June 8, 2026

BESSENT IN BEAST MODE: Economic Fury Tightens Stranglehold on Iranian Dark Fleet. “The designation of Nobitex adds further layers of complication to Iranian government financial transactions, following the designation of the Hossein Shamkhani trading network on April 15, and the Babak Zanjani business empire on January 30. All three entities, run with huge profits by families all closely connected with leading religious figures in the Iranian political elite, made heavy use of apparently legitimate front companies operating in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. But now that the UAE is abandoning transactionalism and regards Iran as an enemy, the previously relaxed approach of the Emirati authorities toward such activities has been replaced by a determination to tighten controls — as well as to avoid a return to the Financial Action Task Force’s Gray List. The message was made very clear in a video conference on June 3 covering money laundering, convened by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, a call that rounded up almost the entire Emirati leadership and business elite.”

Posted at 12:42 pm by Stephen Green

UNDERSTATEMENT ALERT: Scott Pelley Isn’t a Serious Journalist.

In Britain, news anchors have traditionally been called “newsreaders.” That’s because this is what they are. Their job is to make sure that their hair is coiffed when they read from the teleprompter. Pelley was a male bimbo: a himbo.

Over the years, he made many absurd and bombastic statements. For example, in 2006 he presented a completely uncritical two-part report on climate change. When critics asked him why he didn’t speak to anyone who questioned the assertions of those who said that climate change was an existential threat to humanity, he responded by saying that this idea was akin to Holocaust denial.

By contrast, Pelley’s new bosses are serious journalists. Both forged meaningful careers as writers and editors. Bari Weiss, who is Bilton’s boss and the editor in chief of CBS News, made a name for herself through her work as a writer and editor at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. After leaving the Times, she started and built up the Free Press, which has two million subscribers and top writers like Sir Niall Ferguson and Nellie Bowles. Bilton also wrote for the Times, and he has been a contributor to Vanity Fair and a documentary filmmaker for HBO. They are genuine writer-editors.

Who will replace Pelley in the talking-head role? There’s been online chatter that Weiss and Bilton are considering trying to recruit Joe Rogan as a replacement for Pelley. While the chatter is probably just that—chatter—the deal has provoked an outburst of dismay in the media establishment. To which I would say: Why not? The job of on-camera talent is that of a performer. Pelley was known to end some broadcasts by taking off his glasses for effect as the camera dramatically panned into him. That was his way of ending on a weighty yet “intimate” note.

I used to edit future CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil’s writing at New York Press. Tony is someone of intelligence, character, and sensitivity. However, let’s be honest: His on-air value starts with his good looks. This is what news personalities ordinarily are required to display. Rogan is a different fish. Yet, while he may not be pretty, he’s shown that he can command an audience. So, would he be any less qualified than Pelley? Or might he be more qualified?

Who’s to say? What can be stated is a provable fact: The main reason 60 Minutes continues to be America’s most-watched news program is its lead-in, NFL football.

Related:

“He did something jaw-dropping to me. He read a statement from his phone.” It’s telling that Pelley claims he had a meltdown over that, considering he makes (or made) bank by reading words off of teleprompters. When ABC hired a young Leonard Di Caprio to interview Al Gore for a 2000 “Earth Day” special, Jonah Goldberg wrote:

For example, in 2000, ABC News selected Leonardo DiCaprio to interview Bill Clinton about the environment for Earth Day. The staff, including Sam Donaldson, and outside critics erupted in a barrage of outrage. How dare ABC suggest that a dim-bulb movie star can do the same job as a seasoned journalist? The defensiveness was telling. Because the truth is that most news readers are little more than actors. That’s one reason so many attractive young women want to be an actress/model/news anchor when they grow up.

Consider Barbara Walters. In the ’70s and ’80s, it was drummed into us that she was the Susan B. Anthony of American journalism. Even today, whenever her bona fides as a serious journalist are questioned, she gets her hackles up and plays the angered feminist. Then she returns to asking Hollywood movie stars what kind of tree they would be if they could be a tree and hosting that paragon of Cafe Vienna Moment journalism, The View.

Indeed, the current host of The View, Meredith Vieira, is NBC’s first choice to replace Couric. Vieira has another job: She hosts the daytime version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Ms. Vieira’s official bio touts up front that she won a Daytime Emmy as a game-show host and buries the fact she won five real Emmys for her work as a 60 Minutes reporter.

