“The US military has put 250-pound precision-guided Bunker Busting Bombs for the first time in the Middle East on its warplanes, the WST reports … Pentagon officials disclosed that the GBU-39/B bunker busters would be placed on the A-10-Thunderbolt assault planes deployed in the region earlier this month, as a deterrent to Iran.” (Debka)
“Russia's Wagner mercenary group was involved in alleged Kremlin-led efforts to foment civil unrest in Moldova in the hope of destabilizing the pro-Western government, leaked U.S. military documents seen by RFE/RL's Russian Service indicate.” (Radio Free Europe)
“(Prince) Harry is part of a large group suing Murdoch’s British media empire, News Group Newspapers, over the old phone-hacking scandal, which Harry and other litigants claim went on far longer than known and extended to the Murdoch property The Sun (so far, only The News of the World, shuttered after a massive settlement, has been implicated). In papers released Tuesday, Harry alleges that Queen Elizabeth II wanted to go after Murdoch’s media empire legally but that Charles called her off.” (New Republic)
“Queen Elizabeth knew that Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper arm had been spying on her family and their friends, and authorised her staff to "draw a line" under the issue, according to an email released on Thursday in a lawsuit by her grandson Prince Harry.” (Reuters)
“Following the company’s comments, (Governor) DeSantis, who backed the bill and signed it into law, and GOP lawmakers made a move to strip Disney of the special tax status it has in the Florida region where Walt Disney World resides and empower a group of DeSantis appointees to govern it. Disney fought this, finding a way to strip DeSantis’ board of power and giving the company veto power over its actions. It did this by having the outgoing board make a pact that invoked—I kid you not—the ‘royal lives’ clause, which aims to keep the agreement valid in perpetuity, or until the ‘death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III.’” (WIRED)
“Viewers have deserted Fox, at least for now. And reporters have posted stories that the discovery of offensive private messages Carlson sent about colleagues may have been what pushed Fox to settle a major lawsuit.” (NPR)
“Speaking on the company’s first-quarter earnings call, Daniel Ek responded to a question from an analyst asking about plans for potentially expensive renewals this year. Spotify spent over $1 billion acquiring podcast assets and locking in exclusive deals with names like Joe Rogan and Dax Shepard. Those deals were spearheaded by Dawn Ostroff, who left the company earlier this year, and whose responsibilities have been taken on by Alex Nörstrom. Nörstrom’s specialty up to that point was the free, ad-supported side of Spotify. ‘You’re right in calling out the overpaying and over-investing, and I can start off by saying that we’re not going to do that,’ said Ek.” (Digital Music News)
“The last year has been been a microcosm of Pakistan’s seven-decades of dysfunction, now culminating in ambiguity over the most fundamental of democratic exercises: holding an election.” (The Diplomat)
“Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced the Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act — legislation that would force the high court to adopt clear ethics rules and appoint an official to process complaints against justices. The bipartisan bill— by her association only— which she introduced with Angus King, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, is more limited in scope than the reform Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse and Hank Johnson re-introduced earlier this year.” (VF)
With Egypt sidling up to Sudan’s army and the UAE holding some sway over the RSF, what will the regional implications be? (Al Jazeera)
Jack Teixeira and Me (Spytalk)
“(Senator Diane) Feinstein, who is eighty-nine, and who has held her seat in Congress for more than three decades, has been planning to retire after her term expires next year. But there have been concerns about whether she has the ability—and the mental acuity—to carry out her job till then.” (TNY)
“On the entertainment side, some in Hollywood believe Murdoch left 20th Century Fox as a far weaker player than when he found it. There’s also debate as to whether Disney overpaid for the assets, prompting its need for drastic cuts at this moment.” (Peter Bart)
“But, you know, BuzzFeed raised 700 million before its IPO. It had a $1.5 billion valuation at the IPO, and its market cap hovered significantly lower into the $100 million to $250 million for most of last year. There was downsizing, so it was sort of death by a thousand cuts. And the editors were pushing for more content with the downsized staff.” (Kara Swisher)
