The Evening Blues - 6-4-26
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features Chicago blues harmonica player Big Walter Horton. Enjoy!
Walter 'Shakey' Horton – They Call Me Big Walter
"TAKE, v.t. To acquire, frequently by force but preferably by stealth."
-- Ambrose Bierce
News and Opinion
US Congressman Introduces Bill To Change US-Israel Relationship Based on Netanyahu’s Plan
On Wednesday, Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) introduced a bill in the House calling for a change in the US-Israel relationship that’s based on a plan put forward by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Amid growing skepticism among Americans about the US-Israel relationship, Netanyahu has suggested that the US could eventually end its military aid to Israel and transition the relationship to a more partnership-based model that would further intertwine the US and Israeli militaries, making the special relationship even harder to unravel.
Stutzman’s bill praises Netanyahu for coming up with the idea and calls for the US and Israel to form a new Memorandum of Understanding to “replace traditional military assistance with a framework of joint defense codevelopment, coproduction, and mutual investment that will strengthen both nations’ defense industries and military readiness.”
Under the current US-Israeli MOU, Israel receives at least $3.8 billion in military aid from the US each year, though it has received much more since October 7, 2023. The purpose of Netanyahu’s plan is to remove public-facing military aid to reduce criticism of the US-Israel relationship and to make whatever aid and support Israel receives from the US under the new arrangement much less transparent.
While Stutzman’s bill is largely symbolic, Congress is advancing other legislation to further integrate the US and Israeli militaries. Buried inside the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is Section 224, entitled the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” which, according to Ben Freeman of the Quincy Institute, would “arguably do more to intertwine the US military with the Israeli military than the more than $200 billion (inflation adjusted) in military assistance Israel has received from the US since its founding in 1948.”
COL. Lawrence Wilkerson : Did Pakistan Offer Iran Nukes?
US House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority in Iran
The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces. The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissident Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan.
Wednesday’s vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it. The vote sends the resolution to the Senate.A handful of Senate Republican defectors joined Democrats last month to advance a similar resolution forcing Trump to seek congressional approval after four Republican senators rebelled and voted with the Democrats.
It was the fourth time the House had voted on a resolution to rein in Trump’s power to continue the conflict, which has now been running for more than 90 days. The 90-day threshold is important because the 1973 war powers act lays down that a president must seek congressional approval to continue waging war after hostilities have continued for that length of time. The White House has rejected that argument, citing a temporary ceasefire that has been in place since 8 April – although it has been broken several times by the US, Israel and Iran.
The vote’s impact is largely symbolic, as it is unclear whether the House version, which is a concurrent resolution and does not need to be signed by the president, carries the force of law, even if it also passes in the Senate. But it was a striking demonstration of the nascent willingness among a segment of Republicans to defy Trump, who has kept a vice-like grip on the party on Capitol Hill, through his willingness to exact retribution against dissenters.
Polls have consistently shown low public support for the war, amid fear among Republicans that anger over rising fuel costs that it has triggered will cost the party in November’s congressional midterm elections.
COL. Douglas Macgregor : Does the US Have a Military Option in Iran?
Iran STRIKES US Destroyer! w/Lawrence Wilkerson
One killed and 63 hurt in Iran attack on Kuwait airport as Trump says ceasefire talks ongoing
Kuwait’s military said Iranian strikes that hit a terminal at its international airport killed at least one person and wounded 63 in the first deadly attack in the Gulf since a ceasefire on 8 April came into effect. The US and Iran also exchanged fresh missile and drone strikes, further jeopardising efforts to secure a new ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran.
Donald Trump said in an interview released on Wednesday that talks with Iran were continuing and he was not looking to escalate, adding: “We don’t need boots on the ground now.” He later claimed Iran was “pretty close” to signing a peace agreement with the US and “it could happen over the weekend”.
But Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said Iran was “playing with fire” after the Kuwait attacks and Trump could order a “full-scale return to military action” if negotiations fail. “It’s [Trump’s] decision: Israel is ready, and the US forces are ready,” he added. Netanyahu also took aim at European leaders including France’s Emmanuel Macron who have criticised the Israeli military campaign, saying “the way European leaders cater to radical Islamic minorities in their own countries is shameful”. He added: “They know we’re protecting them [by attacking Iran] as well, but they don’t have the guts to stand up and line up with the right thing that will save our civilisation against these barbarians.”
