The SPLC has been a Republican target for years — the FBI severed ties with them under Kash Patel, House Republicans held hearings attacking them, and the indictment follows the organization’s documentation of Turning Point USA in its annual hate and extremism report shortly before Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Drugs
Trump signs order fast tracking review of psychedelics for mental health disorders (NPR)
Trump signed an executive order directing $50 million toward psychedelic-assisted mental health treatment and ordering the FDA to fast-track review of psilocybin and ibogaine — both currently Schedule I drugs — marking the first time the FDA has offered to expedite any psychedelics.
The policy was apparently set in motion by a text from Joe Rogan to Trump about ibogaine, to which Trump replied “Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.” — Rogan and former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell were both present at the signing ceremony.
The science behind the order is more substantive than the celebrity optics suggest: a 2025 JAMA study found a single LSD dose eased anxiety and depression for months, VA trials of psychedelics for PTSD are underway in multiple states, and psilocybin has shown promise for smoking cessation.
The FDA will issue national priority vouchers to three psychedelics next week, potentially enabling approval in weeks — a dramatic acceleration for drugs that have been federally banned since recreational use ended government research in the 1960s.
Trump moves to reschedule marijuana (Politico)
The Trump DOJ moved FDA-approved and state-approved medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III Thursday, the most consequential federal marijuana policy shift in decades — and scheduled a June 29 hearing to expedite broader rescheduling.
The change doesn’t legalize marijuana federally, but gives cannabis companies significant tax relief and lends new legitimacy to medical marijuana programs in over 40 states.
The fingerprints of industry money are all over it: Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers, who gave $750,000 to Trump’s inaugural committee, helped persuade Trump to include reclassification in his December executive order, and a billionaire cannabis advocate who is a personal friend of Trump’s also shaped the policy.
Republicans are already pushing back — Sen. Tom Cotton called it “a step in the wrong direction” — while critics warn the administration is building another tobacco industry, with the cannabis industry rejoicing while patients remain an afterthought.
Courts
John Roberts’s About-Face on Supreme Court Activism (Jacobin)
The New York Times unearthed internal memos showing Chief Justice John Roberts used the Supreme Court’s shadow docket to unilaterally block Obama’s Clean Power Plan — intervening without oral argument, without factual review, and with an explicitly prejudged outcome, according to the column’s account of the Times reporting.
The memos reveal Roberts did this as the same man who spent his early career crusading against judicial activism, provided Reagan’s DOJ with anti-activist talking points, and promised senators at his confirmation hearing he would merely “call balls and strikes.”
The specific target of Roberts’ intervention was EPA climate regulation — he apparently objected to a single blog post and declared that reducing coal emissions would cause “irreparable harm.”
Sirota’s bottom line: John Roberts became the exact bogeyman John Roberts warned America about, and 79 senators — including many Democrats — confirmed him anyway.
The Chief Justice and His Wife Took $20 Million From Firms He Rules On (Existentialist Republic)
A whistleblower complaint filed with congressional judiciary committees in 2022 documented that Jane Sullivan Roberts earned $10.3 million in commissions over seven years from law firms that argued cases before her husband’s court — income Roberts mischaracterized as “salary” on federal disclosure forms for sixteen consecutive years before quietly correcting it in 2023.
Federal law requires recusal when a spouse has a financial interest that could be substantially affected by a case’s outcome — Roberts did not recuse from more than 500 cases argued by the law firms paying his household in commissions.
Roberts’ response to the ethics crisis was to architect the Court’s first formal ethics code in 2023 — with no enforcement mechanism, no body to receive complaints, and no authority to impose sanctions, which the Brennan Center called designed to fail.
The piece’s bottom line: Thomas took gifts, Alito took flights, and Roberts mislabeled law firm money on federal forms for sixteen years — but has successfully maintained his reputation as the Court’s institutional grown-up while committing the most systematic and documented financial misconduct of the three.
Congress
Some Democrats regret voting to expel George Santos (Axios)
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned Tuesday moments before the Ethics Committee was set to recommend sanctions, having been found guilty of funneling $5 million in misallocated COVID funds to her own campaign — she’s also under criminal indictment and denied wrongdoing to the end.
