Trump handed the spy agencies to a man who gives away cash on Twitter. In a Truth Social post Tuesday morning he named Bill Pulte — the 37-year-old homebuilding heir who runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency — acting Director of National Intelligence, over the CIA, the NSA, and sixteen other agencies. Pulte keeps the housing job too, along with the chairmanships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac he handed himself. He has no intelligence experience. What he has is a year of mining FHFA’s files to manufacture mortgage-fraud referrals against Trump’s enemies — Letitia James, Adam Schiff, Lisa Cook, Eric Swalwell — and a GAO investigation into how he did it. The watchdogs who asked how he pulled Democrats’ private mortgage records were fired. Now the man under investigation for misusing data access runs the surveillance state. Narativ has already placed his father, the developer Mark Pulte, inside Epstein’s own account of the rigged Maison de l’Amitié auction
From Narativ
Bill Pulte, one report:
Bill Pulte Family and Net Worth: All We Know About His Wife and Parents
Bill Pulte, a prominent figure in business and government, is the grandson of renowned homebuilder William J. Pulte, who founded PulteGroup, one of the largest residential construction companies in the U.S. Bill has carved out a distinct identity through his roles in philanthropy, social media, and as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
President Donald Trump raised eyebrows and fury on Tuesday by announcing his controversial head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, as acting director of national intelligence.
Pulte, who has no military or intelligence background, has long been steeped in scandal following his leading the charge to indict some of Trump’s political allies on allegations related to mortgage fraud.
Trump announced Pulte would succeed Tulsi Gabbard as the leader of the country’s intelligence and national security apparatus, saying he “has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America.” As director of national intelligence, Pulte will oversee the CIA, NSA, and various other federal agencies involved in intelligence collection – including the FBI. He will also serve as a principal advisor to Trump and the National Security Council on matters of foreign policy and national security.
Condemnation of the appointment resounded across party lines. Conservative radio host Erick Erickson reacted to the announcement, writing, “Bill Pulte is one of the worst members of the President’s team and has convinced Trump to do more stupid stuff than anyone else in the past year. He’ll be driven to work in a very short bus each day.”
I am reproducing this article by Popular Information, Substack:
Popular Information avoids hot takes and algorithmically-optimized sensationalism. Instead, we investigate, uncover new facts, and reshape the national debate.
Consider two examples from the last two weeks:
On May 18, Popular Information broke the news that Trump had promoted companies at public events on the same day he bought their stock. The story was picked up extensively by national outlets, including the Rachel Maddow show. Within a day, Vice President Vance was confronted with our reporting in the White House briefing room.
On May 27, Popular Information exposed that Lead Left and other purportedly “progressive” super PACs spending millions in Democratic primaries were connected to the House Republican super PAC. Within 24 hours, Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to respond to our reporting. On Monday night, I appeared on CNN to talk about the story.
Popular Information is a three-person newsroom but we can rattle the cages of the most powerful politicians in the world.
Rendering of Kushner’s planned Albanian resort. (Studio Genesis)
Jared Kushner’s efforts to negotiate an end to the Iran War are not going well. But he is only moonlighting as one of the Trump administration’s top diplomats. Kushner is also having problems at his day job as the founder of Affinity Partners, a private equity fund bankrolled by Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments.
Along with his wife Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Trump, Kushner is developing a multibillion-dollar resort on Sazan Island in Albania and nearby coastline. In an interview with the David Senra podcast published Sunday, Ivanka Trump described the project dreamily:
It’s an unbelievable, beautiful, 1,400-hectare private island in the middle of the Mediterranean. We were on a friend’s boat and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that’s how we found it. We swam to the island, we went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated, and it stayed with us ever since. And over the course of many years, we developed the opportunity to help realize its potential and transform it, but with a lot of restraint and care because the land is so beautiful that, really, the architecture has to be fully integrated into it, almost rise from it.
Ivanka Trump said the project is “the culmination of all of my experience in real estate, all of my travel, a lot of reflection on how I want to live, how I think people increasingly want to live.”
But the reality of the massive project, which includes 10,000 hotel rooms and is located in one of Europe’s most environmentally sensitive areas, is a lot messier. In 2024, the Albanian government changed the law to allow the area, which was previously part of a protected national park, to be developed. After Trump’s election in November 2024, the Albanian government granted Atlantic Incubation Partners, an LLC linked to Kushner, “strategic investor“ status, clearing the way for permits.
Kushner’s LLC was granted that status “just weeks before the new US president’s inauguration, even without a business plan or feasibility study for the construction of a luxury resort on an uninhabited island once used by the army for shooting practice.”
An investigative report by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) found that the project involved a “network of shady individuals and companies“ including “a businessman accused of links to the Italian mafia, a former judge who resigned due to the vetting process, the daughter of a lawyer accused of forgery, the company of a murdered businessman and individuals linked to one of Albania’s biggest oligarchs, Shefqet Kastrati.”