Overnight, US forces fired a Hellfire missile to disable a tanker trying to break through the American blockade of the strait of Hormuz and later said they had repelled Iranian reprisal strikes and attacked sites on Iran’s Qeshm Island. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had attacked the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain with missiles and drones in response to the strike on Qeshm, a claim the US military’s Central Command denied.
A statement from Iran’s foreign ministry blamed Kuwait and Bahrain for the attacks, condemning what it called the “colonialist use by the United States of the territory and infrastructure of countries in the region to advance its aggressive plans against Iran”. It said the incident “emphasises the direct and unmistakable responsibility of the leaders of Kuwait and Bahrain for last night’s acts of aggression”.
Lebanon Ceasefire FALLING APART As Iran Says NO PROGRESS On Deal
Rep. Delia Ramirez called on her fellow Democrats to “stop making excuses and act” to stop a war in Lebanon, as many refuse to go on the record about whether they’ll support a war powers resolution that would halt US military participation in Israel’s escalating occupation of the country.
Axios reported on Wednesday that some Democrats are “fuming” about having to take a vote on a resolution introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), which would require the US to end unauthorized military cooperation with Israel in Lebanon within seven days of being passed. The resolution would need Republican support to pass the GOP-controlled House.
Israel’s assault on Lebanon, which began in March, has resulted in the deaths of more than 3,500 people. With forced evacuation orders that have led to the expulsion of more than 1.2 million people from their homes, Israel has systematically razed dozens of villages across the south of the country where leaders have expanded their military “combat zone” further north to the Zahrani River.
“Every day that we do not act to stop the assault on Lebanon, we enable another genocide,” Ramirez (D-Ill.) said. “The War Powers Resolution is targeted to end Netanyahu and Trump’s war crimes.”
"Members of Congress must stop making excuses and act" to stop war in Lebanon
"Every day that we do not act to stop the assault on Lebanon, we enable another genocide. The War Powers Resolution is targeted to end Netanyahu and Trump's war crimes."
-@RepDeliaRamirez https://t.co/0OSiPziEVu pic.twitter.com/q1Uh1FHZwD— Just Foreign Policy (@justfp) June 3, 2026
Anti-war activists supporting Tlaib’s measure—which has 17 Democratic cosponsors—have described it as a way to force Democratic legislators skittish about their party’s growing anger toward Israel to go on the record about where they stand on the country’s actions in Lebanon.
One unnamed House Democrat told Axios that “people are not happy” that Tlaib “is making people take this vote.”
Citing multiple unnamed sources, the outlet reported that the top Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence Committees—Reps. Greg Meeks (D-NY), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and Jim Himes (D-Conn.)—are also “on the fence.” Another unnamed House Democrat was quoted as saying that their hesitation will likely make others in the party reluctant to jump on board.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said of the two-page resolution that he hadn’t “taken a look at it yet.”
Axios quotes other anonymous Democrats—one of whom said they are “probably a ‘no’” and another who angrily remarked that the resolution “does nothing to advance a solution.”
The outlet described Democrats’ hesitation as stemming in part from the fact that “there is no indication the US is planning imminent, large-scale ground operations in Lebanon.”
But anti-war groups demanding passage of the resolution have made the point that even without boots on the ground, the US is still intimately involved in Israel’s decision-making, with President Donald Trump reportedly giving the “green light” on major operations: These have included Israel’s decision to invade Lebanon in March as well as its assault on Beirut in April which killed over 250 people and tanked US negotiations with Iran.
A policy roundup published Tuesday by the Institute for Middle East Understanding, urging the House to pass the resolution, said “Israel is using US-provided weapons and bulldozers to flatten the southern part of the country and to potentially permanently displace 600,000 people. Israel has already used bulldozers, likely provided by the US, to destroy homes and infrastructure in the area.”
Aside from continuing to provide direct military aid to Israel, the US is also closely involved in intelligence sharing and coordination that has led to Israeli strikes on specific targets. In a letter sent to Adm. Bradley Cooper last month, some senators raised the possibility that, without approval from Congress, these actions could violate the War Powers Act.