Her resignation has triggered unexpected buyer’s remorse among Democrats over the 2023 Santos expulsion, with multiple members now saying they regret voting to remove him before he was convicted — Santos later pleaded guilty and got 87 months, then was pardoned by Trump.
The due process debate now centers on Cory Mills: Mace is forcing an expulsion vote next week, but even some Democrats say they won’t move against him while the Ethics Committee investigation is still open.
The precedent problem cuts both ways — some Democrats say the standard has to apply equally to both parties, while others say Congress shouldn’t be in the business of expelling members ahead of courts, judges, and juries.
Democratic Congressman, 80, Dies in Office After Announcing Reelection (TNR)
Democratic Rep. David Scott of Georgia has died at 80, becoming the fourth Democratic House member to pass away since Trump took office — all over 70, all from safe Democratic districts.
Scott had been planning to run for a 13th term despite visible cognitive decline: a primary opponent discovered through public records that he hadn’t voted in six consecutive elections including 2024, colleagues told Politico he struggled with detailed conversations and relied on scripts, and a rambling House floor speech about tariffs ended with his microphone being cut off.
His death raises the same uncomfortable question his planned candidacy already had: at what point does the Democratic Party address the pattern of elderly members in safe seats holding on well past the point of effective representation?
Epstein
DOJ inspector general to review compliance with Epstein Files Transparency Act (MaddowBlog)
The DOJ’s internal watchdog announced it is auditing the department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, after months of congressional complaints that the DOJ has withheld documents the law requires to be released.
Acting AG Todd Blanche told Fox News just 12 days into his tenure that the DOJ has released everything and is “not sitting on a single piece of paper” — a claim Democrats and survivors have disputed and the Inspector General is now formally examining.
The audit will evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing Epstein records — with a public report promised when complete, meaning the scrutiny isn’t going away before the midterms.
The investigation adds to a growing pile of Epstein-related pressure on the administration: Pam Bondi dodged her congressional subpoena, the Oversight Committee is split over a Maxwell pardon, and the UK has arrested Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson — all while the White House is visibly desperate to make the story go away.
Oversight members split over whether to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, committee chair says (Politico)
The House Oversight Committee is split on whether to support pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for her testimony in the Epstein investigation — chair James Comer called it a bad look and said Maxwell is “the worst person in this whole investigation” other than Epstein himself.
Maxwell has invoked the Fifth Amendment and her lawyer says she’ll only talk if Trump grants clemency — and that lawyer believes a pardon is likely, noting she was quietly moved to a minimum security facility after a two-day DOJ interview in which she told Todd Blanche she never saw Trump engage in impropriety with Epstein.
The conflict of interest is glaring: Trump is the only person who can grant Maxwell clemency, Maxwell’s DOJ interview was specifically designed to clear Trump, and the investigation is being conducted by a committee that answers to a Republican majority with no apparent appetite to implicate their president.
Democrats unanimously oppose a pardon, with ranking member Garcia calling it “a massive cover up” and “a huge slap in the face to survivors” — and calling for an investigation into why Maxwell’s prison conditions improved after her Blanche interview.
The investigation is gaining urgency alongside the UK’s arrest of Prince Andrew and former Ambassador Peter Mandelson for crimes related to their Epstein associations — pressure that makes the question of Maxwell’s cooperation increasingly central.
Virginia Redistricting
Virginia votes to redraw congressional maps, favoring Democrats (VPM)
Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday bypassing the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, triggering maps that would give Democrats 10 of Virginia’s 11 congressional seats — a net swing of roughly four seats heading into the midterms.
The vote is part of an escalating national tit-for-tat: Trump pushed Texas to redraw maps for GOP advantage, California Democrats responded by flipping five seats blue, and Missouri and North Carolina drew new Republican-favoring districts — Virginia is the latest move on the board.
The campaign shattered Virginia records at $85 million spent — with the pro-redistricting side outspending opponents three-to-one, fueled largely by dark money from national figures on both sides.
The result may not stand: multiple Republican lawsuits were deliberately punted by courts until after the referendum, and the Virginia Supreme Court is now expected to rule on legal challenges that could nullify the outcome entirely.
