President Trump on Monday attended the third game of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks, who hadn’t lost a game since late April. The crowd booed when Trump was shown on the jumbotron.
“This was supposed to be a day about the Knicks. It was supposed to be a celebration of New York,” says Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation and host of the Edge of Sports podcast. “And instead it was about one authoritarian, malignant narcissist.”
Anticipation for the FIFA World Cup is “joyless,” adds Zirin. “This is the first time that travel warnings are being issued to fans coming here. Even warnings are being issued to people who live in the United States by immigration groups because of the threats of ICE being at the stadiums.”
Ahead of the initial public offering for SpaceX, we speak with historian Quinn Slobodian, author of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. He says Elon Musk is “creating a situation where he becomes deeply reliant on state contracts” as the U.S. government then becomes reliant on Musk. “It’s not about demolishing the government,” Slobodian says of his work with DOGE, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that Musk led for the Trump administration. “It’s about making the government more compatible, ready for the kind of products that Musk offers, and to make him then an indispensable part of the infrastructure.” Slobodian goes on to warn that Musk’s wealth is helping to fuel his anti-immigrant, racist political ideology. “We really should be worried about the possibility of those things to live together: tech-driven prosperity and radical right-wing racist politics.”
Israel is continuing to carry out attacks on Lebanon amid ongoing talks between the U.S. and Iran to end the war. Iran is maintaining its demand that Lebanon be included in a ceasefire deal. Lylla Younes, an investigative journalist based in Beirut, says President Trump’s claims that he wants peace with Iran are “absurd” because the United States continues to support “Israel’s aggression in southern Lebanon.” She argues that “an angry phone call between Netanyahu and Donald Trump is ultimately meaningless” as long as Israel is granted “impunity and arms.” Younes also talks about reporting she did for Drop Site News on the ethnic cleansing in Ain Arab, a village in southern Lebanon.
Trump Again Claims He’s Nearing a Deal with Iran, as Tehran Says U.S. and Israel Broke Ceasefire, Israel Bombs Lebanese City of Tyre After Ordering All Residents to Flee, Israeli Strike on Gaza Refugee Camp Kills 8-Year-Old Palestinian Leaving School, Nigeria’s Military Says It Has Freed 360 People Abducted by Boko Haram, Progressive L.A. Councilmember Nithya Raman Advances to November Runoff Against Incumbent Mayor Bass, Trump Formally Nominates Former Personal Lawyer Todd Blanche as Attorney General, Immigrant from Republic of Georgia Dies in Louisiana ICE Jail, New Jersey Gov. Sherrill Says ICE Strictly Limited Her Inspection of Delaney Hall, Trump’s “Border Czar” Tom Homan Threatens Surge of Immigration Agents to New York, NYC Mayor Mamdani Pushes Back Against Border Czar Homan’s Threats, Federal Judge Rules Against Trump’s $100,000 Annual Fee on H-1B Visa Applications, Trump Loudly Booed During Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden
The post An Indian Billionaire Was Targeted by Trump. Then He Poured Money Into a Startup Secretly Backed by Donald Trump Jr. appeared first on ProPublica.