Epstein Files Probe Hits Trump AG! The Iran War Just Got Crazier! Talarico Wins, But Theres Problems

PDS Published 03/04/2026

• Iranian Warship Sunk as Iran Tries to Appoint New Supreme Leader

  • Trump’s war in Iran is just getting started and what he himself called the worst-case scenario may already be coming true: a new supreme leader as bad as the last one. 

  • This, as the death toll in Iran may now have passed 1,000, and the number of American lives lost, for now, remains at six—with the Defense Department releasing the identity of 4 of them last night. 

  • And this morning you had Pete Hegseth repeating what the administration has now made clear: additional loss of life is an expected and acceptable cost of this likely illegal war with constantly shifting objectives:

  • But with that, Hegseth assured the public that “America is winning decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy.”

  • WIth him also claiming that “more and larger waves” of attacks are coming;

    • saying the assault on Iran is “accelerating, not decelerating”;

    • and revealing that “more bombers and more fighters” are arriving in the region today. 

  • You also had General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reporting Iran’s ballistic missile strikes are down 86 percent from the first day of fighting—and its drone strikes are down 73 percent.

  • With Hegseth claiming the US and Israel will soon have “complete control” of Iranian skies—and saying:

    • “I hope all the folks watching understand what uncontested airspace and complete control means.”

    • “It means we will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military.”

    • “And Iran will be able to do nothing about it. B2s, B-52s, B1s, Predator drones, fighters controlling the skies, picking targets, death and destruction from the sky all day long.” (1:56-2:13, 2:41-2:57)

  • And with that, he highlighted some of the specific examples of death and destruction he’s most proud of lately. 

  • For example, he revealed that the US had been responsible for sinking an Iranian naval ship with a crew of 180 people off Sri Lanka

  • An incident which had first been reported by Sri Lankan officials who said 30 people were rescued and a search was underway for any other survivor.

  • But the cause was unknown until Hegseth explained that a submarine-launched torpedo was to thank—with this reportedly being the first time an American submarine has been used to fire a torpedo against an enemy ship in combat since World War II. []

  • But, in any case, Hegseth also said the leader of the Iranian covert unit that planned to assassinate Trump in 2024 had been killed in strikes.

  • And he praised the strike yesterday on a building associated with Iran’s “Assembly of Experts”—the body responsible for choosing the country’s next supreme leader.

    • “Iran's senior leaders are dead. The so-called governing council that might have selected a successor dead, missing, or cowering in bunkers, too terrified to even occupy the same room.” (5:51-6:02)

  • But with that, Iranian media has downplayed the strike, whatever’s left of the council, it apparently is still moving ahead with a plan to put someone else in charge. 

  • And, notably, Trump has said the worst-case scenario would be if the supreme leader’s successor was “as bad as the previous person”.

  • And there’s no official announcement yet, as of recording, but it seems increasingly likely that their pick will be that guy’s son. 

  • Who is believed to be favored by top officials in the Revolutionary Guard, is apparently a hardliner just like his dad, and he reportedly lost not only his father but his wife, mother, and son in US and Israeli strikes on Saturday.

  • So he may not be the kind of subservient figurehead the White House was hoping for—although, then again, if he is chosen, who knows how long he’ll last. 

  • Because you’ve had the Israeli defense minister vowing that if the next supreme leader followed the same ideology he would become “an unequivocal target for elimination.”

  • But in any case, back to Hegseth, you also had him downplaying reports that munitions stocks were running low—arguing that the air dominance being achieved means they will be using less of the military’s most high-tech and limited weapons. 

  • WIth Hegseth saying they’ll be using 500 pound, 1,000 pound and 2,000 pound precision and unguided bombs “of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile.”

  • And there he’s echoing almost exactly what Trump has already said this week in a post on social media, when he claimed the US had a “virtually unlimited supply” of these weapons, and added: 

    • “Wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies.”

  • But, of course, there are real concerns about the pace at which the US is burning through its munitions stockpile.

  • And the administration is actually planning to meet with defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss ramping up weapons production.

  • With there even reportedly being talk about invoking the Defense Production Act, which would force defense companies to prioritize manufacturing the munitions the US needs most.