Republican proposes giving Democratic-leaning part of Virginia back to DC after redistricting vote (AP)
Republicans responded to Virginia’s redistricting referendum by introducing the “Make DC Square Again Act,” which would reverse the 1847 retrocession that returned Alexandria and Arlington to Virginia — stripping roughly 400,000 heavily Democratic voters from the state and dulling the new maps’ partisan advantage.
The historical justification is thin and the political motivation is transparent: Alexandria and Arlington voted 77% for Harris in 2024, and a University of Maryland historian called the bill “not even a retrocession bill — it’s really a Virginia voter suppression bill.”
A separate pathway being floated is a Trump executive order declaring the original retrocession unconstitutional, which would eventually force a Supreme Court ruling — conveniently landing before a court Republicans have spent decades packing.
The bill’s prospects in Congress are slim, but it signals the escalating national tit-for-tat over redistricting heading into the midterms, where every seat counts in a razor-thin House majority.
Tech
Palantir’s summary of CEO Alexander Karp’s manifesto is generating buzz. Read the 22 bullet points. (Business Insider)
The 22 points are a summary of Karp’s 320-page book “The Technological Republic,” published in early 2025 — so this isn’t new thinking, it’s Karp’s long-held worldview being amplified now
The manifesto calls for reinstating the draft, rearming Germany and Japan, and declares that Silicon Valley has a “moral debt” and “affirmative obligation” to participate in national defense
Point 21 is the most nakedly ideological: certain cultures have “proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful” — with no specification of which ones, which does the work for you
Point 22 attacks pluralism directly: “inclusion into what?” — a dog whistle framing multiculturalism as cultural surrender
The Bellingcat founder nails the real point: “These 22 points aren’t philosophy floating in space — they’re the public ideology of a company whose revenue depends on the politics it’s advocating”
What the Palantir CEO’s ‘manifesto’ tells us about the changing face of war (France24)
Palantir published a 22-point manifesto Saturday calling Silicon Valley’s “engineering elite” to obligatory military service, proposing mandatory national service, rearming Germany and Japan, and declaring that some cultures have “proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful” — without specifying which ones.
The document is a sales brochure dressed as philosophy: Palantir’s CTO has openly described the company’s core product as “optimizing the kill chain from sensor to shooter,” it built the AI targeting system the Pentagon just asked Congress to fund at $2.3 billion, and it signed a strategic partnership with Netanyahu’s government during the Gaza campaign that killed over 70,000 Palestinians.
The company has flourished under Trump — $4.5 billion in 2025 revenue, more than half from government contracts, with Trump naming Palantir executives to key government roles while the company recruits former officials in return, erasing the line between vendor and government.
A Quincy Institute researcher puts it plainly: Palantir “should be a vendor” — instead it funds political campaigns, uses dark money to block AI regulation, and is actively trying to shape U.S. domestic and foreign policy while its founder Peter Thiel lectures about the coming of the Antichrist and calls democracy incompatible with freedom.
The Crossroads
Tech
Decatur Township residents sue to block $4B data center (WFYI)
Decatur Township residents are asking a court to overturn approval of a $4 billion Sabey Corp. data center, arguing the developer used a variance-of-use filing to deliberately bypass the full City-County Council vote that killed a similar Google data center in Franklin Township last year.
The legal argument is straightforward: variances are supposed to be narrow exceptions, not a workaround to rezone 130 acres of land near residential neighborhoods without council oversight.
A 30-year land use veteran calls the strategy “troubling” — and warns it’s already spreading, with a second developer now filing a variance to build a $2 billion data center on the east side using the same playbook.
Mayor Hogsett has never created a specific zoning classification for data centers, a gap residents say was deliberate and has stripped them of their rights in the process.
Indianapolis proposes data center zoning rules, but critics say protections fall short (WFYI)
Indianapolis released draft zoning rules Tuesday that would formally define data centers for the first time in Marion County, requiring a 200-foot buffer from …
Indianapolis released draft zoning rules Tuesday that would formally define data centers for the first time in Marion County, requiring a 200-foot buffer from residential land, capping noise at 65 decibels, and banning generator testing between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Developers would also need utility providers to verify adequate electrical and water capacity exists before breaking ground — a direct response to neighborhood concerns about energy and water demand that current rules don’t address.
