Israel’s Retaliation

Plus: Skirting New York residency requirements, undisclosed AI use in documentaries, prison commissary markups, and more…

LIZ WOLFE

This round of fighting was started by an April 1 Israeli strike in Syria that struck an Iranian consulate complex and killed three senior commanders and four officers reportedly responsible for dictating Iran’s military strategy. But Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for a long time; recent strikes just bring tensions out into the open.

Iranian air defense systems reportedly intercepted most of the drones. Some flights over Iran’s airspace were diverted, while others were canceled. Damage was minimal.

Within Israel, opinion was split. Some engaged in saber-rattling, while others said the attack looked “weak.”

“Iran must understand that when it acts against us, we have the ability to strike at any time, and we can do serious damage,” said Eyal Hulata, a former national security adviser, on Galei Tzahal (Army Radio). “We have a highly capable air force, and the United States is on our side.”

Iranian officials, too, have signaled mixed views. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had warned that “the tiniest act of aggression” on his nation’s soil would provoke a massive response, and that “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime.” But many noted that Iran’s attack on Israel—as well as the ample warning given—seemed like it wasn’t designed to do much damage. In other words: Both nations have escalated, yes, but also shown some restraint and warranted trepidation, despite posturing to the contrary.

Biden’s sticky situation: “Democratic donors covered more than $1 million in legal fees racked up by attorneys representing President Joe Biden in a yearlong special counsel probe into his handling of classified documents,” reports the Associated Press. “The use of party funds to cover Biden’s legal bills is not without precedent and falls within the bounds of campaign finance law, but it could cloud Biden’s ability to continue to hammer former President Donald Trump over his far more extensive use of donor funds to cover his legal bills.”

Of course, it’s unlikely that will actually happen because that would require an adversarial mainstream media that’s interested in actually holding Biden accountable for his duplicitousness.

“Every single time you give to the campaign, we’re going straight to talk to voters…we are not spending money on legal bills or hawking gold sneakers,” said Rufus Gifford, Biden’s campaign finance chair, on MSNBC earlier this month, in a soundbite he was surely proud of. It turns out that this is simply untrue!

Scenes from New York:

Inside the wonderful world of rich people making sure their residence stories line up in case they’re audited, courtesy of Bloomberg. Each and every one of these people? Heroes, in my book.

QUICK HITS

• The Appeal published a database of prison commissary prices. Some items available for purchase by prisoners are marked up by as much as 600 percent.
• Yesterday, 108 Columbia students were arrested after the school called in cops to attempt to empty a 50-tent encampment that had been set up, called the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” Video footage here.
• Non-iPhone users are apparently being excluded from group chats. Don’t worry, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) is coming to the rescue. Her plan? Break up Apple.
• Challenges with collecting data on religious service attendance over time, from Marginal Revolution.
• Interesting case study on the use of AI in documentaries:

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