MATT BERG
& CROOKED MEDIA

THURSDAY
JUNE 12, 2025

I wrote, ‘Okay, no more texts.’ And he started again! So I cut him off.”

 
— Bill Nye’s response, [after Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]([link removed]) kept blowing up his phone.

THE STRUGGLE ISRAEL

Will the United States get dragged into another war in the Middle East? It’s possible.

- Israel seems prepared to launch an attack on Iran soon, [according to]([link removed]) [multiple news outlets]([link removed]). While the scale of the potential attack is unclear, the Trump administration is taking no chances. American diplomats and family members of military personnel in the region [are being evacuated]([link removed]). An Israeli attack “could very well happen,” Trump told reporters today. 

- How the hell did we get here? Top Trump aides have been trying to negotiate a deal to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a longstanding issue ever since the president controversially pulled out of an Obama-era deal during his first term. The White House hasn’t had much luck: Earlier this week, Trump said he’s “[less confident]([link removed])” about a deal coming together.

- Trump’s team is trying to keep the peace — for now. In a recent call, Trump [reportedly told]([link removed]) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop threatening the country. (Israel opposes any deal that allows Iran to continue its nuclear program, no matter how limited.) Steve Witkoff, the president’s golf buddy-turned-top-diplomat, is [scheduled to meet]([link removed]) with Iranian officials in Oman on Sunday.
 

- Adding fuel to today’s fire, a United Nations watchdog accused Iran of [breaking rules about nuclear non-proliferation]([link removed]). In response, Iran vowed to ramp up its uranium enrichment, a process necessary for developing nuclear weapons.

 
Sooooo… What happens next? 

- Iran has already said it’s [not afraid to target]([link removed]) U.S. bases if negotiations fail and a conflict sparks, so staying out of the fighting could be complicated. Trump hasn’t exactly fostered good vibes with Tehran either, repeatedly threatening to bomb the country if it doesn’t reach an agreement on a nuclear deal.

- “If [Trump is] going to make threats there, he usually intends to back them up, even in our negotiations with the Iranians,” a senior Trump administration official told me last month. “I know that the president said they're not getting a nuclear weapon. If Trump's threat of force won't get them to move, I'm not sure anything will. So, then you go to other options.” 

- Another factor: It’s unlikely Israel would launch an attack without Washington’s permission, which could ruin that extremely tight relationship. But if Trump approves (or fails to stop) a strike, it could anger his non-interventionist base, [prominent MAGAworld influencers warned]([link removed]).

Even during tense moments like these, a good joke about Trump’s team never fails to lighten the mood: “Things are spiraling fast with Iran. Anyone in the Pete Hegseth Signal group tracking this?” one X user tweeted[​]([link removed]).

SMALL DICTATOR ENERGY

Democratic lawmakers accused the Trump administration of taking its authoritarian tendencies to new levels today, after [officers forced]([link removed]) Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) to the ground and handcuffed him.

The episode took place after Padilla walked into DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference. The senator [told reporters]([link removed]) that he began to ask a question and “was immediately forcibly removed from the room.” Noem’s excuse? Padilla didn’t identify himself (a video shows that he did) and “started launching towards the podium interrupting me.”
 
DHS made more excuses: Padilla was “told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. Secret Service thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately,” the department said in a statement, dismissing the senator’s actions as “political theatre.”
 
“This is a shameful and stunning abuse of power,” former Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted[​]([link removed]).
 
“This is the stuff of dictatorships. It is actually happening,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said on the Senate floor[​]([link removed]). “There is no context that requires this acting … I have never ever, other than Jan. 6, been so outraged at the conduct of an administration.”
 
“Fucking outrageous,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) tweeted[​]([link removed]). “This is authoritarianism.”

It’s the latest flashpoint in the fight against the White House’s radical immigration agenda. And Trump’s allies are digging in.
 
