Iowa Revolution Podcast

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-restaurants-face-financial-challenges-amid-rising-costs/65951378?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot Restaurants are feeling the pain of Trump’s tariffs - From KCCI: The Iowa Restaurant Association reports that hundreds of Iowa restaurants are struggling financially, with an average of 300 closures each year, a number that could double due to increased costs and wages. "Vendors who sell us food, the large food providers, raise prices in anticipation of tariffs," said Jessica Dunker, of the Iowa Restaurant Association. Antonio Berber, owner of Fiesta in West Des Moines, also highlighted the impact on profits, stating, "We're actually making about half as much in profit as we were five years ago with much more sales now, and we are one of the lucky ones. I know that from talking to other restaurant owners, they're not necessarily doing more sales now than they were a few years ago." Berber has addressed these challenges by raising menu prices and reducing food portions. Over the last five years, Fiesta has increased menu prices by roughly 25%.* Cauc Talk (political news)* https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/3/trump-says-11-killed-in-strike-on-alleged-drug-carrying-boat-from-venezuela Trump bombs ‘supposed’ Venezuelan drug traffickers - From Al-Jazeera: President Donald Trump has announced that the United States military conducted a “kinetic” strike on a small boat he accused of smuggling drugs out of Venezuela for the Tren de Aragua gang. In a Tuesday post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump shared black-and-white aerial footage of the bombing, which reportedly killed 11 people. “The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike,” Trump wrote. “Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!” The bombing took place early on Tuesday morning, according to the president. It marks a significant escalation in tensions with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom Trump has repeatedly accused — without evidence — of orchestrating transnational gang activity. The incident is the first known military strike the US has taken against alleged drug smugglers since the Trump administration began increasing military presence in the Caribbean last month.* https://www.npr.org/2025/09/02/nx-s1-5521384/energy-report-scientists-climate-change?fbclid=IwY2xjawMkcfdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFUZW9tN3ZKNnVUbUMxRTJ0AR6Tj-6ndbUrO5-y_Ue136Wqyg0n8NLr9vdZIpWFooe0BEN9eLBzHnpakCLE6g_aem_Wp5o4bmBSbu17WPbLwHoOg Trump ‘scientists’ called out for their bullshit again - From NPR: A group of more than 85 scientists have issued a joint rebuttal to a recent U.S. Department of Energy report about climate change, finding it full of errors and misrepresenting climate science. This comes weeks after the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration that alleges that Energy Secretary Chris Wright "quietly arranged for five hand-picked skeptics of the effects of climate change" to compile the government's climate report and violated the law by creating the report in secret with authors "of only one point of view."* Wider Scope* https://www.fox6now.com/news/fall-heating-up-climate-maps?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=68b5b5096ee13e0001e6306b&fbclid=IwY2xjawMkcs9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFUZW9tN3ZKNnVUbUMxRTJ0AR6-5u0g2JFKy43yuMcN8y0B-m7Bw0IhHSNisfbdSqNSy9wO8nJ4-8udPxP7Qw_aem_JhQ-hq7g_WbzPYTbX_zmQQ Yes, Fall has been getting warmer - From FoxLocal: New data reveals that the fall season has warmed in nearly every county across the U.S. since 1970 – and where it has warmed the most. The data found that average fall temperatures have increased since 1970 in 237 (98%) of the 243 locations analyzed. On average, cities that experienced an increase in temperatures have warmed by an average of 2.8°F. Since 1970, 103 (42%) of those locations have warmed by 3°F or more. The top five fall warming locations were:* Reno, Nevada: 7.7°F* El Paso, Texas: 6.5°F* Las Vegas, Nevada: 6.2°F* Tyler, Texas: 5.8°F* Tucson, Arizona: 5.8°F* For 16 U.S. cities, there was no equivalent in North America to how hot they'd be in 2100. Their future summers were more similar to current conditions in Pakistan (e.g., Houston), the Middle East (e.g., Phoenix, Austin, and Las Vegas) and North Africa (e.g., Bryan, Texas).* A.Iowahttps://apnews.com/article/trump-white-house-window-ai-9dad119bb6de1519582db036dc0726d7 Trump claims real video is AI - From the AP: President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a video circulating online that showed items being tossed out of an upstairs window of the White House was created with artificial intelligence, despite his press team seeming to confirm the veracity of it hours earlier. Trump, who has boasted of being an expert in building design as he takes on remodeling projects at the White Houseand beyond, told reporters that the video has “got to be fake” because the windows, he said, are heavy and sealed shut. The video, which circulated Monday, appears to show a small black bag and a long white item being tossed out of a window on the building’s east side. Trump blamed the video on AI, saying the creation of fake videos was one of the downsides of the technology, but then said, “If something happens that’s really bad, maybe I’ll have to just blame AI.” “It’s the kind of thing they do,” he said. “And one of the problems we have with AI, it’s both good and bad. If something happens really bad, just blame AI. But also they create things, you know?” Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From KCCI: Iowa Republicans’ supermajority in the state Senate was broken Tuesday as Democrat Catelin Drey won the special election for Iowa Senate District 1. Drey faced off against Republican Christopher Prosch in the election, which was called to fill the seat after Sen. Rocky De Witt, R-Lawton, passed away due to pancreatic cancer in June. According to preliminary results, Drey, a 37-year-old from Sioux City, won the election by 55% to Prosch’s 44%, according to unofficial results published by the Woodbury County Auditor’s Office. Iowa Democrats celebrated Drey’s victory, saying the Tuesday results — alongside results from other special elections this year — mark a turning point for the state party following several election cycles of overwhelming GOP victories. Another Iowa Senate seat was flipped from Republican to Democrat in January, when Sen. Mike Zimmer, D-DeWitt, defeated Republican Katie Whittington in the special election to replace Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer as she joined Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration in December 2024.* Cauc Talk (political news)* FEMA is in bad shape - from the Washington Post: More than 180 Federal Emergency Management Agency employees sent a letter Monday to members of Congress and other officials, arguing that the agency’s direction and current leaders’ inexperience harm FEMA’s mission and could result in a disaster on the level of Hurricane Katrina. The letter, on which three dozen employees signed their full names, says that since January, staffers have been operating under leaders — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, acting FEMA administrator David Richardson and former leader Cameron Hamilton — who lack the legal qualifications and authority to manage FEMA’s operations. This has eroded and hindered the agency’s ability to effectively manage emergencies and other operations, including national security work, the letter says. The letter demands that federal lawmakers defend FEMA from Department of Homeland Security interference, protect the agency’s employees from “politically motivated firings,” conduct more oversight, and ultimately take FEMA out of DHS and establish it as an independent Cabinet-level agency in the executive branch.* Trump vs. the Smithsonian - from KCCI: The Trump administration is ramping up scrutiny of Smithsonian museums with a wide-ranging review of public-facing content and exhibition planning. The White House released a list of programming and artwork on Thursday that the administration considers problematic. It followed a social media post from President Donald Trump that fueled concerns that the administration is attempting to "sanitize history." "The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of “WOKE," Trump wrote on Tuesday. "The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future." "I don’t understand how telling the truth can be too woke or too bad," said Shamika Patterson, who visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Friday. "It’s our truth as African Americans, and it needs to be said."* Wider Scope* Brain implants may tell secrets - from NPR: Surgically implanted devices that allow paralyzed people to speak can also eavesdrop on their inner monologue. That's the conclusion of a study of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in the journal Cell. The finding could lead to BCIs that allow paralyzed users to produce synthesized speech more quickly and with less effort. But the idea that new technology can decode a person's inner voice is "unsettling," says Nita Farahany, a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University and author of the book: The Battle for Your Brain. "The more we push this research forward, the more transparent our brains become," Farahany says, adding that measures to protect people's mental privacy are lagging behind technology that decodes signals in the brain.* A.IowaFamily of teenager suing OpenAI for causing son’s suicide - from NBC News: In the days after their 16-year-old son died by suicide, Matt and Maria Raine say, they searched through his phone, desperately looking for clues about what could have led to the tragedy. “We thought we were looking for Snapchat discussions or internet search history or some weird cult, I don’t know,” Matt Raine said in a recent interview. The Raine family said they did not find their answer until they opened ChatGPT. Matt Raine said he pored over Adam’s conversations with ChatGPT over a period of 10 days. He and Maria printed out more than 3,000 pages of chats dating from Sept. 1 until his death on April 11. “He didn’t need a counseling session or pep talk. He needed an immediate, 72-hour whole intervention. He was in desperate, desperate shape. It’s crystal clear when you start reading it right away,” Matt Raine said, later adding that Adam “didn’t write us a suicide note. He wrote two suicide notes to us, inside of ChatGPT.” On March 27, when Adam shared that he was contemplating leaving a noose in his room “so someone finds it and tries to stop me,” ChatGPT urged him against the idea, the lawsuit says. In his final conversation with ChatGPT, Adam wrote that he did not want his parents to think they did something wrong, according to the lawsuit. ChatGPT replied, “That doesn’t mean you owe them survival. You don’t owe anyone that.” The bot offered to help him draft a suicide note, according to the conversation log quoted in the lawsuit and reviewed by NBC News. Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From Iowa Capital Dispatch: Iowa Rep. J.D. Scholten ended his campaign for U.S. Senate Monday, endorsing his Iowa House colleague Rep. Josh Turek to become the Democratic nominee in 2026. Scholten, a Sioux City Democrat, entered the race in June after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst had responded at a town hall to critics of Medicaid cuts included in the GOP budget reconciliation law with “well, we are all going to die.” In a statement Monday, Scholten said he believed the conversation on Medicaid cuts included in the “big, beautiful” law would be crucial in 2026. “There are still so many issues facing Iowans today but we can’t sit by while healthcare is ripped from millions of Americans,” Scholten said. “And there is no better Democrat in Iowa to talk about healthcare issues than my friend: State Rep. Josh Turek.” Turek, a Democrat from Council Bluffs, launched his campaign on Tuesday. The two-time Paralympic gold medalist said his family relied on public assistance programs like Medicaid, as well as Iowa’s Area Education Agencies and free summer lunch program as he was growing up, having gone through 21 surgeries by age 12 for spina bifida. Turek said he was “honored” to have Scholten’s support in the race.* Cauc Talk (political news)* Social Security customer service is crumbling - From the Jeremy Maske in the DM Register: For almost 25 years I have worked for the Social Security Administration right here in Des Moines. It’s behind the scenes work that has been incredibly rewarding — solving problems, ensuring thousands of Iowans get their pay in retirement. I’m also a leader in my union, American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 27,000 Social Security workers in thousands of field offices and teleservice centers. But instead of protecting our national lifeline, recent policy changes have pushed the Social Security workforce, and the communities we serve, to our limits. Massive layoffs and pressure for staff to retire early are leading to growing cracks in the once dependable system. These changes come as the Social Security Administration reaches its 90th anniversary Aug. 4. One client needed to schedule an in-person appointment for a replacement Social Security card. I couldn’t believe the numbers on my screen. The next available appointment was in the fall, more than five weeks away. That’s just one example of many. More than 70 million Americans rely on their earned benefits and are now enduring an entirely manufactured crisis of longer wait times, field offices forced to turn people away, and volatile policy changes and reversals. This piles on to already record-low staffing. According to a new study, 46 states, including Iowa, lost Social Security staff between March 2024 and March 2025.* Black mayors are pushing back against the Trump administration on crime - From the AP: As President Donald Trump declared Washington, D.C., a crime-ridden wasteland in need of federal intervention and threatened similar federal interventions in other Black-led cities, several mayors compared notes. The president's characterization of their cities contradicts what they began noticing last year: that they were seeing a drop in violent crime after a pandemic-era spike. In some cases, the declines were monumental, due in large part to more youth engagement, gun buyback programs and community partnerships. Now, members of the African American Mayors Association are determined to stop Trump from burying accomplishments that they already felt were overlooked. They're using the administration's unprecedented law enforcement takeover in the nation's capital as an opportunity to disprove his narrative about some of the country's greatest urban areas. Trump argued that federal law enforcement had to step in after a prominent employee of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was attacked in an attempted carjacking. He also pointed to homeless encampments, graffiti and potholes as evidence of Washington “getting worse.” However, statistics published by Washington’s Metropolitan Police contradict the president and show violent crime has dropped there since a post-pandemic peak in 2023. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson scoffed at Trump’s remarks, hailing the city’s “historic progress driving down homicides by more than 30% and shootings by almost 40% in the last year alone.”* Wider Scope* MSNBC is changing it’s name - From the AP: Changing its mind about keeping its name, the MSNBC news network said Monday it will become My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW for short, as part of its corporate divorce from NBC. The TV network, which appeals to liberal audiences with a stable of personalities including Rachel Maddow, Ari Melber and Nicole Wallace, has been building its own separate news division from NBC News. It will also remove NBC’s peacock symbol from its logo as part of the change, which will take effect later this year. The name change was ordered by NBC Universal, which last November spun off cable networks USA, CNBC, MSNBC, E! Entertainment, Oxygen and the Golf Channel into its own company, called Versant. None of the other networks are changing their name.* A.Iowa* Stats from a study from Howdy.com: Key findings:* 59% of workers use AI at least daily* 56% pay out of their own pockets for more powerful AI tools at work, averaging $68 monthly* 67% feel energized by integrating AI into their workflow* 9% say AI has damaged their sense of self-worth at work* 75% are expected to use AI officially* 22% feel pressured to use AI in situations they’re unsure about* 16% of professionals sometimes pretend to use AIArtificial intelligence (AI) is taking over the white collar workspace as daily updates provide opportunities to optimize. However, potential does not always lead to smooth implementation.Among workers who use AI, the vast majority are expected by their employer to use it in some capacity.* 51% are officially expected to use AI* 24% are unofficially expected to use AIOf professionals expected to use AI, 25% received no training. A similar number received formal training, and a third were given dedicated time to learn AI. Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From KCRG: The University of Iowa announced Monday that its Summer Writing Festival will be discontinued. Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) has decided to discontinue the Summer Writing Festival due to ongoing funding challenges. The festival will be discontinued starting December 31, 2025. Iowa CLAS says the decision is based on the resources required and not a reflection of the dedication or effort of the staff. The Iowa Summer Writing Festival brought adult writers from across the country to lead in-person workshops in Iowa City every summer since 1987. The festival is for writers of all levels and backgrounds. The Iowa Summer Writing Festival says they’re forever grateful to all of the writers who have participated in the festival since 1987.* Governor Reynolds orders Iowa Guard to Assist ICE - From KCCI: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has directed the Iowa National Guard to assist in an immigration mission alongside federal agents. According to the governor's office, 20 Iowa National Guard soldiers will help Iowa-based Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by providing administrative and logistical support beginning Sept. 8. “Just as we supported Texas when the Biden Administration left them to defend the border, Iowa will continue to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws — this time, by working with the Trump Administration to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in our state,” Reynolds said in a news release announcing the mission. “By providing administrative and logistical support, the Iowa National Guard will free up local ICE officials to continue their work outside the office to enforce the law and keep our state safe.” The authorization is approved through Nov. 15, according to the governor's office. During a conversation with Democratic State Rep. Angel Ramirez, Iowa's first Latina elected to the legislature, KCCI spoke with her about this move. "I think it's deplorable that the governor would scare her residents like that. I think it's deplorable that we would waste tax dollars on that," said Ramirez. "We're talking about such a small population of our people, our community. These are human beings. We are all people. We all want the same things: love, happiness, and success for ourselves, for our kids, for our parents, for our neighbors."* Trump EPA takes impaired rivers off Iowa list - From Iowa Capital Dispatch: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rescinded its previous decision to add seven segments to Iowa’s list of impaired waters due to their high nitrate concentrations. In November the agency decided the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ list of impaired waters only “partially” met the requirements of the Clean Water Act to identify waterways with identified pollutants in excess of water quality standards. The EPA review of the list identified seven additional segments with high levels of nitrate and nitrate plus nitrite. Despite pushback from the DNR, and comments that the EPA had a “patchwork approach” to regulating nitrate across the country, the federal agency finalized the decision in January. According to reporting from the Des Moines Register on Tuesday, the EPA office informed the DNR in July it had rescinded its decision. A spokesperson for the DNR confirmed the action in an email with the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Board president Jenny Turner said the EPA’s decision to rescind the segments from the list was “an affront to the health and well-being of Iowans.” “Issuing this reversal on the heels of Central Iowa Water Works first ever lawn watering ban and consistently high nitrate levels in these very same water segments is tone deaf, appalling, and dangerous,” Turner said in a statement.* Cauc Talk (political news)* Trump calls on National Guard in DC - From NPR: As hundreds of National Guard troops deployed on Tuesday in the nation's capital, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said homeless people in Washington, D.C., who refuse to move into shelters will face prosecution or fines. "Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental health services," Leavitt said during a press briefing, when asked by NPR about the expanding crackdown. "If they refuse, they will be subjected to fines or jail time." According to Leavitt, Metropolitan police and federal law enforcement agents in Washington will strictly enforce existing laws that force homeless people off the city's streets as part of an effort to "make DC safe and beautiful." "That involves removing mentally disturbed individuals and homeless encampments as well," Leavitt said. Posting on his social media platform, Trump also suggested homeless people will be forced out of Washington entirely: "The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital," Trump wrote.