In January, 41 environmental organizations from 28 countries wrote to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and called for “the immediate suspension of any decisions advancing the project.” The groups said the resort posed “serious risks to the biodiversity and critical habitats of the area,” including “crucial habitats for some of the world’s most endangered marine species.”
Rama, however, has continued to defend the project. “There is not a single chance it will be stopped for as long as I am here,” Rama said at a press conference Tuesday.
“Albania Is Not for Sale”
On Senra’s podcast, Ivanka Trump said she was “just there [in Albania] walking the lands” to “sort of be with it and experience it alongside some of the greatest living architects of our time.” She did not mention that the property has been subject to mass protests.
On April 29, government officials allowed barbed wire fencing to be constructed around the coastal portions of the resort property. This cut off miles of beach from the public. Heavy machinery was brought in to construct access roads.
After the incident, “authorities revoked the licenses of two private security firms involved in the incident, arrested one guard and stripped the local police chief of his duties.” Fifteen protesters were also charged with crimes.
This week, protests expanded to Tirana, Albania’s capital, with thousands chanting “Albania is not for sale” and demanding Rama’s resignation.
In December, Kushner’s plan to build a Trump tower in Belgrade collapsed after the project became enmeshed in a criminal corruption scandal involving Serbian government officials. Prosecutors allege that government officials forged documents to remove cultural protections from the land where the tower was to be constructed.
If you would like to learn how to do the kind of campaign finance research featured in Popular Information, I’m hosting a webinar detailing the methods I’ve developed over nearly 30 years. The webinar that will cover:
Exactly how money will flow into the 2026 midterm elections.
How to efficiently and accurately identify what corporations and individuals are donating to any candidate or cause.
When and where new information will become available as election day approaches.
The tactics that powerful people and corporations use to try to hide their spending.
The webinar will take place Friday, June 5 at 1 p.m. Eastern. Access to the webinar comes free with a paid subscription. Upgrade now and you will be emailed a registration link immediately.
If you have a news tip, please contact us via Signal at juddlegum.47. We will maintain your anonymity.
Please check out Popular Information’s sister publication Oligarch Watch. The same accountability journalism, laser-focused on the world’s wealthiest people. Subscribe
The Trump administration has hired Elias Irizarry, a convicted participant in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, for a position within a Pentagon office that oversees highly classified military operations, according to a report from the Washington Post. Irizarry was 19 at the time of the riot and later publicly expressed regret for his involvement, but his appointment has reportedly raised concerns among some Defense Department officials because of the sensitivity of the role. The story highlights ongoing debate over the administration’s approach to January 6 defendants and their place in government service. Critics view the hiring as troubling given the nature of the Capitol attack, while supporters may point to Irizarry’s completed legal consequences and stated remorse.
Posted by Aaron Parnas
Who Is Elias Irizarry? Convicted 6 January Rioter Hired for Pentagon Terrorism Post Despite a ‘Checkered Background’
Despite conviction, Irizarry apologised to victims’ widows, ran for public office, and secured a presidential pardon
Elias Irizarry, a convicted 6 January rioter pardoned in 2025, has been appointed to a highly sensitive counter-terrorism role within the Pentagon Stephanie Keith
Four people familiar with the situation reveal that the Trump administration has brought a convicted 6 January rioter—who subsequently expressed remorse for participating in the US Capitol insurrection— into a Pentagon office handling highly classified military operations.
Irizarry’s Background and Capitol Conviction
Legal documents reveal that when the Capitol was stormed, Irizarry was a first-year student at The Citadel, a public military academy based in South Carolina, while also participating as a cadet within the Civil Air Patrol.
YouTube Screenshot / Queen City News
Irizarry made his way to Washington with two other individuals, ultimately joining the mass of Donald Trump supporters who overwhelmed police cordons to infiltrate the building just as Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory. According to legal briefs, he gained entry through a broken window while armed with a metal pole, but he did not use it to hit anyone.
Following a guilty plea to a misdemeanour charge of entering and remaining on restricted government property, Irizarry received a two-week jail sentence, according to legal records.
According to those legal records, Irizarry had attended Trump’s speech at the Ellipse before winding up at the Capitol entirely by chance, moving quickly afterwards to distance himself from the day’s events.
However, the presiding judge pointed out that Irizarry failed to intervene at pivotal moments during the unrest, notably standing by when one of his travel partners, Grayson Sherrill, used a rod to hit a police officer. Sherrill received a seven-month prison sentence in 2023 following a guilty plea for assaulting federal agents.
Microsoft didn’t cut services to International Criminal Court, its president says
Chief prosecutor’s email issues have spurred fears in Europe that Trump could trigger a “kill switch” through U.S. tech giants abroad.
