Jan

Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI

Jan AI

Slack adds 30 AI features to Slackbot, its most ambitious update since the Salesforce acquisition

Slack today announced more than 30 new capabilities for Slackbot, its AI-powered personal agent, in what amounts to the most sweeping overhaul of the workplace messaging platform since Salesforce acquired it for $27.7 billion in 2021. The update transforms Slackbot from a simple conversational assistant into a full-spectrum enterprise agent that can take meeting notes across any video provider, operate outside the Slack application on users' desktops, execute tasks through third-party tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and even serve as a lightweight CRM for small businesses — all without requiring users to install anything new. The announcement, timed to a keynote event that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is headlining Tuesday morning, arrives less than three months after Slackbot first became generally available on January 13 to Business+ and Enterprise+ subscribers. In that short window, Slack says the feature is on track to become the fastest-adopted product in Salesforce's 27-year history, with some employees at customer organizations reporting they save up to 90 minutes per day. Inside Salesforce itself, teams claim savings of up to 20 hours per week, translating to more than $6.4 million in estimated productivity value. "Slackbot is smart. It's pleasant, and I think it's endlessly useful," Rob Seaman, Slack's executive vice president and general manager, told VentureBeat in an exclusive interview ahead of the announcement. "The upper bound of use cases is effectively limitless for it." The release signals Slack's clearest bid yet to become what Seaman and the company's leadership describe as an "agentic operating system" — a single surface through which workers interact with AI agents, enterprise applications, and one another. It also marks a direct challenge to Microsoft, which has spent the past two years embedding its Copilot assistant across the entirety of its productivity stack. From simple chatbot to autonomous coworker: six new capabilities that

Axios compromised on NPM – Malicious versions drop remote access trojan

Show HN: Oxyde – Pydantic-native async ORM with a Rust core

Hi HN! I built Oxyde because I was tired of duplicating my models.<p>If you use FastAPI, you know the drill. You define Pydantic models for your API, then define separate ORM models for your database, then write converters between them. SQLModel tries to fix this but it&#x27;s still SQLAlchemy underneath. Tortoise gives you a nice Django-style API but its own model system. Django ORM is great but welded to the framework.<p>I wanted something simple: your Pydantic model IS your database model. One class, full validation on input and output, native type hints, zero duplication. The query API is Django-style (.objects.filter(), .exclude(), Q&#x2F;F expressions) because I think it&#x27;s one of the best designs out there.<p><i>Explicit over implicit.</i> I tried to remove all the magic. Queries don&#x27;t touch the database until you call a terminal method like .all(), .get(), or .first(). If you don&#x27;t explicitly call .join() or .prefetch(), related data won&#x27;t be loaded. No lazy loading, no surprise N+1 queries behind your back. You see exactly what hits the database by reading the code.<p><i>Type safety</i> was a big motivation. Python&#x27;s weak spot is runtime surprises, so Oxyde tackles this on three levels: (1) when you run makemigrations, it also generates .pyi stub files with fully typed queries, so your IDE knows that filter(age__gte=...) takes an int, that create() accepts exactly the fields your model has, and that .all() returns list[User] not list[Any]; (2) Pydantic validates data going into the database; (3) Pydantic validates data coming back out via model_validate(). You get autocompletion, red squiggles on typos, and runtime guarantees, all from the same model definition.<p><i>Why Rust?</i> Not for speed as a goal. I don&#x27;t do &quot;language X is better&quot; debates. Each one is good at what it was made for. Python is hard to beat for expressing business logic. But infrastructure stuff like SQL generation, connection pooling, and row serialization is where a systems language makes sense. So I split it: Python handles your models and business logic, Rust handles the database plumbing. Queries are built as an IR in Python, serialized via MessagePack, sent to Rust which generates dialect-specific SQL, executes it, and streams results back. Speed is a side effect of this split, not the goal. But since you&#x27;re not paying a performance tax for the convenience, here are the benchmarks if curious: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;oxyde.fatalyst.dev&#x2F;latest&#x2F;advanced&#x2F;benchmarks&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;oxyde.fatalyst.dev&#x2F;latest&#x2F;advanced&#x2F;benchmarks&#x2F;</a><p>What&#x27;s there today: Django-style migrations (makemigrations &#x2F; migrate), transactions with savepoints, joins and prefetch, PostgreSQL + SQLite + MySQL, FastAPI integration, and an auto-generated admin panel that works with FastAPI, Litestar, Sanic, Quart, and Falcon (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;mr-fatalyst&#x2F;oxyde-admin" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;mr-fatalyst&#x2F;oxyde-admin</a>).<p>It&#x27;s v0.5, beta, active development, API might still change. This is my attempt to build the ORM I personally wanted to use. Would love feedback, criticism, ideas.<p>Docs: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;oxyde.fatalyst.dev&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;oxyde.fatalyst.dev&#x2F;</a><p>Step-by-step FastAPI tutorial (blog API from scratch): <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;mr-fatalyst&#x2F;fastapi-oxyde-example" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;mr-fatalyst&#x2F;fastapi-oxyde-example</a>

