Neocons Have Shaped Washington’s Iran War Plans
As the US attacks Iran, Donald Trump is following a blueprint laid out by a long-standing force in US foreign policy: the neocons who backed the Iraq War more than 20 years ago.
113 Article(s) by: Katya Schwenk
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Katya Schwenk is a reporter with the Lever based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Big Tech Oversees Itself at Homeland Security
Kristi Noem, just fired from her job as secretary of DHS amid allegations of self-dealing, staffed the department’s AI division with leadership taken directly from a tech company under contract with DHS to develop its biometric surveillance system.
AIPAC Is Influencing Trump’s War in Iran
Democrats are pushing a resolution to block Donald Trump from taking further military action in Iran without congressional approval. But the effort is facing opposition from three lawmakers from their own party backed by the Israel lobby.
The GOP May Block Regulation of Corporate Landlords
Claiming to be working to stop corporate landlords from buying up single-family homes, an industry-backed GOP senator is circulating legislation that could block states from regulating the institutional investors purchasing hundreds of thousands of homes.
Palantir’s Move to Florida Is About Keeping Workers Trapped
Data analytics company Palantir’s abrupt announcement that it is moving to Florida comes just after the state’s lawmakers boosted corporations’ legal power to prevent workers from leaving for competitors.
Trump Is Dismantling Civil Rights Oversight of ICE
When the Department of Homeland Security was first created, Congress established a civil-rights watchdog office for DHS and its various arms, including ICE. Amid mounting concerns about DHS’s rights violations, Trump has been erasing the oversight office.
Real Estate Brokers Are Profiting From Warehouse Sales to ICE
Lucrative deals selling empty warehouses to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the Trump administration’s mass deportation machine are being quietly facilitated by a handful of powerful real estate brokers.
Ohio Train Derailment Victims Are Still Waiting for Justice
Three years after the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the railroad, lawyers, and myriad companies involved in a $600 million class action settlement have all been paid — while many residents have yet to receive anything.
Dem-Backed ICE Body Cams Are a Giveaway to Weapons Makers
To reduce ICE misconduct, Democratic legislators propose that its agents be required to wear body cameras. Evidence of body camera efficacy is remarkably thin, but weapons technology companies are set to make millions from the “reform.”
Crypto and Big Banks Fight Over Who Gets to Fleece You
Wall Street and the crypto industry are engaged in a legislative battle over which business interests will get to fleece more of their customers’ money, with big banks hoping to close a loophole that allows cryptocurrencies to pay interest to investors.
The Shady Contractors Training ICE Agents
A variety of shadowy private security and weapons firms have been tapped to provide firearms and combat training to ICE agents. They are among the many private entities lining up for their cut of the Trump administration’s deportation spending blitz.
Elon Musk’s Grok Has Friends in High Places
A former X executive behind Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot, now serving as US Patent Office chief AI officer, has received a “highly unusual” carveout that allows him to retain company shares while influencing AI policy.
Trump Wants to Privatize Migrant Kids’ Legal Aid
The Trump administration is working to privatize a legal defense program for tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children, opening the door for a for-profit ICE technology contractor to take over in partnership with Angelina Jolie’s NGO.
ICE Is Expanding Its Detention Capacity
Immigration and Customs Enforcement signed a $30 million contract last week that moves to convert vacant warehouses into mega detention centers, increasing capacity in the Trump administration’s push to supercharge deportations.
ICE Is Planning to Build a Bounty Hunter Army
In addition to the extensive technology at its disposal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is devising plans for a bounty-hunting program that would enlist private contractors to help carry out Donald Trump’s mass deportations.
Spirit Halloween Is Robbing the Shopping Mall Cemetery
Spirit Halloween’s vulture-like business model keeps operating costs low by snapping up short-term leases in vacant retail spaces, making itself a rare beneficiary of private equity’s hollowing out of big box stores across the country.
ICE Will Use AI to Surveil Social Media
A Silicon Valley firm has contracted with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to build out a social media surveillance dragnet. Critics say that the AI-driven software will target immigrants for political speech.
Self-Driving Cars Will Be Regulated by an Industry Insider
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is the US agency charged with overseeing automobile safety, including rapidly proliferating self-driving cars. The agency’s new head reportedly worked on Apple’s self-driving car project until recently.
ICE’s Private Prison Contractor Is Hoping to Get Blanket Immunity
After being sued for violating state-level human trafficking laws, GEO Group, the nation’s largest private prison company, is pushing the Supreme Court to grant private government contractors like itself blanket immunity from such lawsuits.
In Minnesota, BlackRock Is Acquiring Vital Infrastructure
A multibillion-dollar deal is set to hand private equity giant BlackRock one of the Midwest’s largest utilities, Minnesota Power. Opponents of the sale fear that this will only worsen the already skyrocketing cost of electricity.