The company’s President Brad Smith told reporters that Microsoft’s actions “did not in any way involve the cessation of services to the ICC.” | Michael Reynolds/EFE via EPA
Microsoft did not stop or suspend its services to the International Criminal Court, the company’s President Brad Smith said, following reporting that it canceled the email address of the court’s chief prosecutor targeted by American sanctions.
The Associated Press reported in May that Microsoft “cancelled” the email address of Karim Khan, the prosecutor who was directly targeted by a February executive order by United States President Donald Trump that claimed the court had “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions” against the U.S. and Israel.
Smith told reporters on Tuesday that Microsoft’s actions “did not in any way involve the cessation of services to the ICC.”
A Microsoft spokesperson said that it had been in contact with the court since February “throughout the process that resulted in the disconnection of its sanctioned official from Microsoft services.” The spokesperson added that “at no point did Microsoft cease or suspend its services to the ICC.”
Khan’s email disconnection has sparked Europe’s fears that Trump could flip a “kill switch” to cut digital services through American tech giants, as the continent seeks to become less dependent on U.S. technology. Companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others dominate Europe’s cloud and digital services sectors.
Microsoft declined to comment further in response to questions regarding the exact process that led to Khan’s email disconnection, and exactly what it meant by “disconnection.” The ICC declined to comment.
However, German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported Tuesday that Microsoft’s lawyers have now reached the view that it merely provides a technical platform and that its customers decide whether to give their employees access to its services. Microsoft would no longer intervene in scenarios similar to the ICC case, WirtschaftsWoche wrote.
Smith at the end of April said Microsoft would push back on orders to suspend European cloud operations, in an attempt to assuage fears about a Trump-ordered kill switch.
The company announced then that it would add a binding clause to its contracts with European governments and the European Commission, stating that it would keep the option open to go to court in the event other governments ordered it to suspend or cease cloud operations.
“People want to know that there’s more than words that we’re offering, that’s why we’re prepared to back this up with contractual commitments,” Smith said at the time.
Amazon and Google, Microsoft’s two main competitors on cloud services, also offer “sovereign” cloud services that seek to assuage Europeans’ concerns, though they have not publicly committed to challenging orders in the same way as Microsoft.
Khan’s email issue has also prompted calls for a major change of government policy in the Netherlands, where the ICC is based.
Bart Groothuis, a Dutch liberal member of the European Parliament, recently urged the creation of a European cloud, citing the ICC incident and saying “the world has changed.”
And Dutch national lawmakers on Monday petitioned the government to use 30 percent Dutch or European cloud services by 2029, as well as multiple other measures to wean the Dutch government off U.S. services like Microsoft.
It again signals a shift in the Netherlands, which has traditionally been one of the most Atlanticist, free-market and tech-friendly EU member countries.
Russia launched a large-scale deadly attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Tuesday, damaging residential buildings, authorities said, as part of a broad offensive on targets across Ukraine.
At least 17 people were killed in the overnight assault that Ukraine’s military said involved more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles, including advanced hypersonics.
Six people were killed in Kyiv and 11 in the central city of Dnipro, including two children, according to Ukrainian officials. More than 100 people were wounded across the country. Five medical facilities were damaged or destroyed, the Ukrainian health ministry said Tuesday.
Inthe capital,the attacks damaged several residential and commercial buildings, sparking fires and burning cars, authorities said.
Kyiv’s air defenses appeared to be less active during a ballistic missile strike around 7 a.m. local time, with CNN producers in the city center hearing ongoing explosions, but not the firing of counter-air systems. A strong smell of smoke permeated the air in the city on Tuesday morning.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the overnight assault as a “massive enemy attack.”
There are fears people remain trapped under the rubble of a multi-story apartment block in Podilsky district that partially collapsed after a “double tap” Russian strike, according to Klitschko.
Emergency responders at a property damaged in Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on June 2. State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Images from Ukraine’s State Emergency Services show a fire engulfing a badly-damaged house as firefighters doused the flames, and the windows and facade of what appears to be the front room of another debris-filled home completely blown away.
“Throughout the night, the enemy launched massive attacks on the Kyiv region using drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Our peaceful towns and villages were once again under attack,” said Mykola Kalashnyk, the Kyiv regional governor.
At least 65 people were wounded across the city, Ukrainian officials said, in strikes that caused power outages and sent residents scrambling to shelters as air raid sirens sounded.
A suspected missile strike hit a 24-story residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district, sparking a fire, and a blaze broke out in a nine-story building in Podil after debris struck the roof, the mayor said. Elsewhere in the city, Russian strikes damaged a clinic and debris fell on the grounds of a kindergarten, Klitschko added. In Bucha, three homes, warehouse facilities and non-residential buildings were damaged, Kalashnyk said.
