The Hungriest Place on Earth

The latest: The White House says Israel has signed off on a "ceasefire" deal with Hamas. Reuters reports that it outlines a prisoner exchange, promises for humanitarian aid and a 6o-day pause in fighting. However, Hamas says the proposal they received does not guarantee any end to fighting or Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. Nonetheless, Hamas says they are reviewing it and are expected to respond in the coming days.

UN: Gaza is the "hungriest place on Earth."

It was bound to happen. The question is, was it incompetence or by design?

This week, thousands of starving Palestinians queued for hours under the hot sun, caged inside a wire fence reminiscent of Poland in 1945 for a chance at getting some food.

Just hours after the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” (GHF) launched its chaotic aid distribution plan—following an 11-week Israeli blockade—the Israeli military opened fire on the desperate crowd, killing at least four people. Although the military admitted using weapons to “contain” the crowds, it denied shooting anyone and said it had to rescue GHF contractors from the scene.

But, here’s what we know from reliable sources:

• “An Associated Press journalist reported hearing Israeli tanks and gunfire and seeing flares from a military helicopter.”
• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it was the IDF who shot, killed, and injured civilians.
• This is not uncommon: the UN documented 26 cases between January and March 2024 in which the Israeli military shot at people collecting aid, some resulting in fatalities.
• The Israeli military said they fired warning shots. The GHF claimed they did not open fire. The Red Cross reported that some of the dozens injured had gunshot wounds—including women and children.

Later in the week, the Israeli military threw stun grenades at the crowd and, in one instance, announced by drone—in a scene eerily reminiscent of The Hunger Games—that aid was being shut down after scores of people had waited for hours.

The State Department--against all reason and verifiable proof to the contrary--declared the debacle a success.

By Design

The Israeli government has admitted to and laid out a plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza, rounding up those left after their peoples’ genocide into a small sector of the land and indefinitely maintaining military control—all of which—besides being immoral—violate international law.

After reviewing the GHF proposal, the UN—correctly predicting it would lead to disaster and calling it a scheme—boycotted the organization. This week, we learned that an internal UN report cited two additional issues:

1. Participating could implicate the UN in war crimes; the International Court of Justice is investigating Israel for genocide, and the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu for war crimes.
2. It would set a precedent for militaries taking control of aid—an operation that should be left to impartial, trained humanitarian professionals.

Rats on a Sinking Ship

The “optics” for Israel were not great this week. In addition to the horrific scenes from GHF’s distribution sites, videos surfaced of thousands of Israelis chanting “death to Arabs” during the annual Jerusalem Day parade—footage that quickly spread across social media. There were notable signs of a shift in public opinion:

• A letter signed by 380 writers from the United Kingdom called for an immediate end to Israel’s genocide, including at least one well-known author who has publicly changed their mind. This follows an article where seven leading genocide experts concluded Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
• Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel is committing war crimes: “What is it if not a war crime?”
• A rise in editorials in the Israeli press calling for an end to the genocide.

These notable moments gave me a glimmer of hope—until I stumbled on two data points, including analysis from a prominent reporter about how keeping Palestinians right at the “brink” is and has historically been a deliberate calculation:

1. Jonathan Cook on why Israelis like Olmert are changing their tune: “They are there to reassure us that there are ‘good Israelis,’ even as polls show overwhelming support among Israeli Jews for the war crimes these former leaders now, very belatedly, denounce… They are worried that the scale and ferocity of the war crimes will make it impossible for Israel to rebut the genocide charge.”
2. A Reuters article from 2011 on diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks—incidentally during Olmert’s tenure—revealed, “Israel wanted the coastal territory’s economy ‘functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis,’ according to the November 3, 2008 cable.”

Deliberate or not, Israel seemed to be in a panic this week. As they often do under intense pressure, it doubled down on false assertions—such as claims that Hamas is stealing all the aid—which the UN and World Food Program deny.

Presidency for sale! Presidency for sale!