Critics say the rules are too weak: the Citizens Action Coalition says the draft still allows high noise levels, doesn’t meaningfully restrict proximity to neighborhoods, schools, or parks, and still permits diesel generators — and has called for a moratorium that city leadership shows no appetite for.
The political fault line is clear: Pat Andrews, who fought the Decatur Township data center, says the city deliberately avoided zoning rules to deprive residents of their rights, while Council member Vop Osili — a 2027 mayoral candidate — says “We are not a city that will be banning something like infrastructure,” continuing, “I think many of us look upon power and data centers as infrastructure in the very same way that we view power lines, telephone lines and sewer lines.”
AES, Google say partnership will save customers $770 million (FOX59)
Google and AES Indiana have filed a proposal under state law requiring Google to cover the full cost of its proposed Monrovia data center’s electricity and infrastructure — meaning existing ratepayers wouldn’t foot the bill for a trillion-dollar company’s expansion.
The deal projects $770 million in savings spread over 533,000 customers across 15 years — roughly $8 per month per customer in avoided rate increases, not new savings.
The proposal was filed under HEA 1007, a 2025 Indiana law specifically designed to ensure large new customers bear the costs of the energy demand they create — a direct result of the policy fights over data center energy costs that have been roiling the state.
The IURC is expected to rule in September — and the outcome will set a precedent for how Indiana handles the roughly $1.3 billion in new energy infrastructure Google says the project requires.
ICE
US citizens detail claims of abuse by federal immigration officers (Scripps)
Four U.S. citizens testified at a House Democratic hearing Wednesday about abuses at the hands of federal immigration agents, including Marimar Martinez — shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October 2025 — who told lawmakers “my own government was calling me a domestic terrorist” while she was held in federal detention with bullet wounds.
Newly released police video from the Martinez shooting captures an agent saying “it’s time to get aggressive” moments before opening fire; DHS claimed she rammed agents, she says an agent swerved into her car, and the Justice Department ultimately dropped all charges against her.
A pastor, Rev. David Black, testified that masked agents struck him in the head with seven pepperballs while he protested outside an Illinois detention center — calling it “only a reflection of what is being done to people in my community who have no pulpit and platform.”
Stephen Miller and Tom Homan declined Democrats’ invitation to testify; Republicans called the hearing a distraction and said the focus should be on reopening DHS — a response that treats the shooting of American citizens as a procedural inconvenience.
Senate passes budget plan for ICE and Border Patrol in bid to reopen Homeland Security Department (AP)
The Senate passed a $70 billion budget resolution 50-48 at 3:30 a.m. Thursday to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years — using the budget reconciliation process to bypass the 60-vote filibuster threshold Republicans can’t clear with only 53 seats.
The vote came after an all-night amendment series, with Democrats pushing amendments to lower healthcare costs and arguing that hundreds of billions for immigration enforcement is the wrong priority while families struggle with affordability.
The bill is now hostage to House Republican infighting: members want to add the SAVE America Act voter ID provisions and farm funding, while Sen. Kennedy warned this is “the last train leaving the station” for Republican priorities before the midterms.
The rest of DHS — including TSA, which has already caused airport security line backlogs — remains unfunded, and Senate Majority Leader Thune warned other department functions may run out of money before the winding budget process concludes.
ICE is searching for coworking space in 90 cities, including Indianapolis (IndyStar)
DHS is actively seeking coworking space for hundreds of ICE personnel in 90 cities including Indianapolis, as the agency continues its federally-funded expansion — on top of an existing field office and a recently leased Carmel location that was hidden from public lease databases.
Indianapolis Mayor Hogsett’s office learned about the latest expansion from the press, not the federal government: “We don’t welcome this presence in our community.”
The scale of ICE’s buildout is staggering: Congress handed the agency $75 billion through the One Big Beautiful Bill, and a separate plan calls for 92,000 additional detention beds nationwide — with Indianapolis previously considered for an 8,500-bed facility that Rep. André Carson says remains unresolved.
The pattern is consistent: federal officials expand ICE’s footprint in communities without notifying local governments, withhold locations from public records, and deflect questions to agencies that provide no answers.