A residential building damaged in a Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on June 2. State Emergency Service of Ukraine
An emergency worker surveys damage at a property struck during a large-scale attack on Kyiv on June 2. State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Russian attacks were also reported in Dnipro, where 37 people were wounded, and Kharkiv, where 14 were wounded including a child, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. A rescue operation is underway at the site of a four-story apartment building in Dnipro that authorities said was “effectively leveled,” as six people remain unaccounted for.
Among those killed in Dnipro was Maj. Anton Yarmolenko, deputy chief of the Fire and Rescue Unit, who was responding to a rescue call at the time, Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs Ihor Klymenko said.
Altogether, Russia fired 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian Air Force figures, which said the vast bulk of the drones and just over half of the missiles were shot down.
The aftermath of a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Kyiv overnight on May 24, 2026. (Ukraine’s State Emergency Service/Telegram)
Listen to this article or download for later
7 min
This audio is created with AI assistance
Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russian forces launched a large-scale combined missile and drone attack overnight on May 24, targeting mainly Kyiv and the surrounding region, causing casualties and destruction across the capital.
Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched 90 missiles and 600 drones in an attack that lasted several hours, making the attack one of the largest in the last year.
Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported a massive series of wall-shaking explosions in Ukraine’s capital from around 1 a.m local time, and then again multiple times between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m, as Russia launched waves of ballistic and cruise missiles at the city.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported damage “in every district of the city,” as missile and drone strikes hit across the capital — including central areas that tend to see fewer strikes during Russian attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 24 that four people were killed and almost 100 others injured across the country as a result of the attack. In Kyiv alone, over 80 people were wounded, including three children, and two victims killed.
The National Art Museum, one of the oldest and most important museums in Ukraine, was damaged by a blast wave, according to the Culture Ministry. The collection, which ranges from classic to contemporary art, was not damaged.
The Kyiv Opera Theater, the Ukrainian House, the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, and the Chornobyl Museum were among other institutions damaged in the attack.
Over 40% of the items in the Chornobyl Museum’s collection were “irrevocobly lost,” the Interior Ministry reported the following morning. Rescue workers and musuem staff began evacuating the exhibit immediately after the attack. Their efforts saved several irreplaceable artifacts, including a painting by Maria Prymachenko and the Ukrainian flag planted at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant after its liberation in 2022.
“With today’s strike, Russia attempted to destroy not only lives but also memory,” the ministry said.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that for the first time since World War II, the Foreign Ministry building sustained damage from an attack, although the damage wasn’t severe.
The Cabinet of Ministers, Ukraine’s government headquarters, was also damaged overnight, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko reported. A blast wave shattered windows, but no one was injured.
The building was damaged for the first time in a mass missile attack in September 2025.Windows blown out by a blast at the Cabinet of Ministers, Ukraine’s government headquarters, after a Russian mass missile attack overnight on May 24, 2026. (Yuliia Svyrydenko / X)
Civilian homes and infrastructure were also targeted. In Kyiv alone, about 30 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed, Zelensky said.
In terms of the number of locations damaged in the onslaught, the strike marks the largest attack against Kyiv of the entire full-scale war, Kyiv City Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko said.
“There were sounds… a terrifying explosion. A terrible explosion. Flames. For a brief instant — maybe a second — I lost consciousness,” Yevhen, a 74-year-old pensioner, told the Kyiv Independent at one of the attack sites.
“I can’t say I was scared. I wasn’t scared. You see, we Kyiv residents are already used to this. Our emotions have become a little dulled.”
Zelensky confirmed that Russia used its Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile during the attack, the third time Russia has used the sophisticated weapon against Ukraine. The strike targeted Bila Tserkva, a town 50 miles south of Kyiv.
0:00
/1:031×Ukraine’s State Emergency Service — Kyiv/Telegram
Among other damage to infrastructure in Kyiv, Russian missiles and drones struck a supermarket and shopping center, office center, dormitory, service station, garage, parked vehicles, and multiple warehouses across various neighborhoods of the city.
Ihor Smelyansky, the CEO of Ukrposhta — Ukraine’s national postal service — said that the agency’s headquarters on Kyiv’s central Independence Square sustained damage in the attack.
In Kyiv Oblast, Russian projectiles struck the communities of Fastiv, Bucha, Brovary, Bila Tserkva, Vyshhorod, and Boryspil, regional Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said. The attacks hit residential buildings, homes, garages, utility buildings, and a warehouse.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service — Kyiv/Telegram
Elsewhere in Ukraine, explosions were also heard in the cities of Cherkasy and Kropyvnytskyi, as well as in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, public broadcaster Suspilne reported.
In response to the attack, Poland’s Air Force said it scrambled Polish and allied fighter jets in an effort to protect Polish airspace.
Ukraine has requested emergency meetings of the United Nations Security Council and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) to coordinate an international response to Russia’s assault, Sybiha reported the morning after the strike.