We Need to Stop Listening to Tony Blair Once and for All

 It might feel like months, but we’re just over a week into the US and Israel’s illegal assault on Iran, and there’s no end in sight. What is in sight, though, is [the apocalyptic vision of Tehran ablaze](https://time.com/7383099/iran-news-oil-strikes-tehran/), wreathed in thick smoke as black oil-soaked rain falls on its inhabitants. That’s the result of Israeli strikes on several oil storage depots in the city, reportedly sending burning petroleum running through gutters while [geysers of flaming gas exploded](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/08/rivers-of-fire-in-tehran-after-oil-depots-blown-up/) from the streets. A nightmare? For most of us, yes. But for former British prime minister Tony Blair it’s apparently a dream. One that he might have liked the entire British public to be non-consensually forced into realising for him. And [not for the first time](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36701854). Were my hands bloodied with the [deaths of up to a million people](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-01-31/million-iraqis-dead-since-invasion-study/1028878), I’d probably think twice before giving my opinion on yet another illegal US adventure in the Middle East. Not our Tone, though. On Sunday [the papers reported](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15623903/Tony-Blair-rebukes-Keir-Starmer-not-backing-Trump-Iran.html) that the man who told George W. Bush in the months before the disastrous Iraq war, “[I will be with you, whatever](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/06/with-you-whatever-tony-blair-letters-george-w-bush-chilcot)”, is still singing the same old tune. “We should,” Blair [told a private Jewish News event](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/blair-starmer-trump-war-iran-labour-b2934207.html) on Friday night, “Have backed America from the very beginning”. That was a direct criticism of current prime minister Keir Starmer, who, [to a chorus of warmonger criticism](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c05v28eqjyvo), initially refused the US and Israel access to British military infrastructure to launch its war on Iran. But it’s not like we’ve stayed completely out of the mess: our bases are now free for use by US jets for “defensive” actions – whatever that means – with American bombers [already touching down](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/07/us-bomber-lands-in-uk-after-warning-of-surge-in-strikes-on-iran). Now, nobody was ever supposed to know that a former Labour prime minister so openly rubbished the current one in public. That’s because the event was conducted under Chatham House rules. In short, that means what’s said in the room can be made public, but not who said it. In long, it means elites are emboldened to express their heart’s true desires without any threat of accountability. We can’t know what was in Tony Blair’s heart when he mourned the fact that the UK was not more involved in blasting a hole straight through the security of the hundreds of millions who live in the Middle East. Nor can we tell for sure, as global oil prices [surge above $100 a barrel](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79542n0grwo) for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, how little the lives of Brits, long blighted by a cost of living crisis, matter to him. We can, though, look at his record. And what that shows – in my opinion – is a tendency, previously expressed via his businesses and [nowadays his Tony Blair Institute](https://www.ft.com/content/bcf1f1f5-a38f-4078-98f8-ab1ff7378895), to see fatal discord as fiscal opportunity. [Autocracy](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/12/tony-blair-institute-continued-taking-money-from-saudi-arabia-after-khashoggi), [oligarchy](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/06/how-tony-blair-advised-former-kazakh-ruler-after-2011-uprising), [calamity](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/07/tony-blair-thinktank-worked-with-project-developing-trump-riviera-gaza-plan)? Roll up, roll up: the Blair pitch project is in town, and it has some consultancy to sell. Now, none of that is a crime. But you might think it indicates a conflict when wading into affairs of state. Blair is alleged to have form here too: in 2014, a number of former ambassadors and MPs [called for his resignation](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/27/tony-blair-conflict-interests-middle-east) as Middle East peace envoy for the Quartet (made up of the United Nations, the US, the EU and Russia). They claimed he was ineffective, while others noted [the growth of his business interests in the region](https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/tony-blair-uae-middle-east-envoy-qatar-israel-palestine-foreign-office-a7894641.html). Blair’s [financial arrangements](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli

We Need to Stop Listening to Tony Blair Once and for All

 It might feel like months, but we’re just over a week into the US and Israel’s illegal assault on Iran, and there’s no end in sight. What is in sight, though, is [the apocalyptic vision of Tehran ablaze](https://time.com/7383099/iran-news-oil-strikes-tehran/), wreathed in thick smoke as black oil-soaked rain falls on its inhabitants.  That’s the result of Israeli strikes on several oil storage depots in the city, reportedly sending burning petroleum running through gutters while [geysers of flaming gas exploded](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/08/rivers-of-fire-in-tehran-after-oil-depots-blown-up/) from the streets. A nightmare? For most of us, yes. But for former British prime minister Tony Blair it’s apparently a dream. One that he might have liked the entire British public to be non-consensually forced into realising for him. And [not for the first time](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36701854). Were my hands bloodied with the [deaths of up to a million people](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-01-31/million-iraqis-dead-since-invasion-study/1028878), I’d probably think twice before giving my opinion on yet another illegal US adventure in the Middle East. Not our Tone, though. On Sunday [the papers reported](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15623903/Tony-Blair-rebukes-Keir-Starmer-not-backing-Trump-Iran.html) that the man who told George W. Bush in the months before the disastrous Iraq war, “[I will be with you, whatever](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/06/with-you-whatever-tony-blair-letters-george-w-bush-chilcot)”, is still singing the same old tune.  “We should,” Blair [told a private Jewish News event](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/blair-starmer-trump-war-iran-labour-b2934207.html) on Friday night, “Have backed America from the very beginning”. That was a direct criticism of current prime minister Keir Starmer, who, [to a chorus of warmonger criticism](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c05v28eqjyvo), initially refused the US and Israel access to British military infrastructure to launch its war on Iran. But it’s not like we’ve stayed completely out of the mess: our bases are now free for use by US jets for “defensive” actions – whatever that means – with American bombers [already touching down](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/07/us-bomber-lands-in-uk-after-warning-of-surge-in-strikes-on-iran). Now, nobody was ever supposed to know that a former Labour prime minister so openly rubbished the current one in public. That’s because the event was conducted under Chatham House rules. In short, that means what’s said in the room can be made public, but not who said it. In long, it means elites are emboldened to express their heart’s true desires without any threat of accountability.  We can’t know what was in Tony Blair’s heart when he mourned the fact that the UK was not more involved in blasting a hole straight through the security of the hundreds of millions who live in the Middle East. Nor can we tell for sure, as global oil prices [surge above $100 a barrel](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79542n0grwo) for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, how little the lives of Brits, long blighted by a cost of living crisis, matter to him. We can, though, look at his record. And what that shows – in my opinion – is a tendency, previously expressed via his businesses and [nowadays his Tony Blair Institute](https://www.ft.com/content/bcf1f1f5-a38f-4078-98f8-ab1ff7378895), to see fatal discord as fiscal opportunity. [Autocracy](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/12/tony-blair-institute-continued-taking-money-from-saudi-arabia-after-khashoggi), [oligarchy](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/06/how-tony-blair-advised-former-kazakh-ruler-after-2011-uprising), [calamity](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/07/tony-blair-thinktank-worked-with-project-developing-trump-riviera-gaza-plan)? Roll up, roll up: the Blair pitch project is in town, and it has some consultancy to sell.  Now, none of that is a crime. But you might think it indicates a conflict when wading into affairs of state. Blair is alleged to have form here too: in 2014, a number of former ambassadors and MPs [called for his resignation](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/27/tony-blair-conflict-interests-middle-east) as Middle East peace envoy for the Quartet (made up of the United Nations, the US, the EU and Russia). They claimed he was ineffective, while others noted [the growth of his business interests in the region](https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/tony-blair-uae-middle-east-envoy-qatar-israel-palestine-foreign-office-a7894641.html).  Blair’s [financial arrangements](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news

Kristi Noem Nearly Destroyed FEMA. Will Her Exit Save It?