  • But getting back to Hegseth, while he had happily talked about death and destruction like a teenage boy playing Call of Duty, he continued to deny responsibility for a strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed at least 175 people on Saturday:

    • “All I can say is that we’re investigating, and that we, of course, never target civilian targets.” (SOUNDBITE)

  • And with that, to be clear, with the difficulty of getting information out of Iran, there is no undeniable proof of who was responsible, but there are doubts about how much Hegseth really cares about war crimes. 

  • And, of course, another country with experience in that field is Israel. 

  • Which, today, among other targets, had been hitting the capital city of Tehran hard—even shooting down a manned Iranian warplane over Tehran, which, reportedly, would be a first for this conflict. 

  • And the intensity of the action today actually led Iran to postpone a ceremony meant to honor the supreme leader. 

  • Outside of Iran, the Israeli military reportedly took aim today at command centers of the powerful state paramilitary that has been involved in deadly protest crackdowns over the years. []

  • With this coming after strikes going after police stations, detention centers, intelligence offices, and other targets associated with Iran’s internal security forces.

  • And, as we talked about yesterday, this may all be aimed at weakening the government’s ability to deal with any future protests and encouraging Iranians to rise up.

  • Kurdish groups would potentially be the most likely to take action, and several exiled Iranian Kurdish militant groups based in Iraq have said they were preparing to try to enter Iran.

    • So it’s not surprising that some of the latest strikes from Iran have targeted bases in Iraq used by these groups. []

  • • Otherwise, Iranian attacks today have also targeted Israel as well as locations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.

    • And you actually had Pakistan warning Iran that it has a mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia–saying Iranian leadership “should keep that in mind.” 

    • Of course, who knows if Pakistan is really ready to get involved in a conflict against Iran.

    • Especially as it’s now a week into heavy fighting with Afghanistan—which is just a whole other thing we haven’t had a chance to talk about. 

    • But either way, it’s just one example of how this war is threatening to spiral out of control. 

    • Today, for example, you also had Turkey—which is a NATO member that shares a 300-mile border with Iran—revealing that air defenses had shot down a ballistic missile heading toward its airspace.

    • And a real attack on NATO territory could be a major escalation—potenitally triggering the alliance’s mutual defense clause and drawing its 32 member states into the war.

    • That said, it's not clear what the missile’s intended target was but there is a Turkish airbase that hosts US troops.

    • Although, notably, Turkey has said that it would not allow its airspace to be used for attacks on Iran. 

    • And the use of foreign air bases has actually become a bit of an issue for Trump. 

    • Right, the Spanish government has also denied the use of its military bases to US forces involved in attacking Iran.

    • Which isn’t all that surprising since Spain is pretty much the only major country in Europe that has consistently spoken out against the Trump administration.

      • Including its immigration policies, its support for Israel’s war in Gaza, and its abduction and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

    • And this latest move has prompted Trump to threaten to cut off all trade with the country

    • With him even going so far as to suggest he might defy Spain’s wishes–saying:

      • “We could use the base if we want.”

      • “We could just fly in and use it.”

    • While you’ve had Israel’s foreign minister accusing the Spanish government of standing with all the tyrants of the world, as it stood with Venezuela, [and] is now standing with Iran" — and then Trump threatening .

    • But with all that, you’ve also had Trump slamming British Prime Minister Starmer for waiting until Sunday to give the US permission to use UK military bases—and only for the "specific and limited defensive purpose" of destroying Iran's missiles

    • With Starmer claiming the UK had learned lessons from the "mistakes of Iraq" and was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and "will not join offensive action now.”

    • And with that, the government published what it said was a summary of its legal justification for the decision under international law.

    • But it still hasn’t explicitly said whether it backs the US-Israeli strikes on Iran or thinks they’re legal.

    • And in addition to offering limited use of its bases to the US it is deploying a warship to the region as well as other military assets—technically for defensive purposes but it’s still more guns in the house.  

    • And, on that note, French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered his country’s sole operating aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean Sea for defensive purposes as well. 

    • But besides the military buildup, western governments have been working to evacuate hundreds of thousands of citizens from the region.