“Putin is trying to intimidate Ukraine by attacking civilians and destroying residential buildings, museums, schools, and critical infrastructure,” the foreign minister said. “He is also trying to intimidate the world by launching IRBMs against peaceful cities.”
Sybiha also said the mass attack was Russia’s attempt “to compensate for the lack of military advances on the battlefield with terror against civilians.”
The latest attack began hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing a broader assault across the country, including the possible use of the Oreshnik medium-range missile against Ukraine.
“We are seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv, involving various types of weaponry. The specified intermediate-range weapons could be used in such a strike,” Zelensky said, warning citizens to remain vigilant.
Russia first used an Oreshnik against Ukraine in November 2024 in a strike on the city of Dnipro. The missile was most recently used in an attack on western Lviv Oblast on Jan. 9.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv issued a similar warning “concerning a potentially significant air attack” that may occur over a 24-hour time period. The embassy’s warning did not specify what type of weapons may be used.
Earlier in the night, Russian attacks injured civilians in southern and eastern Ukraine, including in Odesa and Kharkiv oblasts. Explosions were also heard in Kyiv as Russian drones targeted the capital, according to Tkachenko.
I am reproducing this A New Policy opposition to Section 224:
🚨TAKE ACTION: Add Your Name to the Letter Urging the House Armed Services Committee to Remove Military Collaboration with Israel from This Year’s Defense Bill
Section 224: The National Defense Authorization Act FY 2027
Summary: Section 224 of the Chairman’s Mark of the NDAA establishes a new U.S. Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative aimed at accelerating joint research, development, and integration of Israeli origin and jointly developed defense technologies into U.S. military systems and programs of record. It directs the Secretary of Defense to designate an executive formalize deeper cooperation and integration across emerging and existing domains, including counter-drone systems, missile and air defense, quantum computing, AI and autonomous systems, cyber and electronic warfare, directed energy, and defense industrial base co-production, while facilitating pathways from R&D into procurement. This section requires regular reporting to Congress on progress and technology transitions, and emphasizes rapid adoption of Israeli defense innovations to strengthen U.S. military capabilities and technological supremacy.
As political pressure builds to reduce U.S. military assistance to Israel, Section 224 provides the framework for continuing – and expanding – U.S.-Israel military ties by entrenching Israeli technology within the U.S. defense supply chain in a way that would shield it from the annual appropriations process. The use of must-pass legislation as the NDAA as a mechanism of integration speaks to the plummeting popularity of continuing unconditional support to Israel.
The original text of this section is derived from were H.R.7540 and S. 3855 (The U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act (Jackson, R-TX/Budd, R-NC) which direct the Department of Defense (DoD) to formalize deeper cooperation and integration.
Section-by-Section Analysis
(a) ESTABLISHMENT—The Secretary of Defense shall designate an executive agent, responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the United States and Israel, to expand and accelerate bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation.
This section would direct the Secretary of Defense to designate an Executive Agent (EA) to expand and accelerate deeper integration of Israel into U.S. institutions. The EA would be solely focused on implementing Section 224. EA authority takes precedence over the authority of the other DoD Component heads per DOD Instruction 5101.01, meaning that the EA would be able to overrule determinations by other DOD agencies such as the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) on Israeli access to U.S. technology.
The appointment of an EA would replace direct Congressional oversight with supervision by the Secretary of Defense. There would be no Congressional confirmation or ability for removal of an executive agent by Congress.
(a) (1) Identifying jointly developed or Israeli-origin technologies with operational utility for potential integration into United States systems and programs of record;
Section (a)(1) seeks to integrate American and Israeli research and development programs by encouraging the direct use of Israeli-manufactured technology into the US’ systems, including its military programs. This would render the United States dependent on Israel’s provision of such technologies, thus giving Israel a significant amount of leverage over future American policy and infrastructure. This would go beyond the typical bilateral relationship by significantly enhancing Israeli leverage through control of critical U.S. military supply chains, and may also inherently give preference to Israeli technologies over U.S.-origin competitors..
(a)(2) Ensuring collaborative research initiatives involving government, private sector, and academic institutions in the United States and Israel, is done in a manner that protects sensitive technology and information and the national security interests of the United States and Israel;
This provision would further entangle the defense supply chains of Israel and the United States across government, private and academic sectors, which blurs the lines of territorial integrity and political sovereignty. The provision assumes that U.S. and Israeli national security policies and objectives are inseparable, despite very clear current evidence (the Iran conflict, for instance) that they can be divergent.