In an email sent to Democratic staffers Tuesday, obtained by Common Dreams, the anti-war group Just Foreign Policy said that Trump’s reported intervention to tell Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off strikes on Beirut earlier this week was the latest example demonstrating “how Trump is engaged in an unprecedented, high-level command and coordination over the Israeli offensive in Lebanon” in violation of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
The email also pointed out that “a ceasefire in Lebanon is key to peace with Iran” because “Iranian officials have made clear that a full ceasefire in Lebanon is a necessary precondition for diplomacy with the US to advance.”
Note the sources who oppose it
"numerous lawmakers and aides"
"one senior House Democrat"
"Dem leadership"
"second senior House Democrat"
"another House Democrat"
"a fourth House Democrat"ALL anonymous.
Everyone FOR it put their name on their quotes. What does this tell you? https://t.co/XIIHkvF2hF
— Adam Johnson (@adamjohnsonCHI) June 3, 2026
Polling from the Arab American Institute in April found that by about a two-to-one margin, American voters believe the US should do more to pressure Israel to stop bombing and leave southern Lebanon. Sixty-five percent of Democrats said the US should pressure Israel to accept a ceasefire, while just 17% said no and 18% were unsure.
Adam Johnson, a journalist and prominent US foreign policy critic, noted on social media that while Ramirez and Tlaib went on the record to voice their support for the measure, the Democrats in opposition were doing so under a shroud of anonymity.
“The fact that ‘Democratic leadership’ hides behind blind quotes is evidence they know how unpopular their opposition is,” he said.
“If...leadership has objections to the Lebanon war powers resolution, then they can openly come out against it,” he added. “Instead they’re laundering their ‘reservations’ through anonymous leaks. Curious!”
While the Axios report portrays Tlaib as the cause of a rift in the Democratic Party, Johnson emphasized that “Tlaib’s bill is the overwhelming majority position among Dems by almost 4-to-1,” adding that “the ‘division’ is between Dem voters and pro-Israel party leaders.”
Janet Abou-Elias, a researcher at the Democratizing Foreign Policy Project at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said that the Democrats “hedging” on the war powers vote were still taking a side.
“You’d be going on record enabling an unauthorized war that has killed over 3,433 Lebanese people,” she said. “US weapons. US intelligence. zero congressional approval.”
Max Blumenthal : Did Trump and Netanyahu Fake Their Animosity?
Richard Wolff & Michael Hudson: Iran Did the Unthinkable – Trump Left With Nothing
Three Lebanese hospitals hit by Israeli forces in under a week
Three hospitals in southern Lebanon have been attacked by Israel in under a week, wounding more than 150 people and killing nine, according to Lebanon’s ministry of health. Israel carried out an attack in the immediate vicinity of the public hospital in Tebnine on Wednesday, just days after strikes next to the Hiram and Jabal Amel hospitals in Tyre. The attack next to Jabal Amel on Monday killed four people and injured 127 – most of whom were medical staff.
“It was an ordinary day at the hospital and then suddenly for no reason, they targeted the hospital. It was a catastrophe,” said Wael Mroueh, the director of Jabal Amel. The strike hit the building directly in front of the hospital, levelling it. The force of the blast knocked out the hospital’s electricity, destroyed much of the first floor and forced medical staff to evacuate patients who were hooked up to machines in the intensive care unit, which was also damaged.
The hospitals are among the few remaining functional healthcare facilities in south Lebanon, an area which has been subject to mass displacement. The third hospital in Tyre had escaped damage but was overwhelmed and dealing with an influx of injured patients, according to Abubakar.
Tyre, one of the largest cities in south Lebanon, is hosting displaced people from surrounding villages, many of whom have limited access to medical care.
At least 130 medical workers have been killed by Israel and 162 ambulances and healthcare facilities have been struck since the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel started on 2 March, according to the Lebanese ministry of health. It said two emergency responders were killed and a third critically wounded by an Israeli strike on an ambulance on Wednesday.
Israeli Military Chief: No Ceasefire for IDF in Lebanon
Consistently, media reports generally advance the idea that the ceasefire in Lebanon is “holding,” and the US expresses hopes that the Israel-Lebanon talks they’re hosting will lead to an even stronger ceasefire. The reality, however, suggests neither of those is actually the case.
Israeli military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir made the IDF position very clear during a visit to a Haifa base today, declaring that “there is no ceasefire for our forces.”