Is Pelley off to Substack-land? Maybe. But who will do the writing?

Posted at 12:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

WELL, WHEN YOU PUT IT THAT WAY:

Not every mail-in election is stolen, but they’re all suspect.

Posted at 12:26 pm by Stephen Green

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Kurt Schlichter: Why Are Male-Identifying Democrat Candidates All Creepy Weirdos? If you ever wanted irrefutable evidence of Democrats’ hate for white men, all you’d have to do is point to the rogues’ gallery of weirdos, losers, and mutations they’ve nominated over the last few election cycles. It’s like they don’t actually know any normal white dudes, because the people they pick in a baffling attempt to recapture this large and crucial group of voters—who have almost completely rejected the Democrats—are simply bizarre. How did they ever get the impression that these freakish nominees would somehow make normal white guys go, ‘Yeah, I identify with him. I’ll vote for him. Now, it’s off to the Porta-Potty with some champagne and a dozen roses.’”

Posted at 12:24 pm by Glenn Reynolds

THIS IS A PROBLEM: The Colorado River’s largest reservoirs are heading toward a ‘system crash,’ experts warn.

Colorado River experts and decision makers gathered in Boulder, Colorado, this week to discuss the future of the water supply for 40 million people across the Southwest. At the registration table, a new white paper set the tone for the conference at the Colorado Law School: “Colorado River Basin Storage Continues Slide Toward System Crash.”

If the Colorado River Basin has another dry year, even if water consumption is at or near historic lows, Lake Powell and Lake Mead will likely drop to levels that could threaten dam infrastructure and downstream deliveries to major southwest cities and agriculture hubs at the start of the 2028 water year, according to the paper co-authored by Colorado River experts.

If next year is more similar to a heavy snow year like 2023, then the nation’s two largest reservoirs would recover to an extent, but that cushion would likely only last for about two years, the paper says.

“We’re going to have to work harder to save water than we have ever worked before in the 21st century,” said Jack Schmidt, one of the paper’s co-authors, in an interview before the conference.

Previously, a possible solution:

Posted at 11:40 am by Stephen Green

HE’S JUST GETTING STARTED:

Posted at 11:24 am by Stephen Green

HAPPY 60th ANNIVERSARY OF THE NFL-AFL MERGER, TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE:

Flashback: Roger Goodell Killed the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg.

Posted at 10:35 am by Ed Driscoll

THEY NEED GUNS:

UPDATE (From Ed):

Posted at 10:23 am by Stephen Green

BECAUSE OF COURSE: CU Boulder pro-Palestinian group defends antisemitic firebombing, demands release of culprit.

This past week, the University of Colorado Boulder chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine demanded the release of convicted killer Mohamed Soliman … and justified his firebombing of a pro-Israel event a year ago.

Soliman was sentenced last month to “life plus 2,178 years” for attacking a “Run for Their Lives” (an event which supports the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas) last year with a “makeshift flamethrower” at which one victim was killed and over a dozen others burned.

In Jeremiah Wright-style, the CU Boulder SJP described Soliman’s actions as a “case of chickens coming home to roost.”

CU Boulder doesn’t recognize the group, but that’s about as far as the school’s sanctions seem to go.

Posted at 9:36 am by Stephen Green

THE COPE IS STRONG:

My cope was writing off California as a Third World banana republic, but that was years ago.

Posted at 9:20 am by Stephen Green

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: OK, I Think President Trump Really Enjoys Trolling Kristen Welker. “This isn’t the first time that Welker has stepped on the Trump 47 rake. President Trump gave one of his first interviews after returning to office to Welker, and that didn’t go what one would call swimmingly. All of the major players in the administration have been on Meet the Press since then, and each appearance featured at least one moment when Welker was confronted for her bias. All were great red meat television moments for conservatives.”

Posted at 9:05 am by Stephen Green

AMERICA MUST LOOK TO EUROPE TO FIND SENSIBLE WAYS TO RESOLVE COMPLEX IMMIGRATION ISSUES:

Posted at 8:35 am by Ed Driscoll

SEEMS LIKE A GOOD REASON TO DO IT: Iran opposes use of its assets to pay reparations to U.S. Arab allies. “President Donald Trump said in an interview that aired on Sunday he would not move to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets before a formal peace agreement to end the US-Israel war with Iran.”

Even then, it would be a mistake.

Posted at 8:34 am by Stephen Green