(a)(3) Facilitating the transition of technologies from research and development into procurement and acquisition pathways;
Subsection (a)(3) directs the accelerated transition of military technologies out of early-stage research, testing, and experimentation and into the formal Department of Defense pathways for funding, buying, and fielding at scale. By targeting procurement and acquisition specifically, the provision is designed to move cooperative efforts beyond research dialogue and toward the actual adoption of technologies into U.S. systems and programs of record. Once such transitions occur, it will be very difficult for future Administrations to uproot such technologies or agreements from major defense procurement programs – and indeed would make DOD Program Executive Offices and Program Managers advocates for the continued inclusion of Israeli-origin technologies in U.S. systems.
(a)(4) Establishing frameworks for joint ventures, licensing agreements, and United States-based co-production or manufacturing partnerships with Israeli industry;
Israeli defense manufactures are often direct competitors to U.S. industry. Establishing licensing and co-production agreements to have Israeli companies manufacture in the United States would enhance Israel’s competitiveness in the U.S. market by sidestepping Buy-America provisions. Furthermore, licensing agreements could give Israeli companies access to intellectual property for weapons systems they are directly competing against.
(a)(5) Coordinating with relevant Department of Defense components, including the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate, capability development and innovation divisions, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the Defense Innovation Unit, the United States-Israel Operations Technology Working Group, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Missile Defense Agency, the United States Space Command, the military departments, and other Department of Defense entities, as appropriate, to align efforts and avoid duplication;
Section (a)(5) circumvents the established structures and hierarchy of the Department of Defense by granting the EA the ability to harness the powers and resources of the DoD writ large. It would give that individual the authority to re-allocate the funding and focus of the Department at will, effectively prioritizing the integration of Israel into the US’ national defense structures – and doing so in some of the most sensitive areas of defense technology and operations, giving Israel immense insight into emerging U.S. defense capabilities and operational requirements. This re-allotment of resources could also lead to delays in other fronts, including crucial research and development, given that personnel and funding would be removed from other critical projects in order to focus on this uncalled for integration.
(a)(6) Promoting joint training exercises and information-sharing mechanisms to enhance operational readiness to deploy jointly developed technologies;
Section (a)(6) deepens Israeli integration into the United States’ military infrastructure, as well as intelligence-gathering networks that have directly contributed to civilian deaths in Iran, Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon. Incorporating Israel into not just the production of military technology, but also into its usage and implementation, diminishes the American military’s ability to act independently by sharing trade secrets crucial to the US’ defensive and offensive capabilities with a foreign power. Additionally, involving other countries in the development of military tactics decreases the US’ own qualitative military superiority and legitimacy.
Section (b) COOPERATIVE EFFORTS.—The synchronized cooperative efforts under subsection (a) may be carried out through the following domains:
(1) Counter-Unmanned Systems including aerial, maritime, and ground platforms.
(2) Anti-tunneling and subterranean threats.
(3) Missile and air defense technologies.
(4) Artificial intelligence, quantum, machine learning, and autonomous systems.
(5) Directed energy and advanced sensing.
(6) Cyber defense, electronic warfare, and digital resilience.
(7) Biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and medical defense.
(8) Network integration, data fusion, and contested logistics.
(9) Defense industrial base cooperation, manufacturing, and co-production.
(10) Other emerging technologies as jointly agreed by the United States and Israel.
Section (b) extends cooperative efforts with Israel to our most sensitive areas of military research, technology, and production. Among the most concerning of the potential extensions of collaboration is artificial intelligence, quantum and biotechnology.
AI and quantum are/will be tremendously impactful on current and future US military capabilities. Due to the sensitivity of these technologies, US advanced AI, quantum (which has applications beyond computing), and next generation cyber technologies are tightly restricted, even among close allies. Currently, access to U.S. research on such technologies is strictly limited to the UK and Australia under AUKUS Pillar II, a core partnership in countering the People’s Republic of China influence in the Pacific. This legislation would extend access to cutting-edge military AI research to Israel without including counterintelligence or human rights safeguards.
Deepening defense co-operation with Israel, particularly in the field of emerging defense technologies, creates and expands risks to the U.S. military edge. This program would expose future areas of U.S. military advantage to a country that is known to maintain a robust technological espionage program and which has previously exported sensitive U.S. military technologies to adversaries including the People’s Republic of China — the very nation that the only existing US partnerships on AI/quantum military technologies work to counter. Furthermore, Israel is a leading exporter of offensive cyber tools that have been used to target U.S. citizens, including U.S. Government officials.
Additionally, many of Israel’s military technologies have been field-tested in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Israeli AI enabled targeting systems, surveillance platforms, and predictive tools have been used in operations that human rights organizations and U.N. experts have linked to war crimes and genocide. Israel uses AI-powered tools to generate lists of buildings to be attacked, assign ratings to residents of Gaza to determine if they are military targets, and determine when a resident is in a particular location. Human Rights Watch has found that these tools rely on systemic surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza that is incompatible with international human rights law. United States integration with AI systems developed and used for these purposes would put us at risk for human rights violations and further erode international trust.
