US military says it is degrading Tehran’s ability to threaten ships in strait of Hormuz; Houthis say tankers violated their blockade; US signs nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia
Welcome to our live coverage of the continuing crisis in the Middle East.
The US military announced on Thursday evening it had began a 12th consecutive night of strikes against Iranian military targets at the direction of Donald Trump.
Continue reading...GOP-controlled chamber paves way for reconciliation bill, while making long-shot attempt at new voting restrictions
House Republicans on Wednesday agreed to begin the process of writing a $95bn bill to fund the war with Iran as well as provide new aid to farmers, while making a long-shot attempt to impose new restrictions on voting nationwide.
In a virtually party-line 216-214, the Republican-controlled chamber passed a budget resolution that paves the way for the creation of a reconciliation bill, which can advance through the Senate under special rules that circumvent the Democratic filibuster and requires only a simple majority to pass. Two Republicans – Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, as well as Kevin Kiley, an independent of California who aligns with the GOP – joined all Democrats in opposing the measure.
Continue reading...US energy secretary Chris Wright says pair of agreements signed Wednesday ‘uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation’
A reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest out of the Middle East at our dedicated live blog.
Donald Trump took to Truth Social a short while and noted that the US will destroy one bridge or power plant, including those near Tehran, “any time” that Iran “shoots a ship” in the strait of Hormuz.
Continue reading...Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
Trans community, allies condemn Wiener for exploiting a march he was asked to leave:
State Sen. Scott Wiener was not invited to the Trans March. He was really, really not invited: In fact, Gabriel Haaland, one of the founders of the march, told me, he had been asked specifically not to attend.
In 2016, then-Sup. Wiener, then-state-Sen. Mark Leno, and then-Mayor Ed Lee were booed off the stage at the march. (That was when Leno and Wiener were close, before Wiener stabbed his mentor in the back and endorsed London Breed for mayor.)
"We told them very clearly that we didn't want politicians in our space," Haaland explained to me. "We changed our policy because of Wiener, and his anti-tenant policies, and asked them not to come back." [...]
But Wiener didn't just show up; after he left, he used video of the event to raise national money, $127,000 in national money, for his Congressional campaign. (According to the Standard, even Netanyahu sided with Wiener, saying he was treated unfairly.)
"It's about as craven as I've ever seen," Haaland told me. "To use our community in this way to raise money is disgraceful. ... He never even picked up the phone and reached out to the Trans March folks." [...]
"The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club condemns these self-serving actions by State Senator Wiener and urges politicians to stop using vulnerable communities as a fundraising tool. Trans people already face immense danger in this country. We need real allies, not people who will sell us out for a fundraising opportunity."
As of Tuesday, the van is back in action with a slightly different message: "I live in this van b/c Connie Chan hates housing."
Gazetteer SF learned that the registered owner of the van is being paid by a super PAC that supports Scott Wiener.
In April, the San Francisco Chronicle used California Department of Motor Vehicles data to identify Conor Johnston as the owner of the van. Johnston is a longtime Wiener supporter who served as chief of staff to London Breed when she was supervisor, and later advised her mayoral reelection campaign in 2024. He is also owner of the cannabis company Otter Brands, and has a history of political pranks and provocations.
Johnston and his business have been paid nearly $30,000 by the Families for an Affordable San Francisco super PAC this year, according to financial disclosures to the Federal Election Commission. Families is a super PAC founded by Wiener's active campaign director, Todd David, who remains the PAC's treasurer.
On April 28, the PAC paid Otter Brands, Johnston's cannabis company, $28,611.37 for "office consulting." One week later, the PAC paid $1,000 to Johnston directly for "office refurbishment." [...]
The Wiener campaign declined to comment through spokesperson Joe Arellano.
The Families PAC itself is a dark-money mess, as it leverages a 2024 FEC rule change in order for the PAC and Wiener's official campaign to share staff and coordinate canvassing operations together. In May, campaign finance experts told Gazetteer that the rule change represents a massive breach of a foundational policy to ban communication between a super PAC and a federal campaign on materials that advocate for voter action.
banzainetsurfer has added a photo to the pool:
Where typically five-storied pagodas lie within temple grounds, the Five-storied Pagoda of Mt. Haguro is rare due to its location in the middle of a forest. Said to originally have been built by Samurai Taira no Masakado between 931 and 938, the current iteration is a rebuild completed in 1372 by then chief priest Daihoji Masuaji, making it the oldest tower in Tohoku.
Built deep in snow country, Mt. Haguro’s Five-storied Pagoda is the northernmost in Japan and each roof is the same size to help counteract the weight of the snow that accumulates yearly. The structure was built without a single nail nor coat of paint, and one less visible feature is the pillar running through the centre of the tower to mitigate damage in earthquakes, a characteristic also used in the construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree.
Source: dewasanzan.com/home/haguro/
Oh wow, The Verge made a 70-minute video on how The Clapper became a viral sensation. When I was a kid, we didn’t have a Clapper, no one I knew had one, and I couldn’t understand why every single household didn’t have one of these magical devices.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
John from Brisbane has added a photo to the pool:
North Pine Dam and Lake Samsonvale are just north of Brisbane and supply drinking water to a lot of the northside. The lake and surrounds are an excellent habitat for a wide variety of bird species and surrounding forest and bushland is a koala habitat.
The mountains in the distance are the D'Aguilar Range which skirts Brisbane's northwest interior and creates the beautiful Samford Valley. Just a lone high voltage transmission tower shows a human hand in the otherwise tranquil scene of nature and creation.