    • And notably, many have moved quicker than the US in announcing their plans—despite reportedly having little to no advance knowledge of the attack. 

    • Right, going back, it was on Monday that you had the State Department urging Americans to leave more than a dozen Middle East countries “using available commercial transportation” – but: 

      • 1) it didn’t announce any plans to help them. 

      • 2) most commercial air travel from the region had been halted or delayed.

    • And with that, you’ve had people like Randy Manner, a retired US major general and the former deputy commanding general of the Third U.S. Army in Kuwait, who ended up stranded in the UAE, telling the New York Times:

      • “It is the epitome of absurdity. ‘Leave the country’ but yet the airspace is closed,.”

      • “This is nothing less than a total failure of the U.S. government to provide the expected assistance to American civilians who are caught in harm’s way.” []

    • Now, with all that, yesterday the State Department finally said it was “facilitating charter flights from the [UAE], Saudi Arabia and Jordan for American citizens, and will continue to secure additional capacity as security conditions allow.” []

    • With Trump also sharing a post claiming “more than 9,000 Americans have safely returned home” and urging US citizens in the Middle East to register with State Department–adding: :

      • “The Department will identify where you are, and provide travel options to you. We are already chartering flights, free of charge, and booking commercial options, which we expect will become increasingly available as time goes on.”

        • On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave his absolutely baffling explanation as to why the US had to attack Iran. 

        • With him saying there was an imminent threat because “We knew that if Iran was attacked—and we believe they would be attacked—that they would immediately come after us.” 

        • But the reason they “believed” Iran would be attacked was because they were helping Israel plan the attack!

          • Or else he’s saying there was nothing they could do to stop Israel, which seems unlikely for reasons we’ve discussed. 

          • And, if not that, he’s basically saying a foreign leader dictated US foreign policy. 

        • Although all of that is undermined by Trump himself saying he may have forced Israel’s hand—not the other way around. 

        • And not only that, while Rubio ended up walking back his first rationale, saying instead that Iran’s growing weapons arsenal was the imminent danger, you also had Trump giving a whole other explanation in a letter to Congress! 

        • With him saying there was no imminent threat but instead the objective was to “neutralize Iran’s malign activities” and “advance national interests, including ensuring the free flow of maritime commerce through the Strait of Hormuz.”[]

        • Except of course the only reason the Straight is now on lockdown, driving up oil and gas prices, is because of this conflict. 

        • And what’s more, also in this letter, you even had Trump going back to the first rationale given by Rubio! 

          • Which was that they attacked because Israel was prepared to strike with or without the US and Iranian counterattacks would target American troops. []

        • And with all this, there are also several ways to pick apart each of the administration’s justifications on the basis of the facts—including what we know about Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities and lack of a nuclear weapons program.

        • But the fact they can’t just pick one and stick with it is insane. 

        • In Congress, we’ve seen some Republican lawmakers trying to keep up with the chaos, but they’re having a hard time. 

        • With House Speaker Mike Johnson having gone lockstep with Rubio from “Israel gave us no choice” to “but the ballistic missiles!” but then seemingly just blaming Islam? 

          • “They wanted to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth and they’d like to take us out as well. We’re the great Satan in their analogy and their misguided religion and there was no way to appease them.” 

          • (2:34-2:42)

        • And then, with that, he suggested that Iran was pushing ahead with its nuclear ambitions. which is not true according to US intelligence findings, with the explicit aim of killing its enemies.

        • With him accusing Iran of trying to buy time during the latest talks with the administration. 

          • “They were stalling because they wanted to kill us.” (3:50-3:53)

        • Although, of course, the side that actually ended negotiations by killing people was the US. 

        • And notably, this was at least the third time that Trump deployed heavy force against a country with which he had been negotiating.

        • And experts say this could be doing long-term damage to the country’s diplomatic credibility. 

        • With one telling the New York Times: 

          • “This is basically abusing diplomacy to cover up a military operation.”

          • And, in the future, countries may “think twice about re-engaging if you’re faced with this kind of bad faith behavior.” []

        • You also had a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations arguing:

          • “The deterrent value of the bomb is now more obvious.”