*This story was originally published b*y [Grist](https://grist.org/politics/kristi-noem-fema-trump-markwayne-mullin/) *and is reproduced here as part of the* [Climate Desk](http://www.climatedesk.org/) *collaboration.* During the year she spent leading the US Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, Kristi Noem faced a torrent of criticism. Lawmakers from both parties assailed her for lying about the [shooting of protestors](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cre02yzv807o) in Minneapolis and spending [millions of dollars](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/terribly-awkward-gop-senator-scolds-164242119.html) on television commercials. Government audits concluded that she “systematically obstructed” investigations and created security risks at airports. Now she has become the first cabinet-level official fired by President Donald Trump during his second term. After a combative hearing last week, during which Noem seemed to mislead Congress about whether Trump approved her ad spending, the president fired her. As DHS secretary, Noem also raised eyebrows for an unprecedented degree of control over staffing and spending at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She [paused most FEMA payments](https://grist.org/extreme-weather/kristi-noem-fema-dhs-trump-disaster/), leading to extensive delays for disaster recovery, and sought to [slash the agency’s on-call workforce](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/climate/fema-staff-cuts-1000-workers.html) by thousands of employees. She also expressed a desire to downsize or eliminate the agency entirely, shifting the burden of disaster relief onto the states. A growing number of critics and experts believe that Noem’s interference with FEMA may well have been illegal. This week, two Senate Democrats [released a report](https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/library/files/fema-report/) alleging that Noem’s blanket freeze on FEMA payments violated federal law. At the same time, lawyers for a federal workers’ union [argued to a federal judge](https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2026/03/DOJ-contradicts-FEMA-on-who-approved-mass-firings/411860/) in California that Noem’s workforce cuts also violated the law. In both cases, critics pointed to legislation passed after Hurricane Katrina, which prohibits DHS from interfering with FEMA. “I have reason to believe that you’re violating the law, either knowingly or unknowingly,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican representing North Carolina, during his questioning of Noem. > “I think Congress never anticipated [that] what has happened would happen, or they would have probably put in more clarity” These accusations will remain relevant if Noem’s apparent successor, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, continues her quest to make permanent changes to FEMA’s structure—a goal that the president has frequently suggested he supports. Though President Trump has in many cases been able to make unilateral cuts to federal programs on a rapid timeline—as with the Department of Education and US Agency for International Development—the post-Katrina law may put FEMA on stronger footing for the rest of the president’s term. “To my knowledge, DHS has never been involved in decision-making about the FEMA workforce,” said MaryAnn Tierney, a former FEMA official who led the agency’s regional office on the Eastern Seaboard for more than a decade. The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 emerged from a series of federal investigations into the agency’s failures after the devastating storm, which killed more than 1,400 people and submerged much of New Orleans. A bipartisan select committee in the House of Representatives found that the agency’s leaders had dithered for days before activating key response measures, and that there were numerous breakdowns in the agency’s chain of command. Congress also found that FEMA had withered after the Bush administration placed it under the newly-created Department of Homeland Security, where leaders were focused on combating terrorism in the wake of 9/11. As a result, they did very little planning for a major natural disaster like Katrina. State emergency managers testified to Congress that FEMA was “emaciated and anemic” and had been “lost in the shuffle” at DHS. Congress tried to fix this in 2006 with a law requiring that FEMA leadership have experience in emergency management and giving the agency the ability to report directly to the president during disasters. The law also stated that “the secretary [of DHS] may not substantially or significantly reduce the authorities, responsibilities, or functions…or the capability of the agency.” Noem attempted to do just this. Trump has not nominated anyone to lead FEMA since he assumed office last year—the law requires a FEMA administrator with at least five years of emergency management experience—and has instead designated three different acting administrators, avoiding Senate confirmation and the emergency management experience requirement. The most recent,