Trump has turned the American presidency into his personal money-making and favor-bank machine, and it showed this week. He has long used lawsuits and threats to get what he wants—or to get out of what he doesn’t want: bad press, prison time, etc. It’s almost as if the president is doing what’s best for himself, not the country. These are the ways:

Show Him the Moneyyyyyy

• Trump recently held a dinner at his DC golf resort for the top 220 buyers of his useless crypto memecoin. Marketed as the “most exclusive invitation in the world,” whoever had the most money invested by the deadline would win a ticket. The list of winners was mostly secret—meaning we don’t know who has paid for the president’s ear. The top spender shelled out $19 million on the coins. How does Trump make money? On the transaction fees.
  • Democrats in Congress want to pass the Meme Act, which would prevent lawmakers from doing this kind of thing.
• Another revenue machine: lawsuits. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Trump is demanding more money from CBS–who he is suing for $20 billion, claiming they edited a 60 Minutes interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris to make him look bad. (They didn’t.) Paramount—owner of CBS—offered $15 million to settle, but Trump wants $25 million and a formal apology and has threatened CBS with another lawsuit for alleged bias.
  • Paramount has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
  • CBS President Wendy McMahon resigned, refusing to issue an apology.
  • In a shocking move, 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens also resigned, saying he no longer felt he had editorial control.
  • Trump has sued several other major media companies, but those cases were dismissed or the companies did not settle. CBS is hoping to settle. Why not fight back to save democracy? One theory: Paramount wants to merge with Skydance Media in an $8 billion deal—and needs Trump administration approval.
• Trump is also a fan of threatening and suing law firms and lawyers he dislikes. On Tuesday, a federal judge struck down a Trump executive order targeting law firm WilmerHale for employing Robert Mueller, who led the investigation into whether Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. (The report was inconclusive). Trump had sought to ban WilmerHale employees from entering government buildings and suspend their security clearances. The judge ruled it unconstitutional. Instead of suing Trump--which is kind of in their wheelhouse--several law firms have chosen to offer Trump hundreds of millions in pro bono legal services.

Be a Not-so-Smooth Criminal

• Trump issued a slew of controversial commutations and pardons this week. Presidents have the authority to pardon convictions or commute sentences on federal charges, not state ones.
  • Paul Walczak, whose mother raised millions for Trump—the basis for his pardon, as cited in his application for clemency. It may have helped that she also paid $1 million for a ticket to a dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago just weeks before.
  • Reality TV stars Savannah and Todd Chrisley, who were serving sentences for fraud and tax evasion. Their daughter, Savannah, spoke at the RNC convention last summer and profusely thanked Trump in a social media video.
  • A former police sheriff convicted on federal bribery charges. After the announcement, the official pardon attorney (yes, that’s a thing) tweeted: “No MAGA left behind,” praising Trump for the decision.
  • Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover, serving six—SIX—life sentences for crimes including conspiracy and extortion. Trump commuted his federal sentences. (Hoover is also serving time for a state murder conviction. For what it’s worth, he says he has given up the “gang” life.)

And, this week Trump said he:

• is considering pardons for men convicted of a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer over her Covid-19 policies. One of the plot’s masterminds was sentenced to 16 years, including for a related scheme to blow up a bridge to distract authorities.
• would consider a pardon for Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is charged with heinous crimes including sex trafficking.

Trump’s track record makes clear he values three things: donors, bribes, and blind loyalty. Above all, it rewards lawbreaking and ensures personal debts to him.

Since taking office in January, Trump has:

• Commuted the sentences and pardoned all those convicted of January 6-related crimes.
• Pardoned or commuted at least 60 white-collar criminals, wiping out prison sentences and hundreds of millions in fines.
• Outside of the January 6 crowd, one in five of those pardoned has a financial or political connection to Trump.