Lt. Gen. Zamir said that rather than seeking a ceasefire, Israel’s goal was to “maximize the freedom of action” they have in Lebanon, which since Israel attacks dozens of targets on a daily basis, suggests things are going as intended for them.
E3 wants to talk as Russia makes big advance on frontline
Japan sees shortage of plastic bags, trays and gloves, as Iran war-induced naphtha shortage worsens
Takeaways, supermarkets, and bakeries in Japan are running out of plastic bags, trays and food service gloves amid widening shortages of the key plastic ingredient, naphtha, due to the Middle East crisis. The food sector accounts for nearly one-third of Japan’s annual plastic use of more than 8m tonnes, and price rises and shortages are hitting hard across the industry and beyond. Some outlets have begun offering perks to customers who bring their own bags, plates or containers.
The Middle East is Japan’s main source of crude oil, from which naphtha is extracted and then used to make a wide variety of items including printing ink, plastics, adhesives and medical supplies. Data from the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association (JPCA) showed that production of the polyethylene used in shopping and garbage bags was down 62% in March compared with 2025, with large drops also recorded for manufacturing of other plastics.
Prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is facing mounting pressure over the shortages, which are also affecting other sectors. The government has assured the public that the issue is a supply “bottleneck” rather than a shortage, but industry leaders and commentators have contradicted this, saying the situation will worsen throughout June. Opinion polls show the public see the issue as one of its most pressing worries.
When Columbia University reached a settlement with the Trump administration last year, the deal included a $21m fund to compensate Jewish employees for an allegedly hostile work environment due to heated protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. This week, as the window to file claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission came to a close, several Jewish faculty members filed claims to say they had experienced harassment as Jews on campus – but probably not on grounds Trump’s EEOC intended.
In half a dozen filings shared with the Guardian, excerpts of which were also made public, faculty alleged that Columbia indeed enabled a hostile climate for Jews. But they argued that the hostility they faced stemmed from their support for Palestinian rights and student protests. They criticized what they view as Columbia’s implication that all Jews identify with the state of Israel as “textbook antisemitism”, and argued that by repressing pro-Palestinian speech in the name of Jewish safety, the university turned Jews into “scapegoats”.
“I no longer consider Columbia University a safe place to work for Jews who dare to dissent from the political agenda of its most ardently pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian donors and trustees,” wrote Joseph Howley, a classics professor, in his claim. In the complaints and in interviews with the Guardian, Jewish faculty described being doxed, followed, spat on, screamed at in meetings, accused of professional misconduct and, in some cases, investigated by the university because of their advocacy. They wrote that they had been targeted in person, by phone and online, and received death threats.
The class settlement was described by the EEOC as the largest public settlement in nearly two decades, to be disbursed to “employees who may have experienced antisemitism on Columbia’s campus” following Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, and Israel’s enduring war in Gaza. It came in addition to a $200m fine and several measures the university agreed to in order to end its months-long dispute with the administration. Columbia drew widespread criticism for “capitulating” to the president in the deal.
Howley wrote in his complaint that since speaking in defense of his students in the early days of the protests, he had been subjected to endless harassment, as well as disciplinary charges over his role mediating between student protesters and the administration. “We spoke as Jews about the University and how we thought it should protect its interests; we were attacked as Jews, or as bad Jews, or as fake Jews, by people who carried the University’s authority or knew they had its implicit support,” he wrote. “This singling Jews out for special treatment is dangerous and encourages antisemitism,” said Howley. He said he felt he had an obligation to draw attention to the climate at Columbia because Muslim and Arab colleagues were not given the same chance. The EEOC fund invokes Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. But as with other civil rights provisions, the administration has sought to exploit the legislation to fit its political agenda.
Death is no excuse for missing an immigration court date ...
Dead but deportable: US immigration judge signed order to eject teen murder victim
An immigration judge in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently ordered the deportation of a young man who was killed in 2024, citing his failure to appear in court. Judge Amy Lee ordered the removal of Levi Mendez-Maldonado in absentia on 21 May. Mendez-Maldonado, originally from Honduras, came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor at age 17 and was murdered in a shooting in November 2024.
Becca O’Neill, a lawyer with the Carolina Migrant Network, was preparing to represent Mendez-Maldonado, a young father and mechanic, in his asylum case and deportation defense before his death. In December 2024, she received notice of a preliminary hearing for Mendez-Maldonado scheduled on 21 May 2026. Like all immigrants detained and processed at the border, he was immediately put into deportation proceedings upon arrival. This court date would have been an initial step in a process that takes years.