Maduro Must Be Released Or the Fascists Win

 Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. Image US Military. If U.S. progressives are serious about combating the expansion of fascism domestically, demanding both the release of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and first lady Celia Flores, as well as the immediate cessation of any further U.S. military incursion into Latin America, must be a top priority. In an interview on [*Black Liberation Media’s* morning show, Chris Gilbert, a political economist in](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtAQv_UVL9A) Venezuela who experienced the U.S.’s January bombardment of Caracas firsthand, stated that Donald J. Trump and his allies, “don’t recognize nations. They don’t recognize peoples. They think the world is a bunch of guys like them. And they think by bending these guys, they can make them do whatever they want.” Maduro himself has refused the devil’s bargain with the Trump regime, proclaiming defiantly in [his arraignment before a U.S. judge on the spurious charges of drug trafficking and](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6v25eldmdo) weapons possession, “I am a prisoner of war!” Progressive forces internationally have bore witness to these acts of desperation on the part of the Trump regime and their attempt to stem the tide of a [weakening U.S.](https://www.laprogressive.com/foreign-policy/venezuelan-invasion) imperialism in the hemisphere. Oil and defense—two of the most vile capitalist industries—are the direct benefactors of this latest imperialist incursion. While oil executives rebuffed Trump’s $100 billion plan to invest in Venezuela’s oil sector, with the ExxonMobil executive labeling the country “[uninvestible](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c205dx61x76o)” due to security and legal risks, the energy sector reaped historic gains as a result of the so-called “[Venezuelan shock](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrnw08qvg7o).” Companies like Chevron, for instance, which was, until recently, the only major oil venture legally sanctioned to drill and trade in Venezuela, closed at an all-time high in early February. According to the [*Brennan Center*](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/fossil-fuel-industry-donors-see-major-returns-trumps-policies), the oil industry itself spent “lavishly to elect Trump, giving at least $75 million to his campaign and affiliated PACs, thereby making them a top corporate backer of his reelection bid…Several oil tycoons gave millions on their own and hosted fundraisers with Trump and his associates.” While both industries have directly funded Donald Trump’s campaigns for president, this is hardly an aberration from the norm of U.S. politics, which [draws sustenance](https://truthout.org/articles/at-least-37-us-lawmakers-traded-up-to-113-million-in-arms-stocks-this-year/) from the sale, manufacture, and dropping of bombs around the globe while [“corporate giants like Chevron enjoy… lavish [single-digit] tax breaks” which are “lower than what many nurses or firefighters pay.”](https://inequality.org/article/american-taxpayers-are-subsidizing-big-oils-extraction-abroad/) Immediately after Maduro and Flores were snatched from their beds and humiliated before the U.S. press, Secretary of State Marco Rubio [admitted](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5676818-us-control-venezuela-oil/) that their goal in Venezuela was “to take between thirty and fifty million barrels of oil,” promising, “to sell it in the marketplace at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting.” At the White House, during an open press conference featuring major oil executives, Trump, stated that U.S. oil should make “[tons of money](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-trump-holds-news-conference-after-announcing-u-s-has-captured-venezuelan-leader-maduro)” in Venezuela. In much the same way that companies knee-deep in death have had an intimate relationship with the worst of the worst in American politics, among Democrat and Republican alike, those who will not stand in the way of the constantly expanding military budget, which far outstrips the military budget for the next top ten countries, including that of Russia and China— the “bogeymen” of our present era. As [reported](https://www.citizensforethics.org/about/) in *Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington*, “[of the top 40 companies](https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/the-defense-industry-is-the-biggest-supporter-of-the-sedition-caucus/) that have given the most to the Sedition Caucus—the 147 members of Congress who voted,” at Trump’s behest, “against certifying the 2020 election… as well as those who have since been elected to Congress” wh

X Users Find Their Real Names Are Being Googled in Israel After Using X Verification Software “Au10tix”

X Users Find Their Real Names Are Being Googled in Israel After Using X Verification Software “Au10tix” Alan Macleod On January 30, the Department of Justice released its latest tranche of 3.5 million documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Years of emails, texts, and images were suddenly in the public domain. Epstein, a serial rapist, masterminded a global human trafficking and sexual abuse network, and could count princes, professors, and politicians among his closest friends and accomplices. MintPress News has been at the forefront of covering the Epstein saga, revealing his extremely close links to American and Israeli intelligence groups – a discovery that perhaps sheds light on why it took so long for the world’s most notorious pedophile to face accountability for his crimes. Many of the DOJ files have been heavily redacted in order to protect Epstein’s powerful clients. Still, they have exposed a massive elite nexus revolving around the New York billionaire, implicating presidents, diplomats, and plutocrats in his crimes, and imply that Epstein was significantly more powerful than first thought, shaping modern politics in ways never previously understood. With shocking new details emerging on a near-hourly basis, here are ten Epstein- related stories that have flown relatively under the radar. The Israeli Government Installed Surveillance Cameras at Epstein’s New York Apartment The Israeli government installed and maintained a hi-tech surveillance system at Epstein’s Manhattan apartment complex, including a network of alarms and cameras, emails show. Starting in 2016, the director of protective service at the Israeli mission to the United Nations controlled guests’ access to the Manhattan residence, and even performed background checks on prospective cleaners and other Epstein employees. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak admitted visiting the apartment up to 100 times, and stayed there for long periods of time. While Barak’s security may have been a concern, Epstein is known to have housed underage girls at the apartment, and many of his worst sexual crimes and most sordid parties were held there, raising questions as to what sort of images and data the Israeli government had access to. Epstein Plotted War With Iran Ehud Barak became one of Epstein’s closest associates, staying for extended periods of time at the billionaire’s residences. The pair would email, text, call, and meet constantly. A search for “Ehud Barak” elicits more than 3500 results in the latest file dump alone. The pair would talk politics, and shared a vision of the United States attacking Iran. In 2013, with negotiations between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran stalling, Epstein emailed Barak stating, in typically poor spelling and grammar: “hopefully somone suggests getting authorization now for Iran. the congress woudl do it.” Epstein would get his wish in 2025, when his close associate Donald Trump began bombing the country. Noam Chomsky Considered Epstein His “Best Friend” Epstein arranged a meeting between Barak and renowned leftist academic (and vehement critic of the U.S. and Israel) Noam Chomsky. An unlikely friendship between the notorious pedophile and star professor blossomed, with the pair regularly meeting up at each other’s houses for dinner. Chomsky flew on Epstein’s “Lolita Express” jet to attend a dinner with Woody Allen in New York. He also expressed his desire to visit Little St. James Island, Epstein’s notorious Caribbean hideaway, and the center of his trafficking operation. Chomsky considered Epstein his “best friend” according to an email sent by his wife, Valeria. The usually curt and matter-of-fact academic signed off his emails to Epstein with unexpectedly flowery language, such as “Like real friendship, deep and sincere and everlasting from both of us, Noam and Valeria.” Chomsky strongly supported Epstein until his dying day in a Manhattan prison cell, taking it upon himself to act as his unofficial crisis manager, describing his accusers as “publicity seekers or cranks of all sorts,” and denouncing the media as a “culture of gossip-mongers” destroying his stellar character. “Ive watched the horrible way you are being treated in the press and public,” he wrote, advising Epstein on tactics to fight the supposed smears against him. For a full rundown of the Chomsky-Epstein relationship, see the MintPress News investigation: “The Chomsky-Epstein Files: Unravelling a Web of Connections Between a Star Leftist Academic and a Notorious Pedophile.” Steve Bannon Developed a Plan to Help Epstein “Crush the Pedo Narrative” A second public figure running defense for Epstein was Steve Bannon. In public, the far-right strategist claimed that he was working on a documentary exposing Epstein. In private messaging, however, Bannon, like Chomsky, was advising Epstein on how best to repair his image. Just weeks before Epstein’s arrest and subsequent death, Bannon was messaging him, devising a complex media strategy

A State Government Tried to Regulate Linux; It Went Exactly How You'd Expect.