Corruption
Governor removes Dubois County sheriff from Indiana law enforcement board after failed settlement (ICC)
Indiana’s Law Enforcement Training Board rejected a settlement that would have let Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter keep his law enforcement certification until 2027, sending the case back for further review — hours later, Gov. Braun removed Kleinhelter from the board he had been sitting on while it reviewed his own case.
The settlement’s fatal flaw, according to opponents: the board has held other officers accountable for the same violations without delay, and cutting a deal for an elected sheriff sets a troubling double standard.
Former ISP Superintendent Doug Carter didn’t mince words: “Mike Braun and Josh Kelley should have removed Kleinhelter months ago, and by not doing so, they have disrespected this body.”
The case has a Kafkaesque wrinkle: decertifying Kleinhelter won’t actually remove him from office since his authority comes from being elected, not from his certification — he could remain sheriff even without law enforcement credentials.
Lawmakers blast newly created special advisor position for ex-DCS director (WRTV)
Indiana lawmakers are raising questions about a newly created $210,000 “special advisor” position created for outgoing DCS Director Adam Krupp — a job with no description, never posted publicly, and billed to the DCS budget while reporting to the Governor’s Office.
Democrats say the money would be better spent hiring three additional caseworkers, noting the bitter irony that Krupp’s tenure included terminating dozens of DCS frontline workers for “operational efficiencies” — and now he’s getting a soft landing at full salary while those workers are gone.
The arrangement creates a governance puzzle that nobody can answer: with Krupp as special advisor, new Director Dorfmeyer running the agency, and Secretary Gloria Sachdev overseeing DCS from above, lawmakers are asking who actually makes decisions at one of Indiana’s largest and most critical agencies.
Braun’s office declined an on-camera interview, Republicans haven’t responded to press inquiries, and the State Personnel Department confirmed there is currently no job description — suggesting the position was created for Krupp specifically with no process, no transparency, and no clear public purpose.
Healthcare
FSSA seeks return of $200 million in improper payments to attendant care providers (ICC)
Indiana’s FSSA is seeking $200 million in repayments from the state’s five largest attendant care providers after audits found errors in nearly all Medicaid claims reviewed — including missing background checks for caregivers, billing for unauthorized services like physical therapy, and at least one case where a company’s own COO was listed as the patient.
The audit was triggered by an unexplained $150 million surge in Medicaid claims between 2021 and 2022 — a red flag the Braun administration says points to systemic abuse of a program serving elderly and disabled Hoosiers.
At least one provider is pushing back hard: Tendercare Home Health CEO Eric Deitchman says his company provided 150 pages of documentation per patient and has been audit-deficient-free since 1994, and warns that prepayment review could create a cash flow crisis for a business that pays 650 employees every two weeks.
The audits are part of a broader Medicaid crackdown that has already removed 400,000 Hoosiers from the rolls — with work requirements set to kick in January 1 that could cut even more, even as the state’s sickest patients remain and costs haven’t fallen commensurately.
Indiana Supreme Court will hear challenge to religious-based abortion lawsuit (FOX59)
The Indiana Supreme Court will take up the religious freedom challenge to Indiana’s near-total abortion ban directly, bypassing the Court of Appeals, with oral arguments set for September 10.
A Marion County court already granted a permanent injunction in March finding the ban imposes a “substantial burden” on religious exercise protected under Indiana’s own Religious Freedom Restoration Act — the state is now appealing that ruling.
The case was brought by the ACLU on behalf of five anonymous women and Hoosier Jews for Choice, whose religious beliefs include the right to abortion — a direct collision between the state’s evangelical-driven ban and the religious liberty framework Republicans themselves championed.
The outcome could create a broad religious exemption to Indiana’s abortion ban, effectively carving out access for a significant portion of the population whose faith doesn’t align with the state’s imposed theology.
Christian Nationalism
‘Demonic filth’: Beckwith doubles down on Westfield High School Band comments (IndyStar)
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith called the Westfield High School indoor percussion ensemble’s spring show “demonic filth” because it includes classical opera selections from Carmen — a piece performed by high school ensembles across the country — and urged parents to pull their kids from public schools using vouchers.
The show in question is a classical music performance built around Bolero, Carmen Fantasy, and Capriccio Espagnol, themed around the tension between restraint and passion; Beckwith’s specific objection is that Carmen depicts adultery.