MORE FROM THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

• On Friday, Trump announced he was doubling the 25% steel tariff to 50%. (The Washington Post)
• Even though he unilaterally withdrew the US from a similar deal in his first term, Trump is negotiating with Iran to allow US inspectors to verify that they’re not advancing a nuclear weapons program. Trump also says he warned Netanyahu not to attack Iran. Tensions have been escalating between the two countries. “Israel had already planned for an attack on Iran this year but held off after a request by the Trump administration to allow for negotiations, according to a person familiar with Israel’s planning.” (WSJ)
• Trump is still trying to win over good ole Canada to become the 51st state. This week, his carrot was his yet-to-be-built “Golden Dome” weapons defense system for the US—which Trump says could protect Canada too, but only if they agree. (Truth Social)

• Is the Trump-Putin bromance over? In a series of social media posts this week, Trump—referring to Putin as “crazy”—said the Russian dictator had two weeks to move the needle on a ceasefire deal with Ukraine after weeks of not taking them seriously. (NBC News)
• Elon Musk is winding down his time at DOGE. What did he accomplish? A lot and nothing at the same time:
  • A ProPublica investigation reveals that–-thanks to DOGE--cuts to foreign aid programs have had devastating consequences, including increased violence, sex trafficking, and severe health repercussions for millions. In Kenya, for example, cuts to the World Food Program forced a reduction in food rations from 2,100 calories per day to just 600. (ProPublica)
  • Musk's heartless choice to kill USAID and other aid programs has killed an estimated 300,000 people so far, according to researchers. Two thirds of them are children.
    
• In a post on X, Musk thanked Trump for the opportunity. But in interviews, Musk offered less glowing reviews, claiming DOGE had become the “whipping boy” for the government: “So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it,” Musk said. He also criticized Trump’s spending bill, which will increase the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years.
  • DOGE will continue. Musk will return to his other companies, including Tesla, whose stock is down 24% since Trump took office. Tesla investors are so worried they’re demanding Musk work at least 40 hours a week and come up with a succession plan.
• In a March executive order, Trump claimed he wanted to restore “sanity to American history,” but it’s becoming clear he wants to rewrite it—creating a narrative that not only exonerates him from his crimes and gaffes but makes him look good. This week, we learned the White House:
  • Fired government historians charged with ensuring “that the record of America’s history—especially classified and covert actions—remains unbiased, transparent and thorough.” (The Washington Post)
  • Removed all transcripts of Trump’s speeches—except his inaugural address—from the website. Makes it harder to find his gaffes.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the US will revoke visas of Chinese students studying in the US. China criticized the move, calling it a “politicization and discriminatory action.” (AP)
  • Experts warn the move will not only increase fears of crackdowns on free speech but will also prevent some of the best and brightest students from coming to the US to study and innovate. (Democracy Now | Foreign Affairs)
• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has killed a Biden-era program on the verge of launching that would have provided low-income and rural Americans access to high-quality, high-speed internet. Lutnick accused the Biden administration of “‘woke’ mandates, favoritism towards certain technologies, and burdensome regulations,” and promised to revamp the program “to take a tech-neutral approach that is rigorously driven by outcomes.” Whatever that means. The kicker: Lutnick appears ready to let Musk’s satellite company Starlink take over some contracts—even though satellite is more expensive and much slower than fiber lines. (The Verge)
• HHS under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. released a report on how to “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA)—except some of the studies cited in it didn’t exist, others were embarrassingly misinterpreted; the whole report was a mess. The White House dismissed the issues as “formatting problems.” The fake studies have since been removed from the report. (NOTUS)
• In a move that has shocked the medical community, HHS is pulling $766 million in funding for Moderna to develop vaccines for future pandemics, and dangerous viruses including the bird flu because Kennedy--who is not a doctor, scientist, researcher, or even a bright man--doesn't like the technology they're using. (NPR)
• Kennedy also announced he will bar government scientists from publishing research in the country’s most respected medical journals, favoring a government-run publication instead. Sounds like a swell, authoritarian idea. (The Hill)
• A new COVID variant has emerged in the US and is more contagious than the current strain. (This seems like a great time to cut vaccine research!) The FDA recently updated vaccine recommendations, removing healthy adults and children from the list. “Doctors said they worry that, because of those changes, pregnant people and children under 5 may be vulnerable to severe outcomes from Covid this winter. And even healthy adults who’ve been vaccinated before might not have optimal protection…” according to Dr. Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. (NBC News)
• Over at the Homeland Security Department, White House aide and architect of Trump's anti-immigrant manifesto Stephen Miller reportedly yelled at ICE agents, ordering them to arrest at least 3,000 people per day—triple the earlier mandate. “Miller’s directive and tone had people leaving the meeting feeling their jobs could be in jeopardy if the new targets aren’t reached,” two sources said. A third person said Miller was “trying to motivate people with a harsh tone.” Cause fear is a great motivator. (Axios)
• Could this pressure lead to more erroneous deportations? Aside from Kilmar Abrego Garcia—still imprisoned in El Salvador after being deported in violation of a court order—a second man was deported earlier this month, again in defiance of a court order, even though he was in the US lawfully. (Investigative Post)
• The TSA is warning air travelers not to use public USB charging ports at airports because fraudsters are trying to hack their data. (Yahoo)