California quietly passed a law that requires every operating system — including Linux, FreeBSD, and SteamOS — to implement mandatory age verification at account setup, with a real-time API that broadcasts your age bracket to every app that asks. The fines? Up to $7,500 per affected child per violation. For solo developers and open-source maintainers, that's not a slap on the wrist — that's a death sentence. Assembly Bill 1043, the Digital Age Assurance Act, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 13, 2025 and goes into effect January 1, 2027. In this video we break down exactly what the law requires, why it's technically unenforceable on open-source platforms, what the privacy implications actually look like, and how the community is already responding — including one BSD project that literally banned California from its license. Colorado is drafting an identical bill. Both parties voted for this unanimously. And Newsom himself admitted in his signing statement the law isn't finished. Welcome to tech policy in 2026. AB 1043 Official Bill Text → leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1043 Lunduke Journal — California Law Breakdown → lunduke.substack.com/p/california-law-to-require-linux-windows Lunduke Journal — MidnightBSD Bans California → lunduke.locals.com/post/7724876/midnightbsd-responds-to-californias-age-verification-law-by-excluding-california PC Gamer — OS Age Verification Coverage → pcgamer.com/software/operating-systems/a-new-california-law-says-all-operating-systems-including-linux-need-to-have-some-form-of-age-verification-at-account-setup Shacknews — AB 1043 Overview → shacknews.com/article/148077/california-assembly-bill-1043-operating-system-os-age-verify-2027 Alston & Bird Legal Analysis → alstonprivacy.com/california-enacts-digital-age-verification-law Reason.org — CA 2025 Tech Policy Recap → reason.org/commentary/recapping-californias-2025-tech-policy-bills Colorado SB 26-051 Full Text → leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-051

Iran Denies Asking Trump to Talk; Official Says No Negotiations Will Be Considered Until a New Supreme Leader Is Named

*Drop Site’s journalism is free to read because thousands of readers choose to fund it. If our work matters to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today.* [SUPPORT DSN - DONATE TODAY](https://givebutter.com/dsn-substack) [](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LF-m!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffbf894e6-52da-4265-bceb-af2288006860_7163x5059.jpeg) Iranian protesters carry images of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iranian flags in an anti-U.S.-Israeli rally in Tehran, Iran, on March 6, 2026, after Friday prayers outside Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque. Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images. Since launching a scorched earth bombing campaign against Iran on February 28 despite ongoing negotiations, President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to portray the Iranian government as cowering in the face of American might, appealing to him to make a deal to end the war. “They have no air defense. All of their airplanes are gone. Their communications are gone. Missiles are gone. Launches are gone. About 60% and 64%, respectively. Other than that, they’re doing quite well,” Trump quipped on Thursday. “And they’re calling. They’re saying, ‘How do we make a deal?’ I said, ‘You’re being a little bit late,’ and we want to fight now more than they do.” Trump’s claims that Iran has sought to negotiate a ceasefire with the U.S. are a “huge lie,” a senior Iranian official told Drop Site. On Thursday, Abbas Araghchi similarly [told NBC News](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlnbouKHDhs) that Iran has not had any communications with the U.S. through backchannels since his meeting in Geneva last week with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. “No, not after Thursday that we met last time. We met last Thursday. We negotiated for almost seven hours,” he said. “No negotiations from the Iranian side are conceivable until the official announcement by the Supreme Leader of Iran,” the senior official, who is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said. “The decision of Iran’s military forces is the continuation of the defense of the country against attacks by Israel and the United States, and the long-term management of the war imposed by foreign forces.” [Subscribe now](https://www.dropsitenews.com/subscribe?) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian leaders were assassinated last Saturday in the opening strikes of the U.S. war. The Iranian government moved swiftly to name an interim leadership council consisting of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of Iran’s judiciary, and Ayatollah Ali Arafi, a prominent member of Iran’s Guardian Council and Assembly of Experts—the body that is ultimately responsible for choosing the country’s Supreme Leader. Iran is expected to name a new Supreme Leader in the coming days. Some reports indicate that a leader may already have been selected by the Assembly of Experts. “The voting has been conducted,” the Iranian official told Drop Site. “Security and protection measures for the new leader must be put in place before they can announce his name.” While Iran denied communications with the U.S., the official said other nations had reached out to Iran appealing for it to consider discussing a ceasefire. “Our assessment is that the USA side has requested their mediation. These requests have so far been rejected by our side,” the official said, adding that he believed such claims by Trump were part of a broader propaganda campaign. “Some countries have begun mediation efforts,” Pezeshkian [said](https://x.com/drpezeshkian/status/2029877231942590545) on Friday. “Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity and sovereignty. Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict.” Pezeshkian did not offer any details on the nature of these diplomatic initiatives. Soon after Pezeshkian’s statement was posted on X/Twitter, Trump took to Truth Social to demand full capitulation from Iran. “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on Friday. “After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’” On Wednesday, in an [interview](https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/exclusive-in

Iran Denies Asking Trump to Talk; Official Says No Negotiations Will Be Considered Until a New Supreme Leader Is Named