          • “Everyone in the Iranian leadership recognizes that if they had the bomb, they wouldn’t be getting bombed.” []

        • And with that, you have many experts pointing to Kim Jong Un in North Korea—saying he now only has more reason to increase his country’s capabilities. 

        • But despite all of this; despite the mixed messaging, the death, the broader economic and diplomatic fallout; and despite most Americans disapproving of this war, there’s seemingly nothing that can be done to stop it yet. 

        • Right, today, Senate, the Senate is expected to vote down a war powers resolution aimed at bringing the conflict to an end. 

        • But most Republicans, along with “Democrat” John Fetterman, are expected to vote against it. 

        • So for now, it doesn’t seem like we can expect the US to get out of Iran any time soon.

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• Texas Primaries: Republicans Head to Run Off, Talarico Beats Crockett

  • Getting back into the news with the primary races across the country, we had voters turned away at the polls and Trump’s buddies having MAGA battles for the people’s vote, but where does that leave us for the upcoming Midterms? 

  • Voters across the country showed up at the polls yesterday for the primary elections where there were a few things at play. 

  • To start, this primary election sets each state up for the Midterms, which has been a point of concern for Republicans across the country. 

    • “If we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison – myself included." (0:04-0:11)

  • The Republicans have seen less voter morale as the president has led us into war and away from his potential involvement in the Epstein files. 

  • But voters also aren’t sure if Democrats have what it takes to land anything here, with increasing schisms amongst the party over various issues. 

  • More directly related to voters, Republicans have pushed to redrawcongressionalmaps across the country that put more Republican asses in congressional seats, but more on that later. []

  • Overall, one of the biggest questions as the primaries have started has been on whether or not the same, often elderly incumbents are going to be able to prove themselves over a younger generation of politicians. []‍ ‍[]

  • There were a few close races to watch for the Senate, but I’ll start with some of the less controversial states. 

  • In Arkansas, Republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton will go head to head with Democratic challenger Hallie Shoffner for a seat in the Senate. 

  • In North Carolina, former Governor Roy Cooper, a popular moderate who received 92% of the votes last night will be opposed by Michael Whatley, who’s already received a Trump endorsement. 

    • “I want to thank President Donald J. Trump for his strong and unwavering support in this race.” (:00-:09)

  • But then we have Texas, the real star of the show.

  • On the Republican side, Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton are heading into a runoff, which was sort of predictable once Representative Wesley Hunt joined the race back in the fall. 

  • Both Cornyn and Paxton are in Trump’s good graces, although neitherreceived an official endorsement. 

  • This works in their favor with Texas Republicans who have largely maintained their support for the president even as national support has wavered. 

  • The rundown on these candidates is that Cornyn claims Paxton would be a liability in the Midterms because of his history of controversies and legal troubles. []

    • “Texas Republican voters will learn more about my record of delivering conservative victories in the US Senate and learn more about Ken’s indefensible personal behavior and failures in office.” (:03-:17)

  • On the other hand, Cornyn has led a handful of terms and an up and down relationship with Trump as Cornyn’s work with Democrats and his critiques of the  president led Trump to call the incumbent “Republican in name only.” []

  • The Republicanrunoff is now set for May 26th.

  • Now, Texas Democrats, James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett, had arguably the most contentious campaigns leading up to the primaries before Talarico took home the victory.

    • “Thank you, thank you. Tonight, our campaign is shocking the nation. We are still waiting on an official call, but we are confident in the movement we’ve built together.” (0:16-0:32)

  • Talarico is a Texas state lawmaker and former middle school teacher who leaned heavily on his faith in his campaigns as the grandson of a Baptist preacher. []‍ ‍[]

  • He ran a pretty diplomatic race, sitting for an over two-hour long interview with Joe Rogan, whose podcast is a favorite amongst conservative men, as well as sparring matches with Fox News hosts. [] (BROLL 11:18-11:25)

  • Talarico also received some cool points for an interview with Stephen Colbert that was reportedly an online-exclusive because the Trump administration pulled it from airing on TV due to alleged concerns around unbalanced air times. (BROLL :56-1:06)

  • All in all, Talarico seemed to shake the right hands and kiss the right babies. 