From the Courts

• After a federal court ruled that Trump probably does not have the authority to impose tariffs on the entire world and ordered them paused, an appeals court overturned the ruling, pending further litigation. (This does not affect steel tariffs mentioned above). Expect this to head to the Supreme Court. (ABC News)
• Also likely bound for SCOTUS: a federal appeals court ruled that Trump can’t fire government employees from multiple agencies—for now—saying he likely does not have the authority to do so under the Constitution. (CNN)
• The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can revoke the legal status of about 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela living in the US, exposing them to deportation. One country not subject to Trump’s policies: Ukraine. Spot the difference. (NPR)
• A federal judge ruled that Harvard can continue enrolling foreign students—for now—after Trump issued a retaliatory ban against the school and cut millions in funding. International students make up about 25% of Harvard’s student body, and under the ban, current students here on visas would be forced to leave. (The New York Times)
• A federal judge ruled that Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil’s detention likely violates the Constitution but did not order his release—even though he has the authority to do so. In an unusual ruling, the court said Khalil must prove why he should be released—rather than the government proving its case, for which it has provided no evidence. Khalil still has not been charged with any crime—so not sure how this is gonna work. (Politico)

Congress

• The spending bill designed to cut taxes for the rich and government services for everyone else—known as the “big beautiful bill”—would penalize single parents who receive food aid. A proposed change would require anyone with children ages 7 to 17 to work 80 hours a month to qualify. In households with two parents, only one must meet that requirement—meaning single parents with kids under 7 are stuck. Eighty percent of single-parent households are run by women. Republicans passed the bill in the House. It heads to the Senate next and will likely undergo some changes there. Whether it passes is uncertain. (Axios)
• That same bill proposes to cut a child care program available to lower-income parents who are also in school. (The Intercept)

Gaza: What’s in the boxes?

The GHF has created just four aid stations for the more than two million people living in Gaza--down from the typical 400. Residents must walk miles to reach the stations and carry the boxes—which are heavy—back home. According to the GHF, each box lasts 3.5 days for 5.5 people. Al Jazeera reports the boxes are meager: typically two small bags of flour, beans, tea bags, and biscuits. By contrast, UN aid boxes lasted 1–2 weeks. Without water and fuel, dry pasta, tea bags, and flour are useless.

The Shady GHF

The UN and other aid groups say they have thousands of trucks—loaded with food, water, medicine, and essentials—waiting at Gaza’s borders, but Israel won’t let them in. So what is the point of the GHF—whose funders and backers are anonymous, with business filings layered in a mess of shell companies? It’s shady.

• There are reports that products inside the boxes are Israeli—labeled in Hebrew. Is some company profiting from the sales? (There is food--already purchased and ready to go--just waiting to be let in).
• A GHF document leaked to the press—listing a de facto “board of directors”—included Nate Mook, the former CEO of World Central Kitchen. WCK—founded by celebrity chef José Andrés—has been actively and successfully feeding millions in Gaza through community kitchens staffed by their employees, seven of whom were killed by the Israeli military in a targeted and brazen attack. But Mook sounds legit, right? Except, Mook says he has nothing to do with the company. (M. Srivastava, N. Zilber, and D. Sheppard, “The little-known group poised to take over Gaza’s aid,” Financial Times, May 21, 2025.)
• According to The Washington Post, the foundation’s COO David Burke and Executive Director Jake Wood resigned. Wood said the GHF’s plans were not in line with “humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and and independence.”