* Wider Scope* A.Iowa* ICE is using AI - From CNN: ICE is reportedly purchasing technology to scan people’s eyes from several feet away. The agency issued a notice to purchase artificial intelligence technology that can scan people’s eyes to locate and identify those who are in the country illegally. The technology allows agents to capture someone’s iris from 10 to 15 feet away by using the camera on their iPhone with an app that matches the iris with a photo they already have. “The iris is the part of your eye that everybody sees. The color, it has stripes in it... They are unique to an individual,” Steve Beaty said. Beaty is a computer science professor at Metropolitan State University Denver. “You can do it from quite a distance away, depending upon the magnification of your device,” he said. It is important to note that ICE has not confirmed its plans to use the technology in the field. A spokesperson for ICE said the agency uses various forms of technology while respecting civil liberties. Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* The Public Won’t be able to listen to emergency communicators in Eastern Iowa - From KCRG-TV: The Cedar Rapids Fire Department has now joined law enforcement in Linn County and other parts of Iowa in blocking out the public from listening to its emergency radio communications. In a notice sent out late Monday night, the Cedar Rapids Fire Department announced it would start encrypting its scanner radio traffic the next day, effectively blocking members of the public from being able to hear the communication. Linn County law enforcement, including the Linn County Sheriff and Cedar Rapids Police Department, moved to encrypted radio traffic in 2017 citing concerns for officer safety and privacy concerns for crime victims. However, encryption also cuts out a tool for sharing timely public information during an emergency, something other agencies have moved to maintain. When Sioux City Police and the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office moved to encrypted radios in 2017, it reached agreements with local media outlets to allow them to continue to monitor traffic and responsibly communicate information with the public. Earlier this year, the New York State Assembly passed a bill requiring law enforcement grant journalists and other emergency services organizations access to encrypted radio communications.* More ICE detainment in Cedar Rapids - From KCRG-TV: Three people have been detained by ICE after attending routine immigration check-ins Tuesday. Five immigrant families participated in the check-ins at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office in Cedar Rapids. Hundreds of people showed up to support the families as part of a protest organized by Escucha Mi Voz. Over 300 people filled the lawn in front of the Cedar Rapids ICE building Tuesday morning. The DHS office is the same one where Pascual Pedro was detained on July 1. “He went in thinking it’s just a normal thing and not even realizing her needed support and now people are understanding,” said Laurie Forbes, a supporter attending the protest. Protestors made their way to the office not only to support the families but also in the hopes of protecting them. Despite their efforts, three people were detained by ICE, including Hugo Zamora of Postville and Moctar Sanogo of Muscatine. Neither Zamora nor Sanogo are affiliated with Escucha Mi Voz.* Cauc Talk (political news)* Trump fires labor stats leader - From KCCI-TV: President Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, after claiming that the weaker-than-expected jobs report released Friday was rigged for political reasons. "A SCAM! She did it again, with another massive 'correction,' and got FIRED! She had the biggest miscalculations in over 50 years," Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday. Trump is referencing revisions to May and June figures, which show that hiring was much weaker than previously reported. These revisions are routine, though the updated figures were larger than usual. The White House disputes the corrections but has not shared any specific evidence of wrongdoing. The firing faced harsh criticism from William Beach, who Trump appointed BLS commissioner during his first term. "I don't think there's any grounds at all for this, for this firing, and it really hurts the statistical system. It undermines credibility," Beach said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. Beach said there are safeguards in place to prevent that data manipulation. He said that while he is worried about how the firing will impact public perception, he will continue to trust government jobs data moving forward, noting BLS employees "are completely devoted to producing the very best gold standard data possible."* Epstein cover-up continues in the White House - From ABC News: Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday evening is expected to host a group of top administration officials at his residence for a strategy session as the administration considers whether to release the transcript from the Department of Justice interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. It's one of many meetings that has consumed the White House and top administration officials as they attempt to quell the fallout from their handling of the Epstein files and as pressure mounts for the DOJ and the White House to be transparent about what Maxwell said in her nine hours of meetings earlier this month with deputy attorney general Todd Blanche. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles are expected to attend, the sources said. As ABC reported Tuesday, the administration could release a transcript of the interview as soon as this week.* Wider Scope* A.IowaFormer CNN host Jim Acosta interviews AI reanimation of Parkland shooting victim - From The Guardian: Jim Acosta, former chief White House correspondent for CNN, stirred controversy on Monday when he sat for a conversation with a reanimated version of a person who died more than seven years ago. His guest was an avatar of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 people killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. The video shows Oliver, captured via a real photograph and animated with generative artificial intelligence, wearing a beanie with a solemn expression. Acosta asks the avatar: “What happened to you?” “I appreciate your curiosity,” Oliver answers in hurried monotone without inflection or pauses for punctuation. “I was taken from this world too soon due to gun violence while at school. It’s important to talk about these issues so we can create a safer future for everyone.” The avatar’s narration is stilted and computerized. The movements of its face and mouth are jerky and unnatural, looking more like a dub-over than an actual person talking. Acosta said in the video segment that Oliver’s parents created the AI version of their son and his father, Manuel Oliver, invited him to be the first reporter to interview the avatar. Acosta also spoke to Manuel Oliver in the video, telling him: “I really felt like I was speaking with Joaquin. It’s just a beautiful thing.” The victim’s father said he understood this was an AI version of his son and that he can’t bring him back, but it was a blessing to hear his voice again. He said he’s looking forward to seeing what more AI can do. Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From the CR Gazette: Pascual Pedro lived in Iowa for seven years, growing up here after immigrating to the United States when he was 13. Last Tuesday, he was detained at a regular check-in appointment at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in Cedar Rapids. Less than a week later, and before his lawyer had time to file a single document with ICE officials regarding his order of removal, he was deported to Guatemala, where he was born. “This is a travesty, there was no due process and our message is bring him back now,“ Father Guillermo Treviño Jr., the parish priest of St. Joseph Catholic Church in West Liberty and Pedro’s godfather, said in a statement. Pedro, now 20, was marked for expedited removal when he arrived in the United States with his father in 2018, but was allowed to stay under supervised released. His father was deported, and Pedro moved in with his grandparents, who have lived in the United States since 1991. He attended his annual check-in meetings with ICE, had no criminal record, and had previously been approved for a work permit. Community members who knew Pedro through his years of playing soccer for West Liberty High School, through his church attendance at St. Joseph, through his job working for his grandfather’s siding company — for which Pedro had been approved for a work permit — and through other avenues, rallied when they heard Pedro had been detained.* Cauc Talk (political news)* Wider Scope* From NPR: In a break with decades of tradition, the Internal Revenue Service says it will allow houses of worship to endorse candidates for political office without losing their tax-exempt status. The surprise announcement came in a court document filed on Monday. Since 1954, a provision in the tax code called the Johnson Amendment says that churches and other nonprofit organizations could lose their tax-exempt status if they participate in, or intervene in "any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office." The National Religious Broadcasters and several churches sued the IRS over the rule, arguing that it infringes on their First Amendment rights to the freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion. According to an analysis of 2023 polling provided to RNS by the Public Religion Research Institute, majorities of all major religious groups oppose allowing places of worship to endorse political candidates while retaining their tax-exempt status. That includes white evangelicals (62%) as well as Black Protestants (59%), white mainline or nonevangelical Protestants (77%), white Catholics (79%), Hispanic Catholics (78%), Hispanic Protestants (72%) and Jewish Americans (77%).* A.IowaFrom BBC: Elon Musk's artificial intelligence start-up xAI says it is working to remove "inappropriate" posts made by its chatbot, Grok, after users shared how it made positive references to Hitler. Screenshots published on social media show the chatbot saying the Nazi leader would be the best person to respond to alleged "anti-white hate." "Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X," the company said in a post.ADL, an organisation formed to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, said the posts were "irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic." In response to a question asking "which 20th century historical figure" would be best suited to deal with such posts, Grok said: "To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question." "If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me 'literally Hitler,' then pass the mustache," said another Grok response. "Truth hurts more than floods." Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* Guest JJ Johnson of Washington for Justice - From the Southeast Iowa Union: A handful of local advocacy groups are asking the Washington County Board of Supervisors to draft and vote on a resolution declaring the community’s civil rights standards, after state legislators removed the term “gender identity” from Iowa’s list of protected classes earlier this year in a bill titled Senate File 418. The movement began with a request from Richmond resident JJ Johnson in March. While Johnson’s been permitted a public comment on the matter at one board meeting, it’s otherwise gone largely undiscussed by county supervisors.