  • However, he did receive some backlash during his race for allegedly referring to former Texas Representative Collin Allred as a “mediocre Black man” in a private conversation. 

  • These racial tensions seemed to be a pretty strong undercurrant in the Texas race, as Talarico was running against second-term Congresswoman Crockett. (BROLL :21-:26)

  • Where Talarico was diplomatic in his race, Crockett was pragmatic, and for good reason. 

  • Crockett made a name for herself for calling out questionable leadership, and she faced backlash from her peers for it. 

    • “Somebody’s bleach blonde, bad built, butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?” (:07-:13)

  • She hasn’t shied away from saying the things that catch people’s ear since she’s stepped into the political spotlight, and that’s possibly what could have brought her such a grand presence on social media with various viral moments saying the things some politicians just don’t have the guts to say.

    • “If you could speak directly to Elon Musk, what would you say? (Crockett) Fuck off.” (:00-:03)

  • However, the internet could have also been in the way of her victory yesterday, as accusations of her being a Zionist and having unclear views on the White House’s relationship with Israel seemed to take over her narrative as a candidate. []

    • “I’m sure people look at the conflict completely differently depending on who you are.” (10:53-10:56)

  • Crockett has since worked to clear these controversies up, as they were largely unsubstantiated, but, due to no fault of her own, the timing may not have been soon enough for Crockett. []

  • And, unfortunately, people have pointed to racial microaggressions to explain what they see as the real crux of yesterday’s voting gap. 

  • Crockett herself even called out what she saw as dogwhistles about her race as the pound-for-pound more experienced politician between herself and Talarico.

  • She also called out Talarico for ads that allegedly darkened her skin tone.

    • “We’ve all seen the attack ads that have come on behalf of my primary opponent, the ads that are darkening my skin. It’s not even undertones right now. It’s straight up racist.” (1:20-1:24, 1:29-1:39)

  • Despite all of this, Crockett’s solidarity for the Black and Brown communities of Texas, which actually has the highest Black population of any state, has been clear from the start.

  • To be fair, getting back to those congressional maps, there does seem to be real racial questions to ask around the redistricting that directly impacted voting in Texas. []‍ ‍[]

  • Many Texas voters were turned away from the polling locations they’ve been casting their ballot at for years, with the greatest number of these cases being in a county that includes Crockett’s homebase of Dallas. []

    • Include voter video

  • Voters in both Dallas and Williamson counties, north of the city of Dallas, arrived at their usual voting locations only to be told they had to vote at different precinct locations. []

  • These changes come after Texas congressional districts were remapped and new precinct lines were finalized in December, leaving very little time to inform voters of the changes. 

    • “Dallas county should have the second largest voter participation of any county in this state.” (:29-:37)

  • To put things even further into context, Texas was also previously on a voting system where people could cast votes anywhere in their home counties. 

  • And as it’s often a struggle to get voters to the polls outside of presidential elections, this polling location issue caused a major blowout, even crashing the website of the county election office as voters tried to make it to the booths before the original closing time of 7pm. []

  • The voter confusion was so rampant that a Dallas County judged ordered ordered the polls to stay open for two extra hours, but with people in some cases having walked miles to their original polling locations and left to figure out how to get to their designated precincts, candidates were left wondering if that was enough to qualify as a fair and open election. []

    • “Every vote must be counted. Every voice must be heard. The voter suppression in my home county and in Congresswoman Crockett’s home county underscores the gravity of this moment.” (0:35-0:50)

    • “There was a lot of confusion today. We’re about to file a lawsuit to keep the voting polls open. We were able to keep the polls open, but I can tell you now that people were disenfranchised.” (:41-:43, :57-1:11)

  • In the fallout from this voting fiasco, with hundreds of voters, many of them reportedly Democrats, having been turned away, Crockett’s camp claimed to be gearing up for a  lawsuit after another court directive reportedly conflicted with keeping the polls open.

    • “The Supreme Court also said that they are to separate any votes out that came in after 7pm.” (1:29-1:38)

  • However, she has since conceded to Talarico, citing the need for unity amongst the party as the Midterms approach. []

  • So, what does any of this mean?