In Los Angeles, ICE agents [rammed a car]([link removed]) with two children in it to arrest their father. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott [plans to deploy]([link removed]) 5,000 National Guard troops to protect agents during "No Kings" protests this weekend. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that drivers who hit protestors with their car [won’t get in trouble]([link removed]) if they are fleeing “for safety.”

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WHAT ELSE?

[One person survived a Boeing flight crash]([link removed]) in India today, which hit a college campus five minutes after takeoff, authorities said. The plane, bound for London, was carrying 169 Indian, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals. The parent company of Air India, which operated the plane, said it will pay the families more than $100,000 each.
 
[Hamas militants killed at least eight Palestinians]([link removed]) who helped a U.S.-backed humanitarian foundation distribute aid in the Gaza Strip, according to the organization. Workers were ambushed while riding a bus to an aid center. Several were injured, and others may have been kidnapped, the foundation said.
 
[Donald Trump admitted that his harsh immigration]([link removed]) policies are hurting the agriculture and hospitality industries. People in those industries have been saying that “our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Huh… it’s almost like YOU have the power to stop that from happening!
 
[Brainworm survivor Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named]([link removed]) eight new picks for the CDC’s vaccine advisory board, after abruptly firing the whole panel. Some of these folks are explicitly antivax, including a nurse who is on the board of an organization that advocates against vaccines. Days ago, he said he wouldn’t choose “ideological antivaxers” for the board. Do you feel like you’re going crazy? That’s clearly RFK Jr.’s goal! 
 
[Most Americans believe that Trump’s military]([link removed]) *cough birthday cough* parade in Washington, D.C. this week isn’t a good use of money, an Associated Press poll found. The celebration, which will feature tanks rolling down the streets of the nation’s capital, is estimated to cost as much as $45 million. Many flights out of Reagan National Airport have been suspended for the parade, too. Totally worth it!!!
 
[The Environmental Protection Agency is delaying]([link removed]) the release of safety data about more than a dozen toxic chemicals, including some household items linked to cancer or developmental issues in babies. The Trump administration says the move will allow more time to develop guidelines with input from industry — which seems to be the only group thrilled about this decision. 
 
[Speaking of stupid decisions,]([link removed]) the EPA plans to erase limits on the amount of greenhouse gases that power plants can emit. It will also loosen restrictions on other hazardous emissions, such as mercury, arsenic and lead. The rollback marked a “historic day” that will help the fossil fuel industry, EPA chief Lee Zeldin said, presumably twiddling his fingers and grinning like Mr. Burns.

[Gun control activist David Hogg will leave]([link removed]) the Democratic National Committee after a brief and tumultuous tenure as the organization’s vice chair. Hogg ignited chaos when he pledged to financially back candidates to challenge incumbent Democrats he views as weak — causing Chair Ken Martin to privately question[​]([link removed]) his own ability to lead the party.

FRIEND (OF THE POD) ZONE
 
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[The Supreme Court unanimously sided]([link removed]) with a teen girl who has a rare form of epilepsy, after she sued her school for not doing enough to help her receive more instruction. The ruling makes it easier for students with disabilities to advocate for proper accommodations.

[Donald Trump received many boos]([link removed]) when he attended a showing of “Les Miserables” at the Kennedy Center in D.C. last night. “Felon, you’re a convicted felon,” one woman yelled. Meanwhile, drag queens who showed up to protest from the audience were cheered on. Even funnier, Vice President JD Vance was [roasted online]([link removed]) for making a cringey joke that showed off his love for musicals. I missed the part in “Hillbilly Elegy” where Vance embarks on a life-changing adventure to Broadway and falls in love with theatre???

[South Carolina police embarked on the world’s slowest]([link removed]) police chase last weekend, pursuing a man driving tractor excavator 3 m.p.h. — the same speed that an average adult walks. The not-so-hot pursuit lasted over an hour, and the man got away. Just kidding, [take a look at this video]([link removed])! This dude had no shot, lmao.

 

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