Rebecca Myles

News Director @WBAI | Booker/Producer @JohnKiriakou #DeepFocus | Audio Producer @ChrisLynnHedges | STOP THE GENOCIDE IN PALESTINE

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

🇺🇸 The New York Times says that Trump has shelved, for now, plans for a major escalation of the US war against Iran after advisers warned it could dangerously drain depleted Patriot interceptor stocks and trigger a wider regional war.

🔹The reported decision comes after Pentagon already surged forces and weapons to the region in preparation for escalation.

🔹Gen. Dan Caine reportedly told Trump that renewed large-scale combat was possible but would severely reduce CENTCOM’s remaining air defenses. The Pentagon has used more than 1,200 Patriot missiles, costing over $4 million each.

🔹Officials also cited threats to Gulf allies, rising energy prices and doubts that heavier strikes would force Iran back to negotiations. After 13 consecutive nights of attacks, the US announced no new strikes Saturday, but the report notes that the diplomatic path forward remains unclear.

[Rebecca Myles @RebMyles]

Trump demands review of scientific manual used by federal judges | Courthouse News Service https://t.co/WKDwktEtTl

[Rebecca Myles @RebMyles]

Black activists fight convictions for conspiring to aid Russian propaganda efforts | Courthouse News Service https://t.co/NtEZlZ9Q4I

[KTLA @KTLA]

Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife will go on trial on drug trafficking charges next June, a judge said Wednesday, as their lawyers continue to object to the U.S. military action that snatched them from power. https://t.co/2o04SKNIFY

[Al Jazeera Breaking News @AJENews]

BREAKING: US House of Representatives adopts military spending bill that includes Israeli military integration

🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/2ThyuphOPW

[Rebecca Myles @RebMyles]

House advances $1.15 trillion defense bill amid tensions over Iran war https://t.co/HZVdJnGd10

[The Associated Press @AP]

ChatGPT maker OpenAI said Tuesday that its artificial intelligence system hacked into another AI company on its own in what the company called an “unprecedented cyber incident.”

[Sam Husseini @samhusseini]

Congress Integrating U.S. and Israeli Militaries

U.S. and Iran trade strikes for 9th day. Israel has killed at least 1,158 Palestinians in Gaza since the so-called ceasefire deal was signed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Middle East Eye reports Israeli minister "Smotrich says U.S. fighting Iran is ‘best for us’ and Israel will not join ... Finance minister says the war serves Israeli interests while American troops and households bear its mounting costs." https://t.co/lOfAEiYnhO is reporting “Nearly 100 U.S. Troops Injured This Month”.

I drafted this news release this morning for https://t.co/x644oYnvSJ:

Congress Integrating U.S. and Israeli Militaries

Thomas Massie posted Monday evening: “This week’s RULE will NOT allow a vote on my amendment to strip section 219 from the NDAA. We should not merge our military tech & supply chain with Israel’s. I will vote AGAINST the RULE that allows the NDAA to come to the floor and AGAINST the NDAA.”

The group A New Policy posts Tuesday morning: “BREAKING: This Amendment is a set-up. Hear from Josh Paul why A New Policy OPPOSES Representative Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-FL-13) amendment to the House NDAA. The amendment would strike the word ‘integration’ from several places in Section 219. Don’t be fooled, the amendment DOES NOT strike the word ‘integration’ where it matters. ... The goal of this amendment is not to make the bill better, but just to muddy the waters. That is why A New Policy OPPOSES Representative Luna’s amendment.”

The analysts below were featured on the IPA news release “Plans to End Aid to Israel -- and Replace it with Something Worse“ and are available for interviews:

BENJAMIN FREEMAN, [email protected], @BenFreemanDC
Freeman wrote the pieces “Congress quietly moves to integrate U.S. and Israeli militaries“ and “Congress blocks Massie-Khanna effort to kill U.S.-Israel integration“ for Responsible Statecraft. He is director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy Program at the Quincy Institute. He is also co-author of the The Trillion Dollar War Machine.
He said today: “Congress has once again defied the will of the American people and moved us one step closer to fusing our military industrial complex with Israel’s. Even worse, they’re not even willing to have an honest, public debate about the issue. They just keep pushing this dangerous proposal forward behind closed doors. And, the reason they’re doing this is painfully obvious: they know the American people don’t want it, but they’re too scared to stand up to the Israel lobby. But, enough is enough, it’s well past time that Congress puts the interests of the American people above the interests of Benjamin Netanyahu.”