  • Well, it means that we have seen the first sign as to what to expect from the Midterms, which, to be honest, could make or break us in the fight for democracy in this country. 

  • For one, there’s no question about how pervasive voter suppression is in this country.

  • We saw it in Texas yesterday, and I’m sure we’ll see it more across the country between redrawn maps, difficulties with mail-in ballots and polling locations that are either disappearing or building up unrealistic wait times. []‍ ‍[]‍ ‍[]

  • And please believe me when I say that while mistakes do happen, they don’t happen this often, people. 

  • Some of these barriers to voting are on purpose, and they do have real consequences in our elections and our day-to-day lives. []

  • What it also tells us are the places where parties are seeing a higher voter turnout. []

  • If party loyalties bring people out for the primaries, that’s a pretty good sign that we’ll see those same faces at the polls during the Midterms and definitely in 2028. 

  • And, finally, as we’ve seen on the Republican side of things, this tells us just how influential Trump is going to be as the Midterms approach. 

  • Of course, every president is influential in any election, but we’ve seen in Texas how relevant each candidate’s alignment with the president was in their voter turnout. []

  • Anything shy of an official endorsement for states where Trump loyalists are prominent seems to mean that votes come down to who matches with the president the best, and on what issues. []‍ ‍[]

  • We saw that with Texas State Representative Dan Crenshaw, the only House Republican in Texas running for re-election without Trump’s endorsement.

  • Crenshaw is also reportedly known for breaking from other Republicans from time to time, which may have been what cost him his seat. []

  • We’ve also seen hot button issues that even Trump has struggled with, like affordability lean heavily into the vote yesterday.

  • And that’s not the only place we’ve seen that issue stand out. 

• Mamdani Announces First Steps in NYC Universal Childcare Program

  • Right, while people were taking their concerns to the polls yesterday, over in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani was taking his first step toward providing universal childcare.

    • A program that could save families tens of thousands of dollars a year and that has been described as “the most ambitious expansion of the social safety net in decades.”

  • And with that, you had Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announcing that, starting this fall, four communities across the city will get to kick off the program with 2,000 free childcare slots for two-year-olds.

  • And specifically, the seats in the program — known as 2-K — will be distributed across a diverse set of neighborhoods in all boroughs except Staten Island.

    • This including parts of Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, Southeast Queens, and Central and Eastern Brooklyn.

  • But this is just the first part of Mamdani’s broader goal to expand the city's existing 3-K and Pre-K programs to reach younger children.

  • Right, the program is set to grow dramatically over the next four years — Hochul’s office said that around 12,000 seats will be available across all five boroughs by the fall of the 2027, “with the goal of reaching every two-year-old in the city at full implementation.”

    • And advocates predict that about 55,000 kids will use the program once it’s fully established.

  • And as for how these first communities were chosen, officials said the initial rollout is being targeted towards families in high-need neighborhoods, but they used a number of different criteria to select those areas.

    • This including economic need, demand for child care, and existing access gaps, but another big factor was the capacity and readiness of providers to successfully help launch this program in a way that is sustainable.

  • Right, while the communities mostly include low-income areas, they also have pockets that are becoming increasingly gentrified.

  • With a to p official explaining that there are two key reasons that they intentionally selected areas with a certain amount of economic diversity.

  • First of all, while exclusively low-income neighborhoods might have higher need, many didn’t have enough existing infrastructure to support the program in its earliest stages.

  • And second, they wanted to emphasize the fact that Mamandi is trying to implement universal childcare for ALL families — not just those who can’t afford it.

  • And that was also echoed by Hochul’s office, which said that, once fully implemented, the program “will provide free child care for two-year-olds in New York City to any family who needs it, regardless of zip code, income or immigration status.”

  • Now, with that, you had a bunch of local leaders in Staten Island slamming Mamdani and Hochul for leaving them out of this initial rollout.

    • With a City Council member who represents the area arguing that “universal childcare must mean universal,” and claiming that the exclusion “raises serious concerns about equity and access.”

  • But you also had city officials hitting back, noting that the program will expand to Staten Island next year, but this is just the early stages, and the state had to be very selective and intentional when it chose the areas for the rollout.

