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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the US would continue strikes on Iran for a second night, and—if it had to—seize much of the country’s oil and target electric and desalination plants.  The desalination plants are part of Iran’s vital civilian infrastructure, and, as I wrote in April, international law experts consider hitting these facilities […]

The founding myth of the Sanders camp is that it sits outside the Democratic Party. But the reality is that he and his faithful are now inside.

It was a bad idea, right?Olivia Rodrigo is mobilizing her fans to vote against the Trump administration after Homeland Security officials used one of her songs as the soundtrack for their deportation propaganda.The singer of “the cure” launched a contest Wednesday that will offer fans a chance to win VIP tickets to her Daisy Chain Fields festival. The only entry requirement: prepping for the 2026 midterm elections.Headcount Organization, the entity running the sweepstakes, partners with musicians and music events to help Americans understand their civil rights and register to vote. The winner will have all festival expenses paid for, including travel and hotel accommodations, according to Headcount’s website.The nonprofit offers participants three buttons to enter the competition, labeled “Check your registration status,” “I’m not registered to vote,” or “Election info.” The page notes in fine print that actually following through on the vote is not necessary to win.“You may enter the sweepstakes by clicking any button above without taking a civic action,” the page reads. “Voting, registering to vote, or being a registered voter is not required.”Rodrigo’s massive, all-women, late-August lineup will include Chappell Roan, Doechii, Santigold, Sarah McLachlan, Mitski, The Breeders, Bikini Kill, and Stevie Nicks. The event will also feature nonprofits sharing educational resources on a range of issues including reproductive rights, maternal health, economic empowerment, domestic violence prevention, and gender equity.Partnering organizations include the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, among others.The sweepstakes come several months after DHS used Rodrigo’s song “all-american bitch” without her permission in a video calling for immigrants to “LEAVE NOW and self-deport.”“I was just scrolling on my phone,” the three-time Grammy winner told Dazed last month, recalling the incident. “It was so deeply disturbing to see that propaganda, and the fact it was my song in there made me feel even more enraged. What they’re doing is so awful and barbaric and cruel. I am really sad to be in a country that thinks that’s OK.”

“Negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don't see it,” Trump said on the status of future discussions.

Nobody is buying President Donald Trump’s shady excuse for leaving Air Force One behind in Europe. While taking questions from the press at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, Trump was asked to respond to speculation that security concerns had forced him to ditch the newly renovated, Qatar-gifted plane after the president scrapped his own ceasefire deal with Iran.“You’ve spoken today, twice, about them possibly assassinating you, and possibly being successful. Did that concern have something to do with—” asked the New York Post’s Stephen Nelson, before the president interrupted him.“Well, I speak about it a lot because, you know, the life of a president is very dangerous,” Trump replied, before comparing himself to a racecar driver and a bull rider. “I like being number one on TikTok better, but I’m number one on the list for killing,” Trump added. “But why aren’t you flying the new plane home?” asked The New York Times’ Shawn McCreesh. “It’s flying to Europe to one of the big bases, two or three of the big bases, where we can show it to the people,” Trump said, explaining that the plane would be taken around “so the soldiers can see it, because it’s truly magnificent.”But not everyone was convinced by Trump’s explanation. “The most likely reason for this is that the ‘new’ ex-Qatari jet doesn’t have the self-defense capabilities needed when flying from Turkey while in a shooting war with Iran,” The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg wrote on X. “The actual VC-25 aircraft does have those capabilities.”George Conway, an anti-Trump activist, suggested that perhaps the plane hadn’t received all the necessary security capabilities “because Trump wants to keep it if he leaves office.”The Air Force said it spent around $400 million renovating the plane, changing the cabin layout, communications system, and security upgrades. That doesn’t account for the taxpayer-funded continued maintenance of the plane, either. The jet—one of the largest presidential gifts ever—is valued at $400 million, and will be moved to Trump’s presidential library foundation in 2029, where it may be available for him to use as a private citizen.

Advocates for fully normalized relations with Damascus were bullish ahead of the US president’s meeting with his Syrian counterpart.

Sacrificing the entire MOU over the question of who nominally manages the Strait for the next few weeks would be a costly and unnecessary mistake, writes Iranian-American relations expert Trita Parsi.

The secretary of state formalized the president’s plans in a notification to Congress, ending a 47-year blacklist.

What do cacti spines and wasp stingers have in common? What about snail genitalia and shark teeth?