Section (b) also extends collaboration with Israel in the area of biotechnology. The biotechnology field poses both incredible promise and incredible dangers to humanity. The convergence of AI and genomics enables the design of novel or enhanced pathogens that can serve as bioweapons. Because of this, all countries with whom the U.S. has existing Congressionally authorized programs have ratified the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), an international treaty that prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. Israel, however, is one of only 10 countries around the world that has neither signed nor ratified the BWC.
This program, if authorized, would be the U.S.’ first with a country that has refused to foreswear offensive biological weapons, and is widely suspected to have an active offensive biological weapons program. States Parties to the BWC (such as the United States) are required to ensure that any biomedical collaboration with an entity that is not party to the BWC (such as Israel) does not in any way contribute to biological weapons programs, but this program does not include any such safeguards. This gives this legislation the incredibly dangerous potential to implicate the US in the production of bioweapons.
(c) ACTIVITIES IN COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—The Secretary of Defense shall coordinate activities, as appropriate, with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to ensure consistency with existing laws and regulations.
directs the Secretary of Defense to coordinate with State, Commerce, and other agencies to keep the cooperation consistent with existing law, a routine interagency-alignment clause (notably implicating export-control and trade equities through Commerce).
The interim briefing (180 days) and the annual report (running through 2030) require DoD to keep the congressional defense committees apprised of who is running the program (the designated executive agent), the state of coordination with Israeli counterparts, which technologies are being prioritized, and what is actually being transitioned into U.S. acquisition programs or fielded systems. The emphasis on “transition, prototyping, or integration” and on “partnerships established with United States and Israeli industry” signals that this is not a study or dialogue but an operational effort to move Israeli technology into U.S. systems and to link the two countries’ defense industrial bases.
Sections (f) FORM and Section (g) DISCLOSURES:
Reports are unclassified with a classified annex, and DoD must post periodic public updates “to the maximum extent practicable,” explicitly framed around how the effort advances “United States technological and military supremacy,” while carving out anything that would compromise operational security, export controls, or sensitive technology.
A New Policy’s Recommendation: STRONGLY OPPOSE
A New Policy strongly opposes section 224 because the purpose of this section is to avoid the scrutiny and transparency afforded through the current grant assistance to Israel in favor of a mechanism designed to implant Israel’s defense and intelligence establishments into the most sensitive and basic levels of America’s own defense technology ecosystem. This approach exposes sensitive U.S. capabilities to counterintelligence risk, normalizes technologies developed in contexts of occupation and civilian harm, disadvantages U.S. defense companies ability to compete with Israeli competitors, deepens U.S. legal and reputational exposure without clear strategic necessity, and aims to hide continuing U.S. military support to Israel from Congressional and public transparency.
A New Policy recommends Amendment of the underlying bill to strike this section. Were this section to carry into the version of this bill offered for final passage, A New Policy would recommend voting against the underlying bill.
Huge foreign conglomerates like Coca-Cola, Nestle Waters, Sources Alma and Highland Spring are now extracting billions of litres of freshwater from aquifers around Britain to sell as bottled water, it has been revealed.
A freedom of information request by the Guardian found that Coca-Cola extracts the largest amount of resources of any drinks brand in England, with a permit to drain 1.59 billion litres per year from boreholes in Sidcup, Kent. It also has permits in place to extract 377 million litres for bottled water brands Abbey Well and Glaceau Smartwater from Morpeth, Northumberland.
In Scotland, meanwhile, one of the biggest players is Highland Spring, owned by Bahrain-born billionaire businessman Mahdi Al Tajir, also Scotland’s richest man.
The brand has a licence to abstract 1.85 billion litres per year from the Speyside Glenlivet estate in the Scottish Highlands, although it says that it only takes out 32 per cent of the permissible amount and it hasn’t detected any discernible impact on the environment as a result of this abstraction.
Although trade organisation the Natural Source Water Association says that abstraction for bottled water only covers a small fraction of total resources extracted in Britain, the issue – according to Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN special rapporteur for water – is that these companies are taking the best quality drinking water there is, putting public supply at risk.
Thousands in Kent still facing water supply issues
ITV News
Mon, 1 June 2026 at 11:20 am BST
Thousands of people in Kent are still facing water supply issues as the county enters its tenth day of disruption.
More than 100 households in Mereworth, a village near Maidstone, currently have no water.
South East Water says more than 3,000 customers may experience low pressure or an intermittent supply during the day in the Coxheath, Loose, Headcorn, Ulcombe, Benenden and Kemsing areas.
The problems began during the recent heatwave, affecting properties in Kent and Sussex, and people are being asked to use water for essential purposes only.
In a statement, South East Water’s Incident Manager, Mike Court, said: “Drinking water supplies are continuing to return to customers across Kent today.