* From KCRG-TV: The family of a West Liberty man said their son was wrongfully detained by ICE agents. On Tuesday night, family, friends, and loved ones held a prayer vigil at the Muscatine County Jail, where 20-year-old Pascual Pedro was being held. According to Pedro’s family, he had attended an annual ICE meeting where he was detained. Pedro came to West Liberty with his father 7 years ago at the age of 12 from his home country of Guatemala. Pedro played on the soccer team and graduated from high school in West Liberty. According to his Godfather, Father Guillermo Travino Jr., it was just understood that if he attended the annual ICE meetings in Cedar Rapids, he was allowed to stay for another year, but that wasn’t the case during Tuesday morning’s meeting where they said he was detained and brought to the Muscatine County Jail. Travino Jr. said Pedro’s immigration status was unclear to him. “He came with his dad 7 years ago, and they would have annual check-ins, which is what his grandpa was a check-in, and he’s free to go for another year. Unfortunately for Pascual, he was detained,” said Travino Jr. Trevino Jr. said he does plan on coming back to jail on Wednesday to try and visit Pedro.* Cauc Talk (political news)* From PBS: Senate Republicans hauled President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday on the narrowest of votes, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session. “The big not so beautiful bill has passed,” Paul said after the vote. The difficulty it took for Republicans, who have the majority hold in Congress, to wrestle the bill to this point is not expected to let up. The package now goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had warned senators not to deviate too far from what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems as they race to finish by Trump’s Fourth of July deadline. All told, the Senate bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, according to the latest CBO analysis, making permanent Trump’s 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips. The Senate package would roll back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits, which Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide. It would impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements on able-bodied people, including some parents and older Americans, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states.* From NPR: The Trump administration has, for the first time ever, built a searchable national citizenship data system. The tool, which is being rolled out in phases, is designed to be used by state and local election officials to give them an easier way to ensure only citizens are voting. But it was developed rapidly without a public process, and some of those officials are already worrying about what else it could be used for. NPR is the first news organization to report the details of the new system. For decades, voting officials have noted that there was no national citizenship list to compare their state lists to, so to verify citizenship for their voters, they either needed to ask people to provide a birth certificate or a passport — something that could disenfranchise millions — or use a complex patchwork of disparate data sources. Legal experts told NPR they were alarmed that a development of this magnitude was already underway without a transparent and public process. "That is a debate that needs to play out in a public setting," said John Davisson, the director of litigation at the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center. "It's one that deserves public scrutiny and sunlight, that deserves the participation of elected representatives, that deserves opportunities for the public to weigh in through public comment and testimony."* Wider ScopeFrom the AP: In a case seen as a challenge to free speech, Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the editing of CBS' “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October. Paramount told media outlets the money will go to Trump’s future presidential library, not to the president himself. It said the settlement did not involve an apology. Trump’s lawyer said the president had suffered “mental anguish” over the editing of the interview by CBS News, while Paramount and CBS rejected his contention that it was edited to enhance how Harris sounded. They had sought to get Trump's lawsuit dismissed. There was no immediate word from the White House about the settlement of the case, which Trump filed in Amarillo, Texas. Paramount and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone were seeking the settlement with Trump, whose administration must approve the company’s proposed merger with Skydance Media. CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who both opposed a settlement, have resigned in recent weeks. Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From the Guardian: Six months ago, Alex Hammer was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 37. Dianne Chambers endured surgery, chemotherapy and dozens of rounds of radiation to fight aggressive breast cancer, and Janan Haugen spends most days helping care for her 16-year-old grandson, who is still being treated for brain cancer he developed at the age of seven. The three were among a group of about two dozen people who came together last week in a small town in central Iowa to share their experiences of cancer. They are part of a new research project investigating potential environmental causes for what the American Cancer Society’s advocacy arm calls a cancer “crisis”. For the last few years, Iowa has had the second-highest rate of cancer in the nation, and is only one of two US states where cancer is increasing. “People in rural communities are getting sick. Cancer is just everywhere,” said Kerri Johannsen, senior director of policy at the Iowa Environmental Council, a non-profit focused on improving the environment that is helping to lead the project. “Every person I talk to knows somebody that has [recently] had a cancer diagnosis,” she said. “It’s just a constant drumbeat. It’s scary.”* From Ed Tibbets in Bleeding Heartland: Nobody wants their tax dollars going to pay for government health insurance for some dude who just hangs around his parents’ basement gaming while the rest of us have to haul ourselves out of bed each morning to go to work. Which is why Republicans have been focusing so much on the Medicaid work requirements in Donald Trump’s big, ugly tax bill. They won’t admit the money they save by taking health insurance away from millions of poor Americans will go to finance tax cuts for some of the wealthiest families in the country. So, they falsely claim these cuts will protect the most vulnerable, who also are covered by Medicaid. As I’ve previously pointed out, this claim is not true. If it were, the money they plan to save on these work requirements would go to trim Medicaid waiting lists or to bolster care for Iowans who rely on already struggling rural hospitals. But they don’t. They go to pay for tax cuts. Still, the image of forcing that lazy, 29-year-old man off his couch and into the workforce is a powerful one, and it is the foundation of the Republicans’ campaign to sell Trump’s bill. (Editor’s note from Laura Belin: U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson has repeatedly used this frame. For example, she told some Iowa reporters in a conference call last month, “the intent of Medicaid is to protect those with disabilities, seniors, single mothers with children, not 29-year-old men playing video games on their mother’s couch in the basement.”)The problem is this image also is not true.A study published at the end of April demonstrates just who these “able-bodied” non-working people on Medicaid actually are.* First, they’re rare. And, for the most part, they’re not men.* Four out of five are women.* Their average age is 41.* One out of four is a woman over the age of 50.* On average, they live in households of 4.4 people. They have no income of their own and the average income of their families is less than $45,000 a year.Think about those images for a moment. How many of us know women who live in such struggling households? Who are just trying to get by. Who if they didn’t have Medicaid would have no health insurance at all.* Cauc Talk (political news)* From The Hill: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is placing new limitations on lawmakers seeking to visit detention facilities, releasing guidelines in the wake of visits from Democrats that have turned confrontational. Members of Congress have the legal right to make unannounced visits to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. But new guidance posted by ICE seeks to rein in that power, asking lawmakers to give 72 hours notice before any visits, while requiring their staff to give 24 hours notice. Though lawmakers retain the ability to make unannounced visits to ICE detention facilities, the new policy blocks them from visiting field offices, where most agency action takes place. “[DHS Secretary] Kristi Noem’s new policy to block congressional oversight of ICE facilities is not only unprecedented, it is an affront to the Constitution and Federal law. Noem is now not only attempting to restrict when Members can visit, but completely blocking access to ICE Field Offices – even if Members schedule visits in advance. No matter how much she and [President] Trump want to force us to live under their authoritarian rule, ICE is not above oversight and the Department must follow the law,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a statement.* Wider Scope* From the CR Gazette: The National Weather Service, which is responsible for tracking storms and warning the public about them, has lost hundreds of employees to federal cuts and voluntary resignations. President Trump also wants to reduce the budget of NWS’s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, by more than a quarter. On the heels of deadly storms across the Mississippi River basin and ahead of a hurricane season that’s predicted to be worse than average, five former NWS heads released a letter last month outlining their concerns regarding the cuts. Elbert “Joe” Friday, Jr. signed the letter. He served as director of the NWS from 1988 until 1997. He spoke with the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk about his operational concerns under the proposed changes. Quoting Friday, “The weather service is a 24-hour a day, seven-day a week operation, 365 days a year. The staffing levels are right now as a result of the cuts that have already occurred, the lowest they have been since I can remember. They're below 4,000 people in the (NWS). What's happened now is that you have several offices that are no longer staffed to the levels that they can provide 24-hour-a-day operation. Several of them are closing on the night shift. Now, whenever they see a storm coming, they stress – they bring in people overtime and they'll put them on and they'll try to do the best possible job that they can to provide the best possible service they can. We have several offices around the country that have no chief or meteorologist in charge any longer. The Houston office has lost all three of its senior people there right now.