The backlash against Beckwith has been swift: the mayor of Westfield, the school district, and the Indiana Percussion Association all issued statements defending the band, which responded by rallying community support under #StandingRockStrong.
This is Beckwith’s second public conflict with Westfield schools — he previously threatened to push to defund the district after being disinvited from an appearance, and parents protested his visit to the school in early 2025 over his rhetoric on immigration and LGBTQ issues.
Beckwith calls Valparaiso Community Schools ‘woke’ after controversial visit (IndyStar)
Lt. Gov. Beckwith called Valparaiso Community Schools “woke” after its superintendent apologized that students were offended by individual conversations Beckwith initiated after a career fair appearance — and is demanding the superintendent resign despite the fact that McCall had already announced he’s leaving July 1.
The superintendent’s actual offense was promising to vet outside speakers more carefully; Beckwith’s official bio, read aloud before he spoke, included the phrase “fighting the woke agenda,” and students were held in the auditorium after the speech due to a scheduling gap they hadn’t been told about.
Beckwith framed the superintendent’s apology as coddling students, while also criticizing the district for allowing students to walk out in an ICE protest — a protest schools are not required to punish under Indiana law.
The incident fits a national pattern of conservative political attacks on public education, even as a comprehensive review of K-12 history education found no evidence of the indoctrination conservatives claim is widespread.
Elections
FINANCE REPORT FEUD: Morales’ office denies Ballard campaign’s accusation of being blocked from filing (Indiana Citizen)
Greg Ballard’s campaign is blaming Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales for a three-week delay in providing portal login credentials that prevented them from filing their first-quarter finance report on time — forcing the campaign to release its numbers via press release instead
The Election Division fired back saying the blame rests with the Ballard campaign, which failed to include an email address in its original March 11 filing — meaning the system couldn’t auto-generate login credentials
Ballard’s campaign disputes that account, saying it tried for weeks to get portal access and only received login credentials on April 2 — two days after the first quarter closed
The irony is thick: a candidate running against the incumbent Secretary of State for incompetent election administration got tangled up in what his campaign is calling the incumbent’s incompetent election administration
Greg Ballard has raised $289,807 in his first six weeks running for Secretary of State as a Lincoln Party independent — outpacing every candidate in the race except Morales and Democratic frontrunner Beau Bayh, who have both crossed seven figures.
Indiana college ID voting ban goes back into effect as injunction is stayed (ICC)
The Seventh Circuit reinstated Indiana’s student ID voting ban Monday on an emergency motion, putting between 40,000 and 90,000 student voters back in legal limbo — with early voting for the May 5 primary already underway.
The state’s “election integrity” argument has a glaring hole: military IDs, VA cards, and tribal IDs without expiration dates still qualify, while student IDs — which had worked without incident for decades — were singled out as insufficiently rigorous.
One plaintiff, IU student Josh Montagne, voted with his student ID the day after the injunction was granted; that vote’s validity is now unclear.
A “reasoned decision” from the appeals court is promised within two business days — meaning this could flip again before primary day.
And Finally this Week
Melania Trump is growing the White House honey program with a new beehive (AP)
Melania Trump announced a new White House beehive shaped like the White House, timed to the state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla — both committed beekeepers — adding about 30 pounds of annual honey production to the existing hives’ 200-225 pounds.
The existing program, which dates to 2009 under Michelle Obama, produces clover honey used for White House meals, official gifts, and food bank donations.
“Honey Traps” in espionage, seduction for secrets (Historia Scripta)
Honeypotting — using romantic or sexual relationships to extract intelligence — is one of espionage’s oldest tools, dating back centuries but refined into a systematic weapon by the Soviet KGB during the Cold War.
KGB female agents known as “swallows” or “Mozhno girls” were deployed against Western diplomats across the globe; targets ranged from a French ambassador to a U.S. Marine guard who handed over embassy floor plans and top secret cables, serving nine years of a 30-year sentence — and at least one target, a French military attaché confronted with incriminating photos, chose suicide over exposure.
The standard playbook: cultivate the relationship, capture photographic evidence, then present the target with a choice between cooperation and disgrace — a formula so reliable the Washington Post reported in 1987 that most Westerners who spent time in Moscow had their own personal honeypot story.