  • But, to that point, you also have many people raising questions about the long-term viability of this program.

  • Right, Hochul has agreed to put up $73 million for the first year of free 2-K and around $425 million for the second, but right now, there isn’t a plan to fund the initiative beyond that.

  • Now, that said, in a statement announcing the first four communities, Hochul implied that she was committed to seeing the program through and would fund it in future years, but she also didn’t provide any specifics.

  • But even if funding is secured, there are other still other hurdles.

  • Right, for one, we’re talking industry where workers earn low wages and its hard to retain employees.

  • So elected officials will have to resolve deep-rooted issues over how to pay those workers, which requires negotiations with several different unions and could be very expensive.

  • And that’s on top of finding and training tons of new employees to work in both existing child care programs and centers that haven’t been built yet. 

  • But, to go back to the issue of affordability, this program has incredibly potential to save New York families tons of money.

  • Right, costs have outpaced inflation nationwide, and in New York, the government reported last year that center-based care for infants and toddlers has reached an average of $26,000 a year —  that’s an incredibly dramatic increase of 43% since 2019.

  • So this has the potential to seriously change lives if it comes to fruition.

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• Pam Bondi Subpoena'd & Lutnick Agrees to Testify in Epstein Probe

  • Then, back to the news, Howard Lutnick is going to face the House Oversight Committee to answer questions about Jeffrey Epstein. 

    • And Pam Bondi, Bill Gates, and a whole slew of other people might be joining him.

  • Right, starting with Commerce Secretary Lutnick, there has been a ton of pressure to subpoena him to testify in the committee’s Epstein probe.

  • And yesterday, he beat them to the punch and volunteered to do it, telling Axios:

    • "I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight."

  • The interview will reportedly be held behind closed doors, with a transcript to follow. 

  • With Committee Chairman James Comer commending Lutnick for “his demonstrated commitment to transparency [and] his willingness to engage with the Committee.”[]

  • And while we obviously don’t know yet what the committee will ask, it will likely center around Lutnick’s relationship with Epstein, as it appears Lutnick lied about the timeline and extent of it.

  • Lutnick and Epstein were previously neighbors in New York, and last year, Lutnick claimed he only ever visited Epstein there once, adding:

    • “I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn’t going ‘cause he’s gross.” (2:32-2:42)

  • But when the files were released, we saw the two had communicated over the span of a decade, including after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes. 

  • And he even visited Epstein’s island in 2012, and is photographed with him there, too.

  • So you had some politicians wanting him to resign over this, others using it to mount pressure to get him to testify, and Rep. Nancy Mace was actually seeking to subpoena him.[]

  • And now he offered testimony himself, so that is needed. 

  • But Mace is still eyeing subpoenas for other people in the Epstein investigation, including Trump’s own Attorney General.

  • Because during a hearing this morning, she said:

    • “Mr. Chairman, I move that the committee issue a subpoena against the honorable Pamela Jo Bondi to appear before the Committee for a deposition regarding the department’s handling of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.” (0:11-0:22)

  • And this motion comes as reports have repeatedly alleged that the DOJ has been removing Epstein files and that tens of thousands have been taken down “for review.”

  • With this including files levying allegations against Trump.

  • So once Mace made this motion, you had people like Rep. Ro Khanna thanking her and adding:

    • “This afternoon [The Oversight Committee] votes on this -- whether to stand with survivors or the Epstein class. I hope colleagues [will] stand for transparency with Nancy Mace, Thomas Massie, and me.”[]

  • So we will have to see where that goes. 

  • But no matter where that goes, Comer already announced yesterday that he is asking a long list of other major names to testify, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Goldman Sachs’ General Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, (rum-ler) billionaire Leon Black, and four others.[]

  • Each received a letter claiming that:

    • “Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, and documents obtained by the Committee, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation.”[]

  • As for Bill Gates, he has denied any wrongdoing but recently apologized to staff at his foundation for ever associating with Epstein. 

