Imperialists
Cuba’s rushed 176-point economic package, pushed by U.S. pressure, risks handing state assets to elites while the working poor shoulder power cuts, shortages and fraying social care.
Football Gods
Brazil enters the World Cup knockout as five-time champions and heavy favorites. Japan arrives as an adaptable dark horse that beat Brazil last year and could shift the tournament and youth culture with an upset.
In 1979 Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding 52 Americans for 444 days. A failed U.S. rescue, long Cold War resentments and election timing turned the ordeal into a political and diplomatic watershed.
History's Teeth
During the 1960s the CIA plotted dozens of ways to kill Fidel Castro, including poisoned cigars and contaminated diving suits. The schemes involved Mafia figures, Operation Mongoose and a 1975 Senate probe that exposed as many as 638 plans.
Ruling Class
Meta plans Arena, a prediction market app that would weave betting into Facebook and Messenger and aim at 18 to 34-year-olds. Experts warn that young people face rising gambling disorder rates as social feeds are gamified into markets.
Commie Panic
A Cuban exile is on Fox News warning that Americans who want affordable rent are secret communists. He is peddling the exact lie Washington used to bury Latin America for two centuries. Here is what the fearmongers will never tell you.
Ruling Class
A $1.6 billion U.S.-Kazakhstan tungsten deal has raised conflict questions after Donald Trump, his sons and allies took linked stakes. The timing, family ties and strategic stakes in tungsten have sparked calls for oversight and alarm in Washington.
Socialist Democracy
Apple raised prices on MacBook and iPad models amid rising memory costs tied to the AI boom. Senator Bernie Sanders blasted the increases as corporate greed while shares plunged.
History's Teeth
In April 1961 a CIA-backed force of about 1,400 Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion failed within days, boosting Fidel Castro and embarrassing the U.S. government.
Fool’s Court
Bill Maher accepted the Mark Twain Prize at a Kennedy Center ceremony where comedians repeatedly targeted President Trump. The center’s controversial branding with Trump’s name had been covered by a tarp after a judge ruled the board acted improperly.
Fool’s Court
A Washington Post scoop shows President Trump’s plan for East Potomac Golf Links would demolish Washington’s oldest cherry trees, planted in 1910, to build a golf practice facility. Conservationists say public access and a living diplomatic gift are at stake as a federal court prepares to rule.
Imperialists
President Trump has shifted NATO toward a commercial model. Allies pledged nearly $120 billion and will use summits in Ankara on July 7 and 8, 2026 to announce arms deals tied to U.S. jobs and exports.