O’Neill attended the 21 May meeting on his behalf. At the beginning of the hearing, she notified Lee of her client’s death. O’Neill presented the court with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department (CMPD) records of Mendez-Maldonado’s death. According to O’Neill, Lee found the CMPD records to be insufficient proof of death, even though a death certificate was filed in late 2024. The Guardian has requested, but not received, a copy of the court recording. Lee’s office could not be reached for comment.
The judge and the federal prosecutor continued with the hearing as planned without acknowledging the reason for Mendez-Maldonado’s absence, said O’Neill. “The whole thing probably took maybe five minutes. The attorney acted like we were talking about the weather. The judge didn’t take a moment to reorient herself after hearing he was dead.” The court order states: “Despite the written notification provided, Respondent failed to appear at the hearing, and no exceptional circumstances were shown for the failure to appear. Therefore, the immigration court conducted the hearing in absentia.” There is no mention of his death in the judge’s order, obtained by the Guardian.
Flabbergasted, O’Neill did not contest the final order. “This is the banality of evil. All of this is so normalized and bizarre. Just a boilerplate order: he didn’t come to court, he didn’t demonstrate good cause. Well, he’s dead. And you know that because you saw a government website saying that he’s dead.”
Police want to decide which journalists can cover the Delaney Hall protests. That’s not their job
The line of New Jersey state police blocked every exit on the street. Clear plastic riot shields covered helmet to knee. A few dozen people were stuck inside their formation, known as a kettle. Some were protesters defying a curfew order, which was intended to quell demonstrations at a nearby ICE detention facility. But most appeared to be journalists who were just there to do their job.
A helmet peeked over the shields, which parted to let him through. “Listen up,” he barked. “If you are press, you got the opportunity right now – and that’s it – to leave. If you don’t leave out here in an orderly fashion, you are coming with us.” He pointed to someone in the group and snapped: “You are not press.”
Under the city of Newark’s curfew, journalists were exempt if they displayed “verified credentials”. But what counted as verified? And who got to decide? Media workers had descended on Delaney Hall to document an ongoing hunger strike by ICE detainees over dangerous conditions inside. As protests swelled in surrounding streets, law enforcement’s response contributed to dangerous conditions outside.
In one week, the US Press Freedom Tracker documented 30 assaults by officers on journalists near the facility. ICE doused several photographers with pepper spray and beat them with batons. State police yanked a WNBC crew from their vehicle, exposing them to teargas. Newark PD forced Ali Velshi and his crew beyond sight of the protest while they were live on MS NOW. An independent photographer was allowed access, but only after submitting to a police pat-down and being driven in the back of a police car.
Increasingly, the public learns what happens at protests through independent livestreamers. While rarely employed by major outlets, some sell footage to the world’s largest news organizations. Whether they work for a television network or stream on TikTok, they are engaged in journalism. On paper, both laws and courts tend to respect that press are exempt from curfews and dispersal orders. They recognize that media require “sight and sound access” to do their job. But on the street, constitutional protections for those livestreamers can boil down to an officer’s snap decision.
Trump appointee leading $205bn US agency had personal ties to Epstein, emails show
Ben Black, the head of a little-known government investment agency funded by billions of dollars from US taxpayers, had personal and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein, according to emails and business filings released by the Department of Justice. His father, Leon Black, had once been the disgraced financier’s highest-paying client – calling on the convicted sex offender for tax advice and to orchestrate payments to women, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg.
A Guardian review of more than 5,000 records from Epstein’s private correspondence found that Ben Black invested in the same company as the financier in 2011 and that the two men had a relationship for several years afterwards. Epstein told a friend that he attended Ben Black’s 30th birthday, advised him on the purchase of an $11.5m townhouse and helped one woman compose messages to him. She wrote to Epstein to say that she and Black had kissed the following day.
Now Black holds a Senate-confirmed position overseeing the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Trump administration’s largest overseas investment arm. The agency was previously confined to work in low-income countries, but Congress recently cleared it to invest in high-income countries and tripled its lending cap to $205bn, greatly expanding Black’s influence over taxpayer funds.