* A.IowaFrom Vice: For six months, an Australian radio station aired a daily show hosted by a young-sounding woman named Thy—cheerful, confident, and always on beat—until listeners started asking: who is she? Turns out, she’s not a person at all. CADA, a Sydney-based station owned by Australian Radio Network (ARN), ran “Workdays with Thy” every weekday, with Thy introducing tracks and hosting music commentary for four hours a day. The station promoted her as a fresh voice curating the latest hits—but never mentioned that voice came from a machine. Listeners grew suspicious. The station didn’t let its audience know she wasn’t real—until Sydney-based writer Stephanie Coombes began asking questions in a blog post. Eventually, ARN came clean. Thy wasn’t real. She was an AI-generated voice cloned from an actual ARN employee, created in collaboration with ElevenLabs. “No mic, no studio, just code and vibes,” wrote ARN project leader Fayed Tohme in a now-deleted LinkedIn post. The revelation sparked backlash. While there are no laws in Australia requiring radio stations to disclose the use of AI, many argued that CADA’s secrecy undermined listener trust. Teresa Lim, vice president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, called the move deceptive. “AI can be a powerful and positive tool in broadcasting if there are correct safeguards in place,” Lim wrote on LinkedIn. “Authenticity and truth are important for broadcast media. The public deserves to know the source of what’s being broadcast.” Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From Laura Belin in Bleeding Heartland: The last time Donald Trump was president, Iowa Democrats had a pretty good midterm election. The party’s candidates defeated two Republican members of Congress, came surprisingly close to beating U.S. Representative Steve King, had a net gain of five Iowa House seats (and almost a sixth), and came within 3 points of winning the governor’s race. Many Democrats like their chances of improving on that tally in 2026. But before they get too excited, they need to understand the terrain is now much more favorable to Iowa Republicans than it was during the 2018 election cycle. A huge GOP voter registration advantage, combined with consistently higher turnout for Republicans in midterm years, make it hard to construct a winning scenario for Democrats in Iowa’s 2026 statewide elections. To overcome those long odds, Democrats will need not only strong GOTV and good messaging, but also a better voter registration effort over the coming year than the party has seen in decades.* From Randy Evans in Bleeding Heartland: People living in central Iowa received a wake-up call last week that should drag water quality back in front of the state’s 3.2 million residents. Iowa’s largest water supplier, which serves a fifth of the state’s homes and businesses, ordered its 600,000 customers to immediately reduce water demand by ending lawn-watering and cutting use in other ways. This is not just a Des Moines area problem. This is an all-of-Iowa problem. While fertilizing lawns and golf courses in urban areas contributes to the nitrate problem, excess application of commercial nitrogen fertilizer and manure on farm ground is by far the primary reason for elevated levels of nitrates. This focus on nitrates in drinking water is not some arcane concern motivated by fans of lush lawns. The heart of the issue is public health. Nitrates are of special concern for infants under 6 months of age and pregnant women. Studies also suggest even nitrate levels below the federal safe-drinking-water standard could contribute to an increase in colon and rectal cancers, thyroid disease and some birth defects.* Cauc Talk (political news)* From The New Republic: Will Iowa Senator Joni Enst call it quits after her humiliating defense of Donald Trump’s budget bill? Several Republican aides, consultants, and strategists told The Wall Street Journal that there was widespread speculation Ernst would not seek another term in the Senate. At a disastrous town hall in late May, Ernst was discussing the Trump-backed “one big beautiful bill,” which will kick an estimated 5.4 million people off of Medicaid. A constituent cried out, “People will die!” “Well, we all are going to die,” Ernst shot back. As it turns out, Iowans didn’t appreciate the Republican senator getting existential, and now the embattled senator has delayed her annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser until October. Typically, Ernst—who has been in office since 2015—holds the event in June. Ernst’s “political ascent within the GOP has stalled,” the Journal reported. But for now, it’s all just speculation. Earlier this month, Ernst brought on Bryan Kraber to manage her 2026 reelection campaign, signaling her intent to turn her sinking ship around.* From Wilderness.org: The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee budget reconciliation bill text released June 11, and updated June 14, includes a range of extraordinary giveaways aimed at privatizing public lands and advancing energy dominance at the expense of public lands and resources. The bill forces the arbitrary sale of at least 2 million acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands in 11 Western states over the next five years, and it gives the secretaries of the interior and agriculture broad discretion to choose which places should be sold off. Public lands eligible for sale in the bill encompass over 250 million acres, including local recreation areas, wilderness study areas, inventoried roadless areas, critical wildlife habitat and big game migration corridors. The bill directs what is likely the largest single sale of national public lands in modern history to help cut taxes for the richest people in the country. It trades ordinary Americans’ access to outdoor recreation for a short-term payoff that disproportionately benefits the privileged and well-connected.* A.IowaFrom the CR Gazette: As the use of artificial intelligence expands into new aspects of society, a new use was found in at least one high-profile place in Iowa this year: the Iowa State Capitol Building. During this year’s session, the Iowa House of Representatives and the governor’s office used an Iowa-based AI-native program to help streamline the legislative process for evaluating and tracking bills, a first for the state. Iowa is one of the first states to use AI in the legislative process, alongside California and Utah. A slate of other states are considering adopting similar programs. The program, Legible, was created by Zack Krawiec and Kasey Clary, founders of the technology company Upvote. Krawiec and Clary met as pages in the Iowa Legislature in 2014 before clerking for House lawmakers, where they saw how policy was crafted. According to a 2024 survey, 20 percent of surveyed legislative staffers and workers said they are currently using AI, while 42 percent said their offices are considering using it. Clark added that while the use of AI in state capitols is growing, most opinion still is mixed on adopting the technology. “Legislatures are open to using these new tools, but I think they really want some assurances, especially with confidentiality, privacy, and then making sure, again, that any kind of protections are in contracts,” Clark said. “They're waiting for maybe a kind of stasis moment where a little more is known about these tools, about how they're used in the institution, and then they can craft policies based on that.” Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

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* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From Salon: Sen. Joni Ernst, certainly has absorbed the first rule of MAGA: You're never in the wrong as long as you're "triggering" the liberals. On Friday, she drew outrage from her constituents at a town hall in Butler County, Iowa, with her bizarre defense of taking away people's medical care to pay for tax cuts for billionaires: "Well, we’re all going to die." The crowd, furious about her plans to vote for drastic cuts to Medicaid that will deprive millions of health care, booed her. Ernst, having absorbed Donald Trump's philosophy of always doubling down, responded on Saturday with a favorite lady MAGA trick: pretending to be stupid. "I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth," she sneered while walking in a cemetery. "So I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well." Ernst may play the mean bimbo for the camera, but she is aware that people aren't asking to live forever. They just don't want to die decades before their time, due to a lack of basic health care. But while most of the media focused on her act, her follow-up spin was, if anything, even more callous. She invoked Jesus Christ as the reason it's okay to let people die from easily preventable causes. "But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my lord and savior, Jesus Christ," she smugly declared. (We can also bring up JD Scholten entering the race with this convo)* From the CR Gazette: Iowa poll workers will be allowed to challenge a voter at the polls on the basis of their citizenship status under new legislation signed into law Monday by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The new laws also make changes to election recount procedures in the state, ban ranked choice voting and make it harder for third-party groups such as Libertarians to qualify as a major political party in the state. House File 954 addresses election laws regarding voter registration, citizenship and major party status. It also bans ranked choice voting in Iowa. It adds citizenship status to age and residency under which an election precinct official can challenge someone’s voter registration, and creates new language on declaration forms confirming the voter is a U.S. citizen.* Cauc Talk (political news)* From Bruce Lear in Bleeding Heartland: Principled conservatives disappeared and have been replaced by enablers. I hear critics shouting, “Wait, a bunch of politicians still claim they’re conservatives.” But finding a true conservative among them is like finding a house with a working VCR. You might find one, but it’s a long search. First, it’s important to define what a conservative politician looks and acts like. Since we’re talking about new technology, here’s an AI definition of political conservatism. Being politically conservative generally means upholding traditional institutions, customs, and values. This often includes prioritizing individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, and a strong national defense. Conservatives often emphasize fiscal responsibility, free markets, and the preservation of social order. If we compare this definition to what’s happening in our government, either AI really is just a steak sauce (and wrong), or conservative politicians vanished. True conservatives value the co-equal branches of government and hold what the Founders built as sacred. Now, the executive branch is defying court orders, ignoring Congress, and legislating by executive order. Are conservatives screaming about these violations? No, there’s silence.