“Three Roman military camps, from almost 2000 years ago, were found in a Saudi Arabian desert, according to new research published on Wednesday.” (Jpost)
“‘So they went through East Harlem, which is all Hispanic, and they gave out little cards, and the card said, ‘If you come to vote, make sure you have your green card because INS are picking up illegals.’ So they spread it all over the Hispanic...’ Giuliani trailed off after Lake exclaimed, ‘Oh my gosh.’” (Huff Post Politics)
“On this sad day as we say goodbye to Patty Raynes & Heather Cohane let's not overlook the late great Jerry Springer and his show The Jerry Springer Show which I watched diligently and learned that what seems strange in trailer parks and the hinterlands of Americana is all to be found in my family.” (Christina Oxenberg)
“And, as it happened, I actually met Candace a couple of months ago when we were both guests of Gale Hayman at a small dinner at La Goulue. Although we never had a word because we were at the opposite ends of the table in a crowded and very active dining room. I state the above to remind myself of my non-relationship with Candace Bushnell. So when Peggy Siegal invited me to attend Bushnell’s one-woman show at the Café Carlyle, I could only think, why not? Maybe I’d see why she’s a very successful writer.” (David Patrick Columbia)
“I knew her very, very well, Princess Margaret. I lived with her for a whole year at one point. She always knew she was there as a spare. The only time I ever heard her sort of complain about it was when she said, “I wish I’d been better educated.” Because The Queen was very well educated. She had people from Oxford and Cambridge, and Eton. Princess Margaret was left with Crawfey [Marion Crawford] and a rather smelly French governess. I think she would have benefited.” (The Digital Party)
“Bryan is joined by Brian Stelter to talk about Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News, what may have caused it, and what’s next for Carlson … Later, they talk about Don Lemon’s departure from CNN and what it means for the network.” (The Press Box)
“Militaries with significant economic interests, such as those in Algeria and Sudan, are especially keen to find ways to derail democratic transitions. Unfortunately, extricating them from the political economy requires sustained mass mobilization (which requires good opposition organization), even at the risk of violent repression. The capacity to repress, which depends on wealth, also plays a role.” (The Wilson Center).
“At 12:37 PM, my cell phone rang with a caller ID that, at first glance, looked like it was my wife. I now know it wasn’t exactly her number, but it was the same area code and prefix and the same last number. But at the time I thought it was her number. What I heard was a crying woman who was obviously extremely upset. Because it came from what I thought was her phone, I assumed it was my wife. I repeatedly asked what the matter was but I couldn’t understand her answer. All I could imagine was that something horrible must have happened. Then a man came on the phone, identifying himself as a police officer. I asked what the matter was and he said that he needed to verify who he was talking with before he could disclose it. I would normally refuse such a request without more information from him but I was desperate for an answer so I gave him my name and my wife’s name. He then admitted that he wasn’t a police officer, but a member of a drug cartel and that he had my wife with him in San Francisco. I’m not sure how he knew she was in San Francisco. Maybe I said something about her location or maybe not. I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.” (Connect Safely)
“With a chiseled jaw and Southern ease, (Stacey) Souther, 50, journeyed from Georgia to Hollywood during the early 2000s with dreams of becoming a movie star. Instead, he met (Valerie) Perrine. They’ve been inseparable — and, both insist, completely platonic — ever since. Souther transports Perrine to every doctor appointment. He makes sure, along with the help of a caregiver, that Perrine is fed, happy and comfortable. They watch movies together in the evenings, after which Souther will frequently spend the night on an inflatable mattress spread out across the floor. For this, he accepts no payment. ‘I’m sure people are like, ‘Why does he do it?’ ‘ Souther says. ‘It’s weird to hear the question to me because I’m like, ‘Why wouldn’t you do it?’ ‘Valerie’s brother puts it another way: ‘Why is he doing it? Pure altruism. The guy should be sainted.’” (THR)