The scope of Ben Black’s personal connection to Epstein has not been previously reported. Black has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection to Epstein or any other matter.
It’s not clear exactly what led Trump to appoint Ben Black to the DFC post, particularly given that public records suggest thin experience in international development finance. (A White House spokesperson told the Guardian Black had “elite” experience for the role.) In January 2025, Ben Black and the Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale co-authored an essay calling for a “pro-market” approach to foreign aid. They specifically cited the missteps of the Biden administration and the promise of investing in Greenland, a Danish outpost that Trump has said he would like to control. Three weeks after its publication, the president appointed Black, now 41, to take charge of the US’s largest overseas investing arm.
Platner Campaign Says Fundraising Up, Polling Lead Over Collins Holding, Despite Latest Smear Effort
Releasing new polling and fundraising data that has been gathered in recent days, Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner emphasized Wednesday that despite the latest wave of attacks by party consultants and the media, voters across Maine appear focused on “the cost of living and whether it still trusts” Republican Senator Susan Collins.
“This is a race against an incumbent losing her grip on the voters who put her there,” said Platner. “Across the board—the poll numbers, the fundraising, the conversations with voters—all signs point in our favor.”
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Public Policy Polling conducted a survey of 670 voters, and found that the presumptive Democratic candidate had the support of 49% of respondents, compared with 45% who backed Collins.
Six percent of voters said they were undecided, and those respondents largely voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by a 23-point margin in 2024. They gave President Donald Trump a net -26 favorability rating, suggesting they’re more likely to ultimately vote for Platner than the five-term Republican who cast decisive votes to help the president secure a right-wing US Supreme Court and has recently backed his invasion of Iran.
“Susan Collins is spineless and corrupt,” said Platner on social media as his campaign released the internal polling results. “And in 153 days, we will defeat her.”
The Maine Senate primary is being held on June 9. Platner’s closest competitor, Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign at the end of April after trailing him in polls and fundraising for months, making him the presumptive Democratic nominee.
The pollster surveyed Mainers after telling them about a former Platner campaign staffer’s revelation over the weekend that the candidate’s wife had told her about “sexually charged text messages” he sent to other women early in their marriage, an issue the couple says they worked through in counseling. The group also told voters that “critics say that Susan Collins used her position as US senator to help steer over $50 million in government contracts to her husband’s company.”
When the voters were given the information, the four-point differential stayed the same, with Platner leading 48%-44%.
Platner said that over the past week, since the news broke about the couple’s earlier marital struggles, the campaign has also “seen some of the strongest fundraising of the entire campaign.”
Over four days following last Saturday, when the story set off a media firestorm, the campaign’s fundraising was 17% higher than the previous four-day period.
It also saw an 18% increase in small-dollar donations overall, and a 27% increase in small-dollar donations that came from Mainers.
The campaign noted that media coverage on the ground in Maine this week tells a similar story to the one conveyed by the poll and the fundraising numbers.
On Tuesday, CBS News interviewed several voters who said the news about Platner’s marriage and earlier controversies—none of which made a dent in polling for the candidate—would not change their voting plans.
A Maine resident named Anne Morrissey also told The Washington Post on Tuesday that she viewed the news of Platner’s previous marital struggles as a “nothingburger.”
“It’s 2026,” she said. “There are so many real problems.”
Another voter, Tara Grady-Taylor, said the texting controversy “doesn’t change the amount of good he could do if he does the things he promises.”
The Platner campaign described the message it is getting from Mainers as “steadfast.”
“They care that you’re fighting for their hospitals, their wages, their housing, and their kids,” said Platner. “This campaign has always been about the ideas that will move Maine forward and past a broken politics of the past—just what the electorate and this moment demands.”
Key Platner supporters in Congress have also called for the media to remain focused on the issues facing working families across the country, such as the rising cost of living, healthcare, and massive economic inequality—all of which Platner has made central focuses of his campaign.
When asked by The Associated Press on Monday whether he still supports Platner, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) replied, “Of course. Why would I not?”
“People can’t afford healthcare. Can’t afford groceries. Can’t afford to put gas in their cars,” said Sanders. “And I think it might be a good idea if we focused on the important issues facing the working families of Maine and this country.”