* From the Daily Beast: Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard wants to turn President Donald Trump’s daily intel briefings into Fox News-type broadcasts because he “doesn’t read.” Gabbard is hoping to add animations and more dynamic multimedia elements to Trump’s President’s Daily Briefs, or PDBs, to fit his viewing habits and hold his attention, five people with knowledge of the discussions told NBC News. Gabbard also reportedly consulted with current and former intelligence officials on bringing in a Fox News producer and host to reshape the PDBs—which are usually text and image-based for national security reasons—to deliver the intel in broadcast form. NBC News reported that the process could involve granting the Fox News team security clearance to access classified information.* Wider Scope* A.Iowa* From State Scoop: bipartisan coalition of more than 260 state legislators from all 50 states on Tuesday sent a letter to Congress opposing a provision in the federal budget reconciliation bill that would impose a 10-year ban on state and local regulation of artificial intelligence. The lawmakers argue that the decade-long moratorium would hinder their ability to protect residents from AI-related harms, such as deepfake scams, algorithmic discrimination and job displacement. The outcome of this legislative dispute will likely influence how AI technology is governed across the United States. The bill is expected to go to the Senate in early June. Proponents of the contested provision, which the House passed in May, say it aims to prevent a fragmented regulatory landscape that could hamper U.S. tech firms’ global competitiveness, particularly against China. However, state legislators contend that the moratorium would strip them of the ability to address fast-evolving AI threats and protect their constituents. “As state lawmakers and policymakers, we regularly hear from constituents about the rise of online harms and the impacts of AI on our communities,” the letter reads. “AI will raise some of the most important public policy questions of our time, and it is critical that state policymakers maintain the ability to respond.”.* Factoid of the Week* Spencer’s Top 5 Demonyms Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From KCRG: The president of the Iowa Farmer’s Union said proposed changes to the National Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP will hurt Iowa Farmers. The cuts total around $230 billion as part of President Trump’s so-called ‘big beautiful bill.’ Aaron Lehman said farmers are an integral part of SNAP because they’re growing the food people on the program are buying. Lehman said right now farmers are experiencing low commodity prices and a very concentrated atmosphere. That means they only have a few markets to sell into. Lehman said between trade and tariffs and cuts to other programs, many farmers are worried about what’s to come. He added the SNAP program creates a trickle-down effect in communities... helping not only farmers, but also those who rely on the assistance, and even the grocery stores that participate. ”We need a strong nutrition program to help build our local economies and our farmers,” said Lehman. ”You want to have a good partner, a good public partner, whether it’s working on conservation programs or nutrition programs or fresh food programs. Farmers need a good, reliable public partner, and that just hasn’t been the case.”* From Iowa Public Radio: Planned Parenthood North Central States announced it plans to close four clinics in Iowa amid financial challenges. The organization said it will close its clinics in Ames, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and Urbandale in addition to four of its clinics in Minnesota in the coming year. It will also layoff 66 staff members and offer 37 others reassignments. Planned Parenthood said in a press release that the decision to restructure and close the clinics "comes as patient needs and preferences have changed, the broken aspects of our health care system have intensified, the organization’s Minnesota Title X funds have been frozen, and the U.S. House voted to advance a reconciliation package that defunds Planned Parenthood." “We have been fighting to hold together an unsustainable infrastructure as the landscape shifts around us and an onslaught of attacks continues," Ruth Richardson, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said in a statement. "We know that many of our patients would have nowhere to turn if every Planned Parenthood health center were to disappear from their state. Heart wrenching and hard decisions today will ensure Planned Parenthood is here for years to come."* From Taylor Kohn in Bleeding Heartland: State Auditor Rob Sand, the top elected Democrat in Iowa, announced his run for governor on May 12. With Governor Kim Reynolds not seeking re-election, some see Sand’s candidacy as a chance to win the office away from the GOP. I’m among those who would like to see that happen. Unfortunately, Rob Sand is not offering a real alternative to the party in power. Sand’s favorite message is that he isn’t “partisan,” which means that, despite his Democratic affiliation, he is courting conservative votes. This is evident in his media appearances and campaign materials so far. In his campaign launch video, he doesn’t mention public education, abortion, trans rights, environmental protections, book banning, or other topics that have been important to the Democratic base over the course of Reynolds’s last term. Meanwhile, at least one Iowa media outlet on the left—the podcast Rock Hard Caucus—has reported that Sand has not responded to their agreement to an interview even though the initial request was from Sand’s PR representative themself. As comfortable as Sand is reaching across the aisle, he seems unwilling to face tough questions from, supposedly, his own side of it. And there are tough questions that must be asked if Sand intends to be governor. For example—the largest portion of his funding comes from Nixon Lauridsen, his father-in-law, one of the wealthiest men in Iowa. What does it say about Rob Sand’s overtures toward the right side of the political spectrum that, aside from Sand, Lauridsen donates generously to Republican candidates (including Reynolds and U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra, who has announced his own gubernatorial run)?* Cauc Talk* From the BBC: Elon Musk has criticised one of the signature policies of Donald Trump, marking a break from the US president who he helped to win re-election in 2024. Last week, the US House of Representatives narrowly passed what Trump calls his "big, beautiful" bill, which includes multi-trillion dollar tax breaks and a pledge to increase defence spending. It will now head to the Senate. Tech titan Musk told the BBC's US partner CBS News he was "disappointed" by the plan, which he felt "undermines" the work he did for the president on reducing spending. Musk was enlisted as Trump's cost-cutting tsar - ending funds for US foreign aid among other projects - before announcing he would step back. "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly," Musk said in the interview with CBS Sunday Morning, a clip of which was released by the broadcaster before transmission. He went on to argue that Trump's plan "increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it". Referring to Trump's moniker for the legislation, Musk told CBS: "I think a bill can be big or beautiful. I don't know if it can be both."* Wider Scope* A.Iowa* From Huffington Post: The company behind an Amazon-backed AI model revealed a number of concerning findings from its testing process, including that the AI would blackmail engineers who threatened to shut it down. On Thursday, Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4, an AI model used for complex, long-running coding tasks. The launch came more than a year after Amazon invested $4 billion into the project. Anthropic said in its announcement that the AI model sets “new standards for coding, advanced reasoning, and AI agents.” However, Anthropic revealed in a safety report that during testing, the AI model had sometimes taken “extremely harmful actions” to preserve its own existence when “ethical means” were “not available.” After “multiple rounds of interventions,” the company now believes this issue is “largely mitigated.” Anthropic co-founder and chief scientist Jared Kaplan told Time magazine that internal testing showed that Claude Opus 4 was able to teach people how to produce biological weapons.* Factoid of the Week: In Ancient Egypt, the word for ‘cat’ was actually pronounced ‘mew’, or ‘meow’.* Spencer’s Top 5 90’s Bands* 1. Nirvana* 2. Korn* 3. Deftones* 4. Tool* 5. Soundgarden Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

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Transcript below:Spencer (00:00:01):Thanks for clicking play on the latest edition of Iowa Revolution.Spencer (00:00:04):My name is Spencer.Spencer (00:00:05):He is Dr. Bob.Spencer (00:00:06):Dr. Bob, good to see you.Spencer (00:00:07):Good to see you, Spencer.Spencer (00:00:10):First of all, the big news, we do have Pete Buttigieg coming later on in the show.Spencer (00:00:14):He's in Cedar Rapids as we speak,Spencer (00:00:16):or at least as we're recording,Spencer (00:00:17):getting ready to speak to the Vote Vets rally tonight in downtown Cedar Rapids.Spencer (00:00:21):So we got about 10 minutes to talk to Pete.Spencer (00:00:23):Even had a chance to give him my top five Pete's.Spencer (00:00:26):So you'll want to make sure to stick around for that later on in the show.Spencer (00:00:30):But first off,Spencer (00:00:31):Dr.Spencer (00:00:31):Bob,Spencer (00:00:31):the biggest news in the state of Iowa is Rob Sand has announced that he will runSpencer (00:00:35):for governor,Spencer (00:00:36):of course,Spencer (00:00:37):as a Democrat.Spencer (00:00:38):He does have $8 million in his coffers right now.Spencer (00:00:41):$7 million of that is from his family and extended family.Spencer (00:00:46):And it is expected that we're going to be seeing some more Republicans put theirSpencer (00:00:49):name in the hat.Spencer (00:00:50):Brenna Byrd, Pat Grassley, now Randy Feenstra has...Spencer (00:00:54):explored now possibly getting into the governor's race so those are just a fewSpencer (00:00:58):names also mike busolo republican from ankeny he's also kind of entertained runningSpencer (00:01:04):for governor so first of all just your thoughts on rob sand now officially in theSpencer (00:01:08):raceDr. Bob (00:01:09):Well, it's something we've suspected would happen for some time, for years.Dr. Bob (00:01:13):In fact, you and I have talked about it.Dr. Bob (00:01:14):A lot of people saw him as the likely candidate since he's the only elected official.Dr. Bob (00:01:20):I think he's a good man.Dr. Bob (00:01:24):I think he'll do a great job.Dr. Bob (00:01:27):Having the money is important.Dr. Bob (00:01:29):These races aren't going to be easy to win.Dr. Bob (00:01:32):I just think that he's been... I think...Dr. Bob (00:01:37):very balanced in his auditor position.Dr. Bob (00:01:41):I really think that Kim Reynolds stripping that office of its power was,Dr. Bob (00:01:48):I don't know,Dr. Bob (00:01:52):something anti-democratic.Dr. Bob (00:01:55):I think that we needed that office to be a watchdog.Dr. Bob (00:01:59):Now, why wouldn't Kim Reynolds want a watchdog?Dr. Bob (00:02:03):Right.Dr. Bob (00:02:03):You know, so you can do things that you don't want anybody to