Rumors

Who’s next? 

The Times of India is reporting that Trump is considering firing FBI Director Kash Patel.

Nobody else seems to be reporting that rumor yet, but if true, it couldn’t happen to a more worthy fellow (of getting fired, that is).

Meanwhile, another reliable source, Military.com, is reporting that the jets shot down over Iran are the first ones to suffer that fate in 20 years.

But the photo above reminds us just how stupid all of these fights and controversies truly are. It was shot by the astronauts flying around the moon.

And it should be yet another reminder that while we’re all in this together, too many among us act as if they feel the opposite is true.

HEADLINES:

• Search For Missing American Pilot Continues—U.S. And Iranian Forces Race To Find Crew Member (Forbes)

• US Military Aircraft Hit in Iran War are First Shot Down by Enemy Fire in Over 20 Years (Military.com)

• Two U.S. warplanes shot down; search ongoing in Iran for 1 missing crew member (WP)

• NATO has survived its share of existential challenges, but the Iran war has nearly broken the 76-year-old bloc. (Reuters)

• Trump budget seeks $1.5 trillion in defense spending alongside domestic program cuts (NPR)

• Democrats fume at White House budget request: ‘Bleak and unacceptable’ (The Hill)

• Hegseth’s War on America’s Military (Atlantic)

• Hegseth Says U.S. Troops Are Fighting for Jesus. The Pope Disagrees. (NYT)

• An Army Shake-Up in the Middle of a War (Atlantic)

• Hegseth’s wartime firing of top generals stuns officials: “It’s insane” (Axios)

• Pam Bondi Wanted a Graceful Exit. But Trump Wanted Her Gone. (NYT)

• Trump weighs more Cabinet changes after Bondi ouster (Politico)

• Trump’s Purge May Be Just Beginning (Atlantic)

• Justices’ Questions Reveal the Stupidity of the Case Against Birthright Citizenship (Bulwark)

• State Dept. announces ‘reforms’ to foreign service test and inclusion of ‘America First’ curriculum for orientation (CNN)

• Europe must prepare for ‘long-lasting’ energy shock, EU warns (FT)

• Strong Showing for Job Market in Latest Report (NYT)

• What Trump wants from Cuba (Atlantic)

• Cuba to release more than 2,000 prisoners as US pressure mounts (BBC)

• Despite signaling change, ICE still arrests many immigrants with no record (WP)

• Evangelicals widely backed Trump. Now pastors denounce his ICE crackdown after it hit their churches. (NBC)

• Roman Catholic Churches See a Surge of New Converts (NYT)

• Trump’s Spiritual Advisor Paula White-Cain Compares Trump to Jesus (Daily Kos)

• Scientists may be overestimating the amount of microplastics in the environment – and the culprit is lab gloves (The Conversation)

• The Trump presidential library would be a giant tower of grift (WP)

• Hitler’s Edifice Complex (Atlantic)

• Artemis II crew take ‘spectacular’ image of Earth (BBC)

• Arcee’s new, open source Trinity-Large-Thinking is the rare, powerful U.S.-made AI model that enterprises can download and customize (VentureBeat)

• Economists Once Dismissed the A.I. Job Threat, but Not Anymore (NYT)

• OpenAI isn’t just buying a podcast — it’s buying influence (CNN)

• How worried should you be about an AI apocalypse? (NewScientist)

• Data Centers Create Heat Islands Stretching 6 Miles, Study Finds (Gizmodo)

• The Great AI Deskilling has begun (BI)

• A.I. Could Change the World. But First It Is Changing Silicon Valley. (NYT)

• Pete Hegseth Replaces Top General With Horse That Drinks Beer (Onion)