*Drop Site’s journalism is free to read because thousands of readers choose to fund it. If our work matters to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today.* [SUPPORT DSN - DONATE TODAY](https://givebutter.com/dsn-substack) [](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LF-m!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffbf894e6-52da-4265-bceb-af2288006860_7163x5059.jpeg) Iranian protesters carry images of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iranian flags in an anti-U.S.-Israeli rally in Tehran, Iran, on March 6, 2026, after Friday prayers outside Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque. Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images. Since launching a scorched earth bombing campaign against Iran on February 28 despite ongoing negotiations, President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to portray the Iranian government as cowering in the face of American might, appealing to him to make a deal to end the war. “They have no air defense. All of their airplanes are gone. Their communications are gone. Missiles are gone. Launches are gone. About 60% and 64%, respectively. Other than that, they’re doing quite well,” Trump quipped on Thursday. “And they’re calling. They’re saying, ‘How do we make a deal?’ I said, ‘You’re being a little bit late,’ and we want to fight now more than they do.” Trump’s claims that Iran has sought to negotiate a ceasefire with the U.S. are a “huge lie,” a senior Iranian official told Drop Site. On Thursday, Abbas Araghchi similarly [told NBC News](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlnbouKHDhs) that Iran has not had any communications with the U.S. through backchannels since his meeting in Geneva last week with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. “No, not after Thursday that we met last time. We met last Thursday. We negotiated for almost seven hours,” he said. “No negotiations from the Iranian side are conceivable until the official announcement by the Supreme Leader of Iran,” the senior official, who is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said. “The decision of Iran’s military forces is the continuation of the defense of the country against attacks by Israel and the United States, and the long-term management of the war imposed by foreign forces.” [Subscribe now](https://www.dropsitenews.com/subscribe?) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian leaders were assassinated last Saturday in the opening strikes of the U.S. war. The Iranian government moved swiftly to name an interim leadership council consisting of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of Iran’s judiciary, and Ayatollah Ali Arafi, a prominent member of Iran’s Guardian Council and Assembly of Experts—the body that is ultimately responsible for choosing the country’s Supreme Leader. Iran is expected to name a new Supreme Leader in the coming days. Some reports indicate that a leader may already have been selected by the Assembly of Experts. “The voting has been conducted,” the Iranian official told Drop Site. “Security and protection measures for the new leader must be put in place before they can announce his name.” While Iran denied communications with the U.S., the official said other nations had reached out to Iran appealing for it to consider discussing a ceasefire. “Our assessment is that the USA side has requested their mediation. These requests have so far been rejected by our side,” the official said, adding that he believed such claims by Trump were part of a broader propaganda campaign. “Some countries have begun mediation efforts,” Pezeshkian [said](https://x.com/drpezeshkian/status/2029877231942590545) on Friday. “Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity and sovereignty. Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict.” Pezeshkian did not offer any details on the nature of these diplomatic initiatives. Soon after Pezeshkian’s statement was posted on X/Twitter, Trump took to Truth Social to demand full capitulation from Iran. “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on Friday. “After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’” On Wednesday, in an [interview](https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/exclusive-in

Six Days of War, 10 Rationales

On the third day of the war in Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth [called](https://www.war.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4418959/secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-and-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-staff-gen-dan/) Operation Epic Fury the “most-precise aerial operation in history.” A difficult claim to fact-check. More difficult still has been parsing statements from the White House and the Pentagon to figure out, with any exactitude, why we are at war in the first place. So far, the Trump administration has offered at least 10 separate rationales in just six days. Let’s start shortly after the first missiles launched early Saturday morning. In an eight-minute [address](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-E7DIctrzo) posted soon after to his social-media platform, President Trump outlined a few explanations. The reason for war, he said, is to eliminate “imminent threats” from the Iranian regime—threats that “directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.” (Let’s call this Rationale No. 1: the imminent threat.) Also, he said, the objective is to ensure that the regime “can never have a nuclear weapon.” (Rationale No. 2: no nukes.) Also, he added, the objective is to “ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world.” (Rationale No. 3: halt the militias.) These goals are not incompatible, of course, and all involve degrading Iran’s ability to project force beyond its borders. But just as he appeared to be wrapping up, Trump floated a major new reason: laying the groundwork for the Iranian people to “seize control of your destiny, and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach.” In other words, “Take over your government.” (Rationale No. 4: regime change.) A couple hours later, Trump said his attention was steadfastly on this last explanation—securing the liberty of the Iranian people from the country’s 47-year theocratic regime. “All I want is freedom for the people,” he told [The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/28/trump-iran-war-regime-change-freedom/) just after 4 a.m. About half an hour later, another justification was evidently on the commander in chief’s mind: “Iran tried to interfere in 2020, 2024 elections to stop Trump, and now faces renewed war with United States,” he [wrote](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116147572522796874) on Truth Social. The post included a link to a story in a right-wing media outlet purporting to show Iranian election interference. (That seemed enough to constitute Rationale No. 5: election interference, before the sun had even risen over Mar-a-Lago.) Later on Saturday, Trump revisited his second and third rationales for the strikes in an interview with [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/02/28/trump-iran-war-israel-off-ramps). He cited the failure of negotiations (led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner and the real-estate developer turned Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff) to reach a deal to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions. And he also spoke about his realization, while writing his speech the day before the bombing started, that Iran had a history of violence in the region: “I saw that every month they did something bad, blew something up or killed someone.” By Saturday afternoon, though, the president was ready to unveil his most ambitious rationale yet. As reports filtered in about the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Trump [took to social media](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116150413051904167) again to declare that the operation would continue “as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!” (Rationale No. 6.: world peace, an appropriately grand finale for launch day.) On Sunday morning, Trump was back to Rationale No. 2, preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons—with little time to spare, apparently. “If we didn’t do that, they would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks,” the president [told](https://x.com/JacquiHeinrich/status/2028127909093798201) Fox News, citing a time frame he had not included in his initial remarks. The same morning, the president [told](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-casualties-us-military-operation-iran-khamenei-rcna261212) NBC News that the reason for the launch was simple: “They weren’t willing to say they will not have a nuclear weapon.” (For context: The White House had [announced](https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/06/irans-nuclear-facilities-have-been-obliterated-and-suggestions-otherwise-are-fake-news/) last June that Iranian nuclear facilities had been obliterated and “suggestions otherwise are fake news.” An analysis of satellite images by The New York Times last month [showed](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/world/middleeast/iran-missile-nuclear-repairs.html) repairs at key missile sites began shortly after those