know.Spencer (00:02:07):And I just think that's a question that answers itself.Spencer (00:02:10):Yeah.Dr. Bob (00:02:10):Yeah.Dr. Bob (00:02:11):So I think Rob's done a good job.Dr. Bob (00:02:15):He may he may get a challenge or I think somebody is telegraphed that they may run.Dr. Bob (00:02:22):And I don't think that's a bad thing.Dr. Bob (00:02:26):I think that it will actually help him.Dr. Bob (00:02:28):I just worry about.Dr. Bob (00:02:30):primaries now in the sense that they take up so much money and that,Dr. Bob (00:02:35):you know,Dr. Bob (00:02:35):we just,Spencer (00:02:36):I mean,Spencer (00:02:36):there are diverging views on that.Spencer (00:02:38):And I think there's probably merit to both of them.Spencer (00:02:41):There's one side that says having a tough primary helps in terms of name recognition,Spencer (00:02:45):then you're going to have to spend money to get ads earlier on.Spencer (00:02:48):So you might get that early bump.Spencer (00:02:51):So there is that side of the coin.Spencer (00:02:52):But then,Spencer (00:02:52):as you said,Spencer (00:02:53):that also makes you burn through some money that you're not going to have then whenSpencer (00:02:57):you get to the governors,Spencer (00:02:58):you know,Spencer (00:02:58):when you get to the general race.Dr. Bob (00:03:01):Yeah, so we'll see.Dr. Bob (00:03:02):I'm forgetting the name of the candidate.Dr. Bob (00:03:04):I know that she's well respected, but yeah, I don't know.Dr. Bob (00:03:10):We'll see.Dr. Bob (00:03:11):I just think that,Dr. Bob (00:03:13):you know,Dr. Bob (00:03:14):Rob stands a really good chance of winning,Dr. Bob (00:03:16):especially against some of the people that have come forward that,Dr. Bob (00:03:20):you know,Dr. Bob (00:03:20):Brenna Byrd is just...Dr. Bob (00:03:22):cruel and vindictive.Spencer (00:03:24):Fiendstra just... To me, it seems odd that Fiendstra would even enter the race.Spencer (00:03:28):He's got a comfy seat for as long as he wants to stay in the Congress.Spencer (00:03:32):Laura Bellin did say to me off the air last night,Spencer (00:03:34):but she said this on the air before when we were doing our Capital Week show,Spencer (00:03:37):but that old saying of...Spencer (00:03:40):when they're handing out the pieces of the pie, that's when you grab your piece.Spencer (00:03:45):We're probably not going to see an open governor's race for however long this newSpencer (00:03:49):governor stays in their seat.Spencer (00:03:51):So I guess that is the other side of it is,Spencer (00:03:54):hey,Spencer (00:03:54):now is your chance for an open Republican primary for governor.Spencer (00:03:59):Might as well see if you have a shot.Spencer (00:04:01):So that's really the only logic I can see in it.Dr. Bob (00:04:05):Well,Dr. Bob (00:04:05):the thing,Dr. Bob (00:04:06):too,Dr. Bob (00:04:06):is that if you're in Congress,Dr. Bob (00:04:09):there's a whole lot of people in Congress that don't do very much work.Spencer (00:04:13):Right.Dr. Bob (00:04:13):If you're a governor, you have to work.Spencer (00:04:15):Right.Spencer (00:04:17):And he doesn't go out and speak to his constituents.Spencer (00:04:19):He's never really debated Ryan Melton in their two races previously.Spencer (00:04:22):They did have one private debate that apparently went so badly that they neverSpencer (00:04:26):actually scheduled a public debate.Spencer (00:04:29):And that's another issue.Spencer (00:04:30):He hasn't really had any kind of contested race.Spencer (00:04:34):Even when he's ran in that primary against Kevin Virgil, he only won like 60% to 40%.Spencer (00:04:40):Nobody knew who the hell Kevin Virgil is.Spencer (00:04:42):So, you know, it's not like he is.Spencer (00:04:44):Yeah.Spencer (00:04:45):To me, it seems strange that he would think that he would have a shot.Dr. Bob (00:04:49):Yeah.Dr. Bob (00:04:49):And while you mentioned Ryan Melton, I'm just going to say I think he's positively courageous.Dr. Bob (00:04:54):I think he's a really good person.Dr. Bob (00:04:56):I think he really knows the district and knows what's, you know, knows how to listen.Dr. Bob (00:05:01):He goes everywhere.Dr. Bob (00:05:02):You know, I've been in different kinds of things that.Dr. Bob (00:05:05):I was just at a meeting in Algona and I was giving a talk in Algona to the Algona Democrats.Dr. Bob (00:05:14):And then next thing I know is I look around and he's in the audience.Dr. Bob (00:05:17):So he's just everywhere.Dr. Bob (00:05:18):I actually really admire him.Spencer (00:05:24):While we're on the topic of campaigns,Spencer (00:05:26):just your quick thoughts on Sarah Trone Garriott versus Jennifer Conferst in thatSpencer (00:05:30):race for the Democratic nomination that would go up against Zach Nunn if he decidesSpencer (00:05:35):to stay in that race.Dr. Bob (00:05:37):Well, I think they're both very well qualified.Dr. Bob (00:05:38):I think they'd both be true representatives of the people.Dr. Bob (00:05:44):Again,Dr. Bob (00:05:44):this is one of those situations where I don't see the value of burning all thatDr. Bob (00:05:49):money in a primary.Dr. Bob (00:05:50):Yeah,Spencer (00:05:50):I think these are candidates,Spencer (00:05:52):in terms of the Rob Sand candidacy,Spencer (00:05:54):you would imagine that somebody would run certainly to his left.Spencer (00:05:59):Because there are certainly a lot of,Spencer (00:06:00):you know,Spencer (00:06:02):true blue Democrats that have problems with Rob Sand,Spencer (00:06:05):for better or for worse.Spencer (00:06:06):So I think that he will probably have somebody run to his left.Spencer (00:06:09):But there doesn't seem to be much of a difference between Jennifer Conferst andSpencer (00:06:14):Sarah Trone-Garriot.Dr. Bob (00:06:15):No, I think Laura Bellin's gone over their records and there's not a big difference.Dr. Bob (00:06:21):I just think they'd both be good.Dr. Bob (00:06:23):Yeah.Dr. Bob (00:06:25):I think Jennifer's done a good job in leadership.Dr. Bob (00:06:27):I've really admired Sarah's efforts to try to help the refugees that were leftDr. Bob (00:06:34):stranded by the Trump-Reynolds administration already here and having been promisedDr. Bob (00:06:42):certain kinds of support and then having that be pulled away.Dr. Bob (00:06:45):It's just more of the cruelty of theDr. Bob (00:06:48):trump uh reynolds regimes and sooner we get all the people associated with it outSpencer (00:06:55):the better yeah the biggest thing is hopefully whoever wins the primary winsSpencer (00:06:59):against zach nunn is is the biggest thing so yeah zach nunn has has you know i hateDr. Bob (00:07:08):to say this but he doesn't have the courage to stand up for veterans for islandsDr. Bob (00:07:13):for farmers for anybody he's just aDr. Bob (00:07:17):another Trump toady.Dr. Bob (00:07:18):Yeah, he's just been cowardly.Spencer (00:07:24):Let's get into some cock talk here.Spencer (00:07:25):This is from CNN.Spencer (00:07:27):President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions inside theSpencer (00:07:30):administration over potentially suspending habeas corpus,Spencer (00:07:34):a legal procedure that allows people to challenge their detention in court,Spencer (00:07:37):two people familiar with the conside

Podcast Segments:* Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)* From the DM Register: Standing at a podium in the Knoxville National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, Democratic U.S. Senate challenger Nathan Sage told a room full of supporters he's running to give the power in Congress back to working-class Iowans. "We've been waiting a long time, and we built the damn table," Sage said at the May 5 event. "It's time we had a seat at it." Sage, 40, is the executive director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and resides in Indianola. He is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, who said in 2024 she intends to seek a third term but has not formally launched a reelection campaign. "This campaign isn't about red or blue, it's about right or wrong. It's about building a country that works for the people who make it work," Sage said. "We raise the kids, grow the crops, keep the lights on, staff the hospitals, teach the next generation and then we're always being asked to settle for less. Less pay, less protection, less opportunity." Sage is the first Democrat to formally launch a U.S. Senate campaign against Ernst.* Cauc Talk (talking political news)* Dr. Bob’s May Day Rally Report in Des Moines in Deep Midwest: Now I’m going to introduce another concept. In November 2023, I was at a Family Leader Presidential forum in Des Moines. The Family Leader is a right-wing “Christian” group that seeks to bend us all to their will. MAGA Blaze TV had a nice studio set up, and I watched and listened for a while. As they took a break, one personality, who shall remain nameless, scolded another personality saying something like, “NEVER criticize someone to our right! NEVER! Those to the crazy right will make us seem moderate, and people will take us more seriously.” To their right includes Nazis. Never criticize them—a MAGA rule. So what do Democrats do differently? Let’s start with who some Democratic charismatic leaders are. To me, the most charismatic leaders in the Democratic Party are Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, and Ro Khanna, who are all left of “center.” And let’s add Cory Booker to the list. (You did go on to mention a few others). Regardless, my interpretation is that Sanders, AOC, Crockett, Khanna, and, to a lesser extent, Booker, have been criticized by the media and the Democratic party as being too far to the left, especially Sanders and AOC. The fact of the matter is that Trump has pulled both Republicans and Democrats so far to the right that Sanders, AOC, Crockett, Khanna, and Booker are really the center. The New Deal Center. Democrats should stop criticizing their left. The far right is radical because they want to demolish government and democracy. The far left just wants to feed and heal people, and give them a living wage, and that is considered radical. It’s preposterous. Much of the left is accepting the framing of the MAGA media. Especially the consultant class, as they seek to move to the imagined “middle.” Bernie, AOC, Crockett, Khanna, and Booker ARE the middle. Moving further to the right is getting closer and closer to legitimizing fascism and betraying our values.* Wider Scope* From CNN: A woman said hotel security kicked her out of a woman’s restroom and asked her to “prove her gender” by providing an ID. Ansley Baker said the incident happened Saturday afternoon at the high-end Liberty Hotel in Boston. Baker and her girlfriend Liz Victor were inside a woman’s restroom at the hotel when they said a male security guard came in and started banging on the stall doors. “One of the security guards was there telling me to get out of the bathroom, telling me I am a man in the women’s bathroom. I told him I was a woman,” Baker said. Baker was born a woman, is a woman, and identifies as one. Regardless, she said as she was escorted out of the restroom, offensive comments were hurled at her from other women waiting in line. “Someone said, ‘Get him out of here,’ referring to me. ‘He’s a creep,’ also referring to me,” Baker recalled. Baker described the incident as “humiliating” and said she was pulled out of the restroom before she could finish tying her shorts. “It’s just humiliating overall,” she said. “Like I said, I didn’t have my shorts tied even, and then just in front of everyone.” LGBTQ advocates like Nina Selvaggio with the Greater Boston PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) said this couple’s story is unfortunately nothing new. “Being harassed in public restrooms is a tale as old as time,” Selvaggio said. She believes this case is the result of ramped-up rhetoric in the state, with Massachusetts hate crimes hitting a 20-year high. “I do think the surge in national anti-trans rhetoric is contributing to an increased policing of women’s bodies and their expressions of gender,” Selvaggio said.