Screwworm In Texas Cattle Could Drive Up Beef Prices—After DOGE Axed Prevention Efforts
In first, California city overwhelmingly votes to permanently ban datacenters
Residents in Monterey Park, California, became the first in the US to vote on a permanent ban on datacenters on Tuesday, and early results indicate a resounding victory for the prohibition. While many cities and counties have already passed temporary or indefinite moratoriums via their local governments, Monterey Park would be the first to do so through a ballot initiative.
The ballot measure needs a majority vote – at least 51% – to win. As of 2am Pacific Time, 86.3% of the more than 7,000 votes counted so far were in favor of banning datacenters. While it can take days to finalize election results, the stark gap was enough evidence for Jose Sanchez, a city councilmember, to claim a “landslide victory” for residents who don’t want to live near datacenters.
“[This] shows unequivocally that residents in Monterey Park do not want datacenters in their community,” Sanchez said. “We hope that other communities will use the model set by residents here in Monterey Park as inspiration to stop data centers from encroaching in their backyard.”
Monterey Park’s city council had already passed an indefinite moratorium on datacenters in April, after growing anger towards HMC StratCap, an investment company that was pushing to put one in the city, located in the Los Angeles region. (Developers have since withdrawn the application; the project would have covered nearly 250,000 sq ft.)
Nationally, seven in 10 Americans oppose the construction of AI datacenters in their local areas, according to a new Gallup poll.
Seattle, home to Amazon and Microsoft, poised to pass moratorium on new datacenters
Seattle’s city government is on the verge of passing a year-long ban on the construction of new datacenters, the largest city yet in the US to consider such a moratorium as nationwide backlash grows. Four companies sought to build five large datacenters in areas serviced by Seattle’s public utility; if approved, they would have consumed approximately a third of the city’s current daily demand for electricity.
On Wednesday, city council committees unanimously passed the moratorium and an accompanying resolution. A full council vote on both measures is expected on Tuesday, which activists see as a formality after weeks of engagement with city officials on the topic. Lawmakers cited the two measures as an effort to protect residents from rising utility costs and environmental hazards. They said they plan to spend the duration of the moratorium drafting regulations tailored to the AI industry’s massive facilities.
The swift response to the proposed datacenters represents a major rebuke in tech’s own backyard. A hub for the technology sector, Seattle’s metro area serves as the headquarters for Microsoft and Amazon, which have laid off thousands of local workers over the past year as they spend a projected $390bn on AI investments in 2026. Seattle’s tech workers have shown up in large numbers to organize against the proposed datacenters.
Lawmakers and advocates hope Seattle’s status as a tech city can encourage more jurisdictions to join the dozens of other local governments moving to regulate datacenters, which are bipartisanly unpopular.
During a moratorium, officials may establish pollution standards, energy connection requirements and contract terms, labor standards and other rules specific to datacenters. The moratorium and accompanying resolution enable Seattle’s public utility to establish separate rates for new “large load” customers, a category that includes large datacenters. An amendment allows existing datacenters in Seattle to apply for expansions requiring up to 20 megawatts of additional power during the moratorium. Activists are calling for tighter language to be introduced during the final vote, hoping to specify the types of datacenters that can apply for an expansion, such as those supporting emergency calls and healthcare facilities.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some of which defied fair-use abstraction.
US-Israel integration is far from 'America First'
Israel Killed 119 Palestinians in Gaza in May, the Highest Monthly Death Toll of the Year
Denial is Not a River in Egypt, or in Venezuela
Why Do So Many Right Wing Parties Worship America
New Report Details Depths of Presidential Corruption and Grift
Colorado governor vetoes block on surveillance pricing as other states push for bans
A Little Night Music
Walter Horton – Hard Hearted Woman
Shakey Horton - Groove Walk
Big Walter 'Shakey' Horton – Christine
Walter Horton – Can't Keep Lovin' You
Big Walter Horton's Blues Harp Band – Rockin' My Boogie
Big Walter Horton – Gonna Bring It On Home
Walter 'Shakey' Horton – Worried, Worried (A La Chess 1952)
Walter Horton – Need My Baby
Walter Horton – Walter's Boogie
Comments
The UN and the EU leadership keep proving how inept they are.
The rest of the Dropsite tweet:
evening humphrey...
it's long been obvious that we live in a world largely run by morons.
It appears as if the match wasn't very friendly.
heh...
popular everywhere they go!