The Biggest Pro-Trump Mega-Media Monopoly Ever (it’s already distorting war coverage)

[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DrD2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5ef3e031-24b0-4a62-8b5b-6c00beb0115d_3500x2567.jpeg) Friends, On Sunday, CBS’s erstwhile flagship newsmagazine “60 Minutes” opened with an extended adulatory interview of Reza Pahlavi, son of the late exiled Shah of Iran, whom Trump presumably is auditioning to be Iran’s post-invasion leader. Although Pahlavi is in Paris and hasn’t lived in Iran for nearly a half-century, CBS’s Scott Pelley fed the exiled prince softball questions and allowed him to avoid talking about his father’s record of brutal repression. Pelley even added, in a wishful voiceover, that “Pahlavi told us that there are units within the military and the police that would turn on the hard-line government. He says that many but not all troops could be given amnesty in a process of national reconciliation.” This isn’t news. It’s pablum from the White House. “60 Minutes” was once a reliable source of tough reporting. Now it’s becoming a shill for the Trump regime. It soon could get far worse. CBS News is on the verge of becoming part of the largest pro-Trump media monopoly in America. Two of the nation’s biggest news organizations — CBS News and CNN — along with CBS entertainment (home to Stephen Colbert) and Comedy Central (home to Jon Stewart) and HBO (John Oliver) and TikTok (where [1 out of 5](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/09/25/1-in-5-americans-now-regularly-get-news-on-tiktok-up-sharply-from-2020/) Americans now get their news) — are *all* about to become one giant mega-media monopoly under the control of Trump allies and suck-ups: multibillionaire Larry Ellison and Ellison’s son, David. **It’s not too late to stop this, and I’ll tell you how in a moment, but I’d like you to pause and imagine how readily this new pro-Trump media giant can mislead America about what Trump is doing and silence criticism of Trump.** It could make Rupert Murdoch’s media empire of Fox News, *The Wall Street Journal*, and the *New York Post* look scrupulous by comparison. Trump cares more about TV news than he does about his presidency. In fact, TV news *is* his presidency. He chose his Cabinet members on the basis of their total loyalty to him and how they look and sound on TV. He spends all day watching coverage of himself on TV. And now he’s on the verge of having effective control over a gigantic media monopoly. I don’t believe Jon Stewart or John Oliver will be silenced, but their contracts may not be renewed. After all, look at what CBS did to Stephen Colbert, whose show will end in May. I wouldn’t be surprised if the algorithm on TikTok is adjusted to reduce Trump criticism. And a small army of producers and correspondents at CNN are likely to be more careful about what they report. Stories critical of Trump may be axed, as is now occurring at the late, great CBS News. How did this happen? Think greed, money, power, and Trump. [](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-DlM!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08993853-ce46-41dd-9a2f-ea2ad11f1ee9_1200x675.webp) Trump and his media head, Larry Ellison #### **Trump and the Ellisons take over Warner Bros. Discovery** When the dark history of this sordid era is written, among the most shameful culprits — who put making humongous amounts of money for themselves above the common good — will be Larry and David Ellison; Shari Redstone, former owner of Paramount; and David Zaslav, the current CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. Zaslav is now being lauded by the business community as a genius for selling Warner Bros. Discovery (in turn the owner of CNN, CNN International, and HBO) to the Ellisons’ for $111 billion, more than double its valuation in September. But he’s couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the common good. (Zaslav filed to sell just over [$114 million](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/david-zaslav-selling-114-million-warner-bros-discovery-stock-1236678807/) worth of Warner Bros. stock less than a week after Warner Bros. clinched the deal.) Why would the Ellisons spend billions (and go deep into debt) to buy Warner Bros. Discovery? Wealth and power — along with additional wealth and power that Trump can deliver. Larry Ellison is

Preemptive War, Permanent Emergency: The Real Cost of Trump’s Iran Strike

 Photograph Source: Mahnaz Ghobakhloo > “‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” > > —Jeremiah 6:13–14 The military-industrial complex and the American police state have joined forces. War abroad and war at home are no longer separate enterprises. They have fused. This did not happen overnight. Every modern president has [stretched the limits of war-making power](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-limiting-trumps-authority-with-war-powers-act-is-dangerous-johnson-says). Some have shredded those limits altogether. Each time that boundary is breached, the Constitution recedes a little further. This is one of those moments. In a complete [about-face](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/maga-reaction-donald-trump-iran-attack-war) from his claims to being a peace president, Donald Trump has authorized yet another preemptive strike—this time against Iran—without a declaration of war from Congress, without meaningful public debate, and without constitutional clarity. With its Orwellian proclamations of “[peace through strength](https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/03/peace-through-strength-president-trump-launches-operation-epic-fury-to-crush-iranian-regime-end-nuclear-threat/),” [Operation Epic Fury](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-ripped-over-cringe-name-084419758.html) is less strategy than spectacle—an egotistical, muscle-flexing distraction by the Trump administration and an overarching attempt to normalize the use of unilateral force by the executive branch without congressional input or authorization. This was never about peace. It was always about power. And the Constitution is clear about how this is supposed to work, even if the White House is not. [Article I, Section 8 grants Congress—not the president—the power to declare war.](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-limiting-trumps-authority-with-war-powers-act-is-dangerous-johnson-says) The president under Article II, Section 2 is designated as commander-in-chief with the power to command the military. He is not commander-of-everything. Yet here we are. The Trump administration is advancing a global policing doctrine that mirrors the domestic police state: strike first, ask questions later. Since January 2025, Trump has carried out [more than 600 military strikes](https://openthemagazine.com/world/trumps-war-on-peace) on foreign targets that include Iran, Yemen, Nigeria and Venezuela, while [threatening forceful military takeovers of Greenland](https://www.cfr.org/articles/guide-trumps-second-term-military-strikes-and-actions), Colombia and Mexico. Preemptive force has become policy. And when the administration is asked to explain themselves, the answer is not constitutional deference but [open defiance](https://www.war.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4418959/secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-and-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-staff-gen-dan/). Clearly, they have lost sight of who they answer to—and who funds their war chests: we the taxpayers. The Constitution is the “*why*.” The American people have a right to debate war before it begins. We have a right to know how our tax dollars are spent. We have a right to insist our representatives authorize the use of force. We have a right to know why our sons and daughters are sent into harm’s way. We have a right to refuse to have our tax dollars [used to kill other people’s daughters](https://www.facebook.com/ricksteves/posts/pfbid0TQrSU2u3jzSjyrwBysPoiudL4rEip7iDMo3JmpvKVGxsUVvDHCgnapUCRgnwK381l) and sons. As Cato Institute’s Katherine Thompson [explains](https://www.cato.org/blog/cato-experts-react-us-attacks-iran), “The Founders placed the power to initiate it in Congress precisely to ensure those costs are confronted and debated before the country walks into battle.” That safeguard is being ignored. And the damage does not stop at constitutional injury, because war is not only a constitutional problem. It is an [economic one](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/world/europe/iran-war-strategy-trump-israel.html). Operation Epic Fury is pushing America towards a fiscal cliff. Within days, the costs were staggering: $300 million for three F-15E jets downed by “friendly” fire. $630 million to transport troops, ships and aircraft to the region in advance of the attacks. [More than 50,000 troops deployed to the region.](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2026/03/03/how-trumps-war-with-iran-could-have-already-cost-over-1-billion/) $13 million a day just for two aircraft carriers stationed nearby. $43.8 million for 1,250 Kamikaze drones. $2 million *each* for Tomahawk missiles. $12.8 million each for anti-ballistic