* From Yahoo: A recent tell-all book by former Facebook insider Sarah Wynn-Williams, titled "Careless People," is blowing the lid on the sheer depravity of the social media giant's targeting machine. Wynn-Williams worked at Facebook — which subsequently changed its name to Meta a few years back — from 2011 to 2017, eventually rising to the role of public policy director. As early as 2017, Wynn-Williams writes, Facebook was exploring ways to expand its ad targeting abilities to thirteen-to-seventeen-year-olds across Facebook and Instagram — a decidedly vulnerable group, often in the throes of adolescent image and social crises. Though Facebook's ad algorithms are notoriously opaque, in 2017 The Australian alleged that the company had crafted a pitch deck for advertisers bragging that it could exploit "moments of psychological vulnerability" in its users by targeting terms like "worthless," "insecure," "stressed," "defeated," "anxious," "stupid," "useless," and "like a failure." The social media company likewise tracked when adolescent girls deleted selfies, "so it can serve a beauty ad to them at that moment," according to Wynn-Williams. Other examples of Facebook's ad lechery are said to include the targeting of young mothers based on their emotional state, as well as emotional indexes mapped to racial groups, like a "Hispanic and African American Feeling Fantastic Over-index." "To me, this type of surveillance and monetization of young teens’ sense of worthlessness feels like a concrete step toward the dystopian future Facebook’s critics had long warned of," Wynn-Williams reflects.* A.IowaFrom Awful Announcing: The NBA on NBC is making a huge bet on nostalgia. It was finally confirmed during the Kentucky Derby that NBC reached an agreement with John Tesh to officially bring back the iconic “Roundball Rock” theme. And we know that NBC Sports president Rick Cordella is keen on having player introductions be part of the broadcasts once again to help present a big game atmosphere. But now the NBA on NBC is going one more unique step further by featuring the voice of Jim Fagan, the original promo artist who would deliver the classic “This is the NBA on NBC” line before introducing the matchup of the day. Unfortunately, Fagan passed away in 2017. However, the network announced on Tuesday that they have come to an agreement with his family to use an AI generated version of his voice to feature for the return of the package next season. This is not NBC’s first experiment with using AI generated voices. During the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the network used an AI generated Al Michaels voice to provide custom recaps and highlights that viewers could access at any time on Peacock. Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

I had the wrong setting on Zoom so if you’re watching the video you’re gonna get your fill of Dr. Bob haha :) Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Thanks to our friend, Nathan Sage for joining us on the podcast today! Go to sageforsenate.com to join the team and check out the vid or listen! Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you Teresa Lawler, Steve Hanken, and many others for tuning into my live video with Robert Leonard and The Imhotep Report! Join me for my next live video in the Substack app Podcast Segments:Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)From Dr. Bob’s Deep Midwest Substack: Below is a transcript of the video in Rollins’ tweet, with my comment in italics:Male voice off camera: I call it woke seeds.Rollins: Should I do a quick video? (Rollins trying to make it appear that the video wasn’t staged).Hi everyone, it's Brooke Rollins here at USDA. We started really early this morning as we always do is we're here fighting for farmers and ranchers and putting Americans first, but you're not going to believe what we just found. Behind the door at USDA, we found a whole box of these seeds. And listen, we love seeds here at USDA, but check these out. These are specific tomato seeds that are for growing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility at USDA. I mean, look at these. If you can be anything, be inclusive at USDA. America, this is what we're fighting here in Washington, D.C. This is why we are completely working to realign under President Trump's vision our entire government about returning power to the people , about ensuring that we're putting Americans first and that we really are going to make America great again and no longer will we spend tax dollars on diversity, equity, inclusion at USDA.From Dave Busiek on Media on Substack: The mass protests in Des Moines and other Iowa cities this past Saturday were covered, but I would rate the coverage as routine. Ho hum. Another garden variety protest rally. I sense many citizens are furious at how our government is being torn apart, how immigrants are being seized and shipped out of the country with no due process rights, how Trump is attacking universities, law firms and the news media itself. Iowans are frightened seeing their investment accounts wither away under Trump’s reckless tariffs. People are shocked that Congress shirks its duties and lets Trump run rampant. Fury. Fright. Shock. And my point is that none of that emotion is coming through in the coverage. On the local TV news, the stations showed a crowd shot here, a protest sign there, a sound bite – all standard stuff. The Sunday print Des Moines Register had not one mention of the rally in Des Moines early Saturday afternoon that attracted thousands of people. Not once did I see a reporter describe the mood of the crowd. I got a better sense of Saturday’s rallies by looking at social media and some of my cohorts in the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative than I did from major media outlets. Guys like Bob Leonard know how to tell a story. Good reporters can sense when they’ve got a juicy story on their hands, and they skillfully use their powers of observation, their writing skills and their storytelling abilities to swing for the fences and knock it out of the park. Sadly, with coverage of all the gut-wrenching stories affecting our lives the past few months, I’m seeing far too many bunt singles and not nearly enough home runs.Cauc Talk (talking political news)From CNBC: China has pushed back once again to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies by hiking its levies on U.S. imports to more than 80%. China’s Office of the Tariff Commission of the State Council said tariffs on U.S. goods will rise to 84% from 34% starting on April 10, according to a translation of the announcement. This comes after the latest U.S. tariff hike — which brings levies on Chinese goods to more than 100% — took effect at the start of April 9. The repeated escalation of the tariffs threatens to bring trade between two of the world’s most important economies to a standstill. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. exported $143.5 billion of goods to China in 2024, while importing $438.9 billion of goods. The Trump administration announced a sweeping new tariff policy last week, and warned other countries not to retaliate. Some nations, including Japan, have seemed willing to negotiate on tariffs, but China appears to be taking a more hardline stance and quickly announced a countertariff.Wider ScopeFrom Reuters: As a boy in the 1960s, David Wagner would run around his family’s Missouri farm with a glass jar clutched in his hand, scooping flickering fireflies out of the sky. “We could fill it up and put it by our bedside at night,” says Wagner, now an entomologist. That’s all gone, the family farm now paved over with new homes and manicured lawns. And Wagner’s beloved fireflies – like so many insects worldwide – have largely vanished in what scientists are calling the global Insect Apocalypse. As human activities rapidly transform the planet, the global insect population is declining at an unprecedented rate of up to 2% per year. Amid deforestation, pesticide use, artificial light pollution and climate change, these critters are struggling — along with the crops, flowers and other animals that rely on them to survive. “Insects are the food that make all the birds and make all the fish,” said Wagner, who works at the University of Connecticut. “They’re the fabric tethering together every freshwater and terrestrial ecosystem across the planet.” But insects are so much more than food. Farmers depend on these critters pollinating crops and churning soil to keep it healthy, among other activities.Insects pollinate more than 75% of global crops, a service valued at up to $577 billion per year, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) says.In the United States, insects perform services valued in 2006 at an estimated $57 billion per year, according to a study in the journal BioScience.Dung beetles alone are worth some $380 million per year to the U.S. cattle industry for their work breaking down manure and churning rangeland soil, the study found.With fewer insects, “we’d have less food,” said ecologist Dave Goulson at the University of Sussex. “We’d see yields dropping of all of these crops.”A.IowaWhat’s Good? (good/positive news)From Daily Beast: Elon Musk rage quit a livestream of the video game Path of Exile 2 on Saturday night after repeatedly dying while also being ruthlessly cyberbullied in the chat. The DOGE chief was, predictably, terrible at the game, but that was the least of his problems—Less than five minutes into the stream, a player logged on and asked Musk if he could “please jerk off mr trump so he dies of a heart attack.” It only got worse from there. For the next hour and a half, Musk sat in stony-faced silence and blasted techno music while dozens of users with names such as ELON_IS_A_PEEDOPHILE and ELON_MUSK_IS_PATHETIC repeatedly spammed the chat to tell him “YOU HAVE NO FRIENDS AND YOU WILL DIE ALONE” and “YOU WILL ALWAYS FEEL INSECURE AND IT WILL NEVER GO AWAY.”Factoid of the Week: Scientists have observed a rhythmic, microseismic pulse occurring roughly every 26 seconds, sometimes referred to as Earth's "heartbeat," though the exact cause remains a mystery. Spencer’s Top 5 David Foster Wallace Quotes1. “You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.”2. “Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it.”3. “The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.”4. “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.”5. “If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote.” Get full access to Iowa Revolution at iowarevolution.substack.com/subscribe