  • And a spokesperson for him said he welcomes the opportunity to answer questions for the House. []

  • Goldman Sachs’ Ruemmler (rum-ler) issued a similar statement, right, she is resigning from the bank over her ties to Epstein, but said she knew of no crimes but is happy to answer questions anyways.[]

  • And we also saw the same thing from Leon Black, who was one of Epstein’s biggest financial clients and sources of income.[]

  • These interviews would also be held behind closed doors and transcribed. 

  • But you have plenty of lawmakers, including ones like Mace in the Oversight Committee, arguing that dozens more people need to be called, including Woody Allen, Peter Attia, Steve Bannon, and Harvey Weinstein.[]

  • Though, the biggest name missing from her list is Donald Trump, who is the one person Democrats really want to put in the hot seat.

  • So, we will have to see where any of these go, if we learn anything new, anything that could lead to justice, or even moves the needle at all. 

• Kristi Noem Accused of ICE Cover-Up in House Testimony

  • But in another long-shot push for accountability, you had DHS Secretary Kristi Noem facing the House of Representatives today.

  • Right, yesterday she had a hearing with the Senate, and today it is the House’s turn. 

  • With her grilling now coming as polls say that half of Americans now want to abolish ICE. 

  • So it is no surprise that ICE’s aggressive tactics, the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and deportations have been the big focus for Democrats questioning Noem.

  • With Rep. Jamie Raskin accusing her of a cover-up:

    • "There have been three homicides in Minneapolis in 2026. Your agents committed two of them. Rather than work with state and local authorities to solve these homicides, you barred Minnesota's investigators from the crime scenes. You're denying them access to all the evidence that you have about the deaths of their citizens. It smells like a cover up, and it makes me wonder who the real domestic terrorists are." (13:10-13:34)

  • And he then asked her about the circumstances of their killings:

    • “Is it lawful for fed agents to shoot and kill a person for engaging in peaceful protest and nothing else?..in instances of peaceful protests, no it is not…is it lawful for a fed agent to shoot and kill a person for filming them on a public street…no…is it lawful for fed agents to shoot and kill a person just because is lawfully carrying a holstered firearm under the second amendment…no…and finally is it lawful for fed agents to shoot and kill an innocent person or even a criminal suspect just for driving away from them?...no.” (4:17-4:52)

  • Then, you had Rep. Pramila Jayapal asking her about ICE detaining American citizens. 

  • Noting that yesterday, Noem told the Senate that ICE agents could in fact arrest citizens if they have reason to question their citizenship status, if they are obstructing law enforcement, or for probable cause. 

  • But Jayapal then turned to American citizens who were arrested by ICE and asked this:

    • “Raise your hand if you were not charged with any crime following your detention. Not a single one of you were charged with a crime. Now raise your hand if any of you were not even asked to prove that you were US citizens during your detention. Not a single one of you were even asked about your citizenship status. Now, please raise your hand if you were detained by ICE simply for legally protesting or monitoring ICE activity under your First Amendment rights. All for US citizens have raised their hands.” (0:23-1:04)

  • And when asked if she would like to apologize to these citizens, Noem said she would need more context, so you saw Jayapal shooting back saying:

    • “You have actually turned the United States government against its own residents.” (2:18-2:22)

    • “Yours is a case of failed leadership secretary, you need to resign, be fired, or be impeached.” (2:30-2:36)

  • And like I said, this hearing comes as American citizens are not happy with ICE.

  • According to YouGov, 50% support abolishing ICE, compared to just 39% who oppose the idea. []

  • And while support for ICE has been steadily shrinking, this is the first time the outlet’s polling has hit the 50% mark on abolishing the agency.

  • Right, as you might expect when you look at party lines 77% of Democrats want to get rid of it, but so do 52% of independents, and even nearly a quarter of Republicans.

  • And if ICE is not abolished, you again have the majority of Americans thinking some restrictions should be made.

  • Right, 59% think agents should not be allowed to wear masks hiding their faces, and 75%, including over half of Republicans, think officers should wear uniforms that identify them as part of ICE.

  • So while Noem is trying to dodge any questions that meaningfully challenge the agency’s work, she can’t dodge the fact that Americans are vocally fed up here. 

  • And so eyes will still be on 2028 to see if there are electoral consequences to this, if it shifts the midterms, if anything will actually be done to address the fact that Americans want this agency reigned in.