Venezuela: Rodríguez Hosts Trump Official, Announces Mining Law Reform

Caracas, March 5, 2026 ([venezuelanalysis.com](https://venezuelanalysis.com/)) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez met Wednesday with US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas to discuss a bilateral agenda focused on energy and mining. Senior officials from both countries also attended a closed-door meeting, including US Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu and Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. Rodríguez and Burgum later gave a joint press conference. “We welcomed Burgum to address important aspects related to metallic, non-metallic, strategic and non-strategic minerals,” the acting president told reporters. “We want the Venezuelan people to see the advantage of having good relations with the world and with the United States.” Rodríguez said that her economic team will soon present a proposal to the National Assembly to “expand” Venezuela’s Mining Law, urging lawmakers to reform it “swiftly” in order to showcase “investment and development opportunities in the mining sector” to both domestic and international business groups. Venezuela’s current mining legislation was approved in 1999. Rodríguez noted that the government intends to replicate the “win-win formula” of the recent [hydrocarbon reform](https://venezuelanalysis.com/opinion/the-venezuelan-organic-law-on-hydrocarbons/) approved on January 29, which introduced wide-reaching benefits for foreign capital in the oil sector. Under the overhauled legislation, private operators get expanded control over operations, with limited parliamentary oversight and a reduced tax burden. Rodríguez also [thanked](https://x.com/delcyrodriguezv/status/2029303103980245356) US President Donald Trump for a social media post praising the Venezuelan acting president for “doing a great job.” The Venezuelan leader highlighted the US government’s “kind disposition” to work on a “mutually beneficial” cooperation agenda. For his part, Burgum said that Venezuela is “an extraordinarily rich nation” in oil, gas, and [critical minerals](https://venezuelanalysis.com/infographics/subsoil-bonanza-venezuelas-natural-resources/?swcfpc=1), adding that the opportunities for collaboration between the two countries “have no limits.” He serves as chair of the US National Energy Dominance Council as well. According to the senior White House official, who holds the natural resources portfolio, the potential cooperation could deliver something “truly remarkable” for both the Venezuelan and American people. Burgum’s delegation included representatives from over 20 US and Canadian mining companies, some of them with a past presence in Venezuela. “These companies are ready to begin,” he said. “I know that [Acting President] Rodríguez, like President Trump, wants to cut bureaucratic red tape so this capital investment can start flowing.” Among the companies represented in the visit were US firms Peabody Energy—the world’s largest private coal company—Hartree Partners, Orion CMC, Paulson & Co., and Caterpillar Inc., along with Canada’s Lundin Mining Corp and Singapore-based commodities trader Trafigura. Canadian miner Gold Reserve also [announced](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305182341/en/Gold-Reserve-Returns-to-Venezuela) plans to return to the Caribbean nation and disclosed a 30-day US Treasury license to negotiate with Caracas. According to [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/03/05/trump-us-venezuela-gold-deal), US officials additionally negotiated a multimillion-dollar agreement with Venezuela’s state mining company Minerven to sell up to one metric ton of gold to the US market, currently valued at roughly $165 million. The deal would require Minerven to supply between 650 and 1,000 kilograms of doré gold bars—a crude alloy of gold and silver with 50 to 90 percent purity—to Trafigura, which would transport the metal to US refineries. The transaction details were not disclosed, including whether Trafigura will deposit payment in US-run accounts in an arrangement similar to the one the Trump administration has imposed for Venezuelan oil exports. Burgum is the fourth senior US official to visit Venezuela since the January 3 US military strikes and [kidnapping](https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/breaking-us-launches-attack-against-venezuela/) of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, National Assembly deputy Cilia Flores. Earlier visits included [US Southern Command](https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela-rodriguez-hosts-southcom-chief-discusses-bilateral-agenda-against-drug-trafficking-and-terrorism/) chief Francis Donovan, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and US Energy Secretary [Chris Wright](https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/rodriguez-hails-long-term-us-energy-ties-as-trump-official-vows-to-set-venezuela-free/?swcfpc=1). Venezuela possesses vast unexplored and proven [mineral reserves](https://venezuelanalysis.com/infographics/subsoil-bonanza-venezuelas-natural-resources/?swcfpc=1), including significant gold, i