ANNELLE SHELINE, [email protected], @AnnelleSheline
Sheline is research fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute. In 2024, Sheline resigned from the State Department over Biden’s “unconscionable“ Gaza policy.

The Quincy Institute warned in a briefing paper in May: “The United States and Israel are now approaching the renegotiation of their 10-year defense Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU. Israeli officials have said they want to phase out U.S. military grant aid -- a position that sounds like a step toward ending U.S. military assistance to Israel. It is not.

“What top Israeli officials -- including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- are quietly backing is not a reduction in American support, but a reorganization of it: shifting billions in resources from State Department-administered foreign aid grants into general Pentagon procurement accounts, industrial partnerships, and sustainment pipelines. The shift will strip away the political and diplomatic oversight mechanisms that make the relationship publicly accountable, moving it from a visible annual aid vote into the opaque machinery of defense acquisition, where oversight is limited and political accountability is minimal. The result would be a defense relationship that is simultaneously deeper and less transparent.”

[Financial Times @FT]

The US has collected about $13bn of Venezuela’s oil money. Where is it? https://t.co/a873DHKD6o

[Craig Murray @CraigMurrayOrg]

Netanyahu is not a Head of State he does not have head of state immunity.
He's just a PM or head of government. Different thing.

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

🇺🇸🇻🇪 Maduro could finally go on trial in June 2027 on US drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy charges.

Both sides are proposing the timeline to the judge.

It includes handing over evidence to his team, two rounds of motions from Maduro trying to get charges tossed or evidence limited, and the government pushing to use classified stuff at trial.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein still has the final say and the parties can ask for changes.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty.

Source: Bloomberg / Writer: Sol

[The Deep Focus Show @DeepFocusShow]

Is Congress still capable of preventing another war?

Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich joins Arn Menconi to discuss Iran, Congress' constitutional role, the risk of a wider conflict, and why diplomacy may be running out of time.

Watch the full conversation:
https://t.co/Tsy0bdBIgN
#Iran #Congress #ForeignPolicy #Geopolitics

[Douglas Macgregor @DougAMacgregor]

BREAKING: Total number of US soldiers killed in Iranian conflict rises to 18.

[Melissa Russo @MelissaRusso4NY]

DEVELOPING: There could be multiple sources of the Legionnaires outbreak on the UES bc NYC Health sources say DOZENS of the 76 cooling towers with prelim positive tests are now showing LIVE Legionella in longer term tests. (the kind that makes people sick)

[The Associated Press @AP]

U.S. President Donald Trump approves a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that may allow the kingdom to enrich uranium, two AP sources say. https://t.co/4XjKipdMGO

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Indian police have detained Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition figures as they were protesting outside of the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They were rallying in support of a youth-led movement over failures in India's examination system.

[Rebecca Myles @RebMyles]

Oil Firms Knew for Decades of Methane’s Danger to Planet, Documents Suggest - The New York Times https://t.co/peseVngXAZ

[Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie]

The House will soon take 2 votes that will compromise our sovereignty by merging our military technology & supply chain with Israel‘s.

❌TODAY’s vote on H Res 1438 brings the NDAA to the floor WITHOUT a vote on striking section 219.

❌TOMORROW’s vote is to pass the NDAA.

[Douglas Macgregor @DougAMacgregor]

CBS reporting over 100 injuries of United States service members [just this month] in the Middle East.

[Rebecca Myles @RebMyles]

Trump Administration Sought Phone Records of Times Journalists and Their Relatives - The New York Times https://t.co/GHKqzMz12p