“Currently there are around 117 households with no water in the Mereworth area due to low levels in our drinking water storage tank which supplies the area, however we expect supplies to be restored today.
Coca-Cola is the world’s most recognizable beverage brand, consumed in nearly every country. Its red logo and signature formula symbolize modern consumer culture. Yet beneath its refreshing image lies a long-standing controversy: water rights.
As a company whose primary ingredient is water, Coca-Cola has been accused of over-extraction, pollution, and exploitation of scarce water resources—particularly in developing countries. Communities in India, Africa, and Latin America have accused the company of depleting aquifers, contaminating local supplies, and prioritizing profit over basic human needs.
This article explores Coca-Cola’s water rights issues, tracing major controversies, corporate sustainability pledges, and the broader ethical and environmental dilemmas surrounding water as a commodity.
Why Water Matters
Water makes up 90–95% of Coca-Cola beverages.
Each liter of Coke requires multiple liters of water to produce, including agricultural use for sugar.
Water is not just a raw material but a human right, recognized by the United Nations.
As climate change and population growth strain water resources, corporations like Coca-Cola face scrutiny for how they access and use water.
Coca-Cola’s Global Footprint
Operates in 200+ countries with hundreds of bottling plants.
Relies on local water sources—often underground aquifers—for production.
Agricultural supply chains (sugar, fruit, etc.) further increase water demand.
This global reach means Coca-Cola’s impact on water rights is both widespread and deeply localized.
“Spitting, fuming, angry and powerless” is how Pat Prestage describes her emotions after a water outage that has affected thousands of homes in Kent during the heatwave.
On Wednesday, 8,000 South East Water customers in Whitstable lost water, with 14,000 more in Tankerton, Ashford, and its surrounding areas facing an intermittent supply or low pressure. South East Water’s incident manager, Matthew Dean, said on Thursday that 22,000 people had had water supply problems.
The company blamed increased demand in the hot weather and asked people to use water only for essential purposes.
Urgent concerns must now be addressed as these corporations drill boreholes in our aquifers;
Groundwater provides water even during periods of lower than average rainfall, when surface waters dry up. However, this resilient resource can still fail if rainfall is reduced over a long period. BGS is working to better understand how groundwater droughts occur and the effects they have on people and the environment.
Groundwater drought can have significant negative social and economic impacts on communities that are particularly reliant on groundwater.
Groundwater drought is the sustained and extensive occurrence of below average availability of groundwater.
Aquifers in the UK are usually replenished with water during the winter months, so groundwater droughts may develop if there is reduced rainfall over one or successive winters. Groundwater drought can be exacerbated by high demand for water during unusually hot or particularly dry summers.
Groundwater droughts are marked by lower than average water levels in aquifers, borehole and wells, and by reduced flows to groundwater-fed rivers and wetlands.
Why is groundwater important during surface water droughts?
Groundwater is an important part of the UK’s water supply. It is generally more resilient to drought than surface water due to the relatively slow response of groundwater to changes in rainfall.
At times of surface-water drought, groundwater becomes a critical national resource. As well as providing domestic, agricultural and industrial water supplies, groundwater supports ecologically important flows in many of our rivers during episodes of drought
Senior VP Neil Chapman says supplies may only hold off bigger price shocks for a matter of weeks
FILE: ExxonMobil senior vice president Neil Chapman speaks to the media after a meeting with Cyprus’ president Nicos Anastasiades at the presidential palace in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, 5 October 2018. Photo: AP/SCANPIX
Global markets are quickly reaching “unheard-of inventory levels” of crude oil as nations and companies continue to draw from reserves to tame energy shocks from the Middle East war, a top ExxonMobil executive said Thursday
An uncomfortable reality settled in this past week: There is no clear way to return the energy industry to its pre-Iran War state anytime soon. High oil prices look like they’re here to stay and could stretch into 2027.
Trump wants to sell 1 million barrel reserve of diesel fuel
By Ari Natter, Nathan Risser, and BloombergJune 2, 2025, 1:10 PM ETAdd us on
The Trump administration wants to put a 1 million barrel cache of diesel fuel on the market, saying the reserve meant to provide an emergency supply of home heating oil for the Northeast has never been used for its intended purpose.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
he Trump administration wants to put a 1 million barrel cache of diesel fuel on the market, saying the reserve meant to provide an emergency supply of home heating oil for the Northeast has never been used for its intended purpose.
The United States’ emergency oil stockpile, theStrategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), is being drawn down at an unprecedented pace as global energy markets reel from the war in Iran. President Donald Trump has released crude from the reserve faster than any previous administration, leaving the SPR near its lowest levels since the early 1980s.
Dry stream bed of River Till, Berwick St James, Wiltshire, in 2004. BGS © UKRI.
borderslynn 
You must be logged in to post a comment.